Weird! I've never tested AF Reef Salt over 8.3 dKH!

Oh wow! Just to clarify that is the AF Reef Salt and not the AF Probiotic Reef Salt? Will they both mix the same for KH?

Just my batch maybe it was all sitting at the top...I switched to the reef salt because probiotic was doing some weird bloom in my tank. If you use PB you should also use their bacteria food np pro and pro bio s, I skipped that part and failed, lucky the salt didn't go to waste...

I will do another alk test on the next few batches of new SW mix and see if there is any variation. But as of now my tank is sitting above 9 in alk and sps are spurting....

Definately weird, more alk I won't complain just means I don't need to bump the alk anymore...save where I can I guess...

You shouldn't use the probiotic salt unless your tank is ULNS. It has added vitamins and amino acids.

Ok thanks! My tank is definitely not ULNS :lol:

I got around to testing my nitrates (API) and Phosphates (Hanna checker). I am waiting on a Salifert nitrate test kit as we speak.

• Nitrates - 0.8ppm
• Phosphates- 0.19ppm

Ugh... so both of these are high! Overall everything looks ok within the tank but I want to have these values reduced. I have some biopellets I will be setting up in hopes to reduce these parameters. I have a fuge with a ball or chaeto but I'm. It sure if my Cree 5000k, 100w lightbulb is doing its job with the growth.

Does anyone have any suggestions or can share their experiences on reducing these values? I will follow up with another test tomorrow just to confirm the accuracy.

I have found the API nitrate test kit useless for values below 5ppm. The only test kit I have used (I have tried API, Salifert and LaMotte) that can measures nitrates below 1ppm accurately is the Red Sea Pro.

I do not believe .8ppm nitrates is even close to high.

All my SPS and LPS appear fine with these values so I'm not sure. I will have my reactor running Vertex bio pellets shortly. I will test all the parameters to see where I am sitting.

Couple pictures taken from today.


http://i67.tinypic.com/2qi04eo.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/30jpkiv.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/3461gnd.jpg

http://i66.tinypic.com/2411r83.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/f0p1xk.jpg


Not sure what all these little white swirls are on the glass. You can really see them at night. If you look at the second photo they are visible. Any idea what these are?

http://i67.tinypic.com/xqe23d.jpg

Halloween hermit found a bigger shell.

http://i63.tinypic.com/2eolgkg.jpg

New Blastomussa frag and another photo of the photobombing star fish. :smile:

So when I first added the new clownfish to the tank I was worried that my large female would not accept him. She instantly took a liking to him and all has been well as the anemone hosts both of them. Today I went downstairs when I got home from work I noticed what appeared to be eggs. I did a quick google search and confirmed that these are eggs. :razz:

http://i67.tinypic.com/161kfg9.jpg

Sweet dude! Clowns are breeding. Tank is doing well.

That's cool. I had hermit craps and cardinals breeding for me, but never clownfish. Your tank is doing well.

Thanks guys! It's definitely neat to watch the process and know that the tank is starting to get established. Hoping to see some more growth on the frags. Going to be buying the AF Reef Salt as I am down to half a bucket of IO Reef Crystals.

The plan is to do 3 x 5g pails of RC and 3 x 5g AQ for my biweekly water changes. Hopefully this will allow for a decent transition to the AF salt.

I want to make the change to get closer to the NSW parameters and have the control via 3 part.

So I have run in to some issues with humidity in or basement. I have found that the floor has been sweaty now that the weather has warmed up (25-26 Celsius). The walls and windows show no humidity whatsoever.

My wife says it feels damp and humid in the basement. I notice it more now that I have the larger tank as compared to my 75g. I currently have the top of my aquarium covered with a plastic grate to still allow for air exchange.

Has anyone had similar issues? I am thinking of getting some plexi glass pieces made for the top to reduce evaporation. Will this work or is it not worth it? Also is this going to effect the gas exchange?

I picked up a 70pint dehumidifier yesterday from Canadian Tire. Within hours the basement felt much drier and no more moisture on the floor. My fear is that this will suck water from the tank?

Any help would be appreciated.

I made a plexiglass lid for my tank and it was a nightmare. The heat from the tank and the lights (I was running LEDs at the time so not much heat) made the plexiglass

You got cut off Duncan...

That's weird, here's the whole bit....

I made a plexiglass lid for my tank and it was a nightmare. The heat from the tank and the lights (I was running LEDs at the time so not much heat) made the plexiglass bow, and I picked fairly thick plexi. I even reinforced the middle by doubling up a strip and it still didn't help.

The condensation on the underside of the plexiglass looked awful and it made the pH of the tank plummet instantly.

