Kessil

Alex’s IM 150 EXT

derek_SR said:
120 would be more spread, 60 would be less (narrower).
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Yes, but I assumed you wanted to/could put up to two bars on either side, and need the keep the strength of the Reefis - 120s would make them weaker due to the wider spread. But thinking about it, the 60s would then be probably too strong for the narrower area they are covering, so it would not make sense to change from the 90s (which I assume you are using). Still not sure how running bars only vs a combined setup is better but seems you have figured this out. A good problem to have, and both are high quality options anyway.
 
Alexander1312 said:
Yes, but I assumed you wanted to/could put up to two bars on either side, and need the keep the strength of the Reefis - 120s would make them weaker due to the wider spread. But thinking about it, the 60s would then be probably too strong for the narrower area they are covering, so it would not make sense to change from the 90s (which I assume you are using). Still not sure how running bars only vs a combined setup is better but seems you have figured this out. A good problem to have, and both are high quality options anyway.
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I don't need the PAR, the Reefis are running at a mere 65W. It's all about the spread. If you have ever seen a tank lit with T5s - there's a dramatic difference in the blanket of light, even compared to a ton of LED fixtures. I'm trying to replicate that since T5s have long been considered the gold standard for SPS growth (I believe Halides have very good spread too but I have not seen a nice SPS tank lit by Halides in person). I nearly considered a T5 fixture for this tank but didn't want to deal with the heat, the bulk, and the bulbs.

I think Luca even intended the Helix to basically imitate a T5 bulb. But yeah agreed, both are great options. The Reefis are very good lights - but I would get significantly more spread with a full Helix setup. And more than anything else, that is the limiting constraint for me right now. Some acros don't care that much, but some of the more sensitive and difficult ones will lose flesh quickly anywhere there isn't direct light. There may be other factors at play too, but this seems consistent with other keepers of very dense acropora - and it's only going to get worse as they grow so trying to stay ahead of it.

Absolutely necessary for a nice tank? No. Optimal for acropora? I think probably yes.
 
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For my own record since it is hard to keep track where I am buying some things from these days. CO2 scrubber material of good quality from Ebay.

IMG_2015.jpeg
 
Alexander1312 said:
Latest ICP Results (new design of the report, but not a significant improvement in my opinion):

Observations:

The good
- Finally able to reduce Nitrates below 10 mg/l, which took several months to get there (the 11 days shipping reduced it further so it was a bit higher than what it is showing, more around 8).

The bad
- Continue to see 0 values for several trace elements despite increased dosing. Gonies suffer from this in my opinion. Claude says the refugium is the reason for the 0 values and he said I should take it out. Thinking about doing it but not 100% there yet.

The ugly
- 11 days from shipping to results with new west coast collection point Route 66 (LA/coral farm). Not acceptable and I will send it through Lousiana again next time which is faster. To their defense, they totally upgraded their ICP lab during this time which added another 2 days, so technically only 9 days, which is still longer than usual.
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You still using PNS Homegrow regularly?
Maybe putting your skimmer on part time hours since ur fuge is so productive
 
PjFish said:
You still using PNS Homegrow regularly?
Maybe putting your skimmer on part time hours since ur fuge is so productive
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Oh no, the homegrow was used up months ago, probably a reason for my persistent nitrate levels which are now under control, corals loved it though.

I use the skimmer for oxygenation and primarily ozone 24/7, so do not like to to turn it off really.

I am really not sure how productive the refugium is. It grows, I take stuff out, but it never fills up the entire part in the sump. Maybe big enough to take out all minor traces.
 
Alexander1312 said:
The section of the sump where it is is larger, but it never fills it really, maybe one third or so only, so never a lot of cheato growth, since I do manage nutrients. There is probably no point in keeping it except for pod growth etc.
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Had a discussion with Chad, Kenny, and several others about just this today. General consensus was, for lack of a better word f^ck that sh!t. Chad (Reef Nutrition) said pods don’t need it, they live primarily in the rock and on substrate, chaeto/algae reactors in general don’t matter. Kenny confirmed with his own personal experience. I mean of course to each their own, if it’s working for you cool, but over complicating things tend to cause more problems than they fix.

After today I’m not going to bother with a refugium or reactor for the new tank, I was already leaning away- if anything I can add it in down the road if I feel the need.
 
yosemiteclimber said:
Had a discussion with Chad, Kenny, and several others about just this today. General consensus was, for lack of a better word f^ck that sh!t. Chad (Reef Nutrition) said pods don’t need it, they live primarily in the rock and on substrate, chaeto/algae reactors in general don’t matter. Kenny confirmed with his own personal experience. I mean of course to each their own, if it’s working for you cool, but over complicating things tend to cause more problems than they fix.

After today I’m not going to bother with a refugium or reactor for the new tank, I was already leaning away- if anything I can add it in down the road if I feel the need.
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Yes, I am on the brink of taking the chaeto out. Maybe a quick recap of what the refugium is supposed to do:

- Improve PH stability due to inverse light cycle.
- Reduce nutrients (although I believe this is primarily nitrates)
- Potentially outcompetes other algae (?).
- Provides a home for pods - but so do rocks etc

It is rather simple to setup if it can fit into the sump which it does in my case. So not really a complicated setup.

So from all the benefits, the PH stability is probably the hardest to give up, specificially because I am not (and will not) use Kalkwasser. The alkalinity should be able to buffer this out though.

I might do what Andy @ReyDeFarts suggested to remove (slowly) only a portion of cheato and see what happens and let it gradually adjust to a 0 cheato environment.
 
Alexander1312 said:
specificially because I am not (and will not) use Kalkwasser.
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I feel attacked by this statement! Haaa haaaa. I'm only kidding btw.

I know you've touched on it before. I believe here and maybe another thread. I need to pick your brain more to understand your stance. Because so many folks still swear by it. But the many EU reefers I follow on social media, have been off it for many years already. Very different reefing styles.
 
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