38-Gallon Reef

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Apollo7235

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Day 02 Post Vibrant Dose #1:

Holy algae bloom!!! I can barely see through the glass and there is now algae covering the tops of the exposed frag plugs, which wasn’t there yesterday.

I know that in the BRS review videos I watched, they had significant blooms after adding Vibrant, but it was a ‘gets worse before it gets better’ type of thing, so hopefully that’s what this is.

I can’t stand not being able to see through my glass, especially when trying to feed my NPS, so I’m probably going to order a glass scrubber so I can get some visibility back.

Anyway, here are today’s photos:

8512D87B-0391-4D48-B29D-F2A028F2E1BF.jpeg D3ED8766-021C-410C-9E2A-623F38AFD320.jpeg 5DD56289-38E7-4AF1-8173-704A9DA0B9BA.jpeg F59ED2ED-194B-4088-98CB-CFBCF880BBEC.jpeg
 

Shirak

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Day 02 Post Vibrant Dose #1:

Holy algae bloom!!! I can barely see through the glass and there is now algae covering the tops of the exposed frag plugs, which wasn’t there yesterday.

I know that in the BRS review videos I watched, they had significant blooms after adding Vibrant, but it was a ‘gets worse before it gets better’ type of thing, so hopefully that’s what this is.

I can’t stand not being able to see through my glass, especially when trying to feed my NPS, so I’m probably going to order a glass scrubber so I can get some visibility back.

Anyway, here are today’s photos:

8512D87B-0391-4D48-B29D-F2A028F2E1BF.jpeg D3ED8766-021C-410C-9E2A-623F38AFD320.jpeg 5DD56289-38E7-4AF1-8173-704A9DA0B9BA.jpeg F59ED2ED-194B-4088-98CB-CFBCF880BBEC.jpeg
Turn the pumps off and you can scrape it down with an old credit card or razor blade. Will come off in nice sheets which you can suck out with a siphon so the nutrients are out of the tank. The Vibrant can take a while to work so don't worry about it. The green film algae won't harm anything.
 
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Turn the pumps off and you can scrape it down with an old credit card or razor blade. Will come off in nice sheets which you can suck out with a siphon so the nutrients are out of the tank. The Vibrant can take a while to work so don't worry about it. The green film algae won't harm anything.
Great idea, thank you!
It actually looks like the hair algae is on the glass now too, but it is what it is. Hopefully the Vibrant kicks in soon! I’d really like my tank fresh and clean again and my frags nice a algae free before I move them to my display!
 
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I woke up this morning to some ticked off coral, my denro and duncan specifically. Ammonia Badge showed 0, so did a Salifert test verification and 0 it was. I suspected a spike in nitrates since I added the BioSpira to give the bacteria population a boost the day before yesterday. Turns out I was right.

Nitrate at 20ppm for the first time (and I'm sure not the last) in my time enjoying this hobby, pH down to ~7.8, phosphates still at 0....???

Anyway, one 50% water change later, nitrates down to 10ppm and pH back up around 8.0. I'll do another 50% water change tomorrow to see if I can get those nitrates down a bit further, but I need to figure out a better method to this madness. 50% water changes 2-3 times weekly on my display is going to be a pain in the butt.

I know I've read something here or there about probiotic systems for NPS tanks.....Maybe I'll look into that.
 
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Day 03 Post Vibrant Dose #1:

Oh my algae! Definitely no improvement today, much, much worse. I seem to remember reading somewhere that they recommend dosing twice a week when it’s this bad, but I’m not 100% sure that I want to go that route so soon.

Good Lord. Hopefully some improvement soon! Algae scraper coming in tomorrow, I believe, so at least the glass will be clean again.

0CDF60E5-E92B-4310-8749-595CE4B0290A.jpeg

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ED44AB6B-D2C0-4F84-9ABC-630FC208468B.jpeg
 
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Day 04 Post Vibrant Dose #1:

Still no noticeable change In the algae, but I did scrape what I could off of the front glass which definitely helps with feeding. Ammonia zero, phosphates still 0, and nitrates between 10 and 15ppm.

