El Kae's Bonsai Lagoon 50
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TeotheCoral
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Beautiful Bro! I love the curve and the root hanging down.
I was wondering if I can seek your advise on calcium reactor. I have a RS 170 which will be sps dominant. Currently I’m doing two parts dosing with EVS and use a CO2 scrubber to keep pH 7.2-7.3. It’s a bit of a burden to keep track of all calcium, alk, mg and hydrogen hydroxide (co2 scrubber). I’m thinking of changing to calcium reactor which I think will be less work to maintenance and obtain superior concentrations of ca, alk, mg dosing and may avoid CO2 scrubber (as I’ve seen people with calcium scrubber having very nice pH ranges without scrubber) my question to you is: since you’ve changed donyou think it’s worth it and which type (size wise and brand) ca reactor do you recommend for a amd all tank such as mine where room is limited.
Thanks!
Teo
I was wondering if I can seek your advise on calcium reactor. I have a RS 170 which will be sps dominant. Currently I’m doing two parts dosing with EVS and use a CO2 scrubber to keep pH 7.2-7.3. It’s a bit of a burden to keep track of all calcium, alk, mg and hydrogen hydroxide (co2 scrubber). I’m thinking of changing to calcium reactor which I think will be less work to maintenance and obtain superior concentrations of ca, alk, mg dosing and may avoid CO2 scrubber (as I’ve seen people with calcium scrubber having very nice pH ranges without scrubber) my question to you is: since you’ve changed donyou think it’s worth it and which type (size wise and brand) ca reactor do you recommend for a amd all tank such as mine where room is limited.
Thanks!
Teo
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El.Kae
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With switching to calcium reactor I definitely saw a drop in overall pH. In 2 part dosing, the alkalinity portion raises pH. If you have a doser to add your esv dialed in, it's just as good as running a calcium reactor. When I was dosing 2 part I made just as minimal adjustments as I do with the calcium reactor. I don't know of a reactor that would fit inside of the 170 stand. When I had that, the reactor and co2 tank sat next to the stand.
TeotheCoral
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Thank you.
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El.Kae
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A more proper update:
As I am guilty of doing, more so recently, I found myself tinkering in my bin of rocks. I had always wanted a 'real bonsai' look to the tank. Hence the initial rock scape I created when setting up this tank. Only problem was, I had too many corals. The previous redo was an attempt at another bonsai look but i still ended up packing it with the corals I had. A couple of weeks ago, being bored, and also with some stress, I found myself rummaging through my tub of rocks. several rocks later along with a bucket of emarco and this current piece was created. During the process of creating this new scape, I also popped the corals off, mounted them to plugs and pulled the existing rock. The hardest decision was to commit to keeping a smaller amount of corals allowing them space to grow into larger colonies. Once I completed the new rock scape, I settled on that number being +/-15 , best of the best, of what I had. I wanted the rock to be a part of the overall tank, so I didn't want to just cover it all in coral. Doing a quick count, I had over 60 individual sticks. This was going to be a tough one. First step, cut out half. Not too bad, as a lot of them were fillers, or no namers that were just ok looking. Down to about 30, now the decision was a lot tougher. I decided to go the opposite direction, and seperate all the ones that were for sure keepers. Trouble, already went over the 15 piece goal. After hymn and hawin with myself, I ended up with a final count of 22. I'll just make room for them, and over time, I can weed out the final few pieces as they grow in. Instead of mounting the corals directly to the scape, I incorporated plug holders which I laser cut out of acrylic. This will allow me to shift corals around based on growth and color distribution. Once I'm satisfied, and given time, the corals will simply grow over everything. I'm pretty happy with the new scape and look forward to everything growing in. This one fits my vision the most and should be staying for a decent amount of time. But given my track record so far, who knows. lol Another update soon with macro shots as the corals settle in more.
FTS June 11, 2019:
As I am guilty of doing, more so recently, I found myself tinkering in my bin of rocks. I had always wanted a 'real bonsai' look to the tank. Hence the initial rock scape I created when setting up this tank. Only problem was, I had too many corals. The previous redo was an attempt at another bonsai look but i still ended up packing it with the corals I had. A couple of weeks ago, being bored, and also with some stress, I found myself rummaging through my tub of rocks. several rocks later along with a bucket of emarco and this current piece was created. During the process of creating this new scape, I also popped the corals off, mounted them to plugs and pulled the existing rock. The hardest decision was to commit to keeping a smaller amount of corals allowing them space to grow into larger colonies. Once I completed the new rock scape, I settled on that number being +/-15 , best of the best, of what I had. I wanted the rock to be a part of the overall tank, so I didn't want to just cover it all in coral. Doing a quick count, I had over 60 individual sticks. This was going to be a tough one. First step, cut out half. Not too bad, as a lot of them were fillers, or no namers that were just ok looking. Down to about 30, now the decision was a lot tougher. I decided to go the opposite direction, and seperate all the ones that were for sure keepers. Trouble, already went over the 15 piece goal. After hymn and hawin with myself, I ended up with a final count of 22. I'll just make room for them, and over time, I can weed out the final few pieces as they grow in. Instead of mounting the corals directly to the scape, I incorporated plug holders which I laser cut out of acrylic. This will allow me to shift corals around based on growth and color distribution. Once I'm satisfied, and given time, the corals will simply grow over everything. I'm pretty happy with the new scape and look forward to everything growing in. This one fits my vision the most and should be staying for a decent amount of time. But given my track record so far, who knows. lol Another update soon with macro shots as the corals settle in more.
FTS June 11, 2019:
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TeotheCoral
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Hi!
The new structure looks fantastic! I hope you keep it. Btw if you have trouble finding home for the 38 left over corals let me know !!!!
Teo
The new structure looks fantastic! I hope you keep it. Btw if you have trouble finding home for the 38 left over corals let me know !!!!
Teo
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El.Kae
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Haha thanks. The other corals are already in their new home.Hi!
The new structure looks fantastic! I hope you keep it. Btw if you have trouble finding home for the 38 left over corals let me know !!!!
Teo
TheWB
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Wow, that’s a really nice looking Wrasse. I’m jealous.This guy finally settled in and taking after TDO pellets.
