klimfish's SCA 50 Gallon Cube build!

[Jefdav84]

I ended up keeping the PAR meter for another week for 50 bucks. Seemed worth it to me in the long run to not need to rent another in the future. I'll attach some pics tonight, the aquascape is almost completely done, but I need some more rock!

Corals are out of the bucket and adjusting happily to their new home on a frag rack until I can decide where I want to place them based on PAR and flow.

What's the best way to get high flow around the corners of my center overflow to the top rocks that rest against it for SPS in the future? I like having the pumps on the back wall on either side of the overflow for aesthetics, but it's hard to tell if much flow is actually getting to the area with the most PAR...

Par readings are good, I'm running a Hydra32HD using BRS AB+, only I raised the output of each channel except red and green by about 8% to take advantage of the higher power of the 32HD compared to the 26HD models.

I get about 250-300 par in the upper rocks, 150-200 par in the middle depth area, and the bottom ranges from 60-125 depending on how far from the center of the tank I move the PAR meter, not bad! I'd like to get 200-250 par in the middle area of the tank too, but I'm not sure this light can handle that without drastically upping my white channel, I may try and report back.

Another thing, my Skimmer seems to be working, but every night I come check the sump and the bubbles have bubbled out of the collection cup and seem to "open" the lid to it on their own. Am I skimming too wet? What does a "tuned" skimmer look like while in use? I'm getting a slightly dark skimmate, translucent , not nearly as dark as I've seen others but I also have almost no waste in the tank right now, with no fish and only a few trochus snails.

here's a few pics!

Tank is coming along nicely. I appreciate you doing this testing because I have the same tank with the Hydra32HD as well. I am currently using a profile that waterbox offered on their website for one of their 24x24 cube tanks. I may have to test out the AB+ from BRS as I think @Barrett mentioned as well to me.

I have yet to really figure out the flow. Currently I have my Jebao SOW-8 on the right hand side of the tank sort of towards the back. I will def keep an eye out to see what works best for you as well.

This is my first time using a skimmer as well so i am just kind of going with the flow. I have not had it bubble over yet, but typically have been running min around the "3" setting on the dial. The first round of waste i had was pretty dark, but this second round Iv'e had is a little lighter. One thing is for sure I hate emptying it because it is one of the worst smells i have ever experienced.

 

[klimfish]

Tank is coming along nicely. I appreciate you doing this testing because I have the same tank with the Hydra32HD as well. I am currently using a profile that waterbox offered on their website for one of their 24x24 cube tanks. I may have to test out the AB+ from BRS as I think @Barrett mentioned as well to me.

I have yet to really figure out the flow. Currently I have my Jebao SOW-8 on the right hand side of the tank sort of towards the back. I will def keep an eye out to see what works best for you as well.

This is my first time using a skimmer as well so i am just kind of going with the flow. I have not had it bubble over yet, but typically have been running min around the "3" setting on the dial. The first round of waste i had was pretty dark, but this second round Iv'e had is a little lighter. One thing is for sure I hate emptying it because it is one of the worst smells i have ever experienced.

Very cool! I'm about to do another round of testing tonight if you want to send me your file, I'll take some readings with the meter.

I currently run an AB+ program that I've increased by about 8% to match the Hydra32's extra power, just multiple each number that BRS uses in their Hydra26 video by 1.08, seems to be going well so far, giving me 250-300 par up top, 150-250 middle, and 100 at the bottom.

As far as flow, I found a great deal for 2 Maxspect Gyre 330's AND the controller that lets you program the pumps with an app on your phone. <$500 for it all, brand new. I think I will try to run them at a low intensity but with an alternating gyre flow, I think this is probably best for cube tanks based on my research.

I adjusted my skimmer as well, had to close it off a bit. I can't tell where my "marker" is at because there isn't an indicator on the blue tube. However, now my skimmate is much darker than before, though not the darkest I've seen from other's tanks. I think this will do for now, I think I'll upgrade to the reef octopus 150SSS in the near future, probably when I get the Gyre's.

