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Brooks

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Posts posted by Brooks

    FarmerTy's 215 build

    in Tank Builds

    Posted

    Looking good, Ty!

    Hey Brooks! How's NYC treating you?

    NYC would be great... if we ended up moving there... noexpression.gif We had our boxes packed up, apartment secured, and last minute the job fell through. Bummer, but it all worked out in the end. We're now living in the Domain, and will be staying in Austin for a while.

    • Like 2

    BPB'S 90 GALLON SPS DOMINANT

    in Tank Builds

    Posted

    Glad to see another person is switching back to T5s. I just got my sunpower fixture and I adore it.

    The bulb combinations and color combinations are endless since you have the ability to dim the two channels, and the bulbs are super easy to change in and out as you see fit!!

    Following along your journey!

    FarmerTy's 215 build

    in Tank Builds

    Posted

    I think par values would determine that Brooks. I think enough people have the ATI fixtures that you could probably look up rough numbers for par. I aim for 500 at the top of the highest coral, 300 mid-tank, and 150-200 sand for a SPS-heavy tank.

    Thanks for the tip, Ty!

    • Like 1

    Juiceman's Oceanic 200g Reef

    in Tank Builds

    Posted

    How are the new corals doing?

    Have they colored up at all?!

    Increased polyp extension. I wouldn't say a change in color just jet. I had to snip up one of them because it didn't like being that close to an mp40 and started losing flesh. The rest of it still looks good though

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    I'm in the same boat. No color yet but PE is good. Although they've been super pissed without light for a few days.

    I have a 30" 14K BML you could borrow for a bit if needed...

    You're so awesome. Thanks for the offer. I ghetto-rigged mine today. I put dowels across the the tank and set the fixture on it. Sufficient enough for the next day or two until I can get this thing hung!

    Juiceman's Oceanic 200g Reef

    in Tank Builds

    Posted

    How are the new corals doing?

    Have they colored up at all?!

    Increased polyp extension. I wouldn't say a change in color just jet. I had to snip up one of them because it didn't like being that close to an mp40 and started losing flesh. The rest of it still looks good though

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    I'm in the same boat. No color yet but PE is good. Although they've been super pissed without light for a few days.

    FarmerTy's 215 build

    in Tank Builds

    Posted

    Thought it would be a good idea to copy my FTS pictures to my own thread.

    12/12/2015

    df7d80541ee0df59c5fbca0998d960e5.jpg

    12/16/2015

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    1/12/2016

    fede35903dd6847be6b6e3c3484db09c.jpg

    1/18/2016

    0723668d4a4829d8db18b0299afb39f6.jpg

    2/2/16

    b7aa2acb2010a6fd85802c22aae9bea4.jpg

    2/4/16

    52ab18595665ccef29789e2c2b1a4355.jpg

    2/6/16

    d25d3394f49fd151f09807f6ac403845.jpg

    I have "Chopsticks," - the old beginner's piano song going through my head. punk.gif

    • Like 1

    Nitrate DOSING?

    in Small Polyp Stony (SPS)

    Posted · Edited by Brooks

    Victoly,

    Thanks for chiming in! Glad to see you're still here!!

    I've always understood that the amount of N (Nitrogen) is irrelevant in it's basic form. It's importance beings during the nitrogen cycle (nitrogen to nitrite, nitrite to nitrate, then back to N2 which bubbles out of the water column)... and throw ammonia in there somewhere. We can test for it in every (relevant) form aside from its basic elemental state as Nitrogen. Is that correct? I'm hoping so, because relearning this chemistry will make my head HURT!

    You've hit the nail on the head in regards to maintaining the perfect balance of NO3 to PO4. Everyone has a different method of doing so. As a general rule of thumb, you PO4 needs to be less than you NO3.

    NO3 & PO4 are ALWAYS present in the water column, but if your deficit is so great that you become completely absent of either, your corals will begin to die. With a heavier bio load and increased feeding, dosing nitrates is unnecessary. One can assume that those without algae and bacteria issues, heavy bio loads, and good coral growth have their ways of exporting excess nutrients and balancing things out.

    I understand that this method might be foreign and sound strange. Its worth reading into, though. Lets not forget that our hobby is only improved with trials and error; we've all got to be open to new ways of thinking. All in all, the methodology behind this method is proven science in regards to the relationship of nutrients, zoox, and the like. If all else fails, the discussion of this subject will hopefully lead to a much better understanding of water chemistry as it relates to our corals.

    Found this on RC while reading... Food for thought.

    Most are familiar with balances in calcium alkalinity and magnesium but when dealing with nutrients, particulary NO3 and PO4 the common modus operandi seems to be go for 0. The less the better is mostly true but to a point..

    Surface reef waters hold very low levels of NO3, around 0.2ppm and PO4 0.005 ppm Green microalges are known to be limited by levels under .03ppm. Deeper more turbid waters where many lps and leathers live hold considerably more. Even in low level areas the available nutrients are constantly available as upwelling through the reef structure keeps them coming
    So how do we deal with balance and nutrient levels in a reef tank when we want to keep a variety of invetebrates and maybe a macro algae refugium too?

    Invertbrates are usually termed autotrophic/photosynthetic or heterotrophic/non photsynthetic. The truth is almost all of them are mixotrophic and have some variable level of heterotrophic need for organic carbon.. They can not produce all the organic carbon they need from photsynthesis and need some from food or absortion from the water. They also need a relatively constant supply of phospahte and nitrogen. One of the problems with tactics to remove NO3and PO4 is rapid depletion which in some cases occasions significant coral stress and deterioration..
    Reefs are full of food constantly. So called ulns( ultra low nutrient systems ,a common term without precise meaning) are not. Go for zero NO3 and PO4 and then add back elements and ammino acids to make up the loss is the way they work. They might be fine for pastel sps and for folks who like to mange lots of supplements and experiment with them. Many folks like thees approaches,( zeovit systems et al) and enjoy the hobby that way. However, I doubt you can keep many lps growing in them for very long.

    The need for organic carbon was discussed in the previous section. The same principles apply to nitrogen and phosphorous. If either are absent the bacteria will not grow and the carbon dosed can just build up. Excess organic carbon is harmful and covert since we don't measure it.
    Nitrogen defficiencies are commonly reported but are unlikely to occur in a fed tank.

    PO4 deficiencies with heavy adsorbent(gfo, aluminum based adsorbents, et al.) or flocculant ( lanthanum chloride) use may also occur even in a fed tank.

    A few folks dose KNO3( potassium nitrate) to correct nitrogen deficiencies. Many more use amino acids which contain nitrogen. I imagine some dose PO4 in some form too but don't recall any such accounts. Food and fish waste do fine for both.

    Phosphate and nitrate imbalance:

    The bacteria encourage by the organic carbon reduce nitrogen by taking some of it as food along with a proportionate amount of phosphate. However, they also deplete additional NO3 via anaerobic respiration wherein they take the O leaving some of the N to form N2 gas which bubbles out of the tank. This may lead to a situation where some extra low range PO4 is left which can be cleaned up with a little gfo or other remover.

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