Mark's 150 gallon

[markalot]

Macro shots, sorry no top downs yet. I'm a tad out of practice, some of these are not as sharp as I'd like.

[markalot]

[reefmutt]

https://i.imgur.com/k5IDj3kh.jpg
Love the contrast!
Great shots!
Shoot. Didn’t post the photo, just the link.. it’s the shot of the blue stag in front of the green slimer

[Wrangy]

Gorgeous Mark!

[FloformAustria]

wow mark i love those macro shots!!

good work man!!

Cheers

[markalot]

Originally Posted by Wrangy

Gorgeous Mark!

Originally Posted by FloformAustria

wow mark i love those macro shots!!

good work man!!

Cheers

Thanks guys.

So here's the top downs, finally.

Since reading 2ppb Phosphate and 0 nitrate I backed off PhosphateRx dosing to 1 drop every other day and 2 drops my mixture of CaNO3 daily.

The acro some of us call Katropora converts Nitrates directly to color, and I am not kidding. It's really amazing the show this acro can put on when Nitrates are 5 or better. I only have my 35mm (50mm equiv) lens at the moment so these shots are a little close.





On the very left side of the tank, out of focus on the left, a frag of this acro in 100 PAR. Even in that low light it puts on a show.



Red Robin, yea, it's really red.


... and remember I moved the Lokani on top of the peach dragon?




This one is pretty from the top.


The acro I've probably worked hardest to save. This has pink tips, at least under Radiums where I bought it. Crashed the tank just after getting it, saved a small brown piece, nursed it back to health and finally, 1.5 years later, it's getting the pink tips.



All is not good though. This is the acro I have not called an SSC, but I think it is and it appears to be doing what all SSC's do in this tank.





Yellow is mostly gone, skin is tight, very little polyp extension in front and none in back. I think it's doomed, but we'll see. It was fighting with two other acros so I cut all away to give it some space.

[markalot]

Check out Hairy Horrida on the left. Nice blue, when the polyps move out of the way. Top down was all polyps.



FTS

[janci]

Stunning.

[Pife]

There is very little to say about your tank other than absolutely stunning. How many fish do you have in that thing nowadays?

[DiscusHeckel]

I echo what my fellow reefers said above. Very impressive indeed.

I love the colour of polyps on your "katropora". Stylophora guttatus and the coral on its left look stunning too. I have recently purchased a "bird of paradise" stylophora from a fellow reefer, but have not been able to collect it due bad weather. I hope it will look as colourful as yours.

[watchguy123]

Picture perfect photos of picture perfect corals. Wow

[reefmutt]

Hey Mark, looking amazing! Back to its full glory.
Sscs are an odd and sensitive coral.. I’ve had them grow well and then just brown out and wither away. Had them start out strong and then stop.. but I’ve never had one with as much amazing red as yours.
Still luvin the lokani!
And your saved from the brink acro also looks great!

[SawCJack00]

Great pictures Mark. The tank looks awesome!

[Wrangy]

S.T.U.N.N.I.N.G

[Arkayology]

Looking good, Mark!

[Piper27]

What a well put together reef, beautiful photos and awesome growth formations.

[markalot]

Thanks all,

The Lokani looked fantastic, and then RTN started. I made 3 frags, 2 died, one is still there but honestly I think the entire coral is dead. I left it in the shade too long, or something is wrong with the water and this is the second coral to show signs. It was such a tank of a coral, surviving everything that has gone wrong in this tank, and now poof. The right half i still alive so I'll make some more frags tonight and see if I'm lucky enough to get one to survive.

Besides the SSC everything else loosk healthy and is actively growing. /shrug

I purchased the ATI water test kit, should have some results in 7 to 10 days. I can;t find anything wrong, but looking back my attempt to lower PO4 and Nitrates is probably what did it. Stability above all else.

[reefmutt]

Crap! Not the lokani!
Ouch.
I hate those mysterious occurrences. So frustrating.
I’ve had plenty myself... no doubt you are right though, Mark.
Whenever things change, that’s when the so called mystery events happen..

[markalot]

Here's the ugly photos.



One frag still alive and has turned a deep brown, which IMO is a good sign. parts of the living section are turning brown as well, which is different from the parts that RTN'ed ... but I won't get my hopes up yet.



SSC stable, no additional loss.


Acro colors are some of the best I've ever had so I think water is in good shape, it was me doubling up PhosphateRx and NOPOX that had to do it. 2 PPB Phosphate is something that poor Lokani hadn't seen in years, and it was an abandoned acro in a LFS tank that was under lit and dirty since one store was going out of business. Most likely was starving, in too much shade ... and then I moved it to a much brighter spot. Stupid stupid stupid.

If I can save a part of it and the tank doesn't go into a full meltdown then at least I'll have some additional confidence I can maintain this long term.

[Pife]

Oh man, let's hope it stops where it's at.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[DiscusHeckel]

I echo what Brandon said above.

In my opinion, lack of phosphates does more harm to corals than their presence in the water column.

Furthermore, although I don't think it is the cause of your issues on this occasion, using GFO while dosing organic carbon may not be a good idea in general. To quote Hans-Werner Balling: "I recommend the Elimi-Phos [aluminium-based phosphate binder] instead of Elimi-Phos Longlife [GFO] when doing organic carbon dosing because organic carbon dosing may reduce oxygen in the phosphate adsorbing granules and release phosphate and iron from the phosphate adsorbant"

FWIW, here is the article written by RHF on the effects of excess iron on organisms: https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/10/chemistry

[plyle02]

Hey Mark, some amazing photos there man, wow! As far as the uglies, we all go through it, and I am sure you will fix it Cheers

[markalot]

Originally Posted by Pife

Oh man, let's hope it stops where it's at.

Thanks. So far it hasn't progressed any.

Originally Posted by DiscusHeckel

I echo what Brandon said above.

In my opinion, lack of phosphates does more harm to corals than their presence in the water column.

Furthermore, although I don't think it is the cause of your issues on this occasion, using GFO while dosing organic carbon may not be a good idea in general. To quote Hans-Werner Balling: "I recommend the Elimi-Phos [aluminium-based phosphate binder] instead of Elimi-Phos Longlife [GFO] when doing organic carbon dosing because organic carbon dosing may reduce oxygen in the phosphate adsorbing granules and release phosphate and iron from the phosphate adsorbant"

FWIW, here is the article written by RHF on the effects of excess iron on organisms: https://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/10/chemistry

Hi Bulent,

I don't use GFO. Maybe this was posted in the wrong thread? Regardless, I think that using PhosphateRx (lanthanum) along with carbon dosing was a big mistake. Balance was changed, change is generally bad, and now I'm paying for it.

Originally Posted by plyle02

Hey Mark, some amazing photos there man, wow! As far as the uglies, we all go through it, and I am sure you will fix it Cheers

Thanks Perry, fingers crossed it doesn't get worse.

[DiscusHeckel]

Originally Posted by markalot

Hi Bulent,

I don't use GFO. Maybe this was posted in the wrong thread? Regardless, I think that using PhosphateRx (lanthanum) along with carbon dosing was a big mistake. Balance was changed, change is generally bad, and now I'm paying for it.

This is my fault. I thought phosphateRx was GFO.

[markalot]

Originally Posted by DiscusHeckel

This is my fault. I thought phosphateRx was GFO.

No worries, good information regardless. I blame my previous issues on GFO, dropping PO4 too fast and unable to keep it stable. Give me enough time and I can screw anything up.