 

[klimfish]

It is absolutely comical how small these frags look when I placed them on the rocks in the tank. We're gonna need some more/bigger corals!

 

[Jefdav84]

It is absolutely comical how small these frags look when I placed them on the rocks in the tank. We're gonna need some more/bigger corals!

Agreed. I have a decent sized torch, but everything else is frag so my tank still looks pretty bare. Iv'e been thinking about getting a few things that have some size to them already so I at least have something to look at while the other stuff grows out.

What kind of fish do you plan on keeping, if any?

 

[Jefdav84]

I saw your other post with the AB+ schedule from BRS. I will try that out tomorrow as well.

Any reason why you have the UV that high? Just wondering because i have seen other posts with it less than 10% saying it causes issues with algae, etc.

One last thing. Does that diffuser from 3dreefing work well? Ive been thinking of looking into getting one. That is one thing i am not liking is the disco ball effects with the Hydra in this tank.

 

[klimfish]

I saw your other post with the AB+ schedule from BRS. I will try that out tomorrow as well.

Any reason why you have the UV that high? Just wondering because i have seen other posts with it less than 10% saying it causes issues with algae, etc.

One last thing. Does that diffuser from 3dreefing work well? Ive been thinking of looking into getting one. That is one thing i am not liking is the disco ball effects with the Hydra in this tank.

Thanks for the questions

UV…I’m still on the fence myself. AB+ is the only spectrum I’ve seen that has that high of UV, and on these newer models I’m not convinced that this translates to the same level of UV to match the Ecotech AB+ spectrum. Hopefully BRS will come out with a video on the new models soon, and will also address why the UV is so high if it remains that way on the newer models to match the AB+ spectrum.

I did try a preset off of the AI site - Eddie Putra. I really liked the look, and it uses lower UV, like 30-50 percent instead of 128 which I’m currently running on my modified AB+32HD setting...so I may do some par readings of that one, the way it comes from AI, and also "powered up" to see if I can get my desired par readings (200-250 up top, 125-200 mid, 80-100 bottom).

I love the diffuser. I definitely lose about 20-30 par throughout the tank using it, but it really changes the look of the tank to the human eye, 0 disco ball effect, a nice gentle shimmer very similar to what I’ve seen on Kessil’s (love that look, wish Kessils were more powerful), and not to mention it makes the tank easier to look at if you’re sitting on the couch or something, as the LED pucks aren’t just BLASTING your eyes. My GF really appreciates this! I highly recommend getting one, the guy who makes them is super nice and helpful, @3D Reefin' !! even checked to make sure they would work on the 32HD model before I purchased, and was supportive with everything.

BRS has shown that diffusion through using diffusers and running your lights 12”+ off the water line drastically reduces hot spots and the spotlighting effects powerful LED’s emit that can really be bad for our tanks. I recommend checking out some of their videos on this on YouTube, super informative if you haven’t already.

@Jefdav84 , I hope the par readings were helpful!

 

[klimfish]

Hey all, time for another update!

I'll start with my most recent parameter readings:

Temp: 79 (I check 6-8 times throughout different parts of the day, only varies from 79-79.5 )
Salinity: 1.026
pH: 8.2

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: ~10 (Barely a reading on my API test kit)
Phosphate: ~0-0.1 (Red Sea kit, reading at it's lowest)

Alkalinity: ~10-11 dKh (API kit, started to change color at 10, finished at 11)
Calcium: 460
Magnesium: 1475

And livestock:

Coral:
2 Jedi Mind Trick Montipora frags - small
1 Watermelon Psammocora frag - small
1 Duncan Frag - 1 head - small (new heads are forming!)
1 Aussie Hulk Acan Frag - ~6 small heads (I think I see one new polyp forming)

Inverts:
7 Trochus Snails
Handful of Dwarf Cerith snails.

