The Undecided Reef

[SewerynAquaforest]

Hi if you want to have great results with your corals one of the factors IMO is water change every week around 10%. The probiotic reef salt have probiotic bacteria , vitamins and Amino and as I know salts that you use before don't have that. As about ProBioF This is hard to compare products by weight vs value. These are totally different products.

 

[revhtree]

Following!

 

[LILBUDDHA]

Hi if you want to have great results with your corals one of the factors IMO is water change every week around 10%. The probiotic reef salt have probiotic bacteria , vitamins and Amino and as I know salts that you use before don't have that. As about ProBioF This is hard to compare products by weight vs value. These are totally different products.

I am going to take it slow . I am going to increase the water changes . It just seems counter productive to do water changes once a week n add this and that every other day . Not sure how much intake the corals will get with all this dilute this add that method. As far as powdered biopellets are concerned, I am not going to buy that wolf ticket just yet . ;). I look at way too many threads using bio pellets and there is a wide variance in brands used with successful colorful tanks . Kent reef salt had vitamins but no probiotics. I have not gone back to Tropic Marin Bio-actif salt since I am trying the AF brand atm . The TM Bio Actif did have some probiotics but maybe not the vitamins nor amino's . I was already adding them in food using Selco , Calcium ascorbate , lugols , MB7 , Prodibio . Seachem Fuel. It's not like my corals are bad looking at all . I do want to see some different colorations in a few that have been slow such as a greenish TCK Pickachu . It slowly appears to be shifting to the yellow but this can only be seen with the actinic's t5's in dusk mode .
Anywho I will order the AF additive with the copper sulfate in it next week . Thanks for the input sever10 .

 

[LILBUDDHA]

I went on the other side of town to visit ECUREEFER n family . Jackson was a happy camper n Anna seem to be in good spirits .
I took him a RR raft frag since I was feeling a lil guilty of swapping protein skimmers with him for a few . I cleaned up the Tunze 9004 so it can be put back in his QT tank .
The Aquamaxx HOB_1 is a skimmer I have been looking at for a bit . The Tunze did okay and it gave the tank a clean look .
The AM skimmer is way bigger n if it pulls more stuff of the tank , I might be sold on picking up one . I cleaned it up a lil and it already started making a foam head .

20160406_135223 by

Already getting a foamhead .

[url=https://flic.kr/p/F7y2AC]20160406_143426 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/31198377@N07/[/url]

 

[LILBUDDHA]

I went on a limb n decided to do a water change today .This would make the last 2 water changes per 7 days .
I did test my batch with a temp of 77.8 _+ degrees .
At a salinity of 34 ppt I got
8 dkh salifert
430 ca nyos
1450 nyos .
Their batch was 33 ppt so it seems close to the QA sticker .
I am adding the ProBioS bacteria n it smells like vinegar .. HMM.
I got lazy n did not order the ProBioE ? yet . I will have it by the end of next week .

 

[Slack Tide Reef]

I know it's only been a few days but how is the aqua max compared to the tunze?

 

[Flameback Pair]

I know it's only been a few days but how is the aqua max compared to the tunze?

I would like to know this too.

 

[LILBUDDHA]

It's hard to say at this point. I have emptied wet skimate 2 times already . The second time was still a light tea color but it smelled a lil funky as it should. The 9004 always gave me a dark green looking not very smelly skimate.
I just think it needs more time to break in. IMHO I am not impressed just yet .
I already started looking at the bigger model or the Deepwater Aquatics ?version which has features I prefer.

 

[spspirate]

Reef is looking great! Your getting some good colors.

 

[LILBUDDHA]

Reef is looking great! Your getting some good colors.

Thanks . I haven't checked in to your thread lately but i am sure it's doing well .

I don't show these frags much since they went thru a lil weather hardship getting here back in the fall . No one's fault at all and TCK did everything to make me a Happy Reef customer . I am just waiting for maybe one or two more uber killer frags to add to call it a day on my tank . I don't have a QT anymore so that makes it real easy to say" no mo sticks "

I am still hanging on to this TCK Dragonfire nub . The party ain't over yet ..LOL
}
20160410_185514 by


Here is the replacement TCK dragon fire that was sent . both frags ejected their zooxanthale . So it will be interesting to see how they turn out .

