zachxlutz
New member
There certainly is! It's all about mitigating issues and setting the system up for success.
Zach's 120 Gallon Reef Resurgence
- Thread starter zachxlutz
- Start date
There certainly is! It's all about mitigating issues and setting the system up for success.
zachxlutz
New member
Does your system have a "copepod reactor"? Mine does!
I haven't been running any GFO in this reactor, but it's been kept online with water slowly flowing through it and it's filled to the brim with copepods! It pulls from the manifold leaving the return and dumps back into the refugium... Really neat to see!
I haven't been running any GFO in this reactor, but it's been kept online with water slowly flowing through it and it's filled to the brim with copepods! It pulls from the manifold leaving the return and dumps back into the refugium... Really neat to see!
Cool beans! You're turning the corner and you've bounced back nicely. Awesome job!
BigDave
Premium Member
That copapod reactor is pretty sweet. I have a spare reactor and thought about doing something similar. I wasn't sure if I needed anything else in there, but it doesn't look like it.
Do the copepods ever make it through the foam and back to the tank? I was thinking of removing the foam too.
Do the copepods ever make it through the foam and back to the tank? I was thinking of removing the foam too.
zachxlutz
New member
I'm pretty happy with where the tank is heading, currently. I hope to pick up some new coral soon to fill in some more of the bare spots on the rock structure. It's still way too bare for my likings.
Honestly, I didn't do this on purpose and I'm sure some of them make it through the filter pad and back into the refugium... If I was doing it on purpose, I'd run the reactor line back up into the display and see if I couldn't provide a steady stream of copepods to the display. There are SO many amphipods and copepods and all sorts of zooplankton living in the refugium and the display, I think these guys just found a safe haven and are enjoying the reprieve from being hunted by my leopard wrasses.
reefmutt
Active member
Does your system have a "copepod reactor"? Mine does!
I haven't been running any GFO in this reactor, but it's been kept online with water slowly flowing through it and it's filled to the brim with copepods! It pulls from the manifold leaving the return and dumps back into the refugium... Really neat to see!
Oh man!!! That is so cool! I want one of those!!! It's so full. My pods never came back so well after dosing interceptor.. I'll have to add some new live rock to my system and try to replenish some microfauna..
zachxlutz
New member
I've been adding live phytoplankton daily. I also topped up with two of the 5280 pods packs from algae barn a few weeks back. I'm sure that has something to do with the proliferate amount of pods swimming around.
Z'up zach?
zachxlutz
New member
FTS 01/21/2018:
Things are going great.
Fish are happy.
Coral are growing like wildfire.
Here's a few updates.
I just replaced the T5 bulbs after 12 months and wow... I can't believe how "dull" the old bulbs had gotten. I didn't do a formal PAR test but the fluorescence of the coral and overall look of the tank seems to be greatly improved by swapping out the bulbs for new ones. The old bulbs were definitely worn out, I'll be replacing on a 9 month schedule going forward.
Ostreopsis dinos are a thing of the past, but I still get a bit of the large cell amphidium on the sandbed. The watchman goby does a great job of keeping the sandbed clean on some days and on others not so much. It's strange. Some days it'll look like they're completely gone and some days they'll pop up around the perimeter of the live rock and coral and dust the open areas. I'm considering adding a big handful of Nassarius snails to help keep the sandbed turned over. As a matter of fact, I need to up the snail population of the tank for several things.
I'm dealing with a bit of a cyano outbreak. Rather than treat with chemical means, I'm just blowing it off the rocks and continuing with water changes and keeping the water chemistry as stable as possible. I'm hoping it will subside with time and stability. I've heard of cyano popping up when T5 bulbs have gone past their prime, so maybe with the new bulbs I'll catch a break.
The only thing I'm dosing currently is Alkalinity and Calcium at the rate of 85 ml a day, which equals a consumption rate of .85 dkh and 5.935 ppm. I'll dose up NO3 and PO4 as needed but that's only been once every 2 weeks or so. I'm considering starting back up a bit of live phyto dosing but I haven't made up my mind yet. Things are going good enough that I'm not sure I need to make any changes.
Feather caulerpa has taken over the refugium and completely starved out the chaeto and other macros I had in there. It's fine, the whole goal is nutrient consumption and it seems to work... I'm still having to dose nitrate and phosphate on occasion. I'd rather have to dose occasionally than worry about high nutrients causing problems.
I have a few upgrades planned for the near future. I scored a Neptune DOS unit for AWCs and a new Trigger Systems Triton44 sump from BRS during the Black Friday sales. I'm going to run the plumbing for the DOS auto water change setup from the mixing station in the garage, through the crawlspace and up behind the tank... Not looking forward to crawling around under my house. I'll hopefully be installing the new sump in the next few weeks. I'll have to change up the drain plumbing a bit... That's the step I'm looking forward to the least.
Things are going great.
Fish are happy.
Coral are growing like wildfire.
Here's a few updates.
