30 Gallon SPS Reef Build
- Thread starter lubeck
- Start date
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
geoj
Active Member
Ok, I mixed up a gal of Red Sea Coral Pro Salt to 35 ppt salinity. The bucket says there should be 390-410 ppm potassium.
It tested using:
Salifert to 420 ppm
Red Sea to 440 ppm
For the Salifert I took the reading from the fist drop that produced a color change when mixed.
For the Red Sea I doubled the batch split it in to two, added .50ml of D to one to bring it to the end point to use as a color reference. The other half I tested as normal. It was still very hard to decide when the end point was reached because the start color was a blue/purple. I figured out how I messed up the last Red Sea test I flipped the scale upside down by reading the amount left in the syringe. What I need to do is figure or count how much was used. .01 ml used is 467ppm and .50ml used is 320ppm.
It tested using:
Salifert to 420 ppm
Red Sea to 440 ppm
For the Salifert I took the reading from the fist drop that produced a color change when mixed.
For the Red Sea I doubled the batch split it in to two, added .50ml of D to one to bring it to the end point to use as a color reference. The other half I tested as normal. It was still very hard to decide when the end point was reached because the start color was a blue/purple. I figured out how I messed up the last Red Sea test I flipped the scale upside down by reading the amount left in the syringe. What I need to do is figure or count how much was used. .01 ml used is 467ppm and .50ml used is 320ppm.
)):
geoj
Active Member
Ok, so when I had the bacterial bloom it clouded the tank reducing the amount of light that reached the corals. When the tank cleared up it happened faster then the corals liked. The Frogspawn, Trumpet Coral and a Brain Coral started to bleach. So I cut back on the light. I will see over the next few days if I have reduce the light enough. Lubeck this may have been part of your issue, as when the corals are browning out because of over feeding on the bacteria the light change makes it worse.
lubeck
Active Member
Your prob right. I don't have pics right now but my corals are continuing to color back up. It's a slow process but Ive seen considerable changes now. The only down side is i still have some hair algae. It has slowed down only because I beefed up my lighting in my fuge for my macros.
lubeck
Active Member
Corals like it dirty? Most of you that have followed along know I've had issues with color in my sps Well I've stopped carbon dosing now for two months now and have seen some good results But let me expand on that. Ever since I stopped dosing I started getting hair algae. I have noticed the last few days that a few of my browned out corals have started showing greenish tints. What really put me over the edge was today when I got home the colors were really starting to pop(they still are not back to "normal"). This morning I turned off the skimmer because it was acting up but feel it may have played a part in the coloration.
I also am a few days behind on my water changes too
The bottom line is th tank is dirty and the corals seem to like it. Why? It goes against everything that is written about keeping the water "clean". It doesn't make sense. Can someone explain it? I'm having a hard time believing that you have to have 0 trates and phos to have corals grow and have good color. For example: I found a new LFS and decided to get a neon green acro. When I got home I tested the LFS water for phos and it 2.00Yeah! Through the roof. When I put it in my tank it took just a few days to loose most of its color and is now dull and bleaching in some areas. My phos is .02 and trates at 5. I think it starved itself even though I have better quality water and still feed my corals.
Anybody have th same experience ? I don't like the look of hair algae so if it wasn't for that I would see how dirty I could get the tank to test the theory of how "clean" corals really need the water to be.
I also am a few days behind on my water changes too
The bottom line is th tank is dirty and the corals seem to like it. Why? It goes against everything that is written about keeping the water "clean". It doesn't make sense. Can someone explain it? I'm having a hard time believing that you have to have 0 trates and phos to have corals grow and have good color. For example: I found a new LFS and decided to get a neon green acro. When I got home I tested the LFS water for phos and it 2.00Yeah! Through the roof. When I put it in my tank it took just a few days to loose most of its color and is now dull and bleaching in some areas. My phos is .02 and trates at 5. I think it starved itself even though I have better quality water and still feed my corals.
Anybody have th same experience ? I don't like the look of hair algae so if it wasn't for that I would see how dirty I could get the tank to test the theory of how "clean" corals really need the water to be.
reefkprz
Active Member
there is a difference between ample food for corals and dirty. There are no fully photosynthetic corals they all need to eat. if your tank is so "clean" that there is no food for them they start to Brown out to try and gain more nutrition from photosynthesis. having proper nutrients and properly sized food particles in your tank as plankton will ensure coral health. they all need to eat. it is one of the reasons I dont run mechanical filtration in my tanks as it tends to trap the smaller micron particulates that feed our corals.
the closest to fully photosynthetic coral would be Xenia and they absorb nutrients from the water column as they are not equipped with any actual feeding apparatus.
and just so you know most corals are carnivorous and p[refer zooplankton (with the exception of gorgonians) some consume bacteria some consume smaller pods and such. but having too "clean" a tank isnt actually optimal for coral growth or color.
spot feedintg anycoral that will accept large foods is a great idea, you can even spot feed other corals with (I know some one is going to flame me for this) the juices from frozen foods, and skimmate. I dont reccomend using skimmate for most people its way to easy to OD and cause algae problems, But I do feed all the juices from my frozen meaty foods to my tank as well as liquid skimmate once a week since the liquid part contains tons of bacteria and micro pods. whereas the solids contain a lot of calcium and fatts and oils and other truly hydrophobic substances.
