Cali Kid Corals

Alex’s IM 150 EXT

15,000 ml highly diluted alkalinity solution (+traces), which should last approximately 25 days, and a 5 gallon skimmate container, and a 5,000 ml CA (+traces) container. Perfect fit, but no room for anything else now. Dosing setup is now vacation ready.

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Webcam views for the main tank (edit: Eufy 2k/4k, no filter).

Edit: Added another side view camera (Panasonic HomeHawk, 1080p). This side will get algae quickly, but hopefully the camera blocks out a lot of outside light so I can still see inside the tank for a while.

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MichaelB said:
What cameras are you using? Very clear images. Do you notice any issues under blue lighting or do you run more white spectrums?

On my tank during all blue periods i see nothing. I was considering taping a orange filter onto the camera.
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Yes, my tank is very camera-friendly, I do not need filters really. They are all Eufy, 2k on the side and sump, 4k dual lense for the front.
 
Never measured this exactly, but wanted to do it now. Any thoughts about the amount of dry food that comes out daily - 4 feedings / 1:30 minutes per feeding? This amount seen is 6 minutes running the plank feeder.

Edit: Added list of fish (excluding the yellow tang :()

Edit 2: This is a mix of AVAST Reef Jerky, Seaweed Extreme, Large TDO, Medium TDO, Small TDO, and two types of Ocean Nutrition flakes.

Edit 3: Dry food will be fed in addition to a significant amount of frozen food every other day, and two sheets of seaweed every other day.

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Comprehensive Ozone Guide

I like the use of Ozone, but I have not seen too many detailed sources in English (it seems much more popular with German hobbyists). This is a super-comprehensive, well-done Ozone guide from @Tamara Marshall Manta Systems. There are many other nice articles in her Reef Library.

www.mantasystems.net

Manta Systems

Expert saltwater aquarium guidance for hobbyists! Learn about corals, fish care, nutrition, and advanced reef-keeping techniques to keep your tank thriving. Get started today!
www.mantasystems.net www.mantasystems.net

I am considering switching to an Ozone reactor (from adding it into the skimmer), but I have only seen the one from Avast, which looks a bit cumbersome to assemble.
 
Alexander1312 said:
Comprehensive Ozone Guide

I like the use of Ozone, but I have not seen too many detailed sources in English (it seems much more popular with German hobbyists). This is a super-comprehensive, well-done Ozone guide from @Tamara Marshall Manta Systems. There are many other nice articles in her Reef Library.

www.mantasystems.net

Manta Systems

Expert saltwater aquarium guidance for hobbyists! Learn about corals, fish care, nutrition, and advanced reef-keeping techniques to keep your tank thriving. Get started today!
www.mantasystems.net www.mantasystems.net

I am considering switching to an Ozone reactor (from adding it into the skimmer), but I have only seen the one from Avast, which looks a bit cumbersome to assemble.
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Geo makes a nice reactor and recently released a smaller version for tanks < 200 gallons. Might be worth a look if your reactor shopping.
 
psidriven said:
Given ozone’s anti microbial properties effect on pathogens, what is its effect on beneficial bacteria?
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Good question - this is covered in the article too:

Effects of Ozone on Biological Filtration​

1. Impact on Beneficial Bacteria​

Ozone is a strong oxidizer, but when used in appropriate concentrations, it should not significantly impact beneficial bacteria in the aquarium’s biological filtration system. Beneficial bacteria, such as those responsible for the nitrogen cycle (nitrifying bacteria), primarily reside on surfaces like live rock, sand, and in the biological media of filters. Ozone, when used in a controlled environment like an ozone reactor or protein skimmer, is not directly introduced into these areas, minimizing its contact with beneficial bacteria.

However, if ozone is overdosed or if residual ozone reaches the tank water, it could have some negative effects on the bacterial population, leading to a disruption of the nitrogen cycle. This could result in temporary spikes in ammonia or nitrite levels, which are harmful to fish and corals. This is another reason why monitoring with an ORP controller and using activated carbon to filter out residual ozone is essential.

2. Ozone and Nitrifying Bacteria​

Ozone's strong oxidative properties can break down ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates in the water column, indirectly supporting the nitrogen cycle by making these compounds more manageable. However, this does not replace the role of nitrifying bacteria but complements their function. It’s important not to rely solely on ozone for ammonia control, as stable biological filtration is the cornerstone of a healthy aquarium ecosystem.
 
Cannot wait for my return flight as I am buying too many things here (Germany), and suitcases are already maxed out (still one more week to go). Looks like this will be the first time in years I will have to ship things back.

