Cali Kid Corals

Squist's RSR 250

Squist said:
What helped the most? The aquascape. I have total and easy access to entirely vacuum the sand. Takes all but 15 mins and into a filter sock. This gave me the advantage of staying on top of its critical mass.

Second: increased water flow. I hadn’t realized that my pumps weren’t running at 100%. Maybe 60%. Cranking them up with the simple turn of a knob helped clear the rock and suspend dinos in the water column. I basted regularly in nooks and crannies too (which I had done all along but the flow has helped.)

These easily observable factors I think were most important, allowing the “invisible” ones to make their impact. And these, naturally, will be up for debate.

I’m working on a report of what I did, scope photos, and will post ASAP.
Click to expand...
Did you use rowaphos or other po4 remover media?
Increasing return flow rate improve nutrient export and the effectiveness if your mechanical filtration. Return flow rate is such an important metric in a system that some times get overlooked...great job in improving it .
Vacuuming alone is useful but my understanding is not enough without addressing the toit cause like silica in the system, lack of biological diversity or nutrients imbalance.
Intersted in knowing your debugging details..
 
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UV, Rowaphos, and other steps I took will be in my follow up. Where vacuuming and flow gave the upper hand, the “invisible” factors are finishing it off for sure.

@Chromis asked: “what do I think helped the most?” To me: physical removal helped most.

Silicate removal, UV zapping, and bacteriological bombardment are finishing the deal. I’m submitting an ICP test soon and will have a better gauge on some other factors too.

More to come.
 
Oh neat, I remember I put a pair of those on at the Coral Farmers Market last year and remember everything just had an orange haze to it. But then again I should have kept them on for a while (but they weren't mine), maybe they get like ski goggles where they initially look "red" (or whatever color) but after a little bit your brain quite literally does a "white balance" and things look normal... that is until you take them off and the snow looks blue for a bit :D
 
squist_rsr250_rbta_20200319.png


I confess: broke civil protocols today and picked up a plump RBTA from @ashburn2k along with some eye-popping zoas. Thanks mate! Nice additions!! In accordance with our wives insistence: we wore masks and gloves. Reefing's essential, after all!

(Waiting on my ICP test results for the next journal update. Pleased with how things are shaping up.)
 
Repurposing a post from recent UV Sterilizer thread, it's a good addition to the tank journal.

I am seeing pretty significant increase in my tank's biodiversity lately. In part from the new tank settling-in, I'm also adding AlgaeBarn's pods and OceanMagik as well as a hefty daily dose of Microbacter7 (7 ml/day mixed with 250 ml tank water).

I am seeing less dinoflagellate activity in the sand bed and more micro-bio critters using the USB magnifying scope. I also see amazing comet-like streaks of life in the water. I have no idea what these bugs are. They appear to be white in light, move super-fast, and pivot on a dime. Is this phytoplankton?

I'm want to dig into reef tank microbiology more and these guys have my interest.

Notice the streaks the fly by in the background. Just behind the specks on the glass. 25 seconds in.
https://imgur.com/a/rHpJbwM
 
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Hi I’ve been following the thread for a bit and wanted to ask, since I might be having a very beginning of dinoflagellates (blow this browny thing off corals and within a day or next it comes back. NO3 was almost zero on Nyos for at least 2 weeks). I just started a blackout yesterday and came across Dr. Tim’s Dino recipe. Has anyone tried? I ordered the re fresh and waste away that are arriving on Monday and will try that if blackout doesn’t seem to work... https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/dinoflagellate-treatment-bundle-dr-tim-s.html
 
Right tang for the right job, look at the mouth. Yellow will be fine for picking off the stringy stuff, but won't really scrape the rocks clean as Mike suggested. That said, definitely think it could put a dent in at least the ugly stuff in the tank.
 
My yellow is a cleaning beast. And very docile.

I have some areas he can’t get into to clean. So every now and again, I move the rocks to an area he can get to. Within 5 minutes it’s clean.
 
Thanks for sharing your yellow tang experience! I have a Yellow-eyed Kole tang coming soon. It’s working through Bay Bridge Aquarium’s QT program.
 
Received Fauna Marin ICP test results for a sample collected end-of-March. Comparing to a prior ICP test 2 months ago through Triton it's apparent that I've got work to do. Last week I started weekly 30 liter water changes to dilute values seen in red below. I am overdosing, I suspect, in some cases. While other areas are just working themselves out; see: silicon, was: 3572 µg/l and recently 1080 µg/l; down 234% in a couple months.

If you're interested in a thread regarding Triton ICP v Fauna Marin ICP, here's the link to it.


ICP Test Record Squist RSR250 20200404.png
 
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