JBNY's 270 Ver2.0

[biggles]

That's handy being able to dim the LED's easily Joe, i think the way you're going is much safer and removes a possible cause of problems down the track. I really think you might be best grabbing the regular bar Mindy rather than the XHO.

[mhucasey]

Hi Joe, any update on the reef? Have you noticed any changes since turning the reef rites down?

[JB NY]

I had a few issues with the tank recently. First I have been monitoring my Alk every day or two and about two weeks ago, I noticed that the alk was trending down so I just upped my Ca reactor a little to compensate, next day it looked good, but then it started to go down again so I made another adjustment but still next day it was down again. So at that point I pulled out a different test kit (I had been using the Hanna Digital Alk kit), my trusty Salifert. The Salifert Alk kit measured 9.3 dKh, much higher than the 6.5 the Hanna was telling me! So then I use the calibration fluid that is included in the Salifert on both the Salifert and the Hanna. The Salifert is spot on, the Hanna is way off. At this point I shut off the reactor for afew days and go with the Salifert as the correct reading. But the damage was done and I burned a few frags, including the pearlberry and a nice Red Dragon frag that I had. So I lost them.

Reading up on the Hanna accuracy later I found out that the titration fluid becomes less accurate as you near the end of the bottle, my bottle was almost done. I had another unopened titration bottle that I bought, so I pulled that out and the numbers then matched up against the Salifert exactly. Now I am a little leery of using the Hanna knowing that it can drift drastically at some point.

Then last week, a freak storm hit in the early morning about 5 AM on the North Shore of Long Island and effected only a select few towns, of which one of them was mine. Crazy lightning, hail, and trees down all over, I've never seen anything like it here. We lost power for about 13 hours, luckily I have a generator and was able to stay home from work to fire up the generator and keep the tank going. All was well in the end and I had zero issues, but it was an unhappy day for me for sure.



ah, to et to your actual question, the ReefBrites I think really might have been my issue for the past 6 months or so. Using them on my tank, I was finding that my acros were really struggling and would burn up at the slightest change in the system, especially when moving around frags in the tank. Since delegating the LED for dusk only duty, those issues seem to have gone away. I even received a nice shipment of frags and was able to acclimate them much easier than some of the other ones from the past few months. So I think I will only use the ReefBrites for a dusk effect and stick to the MH/T5 solution for the rest.

I'll get some pics of some different frags up over the weekend.

[ct_vol]

Originally Posted by JB NY

Reading up on the Hanna accuracy later I found out that the titration fluid becomes less accurate as you near the end of the bottle, my bottle was almost done. I had another unopened titration bottle that I bought, so I pulled that out and the numbers then matched up against the Salifert exactly. Now I am a little leery of using the Hanna knowing that it can drift drastically at some point.

That's good to know. I was considering purchasing a Hanna just for ease of use so that I might check my Alk more frequently (I borderline on obsessive as it is). Guess I'll stick with my Salifert Test Kit.

[nycreef]

Hey JB, I tossed my Hanna meters a long time ago. I lost some corals because of false readings. I only trust the salient and use a back up f Red Sea for a positive number in case I see something just not sitting well with me. As far as po4 meters I went with a Milwaukee photometer, yes expensive but it's the best and doesn't shut off on you when it takes you longer than three minutes to dissolve the reagent.
On another note those Reefbrite LEDs are powerful as with most LEDs. I was the guinea pig for LEDs because of massive heat issues even with chillers on. I was an led aholic and couldn't pull away from them even when my acros were bleaching, browning, rtning and stning. I had a lot of money invested in to them and wanted to force my tank to make them work. Well a lot of time and money burnt literally in those long led years of my tank are coming to an end, I'll be using them for supplement dawn dusk and coral viewing fluorescence at night. I'm going back to my tried and trust never fail me 400 watt MH radiiums 20k with either Galaxy or coralvue ballasts or a mix of both. So glad I never sold them. So to end this hijack of mine on your thread JB lol I'll just say this. You made a thread of " LED's Suck Prove Me Wrong " somewhere and all I have to say is I can't prove you wrong. Your right!
Side question, why don't you have a natural gas generator, it's basically insurance for your tank and you can power certain other things in your house as well depending on the size of the generator. I'll never get caught without one of those again, the losses were greater than the generator and install.
Need to update my signature now, it should read 8 400watt MH's and 5 radion pros

[DiscusHeckel]

Awesome set up. I really like your aquascape.

