Monique's Wave (reefer 525XL)

spiraling · Sep 11, 2017

i was on vacation for a week+ and had a neighborhood girl feed and dose the tank. she did great. I do have a green turf algae outbreak, it was on its way before I left and i didn't want to make any changes.

The nem is looking better than ever, some of the lps is recovering, and a very few sps pieces are still alive. I'm not sure what killed so much. Yes I did have a heater malfunction, but may were dead before that, and several added after that were also affected. I'm guessing maybe AL from the marine pure?? but that is really a guess

I have been looking at the triton method (thanks to BRS) and the triton testing. I think the testing could have helped me a few months back, but even then it takes weeks to get results, so it may not be a good way to test when things are wrong. I would like to get the refugium going again, which was always the plan. When I tried before all the chaeto died. I assumed because of the nutrient uptake of the biopellets, but researching more the lighting was probably a big deal. I had a cf from home depot. of course the cheapest possible light i could buy didn't out compete the 3 radions. duh. I have a kessil on order.

I have an experiment going in the background. I have a fluval spec 2 (already had it) with the chaeto growing in the sunlight for several months. The chaeto hasn't grown, I have seen a few pods, but not an explosion, the water is green (and I'm trying to propagate that) and there is a bit of hair and film algae. At least things aren't dead, and I'll take that.

so frustrating at this point, but I'm being optimistic and hope that the LPS looking slightly better is a turning point. The lobophillia had its feeder tentacles out and I gave it mysis. this is probably the 3rd time in 5 months that is looked OK.

ksfulk · Sep 12, 2017

spiraling said:
i was on vacation for a week+ and had a neighborhood girl feed and dose the tank. she did great. I do have a green turf algae outbreak, it was on its way before I left and i didn't want to make any changes.

The nem is looking better than ever, some of the lps is recovering, and a very few sps pieces are still alive. I'm not sure what killed so much. Yes I did have a heater malfunction, but may were dead before that, and several added after that were also affected. I'm guessing maybe AL from the marine pure?? but that is really a guess

I have been looking at the triton method (thanks to BRS) and the triton testing. I think the testing could have helped me a few months back, but even then it takes weeks to get results, so it may not be a good way to test when things are wrong. I would like to get the refugium going again, which was always the plan. When I tried before all the chaeto died. I assumed because of the nutrient uptake of the biopellets, but researching more the lighting was probably a big deal. I had a cf from home depot. of course the cheapest possible light i could buy didn't out compete the 3 radions. duh. I have a kessil on order.

I have an experiment going in the background. I have a fluval spec 2 (already had it) with the chaeto growing in the sunlight for several months. The chaeto hasn't grown, I have seen a few pods, but not an explosion, the water is green (and I'm trying to propagate that) and there is a bit of hair and film algae. At least things aren't dead, and I'll take that.

so frustrating at this point, but I'm being optimistic and hope that the LPS looking slightly better is a turning point. The lobophillia had its feeder tentacles out and I gave it mysis. this is probably the 3rd time in 5 months that is looked OK.

SPS seems like such a weirdly fickle creature some times. It can be like magic trying to keep them agreeable. I dont know that the marine pure would be an issue - I've had numerous block and spheres in my tanks over the past five years, and have never seen any issues that were attributed to the marine pure, even when I was using Triton tests to actual plot the amount of Al present. Sorry that its a continuing issue though. I did note that I had much "happier" LPS in my tank when my skimmer was down for a replacement pump for several weeks. Not sure if trying a 12 hour on/off skimmer rotation would be of benefit?

spiraling · Sep 12, 2017

ksfulk said:
SPS seems like such a weirdly fickle creature some times. It can be like magic trying to keep them agreeable. I dont know that the marine pure would be an issue - I've had numerous block and spheres in my tanks over the past five years, and have never seen any issues that were attributed to the marine pure, even when I was using Triton tests to actual plot the amount of Al present. Sorry that its a continuing issue though. I did note that I had much "happier" LPS in my tank when my skimmer was down for a replacement pump for several weeks. Not sure if trying a 12 hour on/off skimmer rotation would be of benefit?

Good to know on the marine pure. I think it was some sort of contamination because after I did a bunch of water changes the trumpet and duncan started looking better. Still not great, but at least alive. Did you find the triton testing to be helpful?

ksfulk · Sep 12, 2017

spiraling said:
Good to know on the marine pure. I think it was some sort of contamination because after I did a bunch of water changes the trumpet and duncan started looking better. Still not great, but at least alive. Did you find the triton testing to be helpful?

