Learning/rebuilding from my epic fail

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by Hentz

Coming from a ZEOvit user, I'm excited to see your results with AF long-term!

I'm with tmc1313, those cardinals arengorgeous!

Loving the videos as well. Your reef is incredibly vibrant. I've followed this new rebuild since day one and sadly have never commented on it! Making that a change as of today lol.

I also really enjoy reading your posts here and there about the "Industrial Age" of reefing. As a young reefer, I was instantly introduced to Radions, ATI, Aqua Illumination, Kessil, etc.. So I find it really intriguing to read what this hobby came from because you don't often hear or see anything about it.

Enjoying the thread, as I have since day one, Matt!

Hey Hentz! Thanks for posting- you are always welcome! And thanks for the kind words.
It's pretty cool where this hobby has come in 30 years but the real pioneers were doing it 30 years before that..
It's really still an emerging art/science. That's part of what makes it so intriguing, I guess.

Originally Posted by shih87

Like to hear more on AF as well. I do not aware see this product in Taiwan except saw some AF food somewhere, and thinking go non Zeovit system for my next tank.

Originally Posted by shih87

No particular reason, Zeovit is an excellent system/product, but after have it on my two tanks for last 6 years, thinking try something new for fun. Who know maybe one day change back to Zeovit .......

Joseph, I'm very honored that you mentioned me. Very nice!
Just to clarify something though.. I am not a true aquaforest user.. I am not using the aquaforest method. I do use a couple of their products but not the entire system..

If you really want details about the full aquaforest system, visit Matt's thread (mhucasey)
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...68548&page=102

Or Perry's (plyle) thread..
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...381737&page=38

Theses guys have adopted the whole system with great results..

[reefmutt]

Well.. update time. Been a few weeks without photos.. Couple vids, yes but time for some shots!
And I got lots.. That rhymes, by the way.. I'm a poet and I.. Never mind..
First.. An update on my recent dip into using Aquaforest's Carbon source NP Pro along with nitrate additions in an attempt to pull down phosphates..
Well, it was not effective.. Probably because I didn't stick it out long enough.. I got up to about 12 drops of np pro per day along with significant amounts of both cano3 and kno3. I started to ask myself what the heck I was doing, slamming all of this product into the tank with the intention of keeping n where it would otherwise sit without any additions.. Yes p was supposed to come down but it wasn't.. Probably because I hadn't reached the proper amounts of np pro and nitrates but I just didn't want to add more kno3 and cano3.. So I stopped.
Then I cleaned out an algea infested frag tank and by doing this, reduced my nutrient export somewhat..
My last test showed n at 8ppm and p at .16..
I'll test again tomorrow.
Corals really haven't cared either way.. I would say I have lost some pe but not much else. The corals have shifted colours a bit. Some for the better and some for the worse but nothing dramatic. Pe is still there but some corals not quite as good as before.
Also, last Monday, I started adding Aquaforest's flourine additive. This is iodine and flourine together. To begin adding this, I have started with a half dose (6drops daily) and reduced by half my Lugol's additions. Now at 2 drops/day.
So my dose is 6 drops Flourine and 2 drops lugols daily..
We always want to see instant benefits from whatever new product we add.. I think my Oregon tort and Cali tort have pretty good blue. I have some photos to show but it is really difficult to photograph the blue of the OT and Cali..
Between the increased nutrients of the last month and the flourine.. I'm not sure if the blue looks better to me or not OR which may have caused it.
Before I just spew a total photo bomb, I wanted to show you guys this new.. Animal growing in the tank.. It's some sort of colonial tunicate type thingy. It is very pretty and grows in the shade right up to where direct light hits but not in direct light..
Any idea on what it is would be most welcome..
This at a spot low in the tank..


Here it is below the OT, behind the Fiji fruit bowl..


This shot is near the back of the tank, photographed through some coral branches..

I think it's really pretty. There was a green and black version growing for a long time and this new orange, white and black one has begun to appear as the other one has subsided.
More photos to follow..

