greg's 150 build

[greg0385]

This tank is going to be unbelievable when things start growing out. I see a future reef of the month spotlight.

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Thanks Daniel, you need to stop by one day to check things out.

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[schooleyosis]

Lookin' awesome!!!

 

[gmoney243]

Nice greg looks like your getting great color

 

[greg0385]

Nice greg looks like your getting great color

Its amazing what having good lights will do for the corals. I love these leds!

 

[greg0385]

Its been 3months since i updated my thread.
So here is a update.

I finally got a decent underwater camera after my last one died. So last nite i took a bunch of pics. Granted i turned off my leds to get better pics so believe me when i say things are WAY more colorful then the pics show.
Instead of me posting up dozens of pics i just made a simple 5min slide show.
Here are some teaser pics to give you a sample of the slide show.




Slide show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJn4lPsbxkc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Some of my recent coral purchases
Aqua SD
Rainbow milli(getting a replacement)
Ice fire enchinata
Candle light
Strawberry shortcake
Aussie ice tort

Sexy Corals
Jamba juice
Pink floyd
Orange Passion

Dwilliams
Everlasting Gobstoppers
Devils Armor

 

[greg0385]

Still working on pin pointing my issue of not seeing excellent growth. I do see some growth on certain acros but not as much as i would expect. My acans and zoas are doing great, but still trying to find that sweet spot for my acros to grow.
I did start to dose kalk for a few months and decided to use my brs dosers that i purchased a long time ago. I am still working on dialing in the dosers to my exact demand so that my params stay as steady and stable as possible.

 

[dwilliams87]

Pics look great man, but they don't give the colors in your tank any justice. You'll get the growth.

 

[Dowtish]

Looking good Greg. You are right around the corner for good growth. Once you get that Kalk dialed everything should really take off.

 

[greg0385]

Thanks Chris, i really hope thats true

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[greg0385]

Been having issues with growth from my acros, after months of dosing kalk and then changing to 2part, i took biopellets offline and went back to the "old school" K.I.S.S. method.
Picked up a brs 50ml/min to dose kalk instead of 2part, but for now im letting w/c keep params stable.

Im doing a 5gal w/c every Sun and Wed. I also bought a salifert nitrate test kit and some gfo just incase my cheato and w/c cant keep phosphates down.

Got some really nice acros from Aqua SD! (Pics will be posted in the next few days). They had a rough trip as Fedex didnt deliever until 4:00pm. Some are already coloring back up and have full polyp extensions.
1)tropical milli
2)cotton candy milli
3)ultra blue tenuis
4)red dragon acro
5)pac man acro
6)wolverine acro
7)raspberry blue milli
8)blue tip pink lemonade
9)aqua sd rainbow milli
10) ice tort
11)red planet
12)labriyth acro
13)strawberry shortcake
14) squamosa clam



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[greg0385]

Here are the pics of the Aqua SD corals i got. These pics arent all that great as i didnt take the time to change the lighting and settings. The corals are in order from the list above.

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[schooleyosis]

Nice additions. Hopefully you'll get things figured out and get some good growth out of these.

 

[greg0385]

Thanks ryan, i feel pretty good about this choice and so far the corals are starting to show signs that they like this choice too.

My GFO arrived today but i going to hold off another few weeks on even thinking of using it. Because of the heavy feeding i was doing and then taking the biopellets out, I saw some high readings of phosphates.
I cut feedings to 2x a day instead of 4 and phosphates dropped from 0.37ppm on the 10/13/13 to 0.27ppm on 10/20/13. I will take another test next weekend, if it continues to drop then i wont use any GFO. If it levels off at a higher level than 0.04ppm, then i will start using GFO at a 1/8th of the reccommended amount so i dont strip the water to clean too quick.

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[schooleyosis]

Sounds like a good plan. Keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[greg0385]

Making progress with colors and health of my corals.

I made a short video out of pics i took yesterday. Please overlook the infestation of aptasias and my terrible pictures skills.

Still got a ways to go but i feel like im finally going in the right direction for a successful reef tank.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjjgnS4FRw8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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[bknapp]

Seeing some good colors coming out in those pics. LPS look real good. Looks like you're on your way, just be consistent and patient and let things grow!

Look into berghia nudis for aiptasia control.

 

[greg0385]

Thanks,
I tried nudibranchs awhile back but i think my yellow coris wrasse ate them.
Since then i sold that wrasse and tried 8 peppermint shrimp. I only see 2 roaming around not really doing anything.
I have already looked into trapping those two peps and try bergias again.

Since taking the biopellets out, i saw a rise in phosphates to 0.38. After a couple W/C and 3/4cup of gfo in a mesh filter sock. I just tested and its now at 0.06 and dropping.

I have seen brown acros start to get some color back. so im hoping if i can keep things going this way, i will see some growth in next few months.

Planning on upgrading my retro t5 reflectors in a few weeks and its time to replace my ATI bulbs and rodi filters. That should help to improve the corals even more.

Its about time to frag some acans as they are exploding in growth.

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[bknapp]

Phosphates at .06 is getting in that range most people aim for in SPS tanks. Good work finding what works best for your tank I know you've been fighting it for a while.

Would like to check it out some time.

 

[schooleyosis]

How soon after changing/adding your GFO are you checking the P04 levels? What are you using to check the P04 levels with? I am curious because my Red Sea Pro kit shows 0.08 all the time and the Hana Checker shows 0.00... I am curious as to when I will know that the GFO is exhausted.

 

[greg0385]

How soon after changing/adding your GFO are you checking the P04 levels? What are you using to check the P04 levels with? I am curious because my Red Sea Pro kit shows 0.08 all the time and the Hana Checker shows 0.00... I am curious as to when I will know that the GFO is exhausted.

Brs calculator said to use 2cups. I have read that to use half the amount as recommended. So i went with 3/4cup just to be on the safe side. I use a mesh filter sock which isnt as effecient as a reactor which is what i wanted as i didnt want to strip the water too quick.


I test every sunday with my hanna phosphate checker (PPM).

im watching my phosphates slowly drop now vs when it was just added, so it might be getting close to be exhausted. I may only add 1/2cup next time.

Test results:
Took biopellets out around Oct 9th

Oct 13- 0.37(did a 30gal W/C)
Oct 20- 0.27
Oct 27- 0.38(cut feedings from 4x to 2x a day and added 3/4cup gfo)
Oct 29- 0.18
Oct 31- 0.17(did a 30gal W/C)
Noc 1 - 0.11
Nov 5 - 0.06


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