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jhuntstl
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Made it back home to a very happy looking tank!
My tank has been running higher PO4 than usual. I'm usually around .05. I tested at .16 this past Monday. I went frozen only the rest of the week to bring them down. Right before I left Friday morning, I tested at .25! This was a little troublesome to see before hitting the road, but everything looked great. I did modify my plan at the last minute and decided not to feed while I was gone.
Came back home today and tested the same .25. Everything still looks great. Dare I say... better than ever? I'm mostly at a loss as to why PO4 spiked so quickly and was especially surprised to see it hadn't budged over a few days. While I'm thankful to have discovered I can get away with levels this high, I do intend to bring them back down. I think I'll loosen up a bit though and be happy around .1ish. With the tank being so young, I'm most concerned about an algae outbreak running nutrients much higher.
Anyways, here's the tank at .25
My tank has been running higher PO4 than usual. I'm usually around .05. I tested at .16 this past Monday. I went frozen only the rest of the week to bring them down. Right before I left Friday morning, I tested at .25! This was a little troublesome to see before hitting the road, but everything looked great. I did modify my plan at the last minute and decided not to feed while I was gone.
Came back home today and tested the same .25. Everything still looks great. Dare I say... better than ever? I'm mostly at a loss as to why PO4 spiked so quickly and was especially surprised to see it hadn't budged over a few days. While I'm thankful to have discovered I can get away with levels this high, I do intend to bring them back down. I think I'll loosen up a bit though and be happy around .1ish. With the tank being so young, I'm most concerned about an algae outbreak running nutrients much higher.
Anyways, here's the tank at .25
Wow at those phosphates! If it ain't broke, don't fix it! I started dosing NeoPhos recently as I could not get mine above 0, didn't matter how much I fed, and my fish could only eat so much!
I can't believe how well your tank is doing. Soo jealous of that white sand bed.
Are you not seeing any hair algae? Or do you have enough CUC to keep it at bay? As I increase my nutes I'm noticing more algae everywhere and am debating on picking up more snails/hermits.
I can't believe how well your tank is doing. Soo jealous of that white sand bed.
Are you not seeing any hair algae? Or do you have enough CUC to keep it at bay? As I increase my nutes I'm noticing more algae everywhere and am debating on picking up more snails/hermits.
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jhuntstl
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I had some GHA on my GSP for quite a while. It got picked at occasionally by the Turbo, but it wasn't wiped out until I added the Pithos. I'm sure there's still a little bit on my pumps and maybe the back chamber.
I've never cleaned the back glass and there's a nice coating of something on it. I did notice it thickened up a little bit over the weekend. Maybe some sort of turf algae? The turbo is back there managing it the most as far as I know.
There's a little cyano in that sand and in some rock crevices. I got some nassarius, a conch, and the pithos actually mix up the sand too. Not to mention flow is high. I am considering more sand sifters. There's no way I'll be able to continue cleaning my sand bed when things start getting bigger.
Other than that algae in general seems to be thinning out. Which could explain the extra PO4...?
My back glass...
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jhuntstl
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Haha. Very nice! I have all males. I'll be interested to know if you get a female. They got some big claws! Mine will eat algae wafers and nori if you ever think they're not getting enough nutrition.Just ordered 4 pithos from Reef Cleaners
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jhuntstl
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They may lay low the first week or so. They're very active in my tank and usually all come out together. They have solved quite a few minor issues in my tank. I had a sponge encroaching on one of my SPS. They keep it trimmed. They picked the GHA off my green star polyps. I had a few plugs with bubble algae. All gone. There was a turfy reddish brown growth on my rocks. They cleared out at least half of it. They also dig into the crevices and release detritus from my rocks.3 of these guys and 1 a little bigger but with the same size smallish claws.... Hopefully these guys help clean up my rocks!
I think you'll find them to be a very valuable addition.
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I'm going to give those pithos crabs a try! My foxface has decided to farm bubble algae instead of eat it. He likes to pop the big bubbles so now it's spreading around the tank
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jhuntstl
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Woohoo! I think you're gonna love em! Happy more people are giving them a chance. It'll be helpful to compare our experiences.I'm going to give those pithos crabs a try! My foxface has decided to farm bubble algae instead of eat it. He likes to pop the big bubbles so now it's spreading around the tank
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The Pithos Crab Experiment! LOL hopefully they'll make a good addition for me, I do have a few corals on the sand bed that I hope they don't try to run off with!
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Thanks for the tip! I have a scoly, trachy and a few plates on the sand bed. Maybe I should skip the pithos then to avoid them potentially aggravating those corals. Bummer! Looks like my bubble algae farm isn't going anywhere any time soon.
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jhuntstl
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Noooo, that's a bummer.
I can understand not wanting to reposition them everyday. Are they tiny frags? If they're of decent size and weight, it might not be an issue.
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They're decent sized except for one of my plates is only the size of a half dollar. I could probably give them a shot. If they end up bugging my corals I can sump them with my other crab. I keep a good amount of live rock in my sump so they'd be fine.Noooo, that's a bummer.
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jhuntstl
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Just an image dump update for the most part.
PO4 is around .17 as of last night. I was .25 this past Sunday. I am very slowly lowering them with a 1/4 dose of Seachem Phosguard. As much as I'd prefer not to, I believe GFO may become a frequently if not continuously used media. I do need to do some poking around on my skimmer. I don't believe it's been as effective lately. Might be due for some maintenance.
Anyways...
His go-to perching spot.
Fully recovered from an alk spike months ago. Gets blasted pretty good with flow, but seems to enjoy it.
I ordered a hatchery dish from Brine Shrimp Direct. Super easy. Fish and coral seem be loving the baby brine.
This little LA scroll has been just an absolute beauty lately. I'm pretty sure it's loving the increased PO4. It's polyp extension has been crazy when I feed baby brine.
I have baby Trochus snails everywhere. I can usually spot 10-20 of them if I go looking, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's upwards of 50-100 in the tank. Thankfully they aren't causing any equipment issues yet. They are growing fast, though! I intend to become the leading supplier of Trochus in the St Louis area.
PO4 is around .17 as of last night. I was .25 this past Sunday. I am very slowly lowering them with a 1/4 dose of Seachem Phosguard. As much as I'd prefer not to, I believe GFO may become a frequently if not continuously used media. I do need to do some poking around on my skimmer. I don't believe it's been as effective lately. Might be due for some maintenance.
Anyways...
His go-to perching spot.
Fully recovered from an alk spike months ago. Gets blasted pretty good with flow, but seems to enjoy it.
I ordered a hatchery dish from Brine Shrimp Direct. Super easy. Fish and coral seem be loving the baby brine.
This little LA scroll has been just an absolute beauty lately. I'm pretty sure it's loving the increased PO4. It's polyp extension has been crazy when I feed baby brine.
I have baby Trochus snails everywhere. I can usually spot 10-20 of them if I go looking, so I wouldn't be surprised if there's upwards of 50-100 in the tank. Thankfully they aren't causing any equipment issues yet. They are growing fast, though! I intend to become the leading supplier of Trochus in the St Louis area.
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