★★★ Project " GENESIS (II) 2020 " ★ [ Re-Engineered / REBOOT ] ★ SPS 110G ★★★

[WallyB]

FTS (HISTORY COMPARION) Moving along POSITIVELY


Going backwards in Time.

What I noticed today with Photo Compares and View in Tank is the TOP RIGHT (Turbinaria has healed and grown)

June 2020 (today) Compare to last month (below), there is some Growth in spots, and Certainly Color Improvement.

Also above shows the clear increase of Green Patches of Lettuce Algae on rocks.
Hoping the CUC/Tang take care of that.....If Not some pruning will be needed. I tried a bit today, it's easy to pluck.

May 2020 (1 month ago)...What I see last month is the Top/Left Rainbow Loom looked better. Hoping it recovers.

Jan 2020 (6 months ago) Just before Gensis II (which started Feb 26th)

 

[WallyB]

CYANO FREE ( Less than a Week ) No ChemiClean (JUST FLOW)

I've been distracted so just noticed this Tonight.

Didn't need to do the regular Weekly Power Wash with a MaxJet.

It's Lush Purple with Coraline (without that RED EyeSore Cyano)

However there is the Lettuce Algae Patches. Now they have become the NEW EYE SORE.
I actually had to pluck some off, as they were smothering a tiny SHORT Frag.

Where are the Turbo Snails and Emerald Crabs!!

 

[revhtree]

Tank is looking great!!

 

[WallyB]

Whew!! I guess the EMERALD Crabs and TURBO Snails ( WOKE UP / Caught UP!! )

I actually was getting Quite Worried about the Lettuce Macro Algae Patches.
LOST a frag since it was smothered from light. Another one was at risk.

Then I notice today, the lack of green coverage. No more thick bunches of Lettuce Leaves!!

Somebody has been Munching....
Someone has been Munching A LOT.

The Patches are all groomed, grazed down to almost nothing.

THIS IS AMAZING!!

 

[WallyB]

You're missing the Excitement....

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/n...-citric-acid-how-much-when-i-know-alk.736439/

This is my Tank Now.

No worries, things are under control and doing well....

 

[najer]

How are the corals doing?

 

[WallyB]

How are the corals doing?

So far so good.
I posted the link to the Recovery thread.

I think things are going to be Great. Nice to clean up the Tank. I got rid of that Cabbage Algae, and when I put corals back, it will be all done properly.
WHat I found shocking is many of the frags were so loose, they fell off when I barely touched them. (The putty and glue wasn't holding). I think they would have held once they encrusted on rock.
This time, I scrubbed the rocks so nice foundation to glue on to.

 

[WallyB]

The Tank is Nicely Cleaned and Polished. Like Never Before.

Scrubbed off all that Nasty Cabbage Algae. Even found a hidden bubble Algae Cluster.
And Covered up one Fern Algae Patch with Putty (To ensure it doesn't come back)

Scrapped off that Crusty Flaking Coraline Sheets which kept breaking apart.

Things will be ready soon to put back corals.....

Alk is almost matched between DT and the Coral Holding Tank.

May start putting things back tomorrow.

This was BEFORE, and I'll never get things to be the same. Maybe Better.

If I save majority of the Corals this was a Good thing that Happened.

 

[WallyB]

Started Restoring Tank ( Baby Steps ) Hardy Turbinaria First (Better Placement/Orientation)

Put the Turbinaria back to make more room in the Tank. Tucked into Corner, and less Shading.

After and Hour is Woke Up with Happy PE.

ONWARD!!

 

[WallyB]

5 Day ago........ Save the Tank fiasco...... (I think I did the right thing...Lost not one SPS at this point)

BEFORE This all began.....

and THE ENDING....... Project GENESIS (II) SPIKEd !!

The corals are still stressed from the Fresh Move Back.....But they are fine in general.

Time will tell if they all make it.

I do like the clean up, and the new (Rock/Coral) (Placement/Adjustments). (Fish have more nooks and caves too)

No more Algae of any kind.

No Cyano, since I Did treat the Tank with ChemiClean.

Onward.......NEVER want to do that again...EVER!!!!!!!!!

 

[WallyB]

ALK Accident (RETIRES OLD DOSER) ... a little sooner...Good Purpose..

Now I'm going to be 90% AUTOMATED......(Still have to do basic maintenance)

This Frozen Feeder Idea hit me when I was heading up to Cottage Last week, but I ran out of time...

After the Alk Accident on the Old Doser, I'm moving ahead Faster...with The Doser Replacement....

I already built the replacement Doser, so now the time is right as I fixed up all my mistakes causing the Alk Spike.
Before I leave again....

I actually finished the New Doser IQ+ just a few Week ago.

