DF Red Sea Reefer 250

[Brent Behringer]

Looking great! I just took delivery of my reefer 250 tank/stand this afternoon!

 

[powers2001]

Here ya go for conductivity probe calibration.

 

[powers2001]

Here’s an R2R article on Apex conductivity probe calibration:

Apex salinity probe! How can I get it working right? Well hopefully this helps.

Salinity, salinity probe, apex, apex probe, salt, salt probe

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Difrano]

Time for an update.
My parameters:
Parameters:
Temp: 78.5 F.
Salinity: Refractometer 1.026. Apex: 36.3.
pH: 8.02 Day - 7.6 Night
NH3: 5
Alk: 7.7
Ca: 480
PO4: 0

Equipment:

I added a salinity sensor to the Apex and for the first week it matched on spot with my refractometer, then after I did a cleanup of the sump and sensors to remove some algae buildup the sensor jumped 1% and never came down and now it doesn't match the refractometer:



No way that jump is possible in 1 minute and stay there, I checked for bubbles or detritus and nada, I have 2 more calibration solutions, later this week will perform a check on it.

Also bought a MP10 to add to the other side of the tank, because I am not getting turbulent flow with 1 MP40, I tested it yesterday and when turned on the MP10 it created a cloud of detritus that was accumulating due to the flow going in one direction. Its off now and a soon as the guard finishes 3D printing it will be put in full time operation. Regarding the MP40 I think it maybe an overkill for a Reefer 250 because I cannot set it to more than 50% without crating a tornado of fish, shrimp and sand. I am also trying to understand how the XWM works with the ecosmart modes on the vortech, so I can get maximum effect with tidal swell or nutrient transport, I will post some questions on the Neptune forums to see how it works with a XWM.

Bought a used DOS from a reef2reef user here in Orlando, I will not install it yet until I get more corals and figure out how to convince the boss (my wife) to add a extra cabinet on the side of the tank for a future dosing station and a future trident.

I used to buy my RODI water from TSA, but at the evaporation rate of the 250 is no longer economical so I decided to buy a RODI unit in Amazon, it arrived on Monday and had not installed yet. This is the unit: Aquatic Life Twist-In 75 GPD, 4-Stage RO/DI Water Filtration Unit
I am preparing a post with the unboxing and installation for later this week.

The skimmer is doing great, but today had a big overflow of the cup, yesterday was only 20% full and look like a lot of saltwater got in the skimmer cup, need to investigate because my sump level has been constant.

Livestock:

On my previous post I posted that I will not add more fish... well I lied. I went to my preferred LFS btw is Top Shelf Aquatics (for now on TSA) for the past 5 years, to buy the salinity probe they posted that they received a lot of captive breed Yellowline Cleaners goby, I always wanted to have them so I bought 2, one small and one bigger. After acclimation they went into the tank, they are super awesome fish I love to see them around in the glass backwall going in and out of holes in the rock. My only question here is why if they are "cleaners" they are scared to death of the other fish? The yellow Tang approach them with like intentions to be cleaned but they dart away. Is maybe because they are captive breed?

I added a couple of snails to the refugium to keep the algae growth at bay. Talking about the refugium the fern caulerpa is growing like weed, yesterday removed a bunch like a baseball size, if any of you are interested on having some I can ship it and you pay only the shipping. I have a small issue with cyano on the refugium and I think is because the slow flow down there, nothing to be scared of but I don't want it to reach my DT (it will eventually but you know...). The amphipod population is awesome, they are everywhere, my issue is that they like high emotions and jumping from the DT to the sump is one of their preferred, but they get stuck in the filter sock so every time I clean the sock is a mess because to save as many of them as I can most of the times 70% of the crap comes back to the tank ;Facepalm. I have not seen an explosion of copepods, I might reseed the tank later in June.

With the reduction on flow from my MP40 the Firefish came back to the open, and the tank looks awesome, Tang clowns damsels are doing great.. now my YWG/Pistol pair are something crazy, they disappear for weeks just to come back as nothing happened, the first time on request from my daughter I tore apart the rock work on the left side just to find them both chilling under the base rock, it was good because I was able to redo the aquascape on the left side that I did not like so much. after that they disappeared again, but this time I decided to wait and the come and go.