Warning by keeping ample food in your tank like this you do run the risk of algae problems and you need to slowly build up feeding not suddenly increase or you will experience a serious algae problem. keeping tons of macroagaes can help consume the undesirables from heavy feeding, like phosphate and excess nitrate.
avoid flake foods pellets are ok for your fish but really the best is to either purchase frozen foods or make your own. when making your own you can uber puree them to make super fine batches that provide lots of the juices and micro particles that your corals require.
when feeding suspension foods like the juices your average "capture" for most of your corals is going to be about 2% tyhe rest becomes waste in your tank, so I would advise keeping your skimmer on.
well thats my two cents take it for what its worth.
the closest to fully photosynthetic coral would be Xenia and they absorb nutrients from the water column as they are not equipped with any actual feeding apparatus.
and just so you know most corals are carnivorous and p[refer zooplankton (with the exception of gorgonians) some consume bacteria some consume smaller pods and such. but having too "clean" a tank isnt actually optimal for coral growth or color.
spot feedintg anycoral that will accept large foods is a great idea, you can even spot feed other corals with (I know some one is going to flame me for this) the juices from frozen foods, and skimmate. I dont reccomend using skimmate for most people its way to easy to OD and cause algae problems, But I do feed all the juices from my frozen meaty foods to my tank as well as liquid skimmate once a week since the liquid part contains tons of bacteria and micro pods. whereas the solids contain a lot of calcium and fatts and oils and other truly hydrophobic substances.
Warning by keeping ample food in your tank like this you do run the risk of algae problems and you need to slowly build up feeding not suddenly increase or you will experience a serious algae problem. keeping tons of macroagaes can help consume the undesirables from heavy feeding, like phosphate and excess nitrate.
avoid flake foods pellets are ok for your fish but really the best is to either purchase frozen foods or make your own. when making your own you can uber puree them to make super fine batches that provide lots of the juices and micro particles that your corals require.
when feeding suspension foods like the juices your average "capture" for most of your corals is going to be about 2% tyhe rest becomes waste in your tank, so I would advise keeping your skimmer on.
well thats my two cents take it for what its worth.
lubeck
Active Member
Does the algaefix require you to remove any livestock? Did it work for hair algae specifically?
In other efforts to help with my water quality I've decided to change out my entire rodi unit. Including the membrane. I set up all the new filters except the di unit since I need to flush the membrane anyway. So when I let it run for about 20 min the tds meter going "in" is reading 29 and the "out" is reading 78. That doesn't seem right?? My readings before the change out was 12 in and 2 out. I'm going to let it run all night and see what it says in the morning.
In other efforts to help with my water quality I've decided to change out my entire rodi unit. Including the membrane. I set up all the new filters except the di unit since I need to flush the membrane anyway. So when I let it run for about 20 min the tds meter going "in" is reading 29 and the "out" is reading 78. That doesn't seem right?? My readings before the change out was 12 in and 2 out. I'm going to let it run all night and see what it says in the morning.
lubeck
Active Member
there is a difference between ample food for corals and dirty. There are no fully photosynthetic corals they all need to eat. if your tank is so "clean" that there is no food for them they start to Brown out to try and gain more nutrition from photosynthesis. having proper nutrients and properly sized food particles in your tank as plankton will ensure coral health. they all need to eat. it is one of the reasons I dont run mechanical filtration in my tanks as it tends to trap the smaller micron particulates that feed our corals.
the closest to fully photosynthetic coral would be Xenia and they absorb nutrients from the water column as they are not equipped with any actual feeding apparatus.
and just so you know most corals are carnivorous and p[refer zooplankton (with the exception of gorgonians) some consume bacteria some consume smaller pods and such. but having too "clean" a tank isnt actually optimal for coral growth or color.
spot feedintg anycoral that will accept large foods is a great idea, you can even spot feed other corals with (I know some one is going to flame me for this) the juices from frozen foods, and skimmate. I dont reccomend using skimmate for most people its way to easy to OD and cause algae problems, But I do feed all the juices from my frozen meaty foods to my tank as well as liquid skimmate once a week since the liquid part contains tons of bacteria and micro pods. whereas the solids contain a lot of calcium and fatts and oils and other truly hydrophobic substances.
