50 gallon Starfire rimless build - Page 4

kevin_e · 05/01/2018, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishresponse

Corals get blasted by free floating “stuff” a lot in nature. Sure fish provide some of it too but The ocean also has tons of fish moving around the corals. Spot feeding can help push your corals to grow faster. You don’t need a lot of food but a little here and there. Beautiful tank you had. Too bad you had to take it down.

Thanks. I agree, it is a shame. This one will get there though.

kevin_e · 05/01/2018, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin_e

So for the last 5-7 days I've had a verify slight haziness to my water and my skimmer has been producing a very light tan with hints of whitish skimmate. At first I thought it was a filter sock that I used. I bleached the sock and risnsed it twice before using. It was pretty worn and I figured it just deteriorated a bit in my tank. But this has persisted. I'm guessing it's a bacterial bloom, maybe caused by the sock? Nothing else has really changed for me.

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I am wondering if detritus caused this. To back track, about 2 weeks ago my ATO failed. Since that time I have been doing the dreaded top off daily. My sump has a coating of detritus in spots. Every time I would top off, this would get stirred up. The timing more or less coincides.

Do you think this stirring caused something to change biologically and or chemically to spark this bloom?

kevin_e · 05/01/2018, 06:36 PM

Also, not sure if I updated, but I have a clip on low profile fan (5 fans) that I am going to mount to the back of the aquarium. That should knock 2-3 degrees off the temp and keep me between , 78-82 degrees through an eventual 8 hour cycle. Still on 3 hours through the weekend where I'll jump to 4.

Also, I have about 60 snails coming in this week. Neritrs, ceriths, both big and small, and nassarius snails, to be specific.

Also (one more), I will be adding chaeto as well. Need to figure out how I'm going to light it. Leaning towards a goosneck and a 6500k LED right now.

Also (okay, yes, another), I want to purchase a small wet dry vac and do biweekly to monthly sump cleanings. This will double as a water change.

Lastly, I have a new Hanna alk reagent coming in so I can start tracking. I'm noticing some growth on a few coral and I'm sure things will start picking up shortly.

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kevin_e · 05/02/2018, 06:01 PM

Bought a shop vac today. My plan is to do biweekly or monthly water changes, with it. I'm going to vaccuum the sump each time. I strongly believe that stiring up the sump detritus caused my bloom.

I also received my order of snails from Reef Cleaners today. They're adjusting now. Some have already adjusted and have started exploring.

My fan also came in and let me tell you, this thing is magical. It feels like it is barely blowing but my temp is 2 degrees cooler than where it is usually at this time. In fact, it's only gone up 1 degree in 2.5 hours with a 400 watt halide over top!

My new optic for the top off also came in, so I no longer need to hand top off. This will be a big plus now that the fan is up. I'm sure I'll have more evaporatation. This is the Smart ATO. Best top off I've ever had. Just don't let the adapter get water in it lol

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kevin_e · 05/09/2018, 07:44 AM

I had a Two Little Fishes 150 Phosban reactor laying around and some soda lime pellets.

I added it to my skimmer intake on Sunday afternoon and my pH shot up form 7.48-7.78 to 7.85-8.13. I plan on also running the line outside the window. So I will be sucking in fresh air into the CO2 reactor and then to the skimmer. I would like to get my pH up to 8.0-8.2. Hopefully chaeto will help with that as well.

Soda lime is generally expensive, but it looks like I will get a good 7 days out of a canister, with one 3 lb bag providing two full canisters. At $9 per bag, I am looking at $234 a year in soda lime. I am hoping that by running the line outside first, I can double the life, if not triple the life of the soda lime. 10-14 days per canister at $9 would be $164-$117 a year. That is much more affordable at $10-12 per month.

Of course it's not a futile effort either. I know folks say don't worry about pH, but a pH running from 7.48-7.78 is a problem.

kevin_e · 08/13/2018, 04:34 PM

I'm a little surprised that I haven't seen any coraline yet. On one hand, I'm glad. On the other, I usually judge its growth for how well, or how good the conditions are for acro growth. I haven't seen a speck of it yet and my tank has been filled since mid November 2017. I introduced live stock March 2017. So it's been about 6 months since the cycle ended. I've had some moderate encrusting and some moments of improved color. But improvement and growth is overall minor thus far.