Corals side, the Zoa frag is doing Ok and a neighbor that I did not know that he has a 75 gal reef from 10+ years gifted me some GSP, Xenias and mushrooms, so they are in now.

I am in love with the Reefer 250 and the setup is coming along as I envision it, tank is getting out of the uglies and coralline is spreading from my old rock to the new rock. GHA is reducing a lot and the Tang just love to grace on it.

Now lets see some pics:

FTS:

Il Duo:

Side view:

New Kids on the block:

Sump

Refugium

Amphipod condo:

 

[Difrano]

Teaser ;Happy :

 

[powers2001]

Teaser ;Happy :

@Difrano glad to see you were able to get a Trident. Where are you going to place it? Tridents aren’t supposed to be placed below the surface level of the sump chamber they draw water from.

 

[Difrano]

@Difrano glad to see you were able to get a Trident. Where are you going to place it? Tridents aren’t supposed to be placed below the surface level of the sump chamber they draw water from.

I placed it on the shelf I made, tomorrow will post a build update here.

 

[Difrano]

RODI Unit Unboxing installation and mini review:

So after noting that my new RSR250 would take about 5 gallons a week of top off, I decided to go for a RODI unit, did some research and found on Amazon the @AquaticLifeProducts line of RODI filters. The reviews were solid and they had a small footprint and good look (important thing for the budget approval manager at home) so I decided to go for this unit:



It is advertised as a 75 GPD, so It fits my needs.

The unboxing:

It arrived in a nice box:

Inside the box:

Cartridge's packing:

The 4 filters: Sediment, carbon, RO Membrane and DI Resin. Just love the details:

The main block, compact and expandable

Top View:

On top of the membrane you can see the waste connection, as you can see each stage is connected using tubing, it comes with a bunch 90 degrees connectors if you want to add more accessories in between the stages.

The rest of the packageit inludes:

• Hose adapter.
• Faucet adapter (a few different models)
• Float to stop the unit if you are using a gig reservoir like a brute tank.
• Check valve.
• Hydraulic on off valve.
• few 90 degrees connectors.
• Instruction manual
• some ft. of RODI tubing.
• Instruction manual and mounting screws.

The install: Initially we were thinking about installing it under the sink, but at some point my wife remembered me some DYI plumbing I did installing a utility sink on our previous house that was leaking for years, so I gave uo with the idea and decided to install it on the garage, we have a water hose connection just by the door on the garage so it is easy to connect the unit when I need to make water.

Water intake, using the hose adapter was a blitz:

Location of the unit

I need to route the tubing and affix the shutoff valve

Initial test of the system, you can see the waste water on the right.

TDS test of first water.

I am very happy with the unit, a few days later filled 2 5 gallons jugs in about 2 hours so giving more than expected.

So after the pain of using siphon to refill the ATO storage on the RSR 250 I decided to make my own refill cap:

It works like a charm, you just need a standard 5 gallons jug, a 3/4 PVC pipe and a 3/4 PVC cap. Now I can refill my ATO super easy!

 

[Waynerock]

Looks great! Got the same tank and RODI. No complaints. When you start loading it up with coral you will prob want to drop another prime on there. I have 3 and it’s perfect and acros are growing great coverage. Love what you did with your sump area, nice and clean

 

[powers2001]

@Difrano I am curious how your one zoa tester frag is doing so far. So it’s been in there about a month now? I’m going to have a lot of zoanthids on the bottom of my RS250 kind of like a carpet of them covering the whole bottom is my plan.

 

[Difrano]

@Difrano I am curious how your one zoa tester frag is doing so far. So it’s been in there about a month now? I’m going to have a lot of zoanthids on the bottom of my RS250 kind of like a carpet of them covering the whole bottom is my plan.