The moment I took the lid off the plexiglass rapidly climbed back to normal.

The idea was born and killed within 48 hours.



Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

Thanks for the feedback! The PH factor and the condensation was my main concerns. I didn't even think that the heat off the leds would be of concern. So far the dehumidifier has been flawless in keeping down the moisture but with the warm weather it has been running steady. I won't waste my time sourcing out plexiglass. Thanks again.

So today I found that my chaeto has disintegrated. My guess is the cree led light I was using didn't provide enough light. I'm also thinking that maybe there wasn't enough flow through the chaeto. I know for a fact that nutrients weren't the issue as nitrates and phosphates are present. I changed the bulb to a CFL 100w 6500k which I have read on the web has worked for many. I have also added my colbalt MK400 powerhead in the fuge to add some circulation.

Did a 20% WC today, started half of AF Reef Salt and half IO Reef Crystals. Slowly transitioning to AF and almost done all my IO. I will test my parameters tomorrow to see what they are at.

I think it's cool that the salt bucket comes with a certificate of the parameters. I used the scoop provided but was unable to figure out how much salt to mix salinity at 1.026. I kept adding to the bucket and tested with my refractometer until the number was reached.


http://i65.tinypic.com/iwr7tv.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/2v0h9av.jpg

So the other day I noticed my temp was up to 81 degrees Fahrenheit from its normal 79 degrees Fahrenheit. I assumed this was because of the warm weather we have had (30 degrees Celsius). To my surprise when I was looking at my digital temperature gauge, I noticed my one Eheim jäger heater light was on. I physically felt the heater and it was in fact heating... what gives?

I looked in to the matter further and noticed the second heater (exact same heater) did not have the light activated and was not heating. I double check both thermostats and they had not been changed. I proceeded to turn down each a click for good measures, unplugged the one and then plugged it back in. The heater light was on for a bit then cycled off. Within a minute or so the light was back on and the heater was heating already above temperature water. The other heater remained off like it should!

I have unplugged the heater and now have the other one heating the water. Temperature is now back to 79-80 and is being held there. The heater is cycling on and off. I'm guessing my other heater has stuck in or is faulty in some way. I have only had these for 6 months, can't find anything about the product warranty.

I will replace the heater most likely today. Should I get another of the same or does anyone else recommend a more reliable heater they are using? :question:

This is a common issue with heaters and reason why I always recommend that people use two smaller heaters ike you are rather than one larger one. In all honesty, I don't think there are any good heaters anymore, which makes the 2 heater method more important. I have a bunch of really old Jager heaters - they used to be made very well, and now they are not. I've had better luck with Cobalt NeoTherm heaters than Jager but I've also heard of the NeoTherm heaters blowing up (not quite as dramatic as it sounds).

Titanium with temp control on top of apex control, because my tank is in the garage with no insulation the temp drops pretty low so I use a 300 and 500w titanium the smaller one goes on first then larger if needed. The upside to a cold garage in the winter is a cool garage in the summer.

I see lots of people using the glass ones and while they're not supposed to be submersed, most people do and that is just a disaster waiting to happen, house fire all the way. Never happened to me but when sparks happen underwater it's just a matter of time before the cord catches and then boom. I had a stupid stealth before and the thing did exactly what I described above. The thing with glass is if it does explode I am worried about the glass shards in your sump and possibly getting electrocuted whenyou stick your hand in not knowing.

Your absolutely right Mindy! It's all about safe guarding against failure. That's the problem with mass production these days, quality suffers. I heard the same about the cobalt Neo's, although the LFS assured me that Cobalt had corrected this issue. I will take a look and find a suitable replacement. At least I'm diligent in checking the tank :smile:

no need for a chiller for summer :biggrin:. Ya that would not be fun trying to remove glass shards and like you mentioned not realizing and doing a hand dip. Thanks for the information! I will see what I can find for a replacement. As of right now the defective heater is taking a ride in to the trash.

Looking at the tank today and noticed the clowns had round 2 for eggs. It looks like there are even more this time! Also was wondering if anyone has been able to breed Trochus Snails? I ended up buying 5 and placing them in my Refugium in hopes that they will be provided sanctuary. I would like them to breed and shuffle the larger snails in to the DT as needed.

Here is to hoping :biggrin:

Anyone have an answer to this? I always test my buckets with a refractometer however it is annoying to have to add water or more salt in each bucket.


Couple new photos.

http://i67.tinypic.com/2pyqrmx.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/2hq9mqq.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/29vml8k.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/122cc5v.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/2b7hnk.jpg

Just a quick update:
Clowns have another round of eggs as of yesterday. Still battling high nitrates (20ppm) and high phosphates (0.17ppm). I have been running a reactor of biopellets and recently bought another to run GFO again. I also took another pick at the cat with a ball of chaeto.

