Mattgsa 315 gallon build

[mattgsa]

BRS made me laugh with this video. They were claiming that you can save a lot of money now by getting one of these new calcium reactors. Which I guess are a little cheaper than a GEO but not much. Then they put all these high-end accessories to go with it. In the end, I don't see much savings. Not to mention they are talking about put one on a nano. I'm not an expert on Nano, is it possible to fit enough livestock in a nano tank to justify a calcium reactor? I mean you are still looking at over 1k just to get started.

 

[VanDalsenReef]

BRS made me laugh with this video. They were claiming that you can save a lot of money now by getting one of these new calcium reactors. Which I guess are a little cheaper than a GEO but not much. Then they put all these high-end accessories to go with it. In the end, I don't see much savings. Not to mention they are talking about put one on a nano. I'm not an expert on Nano, is it possible to fit enough livestock in a nano tank to justify a calcium reactor? I mean you are still looking at over 1k just to get started.

Geo is still better quality. So is it really justifiable? And the fact everything has gone up. It was a rich man's hobby before and now it definitely is. So it comes down to how many dosing pumps do you want. One for the reactor or a few for dosing.

 

[mattgsa]

Geo is still better quality. So is it really justifiable? And the fact everything has gone up. It was a rich man's hobby before and now it definitely is. So it comes down to how many dosing pumps do you want. One for the reactor or a few for dosing.

All I'm saying is I'm running my 300 gallons on Kalk with one dosing pump, and I still have room for more growth before I start thinking about anything else. As I said, I'm not an expert, it's just my opinion there are more economical ways of doing it that don't kill the PH in a small system. All for reef just popped in my head. You are certainly right about it being an expensive hobby. That being said I do not consider myself a rich man. I still work for a living.

 

[VanDalsenReef]

All I'm saying is I'm running my 300 gallons on Kalk with one dosing pump, and I still have room for more growth before I start thinking about anything else. As I said, I'm not an expert, it's just my opinion there are more economical ways of doing it that don't kill the PH in a small system. All for reef just popped in my head. You are certainly right about it being an expensive hobby. That being said I do not consider myself a rich man. I still work for a living.

I work as well. Not enough companies talk about Kalk. But it's funny that it's making a "comeback" when it's been around or decades, works well and is proven to grow coral. If done wrong sure it can kill stuff but that's literally anything in this hobby.

 

[GBRsouth]

BRS made me laugh with this video. They were claiming that you can save a lot of money now by getting one of these new calcium reactors. Which I guess are a little cheaper than a GEO but not much. Then they put all these high-end accessories to go with it. In the end, I don't see much savings. Not to mention they are talking about put one on a nano. I'm not an expert on Nano, is it possible to fit enough livestock in a nano tank to justify a calcium reactor? I mean you are still looking at over 1k just to get started.

It's not like all this equipment could fit under a nano either!

I think kalk stirrer plus all for reef could get most tanks a long way before needing to change things up.

I think a carx is more suited to a mature reef where growth is not the goal and uptake is unaffordable with other methods. A mature reef could raise the tank's pH against the loss from a carx reactor better as well.

 

[ScottB]

I added a kalk stirrer to help manage pH with my CaRx. After my CaRx blew up (my fault) I just went back to my 2-Part via APEX DOS. The kalk cut my 2-part needs by half making the combo a reasonable alternative. Without Kalk, I was dosing 1/2 liter per day which got pretty annoying mixing/refilling every week.
I like the combo.

 

[mattgsa]

I added a kalk stirrer to help manage pH with my CaRx. After my CaRx blew up (my fault) I just went back to my 2-Part via APEX DOS. The kalk cut my 2-part needs by half making the combo a reasonable alternative. Without Kalk, I was dosing 1/2 liter per day which got pretty annoying mixing/refilling every week.
I like the combo.

