Bills CDA 225 gal 72x30x24 tank upgrade/SPS Dream Tank!!!

[Billldg]

I thought you had more coral in this tank! I still say remove what cyano you can, then hit it with the Chemiclean and blackout.

I've ran chemiclean in my softie tank twice when my nutrients got out of wack. It was very successful, but only when I got my nutrients normalized immediately after. After the treatment, I tried doing a large water change to remove particulates, but it didn't do much. It was great for knocking down my nutrients though.

Does your skimmer have a drain line? What I found was easiest was to let the skimmer overflow into a 5 gallon bucket for an hour or two. I also discovered that skimmate has an almost identical specific gravity as your tank water, so I immediately would replace the skimmate with fresh saltwater. I had a medicine free-ish tank in 3 hours after the treatment was complete.

I am dosing to many things right now. I actually turn off my Skimmer roughly 4 hours daily so I can dose the MicroFactor7 and Vibrant. I blew off what I could on the scape, though it wasn't much, and left the rest on the sand bed. Once I feel the Dino's are fully beaten, then I may deal with the Cyano. I just need the Dino's to be gone first.

I maybe seeing an end to this, BUT, I do not want o get ahead of myself and mess it all up.

I will still do another 3-4 day blackout in a week or two, I just need for the MicroFactor7 and Vibrant to take more of a hold. After this last blackout, I truly saw a difference in the Dino's, which, brings me to today.

 

[Billldg]

I just changed my Versa AWC pump's from 8 gals daily to 10 gals daily. I will try to bring down the N03 as quickly and gently as possible.

 

[Operator Wrasse]

If you don't have any corals in the tank? Why not just go for gold and do like a 50% over 24 hours? Nitrates don't effect marine fish as much as few used to think and if you have any inverts that are super sensitive to nitrates... well your nitrates are already of 60 ppm. lol

 

[Billldg]

If you don't have any corals in the tank? Why not just go for gold and do like a 50% over 24 hours? Nitrates don't effect marine fish as much as few used to think and if you have any inverts that are super sensitive to nitrates... well your nitrates are already of 60 ppm. lol

I have some Very High end Blastos, WWC Rainbow Blasto's, BSA TaTa Twister Blastos, and TSA Black Widow Blasto's, so I can't do a massive change. They are not frags, they are either big colonies or small colonies. I already loss a 15+ colony of the TSA Black Panther torch...aka...NY Knicks torch. Since I decided to take to slow approach to dealing with the Dino's, I would rather take the slow approach to everything else...THAT IS...until my tank is ready and then its on, LOL!!!

 

[Operator Wrasse]

I have some Very High end Blastos, WWC Rainbow Blasto's, BSA TaTa Twister Blastos, and TSA Black Widow Blasto's, so I can't do a massive change. They are not frags, they are either big colonies or small colonies. I already loss a 15+ colony of the TSA Black Panther torch...aka...NY Knicks torch. Since I decided to take to slow approach to dealing with the Dino's, I would rather take the slow approach to everything else...THAT IS...until my tank is ready and then its on, LOL!!!

Oh no... I thought you had other coral in there.

 

[Billldg]

I got tired of looking at a ton of Cyano, SO, I just dosed 27 scoops of Chemiclean into the tank. I hope I didn't jump the gun, BUT, I think the Dino's are on the run.

NO...It was not meant to rhyme...LOL!!! ;Hilarious ;Hilarious ;Hilarious

 

[Operator Wrasse]

 

[ScottB]

In the middle of doing the cleaning maintenance of the tank. I blew off the scape and didn't see to many Dino's, so I am hopefully winning the battle. My tank is overrun with Cyano right now, but, I am not sure if I want to combat that right now or not. I am letting the Cyano overrun my tank to smother out any Dino's on the sand bed. The Cyano is starting to get a little to crazy, so I am debating to start to combat it though. The plus is that I am seeing roughly 10 percent of the Dino's that I was seeing before starting the battle.

Post dinos, cyano is pretty much a given. All that newly bare surface area, combined with the excess nutrient just kicks them into high gear. It takes me a couple months to wind them down. I get a little GHA for another month or two after that and let my nutrients drift back down a little to a safe and consistent (ish) 5 and .05 until the coralline really gets rolling.

FWIW, raising my pH really helped this whole process go faster the 2nd time around. I DOS almost 4 liters of kalkwasser a day now. I believe dinos keep some advantage when pH isn't breaking 8.1 or so.

 

[Billldg]

Post dinos, cyano is pretty much a given. All that newly bare surface area, combined with the excess nutrient just kicks them into high gear. It takes me a couple months to wind them down. I get a little GHA for another month or two after that and let my nutrients drift back down a little to a safe and consistent (ish) 5 and .05 until the coralline really gets rolling.

FWIW, raising my pH really helped this whole process go faster the 2nd time around. I DOS almost 4 liters of kalkwasser a day now. I believe dinos keep some advantage when pH isn't breaking 8.1 or so.

My PH is usually between 8.2 and 8.5.

