The Journey - Reboot of the 120

[pdiehm]

You have a really nice tank, thanks for sharing.

Thanks. It hasn't really taken off like I had anticipated and there's a gazillion things I would do different

 

[pdiehm]

60 gallon change performed yesterday. tried to remove crud that has accumulated within the pukani rock. Got a lot out, but still probably a ton of stuff in there. Pukani is awesome, but all the tunnels and valleys, holes and crevices accumulate a lot of stuff.

We'll see how the corals recover, however I am not optimistic. I have no clue what has caused this to happen. Parameters are spot on, only thing I can think of is false readings on the NO3 and PO4.

I'm leaning towards doing 30 gallon changes for a few weeks to really work on removing whatever is in there. Spoke to someone at BRS (@randyBRS) and was recommended to dose waste away once a week, and dose NoPox every other day.

Will test my parameters at lunch and see where they are approximately 12 hours after the 50% water change.

 

[pdiehm]

Ok. Added a Clearwater CW-100 alga scrubber to my tank. Nothing else seems to be working on the algae.

I pulled my GFO out (it was time anyhows). Saw these critters on the pump. Any ideas?

They almost look like slugs.

I am also seeing white feather duster type things in my rocks. It’s almost like they have come out of nowhere.

Today is test day. Curious what the readings will be.

 

[BoomCorals]

Those slugs are stomatellas. Good algae eaters.

Your fuzzy rock algae has me thinking your rocks are leeching something. Did you start with dry rock? How was it cured?

On using things like waste away, etc, I’ll be honest I don’t recommend them. Most often they cause harm to corals, especially sps, and that would be my guess why your sps are losing tissue. The “cure quick fix in a bottle stuff” seems to have as many horror stories as success stories.

 

[pdiehm]

The rocks were washed in bleach then acid. Then rodi for a week.

My phosphates are testing at 0.19 for some reason. Even after a 60g change last week. Has to be a testing error but maybe it isn’t. Who knows anymore

 

[pdiehm]

Test results:

Ph: 8.1
Temp: 78.5
Alk: 7.7
Calcium: 440
Mg: DNT (was 1400 last week)
PO4: 0.19
NO3: Between 2-4ppm

 

[DesertReefT4r]

I would consider continuing the GFO if your po4 is really being that hard to lower. Its the down side of dry rock. All the dead on the inside slowly leaches out over several months.

 

[pdiehm]

I would consider continuing the GFO if your po4 is really being that hard to lower. Its the down side of dry rock. All the dead on the inside slowly leaches out over several months.

I will test again today or tomorrow. My PO4 has never been that high. After giving the pukani rock an acid bath decaying organics should have been minimal.

My pO4 since I did the acid bath last summer has ranged between 0-0.02, so I am thinking the result may be a testing error

 

[Dilan Patel]

Is it possible the week in rodi water didn't fully get rid of the bleach in the rock?

 

[pdiehm]

Is it possible the week in rodi water didn't fully get rid of the bleach in the rock?

Doubt it. That was 11 months ago

 

[mmw64]

I want that SPS tank I saw. It's why I got into this hobby. I thought about softie and lps but that's not what I wanted. My gyres connected to my apex were bought with sps in mind. My light (which I may be changing) was bought with sps in mind.

I don't know if I will be successful, but I am hoping, optimistic that if I go slower this time, it will work. Also with the help of you sps experts.

I have a dosing pump for 2 part when I need it some day down the road.

But this is the equipment list that I have accumulated.

Tank: 60x26x18 120 gallon.
Stand: homemade by me
Light: Photon 48 (maybe buying 6x80w T5)
Sump: 40 gallon breeder, 2 compartments, slimmer and return
Skimmer: aquamaxx em-200
Return: Sicce 5.0
Flow: 2 maxspect gyre 150's with icecap controller
Controller: Neptune Apex with pH and Temp
Rock: 70 lb of Pukani estimated
Test kits: Hanna dKh, PO4, Red Sea Pro NO3, CA, MG, Potassium (hate that test)

Hopefully I get this tank scaped this week, filled with saltwater and start to cycle with Dr. Tims and the ammonium Chloride. If all goes well, maybe this time I will have coralline algae (not a speck prior to tear down) and around Christmas, assuming water stuff is consistent each week, adding first sps frags. WWC recommended a millepora, stylophora, digitata...anything fuzzy to start.

Pics to come!

following

the drama with the apex continues. woke up this morning to my EB8 disconnected (even though it was still plugged in and green light). All my programming code gone. Pumps off. Temp in the low 70's. Probably screwed up my cycle.

Got to work, logged in to access the apex, redid my code, then disconnected and now I can't access it any more. All this has happened since I did the last firmware update.

To recap, did my update Friday night. Since then, the apex has been disconnected from fusion, 8x, EB8 disappeared 4x, my code disappeared 4x, and woke up 3x with the tank completely off.

If I was sure that it was the apex, I would get a new one, but I'm arguably the most computer illiterate person in the world, so there's a very very good chance it's me.

No, I'm the MOST computer illiterate! Have to call the grandson every time my Apex disconnects, which is often! Think next time I would save the money and use power strips as I'm not really using all the great things an Apex can do.

