Neon Reefer

You can't erradiacte them with a rock swap , you would need to get their eggs/larvae too which will be suspended in the water column and in the sandbed. Only periodic massive extermination via elbow grease seems to keep the population down. They will just keep coming back

There is https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00TVD99BI/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1467231709&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=chopped+glass+fiber&dpPl=1&dpID=51d1T532OnL&ref=plSrch or fibreglast.com

Yes Thanks I did find it here right after your last post. It should arrive this week.

Already have assembled the

Type 1 cement

Dry reef sand

Crushed Coral

Crystal salt

6" Pipe

1" Pipe

and will start the process in about one week to make 3 each 2' columns and 3 each 1' columns

and will keep you all posted along the construction phase as well as the fresh water wet curing phase and finally the salt water curing into live rock. So far costs is about $100 and have enough material to make ~100# rock. With investment of another $40 to make another 100# if needed

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000COCDCM/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1467225518&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=fiberglass+strands&dpPl=1&dpID=41PKERBTC9L&ref=plSrch

That would be the nylon strands, which was all I could find myself

And where does one acquire fiberglass strands?

Maybe it was a misquote but I would definitely not use nylon fibers. My experience has been nylon degrades in saltwater and will become very brittle. Fiberglass fibers should greatly extend the life of rock made this way but I have not tried it myself and do not have any solid experience if it will last 5, 10 or 20 years although I would expect it to last a long time.

I don't recommend using a cyano remover. They don't fix the underlying problem and will probably open the door for dinos or gha.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

REd Slime remover Chemiclean will work and remove all stains from the Cyano making it appear to be gone. And out of all the phosphate consumers, Cyano is probably your best alternative. When you artificially remove it you open the door for Hair algae and other algae pests. I have been battling with my own Cyano issues on the sand and am making progress with cutting back on nutrients into the tank and increasing the exporting of nutrients. I think I may have gotten them started when I started dosing carbon to lower nitrates for my SPS

yes you are. In my 180 gal system you are removing 1.25 gals of fresh water from the 15 gal water change leaving a net of 13.75 gallons changed this reduces the % changed from 8.3% to 7.6% w2hich gives me 30% per month instead of 33% I don't mind paying 3% for convenience sake

having a large enough sump to do a 15 gallon water change by just adding the water to the sump and just letting it run for a couple of hours and then turning a valve on the manifold to remove 15 gallons to the brute container with out ever turning off any pumps or messing with anything except pulling the collector cup off the skimmer.

In I am Legend, the zombies had a family structure to them

Ty in this movie they were mutants not zombies

Just saying

I imagine just "budding off" reproduction is vastly smaller than the egg sperm swarm method that spreads the coral to the ocean currents

Looks like I will be adding the nylon fibers to the mix for added strength. I will keep ya'll posted when I begin the process.

Thanks

Andre

Drilled 2X return lines and 1X drain line in the back of my 150 and it was easy. I have a drill kit which includes the wooden template to measure from the top of the tank to get the correct position of the hole as well as acting as a notched out guide to spray water. Always drill from the side where the gasket will go whether in or outside of the tank. This will depend on your bulkhead set up.

Wanting to go a different route with the rock in my tank. I have always used lots of live rock and the old method of stacking rock in the tank. Now I am wanting to go a different route and to use rock in the sump and go a minimal look in the display.

However I want to utilize columns for the look I want in the display and am looking into making my own. I have looked at a method and recipe for making the columns and was wanting feedback on the recipe ingredients on the overall long term health of the tank.

The recipe is:

1 part Portland white cement

1 part reef sand

1 part crushed coral

1 part rock salt

Directions:

1 mix the cement and aggregate with RO water to achieve an oatmeal consistency. Add the rock salt at end of mix just prior to going into the mold.

2 Allow the mix to dry overnight them remove from mold and let set for 3 days

3 Place green (uncured) rock into RO water with pump and change water every 2 days until pH reaches 7.5 and salinity count = 0.0 Note this may take a couple of weeks.

4 Now treat dry rock like any other and seed to grow live rock in saltwater bath as normal.

Note: As the rock salt dissolves in the fresh water bath it leaves holes in the rock for bacterial growth.

Question: Will the Portland cement cause any disruption in my pH or other water qualities over time.

I think it's sad how the Miami Hurricane doesn't command the price it once did, as the Hollywood Stunner. I have both of these colonies and find them as nice as the My Miami and Golden Eye Chalices I have which command a far higher price. Soon too these will fade in price as they make their way into the many tanks. I have a Superman Chalice which still commands a worthy price, but I think the Miami Hurricane is far more colorful. The only reason the MH coral has dropped in price is because it has been fragged so mnay times that everyone has it

I habe a 55 tank with one bad pane as well I do not want Has a good pane on thefrontbottomand sides if you want it you can have it. Ill PMyou myphone number

I find that hard to believe that many large, SPS dominant tanks are switching back to 2-part as the ones that I keep up with and look up to nationwide mainly run CaRXs.

Ty I think you qualified your statement to a fairly narrow range of tanks "large, SPS dominant tanks".

Many who run this specific type tank are more prone IMHO to want higher tech components than those who do not. But the majority of tanks do not fall into this category. And although for those who feel that low pH CO2 injection with electronic regulators and Milwaukee pH probes, solenoid, regulators, and effluent lines are simple plug and play and a snap to dial in...well... more power to you.

I follow several other forums IE Michigan Reefers, Reef2Reef, The Reef Tank, Reef Sanctuary, and RC as well as ARC when I want information on a new or unfamiliar subject. The consensus I get from looking into CA RX usage from this array of forums is there are two distinct camps. Those who are successful with the CA RX set up are hard core pro and those who have been unsuccessful are against and it seems to be a 50 / 50 split. However for the most part newer reefers are going to 2 part programmable dosing pumps and those beyond the need for these simple units are starting kalk dosing, more thru the use of a kalk reactor than thru ATO. I guess I am old school on the ATO kalk reactor with vinegar. SO its not so much that many are leaving CaRXs for 2-part rather not as many new start up CA RX. It seems there use has peaked.

As far as dosing kalk ATO versus RX most new set ups will use the RX. I like the KISS method of the ATO, which works quite well if done correctly. My ATO system has a pH override managed by my reef monitor which prohibits the ATO from over dosing Kalk. as well as a float system with a high level switch. Redundancy is the key from preventing an Alk crash. And true you do have to manage evaporation and keep it as a constant. Not too hard to do with a closed tank where my evap all comes from the sump where I can control air flow via a fan. I'd sum it up ith this R2R statement from a couple of years ago which IMO still holds true.

These statements should be completed by "Your mileage may vary."

I'm not denying the experience either of you are claiming, but (unfortunately) that's far from the typical CO2 reactor-user's experience. Try Googling: "calcium reactor" crash

From my own and aggregated experiences from others I'd have a tough time recommending a calcium reactor to anyone, unless kalk and DIY two-part ingredients were just not available for some reason. That is to say low cost is the main reason to run a reactor (IMO) and when I just purchased a 5-gallon bucket of Calcium Chloride for $20 and Arm & Hammer for less than $1/lb, that main reason just gets a lot smaller. Dosing pumps aren't without their setup complexities, but they're much easier to set up and to use than a CO2 reactor-based system.

Another thing is that from Rev's post, it appears un-clear what a kalk reactor is, but somehow we all know what kind of calcium reactor we're thinking about - a CO2 reactor.

A kalk reactor can be set up just like a Calcium reactor and controlled by pH - even with CO2 injection. The same kalk reactor could instead be controlled and fed by an automatic top-off switch. (Not sure there's anyone left doing this. Calcium reactor media is so much easier to manage.)

To me, the key difference between calcium and kalk is that kalk does not require the use of an expensive CO2 reactor to be deployed. Something as dead-simple as Tunze's 5074 dispenser is really all you need. If you dose vinegar with your kalk, you can even simulate the effect that CO2 has in a CO2 reactor and get a higher dose of kalk.

-Matt

It really is not just a broad-based conclusion based on little data or a couple people's opinions.

Talking with Jake at RCA, he concurs with my opinion that many people are going back to 2 part dosing and leaving the Ca RX even in high demand tanks for the more simple process. Finding a base line with Kalk dosing in the ATO is a fairly simple process as long as your top off is fairly constant, and sufficient to introduce enough Kalk to the system. Dosing some amount of vinegar thru the kalk is another way to achieve two things. One is to get higher amounts of Ca and Alk out of the kalk which is important in high demand systems. Then it is a matter of balancing the foundation elements with a simple two part dosing system which can be used to supplement the kalk as well if demand is very high. The second benefit is the introduction of small amounts of carbon into the system. The amount of carbon is far less than vodka dosing, ~ 12 % carbon per ml with 5% vinegar as compared to vodka at 40% alcohol.

The time and costs to set up this system is minimal as well as the time to manage it on a daily or usually weekly basis. We usually monitor our pH pretty closely anyway and this is the biggest concern with kalk /. vinegar dosing. Dosing to the sump where the tank water drains with a sufficient amount of rock in this area will encourage the bacteria to grow here instead of the tank. Skimming in this area or downstream depending on the tank set up usually is sufficient to control the bacteria blooms.

Vodka dosing has never been shown to defeat dinos. But the opposite is mostly true. Dinos are known to appear with the concentration of carbon in the aquarium.

random flow mode set up high @ 50% means your moving ~2000 gph or 40X the volume of your tank which is more than plenty for SPS Too much for many LPS and waaaay too much for softies. Add in your return pump probably ~ 300 gph at the nozzle maybe less and you sure don't need the 10's If you find you have a dead spot then run them all but at ~ 30% max.

Picture of me feeding my Napoleon Wrasse. He loves divers that have been soaked in Garlic

pyramid snails maybe

Matt takes some awesome pics that's for sure!

Only thing I'm lusting for is a DEEP Orange Hammer (Branching if possible). Nobody ever gets them... have like 100 feelers out...

Not talking about the normal "orange" hammers which are peach to gold.

Like this one Extreme Corals had for sale. You missed this one but they do still have an orange / blue one for $225

I guess I'm an LPS guy cause my favorites are my brain corals. Welsos open and closed - Traci's - Maze - Cat's Eye - Scoly's - Acans - But then I love my Chalices too Miami Hurricane - My Miami - Golden Eye - Superman - Hollywood Stunner and like Sasha I love my Stylos. I have a purple I got from Ty and a rainbow pink Thick Stylo I got from someone in Houston's Reef of the Month tank from another club. I really love them all except the **** Texas Trash Paly's I cant get rid of.

My Miami

Golden Eye

Rainbow Thick Stylo in bottom right pic when I bought it. It is much larger now

Dan

Just leave it alone. They are akin to Lord Acans and I suspect baby Blastos are on the way. Look around the edges for a new head or two.

Andre

I loved my red headed salon fairy wrasse before I murdered him getting him out of the overflow.

My favorite fish in the tank now is not a wrasse but a flame hawk fish. Very very pretty and a hoot to watch. But I think he ate all 15 Aptasia eating shrimp I put in there so no ornamental shrimp with this guy.

I have a semi large Melanurus wrasse and he is an active swimmer and sometimes makes a bit of a mess digging into the sand, but otherwise he gets along fine with my other fish however I do not have any Blennies, Fairy Wrasse or Firefish, to be bullied.