DeFarts' IM 50gal Lagoon Journey

[MarcosD]

I find it difficult to keep this journal updated. I was supposed to do some testing today, and never got around to it. My last tests showed depressed alk, mag, and pH. My Ca was elevated into the 500s. I have been dosing A4R for the past month. So in light of the way Tropic Marin recommends their products, I need to dose other products to balance things out. I have also been adding Mag supplement to get my numbers up slowly.

On top of that, I recently had one of my HyperReef lights die. Not sure if it was the light or the power supply. I haven't made time to troubleshoot it. Moved my single light to the center, raised it up, and increased output. Now my purple stylo is bleaching which absolutely sucks! One of my favorite pieces in that tank. So I turned down the intensity to see if I can get the color back.

Quick shot of the PC Rainbow. Most of the other sticks seem to be happy and growing.
View attachment 64151

I know @Kensington Reefer has mentioned the Nicrew lights have power supply issues so it’s probably that. I think I’ve just been lucky with mine so far that I haven’t seen the issue. Hope I didn’t just jinx myself lol

 

[MichaelB]

I know @Kensington Reefer has mentioned the Nicrew lights have power supply issues so it’s probably that. I think I’ve just been lucky with mine so far that I haven’t seen the issue. Hope I didn’t just jinx myself lol

I've had to replace one because I actually lost it lol. It happened when I first got the lights I was playing with them and put the power supply up as not to loose it. Still haven't found it almost going on a year later.

 

[Darkxerox]

How have you been mixing your salt and is your salinity measurement accurate? I find my Mag drops via precipitation if I overshoot my salinity target (like 37-40ppt) and try to bring it back down with fresh water. Keeping the salt airtight helps too since it's pretty hygroscopic.

 

[Alexander1312]

I'm not a big fan of all for reef, although there are larger tanks that seem to be very (!) successful with just running AFR (or ready to reef, the Fauna Marin version). Relatively higher Alk than CA consumption (using an all-in-one product) seems to indicate that the alk is working harder to balance out higher CO2 or other acidity in the tank than the actual coral growth, which is better reflected in the CA uptake. Low MG is a common issue with this product, unfortunately. A two-part product seems better for your case.

Oh, and I have a hyper reef light I am not using.

 

[MichaelB]

I mainly use afr and I maybe once a month adjust things with esv 2 part + thw eav magnesium

 

[ReyDeFarts]

How have you been mixing your salt and is your salinity measurement accurate? I find my Mag drops via precipitation if I overshoot my salinity target (like 37-40ppt) and try to bring it back down with fresh water. Keeping the salt airtight helps too since it's pretty hygroscopic.

I mix mine in a 55 gal barrel. It's not air tight and typically stays stored for up to two weeks while I work through it doing water changes on all the tanks. My salinity has been consistent during my mixing. I shoot for 33-34 ppt. I normally stop around 30-32 and wait until the next day to let everything dissolve before adding more, if needed.

I'm not a big fan of all for reef, although there are larger tanks that seem to be very (!) successful with just running AFR (or ready to reef, the Fauna Marin version). Relatively higher Alk than CA consumption (using an all-in-one product) seems to indicate that the alk is working harder to balance out higher CO2 or other acidity in the tank than the actual coral growth, which is better reflected in the CA uptake. Low MG is a common issue with this product, unfortunately.

Plus using kalkwasser depresses Mag too I believe. I like the simplicity of the A4R. Helps buy me some time between water changes for replacing some of the traces is what I was after, when I was dealing with the dinos issue. That issue has been dealt with, but I just keep using it. I am fighting CO² issues right now, with windows staying closed more often now. But I am seeing considerable growth with some of my SPS. So I do think I'm dealing with depressed pH and consumption from the corals.

A two-part product seems better for your case.

I have 3 additional dosing heads available that I could use. I've been too lazy to set up the A4R on the doser. I haven't even tried to calculate any of the consumption for Ca, Mg, or Alk. I suppose I should get that figured out. Feels like it will be a constantly moving target as things continue to grow.

Oh, and I have a hyper reef light I am not using.

Ohhh! Available for sale by chance?

 

[Darkxerox]

I mix mine in a 55 gal barrel. It's not air tight and typically stays stored for up to two weeks while I work through it doing water changes on all the tanks. My salinity has been consistent during my mixing. I shoot for 33-34 ppt. I normally stop around 30-32 and wait until the next day to let everything dissolve before adding more, if needed.

Plus using kalkwasser depresses Mag too I believe. I like the simplicity of the A4R. Helps buy me some time between water changes for replacing some of the traces is what I was after, when I was dealing with the dinos issue. That issue has been dealt with, but I just keep using it. I am fighting CO² issues right now, with windows staying closed more often now. But I am seeing considerable growth with some of my SPS. So I do think I'm dealing with depressed pH and consumption from the corals.


I have 3 additional dosing heads available that I could use. I've been too lazy to set up the A4R on the doser. I haven't even tried to calculate any of the consumption for Ca, Mg, or Alk. I suppose I should get that figured out. Feels like it will be a constantly moving target as things continue to grow.


Ohhh! Available for sale by chance?

What salt are you using? Some have shown to lose alk the longer they sit mixing.

 

[ReyDeFarts]

What salt are you using? Some have shown to lose alk the longer they sit mixing.

IO Reef Crystals - my alk on freshly mixed even after a couple weeks of storage was upward of 10. I haven't performed another alk test on it for quite a while. Knowing that is one of the higher ones though, I just haven't worried about it much.

I have also used some alk buffer solutions to increase it and help me supplement between a WC

 

[Alexander1312]

Ohhh! Available for sale by chance?

We can work something out.

 

[ReyDeFarts]

Geez... it has been quite some time since I updated this journal. @tribbitt gave me a gentle nudge to post an update.

I've been focused on so much other stuff in life and for the club that I ended up ignoring this thread. The tank has been doing ok for most of 2025. Mostly on cruise control as the nutrients hover at a med/high level. And various other parameters drifting back and forth between good and bad. I am still only dosing Kalkwasser. There was a stretch that I incorporated All for Reef but my Ca skyrocketed and Mg plummeted. So I stopped and tried to bring back some balance to the major elements. I also tried carbon dosing with vinegar for a while, but decided to stop. But for now, it will continue to get its random water changes 2-3x/month.

Long term goal is to break down this tank and transition it to something else. Not sure what that will be.

Here are a few pics to bring some anxiety to some of you that prefer stable line graphs you know who you are...

Big R Walt Disney

Nick's Purple Passion

BC Bubblebath Unicorn

TSA Bill Murray - playing with color temperature and filter... relax

I need help with this one. It is a named piece and I stupidly lost track of where/who I got it from. It might be a DBTC or from a swap. I need a better system of tracking what I bring in. If this looks familiar to anyone, I'd appreciate your insight.

Key Lime Pie acquired from Luke at Wine Country Corals at a CFM. Normally has better PE but I accidentally touched it before I started getting pics. Booo...