d2mini's "Essential Focus" Mixed Reef Build - Page 96

d2mini · 02/23/2018, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPotter

I love “eye sore” refugiums! Here’s my 120g eye sore loaded with mud, rocks and various macro but primarily the evil grape caulerpa. My fuge is so efficient that I no longer use a skimmer!

Yeah, so cool. On a whole other level.

tenpercenter · 02/23/2018, 05:29 PM

Dennis - trying to decide between (6) xr15s and (3) xr30s (both PRO). Tank depth in my case is 30" (front to back) with the 15s I'd be able to spread them apart further (couple inches) but would avoid the fans constantly running.

Would you go with the 30s if you were to do this again?

d2mini · 02/23/2018, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tenpercenter

Dennis - trying to decide between (6) xr15s and (3) xr30s (both PRO). Tank depth in my case is 30" (front to back) with the 15s I'd be able to spread them apart further (couple inches) but would avoid the fans constantly running.

Would you go with the 30s if you were to do this again?

Yes I would. I never liked the look of the 15's on a large tank.
Plus you'd have double the cords/plugs.
And FWIW, I can't hear my fans running.

tenpercenter · 02/23/2018, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d2mini

Yes I would. I never liked the look of the 15's on a large tank.
Plus you'd have double the cords/plugs.
And FWIW, I can't hear my fans running.

Thanks! Took three evenings to make it through this build. It's awesome

d2mini · 03/08/2018, 09:09 AM

Ok guys, need some help!

Had a couple things going on with the tank lately and it's having an affect on my sps.

First, my ph was going down below 7.6 in the mornings. Got that taken care of by making adjustments to my calcium reactor by changing the feed pump and co2 settings. But while this was happening, my Alk was bouncing around. Not a whole lot but it went down as low as 6.5 and up as high as high 8's. I normally keep it around 8.0.

Second, as I was getting the reactor pretty much dialed in, I added the Radion diffusers.
My lux meter didn't record much drop in light, just a few % but Ecotech says they record PAR drops of around 20%. So considering that, I should have been upping my overall brightness, but I only upped it about 5% and then forgot about it.

So thats the two things that have changed/been happening lately.
My Alk is now a steady 7.3 for a week.
BUT... this past week (or two) I've been having problems.
My SPS are losing color intensity or browning out. My Milli's have turned brown, my Paletta Pink Tip lost it's pink... almost white, but still have the green. Some other greens dulled out. Blues dulled out. Purple Bonsai has dulled. My ORA Joe the Coral has STN's to almost nothing. I lost two frags, RTN's overnight. All sps and zoas seem just dandy.

So first I was thinking alk instability... but it wasn't THAT bad. It's not like it shot up to 11. And the changes weren't overnight, they were over a few days.
Then I remembered about the light. Could the decrease in light have caused any of this?

Parameters are all stable and in line.
pH now ranges from 7.76 to 8.0.
Alk 7.6
Calc - haven't checked in awhile but was around 430
Mag - 1400 last i checked
Salinity - 1.0256
Nitrate - 2-3ppm
P04 - haven't checked in a while, but was .04

I'll try to update some of the above parameters later today.
But any thoughts on what's going on?

SPotter · 03/08/2018, 09:25 AM

sorry to hear about this Dennis. I am leaning towards the fluctuation in alk as the culprit here. I think the lower par because of the diffusers probably helped you a little because with the drop in alk and higher intensity you probably would have burned more corals. I would double check the no3 and po4 numbers and see where they are. I would also suggest sending water to ATI or Triton. I like ATI better because they test your rodi water as well. A local guy was having an issue in his tank with dino's and the ATI results showed extremely high levels of Silicon and Phosphorous.

d2mini · 03/08/2018, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPotter

sorry to hear about this Dennis. I am leaning towards the fluctuation in alk as the culprit here. I think the lower par because of the diffusers probably helped you a little because with the drop in alk and higher intensity you probably would have burned more corals. I would double check the no3 and po4 numbers and see where they are. I would also suggest sending water to ATI or Triton. I like ATI better because they test your rodi water as well. A local guy was having an issue in his tank with dino's and the ATI results showed extremely high levels of Silicon and Phosphorous.

Thanks, Steve.
Are you saying the sps are burned, or you think they WOULD have been burned by the higher light?

Mostly its a browning/loss of color issue, with the exception of the two frags that RTN'd and the one small colony that is stn'ing... which by the way I can almost see the flesh flaking off.

N03 was tested last night but i'll update my p04.
I did have a Triton test done before I started messing with the reactor and everything was kosher. Maybe I should try an ATI. Waiting almost two weeks for Triton test results is frustrating. But I like how they give you a solution/dosing regimen to correcting any issues.