Since I do have SOME livestock in the tank, I've been paying closer to attention to the Ammonia levels than I usually would for a tank this new. I figured I would see a big spike as the tank settled in and the new rock did it's thing, but after only a week all my readings were good!

Someone above asked what I plan to stock for fish...well...I have no idea really. This hobby for me has always been about the corals, with the fish coming second...or third even.

I'm interested in colorful fish that are active, or at least have some kind of "personality", and most importantly, serve a "function" in the tank. For example, Aiptasia eating filefish, wrasses for general pest control(are there any that don't require the sandbed?), lawnmower Blennies for algae control, etc.

I'm aware that 50 gallons is actually a very small tank once you start considering the fish and stocking, but I am wondering if there are any relatively larger, colorful fish that would make a good centerpiece fish, either singly or as a pair. I LOVE yellow tangs, but I really don't think I could keep anything but a juvenile Yellow Tang in here, and even then that's a ticking time bomb, as I DO NOT plan to upgrade in size for at least 3-4 years, and re-homing to anywhere besides my LFS (who doesn't even stock yellow tangs) sounds like a pain.

What are your recommendations for fish for this tank?

I completed a 20% water change at the 1 week mark, and realized I'm going to have to come up with a better system for doing this - Hauling buckets to the tub sucked.

So, I put a small piece of clear tape on the tank where the ~10 gallon mark is, so now I can just run my siphon to the toilet or sink instead of hauling buckets from the living room to the tub, and still know when to stop the siphon to make sure I have enough fresh saltwater to replenish what I've taken. I then will use small pumps that are in 5 gallon buckets to pump the water back in. No lifting!

I think 20% each week is my goal for WC's. I really see why a Skimmer and Refugium are important in larger tanks. With my old Biocube, it held only 8 gallons of water after rock displacement, so I could in theory do an over 100% water change with less water than I use now for my 20% water change. Without my skimmer and (soon to be) refugium, I would have to likely do 50% water changes weekly to keep nutrients in an acceptable range.

Things have been going very well with the skimmer. I've managed to tune the skimmer to collect a nice dark skimmate, still a little wet for my tastes but this will do for now.

The tuning took forever, this SCA-130 is a decent skimmer but next to impossible to tune easily, it took days of sitting down at the skimmer for 30 minutes at a time, doing minor adjustments back and forth, and then coming back the next day to see how the skimmate was. I've finally got it to a point I think is good for now, until I upgrade to a Reef Octopus 110SSS.

Does anyone have other good recommendations for smaller internal skimmers?

I'm also well into my diatom bloom, so I bought some more trochus snails to assist the meager 3 that were in the tank, so now I have a total of seven. I'm thinking of ordering about 50 dwarf cerith snails from @reefcleaners to assist, I love those little guys. Only about 10 made it over from the tank crash/transfer.

As far as new equipment, I did decide to upgrade the flow, hopefully for the last time. I originally was going to go with 2 Maxspect Gyre F230's, but the sticker shock (and my GF's "advice" ) led me instead to choose instead between a new MP10 or a new Nero 5. I'm already using and loving the Hydra32HD, I like AI's whole ecosystem a lot, and liked how it doesn't require extra equipment to use your phone/app to program it. My new Nero 5 arrives today!

I do think part of me may miss the alternating Gyre I could get going using the 2 Maxspect F230's in an anti-sync gyre mode, but I think for a 24" long tank that I may end up having TOO MUCH flow throughout the tank. I'm a strong believer in balancing high/low flow in a mixed reef (SPS only is a different story), and I don't want to eliminate some awesome specimens because I have overpowered wave-makers.

My plan is to use one Koralia425, placed close to the bottom on the right side, blowing across the bottom/back of the rock structure, and then only use the Nero 5 on the opposite side, about 2/3rds of the way up on the left panel of glass, in the middle.

I think this will give me a good placement to take advantage of the different modes the Nero 5 has, while still keeping detritus from settling in a place I can't reach. I don't ever plan to add sand (Though I really want a wrasse for their pest-killing skills...), so being able to place the koralia basically at the bottom of the tank is a huge advantage of bare-bottom tanks that I want to utilize.