The test frag is doing great, it has new polyps, my only issue is that my urchin, hermits and tiger pistol love to move it around the tank, I am about to glue it into its final positions, I have new GSP from a friend and bought my 2 first ever SPS, a bird nest and a monti. They been there since Wednesday and still alive lol... I don't have new pictures, have been busy modifying the cabinet to install Trident DDR and DOS. Trident is working from last Tuesday will do a big update during week

 

[powers2001]

Looks great! Got the same tank and RODI. No complaints. When you start loading it up with coral you will prob want to drop another prime on there. I have 3 and it’s perfect and acros are growing great coverage. Love what you did with your sump area, nice and clean

@Waynerock do you have a build thread for your Reefer 250 yet? I’d love to see one.

 

[RL6723]

Teaser ;Happy :

@Difrano your going to love it, the area where I slack the most is consistent testing. Just being able to pull up your dashboard and see the big 3 is priceless. I am only using it to monitor on my holding tank but once the build is complete im going to use it to control the DOS. Big game changer for me

 

[Difrano]

Time for a 2 month update!
My parameters:
Temp: 77.5 - 78.5 F. Apex
Salinity: Refractometer 1.025. Apex: 33.3.
pH: 8.02 Day - 7.6 Night Apex
Alk: 7.9 Apex
Ca: 501 Apex
Mg: 1364 Apex
PO4: 0 Hanna
NO3: 0 Nyos

FTS:

Equipment:

First of all I would like to thank @eag for his excellent article on how to calibrate the conductivity sensor and the hidden feature of temperature compensation!

(Almost) Everything You Need to Know About Apex Salinity Calibration and TC Factor

I was trying to calibrate my new salinity probe a few weeks ago, and ran into all sorts of problems. Calibrations that were way off the mark, big fluctuations in readings that couldn't possibly be correct (and were verifiably not), etc. After...

www.reef2reef.com

So equipment wise I added a Trident and I can't stop saying good things about it, so far have worked flawless and no issues at all, I got it used form a local reefer and also got a DOS and a DDR with it, I had to rework my cabinet in order to be able to fit the Trident, DOS and DDR (The boss still doesn't approve an Ikea side cabinet).

In order to raise pH I added a temporary external line t my skimmer that suck air from outside so far still having the same pH swings between day and night, only difference is when I have more people at home pH doesn't drop like a rock anymore, I am still debating if I need a CO2 scrubber.

I also destroyed the dry side of the MP10, I was cleaning the glass with the flipper and knocked the wet side, due to procrastination my dry cables were not zip tied and the dry side it fell like 5 ft while running, it started making noise like grinding metal and the drive was faulting after 30 seconds of the pump running, so I found several video's and articles on how to replace the bearings on the MP10, so I did it but still the same noise, look like the motor shaft was damaged, so I bought a dry side at saltwateraquarium.com, it arrived today replaced the old one and everything is working fine now.

Skimmer is a beast I think the issue I am having with low nitrates is due to the skimmer being too efficient removing waste. I put the skimmer on a night schedule to try keep my pH OK. I will check how it work.

Tank status:

Tank have been running awesome so far, still learning a lot and making mistakes, those are the major events:

• The small yellowline cleaner liked the thrill of jumping on the overflow and then get trapped in the filter sock or the filter cup. I rescued him twice from there, but the third one he did not survive, will explain it in the next bullet point.
• To test if the tank was ready for SPS, I went to TSA and bought 2 "easy" SPS, one frag of monti and one frag of a green bird nest, I added both frags to the tank, everything looked fine for a week until one morning I woke up and the birdnest looked like it was bleaching in the middle, the night before found the small cleaner in the filter cup chilling as always and decided to leave him there until next day, he used to spend some time in there before, so I went to work. When I came back that night lights were out already and noticed that the Xenia in my sump was gone, melted to nothing, the day before was perfect, also when I went to rescue the cleaner he was dead... I did not understand what happened, me and the kids did the fish funeral and honors and then went to sleep, next morning looking at the tank finding clues of what happened I found that the birdnest was completely gone, just the bare skeleton and some dead flesh hanging from it, also noticed that one of my GSP test frags was melted too, when I took it off it was covered on dead flesh from the BN, so I assume that the xenia died the same way and the cleaner was trapped in the cup was not able to escape the toxic flesh of the BN, so I am guilty of fishslaugther . I posted my findings in the SPS forums but people just don't believe me. Monti is doing OK.
• Since the tank started I was not able to get PO4 >0 and NO3 was always hovering 5 ppm based on API test, past several weeks it was looking more like a 0 than a 5, after this issue with the BN I bought a Nyos nitrate test based on BRS recommendations, and is reading 0. I know that I am having an issue with low nutrients because my huge Caulerpa in sump is melting fast and from almost covering all the sump I only have a few strings left, I am really afraid that Dinos will take over because I am seeing some Cyano on the DT sand, and Cyano = Dinos when you are on low nutrients range. I have been dumping literally tons of food on the tank and cannot get NO3 or PO4 to raise.
• Since adding the Trident I am in love with the automatic testing of Alk Ca and Mg... don't care how much will cost on reagent it is worth every penny. Now I have another mistery, my Alk is dropping 0.2 per day but my Ca is keeping steady and Mg is slowly dropping as you can see here, the alk spikes are because I am manually dosing liquid soda ash to not affect the Ca:
• 
• So on my tank I only have 1 SPS and is a small Monti, and just a few frags of Zoas and GSP, I do have coraline growing everywhere, I don't understand why only alk is being consumed and no Ca?, I checked some great articles from @Randy Holmes-Farley, but cant figure out what's going on here.
• This week I am planning to install the tubing to the DOS and automate my Alk dosing to keep it stable around 8.5.

Livestock:

• The day I went to TSA I saw a Yellow Watchman goby that was not that yellow, more like a grey watchman goby, I fell in love with "she", I think is a she due to coloration. And when I got her to the DT my YWG was all over the place, not fighting or jawlocking it was more like a show off, they live in the same rock structure but not yet sharing the same burrow let's see how it goes.
• Also replaced the fallen yellowline cleaner with a blueline cleaner and love him too, is getting along with the other yellowline.
• Added the birdnest now gone and a monti. and lost 1 frag of GSP and a big colony of Xenia that was living in the sump.
• Also added a Florida fighting conch and I just love it, is like a vacuum cleaner for sand.
• Rest of livestock is doing great, I can sit for ours watching the tank, just love it.
• Regarding CUC I am finding dead hermits here and there, IDK what is going on, maybe fight for shells?

So my plan now is to raise NO3 and P04 before Dinos show up, maybe adding some reef roids.

Now some pictures, still learning how to get good pictures with my cellphone and old camera:

Coraline showing up in my returns

Peek-a-boo

 

[Difrano]

Today something awesome happened! I had a copepod explosion on my DT. Remember I added a jug of Reef Soup from Rusalty? I had not seen a copepod since then. Today I was looking at the glass that needed a scraping, so I came back one hour later to do some maintenance and noticed all those tiny white dots, I picked my son cellphone microscope and there they are, they look as copepods. Now a few questions, Why they came out all the same, before I only saw amphipods swimming around. And if scrape the glass to clear the algae will I kill the pods?

Its so awesome!

Attached are a couple of videos.

Microscope closeup of dots

 

[mmw64]

Time for an update.
My parameters:
Parameters:
Temp: 78.5 F.
Salinity: Refractometer 1.026. Apex: 36.3.
pH: 8.02 Day - 7.6 Night
NH3: 5
Alk: 7.7
Ca: 480
PO4: 0

Equipment:

I added a salinity sensor to the Apex and for the first week it matched on spot with my refractometer, then after I did a cleanup of the sump and sensors to remove some algae buildup the sensor jumped 1% and never came down and now it doesn't match the refractometer:



No way that jump is possible in 1 minute and stay there, I checked for bubbles or detritus and nada, I have 2 more calibration solutions, later this week will perform a check on it.

Also bought a MP10 to add to the other side of the tank, because I am not getting turbulent flow with 1 MP40, I tested it yesterday and when turned on the MP10 it created a cloud of detritus that was accumulating due to the flow going in one direction. Its off now and a soon as the guard finishes 3D printing it will be put in full time operation. Regarding the MP40 I think it maybe an overkill for a Reefer 250 because I cannot set it to more than 50% without crating a tornado of fish, shrimp and sand. I am also trying to understand how the XWM works with the ecosmart modes on the vortech, so I can get maximum effect with tidal swell or nutrient transport, I will post some questions on the Neptune forums to see how it works with a XWM.