I have been looking at this pump for quite a while as a future replacement of my gyres, or at least the two vertical gyres I am using, potentially keeping the two below the water surface.

I got now a great deal for one pump in a store I had not been to before, and thought I would try it out. If it works out I will buy another one for the other side. I do not think they can be properly positioned below the water surface, but I will still try this too.

I still think that gyres produce superior flow, but the cleaning is not fun, and every time I do I worry about breaking something - I bought a couple of new impellers for the XF350 while here since they cannot be purchased anywhere in the US from what I know.

These pumps seem to be not needing a lot of cleaning, apparantly only every 6 months or less, and their flow seems massive. Will report back once I had a chance to try it out.

Turbelle® stream 3 - Tunze

Hi-Tech für Aquaristik
www.tunze.com www.tunze.com

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Alexander1312 said:
Cannot wait for my return flight as I am buying too many things here (Germany), and suitcases are already maxed out (still one more week to go). Looks like this will be the first time in years I will have to ship things back.

I have been looking at this pump for quite a while as a future replacement of my gyres, or at least the two vertical gyres I am using, potentially keeping the two below the water surface.

I got now a great deal for one pump in a store I had not been to before, and thought I would try it out. If it works out I will buy another one for the other side. I do not think they can be properly positioned below the water surface, but I will still try this too.

I still think that gyres produce superior flow, but the cleaning is not fun, and every time I do I worry about breaking something - I bought a couple of new impellers for the XF350 while here since they cannot be purchased anywhere in the US from what I know.

These pumps seem to be not needing a lot of cleaning, apparantly only every 6 months or less, and their flow seems massive. Will report back once I had a chance to try it out.

Turbelle® stream 3 - Tunze

Hi-Tech für Aquaristik
www.tunze.com www.tunze.com

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The funny thing was Felix saying the pump has been a failure despite being really efficient, but it is super ugly and resembles a sex toy lol
 
Darkxerox said:
The funny thing was Felix saying the pump has been a failure despite being really efficient, but it is super ugly and resembles a sex toy lol
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Yes, most other flow pumps look beautiful so there is tough competition. But he has to listen to his customers. As he said though, brilliant technology, and they released an updated model recently, and I still believe this could be a ‘better’ gyre.
 
10 days into vacation, both tanks looked fine until yesterday.

I noticed the Red Sea ATO filled up a rather large amount of water yesterday (timed out after a while), and another round today.

Simple reason was that the skimmer overflowed while lights were turned off. This led to the 5 gallon skimmer container to reach the skimmer sensor water height which turned off the skimmer (great job Hydros).

I only had the sensor at the 3.5 gallon mark so still some room to raise the sensor up (manually). Also. lowered the pump from level 4 to 3 of the VarioS4S, and lowered the water level in the skimmer from 2 to 3. Lastly, will add another 4 gallon of fresh saltwater over the next few days. All of this was done by the person who does the fish feeding.

Seems like I should have listened to @dangalang who recommended to run the skimmer more dry. I did test it though for a couple of weeks before going on vacation and it seemed fine. And something happened in the tank overnight, which caused the skimmer to overflow suddenly rather than gradually. Maybe there was some massive snail or urchin spawning, etc. Did not think of this before tbh.

Otherwise, tank seems great, I can still see through the windows from all sides which surprised me.

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Alexander1312 said:
10 days into vacation, both tanks looked fine until yesterday.

I noticed the Red Sea ATO filled up a rather large amount of water yesterday (timed out after a while), and another round today.

Simple reason was that the skimmer overflowed while lights were turned off. This led to the 5 gallon skimmer container to reach the skimmer sensor water height which turned off the skimmer (great job Hydros).

I only had the sensor at the 3.5 gallon mark so still some room to raise the sensor up (manually). Also. lowered the pump from level 4 to 3 of the VarioS4S, and lowered the water level in the skimmer from 2 to 3. Lastly, will add another 4 gallon of fresh saltwater over the next few days. All of this was done by the person who does the fish feeding.

Seems like I should have listened to @dangalang who recommended to run the skimmer more dry. I did test it though for a couple of weeks before going on vacation and it seemed fine. And something happened in the tank overnight, which caused the skimmer to overflow suddenly rather than gradually. Maybe there was some massive snail or urchin spawning, etc. Did not think of this before tbh.

Otherwise, tank seems great, I can still see through the windows from all sides which surprised me.

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It's Good u have the cameras so you aren’t wrecking your nerves over all the ill possibilites at least from seeing data only.
 
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