Will do!
Pffft. Yours didnt even include putting mud in the tank.Now I will take my crazy methodology and find the door. ;Bookworm
I see some similarities in our methods. I've always had luck with water changes as well. I only keep a skimmer for oxygenation and any DOCs in between water changes. Lately water changes have shown some negative impact. Yes, corals seem to be thriving but biologically the tank isn't thriving. The sandbed and recent algae outbreaks seem to confirm that. Salty thinks it's being saturated with co2 though ph tests aren't confirming that. It could be other carbons breaking down under the rocks, though. My previous tank used a much larger skimmer on a smaller system and never had cyano. I even smoked around that tank where as now I haven't smoked in 4 years. I've never used air fresheners either so I have no idea.We all have our own mad scientist methods, what works for me others would probably find archaic. My hands are in my 20 gallon every 3 days, doing a water change, scrubbing the back wall clean, using a tooth brush to clean corners, scrub rocks off and a turkey baster to blast the detritus from the rocks. I am obsessive I will admit but for me the results are worth it. This is the reason why I like nanos, maintenance is so much easier at a much lower cost. No skimmer, minimal charcoal use, water changes, water changes, water changes...Never test for N/P, all that ever did was make me a nervous wreak.
It's the kiss method and I strayed from it the last two years, the results were disappointing. The nano below had no skimmer, no GFO, just water changes. Point is I feel almost any problem with a nano can be improved with routine water changes, ya just do not need all the bells and whistles.
Now you have a noticeable trait of attention to detail (which is excellent) and probably enjoy the engineering.
The only times my tanks have gotten dino was from dosing amino acids, never failed.
I am willing to bet if you put a T5 fixture on that tank you would see a reduction in the occurance of cyano. Have you tried Microbacter7 at all?
Now I will take my crazy methodology and find the door. ;Bookworm
Oh and no, I havent tried MB7. Mainly because it's not readily available locally. I've tried stability in the past and I know they are very similar but the nitrate reduction isn't what I want to achieve, just yet. Since i've had dinos and building the microfauna is a big concern, any type of nutrient reduction is a risk for another bloom. I am dosing a small cap of Dr. Tims one and only once a week in the off chance the BB isn't performing. I really need to give this tank another 6 months of limited nutrient reduction before anything can be added. Although, I'm considering chaeto here in the near future. If..IF.. co2 is the culprit, chaeto should help remove that while adding some nutrient reduction without going overboard.
Well, the missing chromis is still a mystery. If it jumped ship during feeding or something, my cat may have found it as a tasty treat. Yesterday I decided to do a small 2.5 gallon water change after turkey basting all the caves and crevasses for any dead fish. Nothing. I didn't do any nutrient or ammonia tests. I did however dose some bacteria just in case it was dead somewhere. ;Penguin
This whole doing nothing approach does throw off some major husbandry necessities like, water testing, for example. ;Facepalm;Bucktooth
Mg - 1350
Ca - 380
Alk - 5.0 <----
Uhh, coral look great! lol
Anyway, working on getting that back to 7dkh....
In the meantime I ordered some Dr. Tims Eco-Balance probiotic and LED strip lights for a DIY chaeto reactor that may or may not be used in the near future. Once I get alk up, I'll update more on the cyano. I already see a big reduction but that could be because of water parameters. So, once those are back to normal i'll get an update there. The remaining fish are happy and healthy.
Thanks! I went 30 days before without dosing and Alk fell from 8.5 to 6.6. I'll add 5.0 to a all new record lol. I'm a little surprised but happy that the coral are healthy enough to keep it's rate of absorption/consumption. I do think the tank is on the right track and hopefully will come to a resolve soon.
Kids?
Kids = new coral?
I’m becoming more of a believer in the moon thing , with the way today is going. Lol.Kids = new coral?
I swear I have a sense of humor. I'm just slow today.
New coral are doing great. No light acclimation at all and polyps are out.
And that’s kinda ...... good news.
Did you switch to decaf? ;Hilarious
