Zeovit

[gotbags-10]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12433895#post12433895 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Zedar
I DIYed mine.

http://www.randystacye.com/diy_needle_wheel_skimmer.htm

But mines the recirc version. So its probably rated for more then 135 gallons. i also used clear PVC

Zedar, how is that skimmer working out for you? I'm getting ready to build the same one using the recirculating version for my new tank. Which pump are you using on yours if you don't mind me asking and does it perform well. Randy said one of the only things he would change is to use a 3" opening at the top of the neck instead of the 2".

 

[sailfintang]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12436212#post12436212 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by madadi
sailfin are you still using stability and VSV with does?

Well I had stopped once things started keelnig over but now there is only a pair of gold maroons and they are mean as hell always attacking me and anyine else i add to the tank so I am back on the v/s/v dosing and the stability. Why do you ask. I am probably doing more than I should but at this point whats it really matter... i may be moving ion 6 months to a year so I gues the die off could not have come at a better time, just found out about the moving thing tonight so we wil lsee where i go from here.

 

[madadi]

my corals really didn't like the VSV mix i dont know if i was going too fast or what but got a lot of STN at the base, some at the tips. nothing 100% dead yet though. someone told me to stop treating my reef tank like a science project and just stick to the basics. thats hard for me to do because i have no patience lol
kind of got a bit crazy with the feeding when i started the vsv because corals got really light. all i got out of it is stressed corals and a bunch of algae. i think ill slow down for a while and let everything recover.

 

[sailfintang]

Well I also changed my sand bed and I think the release of those toxins and adding the new bed was just too much for everything. How much v/s/v are you dosing? Are you using any Amino Acids for the corals? I had no issues with Pe while dosing the v/s/v or stability, I noticed the algae was receding but like you I think I went to fast to quic kand it cost me greatly, but after the initial shock and epression wore off I decided to go again. As for the science project thats exactly what a reef tank is it is a constant science project we are always tinkering and trying new things, new supplements, new carbon, new skimmers....etc Thats waht makes the hobby great. If anyhting what we need to do is run a second tank for these experients; if I only had the room and money to do so.

 

[glassbox-design]

Madadi,

What's your alk at...are you at NSW params? If not, that would explain the STN. FWIW, we did not have good results with Rod's + Carbon dosing. It messes with N too much and threw things off.

Let things settle and stabilize before making any changes. Otherwise you cannot tell what is effecting what. Observation is the most under emphasized aspect of the hobby.

 

[tgcreef]

so if im lookin to have a full blown zeo reef wat do i need and does anoyone have any pre and post zeo pics

 

[Canarygirl]

FWIW, we did not have good results with Rod's + Carbon dosing. It messes with N too much and threw things off.

Hey, E&F, would you talk more about this? What do you mean by it "messing with the N too much?" I feed Rod's Food almost daily and I wonder if I'm making things more difficult by doing that.

 

[PSam]

Feeding Rod's daily & trying to get very low nutrients is like that old problem of the snail in the well, for every 3 feet up, and slides 2 back down... good food & jmo, but daily is a lot of fatty and oil going in... i'll also venture to bet there's quite bit of the smaller particles not being eaten in the avg. sps tank..

 

[madadi]

thanks for the advice.

so what should i feed if i decide to continue with the carbon dosing?
i just got a zoalith reactor built because the matrix was not working well in the little TLF reactor. i couldn't shake it well. so now id like to start with the VSV back up slowly after the corals recover

ALK is around 9-10 calcium 420. mag 1500

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12436744#post12436744 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by glassbox-design
Madadi,

What's your alk at...are you at NSW params? If not, that would explain the STN. FWIW, we did not have good results with Rod's + Carbon dosing. It messes with N too much and threw things off.

Let things settle and stabilize before making any changes. Otherwise you cannot tell what is effecting what. Observation is the most under emphasized aspect of the hobby.

 

[glassbox-design]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12436897#post12436897 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Canarygirl
Hey, E&F, would you talk more about this? What do you mean by it "messing with the N too much?" I feed Rod's Food almost daily and I wonder if I'm making things more difficult by doing that.

Psam hit it on the head. IME it shuts the skimmer down for 4+hrs, that alone is reducing bacteria export significantly. Much of the food goes uneaten and pollutes the tank... and it always threw our tank out of sync. I wanted to feed it because of the great reviews but it's not for us.

I wouldn't feed it more than once a week, and I'd venture a guess it's contributing to your problems.

Madadi,
Keep Cal@ 420ppm, but slowly drop your alk level to 7-8dkh. That is likely the cause of your STN problems.

 

[ooja3k]

Wow...
Just got done reading through this whole thread! Lots of great info here!!!

I have a couple questions for you guys.

I have a 30gal long with a 10gal sump. Total water volume is about 34-35 gallons. The tank began last august as a zoanthid/softie tank with a basic Nova Extreme T-5 lighting fixture...

Since the new year, I have become fascinated with sps corals. I removed almost all of the softies (left a couple zooanthid colonies) and tried some basic monti caps and digis with this Nova fixture, placing them up high in the rockwork.. These colonies survived for a while, growing well, but eventually lost all their color (faded to a dull gray, thinning tissue) and eventually got covered with a jelly like substance and was pronounced dead... This happened to numerous monti colonies that I added to the tank, and each would last roughly 2 weeks. I originally wrote off these deaths to a poor lighting fixture and fluctuating alk levels.