Regarding your test kit problem, I have found that if I use a Salifert KH test kit over a long period (say over 6 months), towards the end, titration accuracy drops. I always use a separate reference solution (in addition to Salifert's own) to double check if a test reading looks unusual.

I would like to ask you a question. I would like to know how much light (if you have ever measured it with a quantum sensor) the coral shown in this link receives in your tank.

I believe that I have exactly the same coral (see attachment). I bought it from this shop. I hope that mine will look exactly like yours soon.

[sahin]

Sorry about the tank issues Joe. Hopefully all is well.

I tossed my Hanna stuff in the useless tank stuff cupboard a few years ago. My Hanna ULR Phosphorus meter was only as good as the reagents...some reagent batches were useless.

I use Salifert for most of my tank parameters. They are very cheap too.

I dont trust Redsea test kits either...plenty of bad reviews over the years on UK forums on some of the kits.

Salifert, Elos and API are my chosen brands.

[mhucasey]

Bummer on the Alk issues and coral losses
Very good info on the lights, i had played with the idea of setting up an LED bar with royal blue only between the T5 fixtures. Now if i do, i will go with no lenses and with dimming capabilities. I'm with you on the Hanna test- i thought they were awesone til i tested the salifert reference solution and was over 1DKH off. No hanna testers for me ever again. I'm near the end of a salifert Alk test kit and i tested the reference and was spot on, you just need to carefully clean the syringes between tests to ensure no drift.

I use the Milwauke(Martini) phosphate colorimeter and its very good and repeatable.

[markalot]

Salifert kits with the cute red sea bottle holders for the shakin (titration).

Sorry about the Alk issue, I don't think I trust any of the kits. I swirl the salifert fluid every test to hopefully prevent any inaccuracy creeping in as I get to the bottom of the bottle.

[reefmutt]

Joe, sorry to hear about the storm and alk issues.. It's always one step forward then two step back!
I have always found that when a new tank is in the process of reaching its stability stage, LEDs really mess with the corals, but once a system is rock solid, the corals can thrive under them... I am seeing so many phenomenal sps tanks under Radions, these days..
Don't want to really use you as a guinea pig... Well maybe a little... But I'd be curious to see if you had the same problem with the reef brites in 6 months or so..
Having said this, I did read recently that Jo Peck had a similar issue as you... I think he had used hydra 26s
Now.... You said something about new frags!!!!!gotta see'em.

[jmicky41]

Good luck with V2. I remember your tank from back in the day and always thought it was one of the best. Nice to see a bunch of RC vets chiming in too.

[JB NY]

Originally Posted by ct_vol

That's good to know. I was considering purchasing a Hanna just for ease of use so that I might check my Alk more frequently (I borderline on obsessive as it is). Guess I'll stick with my Salifert Test Kit.

Right, Salifert has always been my go to as well.

Originally Posted by nycreef

Hey JB, I tossed my Hanna meters a long time ago. I lost some corals because of false readings. I only trust the salient and use a back up f Red Sea for a positive number in case I see something just not sitting well with me. As far as po4 meters I went with a Milwaukee photometer, yes expensive but it's the best and doesn't shut off on you when it takes you longer than three minutes to dissolve the reagent.
On another note those Reefbrite LEDs are powerful as with most LEDs. I was the guinea pig for LEDs because of massive heat issues even with chillers on. I was an led aholic and couldn't pull away from them even when my acros were bleaching, browning, rtning and stning. I had a lot of money invested in to them and wanted to force my tank to make them work. Well a lot of time and money burnt literally in those long led years of my tank are coming to an end, I'll be using them for supplement dawn dusk and coral viewing fluorescence at night. I'm going back to my tried and trust never fail me 400 watt MH radiiums 20k with either Galaxy or coralvue ballasts or a mix of both. So glad I never sold them. So to end this hijack of mine on your thread JB lol I'll just say this. You made a thread of " LED's Suck Prove Me Wrong " somewhere and all I have to say is I can't prove you wrong. Your right!
Side question, why don't you have a natural gas generator, it's basically insurance for your tank and you can power certain other things in your house as well depending on the size of the generator. I'll never get caught without one of those again, the losses were greater than the generator and install.
Need to update my signature now, it should read 8 400watt MH's and 5 radion pros

Thanks for the info, that is exactly what problems I was having. I think that in many ways I didn't really believe that it was the problem. I mean, I measured the light PAR coming from the RB and it was slightly higher than my T5 lights, so I thought that there was no way it was the cause of my woes. I think that I really underestimated how much the blue LED could damage things.

