Brad's 100 'n Change Cube-like Journal

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

So, new month, but not posting a pic. Looks just like last month but without fish.

Started VSV dosing last weekend, overall impressed. However, while the NO3 was cut in half, PO4 went up. Skimmer took out tons of gunk, especially compared to what it did WITH fish. This last week gave twice as much skimmate.

This tells me the following.. excess bacteria were created via dosing. They used half the nitrate available, and a corresponding amount if PO4. Not sure what the ratio is, but P should have dropped over the week. It went up 20%.

So it appears that the rock is leaching faster than dosing can remove it. Not surprising.
I'm ordering a couple boxes of real rock and will rebuild once I get it and cure it. Maybe I can finally get some growth out of the corals.

It'll be fun! (riiight)

While its nice to sit back and watch/enjoy the fruits of your labors, we both know this hobby can get kind of boring if theres nothing to tinker with once in awhile. Ok ok, you've had it a bit rough this last go but you know what I mean

[Aquattro]

I'm sure I can find fun things to tinker with other than the current issues

[Aquattro]

Quick update progress. Carbon dosing is dropping NO3, but not PO4. Using fozdown is helping bring it down, but not a long term solution. Bit the bullet and ordered a couple boxes of Fiji rock, should be here end of the week.
Got my Ca reactor online finally, so no more messing with levels once I get it tweaked to a light load.
On the fish front, I'm going to try and trap the leopard wrasse and leave tank fishless. Not sure how that affects carbon dosing.
Damn, how do we tag someone here lol Denny, any advice on carbon dosing with adding all new rock and no fish?
Assume start from scratch?
Anyway, stay tuned for a new look and some SPS growth, I hope!

[reefwars]

What are you using as a carbon source and how much are you dosing Currently?

If you want to play it safe You can start from scratch if you like or cut your dose in half and check the numbers after a week of rock being in ,your no3 numbers will give you an idea if you need to raise or lower the dosage , the small amount of load the fish provide can be replicated using foods or supplements such as amino acids if need be.

Worse case scenario you'll end up with a bacterial bloom if you dose too much and with no fish shouldn't be any harm with o2 levels , after the bloom simply cut your dose back.

If it were me I would continue on with your carbn dosing as your doing and once you hit zero for nitrates cut your dose back to find your maintenance dose With no fish , when fish get added start to rise again slowly week by week then cut down again to find the maintenance dose again with fish.

Keep an eye out for a whitish film on the glass as a hint if it's getting used to far

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by reefwars

What are you using as a carbon source and how much are you dosing Currently?

Currently at 1.8ml VSV mixture. Should hit peak soon, NO3 is almost nil, then cut back to maintenance.

[Aquattro]

Well, my new rock showed up today, and mostly disappointed. I have 2 full boxes of baseball sized rocks. I think there are 3 rocks between the boxes that I can use
All very nice rock if I had a 20g tank, but I can't build any kind of structure with it. I'm calling it rubble. Anyone thinking of getting fresh rock, don't order Walt Smith Premium, unless you need a box of baseballs. Very unhappy right now and not sure where to go from here.

[FishyFishy!]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Well, my new rock showed up today, and mostly disappointed. I have 2 full boxes of baseball sized rocks. I think there are 3 rocks between the boxes that I can use
All very nice rock if I had a 20g tank, but I can't build any kind of structure with it. I'm calling it rubble. Anyone thinking of getting fresh rock, don't order Walt Smith Premium, unless you need a box of baseballs. Very unhappy right now and not sure where to go from here.

Just your luck with this build eh? Sorry to hear that. Keep your head up.

[Rice Reef]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Well, my new rock showed up today, and mostly disappointed. I have 2 full boxes of baseball sized rocks. I think there are 3 rocks between the boxes that I can use
All very nice rock if I had a 20g tank, but I can't build any kind of structure with it. I'm calling it rubble. Anyone thinking of getting fresh rock, don't order Walt Smith Premium, unless you need a box of baseballs. Very unhappy right now and not sure where to go from here.

What? Sorry to hear that.... I would they send you a full box of rubbles?