Dawn On The Reef

[BigC]

Slow and steady wins the race here Big C!! Give it time and it will all come right

Your not kidding, You have to posess a high level of patience on this side of the fence.

Well here's another pic to show you where I'm at presently.

I have installed some Macro Algae (left) as sent to me by littleme. I also had some other Macro type but it went white in transit so I decided against using it. When that left side grows a bit more I plan to crop it somewhat and transfer some to the right hand corner, this should frame the picture nicely.
pH is still a tad low and I am performing 10% waterchanges daily to try and get it on an even keel. Other than that, the CUC seem to be doing their bit (slowly) I have lost a few blue legged hermits, I put this down to them being extra small when recieved from seller. but alas I still have quite a few that have swopped their shells for a larger homes and these are doing fine. They use the rockwall as a sort of gymnasium. Up and down and the occasional leap of fate to the gravel bed.
Soon be time for corals me thinks, or I may adopt Steelhealr's advice and go with the fish first approach....either way I'll give it a week or so just to be on the safe side and hopefully nothing else crops up.
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Wow, looks awesome BigC! Way to weather the storm and let the tank take care of itself, looks SOOO much better. You definitely had one of the worst cases of dieoff and algae bloom I've ever seen but it looks great now

 

[1entra]

Yea I agree with ski. the tank is looking good BigC. your got dome nice corraline algae on your LR.

I cant wait to see this tank when it matures. I bet it will look stunning when coral and fish are in there.

Keep up the good work mate

 

[fiskkeeperpro]

great looking, whats your stocking plan? Are you going to QT your new fish? I would, i just added a bangii cardinal and it was carrying disease an ive had a tank crash and lost all of my fish I would hate to see that happen to you

 

[BigC]

whats your stocking plan?

On the fish side, plain and simple..a pair of clowns.
On the coral front, predominatly softies. But trying to accomodate a torch coral at some stage, would really like a BTA, but I'm new to all this so I reckon that would be pushing the boat out a little too far.
Whilst all the cycling and algae blooms have been running their course I have been busy making diagrams and drawings of coral placements and researching on these placements with regards to what will sit near what, I tell you it is a head wrecking job trying to cater for all their needs. I need another new book, so Ive decided to buy Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry and Natural History by Eric Borneman as suggested by Steelhealr.
Sorry to hear of your loss but as for QTing fish, I have no facalities for doing so. Hence I may install the fish first and let the tank cope with the increased bio-load then add the corals. Thus avoiding such a catastrophe.
Regards
BigC

 

[steelhealr]

There really are just a few basic things to keep in mind to keep your corals healthy and living for a long time:

• don't rush; allow your tank to mature as much as possible; avoid 'plop'
• know your corals lighting needs
• know your corals preferences in the wild with regard to water flow, substrate preference, etc (eg, sun corals like high flow, low light which mimics where they are typically found: the underhang of caves where rapid currents carry food to them and the wall shields them from bright light
• understand their defense mechanisms and how they fight a 'coral war'
• understand how easy or difficult they are to keep, and, if they die, how will it affect your system
• know your limitations; if you read that dendronephthya or non-photosynthetic gorgonians are difficult to keep in the BEST of hands, understand that trying to keep it in a nano system, well...uh.....

SH

 

[BigC]

Read you loud and clear SH
pH is still a tad low even with the daily waterchanges, 12ltr changes in bucket, measure SG 1.026...Temp 80'f...pH 8.4
Day after in tank SG and Temp constant pH dropped to 7.8. Need to raise this I think.... any suggestions...should I use a buffer.... and if so what with, how much and how often.
Many Thanks
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Are you testing for alkalinity? That'll let you know of you need to add buffer. Remember, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, dissolved O2, dissolved CO2, and rates of photosynthesis all have a major say in the tank's pH. Wish it were as simple as adding buffer

 

[Crazy fishes]

I just had this problem Big C, did you read the thread? Ski is right the solution usually lies in the alkalinity have you measured it? I know that both SH and Ski are big fans of kalkwasser and I believe they suggested to use this. In the long term you can do serial measures to determine how much is used in a day and then 'drip fed' the tank with a constant rate to match what is used. Alternatively you can add so much with weekly water changes and every three days-ish. That is the direction from the bottle of buffer I use but this is different to Kalkwasser. I hope you sort the problem soon nothing more annoying than an anomaly in the tank and not knowing how to solve it. My problem is the nitrate thing and I really am stuck. Anyway........

Regards.

 

[BigC]

Are you testing for alkalinity?

Yeah Ski, I am, and its comming out within the normal range on the test kit chart. Anything else you would suggest doing. I know its not really that much but when it comes to adding the corals then it might be a problem.
Regards
BigC

 

[steelhealr]

...and this is why I tell people NOT to put in corals right away. Your system is unstable and this is NORMAL in an immature system.

I can tell you from experience that you can pour in all the 'buffer' that you want and you will still have a problem until the tank matures. Etiology:

-dissolved DSO's unmeasurable by test kits
-as Ski says, photosynthesis.....your pH, if you measure it, is probably lowest in the morning and highest in the afternoon. CO2 take up during the day raises pH. Respiration at night lowers it.
-adding bicarb is a temp fix and usually creates more problems when not used with a calcium buffer
-the best thing in the world is a refugium illuminated opposite the tank lights; a chamber full of chaeto photosythenthesizing during the night will draw out a lot of CO2

I'd recommend that you wait until your pH stabilizes a bit before adding corals. Try a 2 part calcium/bicarb buffer. You can use the calcium prortion only and see how you do.

SH

 

[BigC]

Cheers SH.
Dont really want to buffer if at all possible. Had a look at your cheato setup on another thread, may adopt something similar. Thinking of an inline DIY chamber of some sort.
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Yup, SH offers some good advice as usual. I'd also like to re-iterate the "elephant in the room" can often be Magnesium. Remember, all 4 elements, calcium, carbonate, magnesium, and bicarbonate are all in equillibrium reactions in a seawater solution. Imbalances of any of the 4 will yield a resulting poor pH, usually low. We measure calcium and alkalinity all the time, but few measure mag too...

Anecdotally I notice that when my KH is where I like it (10-11), my calcium is right (~410ppm), and my pH is low (8.0), I can almost GUARANTEE you that my Magnesium is 1200ppm or less before even doing the test. Add a zap of mag additive and the next day my pH is 8.2. Happens all the time. Keep in mind though, I've got a big mature tank with a ton of surface agitatoin and an opposite cycle refugium, already doing everything SH suggested

So test, test, test, and get used to your system. It'll become second nature eventually.

 

[BigC]

Cheers Guys!
Regards
BigC

 

[BigC]

Anyone using Ultiphos Fe in the UK.
Miles cheaper than Rowaphos, So I was just wondering if I could use this instead of the branded media leader.
Read a few articles on the subject and they, on the whole, seem favourable.
It would fit my pocket a lot easier and I could replace it more regularly.
Any reefers using this on here and are the results good.
<a href="http/www.ultimateaquatics.co.uk/acatalog...lter_Media.html" target="_blank">http/www.ultimateaquatics.co.uk/acatalog...lter_Media.html</a>
Postage and packaging is included in the price.
Regards
BigC