Dominican Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share Posted September 9, 2018 I was going to say mine turned pale just like that when nutrients dropped too. My Phos dropped from an avg of about .14 to around .08 when I started running chaeto in the fuge. I cut back on the photo period a little and started feeding just a little more.Thanks Jimbo. I'll shoot for PO4 between .14 and .18 then. Maybe I'll do another round of pics once the nutrients increase to show impact on colors. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominican Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share Posted September 9, 2018 Once you get those nitrates in the 5-10 ppm level and phosphates below 0.08 ppm, you'll see some amazing color.Growth seems right on par.Ty, you run PO4 below. 08, or. 18?And thanks. It's hard to tell how I'm doing sometimes; nice to get some eyes on the progress. I appreciate the great frags I got from you as well!Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 Whoops...I don't think the coffee had kicked in yet when I posted. I meant to say my phos had gotten up to .14 but came back down to an avg of about .08 after I added the chaeto and that's when it colored back up. Right now I'm averaging about .10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 Ty, you run PO4 below. 08, or. 18?And thanks. It's hard to tell how I'm doing sometimes; nice to get some eyes on the progress. I appreciate the great frags I got from you as well!Sent from my SM-N960U using TapatalkI personally run at 0.03 ppm of phosphates, but I also feed 5x a day and very generously. So my system gets daily additions of phosphates but I aim to pull it out just as quickly.I would probably recommend most keep at 0.08 ppm and go from there. If your corals still don't look healthy and with good color even with 5-10ppm of nitrates in the water, maybe let your phosphates go higher. Me personally, have always had RTN issues above 0.18 ppm phosphates but that just may be my tanks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominican Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share Posted September 9, 2018 Thanks Jimbo and Ty. This is exactly the guidance I need. PO4 target of .08 then, got it. I don't feed very heavily, have a monster skimmer, dose nopox and tend to let the macro algae grow unchecked. Will possibly add a morning round of reef energy A & B to start with. Thinking one variable at a time though, just in case [emoji15]Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo662 Posted September 9, 2018 Share Posted September 9, 2018 6 minutes ago, Dominican said: Thanks Jimbo and Ty. This is exactly the guidance I need. PO4 target of .08 then, got it. I don't feed very heavily, have a monster skimmer, dose nopox and tend to let the macro algae grow unchecked. Will possibly add a morning round of reef energy A & B to start with. Thinking one variable at a time though, just in case Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk Yes, best to make minor changes and wait to see results over a period of time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 Looking really good bro! Your tank is going to look better than mine! Tortuosa are notorious for growing slowly, so don't worry if the others outpace it. What type of macro are you keeping in the refugium? If you start to see browning or the algae becoming more translucent, then you need to harvest more frequently. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominican Posted September 10, 2018 Author Share Posted September 10, 2018 Gracias Sascha. The Tort is at least hulking out, and has retained its color, so I just need to be patient. The Bonsai is the slowest grower. It's been steadily encrusting, so that's good - I've read and Ty explained that they like to establish a strong base before beginning to branch out. I hope to get it to color back up, along with the green goblin and the purple poisonberry. Both of those have seen good growth, though, which seems inconsistent with losing color.. Hey I think I forgot to tell you yesterday that the rainbow BTA I got from you split a few weeks ago. The small one roamed uncomfortably close to some SPS, but has since moved back near the mother. You got rid of all 3 of yours right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted September 10, 2018 Share Posted September 10, 2018 25 minutes ago, Dominican said: Gracias Sascha. The Tort is at least hulking out, and has retained its color, so I just need to be patient. The Bonsai is the slowest grower. It's been steadily encrusting, so that's good - I've read and Ty explained that they like to establish a strong base before beginning to branch out. I hope to get it to color back up, along with the green goblin and the purple poisonberry. Both of those have seen good growth, though, which seems inconsistent with losing color.. Hey I think I forgot to tell you yesterday that the rainbow BTA I got from you split a few weeks ago. The small one roamed uncomfortably close to some SPS, but has since moved back near the mother. You got rid of all 3 of yours right? Some corals are different like that. I once had a Purple Digitata that encrusted a 3x5" rock before