I also added some CaribSea LifeRock - Shapes and Tonga Branch. My LFS sells these by the piece for the same price as the big box you have to order online from other sellers. It's so nice to actually get to hold and touch the rock before I buy it. I plan to eventually swap out ALL the rock for the CaribSea LifeRock. It's simply stunning.

And finally, the last thing I'll be adding this week is some Chaeto from AlgaeBarn. I also ordered some Fritz Turbo Start 900, as I plan on swapping out a large amount of rock this weekend and want to avoid any spikes. I bought enough for 100 gallons, so I'll likely use half, and refrigerate the rest.

I also figured out an awesome light setting using my old AI Prime for the refugium, here it is, it comes out visually as a nice red/violet grow light. I got this by looking up ideal spectrums for Chaeto and matching that to the faint Spectrum Analysis that the app does for you in the background as you adjust the settings:

I'll post later once the pump arrives, here's some eye candy in the meantime:

This one was taken using one of those "Aquarium Camera" apps for iOS. Still figuring out the settings but look! Not so blue!

Here's my current lighting schedule as well. "Powered Up" BRS AB+:

 

[klimfish]

Time for another update!

Things are going well! I've made some equipment upgrades that I've been thoroughly enjoying.

I got a Nero 5 pump, and am now running that along with my Jebao SLW-10. I plan to purchase another Nero 5 and have them anti-sync facing each-other on the sides of the tank. There are SO many options for programming these pumps, I wish there were "reef Crest" imitation settings....otherwise it's compltely up to my to determine randomness, minimum, and maximum power, and I'm just not sure what's best!

I've been slowly swapping out the old rock with CaribSea LifeRock, which I can purchase by the piece from my LFS for only 6.50 a pound, decent deal IMO. The aquascape is coming along, I find that I always have trouble aquascaping cube tanks without piling the rocks against the back overflow a decent amount to get the space that I want. I might change it a little more and add a couple more "branching" pieces to add some contrast, but I'm not too sure. Pics later tonight after work!

I got a 5 stage 75GPD RODI from BRS, got it plumbed under the bathroom sink quite easily with a stop valve on the cold water line, I got the John Guest one from BRS. Once plumbed I everything worked great, I had the expected production rate and my TDS going into the DI Resin were 2 TDS and 0TDS coming out! Great news!

However I did notice that the pressure gauge that came with the unit was "stuck" on 30psi. Even with the unit off OR with the flush valve open, the gauge would always read 30psi. I happened to have an extra gauge laying around from when I bought the tank and got a ton of crap from the seller, so i added it inline right after the stop-valve from the cold water line and I was getting 60psi! Not sure what to do I gave the non-working valve a little turn to tighten it not even 1/32", turned the system on and boom! Gauge working! Must have come just a little loose somehow.

So now I'm getting 55-60psi with no booster, 2 TDS in 0 TDS out, and great production! I'm so happy to not have to lug 4 five gallon buckets up 4 flights of stairs to my top-floor apartment, this is great!

I ordered some Clean Chaeto and TurboStart 900 from @AlgaeBarn for my center area of the sump and to assist with any mini-cycle that may happen due to swapping out rocks. For lighting I'm using an old original NON-HD AI Prime, with settings focusing on Reds, Whites, and Blues. I may switch to the Kessil fuge light at some point, but this does fine for now. I'm hoping this refugium will help export nutrients and give a place for my next order from Algae Barn (Ecopods, maybe this week) to establish themselves as well.

After swapping out the rocks and adding the turbo start, I did my testing about 5 days later, no real issues except .25 nitrite and 10-20ppm nitrate. Did a 20% water change and changed the filter sock, etc, so I'm hoping this improves. I know nitrite is not harmful to marine fish but does show where my mini cycle currently stands. I want it to finish so I can add some fish!

