Susan's RS Reefer 3xl 900 Fantasy-Dream Build

[Susan Edwards]

skip the mexi's ,grab some trochus ...

Have some. Will get more! and 2 more tuxedo urchins. Might try the algae scrubber again, although with the chaeto and ulva, not sure if it would work or rob the macros of food. So far, the santa monica algae scrubber has been a disappointment.

Pics again of my refugium. Cannot believe how big the chaeto is getting. Or how thick the ulva lettuce is. At what point do you harvest chaeto? My next days off I will redo basket system (change to narrower baskets)

harvested more pods. taking out some almost every day as the jar is swarming with them

 

[fishguy242]

think both SM and macro ,just too much po4 demand ,stripping too much ?
never used one though ,jmo...
think your macro is enough ,looking for a stable point in po4 without dosing ...

 

[Susan Edwards]

think both SM and macro ,just too much po4 demand ,stripping too much ?
never used one though ,jmo...
think your macro is enough ,looking for a stable point in po4 without dosing ...

Yeah, and I'm having to dose to keep po4. I just hate algae in the tank! Will test tank tomorrow to see where I'm at. Been a couple days.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Ugh! Bought the wrong regents for hanna phosphate! I am going to test with the correct one (have 2 left) and then same water, try the wrong one to see what the difference is. Just opened that box tonight too! More on the way.

Have 2 days off. Sadly, hubby doesn't. He had 3 days off. I worked all holiday weekend days.

Yesterdays test were good. 11 and .02 except on both I had some powder spill.. Alk is still precipitating. Calcium stll around 500. Haven't dosed in 2 weeks. Will change a 2-4 gal tomorrow with the awc. And maybe again on Wed as I have that off as well. Trouble is, then my alk really drops but I need the CA down to allow my alk to not turn to snow! Alk is 8.3 down from 8.6. I know it is still okay but I like it a bit higher.

I finally figured out how to do the conditional formatting for my aquarium spreadsheet (using colors for testing values). The spreadsheet has gotten messed up with all my changes and I can't find the original. Now I know how to do it!

Waiting for fireworks to stop so I can take dogs and go to bed! Hate them. 6 upset cats and 2 dogs. Gave dogs some meds earlier which help a bit. Locked door to the catio so cats can't freak out outside as I am right next to a park.
this is page 1 I am a bit anal lol's. i have sheets for fish, coral, a calendar, maintenance etc

 

[blaxsun]

My dog was at the window every time one of the larger ones went off in the park a few miles from here, but otherwise she decided to lounge through most of them.

 

[Susan Edwards]

My dog was at the window every time one of the larger ones went off in the park a few miles from here, but otherwise she decided to lounge through most of them.

You are so lucky. This year wasn't as bad as I medicated early afternoon. The poor cats were jumpy.

No3 8.7 and po4 .07. Getting pretty stable now. I think the nyos zero and nyos bio (approx 2 ml ea 2x's a day) is working. Nopox at 15 a day, dosed only during day

Doing a 3 gal awc today and tomorrow. Need my ca to come down. Alk keeps dropping. Later will reglue a few corals, clean glass and maybe take pics of some of the coral colonies. Notice I can now say colonies and not frags lol's.

 

[blaxsun]

Glad to hear you're having good success with the Nyos Zero/Bio Booster.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Highlighting some actual colonies grown from frags. Some were literally pieces that fell off the mother colony and were given to me. Have a lot more. Some digitata monti and more pocillipora. Have too many of the digitatia monti's so will give some away. Can't help fragging what breaks off...


