I stopped Sponge Power, but upped the frequency of dosing Coral Snow. I was only dosing Coral Snow maybe once a month on average, and right now I'm dosing it every 3 or so days to help with this bacteria/algae since it seems to be making a significant difference. The effect of the Coral Snow dosing showed up before I stopped the Sponge Power, but maybe the stopping of the Sponge Power has helped as well. I'm not totally sure at this point. Once it's all cleared up I'll start the Sponge Power dosing again and see if it comes back. :D

Your tank looks great.

Thank you, I'm glad you like it. :)


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My tank is suffering zero nutrients again...

SG 35 ppt (calibrated with 35 ppt solution)
Cal 405 ppm (new Salifert kit), 390 ppm (end of an Elos kit) <--- this is usually 400-410 ppm
Alk 6.8 dKH (new Hanna reagent), 6.85 (new Salifert kit) <--- this is usually 7.0-7.2 dKH
Mg 1240 ppm (Red Sea Pro)
NO3 0 ppm (Salifert), 0 ppm (Red Sea Pro)
PO4 0 ppb (Hanna)

Dosing kalk, and needs a bump up I see. :)

A few weeks ago I was getting a whiff of nutrients and the tank was looking better. Now the nutrients are gone, and everything is uber pale again. I do have some fluffy brown algae growth everywhere that I'm not sure what it is. It's particularly growing on the powerheads and back glass. It starts by looking like diatoms, but then gets fluffy if I don't scrape it off. It comes off super easy like diatoms. I added some more clean up crew to try to help: 6 Ring Cowries (2 weeks ago), 3 small Turbos, Peppermint Shrimp (had a couple tiny Aiptasia and he got em), 1 small female Emerald Crab (bubble algae is getting out of hand too).

Another thing that I hesitate to mention is pH. Ever since day one with this tank, I haven't a reading over pH 7.7. I am using a calibrated handheld meter. It's probably a decade old, maybe more. Every time I calibrate it I read the solutions with the meter first and they always read 7.0 and 10.0. Then I calibrate and they again read the solutions at 7.0 and 10.0. Today pH just before the white light cycle is 7.6. I've tried messing around with opening windows, and that doesn't help. I want to do with pH test with outside air, but it's been really cold here (-30C), so the water will freeze before the 1 hour aeration is done. Today it's only (-6C) so I'll see what I can do to get it done today. I'll use a big jug of water and put it in a cooler with a heat pack maybe. :lol:

The skimmer has been driving me nuts overflowing lately, so I put a couple sheets of eggcrate under it to prop it up a bit. It was in 8 5/8" of water, and now it's in 7 7/8" water.

I cleaned the back glass and powerheads 2 weeks ago, and this is what they look like now:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2045.jpghttp://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2044.jpg


Here are some of the worst affected pale corals:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2014.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2010.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2030.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2021.jpg




Here's that nice wild Aussie Acro, and it's paled as well. It has a little nubbin growing where I took a frag off and the colors are looking quite nice, though still pale. Right now the tips of the corallites are looking neon yellow in person.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2037.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2036.jpg

So I was talking to the LFS owner and he said the "plana" came is as a desalwii. It looks too bush-type to be desalwii to me, but I sure am hoping! That's the coral I miss the most from my old SPS tank. To me, plana and desalwii are impossible to distinguish until you have a good growth pattern established - if it tables it's desalwii, and if it's a bush it's plana. :)

Here it is today, starting to show a bit of color, but not much.
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2029.jpg


In comparison, here's a known plana frag that I ordered (it arrived brown as a turd). With close pics like these though, it does appear that the corallites are shaped differently. Hmm...
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2032.jpg

Here's that maricultured mille (or prostrata?) that's an interesting color. I still can't quite get the burnt orange color of the tips on the camera. It's certainly different than a typical Sunset Mille.
Polyps out:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2043.jpg