I also changed out the carbon and GFO in my BRS mini reactor after having the tank operating for a month or so. I hadn't changed it out since the previous owner but he said he had changed it "recently". Of course when emptying I see that he also didn't mix the carbon and GFO properly, and layered them in the media reactor, which is not what BRS recommends. Glad I caught that now!

I also fixed my sump water level, I had it above all of the baffles instead of having the return pump chamber lower than the other chambers. Now with the correct water level I am able to tune my skimmer WAY easier, get some water flow through my new refugium, and now my ATO is kicking in for shorter times but more often, increasing stability. I think this will be important once I start adding Kalkwasser to my ATO again, which brings me to....

My Alk swung HIGH about 7 days ago. I'm talking 11-12DKh. I don't have a lot of nutrients in the tank right now so this was not good. I swapped out the kalkwasser water and added plain RODI to the ATO, and I've been watching it steadily go down. It now sits at around 9.5 DKH. I'm going to wait for it to hit 8.5 and then add a SMALL amount of Kalk to my ATO. This tank evaporates a good amount in my apartment and I don't want to swing it back up again. Calc and Mg are 440 and 1375, so I'm looking fine for now.

Coral health seems...OK. They all fully open for at least a few hours each day and are showing somewhat normal coloration. The Duncan, Acan, and Psammacora are very happy, but the montipora seem to be a little less so. No signs of pests or anything, just not the best coloration and the previously smooth skin on one of them looks very "rough". These are Jedi Mind Trick montis. Any tips on getting these guys to color up? They are in basically the same light and flow as my psammocora which is showing amazing color and polyp extension, I don't know if I've ever seen such an ORANGE coral, it's beautiful (but little).

Coming in the future, some WAY sooner than others (waiting on my tax return):

COMING SOON:
Equipment:

Nero 5 (second)
PAR meter (Apogee Smart/USB)
New return pump (I want a quieter one)
Second Cobalt Neo-Therm heater 150w
Reef Octopus 110SSS Skimmer
Hannah ULR Phosphorous checker

Livestock:
Fire/Cleaner/Peppermint shrimp (still deciding, leaning fire or peppermint)
Pair of juvenile clowns
Court Jester Goby
50 dwarf cerith snails (from reefcleaners)

Any other suggestions for fish?

Coral:
OG Mummy Eye Chalice
GSP Isolated on a rock
Cyphastraea
Torch
Green branching Psammy
Plating/Cap Monti
Ricordea

Suggestions? Thanks for reading!

 

[Jefdav84]

Great update! It looks like things are progressing well on the build. You actually touched on a good bit of questions that I was going to update in my thread, but I'll go ahead and just fire away here.

1) Water level - How are you currently measuring? I just always had a set 8" level in the sump and that was it. I then noticed the other day that i had overfilled a bit. When i paused the pumps for feeding it seems that the water in the overflow was not draining at the normal rate when pumps turned back on. In turn that brought the water level lower in the sump which prompted me to add water (No ATO) yet. I sort of wanted to get all of this water level stuff figured out before i set up an ATO anyway.

Edit: I just re read your part about the water level. Right now my level is even all the way across. If I am reading this right it should be highest in drain, then lower in fuge, and then lower in the drain section?

2) What is your current placement for your SLW and Nero 5? I have been thinking of adding another SOW-8 but I am just trying to figure out the best placement with just 1 for now.


3) Reef Octo 110SSS. SCA is currently sending me a replacement skimmer pump because mine all of a sudden got super loud in the last 2 weeks. All signs pointing to the pump as the issue. I had already been thinking of upgrading the the 110SSS so if you do get it soon let me know how you like it.

4) My corals are doing just OK, as well

Zoa frags open up for a few hours then kind of retract. They seem to be doing better but no real growth yet

Green Torch is doing really well. It hits its stride in the middle of the light schedule and extends really well. It has grown a lot.

