DarkReefer's CADE Reef S2 1800

[DarkReefer]

New 57W UV installed.. much easier than I expected too.
Was surprised that the unit is the same size as the 25W, it's just the globe and ballast that are different from what I can gather, didn't even have to buy the barb fittings for it because the one on the 25W just transferred straight over.
If I knew it was that easy I probably would've done it sooner... lol
Was told not to put a crazy pump on it despite the recommended settings, apparently slowing it right down is the way to go so we'll see how it plays out.

Bought some Lanthanum or whatever it's called (liquid phosphate remover), will probably chuck some in tonight, wanted to see how the UV and the carbon got on first before doing too many things at once.

Also added a couple of BTAs. Apart from their moving around, I enjoyed having them previously. Hopefully they stay on the one rock this time and don't go hunting to mince themselves.

 

[DarkReefer]

Small update -
No major changes have happened.

Bought about 10 small hermit crabs and about 5 strombus the other day. I really hate throwing money at clean up crew, it's just not satisfying, especially when it's looking like hundreds of dollars to bolster your forces.
I was ideally looking for around 20 hermit crabs, about 20 trochus, 10-20 nassarius and about 10 or so strombus snails but after seeing the cost of these things I was a bit miffed by it all and decided to just try some crabs and add a few more strombus snails.
First store I went to were a bit expensive (pretty standard for them though) so I tried another and was able to get a better deal there.
I think I just need to add some snails or whatever in as and when I decide to pick up a bunch of corals.

Been a bit hesitant about crabs for a long time because I've heard they can kill things including snails for their shells, but I need to try something to help manage the algae better so figured I'd give it a shot.

Nems are doing okay, one much more so than the other though. One seems a lot less happy and has wandered around a bit and ended up tucked down the bottom of the tank near where the clowns kind of hang out (but the clowns aren't interacting with it from what I've seen). The other is top and centre of view in the tank and sometimes looks like it might even split when it really opens up, but seems happy.

Also started dosing the Lanthanum as my phosphates increased off the charts again (nitrates also up there at around 44). I need to test in the next day or two to see where it's at as I have been lazy checking up on it and probably need to adjust my skimmer to do a bit better job too. Seems to bubble nicely but I don't get huge amounts of waste in the cup and I'm lucky if I have to really empty it once every month or two (and usually not full).

 

[lubeck]

What’s your skimmer again? Most skimmers fill up every week or two at most. Is it at the right height ?

 

[DarkReefer]

What’s your skimmer again? Most skimmers fill up every week or two at most. Is it at the right height ?

It's a mantis skimmer.

I honestly haven't thought to check the height itself but I have made adjustments to one of the valves several times previously (air maybe?) which raises or lowers the level in the neck.
Often after a WC early on I was finding it would overflow for a bit so I started to adjust the level in the skimmer neck so it wouldn't do it immediately. If I left it off to let the water level in the sump adjust before turning it back on because I would often forget about it for days.
I've probably adjusted it poorly but the level of the skimmer in the sump is something I'll also have to look into just to be sure, maybe that'll help with the initial overflowing too.

I did think it was a little odd I could go so long without it filling up and clearly by not setting it right means it's not pulling as much as it should and nitrates are high.

 

[lubeck]

I would check the height for sure. Do you have an apex? If so you can program the skimmer to come on 1hr after a water change

 

[DarkReefer]

I would check the height for sure. Do you have an apex? If so you can program the skimmer to come on 1hr after a water change

Thanks, will definitely take a look at it (might try tonight).
Unfortunately no apex so can't schedule it unfortunately. I'd love to have more automation set up in the tank!

 

[DarkReefer]

Had a look last night and couldn't find any documentation from Mantis advising what level the sump needs to be. I suspect with the valve adjustment you can just fine tune to whatever you need to.
Wide open the water sits quite low (I don't have the pump itself turned to max, for memory it might be sent to 15 out of 20.
I tried to adjust to a better level without it just flowing out the top. Checked it this morning and doesn't look like any improvement so made a very slight adjustment and will check again this afternoon.
The bubbles it's producing seem decent but yeah, obviously need to improve the skimming.
What is seen below is since Sunday, so no decent skimmate coming out during the week.

 

[JonoH]

Had a look last night and couldn't find any documentation from Mantis advising what level the sump needs to be. I suspect with the valve adjustment you can just fine tune to whatever you need to.
Wide open the water sits quite low (I don't have the pump itself turned to max, for memory it might be sent to 15 out of 20.
I tried to adjust to a better level without it just flowing out the top. Checked it this morning and doesn't look like any improvement so made a very slight adjustment and will check again this afternoon.
The bubbles it's producing seem decent but yeah, obviously need to improve the skimming.
What is seen below is since Sunday, so no decent skimmate coming out during the week.

You can almost smell that photo... :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:
Best thing i did for my skimmer was extend the air line to outside the cabinet, has helped it draw in heaps more air.