SPotter · 03/08/2018, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d2mini

Thanks, Steve.
Are you saying the sps are burned, or you think they WOULD have been burned by the higher light?

Mostly its a browning/loss of color issue, with the exception of the two frags that RTN'd and the one small colony that is stn'ing... which by the way I can almost see the flesh flaking off.

N03 was tested last night but i'll update my p04.
I did have a Triton test done before I started messing with the reactor and everything was kosher. Maybe I should try an ATI. Waiting almost two weeks for Triton test results is frustrating. But I like how they give you a solution/dosing regimen to correcting any issues.

sorry my response wasn't too clear...doing 5 things at once lol. I think they would have burned had you increased the intensity when you put the diffusers on because you alk dropped. I think the issues are because of the low alk numbers. My alk recently dropped because of issues I was having with my ca reactor. I lost a couple of pieces to rtn/stn and colors got really dull. its taken a few weeks but everything has gone back to how it was prior to the alk drop.

d2mini · 03/08/2018, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPotter

sorry my response wasn't too clear...doing 5 things at once lol. I think they would have burned had you increased the intensity when you put the diffusers on because you alk dropped. I think the issues are because of the low alk numbers. My alk recently dropped because of issues I was having with my ca reactor. I lost a couple of pieces to rtn/stn and colors got really dull. its taken a few weeks but everything has gone back to how it was prior to the alk drop.

Ok, great. Thanks for the clarification.
Hopefully things turn around now that my alk is stable!

SPotter · 03/08/2018, 09:52 AM

oh...ATI gives you dosing suggestions like triton. I like ATI better because they test rodi, alk and nitrates. They take about the same time as triton does. I recently sent off water samples to both of them at the same time to check for accuracy and consistency and everything was spot on between the two results.

d2mini · 03/08/2018, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPotter

oh...ATI gives you dosing suggestions like triton. I like ATI better because they test rodi, alk and nitrates. They take about the same time as triton does. I recently sent off water samples to both of them at the same time to check for accuracy and consistency and everything was spot on between the two results.

Good to know, thanks!

GQuinn · 03/08/2018, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d2mini

Finally got around to installing a booster pump on my Spectrapure RO/DI w/Auto Flush.
Got it from SpectraPure during black friday.
Pressure jumped from about 35-40 psi to 92 psi.

I know this is an old post, but I was wondering if you have a prefilter for your booster pump, or do you have it hooked in after the the first canister of the spectrapure unit?

d2mini · 03/09/2018, 08:55 AM

So it apparently my GHL conductivity calibration fluid was old/bad.
I calibrated my Red Sea Pro refractometer last night and then tested the tank water and it measured at 1.029.

Recalibrated the probe with the same pinpoint fluid I used for the refractometer and it was now reading the water as over 1.028, rather than the 1.0256 it was before.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GQuinn

I know this is an old post, but I was wondering if you have a prefilter for your booster pump, or do you have it hooked in after the the first canister of the spectrapure unit?

No prefilter. It's hooked up as instructed by Spectrapure.

Floyd R Turbo · 03/09/2018, 09:04 AM

Ouch

Vinny Kreyling · 03/09/2018, 09:41 AM

Some times technology has a tendency to "Bite Us In The "
At least you did catch it sooner than much later.

d2mini · 03/09/2018, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo

Ouch

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinny Kreyling

Some times technology has a tendency to "Bite Us In The "
At least you did catch it sooner than much later.

Yup. Not sure how much of an effect this had but I'm sure it didn't help matters.
Since I have the AWC system going all day long, I turned off the saltwater replacement and it's filling with just ATO water each time, to slowly bring levels back down over a few days.

swk · 03/09/2018, 12:51 PM

Hey Donald. What bar did you end up with? The B&R or bare steel OPB? I went with a rogue rack myself and do not regret the extra cost one bit. Extremely well built and has a million available add ons. Hard to beat.

d2mini · 03/09/2018, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swk

Hey Donald. What bar did you end up with? The B&R or bare steel OPB? I went with a rogue rack myself and do not regret the extra cost one bit. Extremely well built and has a million available add ons. Hard to beat.

Who's Donald?

I went with the bare steel B&R. Like it a lot. Knurl is grippy but not too bad on the hands.

swk · 03/09/2018, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d2mini

Who's Donald?

I went with the bare steel B&R. Like it a lot. Knurl is grippy but not too bad on the hands.

I’m sorry. I got you confused with another past HFB member....