Orange Ricordia - Got this as a frag with the plug still visible and it has grown really well in the last month

Monti's - These have just been a struggle for me. I have a Jedi frag as well which is still maintaining color so i guess its doing ok. I have a red monti cap as well that is doing about the same.

Blasto's - Two of them aren't opening up really anymore and the other two seem to just be surviving. No real growth.


5) As far as livestock this is what I currently have

Ocellaris Clown
Black Ocellaris Clown
Bangai Cardinal
Scooter Blenny (Just added Chaeto with pods)
Rose BTA


Right now for water testing I am just relying on API test kits, but i am wondering if I should invest in a Hanna Checker for some of these tests like Alk, Calc, Phos

I got some Chaeto from a local reefer near me, and added to middle of the sump. I may have way too much in there but not sure what the right amount to even have for our size system. I am going to try a ACKE refugium light from Amazon to put in for the Chaeto.

 

[klimfish]

Great update! It looks like things are progressing well on the build. You actually touched on a good bit of questions that I was going to update in my thread, but I'll go ahead and just fire away here.

1) Water level - How are you currently measuring? I just always had a set 8" level in the sump and that was it. I then noticed the other day that i had overfilled a bit. When i paused the pumps for feeding it seems that the water in the overflow was not draining at the normal rate when pumps turned back on. In turn that brought the water level lower in the sump which prompted me to add water (No ATO) yet. I sort of wanted to get all of this water level stuff figured out before i set up an ATO anyway.

Edit: I just re read your part about the water level. Right now my level is even all the way across. If I am reading this right it should be highest in drain, then lower in fuge, and then lower in the drain section?

2) What is your current placement for your SLW and Nero 5? I have been thinking of adding another SOW-8 but I am just trying to figure out the best placement with just 1 for now.


3) Reef Octo 110SSS. SCA is currently sending me a replacement skimmer pump because mine all of a sudden got super loud in the last 2 weeks. All signs pointing to the pump as the issue. I had already been thinking of upgrading the the 110SSS so if you do get it soon let me know how you like it.

4) My corals are doing just OK, as well

Zoa frags open up for a few hours then kind of retract. They seem to be doing better but no real growth yet

Green Torch is doing really well. It hits its stride in the middle of the light schedule and extends really well. It has grown a lot.

Orange Ricordia - Got this as a frag with the plug still visible and it has grown really well in the last month

Monti's - These have just been a struggle for me. I have a Jedi frag as well which is still maintaining color so i guess its doing ok. I have a red monti cap as well that is doing about the same.

Blasto's - Two of them aren't opening up really anymore and the other two seem to just be surviving. No real growth.


5) As far as livestock this is what I currently have

Ocellaris Clown
Black Ocellaris Clown
Bangai Cardinal
Scooter Blenny (Just added Chaeto with pods)
Rose BTA


Right now for water testing I am just relying on API test kits, but i am wondering if I should invest in a Hanna Checker for some of these tests like Alk, Calc, Phos

I got some Chaeto from a local reefer near me, and added to middle of the sump. I may have way too much in there but not sure what the right amount to even have for our size system. I am going to try a ACKE refugium light from Amazon to put in for the Chaeto.

Thanks for following along, I'm happy to address your questions

1. I keep my water level at the level in the picture below. Basically I want it so the only water level that changes that activates the ATO sensor is entirely in the return pump chamber. This causes the ATO to activate more often but for less time, as it only needs to raise the level in one chamber vs the whole sump. I make sure it's low enough by making sure I can visibly see the water "fall" into the final baffle:

See how the water level is lower? This keeps a perfect water level for my skimmer too! The only chamber the water level will be lower is the return pump area. All other areas stay at the level above the baffles you can see in my refugium chamber.

2. Funny you should ask, I actually ended up not liking the Nero 5 in my tank at all, and got rid of it and the Jebao SLW-10 and bought 2 Maxspect Gyre 330's with the ICV6 controller. This is by far the closest to perfect flow I've found, I'll expand more on this in a separate post in this thread .

