PWeeZy’s 90 gallon budget build

[pweezy42]

Day 65:

salinity: just under 1.025
Ph: 8.2
Ammonia: .5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

calcium: 460
KH: 143.2
Phosphate: 0

all tests done on API (I know I know). Bought these first forgetting they weren’t that reliable so for now I can’t waste them lol

corals are doing good since in. Going to get a blenny this week for algae clearing help.

 

[pweezy42]

Day 96-98:

So I’m a little behind since having the corals in the tank and everything was doing good with them until I went away for two weeks for work and didn’t get to do a water change before I left. So while I was gone all that got done was rip offs with fresh water and feed Dailey by my 9 yr old (What a kid) that I or packed and planned for him while I was gone.
Well I came back to algae like crazy my anemone is gone, chale and green monti not so good and candy canes looked a little hurting as well.
I did a decent clean of most rocks without disturbing the sand and did a 20 gallon water change. Now even after water change I noticed my calcium was low which you will be able to see with what I saw when I tested below so I brought that up to around 400-410 range. Since then the candy cane seems to look a little better but again that anemone is gone.
While at training the owner of the company I was training at and his worker who basically got my intristbpeeked and back into the hobby did give me a bunch of free frags which I’m super happy about I just hope I can keep these ones going and figure everything else out.
I have also added a bag of phosban to help with the algae that was recommended by my local store.
I have added a bi color blenny as well before I had gone away.
Some pics of new stuff will follow.

After water change

Ph: 7.8
Ammonia: 0-.25
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Calcium: 320 after water change. 400-410 after adding calcium in.
Phosphate: 0
dkh/Kh: 8-9 / 143.2 - 161.1
salinity: 1.024

 

[Lavey29]

With an extended period of time with no nitrates and no phosphate your corals are starving to death. You will begin to see the decline continue as it has while you were gone. Nitrates need to be 10 and phosphate. 05 to .1 or things will not end well not to mention dinos will come too.

 

[pweezy42]

So what am I missing here? Am I doing something wrong? Need to dose something or this just normal?

 

[Lavey29]

So what am I missing here? Am I doing something wrong? Need to dose something or this just normal?

Unstable or fluctuations in parameters are typical in new tanks over the course of the first year. Weekly water changes help but may not cover everything. There are multiple ways to bring nitrates and phosphate up such as feeding the fish more, feeding corals reef roids maybe once a week, etc... I had to double dose neophos and neonitro for multiple weeks before I got measurable numbers and was able to keep them up. Keep in mind though water changes actually lower nitrates and a little phosphate too but replenish everything else like alk, cal, mag and trace which is why you need to compensate for your low nitrates and phosphate.

 

[pweezy42]

Unstable or fluctuations in parameters are typical in new tanks over the course of the first year. Weekly water changes help but may not cover everything. There are multiple ways to bring nitrates and phosphate up such as feeding the fish more, feeding corals reef roids maybe once a week, etc... I had to double dose neophos and neonitro for multiple weeks before I got measurable numbers and was able to keep them up. Keep in mind though water changes actually lower nitrates and a little phosphate too but replenish everything else like alk, cal, mag and trace which is why you need to compensate for your low nitrates and phosphate.

So should I not be using phosban? I mean isn’t that takining away what I need? I’m starting to like my local store less and less lol.

 

[Lavey29]

So should I not be using phosban? I mean isn’t that takining away what I need? I’m starting to like my local store less and less lol.

Not if you have zero phosphate. You should only be using a bag of carbon in your sump now to keep water clear and filter contaminants.

 

[pweezy42]

Ok thanks I’ll remove the phosban. And look into either the brightwell stuff to raise them or the reef roids. To bring them up I’m guessing something like the neophos and neon Otto is better and then the roods to maintain?

 

[Lavey29]

Ok thanks I’ll remove the phosban. And look into either the brightwell stuff to raise them or the reef roids. To bring them up I’m guessing something like the neophos and neon Otto is better and then the roods to maintain?

Neophos and neonitro are easy to use and measure for your tank size but don't be surprised if you have to double dose size to get some numbers. Coral nutrition supplements like roids or AB plus are just personal preference. I dose PNS probio twice a week. It's a bacteria supplement. I dose PNS yellow sno once a week and AB plus once a week to. Once my tank started maturing and I had a full fish load my nitrates and phosphate stayed up at good levels. I use a fuge to which grows chaeto like a giant green weed to help manage my nutrients export.

 

[pweezy42]

Day 106:

so I ordered neophos and neonitro overnight last Saturday and of course my luck still don’t have them. So since last I’ve tried over feeding to help raise the levels but nothing has changed. I did do another 20 gallon water change Saturday and tried to get rid of some more algae. To supplement I picked up reef roids and Red Sea reef energy plus for now until I can get the other stuff in.
something else I was wondering is it possible I’m over skimming? I leave my skimmer on all day everyday?

 

[pweezy42]

Day 109:

calcium: 400
dKH/ppm KH: 9/161.1
Phosphate: 0
Nitrate: 10
Salinity: 1.025

so I think I need to start upgrading my testing kits since I still have api and still read 0 phosphates but also began to think that even if it reads phosphates i will be over safe limits because the first reading is .25 ppm am I correct or not understanding that correctly?
Nitrates seem better after my 10 gallon change and the addition of neonitro, I still want to raise up my calcium though I think from what I have read as well closer to 430-450 range correct?

 

[pweezy42]

Day 117 Happy Fathers Day :

All api test kit
calcium: 400
dKH/ppm KH: 8/143.2
Phosphate: 0
Nitrate: 10

Salinity: 34 ppt

numbers stayed the same for the most part. I was able to raise my salinity up again slightly to where I wanted to be at and I also raised the temp up to stay be 78-79.
I haven’t used anymore neophos or neonitro since the first few doses, only thing really I have changed is doing the weekly 10 gallon change and Continuing to feed the reef energy plus an+ and the reef roids even that though I am only using have of what it recommended since I don’t have a lot of corals.

 

[pweezy42]

Day 132: Happy 4th actually now day 133 lol

Phosphate: .25 ppm
Nitrate: 10
Calcium: 400
dKH/KH: 9/161.1
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0

anything else I should be testing?

so I can’t seem to keep monti’s in my system yet they turn white (not sure if one is dead), but everything else is doing good from what I can tell. Could it be these viparspectra leds or something else?

 

[pweezy42]

Day 315:

I haven’t posted in a while due to kids sports and other activities which I had also neglected keeping up on the tank a little bit. Well I’ve been battling cyano and lost a few more corals along the way but found and resolved some more issues I wasn’t aware of. I was using coral pro salt and had a bad mixture and once I changed the salt most of the issues went away and I also found that my rodi filter was trashed so I changed them but still waiting on my membrane.
So my cousin started a new tank and I gave him a old skimmer I had from when I got my tank and stopped by a guys house w/a 600 gallon tank and grabbed some corals but to my surprise when I got home my snowflake clown was dead at the bottom of the tank, but just a few hours earlier he was healthy and fine???? Not sure what the heck happens to him but it made me check some values and found calcium a little low. Tell me what you guys think of these values and anything you can tell off of them.

Ph - 8.0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 20
Calcium - 360
Phosphate - 1.0
Ammonia - .25
dKH/KH - 10/179

 

[pweezy42]

So I got my new refractometer, rodi membrane and new filter socks so I changed all filters made 20 gallons for a water change. I noticed my salinity was too high being closer to 1.028 I got it down to 1.026 and figure I will wet skim a little extra the next few days to get it back down to 1.025. Not sure what happened but hopefully all these new changes will be for the better.

Next thing I e been looking at is trying to regulate these vipatspectra leds to a good range. The more o read I think I have them too high at 42% blues and 2% whites sitting at 15” above the water. I think I’m going to slowly turn them down to 30% blues and 1% whites since I’m getting no growth and monti bleach white and zoas kinda slowly disappear?

I’ll take any input

 

[pweezy42]

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5-10
pH 8.2-8.4
ALK 10 dKH 179 ppm KH
Calcium 400
Phosphate 0.25
Salinity 1.026
Temp 78.1
Viparspectras blue 45% 12 hr cycle white 2% 7.5 hr cycle
Jebao snow 30’s turned all the way down to 30 on wave mode

I’ve started dozing reef advantage calcium twice a week to keep my calcium up and the salt change really seemed to help. it seems my Zoas have stopped melting and reaching high so hopefully o have them dialed in, I have been strongly thinking about getting two @noopsyche k7 V3 but still researching them a little more before I get those and regret it like I did with these viparspectras. Everything seems to be doing ok besides my anemone and montis.
any ideas or should I just chalk it up to these lights?

sorry for crappy pics, old iPhone with no filter

 

[pweezy42]

Welp I made a move to Noopsyche k7 pro 3 Wi-Fi. Just waiting on some mounting adapters to get them setup. I got them after talking with @Zach B who had Excellent customer service and super fast shipping. Hel was helpful through the entire pre purchase process and still helping after the lights were received. There was a communication error (which was a simple mistake by both parties) and he has gone far above and beyond what was needed to provide a solution at his expense!! Can’t say enough positive things about the entire process! Would and will be doing more business in the future. I’m super excited to get them permanently mounted up, for now I have it rigged so I can acclimate stuff to the lights and find a good setting and hopefully not kill anything in the process lol. I’ll get some picks up once I get the adapters and clean everything up. Can’t wait to get rid of the big poles behind the tank.

 

[pweezy42]

Check out the giveaway

Facebook giveaway North America Only

amze.me

 

[Pacific North Reef]

Went to the local home improvement store and got steel shelving rails and drilled it into the back of the stand as seen in pictures. I wanted the lights at 18” but can’t get them that high with what I have but I’m not done yet.

I like this option!

 

[pweezy42]

I like this option!

That was my original setup with the viparspectras. The pic you see a few slides up is of the Noopschye w/their mounts and the extenders are from leefgreen solutions to fit over the rim