OP
OP
Unfortunately, I believe those flared tip have been discontinued or are no longer supplied by that source.
Deep Blue 57 Edge ATI Acro Garden
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Unfortunately, I believe those flared tip have been discontinued or are no longer supplied by that source.
OP
OP
I will post a big update soon. Battling a big white slime bacterial infestation for the last several months (long story). But the tide is turning and headed in the right direction. The good news is coralline algae is starting to grab a foothold so conditions are definitely improving.
OP
OP
Okay, an update is long overdue. The last 8 months have been quite the roller coaster ride but I think I’m finally making some real progress in my goal of making this a thriving acropora tank.
For the longest time I have been fighting what I believe to have been Calothrix. Essentially, a large portion of my rockwork and frags were covered in a sheet of white slime that developed into a spongy loosely attached green fuzz. Over the last several months, I’ve been fighting this stuff and in the last 3 weeks, the tank has finally turned the corner and the issue is pretty much gone!
Here is my latest FTS, thought it doesn’t look like there has been much growth, the frags are starting to finally encrust and I’m beginning to see some polyp extension again.
For the longest time I have been fighting what I believe to have been Calothrix. Essentially, a large portion of my rockwork and frags were covered in a sheet of white slime that developed into a spongy loosely attached green fuzz. Over the last several months, I’ve been fighting this stuff and in the last 3 weeks, the tank has finally turned the corner and the issue is pretty much gone!
Here is my latest FTS, thought it doesn’t look like there has been much growth, the frags are starting to finally encrust and I’m beginning to see some polyp extension again.
OP
OP
With coralline algae staring to tank a foothold, I know the tank is headed in the right direction. More details on the changes made to the tank to follow.
OP
OP
So for a good part of the beginning of this tank, I was dealing with a serious bacteria / Calothrix bloom. White slime covered everything. Phosphates were at around .03 ppm and Nitrates were consistently at 0. No matter how much I fed, I couldn’t get any nitrate readings. But by increasing the feedings, phosphates slowly continued to climb fueling the bacterial slime. The frags were all covered in slime and I was sure that they were all dead.
I decided to make some changes to my filtration set up.
I decided to make some changes to my filtration set up.
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OP
OP
I took the Turbo’s Aquatics L2 ATS offline. I’ll save it for the inevitable tank upgrade down the line. My tank was way too small and the ATS was working way too efficiently as evidenced by my multiple growth screen shots in this thread. By taking it offline, I was hoping I could raise my nitrates.
I added a BRS mini reactor and run it with about 1/2 a cup of ROX carbon mixed with 1/4 cup of GFO. I change this out every couple of weeks and it’s doing a good job of keeping my Phosphates at a manageable level at around .05 ppm.
I also added a single stage Ranco temperature controller. Watching that BRS video about having a temperature controller doing the heavy lifting for my Finnex heating element as opposed to my EB832 convinced me. I went with a Ranco because I wasn’t a fan of the InkBird that I ran on my BioCube 29 way back when.
I also added an AquaUV Classic 15 watt UV sterilizer. I felt that it would help with the bacterial bloom and also help with keeping the water clearer. So far, so good!
My tank was way too small and the ATS was working way too efficiently as evidenced by my multiple growth screen shots in this thread. By taking it offline, I was hoping I could raise my nitrates.I added a BRS mini reactor and run it with about 1/2 a cup of ROX carbon mixed with 1/4 cup of GFO. I change this out every couple of weeks and it’s doing a good job of keeping my Phosphates at a manageable level at around .05 ppm.
I also added a single stage Ranco temperature controller. Watching that BRS video about having a temperature controller doing the heavy lifting for my Finnex heating element as opposed to my EB832 convinced me. I went with a Ranco because I wasn’t a fan of the InkBird that I ran on my BioCube 29 way back when.
I also added an AquaUV Classic 15 watt UV sterilizer. I felt that it would help with the bacterial bloom and also help with keeping the water clearer. So far, so good!
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OP
OP
So with all of these changes initiated in concert with a couple of 3 day blackouts, the 7 month battle with the bacterial slime / Calothrix infestation look to be finally won. I’m finally getting a Nitrate reading of around 4 ppm or so and Phosphates are sitting at around .05 ppm. Over the last few weeks, my initial set of SPS frags that I thought were dead seem to be turning the corner. While they’re still browned out and drab, there seems to have been some level of growth throughout this ordeal.
Walt Disney frag at the very top of the rockwork is basing out and encrusting. Polyp extension is starting to come back too! Sorry about the crappy iPhone picture.
Walt Disney frag at the very top of the rockwork is basing out and encrusting. Polyp extension is starting to come back too! Sorry about the crappy iPhone picture.
code4
Valuable Member
Hi! Will you be putting the Turbo Aquatic back on line sometime? Or do you think it is to efficient for this size of tank? Considering one myself but thought I would get your take on it first. Have a great night.
OP
OP
It was too efficient for my tank. When I upgrade to a larger tank, 120 + gallons, I will install the ATS again. With it in use, I couldn’t get my nutrints up with led to some bad bacterial issues. With it offline, I now have measurable nitrates and phosphates.
code4
Valuable Member
Thanks, I will have to look at your other means of exporting. I wonder, could a person remove the screen where the algae grows? And perhaps cut it in half? Then return half for less algae production? Just thinking out loud. I am headed to sleep now
OP
OP
One of the nice things about the Turbo’s Aquatics Scubbers is the ability to dim the lights. So you could almost tune your growth to your bio load. That said, it was easier for me to just pull the unit off my system and not have to balance the algae growth with chasing nutrients.
Sebastiancrab
2500 Club Member
The link for the screen tabs no longer works. Do you think you could find them? Thank you!I also wanted a simple screen top but hated those ugly plastic mounting clips. In search of a more aesthetically pleasing solution, I found these flared corner tabs that mate perfectly with the the BRS screen kits.
https://www.swisco.com/Overlap-Scre...-Keys-for-5_16-inch-Thick-Screen-Frame/95-221
The result is a perfectly flush screen top.
When viewed from the front, you can’t even tell it’s there!
Luckily BRS now carries some similar ones from Neat Aquatics: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/rimless-screen-top-frame-corners-niche3d.html
OP
OP
Nice find!
InvaderJim
Chillin
If any of you have a 3d printer or have access to one you can print your own as well. I spent about 2 hours trying to find those things only to realize I could just print them myself. Lots of good ideas in here. ;Smug
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