 

[DarkReefer]

You can almost smell that photo... :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:
Best thing i did for my skimmer was extend the air line to outside the cabinet, has helped it draw in heaps more air.

I played with the little screw on what I'm assuming is the air line but I didn't really notice that much difference in level or anything so idk... maybe I need to look into it some more and understand it better...

 

[JonoH]

I played with the little screw on what I'm assuming is the air line but I didn't really notice that much difference in level or anything so idk... maybe I need to look into it some more and understand it better...

Everytime i adjust my skimmer, I have to wait for a good 30 mins to see the change, its so easy to adjust too much!

 

[shadyraro]

Your sump water level is about the same as mine but I run the pump on 20.
Where have you got the water level set to inside the skimmer?

 

[DarkReefer]

Your sump water level is about the same as mine but I run the pump on 20.
Where have you got the water level set to inside the skimmer?

I've got it set so it's about mid way up the neck inside cup section, maybe even slightly higher.
My main reason I haven't got it set to 20 was just because I figured if you're not using it at its max capacity perhaps it'll last longer kind of thing, perhaps I could crank it up a bit more.

Don't really want to mess with the main return pump and adjust the water level in the sump if I can avoid it because I find it's painful to get right. Think the last time I did it I spent a week or more adjusting it because you set it where you think it's fine and then you'd hear trickling down the return or something hours later type of thing.

 

[shadyraro]

When I bought my mantis a couple years ago the rep just happened to be in my LFS, he said run it on 20 to get max oxygenation into the water.
Check my tank thread as someone asked me yesterday about the skimmer water level and I posted a pic where I have it set too.

 

[DarkReefer]

When I bought my mantis a couple years ago the rep just happened to be in my LFS, he said run it on 20 to get max oxygenation into the water.
Check my tank thread as someone asked me yesterday about the skimmer water level and I posted a pic where I have it set too.

Ahh okay, good to know. I'll have to make the adjustment then. Could help my pH a little too ya never know.

 

[DarkReefer]

Small update -
Managed to get the skimmer to a better place finally. At one stage it was filling too quickly (having to empty it 3-4 times a week which seemed excessive). It's now down to about once a week which I'm happy with.

No new fish or corals. The existing fish seem to be happy and settled down a bit, no aggression or anything since the gobies were killed off.
The sand looks a bit worse for wear though.
Coral wise, my foxface continues to nibble on stuff it shouldn't.
It started eating a huge soft coral I've had as the centrepiece of the tank. Noticed the tips getting light green or even chunks being taken out and the missus saw the fox pecking at it on the weekend so we finally identified the culprit. Despite me feeling like I'm stuffing so much algae into the clip almost daily. (about 4-6 pieces around 10cm x 5cm wide)... sometimes even twice a day.
I guess given I have 4 tangs plus the fox it's probably not that much... but wow...

One of my leathers seems to be really unhappy at the moment or even dying (I'm seeing some splitting and what seems to be drying out). Not 100% sure why... possibly phosphates as they've been elevated for quite some time but it's never had an issue before when they've been high and the other one in the tank is looking pretty lush.
Could possibly be the fox also upsetting it? who knows...

Tested for the first time in a month and a bit.
Most parameters didn't seem too terrible but could definitely be better and a couple of outliers.
Temp - 24.8
pH - 8.0
Nitrate - 43.2
Phosphate - 0.524
Salinity - 1.026
Alk - 8.4 (probably the most constant thing in the tank tbh)
Cal - 390
Mag - 1200

 

[JonoH]

Must be the week for fish nipping corals!

I caught both my blue tangs eating hammers and nipping the tips of my SPS!

Do you run any Rowaphos at all? I started running it in a reactor recently and it has been helping keep the phosphates at a more reasonable level, they are most likely elevated from the amount of Nori your feeding (i try to limit it to just one sheet a day for the tangs) - it could also be shedding as they always look grumpy during that.

 

[DarkReefer]

Must be the week for fish nipping corals!

I caught both my blue tangs eating hammers and nipping the tips of my SPS!

Do you run any Rowaphos at all? I started running it in a reactor recently and it has been helping keep the phosphates at a more reasonable level, they are most likely elevated from the amount of Nori your feeding (i try to limit it to just one sheet a day for the tangs) - it could also be shedding as they always look grumpy during that.

Oh that sucks.
Yeah I feel like once they get a taste for it, it just gets worse.
I can't keep any LPS because it just gets eaten within weeks usually. Would love a hammer garden or something but nope, fish wont let me.

I used to in my old tank but I haven't bothered with this one.
I've got something to dose... forget what it's called now but it's supposed to help bring those down. Feel like I need to feed them that stuff to try and keep them away from the corals and keep em fat haha.
I've also got some pellets on an auto feeder, but honestly that's more for the anthias, hawkfish and wrasse (even though the tang gang get in on it too).

