DB's Miracles 110 Journal
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Reeflogic
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So, I never really talk about how I care for my system or what new ideas I'm trying, I've really only tried to update with photos and new equipment. But since I rarely get any conversations or inquiries about my system, I figure I'd start talking about the good stuff...
As I stated in earlier posts, I let the tank slip a little, up until November or so, before I got my head out of my ... Since then, things have bounced back and corals are growing like weeds. Still no major SPS, but I wanted to make sure the system was back in SPS shape. I did develop a few small patches of bryopsis during the lack of maintenance days and tried Tech M to rid it, no luck.... So then I started looking for alternatives and through some helpful reefers, decided to try out peroxide dosing. I won't go into details on the dosage unless asked, but so far, 3 days in, can't tell anything yet. I'll keep this updated over the next few weeks.
I also started carbon dosing and increased GFO to try and strip the system from nutrients, at least long enough for the bryopsis to die, then I will probably drop back on the GFO and carbon dosing. I'm using Brightwell Reef Biofuel and doing half the recommended dosage, daily. My nitrates and phosphates test pretty low to begin with and I've slowly ramped up the GFO. Trying not to be too aggressive with these reductions.
I'm also manually dosing 2 part(BRS) and maintaining calcium around 420 and my alkalinity has been stable around 8 to 9 dkh. Mag levels are starting to drop back to normal after being elevated with Kent Tech M. PH stays between 8.10 and 8.40, depending on open windows! I have stepped back from using ROX carbon as I feel it's too aggressive / good at what it does! In its place I dropped (2) bags of Chemipure in the sump, as opposed to a reactor, mostly for clearer water, to keep the "yellow" out. I'm also running a filter sock on my reactor outlet for the GFO, I never realized how much of that crud comes out into the system!! I run a very smooth tumble with the GFO and it still stains the filter sock...
Several days ago I stumbled across this thread:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/micro-and-nano-bubble-tank-treatment.231894/
Starting microbubble scrubbing:
I did not have a wood airstone, so I figured I'd grab an old venturi pump from a Reef Octopus nano-skimmer I had in the garage. I placed the pump adjacent to the DC return pump and have it pushing the bubbles across the inlet of the return pump. It grabs all the bubbles and pulls them in, shredding them to micro-bubbles! I set up the pump on my Apex and have been running it from 10 pm to 2 am for the last 3 days. The first night, I kept the lights on when I was checking it out, adjusting flow, etc. My corals slimed very good the first night and there were no adverse effects, that I could see. This morning (second morning running) my tank did appear SUPER clear, more than usual. My skimmer was also full of gooey gunk, which had a dark green tinge to it, like Phyto Feast color. I'm not sure if this is the air scrubber or the peroxide, or a combination of both, but the skimmer is rockin!
Also, I have several rainbow BTA's that started from 1, roughly 3 years ago, I'm up to 15 or so now... This morning I noticed that 3 of my larger ones had split... Coincidence? I'm not sure... Was it the extra oxygen, less phosphate, the peroxide dosing or a combination of things? But 3 splits in a 24-hour span is pretty nice. I'm not complaining... Well, I am complaining because I need to get these things out and start selling / trading them lol. They are all in Pukani rock, which isn't fun trying to remove them...
A few other things... I picked up a pretty sick Chevron tang and have been medicating him back to good health. He will be going through a full QT and will be in my tank in roughly a month! We named him Chevy and he's awesome!! I'm also in the process of building my floating canopy for my retro-fit T5 fixtures, to supplement the Kessil 360's. Other than that, it's just cruise control! I forgot to include the following image in my last post, which is the pressure sensor installed for my ATO! Love this thing...
Reef on, Reefers!!
As I stated in earlier posts, I let the tank slip a little, up until November or so, before I got my head out of my ... Since then, things have bounced back and corals are growing like weeds. Still no major SPS, but I wanted to make sure the system was back in SPS shape. I did develop a few small patches of bryopsis during the lack of maintenance days and tried Tech M to rid it, no luck.... So then I started looking for alternatives and through some helpful reefers, decided to try out peroxide dosing. I won't go into details on the dosage unless asked, but so far, 3 days in, can't tell anything yet. I'll keep this updated over the next few weeks.
