Acan lighting

DSC reef · Dec 25, 2018

I hope it works for you. IMO, it seems like it's a bacterial imbalance caused from vibrant or excess nutrients. Adding chemicals to compete with other chemicals isn't my thing but I understand what works for one doesn't work for another. If the cyano comes back try looking into Dr. Tim's line of bacteria supplements. Might take a while but patience is a good thing. Many ways to run a reef tank, this is just another idea.

dmolavi · Dec 25, 2018

Woke up this morning and everything is cleared up. Time for a water change while the offspring are entertained with their Christmas presents

dmolavi · Dec 26, 2018

Started using ReefRoids, checking Ca and nitrates every day (others are spot checked), logging everything, and dosing as appropriate. Fingers crossed...

dmolavi · Dec 28, 2018

Look to be dropping Ca at about 10ppm/day, so I'm dosing appropriately. Need to get another nitrate test kit (ran out of reagent...grr) to continue that.

I have noticed a small cluster of bubble algae - the reason I started Vibrant in the first place. What's the best way to keep that stuff under control?

DSC reef · Dec 28, 2018

Manual removal of bubble algae outside of our tank worked best. If your calcium is dropping then make sure you keep an eye on your alkalinity

dmolavi · Dec 28, 2018

DSC reef said:
Manual removal of bubble algae outside of our tank worked best. If your calcium is dropping then make sure you keep an eye on your alkalinity

I have no way of removing this rock haha....

DSC reef · Dec 28, 2018

dmolavi said:
I have no way of removing this rock haha....

That will definitely make it hard for manual removal, lol.

dmolavi · Dec 29, 2018

Here are today's full suite of numbers, keeping in mind that I did 2 back-to-back ChemiClean treatments (did a 25% change yesterday afternoon):
pH - 8.1
NO3 - 2.5
PO4 - 0.13
Alk - 9.74
Mg - 1215
Ca - 405

The calcium and magnesium numbers are low, so I dosed some Ca first, and will take both measurements again in a couple hours, then adjust Mg as needed.

I've stopped running Phosguard and Vibrant - my reactor only has RoX 0.8 carbon in it.

Corals all seem happy so far...

Dburr1014 · Dec 29, 2018

I have always plucked bubble algae in tank. The secret is to go slow and gentle and don't pop them no matter what. I find the skin is pretty thick.

dmolavi · Dec 29, 2018

Also, I should mention, that due to space constraints, I don't have a fuge in my sump, just the skimmer section and return section (it's a 15 gallon that I've divided w/ acrylic panels).

Will/should I consider adding an algae reactor to the setup to help keep the nutrients from creeping too high?