Performed another 50% water change and siphoned all the algae I could from the scraping. Retested nitrates and got a 0 reading, so definitely a victory there.

I starting dosing phyto (OceanMagik) today as well, so hopefully that will also lend a hand in this process.

Anyway, here are tonight’s photos:

3B69C05C-7DBE-4271-BE99-06F61C274C70.jpeg
6F2E556D-A892-452B-A8DA-92595412D491.jpeg
5112F72D-1825-4ACB-B5A3-F3D0B2E9B33A.jpeg C80CA50B-F1A4-49CF-9C85-D0F0B4982493.jpeg
And one of my sun coral because seeing it flourishing makes me happy :)

6F5039C4-DD68-43B9-A037-93FA5BB2FD45.jpeg
 

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Day 04 Post Vibrant Dose #1:

Still no noticeable change In the algae, but I did scrape what I could off of the front glass which definitely helps with feeding. Ammonia zero, phosphates still 0, and nitrates between 10 and 15ppm.

Performed another 50% water change and siphoned all the algae I could from the scraping. Retested nitrates and got a 0 reading, so definitely a victory there.

I starting dosing phyto (OceanMagik) today as well, so hopefully that will also lend a hand in this process.

Anyway, here are tonight’s photos:

3B69C05C-7DBE-4271-BE99-06F61C274C70.jpeg
6F2E556D-A892-452B-A8DA-92595412D491.jpeg
5112F72D-1825-4ACB-B5A3-F3D0B2E9B33A.jpeg C80CA50B-F1A4-49CF-9C85-D0F0B4982493.jpeg
And one of my sun coral because seeing it flourishing makes me happy :)

6F5039C4-DD68-43B9-A037-93FA5BB2FD45.jpeg
I like turbo snails for hair algae. They will mow a path of destruction through it! It’s fun to watch them pull clumps into their mouth like they are sucking up a long strand of spaghetti :) Sun coral so pretty!
 
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I like turbo snails for hair algae. They will mow a path of destruction through it! It’s fun to watch them pull clumps into their mouth like they are sucking up a long strand of spaghetti :) Sun coral so pretty!
There are so many kinds of turbo snails; what kind are you talking about? I had 4 astreas come in that, unfortunately, were either DOA or died shortly after, so I am hesitant to go that route again. I LOVE my spiny astrea, but the poor little guy can only do so much on its own.
 

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There are so many kinds of turbo snails; what kind are you talking about? I had 4 astreas come in that, unfortunately, were either DOA or died shortly after, so I am hesitant to go that route again. I LOVE my spiny astrea, but the poor little guy can only do so much on its own.
Astrea are my go to but you need a good number of them. They are slower and more methodical about cleaning stuff. I find they don't mess with hair algae if it's too long while the turbos will just mow it down. They are kind of like a bull in the china shop though! I think they are Mexican turbos? The ones I used to get had some bumps on the shell and they seemed to last longer and were hardier. The local store here only has smooth shelled turbos so I dunno.. They don't seem quite as good with longevity. I also found the local store salinity swings wildly so I have to be very careful about checking and acclimating slowly if it's way off from mine.
 
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Astrea are my go to but you need a good number of them. They are slower and more methodical about cleaning stuff. I find they don't mess with hair algae if it's too long while the turbos will just mow it down. They are kind of like a bull in the china shop though! I think they are Mexican turbos? The ones I used to get had some bumps on the shell and they seemed to last longer and were hardier. The local store here only has smooth shelled turbos so I dunno.. They don't seem quite as good with longevity. I also found the local store salinity swings wildly so I have to be very careful about checking and acclimating slowly if it's way off from mine.
Good to know!! I’ll take a look around and see what I can see.

I am upping my Vibrant dosage to twice weekly because I am worried the algae going to smother my dendro If I don’t get it under control quickly. I was pulling clumps off of it yesterday evening.... ridiculous.
 

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Good to know!! I’ll take a look around and see what I can see.

I am upping my Vibrant dosage to twice weekly because I am worried the algae going to smother my dendro If I don’t get it under control quickly. I was pulling clumps off of it yesterday evening.... ridiculous.
I would try a 50% peroxide/tank water solution on it. I usually just toss the whole frag in for a couple minutes but if you are concerned with how the coral will handle it just dip the affected areas ie plug and skeleton where there is no flesh. You can also use a tooth brush and scrub those areas with the solution if you don’t want to dip.
 
