FarmerTy Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Victoly is correct, SPS keepers don't aim for 0 ppm, but more a range of 0.03-0.05 ppm is what I usually see. For those that saw better color with higher nutrient levels, I would imagine that they were in the ULN range 0-0.03 ppm and their corals lightened up and looked pastel. Upon "increasing" their nutrient levels, they basically allowed it to hover around 0.03-0.05 ppm and got their colors back. For nitrates, I usually follow the rule of thumb of keeping them below 5ppm. I would caution that just because you have low phosphates, doesn't mean you have low nitrates... as I found out this past Spring during my upgrade. I had 0.05 ppm phosphates and > 50ppm of nitrates in my tank... so it can happen. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nori4dori Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Thanks Victoly and Ty for the very helpful advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Victoly is correct, SPS keepers don't aim for 0 ppm, but more a range of 0.03-0.05 ppm is what I usually see. For those that saw better color with higher nutrient levels, I would imagine that they were in the ULN range 0-0.03 ppm and their corals lightened up and looked pastel. Upon "increasing" their nutrient levels, they basically allowed it to hover around 0.03-0.05 ppm and got their colors back. For nitrates, I usually follow the rule of thumb of keeping them below 5ppm. I would caution that just because you have low phosphates, doesn't mean you have low nitrates... as I found out this past Spring during my upgrade. I had 0.05 ppm phosphates and > 50ppm of nitrates in my tank... so it can happen. Sent via Tapatalk What brought that about again? Biopellets no, GFO yes? It was an unusual circumstance, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Unusual for sure but just wanted to throw caution to the wind so that assumptions aren't made on the fact alone. His phosban is mainly a phosphate removal media and if there is not a form of nitrate removal in his system, the same scenario could play out, however very unlikely. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I meant i was trying to remember the scenario in your tank where you had low PO4, high nitrate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Yes sir... I was running GFO and pulled my biopellets and ended up with super low phosphates and screaming high nitrates. Sent via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nori4dori Posted July 17, 2014 Author Share Posted July 17, 2014 I could only find 1 clownfish in my tank today. Maybe he was hiding somewhere, but no. And then I look around the tank and sure enough - he is lying next to the tank, all dried up. Bummer. The only reason I got clownfishes is because they were not jumpers. I have a rimless tank with my water level 1/2" from the rim. I wonder what made him jump? My other clown already looks lonely. Should I get another clown? Or should I get a bottom dwelling goby instead, just to be safe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Sometimes they just jump, they're goofy animals. Some fish are more prone than others to do it (wrasses im looking at you), but even a goby could jump. If it were me, id get a goby AND a clownfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nori4dori Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 i've read at a few places that some gobies can hurt SPS such as acros. How common is that. I am not going to get a yellow clown goby for sure, but how about a yellow watchman goby? My frags are small, so I want to minimize any potential threat to them until they have fully taken hold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I think it was more the clown gobies that get the reputation for nipping at SPS polyps and hanging on colonies all day long preventing the polyps from coming out. You should be fine with a watchman goby or any lower dwelling goby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nano Reefer Ky Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Looks like everything is coming along nicely Did you end up getting a new clown or goby? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nori4dori Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 Thanks Ky. I got another clown. Sometimes the old one bullies the new smaller one, but nothing too bad. Hopefully they'll get along. I'll probably get a goby next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nano Reefer Ky Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Sounds like clowns being clowns. I bet everything will be just fine. What kind of goby are you going to get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nori4dori Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 Last night I captured this pic of my superman rhodactis splitting: It was almost 4" when fully open and has been a very happy camper. You can see it in the FTS: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 That's a cool pic of the mushroom splitting. Your tank is looking great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nori4dori Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 Few updates: Painted the back of my tank. Started getting my first specks of coraline few weeks ago. I know its a good sign about water quality, but keeping it clean is going to be a pain. Got this frag rack: http://www.ebay.com/itm/FRAG-RACK-corner-mounted-clear-acrylic-holds-15-coral-frag-plugs/201118116105 FTS 08/27/14: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 My tank is pretty new too. I have been trying to keep the coralline completely off the glass and overflow because I like the 'pristine' look. So far I am winning but not sure for how long. Your tank looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nano Reefer Ky Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Looking good. Your superman split? Lucky. I've had mine in the tank for a while now with no signs of splitting. It has even moved off the tiny piece of LR it was attached to without leaving a baby behind If I knew it was a slow grower I would have placed it in a more noticeable part of the tank. Looks like your light is working for you nicely too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nori4dori Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 Thanks Ky. The light is working well, but doesn't cover the whole tank well: there is too much shaded area on the two sides (left and right). The light fixture is 16" wide and my tank is 30" wide so it doesn't cover well. I thought of raising it higher but that will mean too much wasted light front and back since my tank is only 12" front-to-back. So I have ordered some LEDs and will be doing 2 small DIY fixtures on the two sides. Believe it or not my superman is splitting again! I should try to frag one of the babies. I have it under high light and I have been feeding it reef chilli every other day. I think that's whats making it grow fast. When you feed it coral food, put a little on it first, and it will start curling up into a cup shape. As soon as it does that, put a good amount of food into the cup and it will fully close up and finish up all the food. That way you don't spill too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nori4dori Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 Forgot to mention: both my clowns jumped out. This means I have lost 3 clowns and a firefish goby trying to maintain my lidless rimless look. I have decided to go fishless! coral only. that will also make it easier to keep nutrients low. I took my skimmer offline and I have been feeding my nassarius snails pellet food, and broadcast feeding Reef Chilli every other day to maintain some nutrients. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nano Reefer Ky Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Oh man that stinks about the clowns. You might could do a neon goby or yellow watchman. Those fish seem to like living on the ground. Fish poo is really good for the corals. Nitrates are nitrates but I think the fish poo kind are better. Maybe they are easier to break down? IDK. A coral tank would be nice too though. Good luck with the LED lights. I'm sure they will turn out great. Oh and just a thought: if you have your current fixture turned down to say 50% you are already losing potential light going into the tank. If you raise the light and turn it up to 75% in theory you could still get the same amount of PAR to the corals. You would get light bleed onto the floor like you are saying but you wouldn't have to add more lights. Of course that throws off efficiency but with LED's how much does that equate to actual cost? Probably not very much. The superman I have in my tank is in low light so maybe that is why it is taking forever to split. Great idea with the food. I need to do that with mine. It does curl up into a cup sometimes when I'm feeding the fish. He must be getting some food when he does that. I need to get one of those extendable coral feeders asap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nori4dori Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 I feed my nass snails (now that I don't have any fish) pellets every other day, and feed my corals a whole cube of mysis and 3 scoops of reef chilli every other day. But no matter what I do, I can't detect any nitrates in the water. When I first cycled the tank, and for months after that my nitrates would hover between 10 and 20 ppm. I am guessing it was the old live rocks that were leeching. But for the last 2 months my nitrates have been zero (as read on API kit which sucks big time!). I took my skimmer offline for 3 weeks now and that hasn't helped. My phosphates will start creeping up to 0.1 but nitrates will stay 0. So after reading JeeperTy's posts about dosing Spectracide (potassium nitrate), I decided to give it a try. Ordered it from Amazon for $6 (http://www.amazon.com/Spectracide-66420-Remover-1-Pound-Granules/dp/B004GVYXKC) on prime; dissolved 5 grams in 50 mL of DI water, and then added 5 mL of that to my tank. Based on my calculations (25 gallon water volume), 500mg of spectracide should give me 5ppm, and that's exactly what I got when I measured an hour after dosing. That was yesterday. Today I will test again to see where my nitrates are at, and dose accordingly. I am hoping this will bring some color and good growth, but I am also a little worried about algae. So far they have been under control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 looking good furam, the tank has developed into a living portrait of the sea. +1 on dosing, im really interested to see how this goes. my advice would be make sure you test frequently with the smaller tank size, and always have some fresh sw on hand for a quick change if something is up. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nori4dori Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 thanks bluemoon. i try to test all the imp parameters atleast once a week. with a nano you pretty much have to. and yeah. nothing beats a quick water change. there have been times when i am scratching my head why all of a sudden one of my zoas decided to close up for no good reason. i do a 5g water change and he's happy again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena95GT Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Im having that same "issue" with nitrates in my nano. Ive been overfeeding my corals like no tomorrow as well as the fish. Still zero. Im going to give it a few more days with my homemade coral food (aka a ton of stuff in a blender) and see where im at on Sunday. If no rise.. I might have to go thr same route as you and Ty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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