Cadlights 165 SPS dominate mixed reef

[TangingOut]

After two days of dosing Potassium Nitrate, hair algae has really taken off. Nitrates still test at 0.0 and pearlberry as well as other acros still pale. Phosphate at 0.16 which is down from 0.28. I believe that came from extra feedings in a effort to get nitrates to register. I'm not too worried about the hair algae at the moment. Chalking them up to new tank uglies. I did however cut the potassium nitrate dosing in half. I'm now adding enough to boost 0.5 ppm per day instead of 1 ppm.

Anyways, been transferring corals/frags over from my frag tank, re-acquiring some past corals, and picking up some new stuff.

Zoa garden start.

Red/pink goni

Mr pacman acro.

Oregon tort.

 

[TangingOut]

I'm loving the glow this doser gives inside the stand.

 

[Wrangy]

What a gorgeous build mate!!! Consider me definitely subscribed

 

[TangingOut]

What a gorgeous build mate!!! Consider me definitely subscribed

Thanks. Your build is really nice too. I've been checking it out. Your LFS' acro selection would put a hurting on my bank account.

 

[Wrangy]

Thanks. Your build is really nice too. I've been checking it out. Your LFS' acro selection would put a hurting on my bank account.

Thanks mate, not quite on the same scale as yours but I definitely ain't complaining
Oh don't worry, he keeps my accounts empty and my partner picking on him for doing it haha

 

[TangingOut]

It's been a month and I thought it would be a good time to do an update. I've been trying to work out a few different things plus I attended RAP.

First, I've been battling a hair algae problem for the past 2 months. Initially after cycling the tank had LOTS of diatoms. CUC and time clear all that up and the tank was looking great for a few weeks, but hair algae has really taken over.

Second, nutrients are ultra low. Not what I'm after. No matter how much I feed along with nitrate dosing, test results have always come back at undetectable for nitrates. Phosphates have been around the 0.08 mark, but have tested at 0.01 for the last two weeks.

Third, I just did an 80% water change to Aquaforest reef salt. The initial fill was done with IO and HW marinemix was used for water changes after. Well, I found out the HW batch I received had really low potassium and I was paranoid about what other trace elements might have been left out. The switch was for peace of mind, not really for anything observed.

So, I'm pretty sure the hair algae is consuming all the extra nutrients I'm putting in and why some of my acros continue to stay pale. While I was attending RAP, I did a 3 days lights out and came home to a beautifully clean looking tank. That didn't last long. Going foward, I'm going to do another 3 days lights out, only run LEDs(no shadow issues yet with only frags in the tank), stop nitrate dosing, and slowly remove some siporax until I can find the right balance.

Pearlberry continues to grow, just not the vivid colorations that I'm use to.

RAP score. ASD rainbow phoenix monti. Got some other pieces, but this was my favorite.

 

[Aaron-A2]

I'm loving this build, thanks for posting! I'm curious what design choices you made on the stand -- the default CAD stand for the 165 has the 3 reinforcement struts in the front, but I only see 2 on yours; did you remove the other 2?

 

[TangingOut]

I'm loving this build, thanks for posting! I'm curious what design choices you made on the stand -- the default CAD stand for the 165 has the 3 reinforcement struts in the front, but I only see 2 on yours; did you remove the other 2?

Yes I left them out. As I understand it, most of the weight is supported on the corners of a glass tank. I wanted to have lots access to the sump.

 

[lilchris_357]

Awesome build. I have been following for sometime now. I'm out in the West Valley.

 

[RUNVS]

Great looking build so far!! As far as your coral colors are concerned I wouldn't worry too much about it just yet, you are right your hair algae are consuming your nutrients it will go away in time best thing you can do is pull as much out by hand and maybe some zebra or mexican turbo snails to keep it clean. As the tank matures most of this should subside assuming you are using RO water. I noticed when I switched to LED my SPS took 2-4 months before they started to color back up it takes time for them to acclimate to the intensity and color spectrum the best thing you can do is not constantly change time or color or intensity just give it a few months and things should start to fall into place. Good Luck!

