120 Gallon Salty Condo

[schooleyosis]

Good to know, thanks. I started with half of the recommended dose of GFO. Will add the full amount of GFO once this is exhausted.

 

[Saltgator]

Good to know, thanks. I started with half of the recommended dose of GFO. Will add the full amount of GFO once this is exhausted.

Yeah, I started with about a 3/4 cup for my 275 total water volume. I'll see if that's an ok dose once I'm BB.

Country Boy using tapatalk on his EVO

 

[schooleyosis]

I started with one cup for roughly 130 gallons total water volume. Nothing like dropping the bomb on the first day of the war huh? LOL

 

[Saltgator]

I started with one cup for roughly 130 gallons total water volume. Nothing like dropping the bomb on the first day of the war huh? LOL

Lol. Go get'em!! Lol.

Country Boy using tapatalk on his EVO

 

[bknapp]

Wow. That's a drastic change since I last saw the tank. I know you're running eckBAK, what are your nitrate levels? Remember the pellets won't bring down phosphates if there are no nitrates die them to consume. Keep your head up bro, that blue eye kole is sweet.

 

[dwilliams87]

Good luck man. I've been there. If you need any help let me know.

 

[schooleyosis]

Appreciate all the advice and support!

Nitrates are slightly above undetectable, so I'm pretty sure the pellets won't be able to aid in this battle anymore than they already have or are... That is the reason I wanted to start using MB7 to help add another strain of bacteria to potentially help. Not sure if I'm on the right track with using MB7 or not, but at this point I am willing to try just about anything.

I did another 15 gallon WC last night so that I could use the water to open my QT. So that's 30 gallons of WC in the past 2 days for the DT.

I constantly see the foxface picking at the rocks now that I have cut it's feedings in half. I guess I was such a generous caretaker that I probably overfed the whole tank. I think the cutting of the feedings alone will help greatly in this battle.

Blue eye arrives tomorrow, can't wait!

 

[bknapp]

I think if MB7 is going to do much of anything it would be in nitrate reduction. I think GFO is the best course of action, just need to test at the output of the reactor once a week to make sure that the media is so bringing down the phosphates and not releasing them back into the water column. Once GFO is spent or does more harm than good.

Just remember with the use of pellets it is important to feed the tank well, once your nitrates ate undetectable (which they are) the bacteria can no longer consume phosphates, and that's where people start the use of GFO.

 

[schooleyosis]

Understood. Curious to see what will happen with half the feedings if the nitrates are already just above 0???? Worse case I can start feeding more.

 

[bknapp]

More fish and more feeding equal more nitrates. That's the most simplistic way to look at it.

I think once you get those other two tangs in there and have that good sized one spot in there too nitrates will stop being undetectable, and the two 15 gallon water changes you just did probably did remove a good amount of nitrates.

 

[schooleyosis]

Good sized one spot?

 

[bknapp]

Fox face. Is yours not the one spot variety?

 

[schooleyosis]

Oh, forgot about that fatty! Yes, I have a rather large one-spot. I was thinking Tang for some reason.... Duh!!!! LOL.

Is there a form of liquid nitrates you can add to the tank? That sounds really odd but could you add a form of liquid nitrates to help the pellets knock out more phosphates or to just help the pellets in general? Or is food basically liquid nitrates? :smash:

 

[bknapp]

Fish foods and poop both contain nitrates. There are threads or there concerning adding nitrates on purpose in this same situation. I think it came down to using fish tank plant food, so a search for adding nitrates and there should be a few different threads. I can't remember the decisions and findings on those threads.

 

[schooleyosis]

Well I know there's a lot more poop from the Foxface floating around in the tank now that the Blue Tang is gone. We didn't name her Fece for nothing. Lol

 

[Saltgator]

When I ran bio pellets (I pulled mine because I needed to find my culprit to coral issues, basically removed everything I installed or used over the course of a year), my PO4 never dropped, but my nitrates were zero. I was always informed the best way to keep the pellets active/happy and working was to feed the fish. Between the food in the water column and what fish dispensed throughout, my pellets kept working and my fish stayed fat n happy. Good luck bud.

Country Boy using tapatalk on his EVO

 

[schooleyosis]

I'm going to test my P04 again today and see if it has dropped any since the beginning of the week.

I am seeing the best color I have ever seen out of my montipora's with a beautiful growth ring around all of them. All of the corals are looking really good so maybe a good change is in progress here....

 

[Saltgator]

I'm going to test my P04 again today and see if it has dropped any since the beginning of the week.

I am seeing the best color I have ever seen out of my montipora's with a beautiful growth ring around all of them. All of the corals are looking really good so maybe a good change is in progress here....

Great news on your montis. You might have found that sweet spot with the PO4 the corals like.

Country Boy using tapatalk on his EVO

 

[schooleyosis]

I sure hope so. A sign in the positive direction at this point in time is much needed. Let's hope my blue eye shows up looking good to!

 

[schooleyosis]

Blue Eye (Two Spot Bristle Tooth) Tang has arrived

It's tiny!!! between the size of a quarter and a half dollar. Already picking at everything in the QT so I put him a little piece of rock rubble in there from the sump to pick at. Gotta train it to eat GHA before I move it to the DT. LOL