Bought a used DOS from a reef2reef user here in Orlando, I will not install it yet until I get more corals and figure out how to convince the boss (my wife) to add a extra cabinet on the side of the tank for a future dosing station and a future trident.

I used to buy my RODI water from TSA, but at the evaporation rate of the 250 is no longer economical so I decided to buy a RODI unit in Amazon, it arrived on Monday and had not installed yet. This is the unit: Aquatic Life Twist-In 75 GPD, 4-Stage RO/DI Water Filtration Unit
I am preparing a post with the unboxing and installation for later this week.

The skimmer is doing great, but today had a big overflow of the cup, yesterday was only 20% full and look like a lot of saltwater got in the skimmer cup, need to investigate because my sump level has been constant.

Livestock:

On my previous post I posted that I will not add more fish... well I lied. I went to my preferred LFS btw is Top Shelf Aquatics (for now on TSA) for the past 5 years, to buy the salinity probe they posted that they received a lot of captive breed Yellowline Cleaners goby, I always wanted to have them so I bought 2, one small and one bigger. After acclimation they went into the tank, they are super awesome fish I love to see them around in the glass backwall going in and out of holes in the rock. My only question here is why if they are "cleaners" they are scared to death of the other fish? The yellow Tang approach them with like intentions to be cleaned but they dart away. Is maybe because they are captive breed?

I added a couple of snails to the refugium to keep the algae growth at bay. Talking about the refugium the fern caulerpa is growing like weed, yesterday removed a bunch like a baseball size, if any of you are interested on having some I can ship it and you pay only the shipping. I have a small issue with cyano on the refugium and I think is because the slow flow down there, nothing to be scared of but I don't want it to reach my DT (it will eventually but you know...). The amphipod population is awesome, they are everywhere, my issue is that they like high emotions and jumping from the DT to the sump is one of their preferred, but they get stuck in the filter sock so every time I clean the sock is a mess because to save as many of them as I can most of the times 70% of the crap comes back to the tank ;Facepalm. I have not seen an explosion of copepods, I might reseed the tank later in June.

With the reduction on flow from my MP40 the Firefish came back to the open, and the tank looks awesome, Tang clowns damsels are doing great.. now my YWG/Pistol pair are something crazy, they disappear for weeks just to come back as nothing happened, the first time on request from my daughter I tore apart the rock work on the left side just to find them both chilling under the base rock, it was good because I was able to redo the aquascape on the left side that I did not like so much. after that they disappeared again, but this time I decided to wait and the come and go.

Corals side, the Zoa frag is doing Ok and a neighbor that I did not know that he has a 75 gal reef from 10+ years gifted me some GSP, Xenias and mushrooms, so they are in now.

I am in love with the Reefer 250 and the setup is coming along as I envision it, tank is getting out of the uglies and coralline is spreading from my old rock to the new rock. GHA is reducing a lot and the Tang just love to grace on it.

Now lets see some pics:

FTS:

Il Duo:

Side view:

New Kids on the block:

Sump

Refugium

Amphipod condo:

What kind of light are you using on your refugium? Also, what is the name of the algae you are using?

 

[Difrano]

What kind of light are you using on your refugium? Also, what is the name of the algae you are using?

I am using this light, is awesome.

Amazon.com : Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, Cliplight : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, Cliplight : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

My algae and mushroom corals that live in the sump love it, plus is not red or purple as standard refugium lights the white color give it a better look.

The algae is Fern Caulerpa, also know as Mexican fern scientific name Caulerpa sertularioides I have it since 5 years ago on my old biocube, today doesn't look good due to very low nutrients. It grows super fast even an inch a day. I used to trim like a baseball size a week.

 

[mmw64]

I am using this light, is awesome.