 

[TangingOut]

Just finish my second 3 days lights out. First one was a month ago. This time around the algae was a little more stubborn, but still managed to kill off most of it. Here are some before and after photos:

 

[Aaron-A2]

Looks like the blackout did a great job. Out of curiosity, do you know what the original cause for the algae was?

 

[TangingOut]

Looks like the blackout did a great job. Out of curiosity, do you know what the original cause for the algae was?

Dry rock/new tank uglies is what I'm going with.

 

[jasonw]

Looking good!

 

[Denisk]

Looks great! How did your sps handle the lights out for 3 days?

 

[TangingOut]

Looks great! How did your sps handle the lights out for 3 days?

Zero affect that I can see.

 

[choss]

June 30,
Tank is cycling, but water still hasn't cleared up. Weird because 3rd day after filling up, water was crystal clear and now cloudy ever since.

Just finished my manifold last night and success!!! No leaks and no more getting high on PVC cement. Tank was re-drilled for herbie drain in standard sizing 3/4" syphon and 1" emergency. Cadlights stock is metric plumbing.

Wow amazing sump setup. Following with interest!

 

[Twocoralsonetank]

Wondering what is your light schedule with the LEDs and the T-5? Also at peak times what percent are you running your LEDs at? Do you run both sets of T-5s at the same time?

Reason I ask is I have a 175 with 4 T-5s and duel Razor 180w. I notice when I run all 4 T-5 lights, I get algae staring to take over the display tank. When I cut it down just to two T-5 lights running with the LEDs it seems like the algae doesn't take hold. Middle PAR in the tank is about 250 with only two T-5s running with LEDs, goes up to 300 when I have all 4 running.

 

[TangingOut]

Wondering what is your light schedule with the LEDs and the T-5? Also at peak times what percent are you running your LEDs at? Do you run both sets of T-5s at the same time?

Reason I ask is I have a 175 with 4 T-5s and duel Razor 180w. I notice when I run all 4 T-5 lights, I get algae staring to take over the display tank. When I cut it down just to two T-5 lights running with the LEDs it seems like the algae doesn't take hold. Middle PAR in the tank is about 250 with only two T-5s running with LEDs, goes up to 300 when I have all 4 running.

I'm still playing with the light scheduling, but my LEDs are pretty much set now at 12 hrs with 1 1/2 hr ramp/dimming on both ends. 80% blues and violets, 10% colors and whites.

I've been adding hrs of T5 lighting in the middle of my light schedule. I'm up to 5 hrs on just 2 blue+ bulbs. After 6 hrs, I'll start adding the other 2 bulbs (blue+, coral+) and work those up to 4 hrs. Yes all four bulbs will be on at once or at least for 4 hrs during peak lighting.

 

[TangingOut]

So I've decided to switch up T5 bulb combo. I know everyone likes ATI blue+, but to me it looks washed out and gives the tank a sorta hazed and dull appearance. I'm now running 2 Giesemann actinic blue for 6 hrs. The other channel which I'm not running yet still has 2 ATI blue+ that I might switch out for 2 more Giesemann actinic blues or a different combo altogether. So far I'm loving the difference, which is a brighter and crisper blue.

Also update on some of my corals. Pictures were taken last week, just now finding time to post them.

I know I've been commenting a lot on my pearlberry's coloration, but I found a picture from my previous tank for comparison. I think there's a lot to be said about corals, particularly SPS, thriving in a mature stable tank.

Pearlberry from previous 110 gal tank.

Current colony. Still getting decent growth, but coloration hasn't gotten there yet.

Oregon tort. Getting thick and appears to be wanting to branch out.

Pink floyd. Lost coloration and had some die off when I first got. Had to be fragged and re-mounted. Has been encrusting and coloring up ever since.

Bizarro cyphastrea