2 months ago, I purchased an Aquamedic dual dosing pump system. This has been dosing b-ionic for me automatically and has kept my levels at a very constant 9dkh and 440ppm.

1 month ago, I decided that the issue might be my poor lighting. I purchased a new Aquactinics TX5 unit. I have a nice mixture of bulbs, all with a high PAR output. So now I can cancel out lighting and fluctuating alk levels as reasons for SPS demise...

So about 2 weeks ago, I went out and purchased a new green/purple rim monti cap. it showed great PE and growth for the first week. The growth has continued, but its color and PE is starting to fade...

I created a thread discussing this "starving" of my sps colonies. It was decided that my system is a lns/ulns. Between running a skimmer rated for twice my water volume, and running polyfilter 24/7, i was stripping literally everything from the water, and the corals were starving... And to top it off, I barely fed my fish. I would feed them frozen mysis/brine and mix in some pellets once per day.. Some weekends I would be away from the tank, so there were days that the tank would not be fed at all.

So....

I have removed the polyfilter and begun feeding my fish more. A week ago, I received some zeo AA's and began dosing 1-2 drops per day. (1drop/25gals daily and i have 35 gallons...) I am starting to think that the reason for the montis demise could be a low potassium level... Could this be?? I ordered the iherb KCL powder and hope to begin dosing SLOWLY soon... The reason I feel it might be a potassium issue is because a week ago I purchase a small green acro frag, and a pink/yellow polyps acro frag, and both are still colored up and doing great! (Knock on wood). Its only the monti that has begun to lose color/PE. Sounds like a potassium issue??

I would love input and ideas from you guys...

Here are my water parameters for reference:

Temp - 79
PH 8.1-8.3
Calc - 440
Alk - 9dkh
Mg - 1350
trate - 0
po4 - don't have a test kit to go low enough... but im guessing near 0.

I do weekly 10% wc's with reef crystals which has been known to be K-deficient.

 

[ooja3k]

Wow... That was way longer than I intended for it to be. My apologies... But help would be great!!

Also, here are some pics of my current monti cap andd the growth/color/PE changes that have taken place in the last 2 weeks.

2 weeks ago:

Today:

Same camera settings btw.

 

[ooja3k]

Do these pictures show a potential potassium difficiency?? The symptoms almost exactly match those described within the zeo guide.

Before:

3-4 weeks later:

Before:

3-4 weeks later:

Both the corals pictured above were pronounced dead a couple days after those pictures were taken. I fear that the green monti in the post above is headed down the same road. I hope the addition of the potassium will help!

As far as dosing it, it will arrive on thrusday. For a smaller tank such as mine, how much/how often would you recommend dosing it?

Thanks again!



Sorry for all the pics...

 

[Zedar]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12436267#post12436267 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gotbags-10
Zedar, how is that skimmer working out for you? I'm getting ready to build the same one using the recirculating version for my new tank. Which pump are you using on yours if you don't mind me asking and does it perform well. Randy said one of the only things he would change is to use a 3" opening at the top of the neck instead of the 2".

It's a great skimmer. When I first started dosing vodka, it would pull 1/2, sometimes 3/4 of a cup a day. The clear PVC isnt as clear as acrylic but you can still see the foam production. It produces a dense chamber of fine foam.
Im using the Gen-X 2400 mesh mod.

I run it outside the sump. So I glued an acrylic bottom on. That makes it tough to clean. Thats my only complain about this skimmer.

I'm sure a larger neck would increase the efficiency. The only problem would be what to use ? You would have to DIY it.

 

[Zedar]

yes that looks like a K deficiency. Almost all tanks are K deficient due to salt mixes being low in K. What salt Are you using?

The other question is what are you feeding them?

 

[ooja3k]

alright, this morning there is no PE on the monti cap. I mixed up a batch of sw yesterday and will do a 10% wc today. I am using reef crystals which is known to have a low k level. I supplemented the fresh sw with a trace element additive that has 36mg/oz of potassium. I know its not much, but hopefully it will help the monti until the potassium chloride arrives tomorrow...

Wish me luck!

 

[sailfintang]

As for the K Cl we were dosing between 2 and 3 tblspoons a day mixed with ro/di water or dripped into the tank slowly. Make sure you add it to a high flow area, I recenlty went through 2 bottles and I think the K level is on now so I jsut use the warner marine k to keep it stable for now.

 

[ooja3k]

alright, when it arrives, i will mix 1 table spoon in a glass of ro/di and add that slowly to the tank... an hour or so later, i will repeat.

is this a good plan of attack?? would you recommend not dosing more than 1-2 tablespoons per day? i do only have a 30 gal tank...

 

[miwoodar]

Zedar, Sailfin - are you two using a potassium test kit? What are your potassium values?

 

[sailfintang]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12440071#post12440071 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ooja3k
alright, when it arrives, i will mix 1 table spoon in a glass of ro/di and add that slowly to the tank... an hour or so later, i will repeat.

is this a good plan of attack?? would you recommend not dosing more than 1-2 tablespoons per day? i do only have a 30 gal tank...

You should then only do maybe one tblsp a day then forgot your running a smaller tank, do this for a week probably and slowly increase to maybe 1.5 tbl sp the following week.