My 65G Shallow Reef Tank
- Thread starter DiscusHeckel
- Start date
biggles
Premium Member
Super healthy acros Bulent, colors are beautiful mate and i'm always super envious of the growth you get 
Some of the picks are down unfortunately, only a few though.
I used the monti and adjusted white balance, contrast, saturation etc to match these two pics so i could better see what's what Bulent. Hope you don't mind mate, both those acros are awesome colors, i want the milli thing too. The growth is amazing to me :thumbsup:
The 'pop' is real, not because i stuffed up the balancing.
Some of the picks are down unfortunately, only a few though.
I used the monti and adjusted white balance, contrast, saturation etc to match these two pics so i could better see what's what Bulent. Hope you don't mind mate, both those acros are awesome colors, i want the milli thing too. The growth is amazing to me :thumbsup:
The 'pop' is real, not because i stuffed up the balancing.
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
I have fixed the two broken links Andrew. I do not know what happened there. I have momentarily lost my confidence in FlickR.
I like your version of Sarmentosa. This is probably what this coral would look like under the sun. I am glad that you liked it. Your feedback tells me that I am on the right track. Do you think that I can enhance this coral's colours any further? Although I still have the energy and enjoy them, I am getting just a little tired of doing different experiments to chase this transcendental pop, which may or may not exist.
I like your version of Sarmentosa. This is probably what this coral would look like under the sun. I am glad that you liked it. Your feedback tells me that I am on the right track. Do you think that I can enhance this coral's colours any further? Although I still have the energy and enjoy them, I am getting just a little tired of doing different experiments to chase this transcendental pop, which may or may not exist.
codydemmel4
Active member
very nice growth and colors! The last milli looks insane!
What are you keeping your alk and calc at now? How often are you doing water changes?
What are you keeping your alk and calc at now? How often are you doing water changes?
kainic
Member
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
Good for you Brandon. When are you starting to dose? I already posted my dosing regimen in my thread, which is perhaps over cautious, but seems to be working up to now. You can also find it on my Facebook page with a diary. I think K+ and A- elements nicest compliment this product. Please provide regular updates. I will be following them. I am curious to find out how your corals will react to dosing.
Thanks
Thanks.
KH: 6.85 dKH
Ca: 405 ppm
I endeavour to change water once a week, but I end up changing it less frequently than that (perhaps once every 10 days).
Sergi,
You have been quiet lately. I did not realise you were following my experiment sneakily. Did you put the powder in a bottle with a little aquarium water and then shake it like you are making a cocktail before pouring it to your tank?
Can you please share your experience? Please feel free to comment under my Note on Reef Actif on my Facebook page.
kainic
Member
I consider myself a forum lurker.
I've been battling AEFW and a temp swing so there's not much to show from my tank.
My daily dosing routine is as follows:
3ml Flatworm Stop
2ml TM Bacto Balance
2ml TM A- Elements
As I said I started Reef Actif today and the first impression is that my water is clearer than before. I'll keep this dose for 4 weeks and then move to 1/2 spoon for 4 more weeks and finally recommended dose. What I do expect from Reef Actif is to lower my nitrate levels and increase my corals health.
I'll try to document the changes as much as I can. In my case there's a lot to improve (not like you, you see subtle changes because there's a limit on coral beauty and you are really close) so I will push Reef Actif to its limit.
Bülent, keep up your passion, reefers like you (and Biggles, Ed, Matt x 2, Mark) are guiding us to a better reefing experience. My thanks.
Enviado desde mi SM-G900F mediante Tapatalk
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
Here it is (Tick means 'experimented'):
If you notice lighting of colours and do not like it, then go back to your previous dose and maintain that.
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
Thanks for your kind words Sergi.
Bad luck on AEFW. I hope you get rid of those pets soon before they cause any damage to acros.
Your intended dose is exactly what Hans-Werner Balling would recommend. :thumbsup: However, due bad experiences with organic carbon dosing in the past, I am proceeding cautiously. I am looking forward to learning from your experience as I still have many weeks to reach to the maximum dose. Once you dose, you will get increased skimmate production. I would skim wet to remove excess bacteria. Keep an eye on your alkalinity especially if you notice any chance in coral growth. Polyp extension should increase. If you notice any increase in coral growth, increase your water flow if it is feasible to do so.
I've used Reef Activ for 2 weeks.
My tank is about 800 litres, so recommended dosage is about 1.5 scoops per week. I'm experimenting in a slightly different manner from Bulent. I am dosing 1/4 scoop 3 times a week, which totals up to 3/4 scoops per week, or 1/2 the recommended dosage.
