Randy's Tank and Learn Thread

[dwest]

Yowza!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I like him. Just another aspect of having an ecosystem. :)

 

[dwest]

I like him. Just another aspect of having an ecosystem. :)

I’d lock my bedroom door at night

 

[BCash74]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Miami Reef has passed away and won't be responding, but I agree with your statement (and clearly indicate so in the nutrients article Miami is referring to).

That said, while 0 nitrate can be OK (and can be bad), 5 ppm nitrate is always OK, and hence it being the lower limit of my recommendation.

Randy’s Thoughts on Nutrient Target Ranges

Thoughts on Nutrient Target Ranges by Randy Holmes-Farley Almost nothing in the world of reef aquarium chemistry causes as much discussion as selecting and maintaining ranges for nitrate and phosphate. Some aquarists want low targets, some want...

www.reef2reef.com

4. What targets seem reasonable? Of course, that depends on all the other factors at play, such as types of corals, availability of ammonia, particulate foods, etc. However, for a mature mixed reef, this would be how I personally would run it:

• Let nitrate float between 5 ppm and 50 ppm. I’d use gentle export in this range, such as growing macroalgae.
• Above 50 ppm, I’d begin to focus more on reducing it, by organic carbon dosing, turf or macroalgae, etc.
• Below 5 ppm, I’d begin to dose ammonia or feed more. The target level might drop lower if dosing ammonia, just like the heavy in/heavy out scenario where nitrate may not be as needed.
• Let phosphate float between about 0.06 ppm and 0.3 ppm. This range is higher than I’ve recommended in the past. I’d use gentle export in this range, such as growing macroalgae.
• Above about 0.3 ppm, I’d begin to focus more on reducing it, by turf or macroalgae, or a binder such as GFO or lanthanum (has its own risks to tangs). If a binder: GO SLOW. Turf and macroalgae will typically be slow enough.
• Below 0.06 ppm, I’d begin to dose sodium phosphate or feed more to get the level up.

Randy,

Thank you for the kind welcome. So that "repost" was a mistake... didn't know what I was doing as I was familiarizing myself with Reef2Reef. I was mortified when I finally caught up to this thread and realized that Miami Reef had 1) tragically passed and 2) my first post was a repost of someone who had just died. Not the way I would choose to make my introduction to this forum: ugghhhh....

This has been a great thread and I appreciate you documenting your journey. I've been following you since the early days on RC (I got into the hobby in 2001ish) and have always enjoyed and benefited from your articles. I had great success back in the day (90 gallon in 2003)

Culminating in a custom 285 in 2012....

A move for work necessitated taking this down and getting out of the hobby for a number of years. I briefly getting back into the 2020-2023 and I could not get anything to thrive and I didn't enjoy the frustrations and lack of success, so I abandoned ship. Of course there was always that itch to get back in as I know so many reefers experience....

I recently stumbled across your thread and I was inspired... Something about your journey here inspired me to give it another go, to be more patient with obstacles and failures, and to embrace the process. We'll see how it goes. I really enjoy the video clips of your anemone and clowns especially.... Please keep 'em coming!

Best, Brad

 

[zaphod42]

Wondering if you have any updates on your sponges, I don't see them in your more recent photos or videos. Thx.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Photos Today

Everything looking good.Foxface shows much more yellow these days. Magnifica seems happier on its island with the spot light on it. Maybe it’s a high light lover.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Wondering if you have any updates on your sponges, I don't see them in your more recent photos or videos. Thx.

Mixed. The red tree sponges have slowly shrunk. The yellow ball sponges seem to be fine, but have not grown much. Not as well as they did in my last tank where I was vinegar dosing. Maybe not enough bacteria for them. The yellow ear sponges were lost into the rocks and I don’t know what happened to them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Tank Temperature

My tank usually runs 78-79 deg F, but with a high wind blizzard tonight and tomorrow, I’m upping the temp to the 79-80 range just to give a little longer buffer in tank temp if I lose power.

There is a fireplace in the room with the tank (fire in it now) but it has a fan assist at the flue top, and without the fan on, and with high winds, I’m likely to get smoke blow back into the room.

I have a small portable generator if there is an extended outage, but that has not happened due to weather in the nearly 40 years we have lived here. Going outside and setting it up in a blizzard is a last ditch effort. lol

 

[dwest]

Good luck Randy.

 

[bluecheese]

Thanks. I’ve recently been dosing Reef Nutrition phyto feast. It is far darker and more rapidly clouds the tank than what I’ve gotten from other commercial or local diy sources.

I was using Algae Barn phyto for the longest time. It's just so expensive with the shipping included

I was at my local fish store and picked up a bottle of the Phyto Feast, and my God this stuff is thick. Its like a phyto stew.

Algae Barn's is watery and a translucent green. This stuff is a dark brown. I've only been using it a week, so I have no idea of the impact its having on the tank. But I have to think it's packed full and is probably doing more good than the other stuff I was using.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I was using Algae Barn phyto for the longest time. It's just so expensive with the shipping included

I was at my local fish store and picked up a bottle of the Phyto Feast, and my God this stuff is thick. Its like a phyto stew.

Algae Barn's is watery and a translucent green. This stuff is a dark brown. I've only been using it a week, so I have no idea of the impact its having on the tank. But I have to think it's packed full and is probably doing more good than the other stuff I was using.

it is very concentrated. I just got more a few days ago. I get it from saltwateraquarium.com. $57 for 32 oz. Shipping is free.

Lack of any way to judge concentration prior to purchase (or even after once they are at home) makes comparing between brands a nontrivial exercise.

 

[bluecheese]

it is very concentrated. I just got more a few days ago. I get it from saltwateraquarium.com. $57 for 32 oz. Shipping is free.

Lack of any way to judge concentration prior to purchase (or even after once they are at home) makes comparing between brands a nontrivial exercise.

On Mondays I feel the corals after the weekly water change. Normally a mixture of Red Sea AB+, phyto, baby brine shrimp, and Reef Roids.

I did the same this morning with the Phyto Feast.

I normally spot feed, but the Phyto Feast is so thick I feel like I could just broadcast feed with just the main pump off and have the same effect.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

On Mondays I feel the corals after the weekly water change. Normally a mixture of Red Sea AB+, phyto, baby brine shrimp, and Reef Roids.

I did the same this morning with the Phyto Feast.

I normally spot feed, but the Phyto Feast is so thick I feel like I could just broadcast feed with just the main pump off and have the same effect.

My delivery is into the return section of my sump since the primary reason is to support pods for my mandarin. :)

 

[jonelder68]

Crab!

Spotted a new to me crab today. Good size, about the size of a quarter. Not that I likely can to anything about it, but what do folks thing: friend or foe?

100% gorilla crab. Get him out! They’ll eat any and everything. Mine especially loved picking off the cuc snails. Surprised he’s out with lights on.

If you want to catch tall glass or whiskey type glass on angle against rock he’s sheltered in. (They usually don’t move around much) clam or solid food that won’t float away in glass. Might take a few nights but you’ll get him. Or the medieval way metal skewer him. I had 10 in my 20lbs of TBS rock first order

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

100% gorilla crab. Get him out! They’ll eat any and everything. Mine especially loved picking off the cuc snails. Surprised he’s out with lights on.

If you want to catch tall glass or whiskey type glass on angle against rock he’s sheltered in. (They usually don’t move around much) clam or solid food that won’t float away in glass. Might take a few nights but you’ll get him. Or the medieval way metal skewer him. I had 10 in my 20lbs of TBS rock first order

Thanks. I may try that and if I get it, send it off to my daughter’s mantis shrimp tank. :)

 

[jonelder68]

Thanks. I may try that and if I get it, send it off to my daughter’s mantis shrimp tank. :)

Great food for the mantis

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Magnifica Update

Recall that I had been having significant issues getting my magnifica to settle down and not keep moving, and a few times it released entirely and ended upside down on the sand.

On Feb 7 (about 3 weeks ago), I added a spotlight on it in case it wanted more light. I added a
32 w led grow spot light (4,000 k, cri 95) that I use on my refugium and put it directly over the anemone island. It was a big lighting boost, and I measured the par today. It was in the 300 range before the spot light, and just over 1,000 with the spot light. Big increase.

Since that time, the anemone has largely stopped moving around, and is perched at the island top, often stretching further toward the light. It has also become much more yellow (even when lit by my normal lights), perhaps due to more zoox or other light pigments it uses. Not as attractive, but health is the goal.

It's too soon to declare total success (I'll wait another month for that), but assuming this trend holds, it might be due to:

1. It wanted very high light
2. It healed a foot issue or internal issue of some sort.
3. Something changed in the tank water that it now likes (no idea what that could be, however).
4. Its purely coincidence and bad things are to come.

Obviously, I'm hoping its not possibility #4. lol

Eventually, I may back off the light and possibly change to a higher kelvin spot light, if I can find one that fits. I'd prefer something in the 6,000 to 8,000 k range. I actually don't mind the yellow look, however. It looks like a sunny day to me.

This picture shows a side view with it stretching toward the spot light:

Tank shot showing how the spot light highlights it:

Two pictures of the color without the spot light. Note the mottling/speckling in the tentacles in the second picture. Not sure what that is, but I have read that it may be nonuniform zoox populations.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Pictures Today

A few other pictures from this morning of corals that are thriving. :)

 

[rishma]

Magnifica Update

Recall that I had been having significant issues getting my magnifica to settle down and not keep moving, and a few times it released entirely and ended upside down on the sand.

On Feb 7 (about 3 weeks ago), I added a spotlight on it in case it wanted more light. I added a
32 w led grow spot light (4,000 k, cri 95) that I use on my refugium and put it directly over the anemone island. It was a big lighting boost, and I measured the par today. It was in the 300 range before the spot light, and just over 1,000 with the spot light. Big increase.

Since that time, the anemone has largely stopped moving around, and is perched at the island top, often stretching further toward the light. It has also become much more yellow (even when lit by my normal lights), perhaps due to more zoox or other light pigments it uses. Not as attractive, but health is the goal.

It's too soon to declare total success (I'll wait another month for that), but assuming this trend holds, it might be due to:

1. It wanted very high light
2. It healed a foot issue or internal issue of some sort.
3. Something changed in the tank water that it now likes (no idea what that could be, however).
4. Its purely coincidence and bad things are to come.

Obviously, I'm hoping its not possibility #4. lol

Eventually, I may back off the light and possibly change to a higher kelvin spot light, if I can find one that fits. I'd prefer something in the 6,000 to 8,000 k range. I actually don't mind the yellow look, however. It looks like a sunny day to me.

This picture shows a side view with it stretching toward the spot light:

Tank shot showing how the spot light highlights it:

Two pictures of the color without the spot light. Note the mottling/speckling in the tentacles in the second picture. Not sure what that is, but I have read that it may be nonuniform zoox populations.

Based on my reading of others experience, the lighting seems like a very likely explanation.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Based on my reading of others experience, the lighting seems like a very likely explanation.

My wife worries about the clowns in so much light, but I tried to explain that the tropic sun at 3 feet down is likely significantly higher. :)