I have a B&R and love it for squats and pushes. I do pulls and front squats with a bare centered Ohio bar. The patina I’m getting on the B&R is awesome. A great piece of equipment. As far as I’m concerned, having 2 bars is well worth the extra expense. Makes getting through lengthy full body lift days much more efficient imo. Lovely space!

d2mini · 03/09/2018, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swk

I’m sorry. I got you confused with another past HFB member....

I have a B&R and love it for squats and pushes. I do pulls and front squats with a bare centered Ohio bar. The patina I’m getting on the B&R is awesome. A great piece of equipment. As far as I’m concerned, having 2 bars is well worth the extra expense. Makes getting through lengthy full body lift days much more efficient imo. Lovely space!

hahaha, no worries

Yeah, I'll eventually had another bar with no center knurl. So far, at my newbie weights, I don't have any issues with deadlifts and i'm only doing low bar squats right now, no front. But I would like to not have to drag this bar in and out of the rack all the time! lol

swk · 03/09/2018, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d2mini

hahaha, no worries

Yeah, I'll eventually had another bar with no center knurl. So far, at my newbie weights, I don't have any issues with deadlifts and i'm only doing low bar squats right now, no front. But I would like to not have to drag this bar in and out of the rack all the time! lol

Are you running a starting strength linear progression right now?

Joe Kelley · 03/09/2018, 02:49 PM

Dennis, I've had a similar event. Put diffusers on G3 xr30 pro last week, switched 120 deg for 80 put back in service at some 80% and had STN on 2 pocillopora. Checked parameters and they were off, big water change and adjusted. Borrowed a PAR meter and upper levels were really high, 800ish. Lowered intensity to 50% and highest par is 450s upper and low 130 lower tank, IME the diffusers spread out the light pretty good but intensity is there, many hot spots too. 9" off surface.
Hope you get numbers dialed in,

Joe

d2mini · 03/09/2018, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swk

Are you running a starting strength linear progression right now?

I’m following Bigger Leaner Stronger. It’s a year program. It’s similar though.
I have the Starting Strength book for reference.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Kelley

Dennis, I've had a similar event. Put diffusers on G3 xr30 pro last week, switched 120 deg for 80 put back in service at some 80% and had STN on 2 pocillopora. Checked parameters and they were off, big water change and adjusted. Borrowed a PAR meter and upper levels were really high, 800ish. Lowered intensity to 50% and highest par is 450s upper and low 130 lower tank, IME the diffusers spread out the light pretty good but intensity is there, many hot spots too. 9" off surface.
Hope you get numbers dialed in,

Joe

Why go back to the 80’s, especially that close to the water?
The g4’s already have a wide spread of light and i’m 17” off the water. No hot spots.

seldon · 03/10/2018, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPotter

oh...ATI gives you dosing suggestions like triton. I like ATI better because they test rodi, alk and nitrates. They take about the same time as triton does. I recently sent off water samples to both of them at the same time to check for accuracy and consistency and everything was spot on between the two results.

I like using Aqua Medic's testing. They also give recommendations and I typically get results back in about a week.

Bpb · 03/10/2018, 01:27 PM

How do you like Bigger Leaner Stronger? I did stronglifts until I plateaued and then switched to mad cow for the last 6 months and every time I hit a brick wall at week 9 (deloaded twice. Same result). Thinking about trying something different

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

03/08/2018, 09:09 AM	#2380
d2mini Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 10,344	Ok guys, need some help! Had a couple things going on with the tank lately and it's having an affect on my sps. First, my ph was going down below 7.6 in the mornings. Got that taken care of by making adjustments to my calcium reactor by changing the feed pump and co2 settings. But while this was happening, my Alk was bouncing around. Not a whole lot but it went down as low as 6.5 and up as high as high 8's. I normally keep it around 8.0. Second, as I was getting the reactor pretty much dialed in, I added the Radion diffusers. My lux meter didn't record much drop in light, just a few % but Ecotech says they record PAR drops of around 20%. So considering that, I should have been upping my overall brightness, but I only upped it about 5% and then forgot about it. So thats the two things that have changed/been happening lately. My Alk is now a steady 7.3 for a week. BUT... this past week (or two) I've been having problems. My SPS are losing color intensity or browning out. My Milli's have turned brown, my Paletta Pink Tip lost it's pink... almost white, but still have the green. Some other greens dulled out. Blues dulled out. Purple Bonsai has dulled. My ORA Joe the Coral has STN's to almost nothing. I lost two frags, RTN's overnight. All sps and zoas seem just dandy. So first I was thinking alk instability... but it wasn't THAT bad. It's not like it shot up to 11. And the changes weren't overnight, they were over a few days. Then I remembered about the light. Could the decrease in light have caused any of this? Parameters are all stable and in line. pH now ranges from 7.76 to 8.0. Alk 7.6 Calc - haven't checked in awhile but was around 430 Mag - 1400 last i checked Salinity - 1.0256 Nitrate - 2-3ppm P04 - haven't checked in a while, but was .04 I'll try to update some of the above parameters later today. But any thoughts on what's going on? __________________ -dennis Elos Diamond 120xl \| Elos Stand \| Radion G4 Pros \| GHL Profilux Controller \| LifeReef Skimmer \| LifeReef Sump Photos taken with a Nikon D750 or Leica M. Last edited by d2mini; 03/08/2018 at 09:15 AM.

