My Reef Journey Begins!

[justingraham]

Dang what product were u doseing?
I hate doseing the math is crazy sometimes they give it to u I'm metric then never have it it dkh or ppm so then u have to convert that as well just a pita

 

[Brew12]

Dang what product were u doseing?
I hate doseing the math is crazy sometimes they give it to u I'm metric then never have it it dkh or ppm so then u have to convert that as well just a pita

BRS 2 part, and it was a noob mistake. I found somewhere that it said you should dose calk and alk in equal parts. I calculated how much calc I needed, added about 1/4 the amount it called for (I was a coward), and then used the same volume of alk. Huge mistake. In under 12 hrs 1 sps was completely bleached and another went 12 hrs later. A third showed some damage but seems to have recovered.

I have so much to learn!

 

[justingraham]

BRS 2 part, and it was a noob mistake. I found somewhere that it said you should dose calk and alk in equal parts. I calculated how much calc I needed, added about 1/4 the amount it called for (I was a coward), and then used the same volume of alk. Huge mistake. In under 12 hrs 1 sps was completely bleached and another went 12 hrs later. A third showed some damage but seems to have recovered.

I have so much to learn!

We all do. We all do.
How's the fish? U did ttm right? They cruising the six feet of tank?
And aren't u supposed to go 1:1 with any two part? I thought that is the point of it

 

[Brew12]

We all do. We all do.
How's the fish? U did ttm right? They cruising the six feet of tank?
And aren't u supposed to go 1:1 with any two part? I thought that is the point of it

The fish are doing great. I had a local fish store I recently found QT some fish for me so they just went in the tank this weekend. Couldn't be happier!

I thought you were supposed to go 1:1 also. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I got lucky I didn't lose more coral going that route!

 

[Brew12]

I know.. I know.. I've been slacking. More like my tank is in it's ugly phase and I just don't want to photograph it for updates. Started using Vibrant one week ago today. Here are the results so far.

 

[gettaReef]

OMG what did you do?!?! Haha jk hate that phase too but it should pass soon

 

[Brew12]

OMG what did you do?!?! Haha jk hate that phase too but it should pass soon

lol I'm not stressing it. A little time, a bigger CuC, and all will be good. I'm going with the philosophy of "life is good". I've lost some fish in my QT's. I did lose 2 corals when I overdosed alk but otherwise I have suffered no fatalities in my DT and have PLENTY of life all over the tank! For 2 1/2 month into a first aquarium, I'm pretty darn happy with that.

 

[pfcbizz]

Well, what I expected to be a project to really get started on over Thanksgiving week got accelerated. I was hoping to start with a 75 gallon or 90 gallon tank since a 48" tank worked perfect for where I wanted it.
And then Craigslist happened. Someone was moving and had to sell their system. It was too good a deal to pass up. Heck, I almost feel bad that I got everything for so cheap. I almost didn't jump at it but I figured I could re-arrange a bunch of furniture to make it work. It was listed as a 120 gallon, 60"x18"x26". Except that it wasn't. It is actually 72"x18"x21". Ooops.

So here is my system so far.
120 gallon dual overflow tank
55 gallon custom sump
Aquamaxx Cone 2 skimmer
Custom LED system
2) Vortech MP40's
2 other powerheads with wavemaker controller
Danner Supreme Aquamag 12
Apex Lite controller with no probes but with an extra power strip
Neptune DOS metering system
2) GFCI 4 gang power units
Custom stand and hood

So the actual size was one issue. The other? The system is a mess. Spent a few hours cleaning it and so much more work to do.

Nice stand got any of the tank and plumbing of the sump ?

 

[pfcbizz]

Successfully leak tested both the tank and the sump. Operationally tested all the pumps and powerheads. So far so good. Have both tanks soaking in bleach water to help with the smell. Started sanding down the stand to get it ready for a new coat of paint.

All in all a productive night.

isn't bleach harmful to the fish ?

 

[Brew12]

Nice stand got any of the tank and plumbing of the sump ?

Thanks!

I think all of the pictures I took are already posted into this thread. If there is something specific you are looking for let me know!