Initially thought it might be shedding, but it's definitely not that. I can actually see a split on one side of it that feels a bit rough to the touch, so something is off.

 

[DarkReefer]

Did my 'monthly' test last night... I know I should do them more often...
Only takes me 30 mins or so roughly, really not that long in the grand scheme of things but I just struggle with motivation to do it, usually because I never really notice any difference in the tank whether I'm doing it weekly or monthly.

Results were
Temp - 24.8
pH - 8.0
Nitrate - 56.6
Phosphate - 0.445
Salinity - 1.026
Alk - 8.7
Calc - 390
Mag - 1170

The Nitrates are a bit concerning so I've closed up the feeder slot slightly, it's possible that maybe I have it too open and it's dropping too much food since I last filled it a few weeks back. I need to monitor how much food it drops. They'd just been fed last night and didn't want to drop some more to test it.
I also tinkered with the skimmer again this morning as I had to play with it a few weeks ago because it started over filling after another w/c. Feel like I need to find the sweet spot, get it to where it's filling a cup perhaps once a week (2 or more seems excessive, but as I don't test frequently enough it's probably hard to say).
Feel like the carbon I have in the sump (in a bag) isn't doing enough. Only replaced it 2-3 weeks ago.

I also need to get into a routine with dosing Lanthanum to help remove the phosphates. They've come down slightly since last test, but I'd really like them to be in the proper range.
I could potentially hook it upto the Kamoer X4 so I don't have to remember to dose it, maybe I'll look at that on the weekend.

Slowly losing our 'centrepiece' soft coral. Was a really big sticky looking thing in the centre of the tank that filled a lot of empty space. I think we've seen the purple tang munching away at it. It's frustrating because they get seaweed almost daily, plus pellets twice a day and a frozen mix once or twice a week usually so they should have plenty to munch on.

 

[JonoH]

Did my 'monthly' test last night... I know I should do them more often...
Only takes me 30 mins or so roughly, really not that long in the grand scheme of things but I just struggle with motivation to do it, usually because I never really notice any difference in the tank whether I'm doing it weekly or monthly.

Results were
Temp - 24.8
pH - 8.0
Nitrate - 56.6
Phosphate - 0.445
Salinity - 1.026
Alk - 8.7
Calc - 390
Mag - 1170

The Nitrates are a bit concerning so I've closed up the feeder slot slightly, it's possible that maybe I have it too open and it's dropping too much food since I last filled it a few weeks back. I need to monitor how much food it drops. They'd just been fed last night and didn't want to drop some more to test it.
I also tinkered with the skimmer again this morning as I had to play with it a few weeks ago because it started over filling after another w/c. Feel like I need to find the sweet spot, get it to where it's filling a cup perhaps once a week (2 or more seems excessive, but as I don't test frequently enough it's probably hard to say).
Feel like the carbon I have in the sump (in a bag) isn't doing enough. Only replaced it 2-3 weeks ago.

I also need to get into a routine with dosing Lanthanum to help remove the phosphates. They've come down slightly since last test, but I'd really like them to be in the proper range.
I could potentially hook it upto the Kamoer X4 so I don't have to remember to dose it, maybe I'll look at that on the weekend.

Slowly losing our 'centrepiece' soft coral. Was a really big sticky looking thing in the centre of the tank that filled a lot of empty space. I think we've seen the purple tang munching away at it. It's frustrating because they get seaweed almost daily, plus pellets twice a day and a frozen mix once or twice a week usually so they should have plenty to munch on.

I was running Rowaphos in a bag near the return pump before I hooked up a reactor for it - it did seem to run out pretty fast though.
Was more effective than using the Red Sea Carbon for removing Phosphates - mine seem to have stabilised around that 0.1 mark now.
I would recommend hooking up a doser and just dripping vinegar to reduce the Nitrate slowly, it takes time to start working and i've had no adverse affect from it.

Might be time to switch to SPS ;-)

 

[DarkReefer]

I was running Rowaphos in a bag near the return pump before I hooked up a reactor for it - it did seem to run out pretty fast though.
Was more effective than using the Red Sea Carbon for removing Phosphates - mine seem to have stabilised around that 0.1 mark now.
I would recommend hooking up a doser and just dripping vinegar to reduce the Nitrate slowly, it takes time to start working and i've had no adverse affect from it.

Might be time to switch to SPS ;-)

Yeah, I've run Rowaphos before and it was pretty decent. I remember it being painful in the reactor though. Really crappy to clean out of there and replace, maybe I made it difficult for myself but I felt like it was a real ball ache to do lol. Did work well though.

Hmm that's interesting. I think I've heard/read bits and pieces about vinegar dosing but never understood it or how to go about it. How frequently are you dripping it/dosing it, how much and what type? Or can you recommend any info you've used for that process I can read up on?

Honestly, would love to have some sticks in there, every time I've tried though they all seem to die...