Since Reef Activ is supposed to adsorb nutrients/elements and make them available to corals over time, I figured more frequent small dosages would be more beneficial to the corals than just once a week.
My intention over time is to increase it to 1/2 scoop 3x a week, which would make it the recommended dosage then after a couple of months experiment with 1 scoop 3x a week, which would make it double the recommended dosage, but 2/3 of the maximum dosage.
So far after 2 weeks of my initial dosing, what I observe is that coral polyp extension is very noticeably better. I noticed better polyp extension after starting K+ and A- dosing, but it's gotten even better since starting Reef Activ. Aquarium glass cleaning frequency is also decreased, similar to what Bulent has observed. I don't think I've dosed long enough to notice a different in colour and growth yet, but I do note that my consumption has not decreased despite removing 3 large colonies from my system, so it looks like consumption might have gone up slightly.
My tank is about 800 litres, so recommended dosage is about 1.5 scoops per week. I'm experimenting in a slightly different manner from Bulent. I am dosing 1/4 scoop 3 times a week, which totals up to 3/4 scoops per week, or 1/2 the recommended dosage.
Since Reef Activ is supposed to adsorb nutrients/elements and make them available to corals over time, I figured more frequent small dosages would be more beneficial to the corals than just once a week.
My intention over time is to increase it to 1/2 scoop 3x a week, which would make it the recommended dosage then after a couple of months experiment with 1 scoop 3x a week, which would make it double the recommended dosage, but 2/3 of the maximum dosage.
So far after 2 weeks of my initial dosing, what I observe is that coral polyp extension is very noticeably better. I noticed better polyp extension after starting K+ and A- dosing, but it's gotten even better since starting Reef Activ. Aquarium glass cleaning frequency is also decreased, similar to what Bulent has observed. I don't think I've dosed long enough to notice a different in colour and growth yet, but I do note that my consumption has not decreased despite removing 3 large colonies from my system, so it looks like consumption might have gone up slightly.
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
Xiang Lye,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Please provide more updates.
Because I am using Bacto-Balance at a quite established dose, I decided to start Reef Actif with a much more conservative dose. I agree that 3 times a week gives a better coverage for a seven day period. Once I know how much Reef Actif powder my system can handle, I will spread that amount to three times. That will be the last leg of my experiment, twice a week vs three times a week.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Please provide more updates.
Because I am using Bacto-Balance at a quite established dose, I decided to start Reef Actif with a much more conservative dose. I agree that 3 times a week gives a better coverage for a seven day period. Once I know how much Reef Actif powder my system can handle, I will spread that amount to three times. That will be the last leg of my experiment, twice a week vs three times a week.
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
Inspired by Matt, I produced a short test video clip without sound using my son's GoPro last night. I deliberately got closer to corals to test GoPro's focus. As Matt said in his thread, colour rendition is a lot more realistic than iPhone. I even recorded myself while watching my tank to see what fish see inside their glass box. They must be fed up with the untidiness in my room.
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reefmutt
Active member
That is so post modern of you to film yourself through the glass!
I would like to have seen that view.
The go pro takes a nice video and is better at colour rendition, for sure.
The pe is crazy in that Millie!
I think it's main limitation is depth of focus. It's not designed to focus up close like the iPhone is capable of doing..
More, more!
I would like to have seen that view.
The go pro takes a nice video and is better at colour rendition, for sure.
The pe is crazy in that Millie!
I think it's main limitation is depth of focus. It's not designed to focus up close like the iPhone is capable of doing..
More, more!
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
That is so post modern of you to film yourself through the glass!
I would like to have seen that view.
The go pro takes a nice video and is better at colour rendition, for sure.
The pe is crazy in that Millie!
I think it's main limitation is depth of focus. It's not designed to focus up close like the iPhone is capable of doing..
More, more!
Thanks for your feedback Matt. There are apparently some accessories that can be attached to GoPros to focus close up object (http://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-special-features/article/gopro-macro-underwater-photo-video/). I am not sure how feasible it is to use them in a confined space like my reef tank. I will look at GoPro forums.
DiscusHeckel
Acropora Gardener
Thanks. My son is going back to his university at the end of next month. I am worried that he will take his camera with him. I may have to bribe him to leave the camera at home.
reefmutt
Active member
It looks like the macro mate mini is the lens to get. It gets you up to 3 inches away from your subject. That's pretty good. The close up lens only gets you a couple inches closer that no lens at all..