I do. I like to run all of my tests, then send off a Triton test and compare the results, so I can get a baseline on what things look like. I probably send off 2-3 tests a year. I found some copper/tin on one of my tests once, and found that I had a rusted magnet that was leeching into the water. If you are going to run the Triton method, I would definately advise getting a baseline first, and then testing more often in the beginning - maybe once every 4-6 weeks until the tank reaches some stability. then you can taper off. I never had any luck with chaeto - no matter the method - but you may find it works better for you

I used a lot of caulerpa, ulva, codium and several red algaes.

spiraling · Sep 12, 2017

ksfulk said:
I never had any luck with chaeto - no matter the method - but you may find it works better for you I used a lot of caulerpa, ulva, codium and several red algaes.

I've been looking for macro algaes online. Unfortunately most of the vendors seem to be in Florida, so I'll have to wait a few weeks, or go the ebay route. How has the calurpa been for you? I had an invasive type in my display that caused me to tear it down.

ksfulk · Sep 12, 2017

I think that by nature all of the caulerpa species are invasive to a DT

I used primarily C. prolifera and C. racemosa and didnt seem to have any issues with them at all. Mind you, my refugium was seperate from my sump, so I had the benefit of using screens on the drains (which you can see in the above pictures) which kept nearly all of the macro debris from going into the tank. It worked out pretty well. Ulva seemed to be a powerful grower for me as well, which was nice, since it isnt bound in the tank, tangs and other grazers love to eat it, and it is super easy to harvest. I did harvest a LOT of C. prolifera though... usually twice a week I would fill a 600mL beaker packed full. I didnt like leaving the macros untended, as some people do with Triton sumps, as I would always get thick mats of Cyano that would start to choke out the macros. Once I started harvesting macros, there was more room for them to grow and the cyano disappeared.

revhtree · Sep 12, 2017

Dang that's some good growth!

spiraling · Sep 12, 2017

ksfulk said:
I think that by nature all of the caulerpa species are invasive to a DT I used primarily C. prolifera and C. racemosa and didnt seem to have any issues with them at all. Mind you, my refugium was seperate from my sump, so I had the benefit of using screens on the drains (which you can see in the above pictures) which kept nearly all of the macro debris from going into the tank. It worked out pretty well. Ulva seemed to be a powerful grower for me as well, which was nice, since it isnt bound in the tank, tangs and other grazers love to eat it, and it is super easy to harvest. I did harvest a LOT of C. prolifera though... usually twice a week I would fill a 600mL beaker packed full. I didnt like leaving the macros untended, as some people do with Triton sumps, as I would always get thick mats of Cyano that would start to choke out the macros. Once I started harvesting macros, there was more room for them to grow and the cyano disappeared.

I will try to get some Ulva. I'm partitioning off some of my reefer sump for the algae, so I think I will stay clear of caulurpa.

You have a great looking refuguim BTW! I really like the variety!

I agree that it needs to be trimmed at least somewhat. I understand (to some extent) the whole Triton dead stuff will release amino acids, but at some point you get too much growth. Or at lease I hope I will.

spiraling · Sep 12, 2017

The nem really has some nice colors now!

spiraling · Sep 15, 2017

My new fuge light came in yesterday along with a few macros. I had the cheato form my "experiment" to grow it out with pods in a smaller tank. Its so messy in the big tank I will probably get rid of it. Still looking for some other macros, but the hurricane in FL did me no favors on that.

spiraling · Sep 21, 2017

I moved the ATO box to the right of the skimmer. That with the space under the socks and in the water return chamber give me about 10 gallons of fuge. I got rid of the chaeto (messy stuff - back to my little 2 gal pod breeder for it) and added a total of 10 types of macroalgae. I expect the Ulva will be the fast grower, but time will tell. I still have a few biopelletes running. Currently nitrates are around 2 - 4, so as that drops I'll take them off line

The corals that have made it this far are starting to do pretty well. I see tiny growth on my favia, and on my forest fire digi. the digi was bleached white a few months back so I'm cheering for the little 3/4" guy. This was one of the few that never took a hit. It is really coloring up

spiraling · Sep 22, 2017

I took a flashlight and started to look in all the little places. I started this tank dry, so anything in there got past the bayer dip or I otherwise transferred it.
There are spaghetti worms in the sand. good
There are tiny feather dusters on the bottom of some rock. good
There are small tube worms on the rock, quite a few of them. not so good. I had a bunch of these in the 170 and they quickly grew to epic proportions and grew inside some of the hard corals. I don't mind some, but they do poke you as you grab things, so I'll probably break a ton of them off today.

spiraling · Sep 23, 2017

Things are starting to come along. I have the doser going. Alk is stable at 8.6, I will raise it to about 9 and leave it there. PH is stable at 7.9. Adding the kessil light to the fuge made a huge difference in the algae in the tank. There isn't really noticeable growth in the fuge, but the green turf algae is on the way out. Wherever I clean it doesn't seem to return.

