SkullV's 40 Breeder SPS Reef
- Thread starter SkullV
- Start date
SkullV
They Got My Number
Thanks guys! The Aquaforest changeover seemed to go really well too. Not sure if it had anything to do with it, but the SSC did RTN last night. I think I might just bite the bullet and order one of the original Unique Corals pieces. Hopefully i can find someone who doesn't want an arm and a leg for a booger sized frag, but it is what it is!
Also, played with the camera a bit tonight and came up with this:
https://youtu.be/Un2EfanGHts
Last edited:
milsaltnewbie07
New member
Very very nice. How so do have those gyres so close to the surface, without having a ton ov microbubbles sucked in?. Mine created a vortex, and spit a ton of bubbles when it was that close
SkullV
They Got My Number
Thanks guys! As far as the Gyres, I would guess it has something to do with the fact that I run them at a max of 45% but probably also has to do with the angle of the cages. Unfortunately there is no way to know for sure. I will also note, that it is a huge pain to get them back exactly how I want them after cleaning (somewhat often) but my coral loves the type of flow so they are worth it.
Just a couple updates on the tank too. Finally did a full battery of tests (well mostly full) today and came up with the following:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate: (see below)
Phosphate: (see below)
Calcium: 440ppm
Alkalinity: 8.6dkH
Magnesium: 1500ppm (slowly coming down with water changes over time from 1800+)
Here is where the results are somewhat perplexing. I have absolutely zero nuisance algae in my tank, coral color is great, I feed VERY heavy, and this is what I have for nitrate and phosphate:
If I had to guess my nitrate is actually lower (running biopellets and 2L Matrix) based on this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2480664
I'm going to stop by the LFS today and use one of their test kits to compare.
Also added a couple new "frags" from a local guy.
HUGE chunk of Strawberry Shortcake. This is actually 5 pieces glued back together and glued to the rock. His colony is so huge and the table is so tight that it was impossible to just get a single frag. This is about 10 minutes after being glued and placed in the tank:
Guaranteed real ORA Pearlberry. It does look different than my other ORA pearlberry (I believe Sahin mentioned this) but the other one had pretty good proof of lineage so who knows. I'm just going to keep both and see what happens with the color on the new one.
FloformAustria
New member
frags looking good!
interesting what the testkit from your LFS will say...
Flo
interesting what the testkit from your LFS will say...
Flo
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
HUGE chunk of Strawberry Shortcake. This is actually 5 pieces glued back together and glued to the rock. His colony is so huge and the table is so tight that it was impossible to just get a single frag. This is about 10 minutes after being glued and placed in the tank:
Guaranteed real ORA Pearlberry. It does look different than my other ORA pearlberry (I believe Sahin mentioned this) but the other one had pretty good proof of lineage so who knows. I'm just going to keep both and see what happens with the color on the new one.
My SSC colony is growing in a very tight cluster...its quite annoying as I cannot make any frags!
This ORA Pearlberry looks 100% genuine and what I remember the true Pearlberry to look like. I wonder if flow has anything to do with it...?
Such a beautiful tankWell, I tried to come up with a catchy name like "A Reef in the Desert" but I believe it's already been done. In any case, figured it was about time I post my SPS tank up here in the SPS forum. My only real build thread is on a local Chicago forum, but I moved across the country last June and don't post over there much other than that thread.
The tank has been up (in this iteration) for about 6 months now but I have had this rock and my female clownfish for several years now. They made the move across the country, along with a few corals and my late cleaner shrimp (R.I.P Pierre), in the cab of my Penske moving truck.
Summary Specs:
- Tank - DIY Drilled Aqueon 40 Breeder with Modular Marine 1200GPH Low Profile Overflow
- Sump - DIY Aqueon 20g Long with custom slotted refugium baffles from Modular Marine.
- Controller - Neptune Apex
- Lighting - DIY T5/LED Hybrid
- In Tank Flow - Maxspect Gyre XF150
- Protein Skimmer - SeaSide Aquatics ES5 Cone
- Return Pump - Jecod DCT 6000
- Dosing - Reefdosingpumps.com Nautilis 2 pump and Seachem Reef Fusion 1/2 additives.
- UV - AquaUV Advantage 2000+ 15w
- Reactor - TLF 150 w/TLF Biopellets
- Refugium Light - DIY Spectrum Ebay Par30 LED
As you can see, I'm pretty hands on with the construction of the tank. I don't like to buy systems off the shelf or used as they always come with limitations. I also like to design my systems to my exact needs and buying someone else's system or an off the shelf system can't provide that.
The tank is a standard Aqueon 40g Breeder. I drilled it myself for a Modular Marine 1200gph low profile overflow. In retrospect I wish I would have gone with a longer internal overflow box and may have him make me one. I also went with 1/2" return outlets in the tank to minimize size inside the tank. The overflow has a beananimal style drain and I couldn't be happier with it's performance and noise level (pure silence).
Like the display, the sump is a standard Aqueon tank. For the sump I went with a 20g long as it is the biggest tank I could fit in the stand. Unfortunately the sump is too large to remove with the tank in place, so once it was in it was in. Luckily, also like the display, I had Modular Marine cut all my baffles out of 1/4" acrylic so they are built to last. The middle two baffles, on either side of the refugium, are slotted with the same CNC machined slots as the overflow. This keeps any larger life from leaving that chamber and getting into the skimmer or return pumps. As a positive side effect, it also does a great job of keeping the cheato in that chamber and not letting stray strands get into the display.