Basically for a cube shape the Nero 5's flow cone was just not ideal. Very strong, while still very wide, it could easily move water through the whole tank at 30% power. But due to it's power and flow shape the water never really slowed down anywhere in the tank, even on pulse mode, I would have a constant stream of water in the bottom of the tank, and only see the wave motion slightly at the water surface.

The Gyre's are amazing, true varied flow, especially because I'm using two, and you can really tell the difference in my LPS that are happy to have flow come from behind, front, all around, depending on the time of day and where I am in the schedule. SPS seem to love it too, however an awesome part about the Gyre's is you can put them VERY close to the top of the water, which allows for a greater variation in flow in your tank.

With the Nero 5 I would say almost my entire tank was medium-high flow, even at the bottom, just as a factor of having to place the Nero 5 1/3 the way down the glass to not suck in air, and also the flow cone shape from the pump. However with the Gyre's I have MORE flow towards the top, and have a more desirable gentle flow in the bottom half of the tank. So, I need to move some SPS up higher now, which will make room for other types of corals where I have less PAR output from my light, perfect!

I did NOT want to create an area in the tank with SUPER high light but medium flow, not many corals would do well in this combination. This really expands the types of corals I can keep. I could also easily turn up the Gyre's and move them a couple inches down to increase flow throughout the tank. Hope that was enough info!

3. I should have the Reef Octopus 110SSS by this weekend (tax return is here any day now), so I'll let you know! I'm excited to have a really nice skimmer sized well for this tank.

4. I'm having a ton of trouble with my Monti's, check out pics in my update post, basically either STN or MTE's, though I can't find ANY MTE's, but plenty of little white specs on the coral that never move, check these out...

Not sure what those are, but the skin is also completely going away starting at the base, you can kind of see it in this pic:

The odd part is they don't look like Nudi's just little white dots, and they don't appear to move. Whatever's going on, I don't think this Monti will make it, and I'm not hopeful for the other one

5. I think I'm going to add a pair of clowns this weekend provided all parameters are in check and I have time, not really in a rush there, but the girlfriend would love to see something in there "besides just rocks" HAHA~

For test kits I really like Salifert, I highly recommend them!

I'll have a more complete update soon, but what does anyone have to say about my Monti's? Pics above, I'm at a loss,

Alk: 8.5
Cal: 450
Mg: 1300
SG: 1.025
Temp: Consistent 79
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10ppm
Phos: < 0.1 ppm

My PAR meter, new skimmer, and some other new toys are coming soon Also a full update with my Gyre's and the schedule that's working for me, also I made some changes to lighting in both the Sump and Display! Coming in hot after work today! Thanks for reading Here's the pics you've been waiting for

 

[klimfish]

Whoa, SO much has happened since my last update. I've had two tank crashes, added fish, lost fish, and at the end of it all I lost every single coral .

However, I now understand how important having nutrients is for a system. I knew I had to add some fish. I added two clownfish without quarantining. OOPS! I realized I got lucky with that, so before I had any crashes over the summer I went through 2 separate quarantine processes with:

Cohort 1:
1x Yellow Coris Wrasse
1x Firefish

Cohort 2:
1x Midas Blenny
1x Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse
1x Bengaii Cardinal

These were done consecutively in a 10g tank using the @Humblefish method.

In the end, all of Cohort 1 survived quarantine and made it into the display, but I lost the Bengaii Cardinal from Cohort 2 about 2 weeks into quarantine. He just wouldn't eat, no matter what I did while the Blenny and Wrasse were avid eaters. Not sure what happened there.

So that brought my fish total to:
2x Ocellaris Clowns
1x Yellow Coris Wrasse
1x Firefish
1x Midas Blenny
1x Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse

Not bad for a 50 gallon tank. Much to my surprise, these added nutrients from the extra bio-load didn't appear to make a dent in my "slight-but-getting-worse" supposed Dinoflagellates problem. Over the next few months I watched as sadly the Dinos/Cyano took over everything. I lost every coral, some motivation, and due to not testing my Alkalinity enough I encountered some large Alkalinity swings that really finished off even the hardiest of my corals.