20160410_185640 by


Another TCK frag unknown name . it's starting to shift colors

20160410_185612 by


TCK Pickachu . It's loves to encrust and as you can see it's making a color shift too . C'MOn yellow !!!

20160410_185600 by


Plutonium Pickachu .

20160410_185535 by


Now this one had a name but I can't remember it . Anywho it's a TCK coral which has some shortcake features to it .
I am a lil proud of this one since it had a few growth spurts and the colors are getting richer .

20160410_185715 by

So that's it for the TCK update for today .

 

[LILBUDDHA]

Sorry the above pics came out blurry . i'll work on it .
I guess this Fox Flame is just in the right area for my phone camera .


20160407_104839 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/31198377@N07/

 

[LILBUDDHA]

I don't take many pic's of this Upscales Microclados since it looked like crap when I got it .
It has come a long way . In front of it to the right is a red robin stag .

nov 11 2015

20151121_220229 by



Today



[URL='https://flic.kr/p/FeUnp2']20160410_195812 by[/url]

 

[LILBUDDHA]

October 2015 procorals rainbow .

202130-50611387ac3d2e15c0c807ef750ef3f0 by


Today .

[url=https://flic.kr/p/G225x1]20160410_201057 by mordibv, on Flickr[/url]

 

[LILBUDDHA]

Not impressed with the Aquamxx skimmer so far.Ecureefer n I had to play with the output side .The output water line kept bobbing up n down like a fishing float. We adjusted the output n put some floss in front of it to silence the noise .
Its still not skimming well.

 

[Slack Tide Reef]

Thanks for the update on that. Weird, had heard good things about that skimmer.

 

[LILBUDDHA]

Thanks for the update on that. Weird, had heard good things about that skimmer.

I just cleaned the cup again. The skimmate just seems to stay in the neck n cake up .I lowered it a lil to see if that helps. I always liked the dwa version of the am / jns unit . I'll give it some more time .
FWIW ecureefer put my tunze 9004 back on his qt tank n it's skimming like a champ already . He does have a huge hob refugium on his tank. He is trying to talk me into purchasing the dc 9012 but I would have to cut out a partition on the rear to make it fit since the dims r 4.5 x 5.5 ?
I'll stew on it some more. Seems like getting a rkl or apex lite with the dwa skimmer is a better choice n makes the dollar go further .

 

[LILBUDDHA]

Finally I might be getting somewhere with this skimmer . It has a 90 elbow n a 45 on the output side . I had to tie a bag to the output to reduce the noise . The 90 is almost horizontal now. If it is not this lowers the water level on the input side makes it cavitate air . As a result it bobs up n down . The water level has to be above the input tube side to get a consistent level..
The skimmate is looking better though .

 

[LILBUDDHA]

Update : The skimmer has stopped producing again . Not sure if why but the Aquaforest Salt seems to help produce more .
I am mixing a batch to follow their 4 x 4 water changes per month .
I got the Coral E in but this is bottle has a bad bulb dispenser . It will not draw the product so I will proly send it back .
I have other droppers available but the dosage may vary . Since the addition of copper in the product ..; Why take chances ?
I am still dosing the RSCP corals program and energy program 1 once a week .
I will be adding another baby fish today to increase the bio load .
This is all I have on hand by Aquaforest at the moment.

20160417_084311 by



And here is the bent defective bulb dispenser pic . This is the CORAL E product .

[url=https://flic.kr/p/FqxHoY]20160417_090240 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/31198377@N07/[/url]

 

[LILBUDDHA]

What in the world ?I picked up some Larry's Reef Frenzy from Ward's Aquatics n decided 2 feed the tank . Skimmer went nutz .
LOL

20160418_165733 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/31198377@N07/

 

[LILBUDDHA]

ECUreefer stopped by and dropped off a few cuttings . He was surprised to see the shift to yellow on the pickachu's
I can't remember if i ever posted a pic of this TCK frag . Any who he and I were gawking at how it's starting to look like it's got some great potential .
. This coral has a rust gold color with purple hue at the tips with the base turning red. Like Dan @ TCK stated cook'm slow .
If I can find an older pic I will edit this post .

20160418_174833 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/31198377@N07/