It will be integrated with the AquaMon DIY Alk Monitor that I built a few Months ago.
Together they will MONITOR ALK and DOSE (2 Part) in all my 3 Tanks.
EVENTUALLY. 100% Automatic, but too soon for that (till I devise a Algorythm/Logic after much testing)

The Graphs and the Charts seen in previous Post are all Part of the Common WEB Interface I made for the Alk Monitor. (Alk MOnitor is a Robotic Hanna Alk Tester)

Both The Alk-Mon and the Doser-IQ are Remote web access and I can control EVERYTHING when away from Home as well.

So what about the OLD DOSER??

I never throw anything out (that's useful)

So it's converted into a Vacation Frozen Feeder.

Simple re-use of exiting features in the DIY DOSER:

- The Coolatron Cooler (too Small for vacations) will be keep things cool on DC Power
- The Magenetic Stirred Run by the Doser will now Stirr up the Frozen Food Soup (Recipie=RoWater+cubes).
- And The Doser will send Frozen, Cool Soup to the 3 Tanks (while I'm away)

Now I can go away, without any worries this time.....

If it Siphons and over feeds....FISH WILL LOVE IT Corals TOO!!

 

[WallyB]

POST SPIKE (UPDATE) Alk has Dropped Close to Target (Turning On Dosing NOW).
One SPS Burned TIP/ (Alk? Lighting)

So things are going well in general.

Everything fined....Except One SPS my ORA PerlBerry got burned tips. I think I placed it too high compared to where it was before.

SO I decided to Lower Lighting Intensity since the Tank is extremly Bright with the Polished Water.

** Clear water is from the Extra Water Changes, and I treated the Tank with ChemiClean just before the Alk Spike **
I reduced down 50% on the LEDs, but left T5's the Same. Will acclimate LED up over next 6 weeks.

Alk continues to drop, and appears to be speeding up.

To be on the Safe side I will be turning on TWO Part Dosing with small amounts to slow down the ALK Drop.
Eventually get ALK to stabilize at 8.0.

I got my N up to 5.0 pppm, and am adding Amino's nightly for SPS nutrients/Healing.

 

[WallyB]

UPDATE: Tank ALK Stabilized // Family Vacation Just Cancelled (Covid Bust)

Tank Alk is Stable.

Really Cool that I got it stable with Dosing on first Guess/try.
Handy Tool helped. http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chemcalc.html (Dead on Accurate for ESV two Part Dosing)

I went to get more Alk Reagent and came home with some New/Replacement Frags (5, including a replacement Pearlberry)
Good to have a Reference between the Recovering Frags, and Healthy ones.

Tank looks Good. Newbies Stand out Glaring Bright.

And on a SAD Note. I just cancelled our Family Vacation Booked for Aug 15th (booked 9 months ago).
Just too risky to Travel these days. Expedia updated Cancellation Policy and we got a Hefty Refund that wasn't expected. (Not 100% but close to 80%)

Our Trip was to Turks and Caicos. Family of 5. Wife and 3 Kids. Possibly our Last Vac. Together since 2 kids off to Univesity.

Found these Photo's from 3 Years ago. Last time we were there.

This was....
(Turtle Cove Reef Santuary Park) Turks and Caicos. Walk in Snorkelling from Shore.

The Most Crystal Clear Water I've ever Seen, and I'm a Diver, that has Dove a few Nice Places.
Snorkling Here is better than Real Reef Diving off a Boat. $FREE$ too.

Grace Bay is protected from the Rough Ocean, so water is calm and Flat Like Glasss.

Those Bouys on the Right Is the Reef, and you snorkle around it.
Juts out in spots so you enter the Reef. and you see SPS Corals, Huge Brains, Fish of all kinds. And one early Morning, Sea Turtles.

Got this TANG School Photo.

The Sea Fans were out of this World Colorful.

A school of ??? Fish !! THOUSANDS!!!

I got this photo....I chased him down. Then he turned on me...Got interested in my Shiny Camera...
I actually drop the Camera and High Tailed to Shore. Most Scared I've been in the ocean. And I've seen sharks.
These Baracuda's Have NASTY SMILES (with the Long Teeths)

After RainFall Sunset.

So, A few NEW Frags, to Cheer up the Tank and me.

I actually started this Reef Tank Hobby after first Dive Trip and Certification in Mexico. 2+ Decades ago.
The Santa Rosa Wall is where I got certified.
I wanted a Reef at Home, after that.....the rest is History.

 

[WallyB]

ALK OVERDOSE (DATA POINT SUMMARY: of Spike, Stabilization, and Recovery)

No point in double posting, but I want my thread complete.

Here is the summary in a POST on my ALk Monitor Thread.

accidental-alk-overdose-part-a-siphon-into-tank-how-to-bring-alk-down-vinegar-citric-acid-other-option-move-corals-to-holding-tank

Basically I learned a lot and gathered some data points to Automote my Tank even better.

