OK! Enough chat...Starting a 1000g+ Reef
- Thread starter JohnL
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jnarowe
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Mr. Wirth brought to my attention today that I have not been posting lately...so just a quick update:
alkalinity is stabilized and again an ongoing lesson for me is to not let my guard down. I think that among many things that conspired to throw it out of whack, not keeping up on the kalk reactor itself may have played a key role.
I was checking out the other day and something Steve Weast said to me one time suddenly pushed to the frontal lobe. He had said that I can judge the quality of my kalk powder by the residue it leaves. And I had realized that my reactor was no longer clear, but had residue inside as well as a significant amount of brownish powder which he had characterized as residue.
So I completely cleaned out the reactor and added new kalk powder, and whammo, the system started running correctly.
Fish look great and I have a LOT of cool coral frags I am very happy about. I have been battling some sort of issue with my clams, and unfortunately lost a crocea a couple of days ago. I knew it would happen as it had not looked up to par in more than a month. While it is very difficult to pin down the cause, I believ it was a combo of alkalinity swings and low pH. My fingers are crossed that the rest make it through. This is the second clam I hav elost in the two years my system has been running, and it bums me out quite a bit. I have also noticed a dramitically slower growth in the croceas compared to my other clams.
I spent quite a while on the phone with Paul from OM today. He has a very strong knowlege base on practical reef keeping and an admirable understanding of flow dynamics. While I have not been a fan of the OM product line, I do feel there may be some value in it for my next tank. And that's not a slam on him or his products in any way. The quality of the OM line and their customer service is top-notch, but I have always leaned toward less moving parts in my tank building philosophy.
I have been very busy lately and hence the lack of posting, but you all know where my heart is! I will be making a top-down box (unless someone can sell me one with abotom lip) and taking some pics later this month. I have some sweet corals to share!
I hope everyone is well and enjoying their reefs!
alkalinity is stabilized and again an ongoing lesson for me is to not let my guard down. I think that among many things that conspired to throw it out of whack, not keeping up on the kalk reactor itself may have played a key role.
I was checking out the other day and something Steve Weast said to me one time suddenly pushed to the frontal lobe. He had said that I can judge the quality of my kalk powder by the residue it leaves. And I had realized that my reactor was no longer clear, but had residue inside as well as a significant amount of brownish powder which he had characterized as residue.
So I completely cleaned out the reactor and added new kalk powder, and whammo, the system started running correctly.
Fish look great and I have a LOT of cool coral frags I am very happy about. I have been battling some sort of issue with my clams, and unfortunately lost a crocea a couple of days ago. I knew it would happen as it had not looked up to par in more than a month. While it is very difficult to pin down the cause, I believ it was a combo of alkalinity swings and low pH. My fingers are crossed that the rest make it through. This is the second clam I hav elost in the two years my system has been running, and it bums me out quite a bit. I have also noticed a dramitically slower growth in the croceas compared to my other clams.
I spent quite a while on the phone with Paul from OM today. He has a very strong knowlege base on practical reef keeping and an admirable understanding of flow dynamics. While I have not been a fan of the OM product line, I do feel there may be some value in it for my next tank. And that's not a slam on him or his products in any way. The quality of the OM line and their customer service is top-notch, but I have always leaned toward less moving parts in my tank building philosophy.
I have been very busy lately and hence the lack of posting, but you all know where my heart is! I will be making a top-down box (unless someone can sell me one with abotom lip) and taking some pics later this month. I have some sweet corals to share!
I hope everyone is well and enjoying their reefs!
PaPa_Johnny
Premium Member
Thanks for the update Jonathan. Of course pictures are always nice! Hopefully you have sorted out the problem with the clams by stabilizing the parameters. Are you any closer to a decision on your upgrade yet? I don't doubt your next one will be bigger and better than this one.
Bax
Premium Member
I just had a maxima die. It's been in my system for 2 years and has struggled since acclimation. It would look really great now and again but it would back slide and look crappy fro while, then perk back up again. I belive it came in with something ( not a parasite) perhaps a bacterial infection and has strugged from day one FW dips seemed to bring it back, but not this time.
The short of is, clams fall into the category of; some are doomed the day you pick them up and it's just a matter of time.
Sorry for the losses, and I am looking forward to you getting a top down box, it will be impossible for you to resist posting picks once you have one
The short of is, clams fall into the category of; some are doomed the day you pick them up and it's just a matter of time.
Sorry for the losses, and I am looking forward to you getting a top down box, it will be impossible for you to resist posting picks once you have one
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