Warning by keeping ample food in your tank like this you do run the risk of algae problems and you need to slowly build up feeding not suddenly increase or you will experience a serious algae problem. keeping tons of macroagaes can help consume the undesirables from heavy feeding, like phosphate and excess nitrate.
avoid flake foods pellets are ok for your fish but really the best is to either purchase frozen foods or make your own. when making your own you can uber puree them to make super fine batches that provide lots of the juices and micro particles that your corals require.
when feeding suspension foods like the juices your average capture for most of your corals is going to be about 2% tyhe rest becomes waste in your tank, so I would advise keeping your skimmer on.
well thats my two cents take it for what its worth.
I get it trust me. I've read and read and hear the same thing. But I'm tellin you that corals don't require 0 trates and phos. I'm assuming that since I have hair algae that my tank has excess nutrients So would that mean its clean, dirty or okay?
the closest to fully photosynthetic coral would be Xenia and they absorb nutrients from the water column as they are not equipped with any actual feeding apparatus.
and just so you know most corals are carnivorous and p[refer zooplankton (with the exception of gorgonians) some consume bacteria some consume smaller pods and such. but having too "clean" a tank isnt actually optimal for coral growth or color.
spot feedintg anycoral that will accept large foods is a great idea, you can even spot feed other corals with (I know some one is going to flame me for this) the juices from frozen foods, and skimmate. I dont reccomend using skimmate for most people its way to easy to OD and cause algae problems, But I do feed all the juices from my frozen meaty foods to my tank as well as liquid skimmate once a week since the liquid part contains tons of bacteria and micro pods. whereas the solids contain a lot of calcium and fatts and oils and other truly hydrophobic substances.
Warning by keeping ample food in your tank like this you do run the risk of algae problems and you need to slowly build up feeding not suddenly increase or you will experience a serious algae problem. keeping tons of macroagaes can help consume the undesirables from heavy feeding, like phosphate and excess nitrate.
avoid flake foods pellets are ok for your fish but really the best is to either purchase frozen foods or make your own. when making your own you can uber puree them to make super fine batches that provide lots of the juices and micro particles that your corals require.
when feeding suspension foods like the juices your average capture for most of your corals is going to be about 2% tyhe rest becomes waste in your tank, so I would advise keeping your skimmer on.
well thats my two cents take it for what its worth.
I get it trust me. I've read and read and hear the same thing. But I'm tellin you that corals don't require 0 trates and phos. I'm assuming that since I have hair algae that my tank has excess nutrients So would that mean its clean, dirty or okay?
lubeck
Active Member
I'm whimping out and started dosing again two days ago to .5 ml per day and don't plan on increasing the dosage. I've been battling with hair algae and not winning I've ensured my water is 0 tds. I feed once a day enOugh that it's consumed within 3 minutes. I do 20% wc every week.
It's my busy time at work and don't have time to scrub. I'm hoping that My corals continue to color but hold the ha at bay. We will see.
It's my busy time at work and don't have time to scrub. I'm hoping that My corals continue to color but hold the ha at bay. We will see.
lubeck
Active Member
I need help. Well it's been awhile but shortly after I started dosing again back in September a few of my acros instantly bleached out. I've officially stopped dosing and have seen some improvement
I have a hair algae issue and its out of control. I feed once per day but apparently it's still too much. I use rodi water with 0 tds. My lighting is all led and then have two t5s that are about 8 mths.
I have a sump with a household light bulb growing some cheato along with some lr and a protein skimmer. My question is there is some good gunk growing in the sump now and I'm wondering instead of emptying it like I normally do for my water changes what if I leave it and only remove water from the dt. I'm thinking there is some good bacteria that will or could eventually override the hair algae. I believe every time I do a water change by draining my sump I'm removing all of the pods and other good beneficial bacteria
Is there any other good hair algae removers that don't harm coral, clams and inverts?
I have a hair algae issue and its out of control. I feed once per day but apparently it's still too much. I use rodi water with 0 tds. My lighting is all led and then have two t5s that are about 8 mths.
I have a sump with a household light bulb growing some cheato along with some lr and a protein skimmer. My question is there is some good gunk growing in the sump now and I'm wondering instead of emptying it like I normally do for my water changes what if I leave it and only remove water from the dt. I'm thinking there is some good bacteria that will or could eventually override the hair algae. I believe every time I do a water change by draining my sump I'm removing all of the pods and other good beneficial bacteria
Is there any other good hair algae removers that don't harm coral, clams and inverts?