Amazon.com : Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, Cliplight : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED Light Plus Moonlights, Cliplight : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

My algae and mushroom corals that live in the sump love it, plus is not red or purple as standard refugium lights the white color give it a better look.

The algae is Fern Caulerpa, also know as Mexican fern scientific name Caulerpa sertularioides I have it since 5 years ago on my old biocube, today doesn't look good due to very low nutrients. It grows super fast even an inch a day. I used to trim like a baseball size a week.

Thanks for the information. The regular caulerpa gets pieces tangled in my skimmer. This might work better. Thanks again.

 

[RL6723]

Time for a 2 month update!
My parameters:
Temp: 77.5 - 78.5 F. Apex
Salinity: Refractometer 1.025. Apex: 33.3.
pH: 8.02 Day - 7.6 Night Apex
Alk: 7.9 Apex
Ca: 501 Apex
Mg: 1364 Apex
PO4: 0 Hanna
NO3: 0 Nyos

FTS:

Equipment:

First of all I would like to thank @eag for his excellent article on how to calibrate the conductivity sensor and the hidden feature of temperature compensation!

(Almost) Everything You Need to Know About Apex Salinity Calibration and TC Factor

I was trying to calibrate my new salinity probe a few weeks ago, and ran into all sorts of problems. Calibrations that were way off the mark, big fluctuations in readings that couldn't possibly be correct (and were verifiably not), etc. After...

www.reef2reef.com

So equipment wise I added a Trident and I can't stop saying good things about it, so far have worked flawless and no issues at all, I got it used form a local reefer and also got a DOS and a DDR with it, I had to rework my cabinet in order to be able to fit the Trident, DOS and DDR (The boss still doesn't approve an Ikea side cabinet).

In order to raise pH I added a temporary external line t my skimmer that suck air from outside so far still having the same pH swings between day and night, only difference is when I have more people at home pH doesn't drop like a rock anymore, I am still debating if I need a CO2 scrubber.

I also destroyed the dry side of the MP10, I was cleaning the glass with the flipper and knocked the wet side, due to procrastination my dry cables were not zip tied and the dry side it fell like 5 ft while running, it started making noise like grinding metal and the drive was faulting after 30 seconds of the pump running, so I found several video's and articles on how to replace the bearings on the MP10, so I did it but still the same noise, look like the motor shaft was damaged, so I bought a dry side at saltwateraquarium.com, it arrived today replaced the old one and everything is working fine now.

Skimmer is a beast I think the issue I am having with low nitrates is due to the skimmer being too efficient removing waste. I put the skimmer on a night schedule to try keep my pH OK. I will check how it work.

Tank status:

Tank have been running awesome so far, still learning a lot and making mistakes, those are the major events:

• The small yellowline cleaner liked the thrill of jumping on the overflow and then get trapped in the filter sock or the filter cup. I rescued him twice from there, but the third one he did not survive, will explain it in the next bullet point.
• To test if the tank was ready for SPS, I went to TSA and bought 2 "easy" SPS, one frag of monti and one frag of a green bird nest, I added both frags to the tank, everything looked fine for a week until one morning I woke up and the birdnest looked like it was bleaching in the middle, the night before found the small cleaner in the filter cup chilling as always and decided to leave him there until next day, he used to spend some time in there before, so I went to work. When I came back that night lights were out already and noticed that the Xenia in my sump was gone, melted to nothing, the day before was perfect, also when I went to rescue the cleaner he was dead... I did not understand what happened, me and the kids did the fish funeral and honors and then went to sleep, next morning looking at the tank finding clues of what happened I found that the birdnest was completely gone, just the bare skeleton and some dead flesh hanging from it, also noticed that one of my GSP test frags was melted too, when I took it off it was covered on dead flesh from the BN, so I assume that the xenia died the same way and the cleaner was trapped in the cup was not able to escape the toxic flesh of the BN, so I am guilty of fishslaugther . I posted my findings in the SPS forums but people just don't believe me. Monti is doing OK.
• Since the tank started I was not able to get PO4 >0 and NO3 was always hovering 5 ppm based on API test, past several weeks it was looking more like a 0 than a 5, after this issue with the BN I bought a Nyos nitrate test based on BRS recommendations, and is reading 0. I know that I am having an issue with low nutrients because my huge Caulerpa in sump is melting fast and from almost covering all the sump I only have a few strings left, I am really afraid that Dinos will take over because I am seeing some Cyano on the DT sand, and Cyano = Dinos when you are on low nutrients range. I have been dumping literally tons of food on the tank and cannot get NO3 or PO4 to raise.
• Since adding the Trident I am in love with the automatic testing of Alk Ca and Mg... don't care how much will cost on reagent it is worth every penny. Now I have another mistery, my Alk is dropping 0.2 per day but my Ca is keeping steady and Mg is slowly dropping as you can see here, the alk spikes are because I am manually dosing liquid soda ash to not affect the Ca:
• 
• So on my tank I only have 1 SPS and is a small Monti, and just a few frags of Zoas and GSP, I do have coraline growing everywhere, I don't understand why only alk is being consumed and no Ca?, I checked some great articles from @Randy Holmes-Farley, but cant figure out what's going on here.
• This week I am planning to install the tubing to the DOS and automate my Alk dosing to keep it stable around 8.5.