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I would try a 50% peroxide/tank water solution on it. I usually just toss the whole frag in for a couple minutes but if you are concerned with how the coral will handle it just dip the affected areas ie plug and skeleton where there is no flesh. You can also use a tooth brush and scrub those areas with the solution if you don’t want to dip.
Do you have any experience dipping anything similar to a dendro in that solution? I will absolutely do it, but I am pretty attached to the little guy, so I don't want to lose it. Also, I have some flame-tipped cloves that could definitely use the same treatment. Not sure how they would handle it?
 

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It seems to be fairly safe for most. I have not tried on anything like a Dendro so might try the toothbrush method and just apply to the worst areas. A little where the flesh meets the skeleton should be ok. Cloves are pretty hardy and I have dipped them.
 

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Hey there! Nice build, seems looks like everything is going pretty well.
I saw you put your heater in the return pump section of the sump. I don't know if you changed it or if you still have it that way, but I can strongly recommend to put in an other section of the sump. My heater was in the return pump section at first as well, but when my ATO failed the heater got exposed to air and exploded. I was in the room when it happened so I quickly turned off my return pump and cleaned everything very well. The glass and toxins from the heater can wipe out your entire tank. Besides that I don't think a burning heater is nice thing to have in your house when you aren't home. Best thing to do is put your heater in a place where no matter what happens, it will always be submersed in water. I only mean this as feedback, just trying to prevent you from making the same mistake I made! :D
 
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Hey there! Nice build, seems looks like everything is going pretty well.
I saw you put your heater in the return pump section of the sump. I don't know if you changed it or if you still have it that way, but I can strongly recommend to put in an other section of the sump. My heater was in the return pump section at first as well, but when my ATO failed the heater got exposed to air and exploded. I was in the room when it happened so I quickly turned off my return pump and cleaned everything very well. The glass and toxins from the heater can wipe out your entire tank. Besides that I don't think a burning heater is nice thing to have in your house when you aren't home. Best thing to do is put your heater in a place where no matter what happens, it will always be submersed in water. I only mean this as feedback, just trying to prevent you from making the same mistake I made! :D
Hello! Thank you for the feedback, I actually already moved it to my refugium chamber until I find a better place for it considering my red ogo bit the dust.
 
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It seems to be fairly safe for most. I have not tried on anything like a Dendro so might try the toothbrush method and just apply to the worst areas. A little where the flesh meets the skeleton should be ok. Cloves are pretty hardy and I have dipped them.
Sounds good! I am going to give it one more week (this time I will be dosing Vibrant today and Monday), then, if there's still no improvement, I will give the peroxide/toothbrush method a shot.

Thank you very much! Fingers crossed!
 
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I wouldn't dose vibrant. Algae is going to be a fact of life with a young tank. Work on controlling it with other methods.
I wouldn't be nearly as concerned if this was in my display rather than my quarantine tank. I am using a combination of phyto and Vibrant to fight it on a biological front and I have been rigorously testing and water changing to maintain an extremely low nutrient system until I beat this stuff.

Aside from a total black-out and the addition of a lawn mowing CUC, I really don't know what else I can possibly do to keep it from smothering my frags.
 

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Sounds good! I am going to give it one more week (this time I will be dosing Vibrant today and Monday), then, if there's still no improvement, I will give the peroxide/toothbrush method a shot.

Thank you very much! Fingers crossed!
Vibrant took me 16 weeks to remove 99% of the algae.
You need a large filter system to run NPS or nutrient level will continually increase.
IMM, I would significantly increase surface area by adding several marine pure blocks preseeded with Microbacter 7 so you can mop up that excess nutrient and keep it in check.
To keep population of BB high, maybe consider dosing Nopox and ensure a great skim.....
 

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If your coral frag tank is isolated, that's very little rock and simple hob filtration. Could just not be enough surface area.

Perhaps there is too much food since you have to feed kind of heavy (for corals) for NPS corals
 

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