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Originally Posted by jroovers
First and foremost, you have some amazing SPS! The coloration you've achieved is off the charts also 
By reading your most recent posts, I really think you've answered your own question - no, additives are not necessary to obtain incredible coloration and coral health - I can't really see how your colors get any better, and all you're doing is feeding your fish.
I really think the answer is finding the nutrient edge of the knife, and staying there, and additives (whether AA's, nitrates, coral "foods") can help find that edge by adding more nutrient. IME, I really do think that a 10% water change every one or two weeks helps my corals, with the theory being is replenishes trace elements, and feeding the fish just the right amount (not too much or too little), can be enough to produce spectacular results. Although I can't claim to have any success near what you've experienced, especially of late! |
Your photos are the ones that motivated me to work harder at my photography.
It does seem to be a pretty simple formula, monitor alk and keep it stable, 10% weekly water changes, clean the skimmer, change the socks a couple times a week, trim the chaeto and make sure youre giving it good light, and 10% water changes. That formula seems to work most of the time. And of course, the Goldilocks rule for feeding the fish, not too much and not too little.
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Originally Posted by gregkn73
I admire the last year your excellent collection and coloration of your sps, read many times that your tank is not ready in your eyes for an fts, but just minutes ago I red the begining of your thread where actually you had an fts! So can you please clarify time when did you start your currently sps colonies and how did you achieve those amazing results? What is you routine? How often do you change water, bailing or calcium reactor? Refugium or ATS or just skimmer? Any kind of carbon dosing? Do you use gfo or and carbon?No additives at all?how many fish and how often and what do you feed? Please share your "secret" :-)
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Really no secrets. I test or atleast tell myself to test alk and nitrates weekly and preferably twice a week. I use to just observe my sps for health and test much less frequently until my tank crashed. Well the fuller story is that when I moved from a "tall" 40 (could have been 20) gallon show tank to a real reef tank (the current 180 gallon bow front), it was all easy. In this tank, the sps just took off and I got both lazy and adventurous with my reefing approach after a year of two of incredible growth and success. The problem with simply relying on observation alone is that you can't observe alk, nitrates or any chemistry without testing. I got a couple of tank of the month honors and then my sps just crashed. I did not respond to the downward spiral in a very rationale approach and so let the tank go fallow for about 6 months until I inspired myself to once again test routinely and now I am two years plus into the reboot. Plus l periodically cull my sps. If something just hasn't blossomed into what i really like or want then out it goes, so I get bald spots. And I give most frags about a year before I cull too see if they will blossom with enough time. Not that one year is a special marker, its just kind of my rule of thumb. Anyway, a full tank shot just wouldn't be all that cool quite yet.
I use a calcium reactor, I change 20% every two weeks now, a refugium with a Kessil H350 light which is a lot of light, I don't dose carbon, since i added siporax I now need to supplement nitrates so my phosphates stay manageable without gfo, no additives, I feed my fish all kinds of different dry foods on a rotating schedule with occasional frozen LRS treat. I have about 15 plus fish or so, couple clowns, 6 tangs, 6 plus wrasses, mandarin. Protein skimmer. I am the basic reefer with basic habits. I test alk and nitrates once or preferably twice a week.
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Originally Posted by reefmutt
It’s funny.. it’s taken me a good two years of experimenting and playing with so many different products and I have recently come up with my current crazy regimen for making my corals happy and colorful.
I am happy with my color but only reasonably happy with growth and general health...
Mark, your system always, ALWAYS makes me question whether I should try to ween my tank off of everything...
Hm..
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Like I said previously, I want to understand the science behind additives like why zinc or manganese or any other element or product . On the one hand, I just don't see the rationale and on the other hand, I wonder what I don't know about it. There are many smart guys into reefing who kindly share their knowledge and unfortunately a number of people who are not so smart but share as well. The information can get confusing.
It is December already, so new month means I get to take new pictures. This is through the front glass and it is with t5's and reefbrites. I always feel apologetic about reefbrite pictures because they show off so many colors. But it seems that there are so few people using metal halides anymore that it is harder to share those pictures and feel confident that people really understand what that lighting is all about.
Z's Pink Cotton Candy