I also started carbon dosing and increased GFO to try and strip the system from nutrients, at least long enough for the bryopsis to die, then I will probably drop back on the GFO and carbon dosing. I'm using Brightwell Reef Biofuel and doing half the recommended dosage, daily. My nitrates and phosphates test pretty low to begin with and I've slowly ramped up the GFO. Trying not to be too aggressive with these reductions.
I'm also manually dosing 2 part(BRS) and maintaining calcium around 420 and my alkalinity has been stable around 8 to 9 dkh. Mag levels are starting to drop back to normal after being elevated with Kent Tech M. PH stays between 8.10 and 8.40, depending on open windows! I have stepped back from using ROX carbon as I feel it's too aggressive / good at what it does! In its place I dropped (2) bags of Chemipure in the sump, as opposed to a reactor, mostly for clearer water, to keep the "yellow" out. I'm also running a filter sock on my reactor outlet for the GFO, I never realized how much of that crud comes out into the system!! I run a very smooth tumble with the GFO and it still stains the filter sock...
Several days ago I stumbled across this thread:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/micro-and-nano-bubble-tank-treatment.231894/
Starting microbubble scrubbing:
I did not have a wood airstone, so I figured I'd grab an old venturi pump from a Reef Octopus nano-skimmer I had in the garage. I placed the pump adjacent to the DC return pump and have it pushing the bubbles across the inlet of the return pump. It grabs all the bubbles and pulls them in, shredding them to micro-bubbles! I set up the pump on my Apex and have been running it from 10 pm to 2 am for the last 3 days. The first night, I kept the lights on when I was checking it out, adjusting flow, etc. My corals slimed very good the first night and there were no adverse effects, that I could see. This morning (second morning running) my tank did appear SUPER clear, more than usual. My skimmer was also full of gooey gunk, which had a dark green tinge to it, like Phyto Feast color. I'm not sure if this is the air scrubber or the peroxide, or a combination of both, but the skimmer is rockin!
Also, I have several rainbow BTA's that started from 1, roughly 3 years ago, I'm up to 15 or so now... This morning I noticed that 3 of my larger ones had split... Coincidence? I'm not sure... Was it the extra oxygen, less phosphate, the peroxide dosing or a combination of things? But 3 splits in a 24-hour span is pretty nice. I'm not complaining... Well, I am complaining because I need to get these things out and start selling / trading them lol. They are all in Pukani rock, which isn't fun trying to remove them...
A few other things... I picked up a pretty sick Chevron tang and have been medicating him back to good health. He will be going through a full QT and will be in my tank in roughly a month! We named him Chevy and he's awesome!! I'm also in the process of building my floating canopy for my retro-fit T5 fixtures, to supplement the Kessil 360's. Other than that, it's just cruise control! I forgot to include the following image in my last post, which is the pressure sensor installed for my ATO! Love this thing...
Reef on, Reefers!!
OP
OP
Reeflogic
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I wanted to add a few additional links and info about micro-scrubbing, for those that may be interested and haven't read much about it.
This is a copy/paste from Elegant Corals:
Elegant Corals "Micro Scrubbing Bubbles" Technique for the Reef System...
Allows the corals to release excess slime and waste...
Allows the coral membrane to breathe and allow for better osmosis and ion exchange with the water column...
Oxygenates the water and de-gasses excess CO2 in the water column out of the system. (Skimmers and a little ball of chaeto is not sufficient... sorry...)
We recommend 8 to 10 hours a day counter cycle for the first week, then 2 to 3 hours a day counter cycle to the display tank lighting to maintain a more consistent and stable pH level.
The correct pH greatly improves the calcification rates of all hard corals...
Oxygenation also assists in higher beneficial aerobic bacterial loads as well as decrease the bad anaerobic cyanobacteria that many hobbyists struggle with.
The micro bubbles also get under (with proper tank flow) dinos and the cyanobacteria and carry them to the over flow to be removed by an efficient skimmer.