I just replaced the T5 bulbs after 12 months and wow... I can't believe how "dull" the old bulbs had gotten. I didn't do a formal PAR test but the fluorescence of the coral and overall look of the tank seems to be greatly improved by swapping out the bulbs for new ones. The old bulbs were definitely worn out, I'll be replacing on a 9 month schedule going forward.
Ostreopsis dinos are a thing of the past, but I still get a bit of the large cell amphidium on the sandbed. The watchman goby does a great job of keeping the sandbed clean on some days and on others not so much. It's strange. Some days it'll look like they're completely gone and some days they'll pop up around the perimeter of the live rock and coral and dust the open areas. I'm considering adding a big handful of Nassarius snails to help keep the sandbed turned over. As a matter of fact, I need to up the snail population of the tank for several things.
I'm dealing with a bit of a cyano outbreak. Rather than treat with chemical means, I'm just blowing it off the rocks and continuing with water changes and keeping the water chemistry as stable as possible. I'm hoping it will subside with time and stability. I've heard of cyano popping up when T5 bulbs have gone past their prime, so maybe with the new bulbs I'll catch a break.
The only thing I'm dosing currently is Alkalinity and Calcium at the rate of 85 ml a day, which equals a consumption rate of .85 dkh and 5.935 ppm. I'll dose up NO3 and PO4 as needed but that's only been once every 2 weeks or so. I'm considering starting back up a bit of live phyto dosing but I haven't made up my mind yet. Things are going good enough that I'm not sure I need to make any changes.
Feather caulerpa has taken over the refugium and completely starved out the chaeto and other macros I had in there. It's fine, the whole goal is nutrient consumption and it seems to work... I'm still having to dose nitrate and phosphate on occasion. I'd rather have to dose occasionally than worry about high nutrients causing problems.
I have a few upgrades planned for the near future. I scored a Neptune DOS unit for AWCs and a new Trigger Systems Triton44 sump from BRS during the Black Friday sales. I'm going to run the plumbing for the DOS auto water change setup from the mixing station in the garage, through the crawlspace and up behind the tank... Not looking forward to crawling around under my house. I'll hopefully be installing the new sump in the next few weeks. I'll have to change up the drain plumbing a bit... That's the step I'm looking forward to the least.
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Great to see you back, Zach! From what I can tell, the tank looks great. The pics are HUMONGOUS! Some are twice as wide as my 27" screen. Glad to hear things are well!
zachxlutz
New member
Hey Michael! The tank has really been an autopilot and I've been enjoying it. The tank is looking great, despite a few minor annoyances. I've edited down the photos, should be a bit easier on the eyes now. Would you mind letting me know if they look better on your end?
I'll go check your thread, as well... How's the tank?
Hey Zach! Yep, that's better. They fit on my screen now and look great!
They still might be too big for phones though. I usually try to keep my pics between 600-1000 pixels wide at 72 dpi. Whenever I post pics wider than about 800, I get complaints that the pics don't show up on phones.
My tank's a mess! I'm just about to break it down and reboot.
They still might be too big for phones though. I usually try to keep my pics between 600-1000 pixels wide at 72 dpi. Whenever I post pics wider than about 800, I get complaints that the pics don't show up on phones.
My tank's a mess! I'm just about to break it down and reboot.
zachxlutz
New member
BigDave
Premium Member
Not as well as yours. My GSP and some of my mushrooms are growing, but I haven't had the funds to add any other corals.
It's very weird... when my GSP is doing well, the Zoa's don't and vice versa.
My Engineering Goby is getting quite large. He's fun to watch. And I added a sand sifting starfish that's doing a great job of keeping the sand turned over.
My top off pump recently died, so I replaced it with an aqua lifter. It takes longer to top off when it comes on, but it's quieter.
For the most part, it's just been normal maintenance.
Oh. I did finally get a 'flipper' for cleaning the glass. I was getting corraline growing on it that I couldn't clean off with the mag-float. The flipper does an awesome job of scraping it off.
It's very weird... when my GSP is doing well, the Zoa's don't and vice versa.
My Engineering Goby is getting quite large. He's fun to watch. And I added a sand sifting starfish that's doing a great job of keeping the sand turned over.
My top off pump recently died, so I replaced it with an aqua lifter. It takes longer to top off when it comes on, but it's quieter.
For the most part, it's just been normal maintenance.
Oh. I did finally get a 'flipper' for cleaning the glass. I was getting corraline growing on it that I couldn't clean off with the mag-float. The flipper does an awesome job of scraping it off.
zachxlutz
New member
It sounds like things are moving along... I just checked your thread.
Curious as to why some of your coral will do well and vice versa. Are your parameters staying stable?
I used an aqualifter for a long time as my ATO pump. I didn't mind the slow speed of it.
That flipper is a heck of a tool isn't it! I never have to clean the glass with anything but that one tool! I hate putting my hands in the water so it's just about the perfect tool. Once I learned the trick for flipping it effectively, it really became my favorite tank tool.
