Melev's new 280g Starfire tank thread - Page 2

melev · #26 12/24/2006, 03:16 PM

Click here to learn about the Reef Tree.

Lunchbucket · #27 12/24/2006, 03:45 PM

melev - funny thing is that when i was doing my every other week 10-15gal water changes i think my bryopsis was growing faster then now. i'm doing 10-15gal every 4wks or so. i think the bryopsis must be sucking up some element that is needed for growth and when it runs out it stalls it more. then when i do a water change it has more to fuel it.

could be your situation too?
Lunchbucket

melev · #28 12/24/2006, 05:40 PM

What salt do you use, Eric? I'm using Kent.

purebullet417 · #29 12/24/2006, 11:12 PM

hey melev hows the new tank comming along

Lunchbucket · #30 12/25/2006, 12:22 PM

using RC buddy. been using that since day one.

you like Kent??

i still wonder if it isn't some trace mineral in the salt? makes sense as you have to add stuff to get crops to grow if it is limiting

Lunchbucket

melev · #31 12/25/2006, 02:42 PM

It does seem to coordinate with a water change. If it was water-only, I would see it all the time as I top off around the clock. *sigh*

jnarowe · #32 12/25/2006, 03:14 PM

I just did a water change with 50% Kent and had a bad LPS reaction. I use mostly Ocean Pure but I am running low and used some Kent for my final salinity adjustment. I just can't imagine that small amount would have that immediate of an effect in a system with 1,200g.

hahnmeister · #33 12/26/2006, 03:47 PM

I stay away from Kent and Oceanic FWIW.

melev · #34 12/26/2006, 06:54 PM

At least, I think so.

Micki · #35 12/26/2006, 07:11 PM

LOL

bklynmet · #36 12/26/2006, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev

I did a water change last week; the last one was easily 4 to 6 weeks ago. Oddly enough, now I see what appears to be signs of dinoflagellates on the back wall of the tank. You'd think new water would improve water quality. Hmmm.

I read a chapter in a J. Sprung book at the LFS this past weekend on Dinos and he recommends no water changes in the book wihtout much of an explanation. I can only deduce that it gives certain bacteria the opportunity to grow and outcompete for the nutrients the Dino is consuming as well. This bacteria may have taken a hit when you did the Chemi clean dosing a few months back. RHF had an article on Dinos a month or two back in Reefkeeing but do not recall him discussing frequency of water changes.

I'm having similar issues - no cyano just Dino - and I've been doing weekly water changes to get rid of the cyano and succeeded with that but Dinos took off... Water nutirent levels appear low as there isn't much algae growing on the glass as well. I'll now cut back on water changes and slowly raise the tank's pH per RHF article and hopefully it'll do the trick.

bklynmet · #37 12/26/2006, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
melev - funny thing is that when i was doing my every other week 10-15gal water changes i think my bryopsis was growing faster then now. i'm doing 10-15gal every 4wks or so. i think the bryopsis must be sucking up some element that is needed for growth and when it runs out it stalls it more. then when i do a water change it has more to fuel it.

could be your situation too?
Lunchbucket

should've read on to page 2 of the new split

it does seems counter intuitive that this would be an issue after a water change. Since I'm back home now I'll try and see what I can dig up on the subject and let you if I find information based on controlled testing.

melev · #38 12/26/2006, 08:43 PM

Well, I've got cyano returning in full force. My refugium is red throughout yet again, and I'm seeing it in my reef in a couple of spots. I'm going to dose again once my order comes in from Marine Depot.

Tbduval · #39 12/26/2006, 09:28 PM

Why is the cyano starting in the fuge first? Could something be releasing nutrients back into the water? What plants are you using in your fuge? Also, when you where having the PO4 war long ago, do you think it maybe stored in the LR & LS? Have you thought about changing the sand in the fuge & maybe in the display tank? Just some thoughts. I had the same problem in one of my old tanks, I just think mine was from excessive nutrients that were stored up. The cyano could fuel itselfs even though there is no present nutrients in the water! Good luck.

LittleBlueGT · #40 12/26/2006, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
Well, I've got cyano returning in full force. My refugium is red throughout yet again, and I'm seeing it in my reef in a couple of spots. I'm going to dose again once my order comes in from Marine Depot.

