After Week 1 (Notes and Thoughts)
After Week 1 (Notes and Thoughts)
OK, so it has been a complete week since I started down the path of the Rice Experiment, and as promised here is the documentation of week 1.
To have data side by side, I will include my starting points and picture within this post as well.
The basic info first:
Started At:
Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrites = 0.1-0.2 ppm
Nitrates = 2.5 ppm
After Wk 1:
Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrites = 0.1 ppm
Nitrates = 0-2.5 ppm (Darn Red Sea tester!)
So it seems I have made some progress getting the parameters back to zero where most of us want to be. I do want to make a specific statement, that these changes are 100% due to the Rice Reactor and MB7 Dosages. I have not performed a water change throughout this whole process. With that said, I do plan on performing a water change tomorrow, so this fact won't hold true for the next report.
Photo of the Tank (9-29-10):
Photo of the Tank today (10-3-10):
I think it is easy to precise the difference. While I do think the Photo Program I used made some subtle adjustment differences between the two pictures, for the most part they are taken in the same fashion without a flash.
Things I would like to bring to your attention between the two pictures:
- The two PVC closed loop returns in the front right and front left give good indication on the improvement with the Cyano.
- The far left portion of the Live Rock was completely covered in Cyano at the start point, looking at the Week 1 picture, you can see it is nearly completely gone in this section.
- Lastly, I want to point out the water clearity between the two pictures. The After Week 1 photo is a whole lot more clear! (I feel this is why the photo software made those subtle changes between the two pictures)
My Personal Thoughts:
Overall I am very pleased with the progress of the Tank. I believe that there is some benefit to running the Rice Reactor on the tank. With this system running, and following the MB7 manufactures recommended directions, I have been able to make a bigger dent into the Cyano Algae than I ever was ever able to without using other additives. Even when using Algae Fix, which I think is another good product when used correctly, it took me much longer to get the same results that I am showing today. Not to mention, with my parameter issues, the Algae Fix was not showing any signs of Cyano evacuation.
If I was to try to quantify the percentage of Cyano change in the aquarium, I would feel save in saying there has been about a 40% reduction in the amount of Cyano throughout the entire tank. One thing I have noticed, there is small batches of Cyano that have seem to intensified or become more of an organized mass. It seems like it may be trying to strength itself to maintain it's position in certain locations, as if to make a last stand. So I will be monitoring those areas over the next couple weeks to see what happens. Otherwise the rest of the Cyano population in the tank is thinning out and turning Gray like kkil4life indicated it would.
One other item I would like to share, just as some what a third party only slight biased opinion, my wife made a comment about the tank yesterday. She knows that I have working on this project, but really could not care less, but she did make a comment that the Tank was looking a lot better. So I feel for her to make this comment, you know something is improving!
A quick comment on the livestock. I have not seen any changes in behavior, and since adding the reactor, I have gone back to feeding the tank a little heavier (I notice some weight loss on some fish). So it seems like all the livestock is very happy with no problems. All corals have experienced no change, although the Cyano has done a number on the GSP. I did not think anything could kill GSP, well I was wrong. Hopefully the Cyano will be 100% evacuated from the system and the GSP will grow back.
Path forward:
I plan on doing a water change this weekend, just to try and get some of the dead stuff out of the water column, as I do not run a filter sock. Otherwise I will be keeping to the MB7 manufactures recommendation of adding daily doses for the initial 2 weeks.
I hope this is helping some of the others thinking about trying this Rice Experiment out.
