GiddyORION

Hey Guys....

It's been a while. Still have the 65G RR in the garage, $200 takes it. 

I also have a great looking jbj 1/10 chiller I'd let go of for $300 OBO. 

Also also I have a ton of Aquadome water jugs still in the garage. $5 per. 

Thanks

Bump 

water jugs from Aquadome still available (and lots of them) $5 apiece

also have a 65 gallon Planet Aquariums tank and stand I can leak test for you, $150 takes both. no scratches on tank. 

Bump! use those black Friday savings here

12 hours ago, mhart032 said:

I'll take the dos if it's not spoken for

PM'd

Hey Guys

This has been a long time coming: The getting-out-of hobby sale I should have had a while ago. Everything listed is in working order, and I have seen to it that the prices are slashed at least by 1/2 the current retail. Thanks for looking (Would like this gone by the end of the week). While offers are welcome, sucker punches aren't ;-). 

1. 2 Kessil A350Ws w/ Goosenecks ($200 takes both) SOLD

2. Neptune Dos ($120) SOLD

3. APEX probes for PH, Salinity, ORP w/ Probe holder ($150 takes all) 

4. 2 Different Refractometers and a PH probe ($50 for each refractometer, $20 for PH meter) SOLD

5. TUNZE pump 1073.5 Silent ($100) 

6. Hannah Checker ALKALINITY ($20) SOLD

7. Reef Octopus Space-Saver Classic 150 ($90)

8. Random Buffers and Test Kits ($50 takes all of it. I have others that aren't even pictured here I can throw in for free)

9. 15 or so 5-gallon Austin Aqua-Dome bottles, $5 each. 

awesome work BPB! glad to see your tank successful after all the hard work.

You still doing CPs? Terraforums has been dead for a while, lot of the regulars have moved on. I abandoned the outdoor bog and am doing a highland tank build now, if your interested I'm tracking it on FlyTrapCare forums!

Sorry to hijack. Keep up the good work.

If I remember correctly, he had a crash and then got out. I remember buying coral frags from Mike back in the day. It was a great system. It was a prime example of the classic SPS tank, MH lights, 10k bulbs (yellowish), no sand, tons of flow, and I think he was running zeo but I can't remember. He had great growth and larger colonies. It was ultra low nutrient... So low that LPS wouldn't survive.

that's awesome. Ya its zeovit, and it's tanks like these that are inspiring me to take the plunge into the method.

It's a shot in the dark but I really hope this tank is still going. Imagine the growth...

Inquired

1 million? that's it? I'd have advised to sue them into non-existence.

Week one has passed. Tumble is still steady and all the pellets are moving. Should I let what I have in the reactor run for a month or so before adding more? what schedule should I follow for ramping up the amount in the reactor? currently there's just under 1/4 cup, which is the instructed starting dosage for 70 gallons as stated on the can.

Bio pellets are going. I actually removed the ball valve on the reactor because it was inhibiting the flow (420gph). I know this is probably unsafe, and I am looking into other reactors. For now this should do. I added some Bactiv8 as well and will daily for 10 days, per instruction. I also hope this tumble keeps up even when the bacteria gets going.

https://vid.me/TmTC

This truly is the strangest case of bad SPS luck that I've seen. The fact that you have great luck with literally every type of coral (including SPS) other than Acropora really makes me think that its something specifically targeting the genus, as others said here. Have you done that Triton test yet? I'm really curious to see what the result is. I really do think you'll find despite all the heartache that the resolve to this issue is just in reach, considering throughout this tank's timeline you have eliminated every other variable that could be affecting the corals.

Also do you run carbon on the tank?

If it's any consolation, your tank is still pretty awesome looking.

I believe the Gen 4s' that were for sale at C4 were the standard, not the Pros. Still curious how those work though.

It would be ideal for me to doctor the system. I have not purchased alternative lighting yet. bio-pellets go online this weekend.

The good news is that you're 80% there! Right now you're running a FOWLR system. Are you trying to convert into a full reef or are you sticking with this type of setup? The reason that I ask is because you're using equipment that I would expect for a full reef. IMO the skimmer is good for your tank size and the lights will provide enough intensity for any corals you want to keep, but the light period is too long. Xenia doesn't need that much light and it would benefit you to shorten the light time by 2-4 hours. An 8-9 hour light period would be fine. Lowering the light period would also lower the algae growth.

What does your skimmate look like? If it's really thick, then you can turn up your skimmer a little bit and remove more nutrients from the water. We refer to it as "wet" or "dry" and it's a good tool to control nutrients.

Do you have live rock in the sump? If not, then I think you need more rock than what you have in the tank. You have about 6 pounds of live rock in a 80ish gallon system and it probably isn't enough nitrogen capacity. The amount of food that you're feeding, plus the fish waste, is greater than the bacteria can process and the algae is picking up the rest. How much rock you need will depend on your future plans. Adding biopellets will increase the bacteria population and you won't need as much rock. If you want to add more corals or more fish, then I would double what you currently have.

Are you using filtered water? Using tap water could be the whole problem. It would be cheaper and easier to add a filter than run GFO and BP to remove nutrients. Don't worry about the CUC. I haven't bought a hermit in over 10 years and the tank I pictured above only has 3 snails in it. You can't get around cleaning the glass every week even if you filled that tank with snails. Having a CUC would matter more if you had a bubble algae or hair algae problem, but you don't have anything that bad. If you have a bunch of detritus in the sump, then it may be a good idea to siphon it out. I clean mine once a year.

So what's next? I think you should lower the light time no matter what system you're trying to keep. After that it will only take small tweaks to get where you want to be. If you want to add the reactor, then you can do that but I would start small - like two tablespoons kind of small. In about three months you should see a dramatic difference. Once you get down to base level zero then you can decide if you want to continue the FOWLR or go for a lagoon, mixed reef or SPS reef. Xenia is a classic coral and you have a lot of it. I think it looks pretty cool when it covers a big rock. If you want other corals then you can probably trade some of it in for credit or sell/trade with other members for other things you might want. Not a lot of people keep Xenia close to LPS or SPS because it can choke out your other corals. I would recommend keeping it on it's own rock separate from any other rock. After it fills up the rock you place it on, then it will start growing across the sand and you can trade the loose stalks in for credit. You'll have to keep an eye on it because it spreads easily and can detach from a rock and move across the tank. It's also a good idea to kill the aiptasia before they spread because they can sting your other corals.

Thank you for the very in-depth response! Indeed my goal for the last 4 years I've had this tank was to sustain a full blown mixed reef. I actually had more rock in the system a month or so ago, but I rid of it after a terrible cyano infestation that I have just recently cured with chemiclean. After stupidly removing these rocks and washing them with freshwater every few months in an attempt to 'clean' them off, and consequently with each algae population growing back more vigorous than the last, I figured they were doing more harm than good. I now realize that washing these rocks was essentially resetting them of their bacterial populations, and supplying existing algae with a nutrient source.

I make all my water changes with water purchased from Aquadome. I never invested in an R/O system. I do a 20% every other weekend. my skimmer is a workhorse- the skimmate typically is tea colored as I skim pretty wet. I have also just recently nuked my sump, which used to be a phosphate and nitrate factory. I did this after I was forced to relocate 8 snails, 9 hermits, and two fish to the sump after the trigger snapped one day and raised hell in the display. I had since never seen the fish again (My sump used to be so dirty I'd lose track of where livestock in it was), and the snails went one by one due to lack of food in the sump. I admit this is terrible husbandry and quite frankly inhumane, and I have since resolved to stay on top of tank maintenance. I refuse to buy anymore livestock until I can prove to myself that I am capable of sustaining them. The sump is now bare except for equipment. I think in that respect I have narrowed down that the nutrient abundance rests in the display. The algae problem I face today is more a monument to my sins than is a chance happening.

I will also definitely reduce photo-period, although I plan on ditching Kessil in the near future. I actually attempted another reef tank with all the bells and whistles, only to have all the coral brown over time due, in my opinion to the Kessil's quality of light. this is just my experience.

The pump and bactiv8 just shipped this morning, can't wait. After about a month or two of running them I think I will then consider how much live rock I need restored to the display. This time I'll actually let it mature lol.

Some pics of the tank...

Thanks for the replies guys! the skimmer I'm currently running is a Reef Octopus Classic 150INT. The pump on it (Aquatrance 2000) does not seem to have any obvious means of attaching an effluent (I'm assuming PVC?) from the reactor, is there a way to do this?

by retrofitting a TLF reactor I mean I just bought a finely perforated disk to sit at the bottom of the reactor as opposed to the sponge they come with, so as to allow the pellets to get uninhibited flow while also not getting sucked out of the reactor. The other TLF reactor I have online is running about a cup of phosban GFO. I switched from the BRS normal capacity because I felt I wasn't making enough of a dent with it. I've been cranking the dosage up every two weeks and it's now week 6. the tank is 65 gallons, 4 years old, and is stocked pretty light. 1 Trigger, 1 Neon Dottyback, 2 Clowns, and 1 toby puffer. No CUC, they ate them all! Photoperiod is 9am-8pm, lighting is two Kessil A360s. the only coral I have in the tank is some pulsing Xenia, which I could probably throw in freshwater and It would still survive. It proliferates almost as bad as the algae.

Also notable is I ran carbon for a week but it has since been disabled in favor of the pellets. I figured GFO would solve Phosphate and Biopellets would tackle Nitrate.

hey guys. I'm just about to hook up a retrofitted phosban reactor with Aqua-vitro Biogen pellets. I've got a 420 gph pump which I think should be adequate for flow, and I have also purchased TLF brand bactiv8 to seed the reactor. I plan on hooking it up and then turning off GFO and skimmer for a few days to let it 'break in.'

I am doing this because I'm at my wits end with the algae problem I've had for the last year, and I have reason to believe this might help reduce nutrient in my tank.

Let me know of your experience with this! also will be updating every week or so to record progress.

Hi Guys, title says all! 75-90 gallon RR. Hopefully under 5 years of age. Thanks.

Still have these? I have a friend that is looking for a pair

Still available, PMs open

Bump, make me a reasonable offer

Hey guys. Selling 2 A350W units about 2 years old each. Well maintained and clean, works perfectly. Need these gone, asking $300 OBO

per light including all accessories (Goosenecks, Controller chords).

Thanks!

I'll take it. PM sent!

I'm glad to hear you are getting back into acros! good luck, keep us posted

In other news that container bog full of CPs I set up last year is absolutely exploding.