Confused about Light Settings - RB PhotonV2 48"

Fishfinder · May 6, 2018

Are you still running the reef breeders?

AngryOwl · May 7, 2018

Fishfinder said:
Are you still running the reef breeders?

Still running them yes, got the new scrubber installed this past Tuesday, tried seeding it with algae from the old scrubber but I don't expect results from it for another 3-4 weeks. Also took that tester coral off the rock work as it appears to be getting worse, so it's down on the sand next to the rack.

The corals on the rack appear to have retained their original colors so far with the exception of two that don't appear to be doing that great. Maybe they would like to be moved up to higher light? The tester coral is already doing far better than it was on the rockwork. I'll keep checking its progress and take some before and after pictures once I see some major improvement!

I would anticipate moving to T5's within the month though, but we'll see.

Fishfinder · May 7, 2018

Just some update on my setup. I shut my carbon reactor off. Let my water get a little dirty and growth has been great again.

AngryOwl · May 7, 2018

Fishfinder said:
Just some update on my setup. I shut my carbon reactor off. Let my water get a little dirty and growth has been great again.

How often do you run carbon? I've been running it 24/7 since I started my system but now it gets clogged at about the 2 week mark of changing it, which people would argue it doesn't have much affect after a few days anyways.

Fishfinder · May 7, 2018

I usually run it 24/7. Turned it off. Got my nitrates up to 5, got the water dirtier and the corals are much happier

AngryOwl · May 7, 2018

Fishfinder said:
I usually run it 24/7. Turned it off. Got my nitrates up to 5, got the water dirtier and the corals are much happier

Interesting, I never thought it really had an effect on Nitrates, I just used it to make sure impurities in the water were removed and for water clarity. My LFS advocates keeping Nitrates around 5ppm and what I've read on here would agree. They dose stump remover lol

Fishfinder · May 7, 2018

I don't know if it effected the nitrates or just let more organics build up in the water. But my corals are much happier, growth is noticeable. I'll try this out for a couple more weeks

AngryOwl · May 7, 2018

Fishfinder said:
I don't know if it effected the nitrates or just let more organics build up in the water. But my corals are much happier, growth is noticeable. I'll try this out for a couple more weeks

I'm jealous, I'd love some noticeable growth! One piece of the puzzle at a time though, lets hope the corals hold on long enough for me to figure it out. I'll be very interested in what others have to say if that test coral starts showing its true colors again on the sand bed! I have that Birdsnest right in that same spot and its been bleaching a little and then recovering, still shows small growth tips. That coral has been in the tank since Decemberish I think and it started doing really good around the 3 week mark where it was developing additional coloration. Not sure what happened since then. Could be nutrients, could be light...

Fishfinder · May 7, 2018

what are your parameters now?

AngryOwl · May 7, 2018

Fishfinder said:
what are your parameters now?

I'll need to check tonight. Was on vacation this past week so I didn't check lol

AngryOwl · May 10, 2018

Fishfinder said:
what are your parameters now?

I tested alk the other night and it was at 10.o... so I think I added too much Kalkwasser. It was holding 9.5 prior to that and I was planning to let it drop to 8.5. I think this increased caused some slight fading because everything looked good prior to that.

The new scrubber appears to be growing already since I seeded it with algae from the other scrubber. Need to do a phosphate test to see if it dropped yet.