Being optimistic I added some ricordea and more zoas.

The nem is quite fickle. It comes out at "sunrise", goes away for the afternoon, then back out in the evening. maybe it likes to nap? The tailspot is very fat. Just a little piggy who is social with everyone. I only occasionally see the pistol shrimp. In the other tank I used to see him every day. In this one there is a cave under the rock that can't collapse. I think I saw him drag a leather laz-e-boy and a 70" big screen in there. Just kickin back and relaxing now.

I have a great pod population in my QT tank. Now I'm just waiting for the explosion here so I can get my mandarins! patience. patience.

.....more patience.

spiraling · Oct 3, 2017

The tank parameters are staying fairly stable. Alk 8.5 - 9.5 and I think my reading the test is about +/- 0.5, so not too bad. I have to continue to dose nitrates and phosphates fairly regularly. I have brought the biopellets down to less than 1/4 c, and will leave them there for a bit. The ulva has grown 2-3x the amount in about 2 weeks. The other macros are hanging on, some getting covered with hair algae. Turf hair algae in the DT is still there, and getting a bit of cyano (and maybe bryopsis)

All the zoas are fine, most are growing, so I got two SPS frags from a local reefer. Her tank looked amazing. Lots of coral and fish, and no algae at all. Cali tort and pink stylo. Both should be pretty hardy and I'm using them to see if I can get back to adding corals. So far they've lasted a day, so I'm doing well....

spiraling · Oct 10, 2017

My new corals have stayed alive an well for over a week! I also added a green birdsnest and a few more zoa. I mean, how can you really have too much zoa?

There is still a huge green turf algae outbreak. I added 10 more astera, cleaned things out a bit, and added this guy.

spiraling · Oct 11, 2017

I am starting to dose Vibrant for the hair algae. I plan 12.5 ml 2x week. Here are some pictures before I dosed. I guess I should take pictures with the white lights on to show how much there is

spiraling · Oct 11, 2017

Here are some better pictures of my fabulous turf algae. I hope the Vibrant helps. I also tune in the skimmer for a wet skim and will keep an eye on it. @UWC I didn't see any information on storing Vibrant. Should it be refrigerated?

after opening?

ksfulk · Oct 12, 2017

spiraling said:
There is still a huge green turf algae outbreak. I added 10 more astera, cleaned things out a bit, and added this guy.

None of those really chow much on turf algae - based on your outbreak a sea hare would really be the best solution - though once they plow through all of the turf algae they can starve to death if there's no more algae. I used one in my tank last year and the algae was gone in ten or so days. Good luck with the vibrant though!

spiraling · Oct 12, 2017

ksfulk said:
None of those really chow much on turf algae - based on your outbreak a sea hare would really be the best solution - though once they plow through all of the turf algae they can starve to death if there's no more algae. I used one in my tank last year and the algae was gone in ten or so days. Good luck with the vibrant though!

I'm a bit nervous about getting a sea hare. I also don't really have a way to give it away once I'm done with it. The asterenas do a pretty good job, as does the tailspot blenny. They just don't do enough. I got the conch less for cleanup, but because its pretty cool to watch. I would like to get a tomini tang for algae maintenance, but it would be several months to get it into the tank.

I will update about the Vibrant. The worst I've heard is some snail loss and cyano. I already have some of that, so hopefully it can make a dent in the algae.

Broadfield · Oct 12, 2017

It's good to hear that your corals are starting to recover and you are not losing any new ones. I had a similar issue in my tank. I learned that my tank definitely needs some nitrates... especially when running more intense lighting. My turn around for the better was taking my bio pellets offline. My tank has never been happier now that my nitrates are around 5-10 ppm. My SPS have much better color and my LPS are also fluffy and thriving. That's even with phosphates around o.1 ppm. I have zero algae, aside from the normal dusting on the glass every couple of days. I added some extra Xport-PO4(similar to GFO, only in a lava rock type form) to try and get my phosphates down to below 0.05 ppm... and that should help with the green dusting on the glass.

When I had far less lighting intensity, my corals were fine with the ultra low nitrates. I'm definitely a believer now in the fact that there is a direct correlation between the amount of light available, the amount of flow and the amount of nutrients available to coral and how it affects their life. High light and low nutrients = BAD

Good luck!