Day 119
It's been awhile since I updated. My dog chewed through my power cord to my work computer, so I've got some time to update my tank journal
. So I guess I'll try to go systematically with what I've been up to over the past couple months with the tank.
Start with a FTS taken w iPhone
Tank inhabitants, living and dead (in order of entry):
1. CUC (all snails no crabs, fighting conch x2, trochus, cerith, nassarius, cleaner, scarlet and peppermint shrimp)
2. Blue-green chromis x2
3. Now mated pair of Black Ice ocellaris
4. Melanarus wrasse, blue green chromic x3 (only 1 now remains as it killed the other 2 during TTM for a total of 3 chromis)
5. Royal flasher wrasse, tailspin blenny (I noticed the wrasse had a broken jaw after bringing home, and after about a week in the DT after TTM he died)
6. Yellow Tang
7. Bartlett anthias x3, Purple Tang now in TTM
Current corals:
Warpaint Scoly
Purple torch w green tips
Pulsing xenia
Assorted acans
Assorted zoas/palys
Plating montipora (Idaho grape, pink, green)
Encrusting montipora (rainbow, mystic sunset, superman, orenji, purple haze)
ORA "Bird of Paradise" Seriatopora
Orange seriatopora guttatus (teal polyps)
Pink stylophora
Purple polyp stylophora
Plating green leptoseris
Green slimer
Pink lemonade
ORA red planet
ORA green planet
Oregon tort
Orange setosa
Rainbow milli
Bubblegum milli
Berlin method tenuis
Miyagi tort
Rainbow spath
Strawberry shortcake
Acropora Saementosa
Meteor shower cyphastrea
Equipment
Bought a used MP40, non QD and upgraded driver to QD, so now I have 3 MP40, two on one side. Wanted help with a dead spot and add a bit more flow.
I added a second Neptune dos; originally was going to be for continuous water change, but now I use one for BRS 2 part, and the second for a Zeovit additives (Zeostart 3, carbon dosing, second pump is not used at the moment).
I also added a second CO2 scrubber added in line to my first.
Lastly, my artfully acrylic clear view lid finally arrived
Testing
I test alk using Hanna Checker almost daily. I test Ca probably twice a week; probably could go to once a week or more, but I'm just curious. I test phos weekly, and Mag probably month. Potassium is such a pain in the butt to test that I've tested it twice, and I think I'm low. I've got some potassium citrate powder, but I haven't worked up the courage to dose yet.
I use all red sea pro test kits except Hanna for Alk and Phos. I recently got the ultralow Phosphate checker because I had a hard time with telling the difference on the low end of the Red Sea test. Not having much problems with the powder packets.
Milwaukee refractometer
Parameters
Temp 77-79
pH 8.2-8.35
SG 1.024-1.025
Alk 7.4
Ca 405
Mg 1250
Nitrate undetectable
Phos ~0.02 - 0.05, depends on when I test
K 320 (not sure how accurate this is)
Maintenance
Doing a 5g water change once a week using KZ's Reefer's Best Salt. I know that doesn't sound like much, but per zeovit, that's all that is needed: a 5-10% water change once a week or every other week.
Knowing that 20kg of salt should give me 130g, I used a kitchen scale and weighed out the salt into 2kg parcels after mixing well. I know exactly where to fill my rubbermaid with RODI and dump in the ziplock bag of salt to make 13g of mixed 1.025 SW.
Refilling my 10g ATO about once a week
2 part, currently adding about 70ml/day of each
Zeovit: Daily pump the zeovit reactor, dosing Zeostart 3x/day (diluted zeostart 1:20, and adding 18ml daily), 3ml of Pohl's Xtra daily, 3 drops of Coral Vitalizer, 2 drops of Sponge Power. Every 3-4 days 4 drops of Zeobac. Every month or so, 3ml of Coral Snow, change KZ carbon in filter bag. Every 8-10 weeks change Zeostones.
Feeding
Currently feeding about 3 big pinches of Hikari Marine-S twice a day
Every other day or so, I feed 1/2 cube of mysis
My yellow tang is currently fat and eating the tank algae. I've been placing nori rubber banded to a rock, but he hasn't touched it yet
Coral feeding, every other day I mix 1/2 teaspoon of reef frenzy and 1/2 teaspoon of reef roids and broadcast feed; on alternate days, I add KZ LPS AA at night.
Recently bought Roti- and Oyster- feast, and might start feeding with that.
Lighting
2 AP700s
"Actinics" come on at 10% at 6am, they stay low at 10% until 1pm when my light cycle really starts, ramping up to 15% then 25% then peaking at 30%, progressively more whitish, and then ramping down back to super blue 10% at 9pm. Moonlight mode from 10P-6A.
I recently removed my Slight Diffusion Lenses on my AP700s, and turned down the intensity of the light by 20% (my peak before this was 50% intensity on the Kessil app). I did this because the lenses cut down PAR by 30%, and I felt like ultimately if I was going to remove them at some point, I'd rather remove them early than later. I didn't want to run my lights as high to get the high PAR that I felt I ultimately might need. But in doing so, two of my smooth skin acros bleached really quickly (Red Dragon and Ice Fire echinata). I think it was the combination of increased PAR and more shimmer. But hopefully that has stabilized and i can start ramping up the lighting again slowly. I'd like to get the light to 50% or so intensity, and am planning to increase 1 percent every week. My lighting is currently at 30% so increasing by 1% is really a 3% change weekly. Hopefully this isn't too fast...
Concerns
1. My acros are kinda pale. They come in brilliantly colored, and they start losing color over weeks. They are encrusting and growing, but their color is not great. Trying to feed more. Hopefully when I add the Purple Tang and 3 Anthias that will help with bioload.
2. Lighting, increasing 1% per week will take my ~6 months to get to 50%. Am I going too slow or fast?
3. I hope my anthers don't kill each other in the 10g tank, and that my purple tang doesn't become the devil incarnate once its in my DT. Another concern is that within a 24 hours or so, the TTM tank water starts getting cloudy. I dose a few drops of prime, but I still worry about that super cloudy water.
4. Tang feeding. I keep presenting nori, but they aren't eating it. I guess I just have to wait for them to get hungry? Strange, but I wish I had more algae in my DT now. My yellow has almost cleared it all.
5. Potassium, zeovit is known to have low potassium; something about the stones absorbing it, or the skimmer skimming it out with additives. One of these days I will try testing again and give the potassium chloride a try...carefully.
Oh, and I bought these zoas yesterday from someone on RC. Can't wait for them to grow out. Ok I guess that's it for now. Man, this verbal diarrhea is therapeutic for the treatment of Reef Anxiety, a new diagnosis in the DSM-5 Manual.