Livestock:

• The day I went to TSA I saw a Yellow Watchman goby that was not that yellow, more like a grey watchman goby, I fell in love with "she", I think is a she due to coloration. And when I got her to the DT my YWG was all over the place, not fighting or jawlocking it was more like a show off, they live in the same rock structure but not yet sharing the same burrow let's see how it goes.
• Also replaced the fallen yellowline cleaner with a blueline cleaner and love him too, is getting along with the other yellowline.
• Added the birdnest now gone and a monti. and lost 1 frag of GSP and a big colony of Xenia that was living in the sump.
• Also added a Florida fighting conch and I just love it, is like a vacuum cleaner for sand.
• Rest of livestock is doing great, I can sit for ours watching the tank, just love it.
• Regarding CUC I am finding dead hermits here and there, IDK what is going on, maybe fight for shells?

So my plan now is to raise NO3 and P04 before Dinos show up, maybe adding some reef roids.

Now some pictures, still learning how to get good pictures with my cellphone and old camera:

Coraline showing up in my returns

Peek-a-boo

Tank is looking great!! How much are you feeding? You would think with the number of fish you have in there youd be able to read some level of nutrients. Id suggest to try and feed more, and If that doesnt work Id probably even start dosing n03 and p04. Ive used Seachem Flourish in the past for p04, ive never had to dose nitrates but Ive heard good things about Brightwell NeoNitro

 

[Difrano]

Tank is looking great!! How much are you feeding? You would think with the number of fish you have in there youd be able to read some level of nutrients. Id suggest to try and feed more, and If that doesnt work Id probably even start dosing n03 and p04. Ive used Seachem Flourish in the past for p04, ive never had to dose nitrates but Ive heard good things about Brightwell NeoNitro

Thanks! I really like how the tank is coming along, livestock is doing great, my only issue is cabinet space at the moment, today during lunch had a talk with the boss about an extra Ikea cabinet and she is starting to get sold to the idea, maybe by mid August I can get it installed, I will have 4 crazy weeks 1 vacation, 3 commissioning of a new brewhouse, I want to change those:

• Redesign the right part of the cabinet and do an equipment only cabinet there.
• Remove the standard ATO reservoir that is giving me headaches to access the sump, and use it to add more sump space maybe converting it into an extended refugium.
• On the new cabinet place a new ATO, reservoir and all the food, and testers.

Regarding nutrients I was feeding just enough before, but the past 3 weeks I am feeding for champs, 3 times a day: Midday Nori pellets for my Tang, mid afternoon frozen LRS reef frenzy, and in evening a mix of Reef Nutrition flakes, pellets and nori pellets.
My GHA is exploding and have green film algae growing the glass like everyday. I think they are outcompeting the Caulerpa in the sump. So I am revising what's going on. Tank is still very new so I was expecting those struggles, especially with algae and Cyano, my only concern is Dinos I lost the fight once and don't want to repeat it, but reading here in R2R I found good info on how to fight them.