 

[Brew12]

isn't bleach harmful to the fish ?

It would be harmful in high concentrations but no problem with this.
Chlorine bleach is NaClO
Salt is NaCl
Effectively, chlorine bleach is just an oxygenated form of salt dissolved in water.

Chlorine works because of that oxygen. The chemistry is a bit advanced, but oxygen will actually break down the cell walls of viruses and bacterium.

Over time (especially under bright lighting) the chlorine bleach will break down and release that oxygen atom. This turns it into regular table salt. Because of this, having a little bleach residue on a tank that won't be used for a few days isn't a concern.

 

[pfcbizz]

It would be harmful in high concentrations but no problem with this.
Chlorine bleach is NaClO
Salt is NaCl
Effectively, chlorine bleach is just an oxygenated form of salt dissolved in water.

Chlorine works because of that oxygen. The chemistry is a bit advanced, but oxygen will actually break down the cell walls of viruses and bacterium.

Over time (especially under bright lighting) the chlorine bleach will break down and release that oxygen atom. This turns it into regular table salt. Because of this, having a little bleach residue on a tank that won't be used for a few days isn't a concern.

Oh Wow again I'm learning more sruff I didn't know thanks I love the advise

 

[djd3mon]

Following.

That algae phase sucks. Dont give up.

I'm on day 177 with my 29 gal nano reef and algae will rear its ugly head if you don't keep up with strict water changes, not over feeding and keep a good light schedule.

Been dosing Vibrant for a month now and I can tell you it will keep your glass cleaner than nothing Ive seen before.

Its somewhat working on algae, It is easier to pull out. But none the less I still have a little GHA, Diatoms and cyano. You cant see it unless I point it out but it is still there.

 

[Brew12]

Ok, time for an ugly update. I'm going to post these pictures and they are a little scary. Believe it or not, this is actually a big improvement! These are from the worst spots in my tank.
I blame most of my problems on my struggling to get my skimmer dialed in. I have a different skimmer and just ordered a new impeller. I plan on running both of them in my sump at the same time for awhile if I can get the other one up and running. My thinking is that 2 improperly set up skimmers might be just as good as one running well. That, and I just don't think my one skimmer can handle the huge algae die off from Vibrant doing its thing.


This is the worst of my cyno. It's showing signs of dying back now. It really took off when my GHA died in mass.

This next picture should give you an idea of just how bad my GHA was when I started vibrant. It was like this all over my upper rocks and the entire back wall of the tank. This is one of the few bad spots left.

 

[Brew12]

I realized that I haven't posted many good pictures. So here is a FTS and a family photo. Well, part of the family anyway.

 

[micorals]

How's Vibrant working for you? I'm on their thread and started treating my tank a week ago. Curious on your results and how long you've been treating your tank.

 

[Brew12]

How's Vibrant working for you? I'm on their thread and started treating my tank a week ago. Curious on your results and how long you've been treating your tank.

It will be 3 weeks this Tuesday, twice a week. The results are very impressive but not without their down side. I've had massive GHA die off and my skimmer couldn't keep up. I've been scrubbing off the lose GHA daily along with cleaning my filter sock. I had been emptying my skimmer 2 times a day until today when it is finally calming down. It starting killing my chaeto so I pulled that today. The only real downside is that I have had a massive Cyno bloom. Looks like that is starting to die back a bit.
The product definitely has worked.

 

[micorals]

Good to know and thanks for the feedback. I'll have to keep a close eye on things. Battling a massive Bubble outbreak.

 

[Brew12]

Well, I lost my 3rd coral some time overnight. It is really amazing how quickly they will bleach. This wasn't exactly unexpected. I keep hearing that some coral needs very high flow. So I glued a $5 frag as close to the powerhead as I could without it getting completely blasted (about 6" and off centered so it wasn't in the direct path). It lasted over a month there but never really looked like it was thriving. I think I have a much better idea of what "high flow" is now. Kinda feel guilty that I lost a frag but I didn't know a better way to learn.

 

[helen ann]

You STOLE my blenny!!!!!!!!