I was thinking about doing two-part but I don't get as much bust in PH, and I'm battling low PH. I dose 2 gallons of Kalk a night. It keeps my alk between 8.6 and 9.2. I do miss the calcium reactor when it was working well. It was, for the most part, set and forget. That being said so has the kalk with the expectation of adding some more kalk every couple of weeks to the reactor.

 

[mattgsa]

FRUSTRATING!!! need I say more

 

[mattgsa]

FRUSTRATING!!! need I say more

Well, I had to send in one of the lights for repair. I was dreading it, I just knew it was going to cost me a small fortune. I was grateful that I had chosen to get twelve lights. A decision that I was questioning, but they came in handy. I can't imagine if I only had 3 or four lights, a large part of the tank would have been without light for days. I must say I couldn't have asked for better service than what I got from Ecotech. I will certainly order more equipment from them in the future.

That being said I order some more corals from the Topshelf Aquatics quick sale they had on the Fourth. They should come on Friday. the last corals I put in the tank are all doing great. They are already encrusting and showing signs of growth. They all still have great polyp extension. I'm really excited to see the tank starting to take off.

 

[mattgsa]

The tank is really starting to come along. The corals I ordered on the fourth have already started to incrust. Then tonight I got a video of one of the snails releasing what I'm assuming is sperm bundles. I promise I will post it tomorrow when I get to work.

 

[mattgsa]

bonsi

Orange Crush

JF flame

 

[mattgsa]

 

[GBRsouth]

Nice catch to record that!

 

[mattgsa]

Well, I tried what Ryan at BRS did with the skimmer, but my PH dropped like a rock, unlike his system.

So back to CO2 scrubber.

 

[mattgsa]

I was doing some shopping on @FarmerTy site and ordered these two off his WYSIWYG site. I copied the pics he took.
Gig's Mothra Mille

ORA-Bellina

Black Label Aquatics

High-end aquacultured coral selections with the newest, hottest, and rarest corals through our priority contacts in the importing world. The best combination of rare homegrown and conditioned imported corals.

farmertyfrags.com

 

[mattgsa]

Alright, here are some of the pictures I took with the new Olympus TG6. I'm still very much learning how to use the camera. I still have a long ways to go when it comes to pictures.

Until I saw this picture, I didn't know there were polyps on this coral.

 

[mattgsa]

I still have green algae growing over most of the rocks. The problem hasn't gotten worse, but it hasn't gotten any better. I have decided that I'm just going to ignore it for now. The corals are growing and keeping color and in some cases getting color back. So I don't see a need to mess with it.
I have been a little lazy when it comes to testing; a few weeks ago I tested Nitrates and they were at 14 today I tested, and they were at 2. I decided to up the daily dose from 20 to 25mls. Phosphates are about 42ppb, so I did dose a little Phosphate-E.

 

[GBRsouth]

If you're still running filter socks in your sump, you can use a syphon hose with your thumb to pinch off algae. Keep your return pump running the whole time. Let the algae get sucked into the syphon hose once you pinch it off. Have the other end of the hose clamped into a filter sock in your sump to collect the algae for disposal. The water returns to your system and you can continue each time until you've had enough and continue another day.

 

[mattgsa]

Alright, the Geo Kelk reactor has had its last leak. I will never recommend GEO to anyone that I like. LOL. What a pain; it never stops leaking; I just got in the habit of keeping it in a bucket. I have to take apart the pump every week to start running again and replace the impeller every other week. Today the prob holder started leaking. It's flooded the room multiple times. So it will be headed to the dump shortly.
This means I need to find a way to replace calcium and alk. So I'm thinking of either starting the calcium reactor again or two-part dosing. What would you all recommend?

 

[GBRsouth]

I'd do the dry version of Tm all for reef, if you work out dosing the levels you need are affordable. (No effect on pH or salinity/micro elements)

If it is over budget for the dry powder version of all for reef, go to two part and use that til your reef is more mature, then go calcium reactor.

If you go to calcium reactor now, you will only make your existing pH problem worse.