OM’s 260 gallon SPS dominant build

OP
OP
O

Om84

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 26, 2018
Messages
352
Reaction score
310
Location
Chicago Suburbs
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
It’s April, 2023. Everything had been going smoothly for the most part until suddenly almost within a few days I started noticing dinoflagellate rear its ugly head. I checked my parameters and sure enough nitrates was undetectable while phosphates were near zero.

IMG_4618.jpeg


IMG_4620.jpeg
 
OP
OP
O

Om84

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 26, 2018
Messages
352
Reaction score
310
Location
Chicago Suburbs
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
I tried dosing Brightwell’s Microbacter, hydrogen peroxide, suctioning dinos, and turning lights off. I also tried feeding more and dosing nitrates. Turning lights off for 3 days at a time helped the most. All dinos would disappear but eventually within 3 weeks they would be back covering every rock. Luckily the type of dinos I had was not toxic to the fish. Dinos would get on sps and I did lose some sps because of this. This battle lasted about 6 months but I didn’t give up. The tank looked ugly but corals continued to grow.

Ultimately, one day I had a mishap where my auto feeder (Avast Plank) some how failed and dosed for a few hours. Apex some how left the Plank on. I still don’t know how this happened. My nitrates were at 30 and Phos went to 0.75. Dinoflagellates disappeared within days and have not appeared since. I was keeping nitrates 5-10 and phos about 0.1 but this did not rid the dinos.

Fortunately the only thing I lost because of this mishap were dinos!
 

Reef-Engineer

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 29, 2020
Messages
300
Reaction score
435
Location
South Kingstown, Rhode Island
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I tried dosing Brightwell’s Microbacter, hydrogen peroxide, suctioning dinos, and turning lights off. I also tried feeding more and dosing nitrates. Turning lights off for 3 days at a time helped the most. All dinos would disappear but eventually within 3 weeks they would be back covering every rock. Luckily the type of dinos I had was not toxic to the fish. Dinos would get on sps and I did lose some sps because of this. This battle lasted about 6 months but I didn’t give up. The tank looked ugly but corals continued to grow.

Ultimately, one day I had a mishap where my auto feeder (Avast Plank) some how failed and dosed for a few hours. Apex some how left the Plank on. I still don’t know how this happened. My nitrates were at 30 and Phos went to 0.75. Dinoflagellates disappeared within days and have not appeared since. I was keeping nitrates 5-10 and phos about 0.1 but this did not rid the dinos.

Fortunately the only thing I lost because of this mishap were dinos!
Your phos went to .75?? Not .075? Wow thats up there! Glad the dinos were defeated. A little heavy feeding did the trick! Wild.
 
OP
OP
O

Om84

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 26, 2018
Messages
352
Reaction score
310
Location
Chicago Suburbs
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
I wanted to be able to watch my tank closely when I’m away. I installed a couple Eufy security cameras by sticking them on either side of the reef. This has been a relative inexpensive way to keep eyes on the reef!

IMG_5821.png


IMG_5728.png
 

alxjrz

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 19, 2015
Messages
145
Reaction score
44
Location
Rio Grande Valley
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Goals!!! I love the flexibility of having such a large tank. I had an acrylic tank built in early 2000's a little over 300 gallons for the complete system. stability was great but what a HOG they are! haha
 
Last edited:

REEFRIED!

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 30, 2022
Messages
429
Reaction score
326
Location
Boston
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Great build thread. You tank looks beautiful. I too have fought Dinos and I am currently fighting GHA. I beat the Dino’s by removing my sand. They still pop up occasionally but not bad. The GHA has proven much harder to fight! I set my tank up with dry Marco rocks as well. I wouldn’t do it again
 
OP
OP
O

Om84

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 26, 2018
Messages
352
Reaction score
310
Location
Chicago Suburbs
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Great build thread. You tank looks beautiful. I too have fought Dinos and I am currently fighting GHA. I beat the Dino’s by removing my sand. They still pop up occasionally but not bad. The GHA has proven much harder to fight! I set my tank up with dry Marco rocks as well. I wouldn’t do it again

Thank you!
If you have beat dinos then GHA will be easy. You need an army of turbo snails. I don't know the size of your tank but for perspective in this tank I must have put in 75 turbos. I also lowered the light and kept phosphates in check as much as possible. Problem is dry rock takes a while and you have to go through the mandatory ugly phase. I honestly agree with the opinion that if you are going to start with all dry rock then you better give it a year before putting in corals. This way you can turn down the lights and let the leaching and the uglies disappear. Hope you get that GHA under control!
 

jdpeters

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 20, 2015
Messages
637
Reaction score
352
Location
eatonville washington
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I’m currently planning a 40 breeder and flirting with the idea to go bare bottom, I hate managing sand. I know another user ended up here with HDPE questions. You still like it? I’m thinking about doing a 1/8 or 1/4 inch textured HDPE sheet. I’m not concerned about detritus getting under it but mostly about warping or any other concerns. How thick is yours and do you recommend it?
 
OP
OP
O

Om84

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 26, 2018
Messages
352
Reaction score
310
Location
Chicago Suburbs
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
I’m currently planning a 40 breeder and flirting with the idea to go bare bottom, I hate managing sand. I know another user ended up here with HDPE questions. You still like it? I’m thinking about doing a 1/8 or 1/4 inch textured HDPE sheet. I’m not concerned about detritus getting under it but mostly about warping or any other concerns. How thick is yours and do you recommend it?

My hdpe sheet is 1/2” thick. I agree warping is the real issue. Due to increased length I went with a thicker sheet. I don’t think I would recommend anything less than 1/4” for a 40 breeder. Once you put enough rock on top I don’t think it will warp. I did silicone the seams mostly so it creates a flap which in my opinion makes it harder for detritus to accumulate underneath. I have no idea how much detritus is under the board but I really don’t care because it hasn’t been an issue with my parameters.
 

jdpeters

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 20, 2015
Messages
637
Reaction score
352
Location
eatonville washington
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thank you for the response. I will look into purchasing a 1/4 or 1/2 sheet then. I’m going to run the system with a fish in cycle for a lengthy amount of time so I will monitor it closely. Worse case scenario I just pull it out.
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

HAVE YOU EVER ACCIDENTALLY FLOODED AN AREA BECAUSE OF YOUR TANK?

  • Yes, It caused major damage.

    Votes: 16 8.7%
  • Yes, but it caused only minor damage.

    Votes: 51 27.7%
  • Yes, but there was no damage.

    Votes: 75 40.8%
  • No, thankfully!

    Votes: 41 22.3%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 1 0.5%
Back
Top