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kevin_e · 01/22/2019, 09:53 PM

What a struggle. Lost a lot of acros due to a poor heater. It's been almost a year since I put coral in and in and I must say, very recently, I started noticing a lot of life that wasn't there before. Some sponges, feather dusters and tube worms. Think the tank may be maturing?

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reefmutt · 01/22/2019, 10:05 PM

It’s a sign! Get ye an acro frag in there!!

01/22/2019, 09:53 PM	#82
kevin_e Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,083	What a struggle. Lost a lot of acros due to a poor heater. It's been almost a year since I put coral in and in and I must say, very recently, I started noticing a lot of life that wasn't there before. Some sponges, feather dusters and tube worms. Think the tank may be maturing? Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk Last edited by kevin_e; 01/22/2019 at 10:07 PM.

01/22/2019, 10:05 PM	#83
reefmutt Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Mtl. Canada Posts: 7,824	It’s a sign! Get ye an acro frag in there!! __________________ Matt. Current Tank Info: 53x32.5x26 190g dt 60g of sumps 3 tank-100 gal frag system 6xAI prime 8xt5. 4x maxspect gyre. Skimz Dual internal sicce pump skimmer Deltec PF601s ca rx+Kalk stirrer

05/01/2018, 06:36 PM	#78
kevin_e Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,083	Also, not sure if I updated, but I have a clip on low profile fan (5 fans) that I am going to mount to the back of the aquarium. That should knock 2-3 degrees off the temp and keep me between , 78-82 degrees through an eventual 8 hour cycle. Still on 3 hours through the weekend where I'll jump to 4. Also, I have about 60 snails coming in this week. Neritrs, ceriths, both big and small, and nassarius snails, to be specific. Also (one more), I will be adding chaeto as well. Need to figure out how I'm going to light it. Leaning towards a goosneck and a 6500k LED right now. Also (okay, yes, another), I want to purchase a small wet dry vac and do biweekly to monthly sump cleanings. This will double as a water change. Lastly, I have a new Hanna alk reagent coming in so I can start tracking. I'm noticing some growth on a few coral and I'm sure things will start picking up shortly. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

05/02/2018, 06:01 PM	#79
kevin_e Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,083	Bought a shop vac today. My plan is to do biweekly or monthly water changes, with it. I'm going to vaccuum the sump each time. I strongly believe that stiring up the sump detritus caused my bloom. I also received my order of snails from Reef Cleaners today. They're adjusting now. Some have already adjusted and have started exploring. My fan also came in and let me tell you, this thing is magical. It feels like it is barely blowing but my temp is 2 degrees cooler than where it is usually at this time. In fact, it's only gone up 1 degree in 2.5 hours with a 400 watt halide over top! My new optic for the top off also came in, so I no longer need to hand top off. This will be a big plus now that the fan is up. I'm sure I'll have more evaporatation. This is the Smart ATO. Best top off I've ever had. Just don't let the adapter get water in it lol Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

05/09/2018, 07:44 AM	#80
kevin_e Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,083	I had a Two Little Fishes 150 Phosban reactor laying around and some soda lime pellets. I added it to my skimmer intake on Sunday afternoon and my pH shot up form 7.48-7.78 to 7.85-8.13. I plan on also running the line outside the window. So I will be sucking in fresh air into the CO2 reactor and then to the skimmer. I would like to get my pH up to 8.0-8.2. Hopefully chaeto will help with that as well. Soda lime is generally expensive, but it looks like I will get a good 7 days out of a canister, with one 3 lb bag providing two full canisters. At $9 per bag, I am looking at $234 a year in soda lime. I am hoping that by running the line outside first, I can double the life, if not triple the life of the soda lime. 10-14 days per canister at $9 would be $164-$117 a year. That is much more affordable at $10-12 per month. Of course it's not a futile effort either. I know folks say don't worry about pH, but a pH running from 7.48-7.78 is a problem.

08/13/2018, 04:34 PM	#81
kevin_e Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,083	I'm a little surprised that I haven't seen any coraline yet. On one hand, I'm glad. On the other, I usually judge its growth for how well, or how good the conditions are for acro growth. I haven't seen a speck of it yet and my tank has been filled since mid November 2017. I introduced live stock March 2017. So it's been about 6 months since the cycle ended. I've had some moderate encrusting and some moments of improved color. But improvement and growth is overall minor thus far. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk