SPS Dominant Reefer 170 Full Triton Kessil/T5 Hybrid

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I have the long piece installed and the short piece on order. The long piece fit perfectly, no need for anything to hold it in place.

Awesome, and lovely build thread yourself..following

 

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4 month since lights on...FT

 

[Blitheran]

Very nice aquarium! Was a good read!

 

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Some new LPS additions.

4 1/2 Months since lights on. Seems like so much longer than that.

I've been surfing some higher parameters since my LPS were not happy with my old params, or more specifically..amount of feeding.

Current params.

Salinity 37
Alk 9.6
Phos 0.16
Nitrate 5
Mag 1475
Calc 435

 

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Changing to less frequent water changes.....

The first few months in this thread I was ICP testing and trying to figure out why some elements were too high or too low. Plus the danger of not testing and not changing water is of something like a heavy metal building up which I did have and solved.

I'm planning on scaling back water changes, and already have. I really don't see a reason to and I feel like things are actually more stable when I don't. If everything looks amazing, I'd rather not.

Now I have a pretty good grasp on what is in my water and what to dose weekly. I also have a recipe for my salt including what additional elements to dose every time I make salt. And that is....

25 gal SW ESV Salt to 36.5ppm Salinity standard recipe (9 DKH Alk) - Triton trace mixes to add
Boron - 9.5ml
Iodine - .45ml
Nickel - day 1 -> 1.9ml day 2 -> 1.8ml
Zinc - .38ml

But I don't plan to make a lot of SW..Instead

Weekly to tank
1.75ml Manganese
1.25ml Iodine
.15ml Zinc

That and the Triton Core 7 On Dosers.

I'll continue to ICP for a bit once a month or if needed and then hopefully less often after.

However, its more like, do a water change when needed, don't when not.

 

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This is definitely going to help me feel less freaked out about going on vacation for longer.

Feels good removing a few test kits from beside the tank.

Still will be doing P04 tests though.

 

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Initial readings...

Such an easy install. The best part is no dosing pumps needed.

 

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I'd like to know the backstory on the design shape of this device. It's almost Sydney Opera House inspired.

 

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Full Tank Shot from today. Today marks no water change in exactly a month. I just sent in an ICP test to determine if I should continue. I don't see any reason to do one at the moment.

 

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I added a Video Tour of all the sump mods I have made so far.

Video Tour Sump Mods

 

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It winter here and snowing actually at the moment. Thus windows closed and PH not what it was in the summer. So I ran an airline outside that is being driven by a common small aquarium air pump. I attached the airline to a y fitting plugged into the air intake of my little Tunze skimmer. After a few days my average PH is definitely rising. It could probably be better with a CO2 scrubber, but this is just easy and seems to be working.

 

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Alk consumption already rising, increasing dose.

 

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The pH situation just keeps getting better. I've also had to increase Alk dose 4 times in a week.

 

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Last water change was 5 weeks ago....Tank has never looked better...staying the course.

I added an MP-40 to my two MP-10s So now running opposing Mp40 right side, 2 x MP10s Left side.

I have growing Aluminum in ICP prob due to adding more Marine Pure. I'm going to add a small reactor for ROWAPhos to remove alum and also for small amount of GFO. Other than that, my last ICP was the best ever, all good except for Alum.

I'm going all in on SPS Dominant and changing my single Red Sea 90 out for 2 x Kessil A360X.

I have no complaints with the Red Sea but the size of the unit makes it so I cannot put 2 underneath my Giesemann Infinity T5 Unit. The Kessils should work better. I will run lower intensity to match my current PAR with better spread.

 

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Tank with the new lights. 2 x Kessil A360x and 1 Giesemann Infinity with 2 coral purple and 2 actinic.

I love how adjustable the Kessils are. Their small foot print means almost no shading of the T5s above.

 

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So, up till now my fuge setup has performed exactly the way I have wanted it to. Burns up nitrate and phosphate, keep things stable etc.

However as I enter Month 6, with my goal of way less frequent water changes, my phosphate has been creeping up. First surfing up to .15 which was just fine, the .2 range but then I got to high .2, and even .3, and then I noticed my corals were not liking that.

So I have decided to run some GFO. Yeah

Anyway, I want to run ROWAPhos because it also (according to Triton) is the remedy for Aluminum which is rising with my low wc regiment.

Ok, so to do this, I got the small 5" BRS media reactor. Very nice and super easy to hook up since I already had a flow line into my old ATO. See my mods video.

So anyway...the install was like 5 min and nothing else needed as I had 1/2" flow line and it fits the BRA reactor.

But how to run ROWAPhos? Read the manual and posts. Based on that I wanted to run it by itself and try to fluidize it. Which I did by making sure the flow was going up in the reactor. Flow control was inlet valve.

So I don't know if this is good, but I put the floss under the ROWAPhos and placed it on top and then cleaned it when first added, by running flow into a waste container until it ran clear. Then run it.

So, you can measure the effluent for Phosphate and I started with juts a bit 1 tablespoon. and I could not effect. I ramped this up to 8 tblspoons and then, yes..I see maybe 30% reduction.

Now things are getting interesting with good N and P and corals responded immediately with extension.

 

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I like this ROWAPhos in the Reactor!

Current numbers..I do mean what I see right now but they are mostly stable except my Po4 is come down to where I want it.

Saliinity 35.5
PH 8.2
Alk 8.8
CA 443
Mg 1384
Nitrate 2
PO4 .05 (Mostly between 0.5-0.1)

And I've increased my nutrients as I've started this.

Added some Phyto and Amino dosing.

Target feeding LPS more

It was very hard to do this before without the reactor as it made my P04 go up too much.

Tank looks good. Corals are extended...liking it.

My fuge is crazy...

 

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Lost my Fairy Wrasse Today - Random Accident.

I was just in there looking at her, perfectly health and happy.

I go back in and she's dead on the bottom with face chopped off.

I'm going to guess the MP40 got her but it could have been and MP10 as well.

I'm surprised as this wrasse was a fast, agile swimmer. But I do have plenty of flow.

I find adding fish more stressful than coral. And I'm sad. Beautiful happy fish...and then gone.

I guess, in this hobby better get used to it.

 

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