Noah's Ark (265 gallon DT + 80 gallon FT)

J

jm23

New member
Well just like Noah I had a great flood, ie AEFW, high nitrates, and Ich. So, I saved what coral I could and started over with new rock and new sand and put all my corals into a QT. I soaked my tanks in vinegar (I think it took 14 gallons from Sam's Club to get the coralline algae to come off) and scrubbed them clean.
13232221283_574a284cca_c.jpg


13232223273_dcf8ca0a4b_c.jpg


All the corals were dipped in Coral RX, Revive, and Bayer (depending on the type of coral) once a week for three weeks. The SPS got a couple extra dips to make sure no AEFW was left. I ordered my rock from reefcleaners and I must say that it is the cleanest dry rock available, I never had an algae outbreak like the last time I started with used dry rock.

All my fish were put into a QT and I used the Tank Transfer Method (TTM) to get rid of the Ich. Of course right before I tore the tank down to restart I walked into Reefwise for the first time, big mistake, as I walked out with a pair of Potters Angelfish.
13232220623_0f68d977c0_c.jpg


All the coral are back in the DT and FT now and adjusting fine. Thanks to Adam at Battlecorals, my tank is again fully stocked with SPS (pictures to come as they color back up from being dipped and placed in a new tank).

Hopefully this restart will solve the issues I faced before and my tank will thrive. I will post some more pictures of some upgrades I made and the corals as they color back up in the coming weeks.
 
Here is an updated FTS (I really need to figure out how to stitch together a panorama for a better quality pic):
13232965975_c87a25d8f9_c.jpg


13232978635_5f2eec3df2_c.jpg


13233306774_ce4f997b09_c.jpg


13233300894_f59f625b0e_c.jpg
 
Here is a couple photos of the RapidLED solderless kit:

13347159184_f342a74423_c.jpg


13346915453_769b80c7b0_c.jpg


I am replacing the red and green with UV and I am taking out 24 Cool White LEDs from the three fixtures and replacing them with 12 Warm White and 12 Neutral White LEDs. I found the Neutral and Warm White don't add too much of a yellow look to the tank and the coloration my corals get in my FT underneath the 1:1:1 (CW:WW:NW) is much better then all CW. I am curious about the UV and whether it will truly help with coral coloration, but as I am adding NW and WW, I no longer really need the Green or Red as those aspects of the spectrum are in the WW and NW LEDs.
 
Well based off an article I read about the lighting intensity depending on solar elevation, I am going to try a new schedule and see how it goes. Here is the graph in that lengthy article showing how when the sun hits the water just before midday and right after midday that is reflects approximately 50% of the intensity:

image_full


So here is my new Apex Schedule (I have 4 channels, the ramp up times are staggered a little starting with Royal Blue, then Blue/UV, the Whites):

(Royal Blue Schedule)
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 13:00 to 14:00 Then PF7 (10%)
If Time 14:00 to 17:00 Then PF8 (10-55%)
If Time 17:00 to 19:00 Then PF9 (55%)
If Time 19:00 to 20:00 Then PF10 (27%)
If Time 20:00 to 22:00 Then PF9 (55%)
If Time 22:00 to 23:00 Then PF10 (27%)
If Time 23:00 to 01:00 Then PF9 (55%)
If Time 01:00 to 04:00 Then PF11 (55-10%)
If Time 04:00 to 06:00 Then PF13 (10%)
If Time 06:00 to 13:00 Then OFF

(Blue/UV)
Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 13:30 to 14:00 Then PF1 (10%)
If Time 14:00 to 17:00 Then PF2 (10-100%)
If Time 17:00 to 19:00 Then PF3 (100%)
If Time 19:00 to 20:00 Then PF4 (50%)
If Time 20:00 to 22:00 Then PF3 (100%)
If Time 22:00 to 23:00 Then PF4 (50%)
If Time 23:00 to 01:00 Then PF3 (100%)
If Time 01:00 to 04:00 Then PF5 (100-10%)
If Time 04:00 to 13:00 Then OFF

Fallback OFF
Set OFF
If Time 13:30 to 14:00 Then PF13 (10%)
If Time 14:00 to 17:00 Then PF14 (10-15%, will be working up to 25% or a little higher over the next month)
If Time 17:00 to 19:00 Then PF15 (15%)
If Time 19:00 to 20:00 Then PF16 (10%)
If Time 20:00 to 22:00 Then PF15 (15%)
If Time 22:00 to 23:00 Then PF16 (10%)
If Time 23:00 to 01:00 Then PF15 (15%)
If Time 01:00 to 13:00 Then OFF


***Anything in () is not in my Apex code. Also my Blue/UV drivers are run at 50% of what the Royal Blue and Whites are run at, thus the higher %.

As the tank is restarting, I will only have my memory of how the corals reacted before the restart to compare them with the new schedule. I also recall something about light saturation in some articles about how corals can only absorb so much light until they can't utilize anymore and I wonder if varying the intensity with help the corals utilize more light over the course of the day. Obviously it will take awhile to observe an results, but I will update this thread when I see any changes.
 
Turned the camera on manual mode and was able to get some better shots, but still need to work on focal plane and iso issues.
13399598663_f613af8a8b_c.jpg


13399472015_bb48614c4f_c.jpg


13399472785_06c82f5601_c.jpg


13399475015_772d6b9c3f_c.jpg
 
Oh, and I finally figured out how hydroids got introduced to my tank:

13399835134_a3aff0702d_c.jpg


Thankfully they are starting to go away on their own, but they did kill off a few heads of my candy cane coral.
 
In my experience hydroids tend to disappear with low nutrient good quality water.
I like your signature!!
 
Oldude said:
In my experience hydroids tend to disappear with low nutrient good quality water.
I like your signature!!
Click to expand...

Thanks, yeah they have already subsided significantly.

dinger28 said:
Incredible!!!! Are all of those frags in your frag tank from your own colonies? Looks amazing!
Click to expand...

Thanks. Those frags are the result of me tearing the old colonies off the rock to quarantine them. Sadly I lost 90% of my SPS due to AEFW and high nitrates (which I wasn't monitoring), so I decided to restart. Now the waiting game begins to watch the new frags grow.
 
Well the macro lens came today and here are a few practice shots. It was not as easy as I thought it would be to use, I was shooting at a really high ISO so they are kind of grainy. Any tips from those who have used them on a reef tank?

13590320745_104b81f9a3_c.jpg


13590356123_c4bd6af861_c.jpg


13590313085_dd8351a91b_c.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K
SPS Pest?!
Replies
10
Views
956
griss
griss
D
Coral beauty Sick - how do i treat
Replies
3
Views
1K
leebca
L
R
Getting back into the hobby.
Replies
3
Views
3K
Cjs305510
C
W
Cycling new Tank
Replies
2
Views
3K
C.Eymann
C.Eymann
T
Help copper!
Replies
9
Views
841
tmccaffery
T
Back
Top