Domsavides
Community Member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2019
- Messages
- 35
- Reaction score
- 84
- What state or country do you live in
- California
Hey y’all, hope everyone is good. During quarantine I’ve probably been like a lot of reefers, spending a little extra time dialing in things at the home reef. Really I’ve found solace in the tank. And I figured I’d share some things that I’ve changed over the course of quarantine that I think have a positive effect .
For starters
Parameters I care about:
Alk - 8.75 - pretty stable calcium reactor /trident
Ph- 8-8.22 (8.11-8.30, that’s a 1 of the things)
Nitrate- 20( Also a thing)
Phosphorus - 16-20
Magnesium 1390-1410
Calc- 420-460
Temp 77.3-78
- things I’ve changed -
I’m 33, and been in the hobby since I was 15 and have seen the emergence of all the new tech that has helped our hobby over the years ... but the general thing I’ve always tried to replicate is that somewhat 0 nutrient environment ... thinking that with so little in the water most corals would extend and it was about finding that equilibrium of keeping them fed but also with extended polyps to have an amazing aesthetic ....
But during the last couple months I’ve had more time to examine all the things that i think contribute to coral health and that extra color ( I am taking the assumption that adequate lighting and flow and all the generic building blocks are good)
- I’ve added a co2 scrubber ... this has brought my ph range from 8-8.22 to 8.11-8.30 ...
- I’ve started dosing nitrate /nitrogen . Keeping the nitrates around 20 has been incredible for growth and coloration . I have a lot of fish , granted ... but simply feeding more doesn’t do the trick, the nitrogen is easy to dose and pretty gentle.
The most unusual thing I’ve changed is phytoplankton . I’ve always been under the idea that the corals I keep don’t eat it and I’m really just “ polluting “ the tank if I add it to the water column ( I don’t have clams and filter feeders) however I’ve discovered this isn’t really the direct relationship ... the acros tend to eat bacteria ... and bacteria eats the phyto so , essentially you are gutloading the bacteria for your sps to consume ...
These things and I’ve seen a jump in not onLy color but chunkyness of corallites, polyp extension and just overall look. Here are some of the frags that I’m seeing the positive signs on. Also I’ve attached a weird marine plant I’ve never seen in all my reef experiencing and place a 20 dollar bounty lol on anyone that can name it... sorry for any spelling mistakes , just wanted to share quick .
For starters
Parameters I care about:
Alk - 8.75 - pretty stable calcium reactor /trident
Ph- 8-8.22 (8.11-8.30, that’s a 1 of the things)
Nitrate- 20( Also a thing)
Phosphorus - 16-20
Magnesium 1390-1410
Calc- 420-460
Temp 77.3-78
- things I’ve changed -
I’m 33, and been in the hobby since I was 15 and have seen the emergence of all the new tech that has helped our hobby over the years ... but the general thing I’ve always tried to replicate is that somewhat 0 nutrient environment ... thinking that with so little in the water most corals would extend and it was about finding that equilibrium of keeping them fed but also with extended polyps to have an amazing aesthetic ....
But during the last couple months I’ve had more time to examine all the things that i think contribute to coral health and that extra color ( I am taking the assumption that adequate lighting and flow and all the generic building blocks are good)
- I’ve added a co2 scrubber ... this has brought my ph range from 8-8.22 to 8.11-8.30 ...
- I’ve started dosing nitrate /nitrogen . Keeping the nitrates around 20 has been incredible for growth and coloration . I have a lot of fish , granted ... but simply feeding more doesn’t do the trick, the nitrogen is easy to dose and pretty gentle.
The most unusual thing I’ve changed is phytoplankton . I’ve always been under the idea that the corals I keep don’t eat it and I’m really just “ polluting “ the tank if I add it to the water column ( I don’t have clams and filter feeders) however I’ve discovered this isn’t really the direct relationship ... the acros tend to eat bacteria ... and bacteria eats the phyto so , essentially you are gutloading the bacteria for your sps to consume ...
These things and I’ve seen a jump in not onLy color but chunkyness of corallites, polyp extension and just overall look. Here are some of the frags that I’m seeing the positive signs on. Also I’ve attached a weird marine plant I’ve never seen in all my reef experiencing and place a 20 dollar bounty lol on anyone that can name it... sorry for any spelling mistakes , just wanted to share quick .