While I do jump on many threads about LED The " LED's Suck Prove Me Wrong " thread author is jackson6745.

Originally Posted by DiscusHeckel

Awesome set up. I really like your aquascape.

Regarding your test kit problem, I have found that if I use a Salifert KH test kit over a long period (say over 6 months), towards the end, titration accuracy drops. I always use a separate reference solution (in addition to Salifert's own) to double check if a test reading looks unusual.

I would like to ask you a question. I would like to know how much light (if you have ever measured it with a quantum sensor) the coral shown in this link receives in your tank.

I believe that I have exactly the same coral (see attachment). I bought it from this shop. I hope that mine will look exactly like yours soon.

Thanks, I am much more aware of how I use my test kits now.

That coral was a Hawkin Echinata, it was under about 300 PAR, on the left side of the tank slightly lower than midway down from the top.

Originally Posted by sahin

Sorry about the tank issues Joe. Hopefully all is well.

I tossed my Hanna stuff in the useless tank stuff cupboard a few years ago. My Hanna ULR Phosphorus meter was only as good as the reagents...some reagent batches were useless.

I use Salifert for most of my tank parameters. They are very cheap too.

I dont trust Redsea test kits either...plenty of bad reviews over the years on UK forums on some of the kits.

Salifert, Elos and API are my chosen brands.

Thanks Sahin, no worries mate it's all part of the journey. The set backs are what make you appreciate the success.

Salifert are my go to kits as well. I had bad luck with the Red Sea kits too.

Originally Posted by mhucasey

Bummer on the Alk issues and coral losses
Very good info on the lights, i had played with the idea of setting up an LED bar with royal blue only between the T5 fixtures. Now if i do, i will go with no lenses and with dimming capabilities. I'm with you on the Hanna test- i thought they were awesone til i tested the salifert reference solution and was over 1DKH off. No hanna testers for me ever again. I'm near the end of a salifert Alk test kit and i tested the reference and was spot on, you just need to carefully clean the syringes between tests to ensure no drift.

I use the Milwauke(Martini) phosphate colorimeter and its very good and repeatable.

Thanks Matt. Yeah I was bumbed about both the hanna and the Reefbrites, both of those I bought when restarting the tank to give myself some fun things play and get excited about the tank a little more, Both ended up not being nearly as good for my tank as I had hoped.

I clean out my test kits each time I am finished using them. I have had good luck with the Hanna PO4 HI 93713, tested it a few times against a hach spectrophotometer that a buddy of mine has and it's been pretty spot on so far.

Originally Posted by markalot

Salifert kits with the cute red sea bottle holders for the shakin (titration).

Sorry about the Alk issue, I don't think I trust any of the kits. I swirl the salifert fluid every test to hopefully prevent any inaccuracy creeping in as I get to the bottom of the bottle.

Mark, I get the same feeling sometimes, it's easy to get frustrated with some of the readings we get once in a while.

Originally Posted by reefmutt

Joe, sorry to hear about the storm and alk issues.. It's always one step forward then two step back!
I have always found that when a new tank is in the process of reaching its stability stage, LEDs really mess with the corals, but once a system is rock solid, the corals can thrive under them... I am seeing so many phenomenal sps tanks under Radions, these days..
Don't want to really use you as a guinea pig... Well maybe a little... But I'd be curious to see if you had the same problem with the reef brites in 6 months or so..
Having said this, I did read recently that Jo Peck had a similar issue as you... I think he had used hydra 26s
Now.... You said something about new frags!!!!!gotta see'em.

Thanks, Matt as I told Sahin, The setbacks are what make you appreciate the success.

I am sure when the tank has some more mature colonies I will play with the LED some more, for now, just some nighttime viewing with them at low levels.

Frag pictures are coming up!

Originally Posted by jmicky41

Good luck with V2. I remember your tank from back in the day and always thought it was one of the best. Nice to see a bunch of RC vets chiming in too.

Many thanks, that was such a good tank sometimes I wish I had it back.

[JB NY]

OK, some SPS pics,

All these seem to be doing good, coloration is starting to happen, just need the growth to step up a notch.

Sky Dopple frag about two weeks old.



Finally getting some good encrusting going on with this guy, color is good too.