[reefmutt]

Since the fruit bowl and the Tort made it into those photos, I'll show my torts and fijinfruit bowl..
Hers a couple of my Cali tort..
Side:

One branch top down: I really had to tweak this photo to try to bring out the blue.. Lots of saturation, warming, dimming.. Anyways.. Here it is..

Here's my OT from the side..

It is growing directly upwards so it is nearly impossible to get a decent shot from the top down.. I think it appears in some of my wider shots that I'll post later..
Here's the Fiji fruit bowl.. It has changed with the increased nutrients. It's still very cool but not the same..
Side:

Top


Here's the two of them from March 26..

[reefmutt]

Here's a few wide shots..
Upper back left corner:

Upper back left.. A little to the right..

Closer.. Right side of upper back left..

As a contrast.. Here's a brown turd I got from Raja about 3 weeks ago.. These are the reference shots.. I'm hoping it'll turn into something cool. Side:

Top:

It really doesn't look like much but I think (hope) it's got some potential..
Here's another piece I got at the same time that I am watching..

Ok.. I'll pull back again..
Some centre island shots..
Left ish side of centre and lower front.

Lower front centre..

Left of centre.. Furiosa is still growing well..


And a final wide shot.. Centre and right side..

[mhucasey]

Its always amazing how much open space is visible when viewing from above, yet from the front it looks packed. The tank is looking awesome Matt! I love Furiosa, and the wide shots are cool!

[Acronic]

On point! Fiji fruit mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by mhucasey

Its always amazing how much open space is visible when viewing from above, yet from the front it looks packed. The tank is looking awesome Matt! I love Furiosa, and the wide shots are cool!

Thanks Matt. If all my acros free straight up, I'd be laughing! It is packed. Too packed. But my sickness makes it impossible for me to stop adding new pieces!

Originally Posted by Acronic

On point! Fiji fruit mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Indeed... it is very yummy.. I may have to do some macros of that coral. It's got so much going on in it..

[vinhle00]

Could be some type of barnacle

[reefmutt]

It's soft.. When irritated, it completely collapses. It's about 1/3 the size when contracted and all of the open bulbous areas disappear...

[Pife]

It really is crazy the amount of diversity we can achieve in our small closed systems. That tunicate looks really cool, and so do your corals. The dramatic pinks you have are fantastic. The furiosa is very contrasting and beautiful. To get my po4s down the best thing I've found is dripping lanthum chloride directly into my skimmer body. Once I got them balanced out they have stayed steady work my nitrates.

[M007]

Love the fruit bowl, a stunner! Your last photo with the pretty fish is the bomb

[markalot]

Wow Matt, things look fantastic. I have no idea what the alien animal is, but it does look cool!

Are you running anything for PO4 control? I am still trickling GFO but I am really tempted to take it offline again. Depending on the test kit my PO4 is .04 -> .16

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by Pife

It really is crazy the amount of diversity we can achieve in our small closed systems. That tunicate looks really cool, and so do your corals. The dramatic pinks you have are fantastic. The furiosa is very contrasting and beautiful. To get my po4s down the best thing I've found is dripping lanthum chloride directly into my skimmer body. Once I got them balanced out they have stayed steady work my nitrates.

Thanks! Red/Pink is one of those colours that has been strong in some of my corals but not so good in some known corals like orange passion or ssc.. Sometime I think they are good and other times I'm not sure..
Lanthanum chloride.. Yes I have some. I've never really used it consistantly. It has always made me nervous. How did you drop it? Putting that stuff on a doser kind of worries me.. If the doser goes haywire.

Originally Posted by M007

Love the fruit bowl, a stunner! Your last photo with the pretty fish is the bomb

Thanks, the Evansi anthias were well grouped together because I had just climbed down from the ladder and removed the viewing box, so they were still a bit scared.

Originally Posted by markalot

Wow Matt, things look fantastic. I have no idea what the alien animal is, but it does look cool!