 

[pdiehm]

1 week in, running the Clearwater 100 24/7, no algae growth observed. Also since it's unlikely my corals will make it, and I ran out of BRS 2 part, have started to use ATI Essentials. Am up to my neck in baseball and taking a team to the Mid Atlantic Regional tournament at the end of July, so no rush to add new corals, but get this thing stable once again. Things are not completely dead, but definitely are not looking good. In poker there's a saying, if you have a chip, and a chair, you have a chance. Hoping that since there's some polyps still alive and kicking, that there's a chance. I'm not holding my breath however.

On a side note, the fish are fat and happy. Whatever was in Waste Away has had no impact on the fish.

 

[pdiehm]

they're dead. They're dead.

Stylo, Nauti, Sunset Monti, Green Slimer. All are dead. the Cliff's acro isn't happy, but at least has it's green color still.

Will probably get in there next week and remove the dead corals. Disappointing. Wasn't a water chemistry or an ignorance thing. It was an additive.

Algae Scrubber starting to grow on the screen. Probably a few weeks from taking the CO2 scrubber off line.

 

[BoomCorals]

they're dead. They're dead.

Stylo, Nauti, Sunset Monti, Green Slimer. All are dead. the Cliff's acro isn't happy, but at least has it's green color still.

Will probably get in there next week and remove the dead corals. Disappointing. Wasn't a water chemistry or an ignorance thing. It was an additive.

Algae Scrubber starting to grow on the screen. Probably a few weeks from taking the CO2 scrubber off line.

Ugh that's rough. I hope the cliff's makes it though, it is a very tough acro.

 

[pdiehm]

Yeah, with the ATI essentials program, supposedly there's no need to do water changes...I may do another 60 gallon change or 2. I'm not even sure if water changes will remove the Waste Away stuff, and what I don't want to do is waste salt (and my time as it takes about an hour to change 60 gallons of water for me).

What I do know is, I am definitely capable to keeping SPS, and they would all be fine if I didn't add that stuff. Live and learn.

 

[pdiehm]

2 weeks in on the CW-100 and we are definitely seeing algae growth on the screen. Nothing to harvest at this point. It's running 24/7, however once I start seeing enough growth to harvest, will move to an opposite light cycle...which I need to remember when my lights come on and go off. I think it's 12-10, so I may just run the scrubber 11-11.

All corals save the cliffs are for the most part done, including the stylo. I will never make the mistake of putting Waste Away in a tank again. I have done a 60g, 15g, and prepping a 30g water change for tonight or tomorrow morning. After that, will scale back significantly on the water changes as the ATI Essentials doses trace elements.

My shopping list now includes obtaining a Neptune Dos system (probably 2 for dosing the 3 elements), and eventually DDR containers.

 

[pdiehm]

Yesterday after a long day of softball, and other types of baseball coaching, spent some time downstairs. The stylophora has lost a lot of flesh. But the parts that still have it are extremely puffy, and extended. I think part of it is due to the water changes, and the other part is due to the ATI essentials that I'm dosing (7ml daily).

The Sunset Monti, 95% of it is gone, but there's some pieces encrusted that are bright pink.

The cliffs acro, much to my surprise looks like it's holding steady. Not as bright as it was, but that's in large part due to the PO4 and NO3 in the water as the algae scrubber starts to take hold.

the green slimer has no chance. to be honest it is the one coral that I expected to take off in my tank but never did really explode the way everyone said it would. That has algae on the tips, and in my opinion is completely dead.

The encrusting nauti was the first to show signs of unhappiness with the Dr. Tims Waste Away, the tissue loss appears to be slowing down, however the parts that have lost have algae growing on. Unlike the slimer, I cannot just remove this as it's solidly encrusted on the rock.

Parameters are holding steady, at least the alkalinity is. sits at 7.8-7.9 most days.

 

[pdiehm]

Tests tonight:

pH: 8.06
Temp: 78.3
Alk: 7.5
Calcium: 450
Magnesium: 1400
NO3: 6
PO4: 0.03

Alk is a touch low, will test tomorrow night and see where we are and adjust the dosing.

 

[pdiehm]

LED moving out, a 6x80W T5 coming in. It's something I should have done from the start, and with my screw up, it gives me a chance to get the T5 on the tank. Not sure if I'm going to hang it, which I have to gerryrig it, by putting 1x6's across the ceiling boards and then putting a small hole in the drop ceiling tile, or just have it sit on top of my canopy, which would put the light about 13" over the water surface. Right now, leaning towards removing the canopy and hanging it, but that's subject to change.

Bulb combination I'm looking at is: 3 blue+, 1 actinic, 1 coral+, 1 purple+

Order will be from back to front: P+, B+, C+, B+, Actinic, B+ I think the B+ and Actinic would be on an hour before the rest of the lights kick on.

Thoughts?

 

[Chad3407]

I wouldnt waste a bulb on the actinic. I went back and forth testing all the different ati bulbs and settled on 4 b+ and 2 coral+. I am supplementing a orphek or120 Uv/actinic bar for the color pop.