Haven't said this for a few months:

OZONE!!!!

I know people have said you need to run carbon, but:

I just started running carbon (and phosphate media) for the last two months on my system. I have noticed absolutley no difference at all. Previous to that I ran ozone all on its own through my skimmer w/o carbon for 3 years, and all was well.

melev · #41 12/26/2006, 10:06 PM

I'm not really sure what is causing this stuff to grow in my tank. I don't feed nearly what I used to, and my PO4 tests are measuring less than .1. A couple of months ago, I drained the refugium completely, washed all the sand and restarted it. It was 99.9% clean at that point.

One person suggested that the stuff floating on the surface right after I feed goes down the overflow that feeds my refugium, giving that zone an excessive amount of fuel to work with. It's a plausible idea.

The only reason I've never run ozone in the past is because my fishroom gets so humid that I felt the dryer beads would be useless in a matter of days, especially in the summer months.

LittleBlueGT · #42 12/26/2006, 10:16 PM

Spend $5 and buy some tubing feeding the ozonizer from a different room.

Borrow someone's cheapy ozone unit for a week.

I am just trying to make things a little easier for you, and you just keep resisting!

melev · #43 12/26/2006, 10:21 PM

That's actually not a bad idea.

Stile2 · #44 12/26/2006, 10:23 PM

How much ozone would you run in a tank melev's size? I know that low level ozone adds to children's risk of asthma. But how much is too much. Opinions anyone?

LittleBlueGT · #45 12/26/2006, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Stile2
How much ozone would you run in a tank melev's size? I know that low level ozone adds to children's risk of asthma. But how much is too much. Opinions anyone?

You don't really need a lot.

I have a big unit on my 250, but if you are just trying it out almost any small sized one will work.

The next morning after using ozone one will be amazed at the water clarity.

Waterbourne algea will usually soon disappear as well.

jnarowe · #46 12/27/2006, 12:14 AM

I just checked my fuge after not looking at it for about a week and found much less chaeto growth and some cyano building up. My fuge is last in line from the display, but the feed line constantly has cyano in and around the opening, and that is above the water line.

I also wonder what is causing this cycle. I dosed some iron to see if that will help the chaeto out-compete the cyano, but is cyano really an alga or a bacteria? And do they feed on the same thing?

melev · #47 12/27/2006, 07:05 AM

And this happened.

I had my trusty Iceman Mascot keeping me company.

We came up with these dimensions:

24 x 16 x 18. The top opening is 6.5" wide. I still need to make the overflow; I picked up two 1" bulkheads at the LFS last night before they closed.

The angled front was as difficult as I imagined. I cut the front panel's edges at 38 degrees at the 6" area as well as the top. Some glue ran down the inside of the acrylic, ruining the front panel of course.

Smiller gave me an acrylic scratch removal kit at the DFWMAS Frag Swap, so I figured I'd give it a try. It has quite a few wet sandpaper grits to use. At first I tried 350grit for the runs (and immediately regretted it). The kit started at 1800, so I chose to use that from that point forward. From there I used 2000, 2400, 3000, 4000, 6000, & 8000. To my surprise, it worked well and the front panel looks pretty decent. I'm sure once water and sand are in there, it won't be an issue at all.

I would have preferred to bend that seam, but it was 3/8" acrylic and I wasn't positive I'd have a nice straight bend that would stay flush and square to the project. Since I don't make display tanks, this was already something outside of my domain. It'll do fine for what I need it to be. More will be posted later as time allows for this project.

Tbduval · #48 12/27/2006, 07:32 AM

Nice!! This should make an awesome tank. Looks really good Marc.

Snakebyt · #49 12/27/2006, 09:56 AM

looks great, cant wait to see more progress

Cuby2k · #50 12/27/2006, 11:27 AM

WHAT, you couldn't sleep and THAT happened! Sheesh Marc, when I can't sleep I eat ice cream.

But a serious question about the scratch removal kit; how do you apply the grit? Is it a pour on liquid that you run a power buffer on to remove the scratch or is it actually on the paper? Is the buffer power or is it via elbow? I have an industrial sized scratch in my sump that I'd like to get out but have put it off because I didn't know how big of a job it was going to be.