Yellow Tort
January

Apr July

Birds Nest 1
Oct 21 July

Birds 2
10/21 July

purple stylo
oct july

Pocillipora Oct July

Duncan Aug 21 old tank July New tank

Deep water acro Jan

deep water moved after it got broken
April July

chyr almost lost to BJD
Dec 21

July

 

[Susan Edwards]

Glad to hear you're having good success with the Nyos Zero/Bio Booster.

thanks for that tip. It has worked wonders. Used just 1 jar of the zeo

 

[Susan Edwards]

After not seeing Dave, the lazy Sea Cucumber for days, he has returned to his rock-the underside of my main arch. Maybe he never left-just hung on the backside... I thought I saw him going into the sand at one point and then didn't see him for a while. Well, he's back lol's

 

[Susan Edwards]

Dave actually is moving around. Still next to his arch but on the sandbed. Moved from Left side to right lol's

redid some corals. Some had been knocked down. Removed some to the sand bed as I have too many--I was fragging all the broken pieces and putting them up. But I saw some corals I want from a member here so making room. Not that there isn't a lot of room still lol's. I moved my space invader pectinia to sand bed to give that space to an ench. acan. Notice that it may actually be recovering. Will leave it to see.

Need to find someone who wants some frags!! Local pick up though.

Tomorrow makes 9 months. Will do a pic or video.

did a 5 gal awc today. Will do another tomorrow. Trying to get ca down. Still at 504 even though no dosing. Just some small water changes. Alk is dropping. Down to 8.1. Manually adding some to the gyres as it precipitates. Maybe my salt is too old. I have some IO. I'll use that next and dump what is left of the LA. Just bottom of barrel. Seems when ever I do water changes, my alk drops fast.

 

[blaxsun]

Dave actually is moving around. Still next to his arch but on the sandbed. Moved from Left side to right lol's

Dave may be one of those nocturnal cucumbers that does his best work when everyone else is asleep.

 

[fishguy242]

Alk is being consumed faster and faster as tank is finding stable groove,
every thing is using more alk than cal as it grows daily...

 

[blaxsun]

Alk is being consumed faster and faster as tank is finding stable groove,
every thing is using more alk than cal as it grows daily...

I'm still using around 100-110ml of alkalinity daily, and maybe 5ml of calcium daily. No magnesium at the moment as it's still around 1500 from the epsom salts.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Alk is being consumed faster and faster as tank is finding stable groove,
every thing is using more alk than cal as it grows daily...

I also think it is because the alk precipitates the minute it hits the water, right? Wouldn't that make it so not as much is being disolved in the water? I'll change the dosing amount and keep adding some manually to the display. And change my salt once the brute is empty. Was planning to do a 5 gal a day change to try to get calcium down. Or is this just making my alk worse? Driving me nuts!

 

[Susan Edwards]

Dave may be one of those nocturnal cucumbers that does his best work when everyone else is asleep.

lol's. At least I could see he moved haha. He is a funny creature

 

[Susan Edwards]

I'm still using around 100-110ml of alkalinity daily, and maybe 5ml of calcium daily. No magnesium at the moment as it's still around 1500 from the epsom salts.

what is your ca? I'll up my alk. My mg is just over 1500. Maybe I should cut that down a bit as well.

dosing
alk 32 ml
mg 45 ml

 

[blaxsun]

lol's. At least I could see he moved haha. He is a funny creature

You should see the five black ones roaming my tank. Two are the size of dill pickles (if one was green I'd call him Pickle Rick!), one is about 6" in length and the two large ones are full on turd size at this point.

Those two like to constantly stretch up and clean the sides of the tank. I think the two smaller ones find it tough to compete food-wise with the other three.

 

[blaxsun]

what is your ca? I'll up my alk. My mg is just over 1500. Maybe I should cut that down a bit as well.

dosing
alk 32 ml
mg 45 ml

My calcium is averaging around 440-460ppm. Right now I have the calcium-magnesium mix dialed to a bare minimum as when I added some epsom salts a week or so back to treat an eye injury to the female clown I probably spiked it by +50-75ppm.

Alkalinity is hovering between the 8.2-8.4 dKH range.

 

[fishguy242]

I also think it is because the alk precipitates the minute it hits the water, right? Wouldn't that make it so not as much is being disolved in the water? I'll change the dosing amount and keep adding some manually to the display. And change my salt once the brute is empty. Was planning to do a 5 gal a day change to try to get calcium down. Or is this just making my alk worse? Driving me nuts!

alk is being used more and more, water changes are adding cal but not enough alk.
so cal is rising/holding ,alk is dropping faster,
sorry hope this makes sense to you.
i am manual doser ,3 decades of 0 automation...