Polyps in:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2012.jpg


A new smooth skin I bought yesterday that came in as caroliniana. I could believe that, but maybe multiacuta? It was brighter when it first arrived at the LFS, but it's been there awhile. Can anyone spot Little Kenny's cousin Tiny Tim? He thinks he's tough enough to handle insecticide, but I told him only adults are allowed to choose to be exposed to that type of drug, and when he's 18 he can decide then. Hopefully Snoopy (the Yellow Coris H chrysus) will leave him alone, or he'll have worse problems than a close call with insecticide! :eek:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...02016%2034.jpg

Not sure about your ph meter but I have a old one I bought when I was studying botany. I found that if I tried to use it directly in dt that I would get low readings. But when I too water out of tank I would get higher readings.
I could only attribute it to the lights affecting the probe. Not sure if it's accurate but may be worth a shot with yours just to see

Thanks for the idea, and actually I unconsciously did this yesterday. :) I removed a 2L jug of saltwater from the display and set the jug into a cooler. I tested pH at 7.8 in the tank, and also in the jug. Ironically that's the first time I've seen it hit 7.8. I aerated the jug outside for 3 hours, and then tested pH at 8.0. So there's definitely some CO2 in the house affecting the tank, and I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to do something about that or not. Running a line outside won't work since it gets so cold I think it will affect the tank too much. A CO2 scrubber is probably the only reasonable option, but then I'd have to monitor pH all the time and replace the media. So I'm not sure I like that idea either.

:bump:

:madgrin:

:banplease:

Any updates?

Charles

Yeah! The corals have grown in the last year and they're not pale anymore! ;)

Did you ever figure out a solution to the growth on the powerheads and glass? I've been dealing with the same stuff since forever!


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It seemed to just cycle out on its own. A Blue Tuxedo Urchin liked to eat it, which helped as well.

I haven't taken pics of the corals in a few months, so I'll do a photo shoot today and post up some pics.

No pics = :boink:

She has been hanging around Kien too long ....🤓

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/695/32...466ac9f9_z.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2759/3...16e948bc_z.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2172/3...d722594a_z.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2843/3...c3d30812_z.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2181/3...d06062e7_z.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3746/3...d9dd1955_z.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/477/32...30e4c5d7_z.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2827/3...1ac1c2b0_z.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2416/3...178478c7_z.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2709/3...825e4207_z.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2665/3...d43a685c_z.jpg


Today:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2674/3...7e0a9e7c_z.jpg


Jan 1, 2016:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2273/3...9a0bbe8d_z.jpg

:jaw::jaw::jaw:

Wow, no surprise your tank is looking great Mindy! Nicely done.

Corals look really healthy. Nicely done.

there are some really intense pieces in that tank. great work!

Beautiful. What have you done to get such intense colours. Big difference from last year!!!
Your photo skills have come a long way too
Mad jelly

Thanks for the comments everyone. :)

The magic ingredient for my tank is Zeovit Pohl's Xtra which is dosed 2 mL every evening after I turn off the skimmer (I just remove the skimmer cup, goes back on in the morning). Aside from the Aquaforest 1+2+3+, that's the only thing being dosed into the tank. Well, I add 2.5 mL Coral Snow once every week or two, and I try to remember to add 6 drops or so of the ProBioS once a week, but I often forget. The particulate feedings (Reef Roids, Reef Chili) really didn't seem to make a difference for the corals, same with AcroPower when I tried that. I'm told that Xtra is ammonia, nitrate, and aminos. Seems to be what the tank needs, and simpler than adding all the other things.

The bright red/burgundy algae all over the rocks is what drives me nuts (and the Bubble Algae) - gives the tank a very dark look. The urchins eat it, but they don't eradicate it. Oct, Nov, Dec I was inconsistent with waterchanges - once a month or so and I noticed colors fading on the Acros. Last week and this week are the first two "weekly" water changes I've done in awhile, and things have started to perk up. Water column nutrients are still pretty close to zilch - NO3 <0.25 ppm, PO4 <0.01 ppm.

Lighting is 6-bulb ATI dimmable. Blues for 12 hours 100%, Whites I've been ramping up in time and intensity, now at 7 hours 100%. PAR through the tank is 200-400 tested yesterday, but I need to switch out some bulbs...

Looks really nice Mindy, good work!