I have noticed some more coralline algae forming (not nearly as purple as some people's tanks) and my frags are starting to grow out a bit. I'm hoping with the lower nutrients along with my consistent ALK/CAL/MAG that I will see some more growth. The fish all seem happy and fat so that's a plus. Here are a couple photos under the moonlights :smile:


http://i64.tinypic.com/f9jehf.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/fnj8g.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/14brmgy.jpg

http://i63.tinypic.com/10iawdd.jpg

So today I noticed an aggressive brown algae on my live rock and on some of my corals. Some of my Zoas are struggling to open and it's best described as stringy brown algae with bubbles that appear and disappear. I checked PO4 which is 0.15 ppm (high I know) and NO3 approximately 20-40ppm (API test kit). I am ordering a new nitrate kit as it's very tough to distinguish the difference in colour shades.

The only thing that has changed in the tank is the intensity of my led lights which I ramped up 20% and carbon dosing via reactor with biopellets. I took a quick photo to show one of the areas that has this brown algae present. My white gonipora is starting to get covered in this brown algae preventing it from having plump extension.

Please Help!!' No idea where to start with this and don't want to start chanting a bunch of things. Haven't had this issue before as this algae seems to want to cover my sps, LPS and Zoas.


http://i63.tinypic.com/9t0nl1.jpg

Might be too late for my red star fish as one of his legs has disintegrated and the other one is also showing signs. My purple star fish is loving but is also showing signs of deterioration. My guess is the nitrates being higher then usual are causing this.

Did a 40g WC tonight and will most likely do one in 3 days or at least weekly for the next bit until I can sort this out.

I have been using Vibrant in my tank for a month or so to keep the algae down and it seem to be working. It even got rid of a small of bryopsis.

As for your comment that your fish are fat, it may be possible you are feeding your fish a little too much.

AquaAddict

I ran out of time on my last post so I just wanted add my two cents worth on problem heaters. I had changed to a titanium heater years ago for my marine tank because the glass ones could not maintain a steady temperature.

I now have had a Chinese thermostat (EBay -$30) attached my Finnex heater for my marine tank and one attached to a glass heater for my freshwater tank for approx 4 years with perfect results. These thermostats are designed for use beer and wine making but my handy husband attached my heaters to them and now temperatures in both tanks are very steady and the digital displays are so easy to read.

AquaAddict

AA is there YouTube videos on how to add Tstat to heater?

I wouldn't mind doing the same for mine, I currently run 2 titanium heaters, 300&500 because in the winters they run full time, my garage floor is very cool in the summer and even colder winter months.

Your probably right with over feeding. I'm thinking the frozen cubes of mysis probably didn't help. I cut back on the feeding and will do a large 40% water change. This brown algae is a pain right now as it keeps latching in to my frags and my torch won't extend. Oddly enough but my Zoas are suffering the most.

I'm just hoping my tank is not in the early stages of dinoflagellates or a Major diatom bloom. Ugh only time will tell. I have been hammering down on reducing nitrates and phosphates. Hopefully they come down enough that I can maintain them. Here's to hoping!

Lost my red starfish unfortunately and my purple one isn't looking the best either. Hopefully my Salifert Nitate test kit gets here sooner then later as I don't know about the API test kit. I can't seem to get it register anything other then 40ppm ....ugh.

Sorry, TD. I don't know. You would have to search on line and see what you can find.

If you do buy one of these thermostats, just pm me and I am sure we would be able to help you set it up. I don't think it is super difficult. What I know from watching Peter (hubby), he turns the attached control on the heater to full power, plugs it into the thermostat and then there is some wiring to do.

AquaAddict

For the record this brown stringy algae is driving me nuts!!! I have lost 2 Frags because it keeps smothering my sps. I have used a net and siphoned as much out as possible. Possibly dinoflagellates (I hope not).

Lost 2 fags from the brown bubble algae, it simply covered them and then major RTN occurred. I even tried to brush the stuff off during a WC, it came off and I netted it out in the water column. Everything looked good and bam, it was all back :sad:


http://i63.tinypic.com/14y1i69.jpg

I lost 3 coral frags (smothered with this stringy goo) and I'm down to a minimum on my LR. Mine was more brown and it had bubbles at the tips. It would come out of jo where on the coral tips and smother them. I tried blowing them off etc. With no luck. Did a 25% WC today and it's very minalmal.

I'm hopIng it burns out and doesn't cover anymore of my small colonies. I should add that it really effects the SPS the most. I also run chaeto along with bio pellets plus started redsea NOPOX.