It's gonna take a few doses of ChemiClean for the Cyano to be gone, but, I need to take it easy so I don't kill everything else in the tank. This first dose was to try and knock it back a little. I will not do a second dose until next week as I am on call this weekend. I will do a big water change tomorrow to get rid of the ChemiClean and to also help lower my nutrients.

I still have a few Dino's, but not much.

 

[Billldg]

I just checked, Neptune has received my Trident and FMM module.

 

[Billldg]

I just did a 65 gal water change on my tank. The problem is when you do water changes above the amount in which you use buckets and just dump it in from you mixing station is that you have to monitor the tank salinity to see if its close. You dump X amount of water from your display tank into the yard, and then dump...HOPEFULLY...the same amount back into the tank. I was trying to raise my salinity and was close, now I need to see how far off I am again. I don't think its that far off, maybe a 1/10000 or 2, but just trying to see.

Its funny, when I did a 65 gal water change on my 120, it was a major ordeal...NOW...on my 225 its just a normal thing, LOL!!!

OOPS!!! I just remembered that I didn't turn off my AWC. ;Facepalm Thankfully I have 100 gal containers, so I should have enough.

 

[Billldg]

I just took the N03 an P04 readings of my DT. N03 is at 56.3 and P04 is at .06. I dosed some NeoPhos to raise the P04 to help continue to get rid of the N03. It is coming down slowly. I did just do a round of ChemiClean, so that may have effected it. I will start my AWC back up tomorrow with the continued aggressive 8 gal daily water change.

 

[Billldg]

I have to put this out there, @Bulk Reef Supply, you are slowly loosing me as a supporter. I will always say that your videos are priceless, BUT, removing your own BRS PVC fittings from the 5x, SO CALLED PREFFERED REEFER PROGRAM, is ridiculous. You put your name on them and thus they should be 5x points. I recently found out...as I questioned BRS...that the plumbing was removed. My question is why? I already know the answer, and so should you reefers, as its the most sold items they sell. PLUS, with the Bertram buyout, is this a precursor to what is to come...HMMM!!!

Disappointed in @Bulk Reef Supply.

 

[t5Nitro]

There's always Premium Aquatics. Still localish to many of us and the shipping is fast! Always nice to support a few places.

 

[Billldg]

There's always Premium Aquatics. Still localish to many of us and the shipping is fast! Always nice to support a few places.

I also shop from them. They are not local to me, BUT, none of them are since the ATL facility of MD was bought out and I am sure shut down.

 

[Billldg]

N03 at 48.2 and P04 at .05. I dosed 70 ml of NeoPhos to raise the P04. I am still doing a 8 gal daily AWC.

 

[Operator Wrasse]

I have to put this out there, @Bulk Reef Supply, you are slowly loosing me as a supporter. I will always say that your videos are priceless, BUT, removing your own BRS PVC fittings from the 5x, SO CALLED PREFFERED REEFER PROGRAM, is ridiculous. You put your name on them and thus they should be 5x points. I recently found out...as I questioned BRS...that the plumbing was removed. My question is why? I already know the answer, and so should you reefers, as its the most sold items they sell. PLUS, with the Bertram buyout, is this a precursor to what is to come...HMMM!!!

Disappointed in @Bulk Reef Supply.

I'll probably be switching over to Saltwateraquarium.com for my build. They offer 5% discount for first responders and medical personnel and Mark Callahan is growing on me. I got star struck and didn't have the intestinal fortitude to speak to him at Aquashella. Lol.

I'm going to price out the rewards point and discount between the two companies when the time comes. MAP pricing sucks. I want to support my LFS, too, but they won't give me $500 - $1,000 off in rewards points for the full build...

 

[Billldg]

I just talked with Coralvue, and I made up my mind. I will go with a Abyzz A400.

They are, Coralvue, at roughly 90 percent recovery, so they will be able to supply you with your Coralvue needs.

Now I need to get the funds up to buy the pump and all the plumbing that is needed to upgrade my return plunging from 1" to 1.25".

 

[Billldg]

I think I have made up my mind, I will be switching salt mixes. I love HW Marine Reefer mix, but the availability is the problem. You can only get it from BRS, and, as you know I have been a little against some of the things BRS has done lately. By switching salt mixes I will no longer be tied to BRS and have to buy from them. I am not talking bad about BRS, its just, some of the decisions they have made concern me. I will not fault them for trying to make more money, or, to try to grow the business...BUT...I am a reefing hobbyist like the rest of you and thus couldn't care less about them making more money. I am trying to save money and also give honest reviews on certain things. I will be switching to Tropic Marin Pro reef. I know just about everyone carries it and so does my LFS's. If other vendors carried HW Marine then I would simply switch vendors, BUT, no other vendor does.

When I say I am tied to them, I simply mean I do not want to HAVE to buy certain items from BRS and no one else.

 

[Billldg]

Thanks to @Dana Riddle, I will be cleaning and calibrating my PH probes more often. As he said to me, he often cleaned and calibrated his PH probes weekly, so its something to think about.