Now no more accidents, and get those corals growing and Colorful

Maybe build a New Controller with one of these coming out any day....
https://reefbuilders.com/2020/06/19/hanna-nitrate-checker-coming-soon-for-the-low-range/
Why? Well my Alk was an accident. I had it stable, but my Nitrate bottoming out probably caused more damage to the SPS, including Color Loss!

 

[WallyB]

Been Quiet, but Not IDLE ( Completed the Frozen Feeder for Total Tank Automation 24/7)

So I made significant improvement in the DIY Frozen Food Feeder. It's been running for about a couple of weeks.
One whole week while I was away from home. Flawless and works Great.

I'm running it Full Time, with my Ehiem Flake Pellet Feeders, so I no longer feed my Fish. Just fill things up once a week.

All 3 Tank are Fully automated with the Water Changer, Alk Monitor, Smart Doser, and the Feeders.

R2R even got me to do an Article on the Feeder. So I now have a New Badge to my Collection.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-auto-frozen-food-feeder.753039/


Here is a Video Demo if you don't want to bother with the Article Details.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Been Quiet, but Not IDLE ( Completed the Frozen Feeder for Total Tank Automation 24/7)

So I made significant improvement in the DIY Frozen Food Feeder. It's been running for about a couple of weeks.
One whole week while I was away from home. Flawless and works Great.

I'm running it Full Time, with my Ehiem Flake Pellet Feeders, so I no longer feed my Fish. Just fill things up once a week.

All 3 Tank are Fully automated with the Water Changer, Alk Monitor, Smart Doser, and the Feeders.

R2R even got me to do an Article on the Feeder. So I now have a New Badge to my Collection.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-auto-frozen-food-feeder.753039/


Here is a Video Demo if you don't want to bother with the Article Details.

Wow. Watched the video. Very cool setup Wally. Heading to the article now.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

@WallyB great-looking tank! Any new updates?

 

[Fudsey]

Ya @WallyB we need an update ! ! !

 

[WallyB]

Ya @WallyB we need an update ! ! !

There will be an Update. Actually TWO.

I've been quiet since I lost interest in my Tanks (the whole hobby) since I got Overwhelmed with things (Work and Family Life).
Let's say things turned up side down, inside out in many ways, and it all started on my 55th Birthday Sept 18th. A chain reaction of events. Nothing to do with my Birthday, but it was coincidental. Really wiped me out and overwhlemed me like never before. Maybe it was me getting older, and things just got to me a bit harder.

It was a good thing I spent years building all that AUTOMATION, since that's exactly what kept my Tanks going.
The Frozen Feeder was the Icing on the Cake since the fish never starved.

It took and while for me to get my head above water with things. Things are still not quite back to normal but better.
I then thought what better way to cheer myself up than a mini-overhaul on my Tanks.

So slowly, I been doing some LET'S SAY...."TOUCH UPS on BOTH my Tanks".

I'll share a bit.

For my 90 Gal LPS Kitchen Tank, I've been scouring the Planet for the Finest Euphelia one can find. (Well not planet, but a very good LFS that get's shipments quite often, and I always popped in on shipment days...to get first dibs on the Stock)
NOthing High End but to me spectacular colored LPS.
I was super careful to acclimate the tank specimens in my Frag Tank. Gave them the upmost attention and care, which was a bit Easier with a Small 35 Gallon Tank. I didn't do much for my DT's, except fill up food for fish.

Once my confidence was up with the New Corals in the 35G, I moved a few to the Kitchen DT. They did well, so I started moving more over (just a few days ago)
Need more, with things going well, got a Couple of Ultra High End Torches.
The LPS tank is starting to look really nice.

As far as my 110 Gal Office TANK, I almost gave up on SPS, and was planning on converting anything but SPS (thus the hunt for Euphelia). YEAH I was going to Rip out all SPS, and go MIXED (no sps). Really close to doing it. Even thought going Life Rock and Fish Only.

But when I had my Frag tank filled and Glowing with Euphelia, I knew they were meant for my Kitchen tank, which left me with an Almost Empty SPS Tank.

An opportunity came along for a Deal on a Radion G4, XR15. I placed it in the middle of my T5 setup for Hybird Lighting.
Raising the T5's QUITE HIGH and adding the G4 Radion really changed things. Perfect PAR (250-450)/Even Spread/and wonderful Light Spectrum (minimal shimmer).
The Few SPS hanging in there WOKE UP. (That was again just a few days ago.).
So, I decided to give SPS one more try, and got some of my Favorite SPS Frag Specicies.
They are on a rack at the back and acclimating.

So two tanks are basically New and Fresh Look. With some Luck, I'll have something to show in a few weeks.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Sorry things got rough for you, @WallyB, but very glad that you're powering through. Glad the tank overhauls are going well. All the best to you, sir!