The light is a DIY T5/LED hybrid I built using a Tek light, an actinic supplement kit from RapidLED and some AC Infinity Fan housings. I am currently using 16RB CREE LEDs and 2 CW CREE LEDs along with two ATI Blue +, one ATI Coral +, and one D-D Powerchrome Actinic+. My old RKL is in the second picture, I have since changed to an Apex.
Well that's the basics of the system so here's a FTS:
I know everyone loves pics, and as it happens, I love taking them so I'll post some more when I get home later tonight. Thanks for looking and feel free to comment, question, etc.
Sent from my SM-T800 using Tapatalk
SkullV
They Got My Number
Thanks everyone! Not much new to report. Nitrates continue to rise, and phosphates continue to read 0. At this point all I can come up with is the fact that the tank is "phosphate limited" and the bacteria can't remove any nitrate because there is no phosphate for it to consume. With that "hypothesis" I pulled the GFO today and will be performing a 25% water change.
I will also start dosing some vinegar (along with continuing the use of biopellets) in the hopes that it will help the nitrates start to drop more rapidly. Coral color is now starting to suffer as well as growth. The coral is still "healthy" as far as I can tell but I have had to reduce 2 part dosing to almost nothing so obviously there is no growth going on.
Most interestingly, there is still no algae in the tank and I only have to clean the film off the glass once a week. Very surprising with the supposed nitrate levels in the tank. I will keep everyone posted!
reefmutt
Active member
Well... I'm gonna throw my 3 cents out there.. I hope you don't mind..
If you are indeed p limited- which seems plausible since you are currently using a Carbon source (pellets), adding another Carbon source on top of that (vinegar) is asking for trouble.
Since you are p limited already, I don't think you need another carbon source..
I think that you are making the right decision by removing the gfo. This may allow enough p to come back into the system that the bacteria will be able to begin processing your n and in turn, it may now begin to fall on its own..
If I were you, I'd just make that one change for now - removal of gfo and give the system some time to tell you if you need the vinegar.
You may not need the vinegar at all...
If you are indeed p limited- which seems plausible since you are currently using a Carbon source (pellets), adding another Carbon source on top of that (vinegar) is asking for trouble.
Since you are p limited already, I don't think you need another carbon source..
I think that you are making the right decision by removing the gfo. This may allow enough p to come back into the system that the bacteria will be able to begin processing your n and in turn, it may now begin to fall on its own..
If I were you, I'd just make that one change for now - removal of gfo and give the system some time to tell you if you need the vinegar.
You may not need the vinegar at all...
SkullV
They Got My Number
Seems totally fair. My concern is that the pellets aren't going to be effective at all for several weeks due to lack of bacteria colonization. I'm assuming that the bacteria have been dying off without any phosphate to consume.
I'll definitely hold off on the vinegar until next weeks nitrate test though. Thanks!
reefmutt
Active member
No probs..
Not sure that's accurate.. The bacteria are there but just not flourishing.. The minute they get some p, they should become active..
But that's why it's a good idea to take it a bit slow with Carbon and bacteria populations..
This is just my understanding and experience with Carbon dosing...
Not sure that's accurate.. The bacteria are there but just not flourishing.. The minute they get some p, they should become active..
But that's why it's a good idea to take it a bit slow with Carbon and bacteria populations..
This is just my understanding and experience with Carbon dosing...
HuskerBioProf
New member
Everything looks great. How do you like the gyre? I was thinking about getting two opposing (alternating) 130s for my SPS 40 breeder.
Gotzegot28
New member
Thats one beautifull reef. How long did it take you to get corals that large?
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
High nitrates cause phosphates to diminish. I started dosing nitrates as I was reading 0 forever and .045 Phos -- Once my Nitrate hit 2.5 phos was 0. This is a phenominon noted by all nitrate dosers.
My theory is the nitrate dosing increases the corals ability to uptake nutrients like phosophate and nitrites, which is why a lot of ULNS converts are seeing color improvements.
My theory is the nitrate dosing increases the corals ability to uptake nutrients like phosophate and nitrites, which is why a lot of ULNS converts are seeing color improvements.
reefmutt
Active member
My understanding is that nitrate dosing will only help to reduce po4 when a system was originally nitrate limited.
The nutrient reducing bacteria will become stalled when starved for either po4 or no3 and stop reducing nutrients in general.
Often, reefs that have 0 n have trouble controlling p because the bacteria are starved and not growing properly, but once you give them a bit of n, they start flourishing again and begin reducing both n and p..
The reverse is also true.
Check out the 'dosing nitrate to reduce phosphate' thread in the chemistry (or maybe advanced topics) forum. It's a fascinating (if sometimes a bit tedious) read.
The nutrient reducing bacteria will become stalled when starved for either po4 or no3 and stop reducing nutrients in general.
Often, reefs that have 0 n have trouble controlling p because the bacteria are starved and not growing properly, but once you give them a bit of n, they start flourishing again and begin reducing both n and p..
The reverse is also true.
Check out the 'dosing nitrate to reduce phosphate' thread in the chemistry (or maybe advanced topics) forum. It's a fascinating (if sometimes a bit tedious) read.