Are you running anything for PO4 control? I am still trickling GFO but I am really tempted to take it offline again. Depending on the test kit my PO4 is .04 -> .16

Thanks Mark! Yeah it is an interesting creature. Every noa and again I see a clump of it floating around the tank.. I assume it is how it spreads.
I have started using Seachem's Phosbond again. I just started, though.. I'll probably need to stay on top of changing it out.. The stuff ain't cheap but it is effective. It isn't as aggressive as pure gfo, though, which I like.
Mark, stop looking at the po4 checker results. Get yourself an Elos High Resolution po4 test kit. I've never found the checkers to be completely reliable.
I used to have 3! I would drive myself crazy and do 4 tests each time.. 3 checker tests and an Elos test. The same checker would always give me a high result, another always 0 and the third in the middle.. Elos was always somewhere in the middle as well.. I finally stopped using the checkers. I recently tossed them...

Here's a shot of my Fiji desalwi next to a couple of planas (bottom right) along with a couple ssc and my Badabing which is colouring up a bit..

Closer shot of ssc and Badabing. I'm not entirely happy with the red on my sscs..

Here's a couple shots of my purple rain.. Been a while since I shot it.. It's been over grown my another coral which is a bit above it. The purple rain has grown underneath the other coral and their underside branches have touched.. No major war happening.

A bit closer of the purple rain. May have a lost a bit of the yellow highlights but still has the cool dark polyps..

[nemodan]

Wow !!!!!

[drawman]

Matt really pretty corals and growth...great upate!

So did that tunicate colony come with your live rock I assume?

I love that echinata/speciosa next to your clam!

[nemodan]

Fast Question Matt.

Are you dosing Ca and Alk with dosing pumps or do you have a Ca Reactor ?

Cheers
Daniel

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by drawman

Matt really pretty corals and growth...great upate!

So did that tunicate colony come with your live rock I assume?

I love that echinata/speciosa next to your clam!

Thanks, Tim. It came in on the base of a turbinaria coral about 1 1/2 years ago and sat dormant until about 5-6 months ago.
That piece is hidden in the back of the tank and I really don't know if it is echinata or speciosa.. It's been quietly growing back there, though.. My guess would be speciosa..

Originally Posted by nemodan

Fast Question Matt.

Are you dosing Ca and Alk with dosing pumps or do you have a Ca Reactor ?

Cheers
Daniel

Hey Dan. Thanks!
I use a ca reactor. I always have.. i should really play with some dosers to gain some confidence in them.. Basically, I'm scared of what I don't know... A little sad, I know...

[maxxII]

Originally Posted by reefmutt

Hey Dan. Thanks!
I use a ca reactor. I always have.. i should really play with some dosers to gain some confidence in them.. Basically, I'm scared of what I don't know... A little sad, I know...

Not at all.

Changing things in a successful reef tank is frequently rewarded with meltdowns and death.....

[spkennyva]

Stunning!

[nemodan]

Originally Posted by reefmutt

Hey Dan. Thanks!
I use a ca reactor. I always have.. i should really play with some dosers to gain some confidence in them.. Basically, I'm scared of what I don't know... A little sad, I know...

Do you think a Ca Reactor in my total vol of 100 G will be better that dosing ?

I know there,are threads discussing this, but I would like your opinion.

Thanks
Daniel

[Johnyman]

WOW Matt!!! You are killing me with that photos!!!
Gourgeous Acroporas!! Keep it up man, you have a great SPS Tank!

[Pife]

Originally Posted by reefmutt

Thanks! Red/Pink is one of those colours that has been strong in some of my corals but not so good in some known corals like orange passion or ssc.. Sometime I think they are good and other times I'm not sure..
Lanthanum chloride.. Yes I have some. I've never really used it consistantly. It has always made me nervous. How did you drop it? Putting that stuff on a doser kind of worries me.. If the doser goes haywire.

It sounds weird but I use an iv. . I dilute 1ml to 500ml of ro water and drip it slowly into the intake of my skimmer. If works great. I'd also lets me know that it will not be over dosed.

[milsaltnewbie07]

Wow..
Matt why are you fussing about nutrients when clearly you tanks look AMAZING. Wow man serious reef porn. More more more please

[reefmutt]

Originally Posted by nemodan

Do you think a Ca Reactor in my total vol of 100 G will be better that dosing ?