Not just for gas exchange or CO2 degassing... part of the nutrient cycle/export system, as well... excellent water flow is needed and vital to prevent the mucus from a neighboring colony to suffocate or burn another. Quick removal with a turkey baster is suggested for stuck on stubborn mucus.
NOTICE: NO FILTER SOCKS IF YOU HAVE A TRUE WORKING REFUGIUM!!
If fighting dinos, cyanobacteria, or other Reef Tank Pests, we will be adding it to our "NOTES" section in the near future!
CHEERS!
https://www.facebook.com/1511705699...829.1511705699091667/1615803182015251/?type=3
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/micro-scrubbing-bubbles.224373/
The only "negatives" I've read on this is the possibility of bubble disease with fish. I guess time will tell, in the meantime, I'm sticking to 4 hours per night, as opposed to the 8-12 hours some people run. If anyone else is trying this, please reply to my thread with a link to your journal. I'd love to see what others are experiencing.
This is a copy/paste from Elegant Corals:
Elegant Corals "Micro Scrubbing Bubbles" Technique for the Reef System...
Allows the corals to release excess slime and waste...
Allows the coral membrane to breathe and allow for better osmosis and ion exchange with the water column...
Oxygenates the water and de-gasses excess CO2 in the water column out of the system. (Skimmers and a little ball of chaeto is not sufficient... sorry...)
We recommend 8 to 10 hours a day counter cycle for the first week, then 2 to 3 hours a day counter cycle to the display tank lighting to maintain a more consistent and stable pH level.
The correct pH greatly improves the calcification rates of all hard corals...
Oxygenation also assists in higher beneficial aerobic bacterial loads as well as decrease the bad anaerobic cyanobacteria that many hobbyists struggle with.
The micro bubbles also get under (with proper tank flow) dinos and the cyanobacteria and carry them to the over flow to be removed by an efficient skimmer.
Not just for gas exchange or CO2 degassing... part of the nutrient cycle/export system, as well... excellent water flow is needed and vital to prevent the mucus from a neighboring colony to suffocate or burn another. Quick removal with a turkey baster is suggested for stuck on stubborn mucus.
NOTICE: NO FILTER SOCKS IF YOU HAVE A TRUE WORKING REFUGIUM!!
If fighting dinos, cyanobacteria, or other Reef Tank Pests, we will be adding it to our "NOTES" section in the near future!
CHEERS!
https://www.facebook.com/1511705699...829.1511705699091667/1615803182015251/?type=3
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/micro-scrubbing-bubbles.224373/
The only "negatives" I've read on this is the possibility of bubble disease with fish. I guess time will tell, in the meantime, I'm sticking to 4 hours per night, as opposed to the 8-12 hours some people run. If anyone else is trying this, please reply to my thread with a link to your journal. I'd love to see what others are experiencing.
revhtree
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I'm following you! :)
OP
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Reeflogic
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Stalker!! :eek::cool:
No real changes yet in my bryopsis battle, but I thought I would add a really good read on peroxide dosing. If I find more I will add them :)
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-my-experience-h2o2-reefing-tool.52084/
No real changes yet in my bryopsis battle, but I thought I would add a really good read on peroxide dosing. If I find more I will add them :)
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/dinoflagellates-my-experience-h2o2-reefing-tool.52084/
MRRBW
Active Member
Really enjoy this thread, following. I have an old tank that I've tried to get back in shape, but carbon dosing caused major cyano issues. I'm curious to see how your combo works. Really like the light fixture too, going to copy paste onto my new 30g :-). Was going to refer you to urbaneks for your photography questions, his pictures are amazing, but saw you got in touch already. D2mini would be another good person to ask too
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Reeflogic
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Thank you @MRRBW ! I have recently learned that there is a better place to order the aluminum extrusion for your light fixture mount! 8020.net! From what I have read in other threads you can get everything you need in one order! When I purchased mine, it was a little chaotic from the folks I purchased through. Hope that helps!!
