North Ridgeville Reef 72x36x24 eurobraced

[dowtish]

I think the montis can be fairly sensitive to salinity swings.

I highly suggest getting a hanna phosphate checker. About as accurate as you can get on a hobby level test kit. and they are really easy to use.

 

[lowman31]

Dowtish, I thought about getting one but figured that even if they measure 0, I could still have a phosphate problem. What do you think? Is it worth it to get one?

 

[piper2013]

For what it's worth I was testing 0 phosphate with salifert and bought the Hanna. It read 0.05.

 

[lowman31]

piper2013, were you able to get your phosphates down to 0? If so, what did you do?

 

[dowtish]

I think there is a little bit of play with the results, even with the hanna checker. But you never have zero phosphates, much less do you truly want zero. technically you want to be shooting for 0.03. But I have spoken with Hanna, and they told me at such low levels, you could get a reading that is 0.05 off, up or down. I thought this to be a little sad considering we are trying to test at the lowest range possible. But either way, as much as I feed my tank, I am always wanting to know my phos levels. And still would buy one if I were you.

 

[lowman31]

Here are some pics from yesterday. Polyps are showing great extension!

Red Planet

Pocillopora

Green Acro with purple acro in left foreground

Different green acro

Where I was

 

[piper2013]

piper2013, were you able to get your phosphates down to 0? If so, what did you do?

I am running a nano system right now so bio load isn't too high. 3 fish and 6-8 corals. Using RO/DI water only and perform 10% water change weekly. Maintenance is easier but system is less stable.

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

Your tank is looking better and better.

 

[lowman31]

Piper2013, thank you. I think the best thing to do is good maintenance. I run into problems from sheer laziness.

Newbie Aquarist, thank you. I hope to surpass where I was before soon. I just need to stay patient.

 

[lowman31]

I was away on a trip during Sandy...good for me , bad for my tank. I lost power for about for hours. The good news is that everything restarted when the power came back on. The bad news is I lost an urchin. My corals look good so far but I won't be satisfied until they look good for another week. I did notice a reappearance of hair algae. I think I got pretty lucky but I wish I could have been here to keep the water moving a little. I believe that keeping the water moving to maintain O2 delivery to everything is almost as important as maintaining the temp. I will keep you updated.

Another plan in the works is trading my sohal. He is getting bigger and more aggressive. He is not hurting the other tangs but in his rants he is breaking my sps. I found someone with a 1500 gal tank to take him. I will be sad to see him go but it is time. My tank is no longer big enough for him.

Hopefully no one has any horror stories about their tanks.

 

[lowman31]

Hope everyone's thanksgiving holiday was happy. I had some good beer and good food. My tank is still progressing slowly. The only coral not looking good is my red planet. Not sure what happened but it was rtn'ing and lost about a third of its tissue. It looks like it has stopped and is steady. I moved it to give it a little less flow and more light. It was almost right under an mp 40 at full power. I am not sure if this was an issue but I needed to do something.

Levels in the tank are steady. Nitrates are not dropping yet. I have been dosing vodka but I am increasing the dose extra slow to try and minimize cyano. I have been dosing for about 4 weeks and am up to 5 ml per day.

The sohal tang is gone and the other fish seem more relaxed. I got 5 Bangai cardinals as part of the trade. They are doing well. I also got a birdsnest that is also doing well.

Last but not least I added two 24" all cree royal blue led lights to the tank. I placed them in between the middle ml and the outside lights so they cover the whole middle with blue light. The light is amazing . Great fluorescence. Reminds me of the vho 454 actinic.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is well.

 

[JillNairn]

Read through your thread. Ups and downs. Hope more ups and stable conditions are in your cards for the future.

 

[AiKkz]

Just read ur thread, Tank looks great!