Losing the last coral was unfortunately the wake-up call I needed. I started setting some money aside for some equipment to really attack this. No way was I giving up. (Plus I can't get a new tank until we move in a couple months, girlfriend's orders!).

I added a 15 Watt Aqua UV Advantage UV Sterilizer - the 2000+ HOB style. This is just under the 3 watts per gallon recommendation (I have 47 gallons total volume after displacement and including sump). I also turned off my Algae Scrubber, and adjusted my skimmer to skim very dry, if at all. I fed heavily for a few weeks only for things to start looking worse!

Frustrated, I did a quick Phosphate test using my Hannah checker and it maxed it out. Too high to read. Uh-oh. I added some GFO to the system temporarily and laid off on the heavy feeding for a few weeks. This also didn't change much, and the algae really began to look like Cyano. I had some Chemi-Clean laying around and decided to give it a try, reading that it was not harmful for reef tanks. However, I assumed I had enough aeration from my 2 Nero 3 pumps, and did not buy an additional airstone. I dosed the Chemi-Clean before bed and expected to wake up to a cleaner tank.

I did wake up to a slightly cleaner tank, but also another fish loss and all fish looking very distressed. The Firefish had passed overnight, and the Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse looked like he was on the way out too. I quickly put an old MJ900 powerhead in the tank with the intake just slightly out of the water to try to flood the tank with oxygen via microbubbles. This seemed to work and all fish were acting normal within a few hours.

One of the clowns that morning also appeared to be showing early signs of either Brooklynella or Velvet. I added both the clowns to my fully cycled hospital tank, and slowly brought up the Copper to 2.5ppm over the next few days. I also started feeding medicated food using API General Cure, Seachem Focus, and Selcon to both the hospital and display tanks.

The clowns started looking better immediately and will stay in the tank for a full round of all the usual medications as well as 35 days in 2.5ppm Copper.

Slowly but surely the UV has started to work, and I was visually seeing less Dinos and Algae day by day. After a week, I bought a microscope on Amazon to confirm that I did indeed have dinos and what kind they were. After examination under a microscope I was able to identify that I have both large and small cell Amphidinium Dinoflagellates. In layman's terms, that means the UV wasn't going to be enough alone, I needed to also dose Nitrate and Phosphate to get rid of the large cell Amphidinium, as the small cell enters the water column at night and is zapped by the UV, the large cell Amphidinium hides in the sand and UV is much less effective.

I've ordered Nitrate and Phosphate supplements, and plan to put those to work early next week when they get here. I've also been adjusting the flow through the UV sterilizer to be around 8x turnover per hour as recommended by @Bulk Reef Supply in their UV Sterilizer flow video.

It's been a week since I added the UV, I'm hoping for some wins in the coming weeks!

Pics and other updates coming soon!

 

[klimfish]

I did some testing this morning, anticipating close to 0 Nitrate and Phosphate. To my surprise, Nitrate was 25ppm and Phosphate was 0.187. These are not depleted numbers. I'm going to do a 50% water change to bring those back to reasonable levels for combating dinoflagellates, as well as continue testing and adjusting my UV flow rate.

I have come across multiople different takes and opinions on how much flow to run through my UV. It is the 15 2000+ HOB model by Aqua UV. BRS and others suggest 6x-8x turnover for dinos, while others, mainly on this forum, suggest a slower rate of 3x, arguing that dinos are "armored" against UV so a longer contact time is necessary. Others say this is not true and it is more important to get more flow through the UV to kill them faster than they can reproduce.

Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on the flow rate? Here is some more information about my set up:

I'm running it from my manifold in my sump back up into the display. I know running from/to the display is best, but I am going with this for now to avoid having another ugly piece of equipment in the display. I want to tune my UV to work as best as it can from the manifold coming off the return line in my sump as possible, and not have to switch back and forth or move it in and out of the display.