I swear, everybody has that one nuisance algae in there tank. Thought about those new medications? I am hearing (and seeing) positive results in peoples tanks.

Nice pics!!!

Sps is looking great looks like pohls has really helped, have you thought about trying vibrant to zap the bubble algae? Been told it works well.

Thanks Warren, your turn now. ;)

I'm too chicken to try any of those meds. It's my own fault. I'm just not in there removing it manually enough. None of my client tanks have this issue - there's no way I'd let it happen. But my own tank, it slides... ugh.

Thanks!

Your acros definitely coloured up from the beginning! So nice and the contrast in colour really draws the eye. Great work!

Lol, I do not understand why my message only showed "great pics"...
Wanted to know about your skimmer routine as I read is off a night time. Do you have a set schedule or just goes off every single day?



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Great progress there Mindy, all corals seems very happy and vibrant. Thanks for sharing.

Just a question though, I noticed there is no fish on the current photo, did you remove all your fish?

Mindy how long have you been using Xtra? i been contemplating on which coral additive to give my corals colour. i tested my P04 today and it still reads 0, even after i added 4 anthis over the past 3weeks. i heard Acropower is good, how long did you use it for with no results?

Yeah, it took me a long time to figure this tank out. It was just too clean, and I couldn't get anything to work.

I was turning it off at night, but was thinking that's not a good idea (gas exchange), and someone else mentioned that too, so now I just remove the cup at night and put a tupperware container or it so it doesn't spray everywhere. In the morning I put the cup back on. I've been thinking to experiment with leaving the skimmer on 24/7 again, but it's bad timing with there being no fish in the display right now.

Yeah, they're in a QT. When I added the Perchlet I didn't quarantine him because my QT was was full of clients' fish. Unfortunately he introduced Ich. Fortunately it was a very mild strain and they all lived with it since July last year. I felt bad for the fish though, and decided to medicate them. I needed to remove the Tomini Tang and Yellow Coris anyway since they were getting too big for the tank.

I used AcroPower daily for 5 months. I started adding Xtra daily on Nov 4th, so it's been over 3 months now.

Just because a product is a good product doesn't mean your tank needs it. This is the same reason why some people claim "crazy results" from starting potassium dosing or some kind of amino acids dosing. If your tank needs it, there will be a noticeable affect. If not, there will be little affect.

I picked up pohls xtra special today because all my corals are pale, but I think I'm going to do half the dose three times weekly to get started.

I was turning it off at night, but was thinking that's not a good idea (gas exchange), and someone else mentioned that too, so now I just remove the cup at night and put a tupperware container or it so it doesn't spray everywhere. In the morning I put the cup back on. I've been thinking to experiment with leaving the skimmer on 24/7 again, but it's bad timing with there being no fish in the display right now


Ah ok, I was asking because I was thinking to turn my off every once in a while because the wife sometime complain when we watch a movie lol.

Sad to ear about your issue with ich, hope you are able to put the fishes back in the tank soon... good luck


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That sounds like a good place to start. Hopefully it helps you. You might get some diatom bloom at first from the aminos in it.

Fish back in the display in 68 days. I'll actually probably set up a temporary system for them while we wait for the display to be ready again. I need my QT for clients' fish. :)

Component 1+2+3+
 

Mindy, quick question regarding Aquaforest 1+2+3+... How do you dose them, I mean... do you dose them all at once or do you wait for a few moments before dosing the 2+ then the 3+? What's the best time to dose these?

Thanks.

I wouldn't recommend using any type of balling method without a doser. Balling meaning "plus trace elements". The reason is you'd do adding a bit shot of trace elements at every dose which isn't recommended by most. The exception would be if you're not dosing very much, then it wouldn't matter. The timing doesn't matter too much, though if I was not using a doser I would probably dose in the evenings after the lights are out so that the corals are more likely to take up the elements than say, algae. Dosers will add the 3 parts anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes apart. I would definitely wait longer than "a few moments".

Thanks for your reply. Yah I have a doser and been dosing 2 parts since day 1. What frustrates me is it hard to keep the ionic balance and needs to do a reset from time to time and not chase numbers... that's why I want to try the AF Balling.