Wild coral I have had about a month, so far it is keeping it color, blues and greens like crazy.



This guys is at the bottom of the tank and really doing well for color.



This is still slowly encrusting but it is holding it's color as ll for a wild coral, I really wan this guy to make it, such cool colors.


Coloring up!


This guy is doing great, purple with crazy green polyps!

[sahin]

Very nice. With the level of saturated colours on those frags, once they are colonies they should look stunning.

[markalot]

Nice pictures and great color on the corals.

[ReefBum]

Nice frags Joe! Sorry to hear about the recent minor bumps in the road. This hobby always keeps you on your toes.

[agcneves]

Hi Joe! Good luck in your reassembly!

I'm also taking up the course in these last three months, because I was only two years taking care of my beloved fish after a few storms of life.

I've always had a passion for HQI lighting and don't relinquish them together with the T5 for nothing.

You've beautiful frags!

What level of phosphate and nitrate tested on your system?

Best wishes and good luck in this new success walk.

I apologize for my English!

[reefmutt]

Very good looking frags!
They seem very comfy in their new digs.
Growth time!!
I keep debating with myself about getting some blue led strips.. Half the people say they have browned their corals and the other half love them....
Hm..

[markalot]

I have to think some of the bad experience with blue LED strips is the very high PAR a DIY 3 watt royal blue strip can produce. I'm using lower wattage BML fixtures with a mix of blues and violets and at 100% these can increase PAR by a surprising amount. Just a guess though.

[cham]

Wow, I remember your tank from years ago. Crazy to hear about the crash. Do you attribute any of the crash to the mystical "old tank syndrome" which has been debated in the past to old sand beds.


So collospongia is a pest sponge? Wow, LOL. I think WWC was selling it for awhile. I think I have a piece or two of it on one rock in my tank, they're tiny. Mine is purple, seemingly non porous and slippery to the touch. Sounds like I should take it out eh?



I run two strips of reefbrites too, one XHO and one regular. Both all blue. But I'm running a powermodule and light my tank as follows

Reefbrites: 9:30am to 9:30pm
T5 Sunrise/sunset (2 bulbs): 11:30am to 8pm
Other 6 bulbs on powermodule: 12:30 to 3:30pm.


The main tank at world wide corals did this years ago, running limited lighting (some LED strips and a few T5 bulbs) for most of the day and their metal halides (that the don't use anymore, lol) for just 3 to 4 hours per day for full sun effect. Their results were hard to argue and I had similar results doing the same.

[Greg 45]

Joe the only item you aren't adding seems to be iodine.
Also old reefers seem to go back to old school ideas , meaning adding strontium .IMO food that we purchase and salts seem cleaner to me than in the old days . Nitrates and
po4 were out of control now we are adding to keep tank healthy.

[mhucasey]

Originally Posted by JB NY

OK, some SPS pics,

All these seem to be doing good, coloration is starting to happen, just need the growth to step up a notch.

This guys is at the bottom of the tank and really doing well for color.



This is still slowly encrusting but it is holding it's color as ll for a wild coral, I really wan this guy to make it, such cool colors.

Looking really good Joe, I like the ones above especially. I have had a hard time with corals similar to the second one, but they are hard to pass up since they almost shimmer with color...I may buy some at reef-a-palooza in October stupid cheap to give them another shot

[64Ivy]

Hey Joe, great job on both the reboot and your own stick-to-itiveness in tracking down your issues. I've got to start a thread like this myself as I too have had a few down years, in my case, due to copper initially, and now on the road to recovery. On another note, you wouldn't happen to have any photos of that invasive sponge you were dealing with, would you? I'd love to see it...y'know digitally, of course.

[cham]

Originally Posted by 64Ivy

Hey Joe, great job on both the reboot and your own stick-to-itiveness in tracking down your issues. I've got to start a thread like this myself as I too have had a few down years, in my case, due to copper initially, and now on the road to recovery. On another note, you wouldn't happen to have any photos of that invasive sponge you were dealing with, would you? I'd love to see it...y'know digitally, of course.

This, I need to know if the few pieces that I have in my tank need to come out.

[biggles]

Beautiful colors coming through on those frags Joe, great quality pics too mate

I'm glad you're getting over those setbacks, there's nothing worse than not having confidence in the test results a kit is giving you. I went nuts last year chasing a problem and it was as simple as buying a $10- bottle of refractometer calibration fluid....

Looking forward to more updates and pics.