Bubba's SPS Journey

[Fishfinder]

Are you a rookie or something? Bubba grows SPS for the same reasons most people grow Chaeto. The SPS are the phosphate control. I swear... the dumb questions you see in threads like this.

..... ummm.

 

[Velcro]

You people are way too sensitive. It was obviously a joke

 

[Fudsey]

I realized this but still sarcasm doesn't translate very well in print...

 

[Velcro]

I realized this but still sarcasm doesn't translate very well in print...

That's okay. It's not his job to make sure people aren't triggered when it's innocent banter.

 

[Antics]

Sorry all. I was 100% kidding around. Please don't read any deeper into it. Just messing around while being jealous of these beautiful photos.

Thanks @Velcro

 

[bubbaque]

How do you control PO4?
Only by feeding?

I originally tried to lower it through chaeto but it wasn't lowering it very much. Granted I didn't really turn the chaeto light on that much longer than I already ran it. I ended up ordering GFO and kept replacing the small amount I added every few days. It's been at .05 for about a week now and chaeto seems to hold it steady there but I will add some fresh gfo tomorrow and drop it a little lower and then just let the chaeto hold it stready.

 

[lolgranny]

I originally tried to lower it through chaeto but it wasn't lowering it very much. Granted I didn't really turn the chaeto light on that much longer than I already ran it. I ended up ordering GFO and kept replacing the small amount I added every few days. It's been at .05 for about a week now and chaeto seems to hold it steady there but I will add some fresh gfo tomorrow and drop it a little lower and then just let the chaeto hold it stready.

I’ll ask now for everyone else.... although I just wanted to say hello friend !

What kind of reactor are you keeping the gfo in

 

[bubbaque]

I think my HW is one of those corals that will let me know when something is starting to go wrong in my tank. When I seen the pink start to disappear is when I knew I needed to do my full round of test.

When my HW was looking great.

This is a week or two after I started to feed tons of reef roids and po4 was raising. The pink was starting to disappear.

Pink was fully gone but I am starting to slowly see it again after getting po4 under control. I know many people run high po4 but it just wasn't working for me.

 

[Antics]

You should make a list of your canary SPS. I think it would be interesting to have! Might even help you out some day.

 

[bubbaque]

I’ll ask now for everyone else.... although I just wanted to say hello friend !

What kind of reactor are you keeping the gfo in

I use the standard BRS media reactor.

You should make a list of your canary SPS. I think it would be interesting to have! Might even help you out some day.

It use to be my JF Fox flame but this time it didn't even skip a beat.

It seemed to be the corals that are "rainbow" that showed color loss.

 

[Dugless]

If you’re sitting at .05, you shouldn’t need to replace your GFO so soon. You should be able to get 3-6 weeks out of it. How much are you using?

 

[bubbaque]

Maybe 1/2 cup in 300 gallons of water. If you are trying to maintain a level then it probably last way longer than if you are trying to drop your level. I was trying to take it nice and slow.

 

[Fudsey]

I use the same amount mixed with 1/2 cup of ROX for about 100g.

 

[Janci]

I originally tried to lower it through chaeto but it wasn't lowering it very much. Granted I didn't really turn the chaeto light on that much longer than I already ran it. I ended up ordering GFO and kept replacing the small amount I added every few days. It's been at .05 for about a week now and chaeto seems to hold it steady there but I will add some fresh gfo tomorrow and drop it a little lower and then just let the chaeto hold it stready.

Those numbers are so sensitive.
I am not sure how to imagine the difference between 0.05 and 0.02. I am not even sure if our measuring methods are that accurate to see the difference.

I measure PO4 zero every time and do not have any GFO or phosphate remover.
I guess by feeding more, PO4 would be a little higher.

 

[Janci]

Are you a rookie or something? Bubba grows SPS for the same reasons most people grow Chaeto. The SPS are the phosphate control. I swear... the dumb questions you see in threads like this.

@Antics, no worries, no offense taken. The kidding was obvious.
And yes... I am a rookie. Lol

 

[bubbaque]

Those numbers are so sensitive.
I am not sure how to imagine the difference between 0.05 and 0.02. I am not even sure if our measuring methods are that accurate to see the difference.

I measure PO4 zero every time and do not have any GFO or phosphate remover.
I guess by feeding more, PO4 would be a little higher.

I use to measure 0 also with no gfo and just my chaeto before I started to heavy hand the reef roids. I believe there is a post somewhere in this thread where I took pics and posted them of the Hanna checker po4 and salifert no3 results and both were 0 or near it.

I agree those numbers are very sensitive. It's more about the consistent numbers I get when things are coloring well. If the checker shows me 10 (.03) each time and my corals look best at the number I will strive for that even if it's not really .03.

I follow a lot of people's threads and I see people have good results with po4 at .2 and some at 0. Everybody tries to do what works best for them and what they feel gives them the best results.

 

[sam.veilleux30]

Thanks for the update on the hw.
This is a good thing when you have to worry about coloration and not stn as this is my case presently.

 

[Birddog]

Good morning Bubba, I've lurked and drooled over your thread for months... awesome job! I did not see in the thread what you feed. Any chance you can share the concoction you're feeding your reef?

 

[bubbaque]

I use tilapia, shrimp and scallops and sometimes I add clams.
I go to the grocery store to the seafood counter and ask for the stuff I want. I go home and put it in a blender and blend it until it's the texture I want. Put it in a ziplock until frozen and then I chop it up to cubes. It turns out to be about a 1/4 of the cost if I bought it already made.

 

[Fishfinder]

Hey bubba, I make my own also. Try adding a little salmon. Idk if it makes a difference but it's full of fats