I know there,are threads discussing this, but I would like your opinion.

Thanks
Daniel

Well, Daniel, it is clear that I prefer a calcium reactor over dosers. Being someone who doesn't like having computers or machines controlling the tank, I run my ca reactor without a ph probe..
I think that on small tanks, dosing systems are cheaper, or it takes a lot longer to recoup the large investment of a ca reactor system.
In the long run I think a ca reactor is cheaper to run..
I have always felt that ca reactors, once set up properly, are extremely trouble free. You set your bubble rate and your flow through rate and that's it. Weekly testing tells me if I need to increase or decrease co2 and I leave the flow through constant.
I believe that dissolving old coral skeletons provides the tank with a more comprehensive additive of trace minerals and elements and that it's harder to over dose these minerals/elements since they are being extracted from the coral skeletons in the same ratios as the corals absorbed them from the water when they were living and growing..
Yes, these things can be added separately with any of the products available on the market but I like the idea of having them provided naturally through the dissolved coral media.
Because you use an algea fuge, the ca reactor has a tiny added benefit of providing some co2 to your plants and when the fuge is on a reverse daylight schedule, this can help with ph stability and also help keep ph up a bit since one of the drawbacks of using a ca reactor can be a generally lowered system ph..
If you want to use a ph probe, your apex can allow you to monitor and control the reactor's ph remotely. If only there was a kh probe.. Then you could watch it and control it remotely as well..
When I go away on vacation, I try not to make any changes to the reactor. I use a very small pump to pump water into the reactor and use a valve to control the flow. I have the feed pump inside a large filter sock to avoid detritus from getting pumped into the control valve and inhibiting flow..
Again, many people use dosing pumps to push water through the reactor. This could also be controlled by apex..
There is also a very expensive but extremely good co2 regulator made by Aquarium Plants (I think) which is supposed to be fantastic. This regulator could be easily researched if necessary.
Technically you could have the same amount of remote control as dosers and get some slight benefits of trace elements added..
The main downside is depressed ph but in your case, it really isn't an issue...
Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by Johnyman

WOW Matt!!! You are killing me with that photos!!!
Gourgeous Acroporas!! Keep it up man, you have a great SPS Tank!

Thank you Jaoa! I appreciate your enthusiasm!!

Originally Posted by Pife

It sounds weird but I use an iv. . I dilute 1ml to 500ml of ro water and drip it slowly into the intake of my skimmer. If works great. I'd also lets me know that it will not be over dosed.

This is a very interesting idea.. I will give this very serious consideration. So, lanthanum chloride mixes into water with no precipitate at all? I thought it was a cloudy liquid.. You can get a very constant drip with the iv?

Originally Posted by milsaltnewbie07

Wow..
Matt why are you fussing about nutrients when clearly you tanks look AMAZING. Wow man serious reef porn. More more more please

Thanks! The only reason I fuss is because of my persistent bubble algea and bryopsis.
Also, it is interesting to note that when my p climbed to .18, I had a slow down in growth. I hade to slow down my ca reactor a touch.
I have already reduce p to .1 and I am noticing a slight uptick in growth again..

Well here's a couple more pics since you asked so nicely..
Here's my pink lemonade

From top

The base meeting another coral..

I have a few more up my sleev, I think..

[reefmutt]

The old growth on this coral has almost been completely overgrown by new growth..
I may just break off the original frag and start it somewhere else or grow it out in my frag tank. I do like the old growth better however.. More intense..

This piece, I almost pulled from the tank about 2 months ago before it had begun growing. I yanked it off the rock and as I brought it up to the surface, instart d to see more colours. So I glued it back in place and gave it more time..
I'm glad I did. I love the burgundy tones and red polyps

Side shot..

I always have trouble not posting a shot of my orange passion, even though it doesn't have orange polyps.. The colour is still so intense..

And.. Well.. Ahem.. Here is a coral that I am a bit embarrassed to show because I paid a lot of money for it and it is tiny...
RR pink Cadillac..

I justify this purchase by having sold my GHL Mitras...
Hopefully in some time, it will be very very very..... Very pretty...