My Bacteria Driven Journey
- Thread starter Tswifty
- Start date
Tswifty
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Yes, I've always done it. I figure since I'm not vacuuming the water out, it's better to do it a little more frequently so I don't pollute the water with a one time dump. If I back of to once per month, I will begin vacuuming the sandbed so the stuff that is released is removed from the system.
I'm not an expert on sandbeds though. That's just always what I've done.
trueblackpercula
New member
How are you vacuming thta sand bed?
Tswifty
New member
The first week of Microbacter 7 dosing is done. The main observation was that my skimmate production seemed to increase during the week, and also was much darker than usual (almost black). As far as water clarity goes, maybe it had an effect, but it's hard to say as I've always felt my water was pretty clear to begin with. I really can't say that I noticed a difference in polyp extension.
Here are the water parameters from today:
A few notes:
My CO2 bubble rate shifted a bit, which is the reason for the slight rise in Alkalinity. The Calcium rise can more than like be attributed to using only Coralife salt this past week since I ran out of Instant Ocean, and couldn't make my 50/50 blend. I didn't do a "scheduled" water change, but traded/sold a bunch of frags this weekend and replaced the water that was removed with saltwater that was mixed using only Coralife salt. Coralife salt has a much higher Calcium level than most salt mixes at 560 ppm. As far as Phosphate goes, I still don't trust the reading. I used the Hanna photometer again to get the 0.02 number, but with the abundance of algae still present in the system it has to be much higher.
Here are the water parameters from today:
A few notes:
My CO2 bubble rate shifted a bit, which is the reason for the slight rise in Alkalinity. The Calcium rise can more than like be attributed to using only Coralife salt this past week since I ran out of Instant Ocean, and couldn't make my 50/50 blend. I didn't do a "scheduled" water change, but traded/sold a bunch of frags this weekend and replaced the water that was removed with saltwater that was mixed using only Coralife salt. Coralife salt has a much higher Calcium level than most salt mixes at 560 ppm. As far as Phosphate goes, I still don't trust the reading. I used the Hanna photometer again to get the 0.02 number, but with the abundance of algae still present in the system it has to be much higher.
aquariumclown
New member
Nice job. Additional skimmate is a good sign the bacteria is working. This continued for me for 3 months, so be patient, very very gunky stuff for a long time. I was cleaning out my cup every other day and sometimes everyday.
I never saw polyp extension until I dosed AA, so you might have to wait on that.
Alk: wow that's quite a swing. Maybe I'm too picky but I aim to not let my alk swing more than .5, I'm lucky this has been consistent for the last 2 months +. As of now I'm checking it every 3 days. Granted my tank is 3 times bigger than yours (150gal), but I've seen alk swings making a difference in coral overall health and growth. jmo
Keep up the good work
I never saw polyp extension until I dosed AA, so you might have to wait on that.
Alk: wow that's quite a swing. Maybe I'm too picky but I aim to not let my alk swing more than .5, I'm lucky this has been consistent for the last 2 months +. As of now I'm checking it every 3 days. Granted my tank is 3 times bigger than yours (150gal), but I've seen alk swings making a difference in coral overall health and growth. jmo
Keep up the good work
trueblackpercula
New member
I was going to say the same thing Alk swingssssss wow. Are any of your tips burnt on your sps???? Mabe that's why your not getting good PE on your acros. I cleaned my skimmer this Saturday like always and the skimate or what ever you want to call it smelled like death. Also it was the darkest I have ever seen in my 3 year plus with this system. When you going to post some pictures for us to see before and after?
Michael Anthony
Michael Anthony
Tswifty
New member
LOL... SPS is fine. I've always had good PE as well (except for 1 bout with redbugs), just stated that I hadn't seen an increase in PE since I began dosing MB7. Also, it's not like the Alkalinity swung overnight. It took 10 days to get there. Sure it's not ideal, but haven't (and don't expect to) notice any negative impact from this swing. Now hopefully I can get this worked out before I start Vodka dosing next week. Otherwise, a similar swing will more than likely not be tolerated as well.
I really dislike my calcium reactor setup, and it's been a battle to keep it in line since I hooked it up. It's the main reason I hope to switch to a dosing pump system soon.
I'll be taking update pictures at the end of the week. I'll have to dig through some old pictures, and see if I ever took pictures of the skimmate collected before I began MB7 dosing. I'll also take my waste collection container offline for a few days, so I can get a good skimmate production shot.
I really dislike my calcium reactor setup, and it's been a battle to keep it in line since I hooked it up. It's the main reason I hope to switch to a dosing pump system soon.
I'll be taking update pictures at the end of the week. I'll have to dig through some old pictures, and see if I ever took pictures of the skimmate collected before I began MB7 dosing. I'll also take my waste collection container offline for a few days, so I can get a good skimmate production shot.
aquariumclown
New member
Maybe your sps is already got polyps extended all the way, can't extend anymore even if the water is better. lol
Tswifty
New member
LOL... I just added a few new coral frags this weekend that are supposed to have crazy PE. So I'll have to wait and see how they react as they settle in.
As far as my phosphate testing concerns go... I guess a good thing is that, regardless if I am getting an accurate reading or not, at least it went down. :lol:
As far as my phosphate testing concerns go... I guess a good thing is that, regardless if I am getting an accurate reading or not, at least it went down. :lol:
trueblackpercula
New member
Ya know I though I read some were that your alk/Dkh should be around 7.5 to 8 when dosing vodka/Carbon dosing.
Did you read that anywere as well or am I just trolling to many threads about vodka/bacteria, aminoacids,feeding,iodine,MB7 ETC......lmao
Michael Anthony
Did you read that anywere as well or am I just trolling to many threads about vodka/bacteria, aminoacids,feeding,iodine,MB7 ETC......lmao
Michael Anthony
Tswifty
New member
I think there are several different schools of thought regarding that topic. I personally like to allow my system to establish before attempting to make drastic changes. My system is still fairly young (almost 7 months old), but I've never battled nuisance algae this bad in any of my previous systems. Therefore, I decided it was time to make a change and get proactive.
In my previous tanks, good husbandry practices, flow, and a properly set up filtration system was enough to maintain them and keep the nutrient levels in check. I did go through algae outbreaks, but nothing of this magnitude, and once I hit 6 months in... it was smooth sailing.
I would take some time to read the Reefkeeping Article and SunnyX's Rimless Build Thread. That way you can gather some additional information/opinions before making a final decision.
In my previous tanks, good husbandry practices, flow, and a properly set up filtration system was enough to maintain them and keep the nutrient levels in check. I did go through algae outbreaks, but nothing of this magnitude, and once I hit 6 months in... it was smooth sailing.
I would take some time to read the Reefkeeping Article and SunnyX's Rimless Build Thread. That way you can gather some additional information/opinions before making a final decision.
Aqua Keepers
New member
Microbacter7 can be dosed from day one of a new system.
kkdoughboy
New member
I am 3 weeks in to my Vodka dosing right now. I started dosing cause Nitrates and Phosphates have been an issue in my tank for over a year and I finally took the initiative to try something to fix the issue. Well after 3 weeks my Nitrates and Phosphates are the same as they were when I started. I'm actually seeing an increase in green algae and also Cyno. I'm up to dosing 1.8 ml/day on my 155 gallon tank. I have seen a greatly increased skimmate but that's about it. Am I hoping for too much too soon? Is this actually goons kick in and start working? What about dosing Microbacter 7 and Vodka dosing at the same time or is that a bad idea? Thanks