03/08/2018, 09:25 AM	#2381
SPotter Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Mt. Pleasant, SC Posts: 5,691	sorry to hear about this Dennis. I am leaning towards the fluctuation in alk as the culprit here. I think the lower par because of the diffusers probably helped you a little because with the drop in alk and higher intensity you probably would have burned more corals. I would double check the no3 and po4 numbers and see where they are. I would also suggest sending water to ATI or Triton. I like ATI better because they test your rodi water as well. A local guy was having an issue in his tank with dino's and the ATI results showed extremely high levels of Silicon and Phosphorous. __________________ Steve Am I really doing all of this for a fish tank?????? Current Tank Info: 360g Envision Acrylic Tank, Closed Loops, Vectra L1's, MP40QD's, 400w Radiums, Regal 300ext, Dastaco Ext3 CaRx, Controlled by GHL Profilux

03/08/2018, 09:52 AM	#2385
SPotter Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Mt. Pleasant, SC Posts: 5,691	oh...ATI gives you dosing suggestions like triton. I like ATI better because they test rodi, alk and nitrates. They take about the same time as triton does. I recently sent off water samples to both of them at the same time to check for accuracy and consistency and everything was spot on between the two results. __________________ Steve Am I really doing all of this for a fish tank?????? Current Tank Info: 360g Envision Acrylic Tank, Closed Loops, Vectra L1's, MP40QD's, 400w Radiums, Regal 300ext, Dastaco Ext3 CaRx, Controlled by GHL Profilux

03/09/2018, 09:04 AM	#2389
Floyd R Turbo Either busy or sleeping Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: West Des Moines, IA Posts: 4,265 Blog Entries: 15	Ouch __________________ Algae Scrubber Basics!!! GOOGLE "algaescrubber zoho" General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky) --> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729

03/09/2018, 09:41 AM	#2390
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	Some times technology has a tendency to "Bite Us In The " At least you did catch it sooner than much later. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

02/23/2018, 05:29 PM	#2377
tenpercenter Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 144	Dennis - trying to decide between (6) xr15s and (3) xr30s (both PRO). Tank depth in my case is 30" (front to back) with the 15s I'd be able to spread them apart further (couple inches) but would avoid the fans constantly running. Would you go with the 30s if you were to do this again?

03/09/2018, 12:51 PM	#2392
swk Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Wine Country CA Posts: 2,593	Hey Donald. What bar did you end up with? The B&R or bare steel OPB? I went with a rogue rack myself and do not regret the extra cost one bit. Extremely well built and has a million available add ons. Hard to beat. __________________ Member of Wine Country Reefers Current Tank Info: 75 gal SPS dominant reef. Geo calcium reactor with masterflex pump, Deltec 1455 skimmer, 2 mp40QD, mp10wes, lit by a 6x54 dimable ATI sunpower and controlled by Reef Angel

03/09/2018, 02:49 PM	#2397
Joe Kelley Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: North Hollywood, CA Posts: 1,022	Dennis, I've had a similar event. Put diffusers on G3 xr30 pro last week, switched 120 deg for 80 put back in service at some 80% and had STN on 2 pocillopora. Checked parameters and they were off, big water change and adjusted. Borrowed a PAR meter and upper levels were really high, 800ish. Lowered intensity to 50% and highest par is 450s upper and low 130 lower tank, IME the diffusers spread out the light pretty good but intensity is there, many hot spots too. 9" off surface. Hope you get numbers dialed in, Joe __________________ 130 gallon LeeMar rimless 54"x28"x21" and 70 gallon sump cycling, rock and sand.

03/10/2018, 01:27 PM	#2400
Bpb Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 3,148	How do you like Bigger Leaner Stronger? I did stronglifts until I plateaued and then switched to mad cow for the last 6 months and every time I hit a brick wall at week 9 (deloaded twice. Same result). Thinking about trying something different Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro