Reef Discussion

[Sarg]

Mine have been going for around 4-5 weeks I guess. I've added slightly more pellets than recommended and will add have 200ml more soaking ready to go in tomorrow.

I can say the tank has never looked better. The water is clearer for a start, though I do run carbon so that helps, and the colours have never been brighter. I have had sps come and go for various reasons the worst was all my montis but I have several now and they are all going great. The colours on my zoas are popping the Eagle Eyes are blowing my mind they are truely and "Ultra" zoa imo

My nitrates as of today were sitting on around 1-2.5ppm the colour was between the to probably closer to 2ppm and my phos has been sitting on .2 for a while now but a test today popped up at .16 maybe coming down or maybe the +-.04 variation giving me false hope lol Either way im happy with how they are working and am planning on upgrading my skimmer once that happens it will help them strip the nutrients even more.... though i do want to keep some in there ;)

 

[Joshwaaaa]

I ended up buying a JNS alpha 2. I'm only 3 weeks into running pellets again, just added a second cup to my reactor last night. Over the weekend I tested phos = 0.1 nitrate =>10ppm.

So we shall see how we go from here

Getting down to phos= 0.07 nitrate= 5ppm

I will be happy if they stay around here, wont be adding anymore pellets and shall see how it goes.

 

[Bdear22]

How long do you soak the pellets for before putting them in, going to start mine this week

 

[Sarg]

I soak mine for around two days in tank water. I just give them a shake whenever I'm at the tank to break up clumps and see how many are still floating.

 

[Bdear22]

Ok thanks!

 

[Sarg]

Getting down to phos= 0.07 nitrate= 5ppm

I will be happy if they stay around here, wont be adding anymore pellets and shall see how it goes.

Looks like your are doing well.

I hope I can keep my phos around .05 and nitrate around .5 and see how that looks. I guess as long as there is a little of both I'd be happy.

 

[riley]

lol I've got 2 big skimmers running atm rated for 4000L together lol dont think anything is getting by them. the issue I've got atm is detritus in my sand and rocks. gone 12months without a water change with no problems. a bit of the bacteria in your tank isnt a bad thing which makes a food source for your corals.

 

[RobbieMVFC]

Guys unconfirmed but I am hearing that if you have High Alk and use bio-pellets it could burn the the tissue of SPS corals.
Has anyone heard this and can they find anything to back it up ?
by high I mean above 9

 

[Bdear22]

That's good to know ill test before starting. Do you think it's necessary to have the outlet near a skimmer coz in my setup it's not really possible

 

[RobbieMVFC]

That's good to know ill test before starting. Do you think it's necessary to have the outlet near a skimmer coz in my setup it's not really possible

I think its essental to have it near the intake of the skimmer . I have it running via a hose to a T section at the skimmer.

 

[Joshwaaaa]

Alk burn is pretty common place with just starting pellets. I lost 2 big colonys the first time round. This time holding a stable 7-7.5dkh everything is looking fine.

 

[Ben S]

I think its essental to have it near the intake of the skimmer . I have it running via a hose to a T section at the skimmer.

I used to run it like this until I was advised by the makers of BioPearls to not to do this as some of the mulm is useful for coral food.
Ben

 

[Sarg]

I haven't had that issue yet thankfully. I run mine at 8.5dkh.

Tests as of this morning....
Po4 .13
No3 .5-1ppm

I'd like to keep the nitrate there but lower the phos just a touch more. I have added a bit if vinegar over the last week probably 4ml some injecting those pesky nems and some for the hell of it so that may have affected nitrate a little.

 

[Sarg]

I used to run it like this until I was advised by the makers of BioPearls to not to do this as some of the mulm is useful for coral food.
Ben

The reef dynamics guy recons that even using his tee piece that ensures 100% goes into the skimmer some still gets out to feed the corals.

Have you got your new tank @Ben S ??

 

[RobbieMVFC]

I have not found any credible source yet , I have been buffing my alk and got it up to 9.
I am going to let it drop to 8dkh and will keep it there , but as I said I haven't found anything convincing yet.

Hey @Sarg, What were your parameters when you started ?
I will check my journal tonight but I think my P04 was up around 0.08 and now its at 0.04 :)

 

[Sarg]

My phos was .34 but I tested two weeks into it I think I had ran out of reagents. Nitrates were around 4ppm.

 

[Ben S]

The reef dynamics guy recons that even using his tee piece that ensures 100% goes into the skimmer some still gets out to feed the corals.

Have you got your new tank @Ben S ??

Who know's what the right way of doing it? lol

Yeah got myself a CADE 1200 ... Been running a couple of months. Running NP BioPellets and currently not really seeing much benefit. I haven't taken a reading of P04 or N03 yet as I'm judging by the colours of my SPS and the amount of Algae on the glass etc ... Just increased the amount by another 250ml, give them a few weeks then will look at adding a bacterial source like Prodibio or ZeoBak to helps things along. The other issue I have atm is that my skimmer is on the limit of it's running capacity so I'm looking to upgrade that ASAP, thinking the RLSS R8i skimmer, but need to find out the diameter of the collection cup lid as I need to see if my Avast Swabbie will still fit to keep the neck clean.

Ben[/]b

 

[Sarg]

Have a crack at running the outlet near or into the skimmer and see if it changes?

I used up a bottle of brightwells microbactor7 to help kick start mine. It initially brought the phos down to zero but once I had used it up it kicked back up and has slowly come down. Mine has been going for nearly two months and its still not running ultra low so I guess it's just a waiting game.... But my tank is seeing the results that is for certain!

 

[Sarg]

Tested tonight...

Phos .09
Nitrate 1ppm

I think it's nearly time to slow down the flow from the reactor.

 

[vpreef]

Guys unconfirmed but I am hearing that if you have High Alk and use bio-pellets it could burn the the tissue of SPS corals.
Has anyone heard this and can they find anything to back it up ?
by high I mean above 9

Any system running very low nutrients (vsv, zeovit, biopellets etc) are recommend to keep you ALK in the low range 6-8dkh. High ranges can burn your sps. Best to use a salt with a natural dkh and avoid stuff like H2ocean and Red Sea Coral Pro salts with ridiculous amounts.

My alk is always around the 7.6 dkh range, running phos at 0.0 and never had any issues.

Sarg, looks like another week or 2 and you will be there. Although those numbers are great and your tank is looking Awesome!!