branching at all. I was able to save a nub from a coral that I lost last year and I don't even remember what it's called anymore. It's behaving very much like a bonsai or bottlebrush by encrusting a large area instead of growing up. We'll see how it goes! Glad to hear the anemone is doing well for you! I was going to keep one, but ended up selling them all. They stayed on that one rock for two years, but I decided I'd like to have that space for corals instead. I moved that giant birdsnest from the sand into that spot on the rocks. I'd like to start another coral colony to the back corner, but I need to replace my lights first and get some more PAR up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominican Posted September 11, 2018 Author Share Posted September 11, 2018 Some corals are different like that. I once had a Purple Digitata that encrusted a 3x5" rock before branching at all. I was able to save a nub from a coral that I lost last year and I don't even remember what it's called anymore. It's behaving very much like a bonsai or bottlebrush by encrusting a large area instead of growing up. We'll see how it goes! Glad to hear the anemone is doing well for you! I was going to keep one, but ended up selling them all. They stayed on that one rock for two years, but I decided I'd like to have that space for corals instead. I moved that giant birdsnest from the sand into that spot on the rocks. I'd like to start another coral colony to the back corner, but I need to replace my lights first and get some more PAR up there. 3x5"?? Lol hopefully we won't have any of that! Good luck with the mystery coral. Your corals grow like weeds so it shouldn't take long to find out.. If you want one of those nems back in the future just let me know. And please keep us posted on what you decide to do about your lights. I'm interested to hear which way you end up going.. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Oh man, it's going to be awhile. I still have to break up with my old lights, obsess over some new lights and go through all of the stages of grief associated with spending money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominican Posted September 11, 2018 Author Share Posted September 11, 2018 4 hours ago, Sascha D. said: Oh man, it's going to be awhile. I still have to break up with my old lights, obsess over some new lights and go through all of the stages of grief associated with spending money. 😄😄😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominican Posted September 12, 2018 Author Share Posted September 12, 2018 On 9/10/2018 at 11:24 AM, Sascha D. said: Looking really good bro! Your tank is going to look better than mine! Tortuosa are notorious for growing slowly, so don't worry if the others outpace it. What type of macro are you keeping in the refugium? If you start to see browning or the algae becoming more translucent, then you need to harvest more frequently. Sascha I missed your question about macro sorry. I only have chaeto in the sump, but there's a lot of it. I've started pulling some out. Started out with multiple macros from Aquadome, but the others died off and chaeto took over. The top is always neon green where it's exposed to the LED I've got down there, and who knows what's going on underneath there as I have a crappy prehistoric sump sitting in one of those grey rubbermaid tubs. Can't see sh*t. Relic of when I first set the tank up and had no idea which way was up. But it's one of those things that will be such a PITA to fix, that it's always a "next year" project lol. Not even sure how I got that rubbermaid in there; it'll be nearly impossible to get back out smh. I digress.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted September 13, 2018 Share Posted September 13, 2018 Chaetomorpha often chokes out every other macro, both starving it of light and nutrients. It doesn't normally go sexual, but it does sacrifice itself when nutrients gets low. Rotating it every 10-14 days helps keep the top and bottom from dying. Below is a picture of my previous refugium. I would let it get about that full and then harvest half. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominican Posted September 13, 2018 Author Share Posted September 13, 2018 Thanks man. I've started a schedule to rotate biweekly and minding the amount for regular removal. We'll see how much I actually need to maintain the right levels of nutrients. I'd be surprised if I find that I don't need it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good Greef Posted September 28, 2018 Share Posted September 28, 2018 On 9/8/2018 at 6:34 PM, Dominican said: Green Goblin - strong growth, but lost quite a bit of color on this guy Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk Similar issue with mine. Too nutrient lean was my issue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominican Posted September 29, 2018 Author Share Posted September 29, 2018 Similar issue with mine. Too nutrient lean was my issue Increased feeding and thinned out the cheato, and colors are starting to come back. I'll post some more pics soon.Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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