I finally broke down and pulled the 2 largest rocks that had minimal bryposis and gave them a good h2o2 toothbrushing! Bryopsis appears to be dead!! I also took the time to rescape and I'm VERY happy with the new look. I will get some updated photos soon. I'm excited to share my micro-bubble scrubbing experiences, as I do believe it is having a positive effect on my system. I've stopped the h2o2 dosing for now since I did the whole rock scrub thing. Plus I'm wanting to see what @twilliard has to say in his research thread, where he is currently testing h2o2 against cyano!
I finally broke down and pulled the 2 largest rocks that had minimal bryposis and gave them a good h2o2 toothbrushing! Bryopsis appears to be dead!! I also took the time to rescape and I'm VERY happy with the new look. I will get some updated photos soon. I'm excited to share my micro-bubble scrubbing experiences, as I do believe it is having a positive effect on my system. I've stopped the h2o2 dosing for now since I did the whole rock scrub thing. Plus I'm wanting to see what @twilliard has to say in his research thread, where he is currently testing h2o2 against cyano!
OP
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Reeflogic
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I'm going to continue adding additional threads that I find interesting or beneficial for me or anyone who happens to stumble across my journal!
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/back-at-it-peroxide-vrs-cyanobacteria.241002/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/back-at-it-peroxide-vrs-cyanobacteria.241002/
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Reeflogic
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So, I spent 5 hours playing with camera settings and trying custom white balances and hundreds of photos!! I can get some great images, but still too blue!!! :(
I'm going to figure it out if it kills me! I seriously need a macro lens and one of those fancy clear things to put in the water and get top down photos! Oh well, I took them, so I'm posting them!
My new scape will allow me some room to add SPS, which I'm excited about.
I'm going to figure it out if it kills me! I seriously need a macro lens and one of those fancy clear things to put in the water and get top down photos! Oh well, I took them, so I'm posting them!
My new scape will allow me some room to add SPS, which I'm excited about.
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Reeflogic
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These ended up being auto white balance, f9 ISO between 400-800, I believe on most of them. I've read several threads, but still having a hard time removing the blue from the Kessils. I started using a tripod and manual focus, which I think helped me a little, but still a long way to go!
I'm using Lightroom for post editing in RAW. I end up sliding the temp all the way to the right and it's still too blue! I tweak the exposure and a little tweak of the contrast and the clarity to 14-20 and +5 on vibrance, no saturation, some of them I lowered saturation lol. Then I play around with highlights, shadows, light and darks to try and get it to how I'm seeing it, which I guess is close because the Kessils are very blue. I'd just like to get the more natural looking colors of the rocks and sand, etc.!! There has to be a way!! I see it all the time!
I'm using Lightroom for post editing in RAW. I end up sliding the temp all the way to the right and it's still too blue! I tweak the exposure and a little tweak of the contrast and the clarity to 14-20 and +5 on vibrance, no saturation, some of them I lowered saturation lol. Then I play around with highlights, shadows, light and darks to try and get it to how I'm seeing it, which I guess is close because the Kessils are very blue. I'd just like to get the more natural looking colors of the rocks and sand, etc.!! There has to be a way!! I see it all the time!
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Reeflogic
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I went back and looked at older photos and it seems I had ISO at 100!! Also, I think I had my Kessils at 100% color, so they were whiter... Those images looked better... I was just trying some stuff I read today, lol. I guess I will try again tomorrow and see how it goes :)
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Reeflogic
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Thanks, Tony, I'm a big fan of yours! Keep up the great research mate! :D
Can't believe I forgot to add your link to my journal! Happy reefing!
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/micro-and-nano-bubble-tank-treatment.231894/
Can't believe I forgot to add your link to my journal! Happy reefing!
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/micro-and-nano-bubble-tank-treatment.231894/
revhtree
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Beautiful reef Doug!
Lilmatty5dimes
2500 Club Member
I just found this and posted on your sale thread about how you have these hanging? I'm in the process of setting up a rimless tank and would like to have a floating canopy like yours. Thanks in advance.I finally took the time to build my canopy for my T5 retros!
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