Mattgsa 315 gallon build

Reef Diaper
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So yesterday I received the new control module for Maxspect. Once I got the flow back, my Achilles instantly turned back into a jerk. It's weird that he is a nice guy when the flow was off.
It will be interesting to see what happens when the new fish arrive. I think they are going to be the same size if not a little larger.
 
Tidal Gardens
The good news is all the GHA is turning brown and starting to fall off the rock. It now comes off the glass really easily. I was thinking about taking the rock out a little at a time and spraying it with Peroxide.
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
It's been a long time since I stopped by.
I have not been getting notifications.

You have gone through a lot since the last timr I was here.
I'm happy you are recovered and getting the reef on track.

Keep pushing..
 
GBRsouth said:
My guess is the Achilles lowered activity level was due to lower oxygen levels in the water when you had low flow.
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I have started feed more frozen food. For a while there I was just feeding pellets. I have noticed in the last couple of days while feeding frozen food, the fish are far less aggressive to each other. This could just be a fluke but I'm going to keep it up and see what happens.

I put the mirror up the other day, the fish could care less about their reflection now. Most completely ignore the mirror.
 
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The wife and I went through and added up most of the cost for the tank, not all the cost. Let's just say this tank is certainly an investment.
 
mattgsa said:
I think I have solved the mystery of the GHA. I will let you judge for your self.
IMG_0754.jpg
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I'm confused by this...if this is the PHOSPHORUS ULR Hanna checker, 31ppb PHOSPHORUS is equal to 0.095ppm PHOSPHATE...which is well within a normal range - even desirable in many tanks.


Bottoming out your phosphate to 0 will hurt your corals and also allow for dinoflagellates to take hold...a much worse enemy than GHA.

This sounds to me like a standard "ugly phase". The more you do to "correct" this now is actually only going to set you back in getting this system stable. Just be patient. Let it look ugly for a month. Keep your parameters in check to avoid Dinos.

Reef tanks are not something that look good overnight.
 
klimfish said:
I'm confused by this...if this is the PHOSPHORUS ULR Hanna checker, 31ppb PHOSPHORUS is equal to 0.095ppm PHOSPHATE...which is well within a normal range - even desirable in many tanks.


Bottoming out your phosphate to 0 will hurt your corals and also allow for dinoflagellates to take hold...a much worse enemy than GHA.

This sounds to me like a standard "ugly phase". The more you do to "correct" this now is actually only going to set you back in getting this system stable. Just be patient. Let it look ugly for a month. Keep your parameters in check to avoid Dinos.

Reef tanks are not something that look good overnight.
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Yea, I determined phosphates were not the issue when I got the new tester. (Sorry, I forgot to post that.) Since the GHA is going away, I'm just going to let it be, and see what happens. I no longer have any filter media like GFO running the system. Thank you for the link that is very helpful.
 
I was doing a lot of maintenance on the tank last night, trying to get all the dead hair allagy out of the tank. The funny thing is I think I stressed out the Achillies Tang. He started darting around the tank and fanning the rocks. It was something I have never seen him do before. So I walked away from the tank for a while and came back with some food, and he went back to normal.

Also, I got more clean-up crew, at least 200 more snails, and 3 emerald crabs. However, there was some die-off with the snails.

I'm sorry they were out of the sea urchins, and I was also trying to avoid having to pay 50 dollars for overnight shipping. . Since I ordered corals that should be coming in today. Again these were the cheapest I could find. However, I am planning on getting a couple of urchins.
 
Well I flooded the house again. :mad: I was refilling my ato, and got distracted with putting together an acclimation box for the new fish that should ship any day now. Luckily if was just clean water with no salt in it.
The tank is starting to really get clean up. Here is a picture of what it looks like to today with the acclimation box.
IMG_0829.jpg


I also received the three corals. However, two of them came in near dead if not dead already. The green one looks the best.
IMG_0830.jpg
 
Well good news and bad news. Phosphates tested at .03, but nitrates tested at 0. So i have dosed some sodium nitrate to the tank to see if I can bring up the numbers. I have also turned off the skimmer. I think I need to come up with a schedule for the skimmer. I can't just leave it off since it does a majority of the gas exchange. Please let me know if you have any recommendations.
 
www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
If you set the gyres as high as is practical to ripple the water surface strongly, that should offset the skimmer being turned off, as your fish load is not high yet.
 
GBRsouth said:
If you set the gyres as high as is practical to ripple the water surface strongly, that should offset the skimmer being turned off, as your fish load is not high yet.
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That's a great suggestion. I'll do that. I was also thinking about getting an air stone for the sump. All though I'm not quit sold on that idea yet. I will watch the ORP levels, and see what happens. In the mean time I will try and point the gyres in a way that will agitate the surface of water as much as possible.
 
GBRsouth said:
Also you could keep the skimmer running 24/7 and add/remove the collection cup to control how much skimmate you remove per day.
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I like this idea and I think it will work. However, it relies on me to do it on a frequent basis, and the odds of that happing are very slim. I was thinking about having the Apex turning off the skimmer at night, and one during the day. Just as a trial to see what impact it has on nutrients.
 
GULP! And to say that I have tank envy is an understatement. Looking forward to seeing the progression. I have no doubt the tank will mature and blossom into a wonderful and awe-inspiring reef!
PS, I think that running the skimmer part-time will be fine for now. It won't be long till you have it running full time and are working on lowering the phosphate as you get more fish in there anyhow. I ran very low phosphates and nitrates with no apparent ill effect on my SPS's. They just adapted and I fed a lot. Now I'm back at getting the numbers down a bit. Things have a way of finding a balance in the long run. Tinkering too much ends up being the most problematic. As soon as I just let things ride the tank always looks better. An alternative to turning off the skimmer part-time is to open up the output so you are skimming less but keep the gas exchange up, FWIW.
 

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