Melev's new 280g Starfire tank thread

[gregt]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...16#post5098316

[H2OLUVSME]

Marc, here is the first link (below) i came across about the sponge i used. this description is practically taken directly from the package. the first sponge goes in for 24 hours, then the second one goes in for 48 hours. it says it effectively removes 2.0 ppm from a 120 gallon system.

i ran it according to the directions, except it was more convinent for me to remove the second one after 36 hours. i had a reading of 2.0 (or a little more) 2 days before treatment. i had a reading of 0 two days after. both readings were taken at my LFS, as ive been too cheap to purchasse a test kit for those "blue moon" tests.

mny algae subsided considerably, but the few mentioned corals suffered a bit. i did notice a little decline in my kenya tree (no that you mention your leathers) buut that thing gets a little testy about once evey 2 months, so i thought nothing of it. it was back to normal within a few days.

also, i have aabout 100 gallons total volume, with only about 70 gallons (total guess) of actual water volume.

http://www.mayerspet.net/index.html?...alog136_0.html

EDIT: i just checked the link and it doesnt take you right to the product. its the 2 pack listed for $24.99.

[WILDTHING]

WHAT!!!!! Split AGAIN?????

[BrianPlankis]

I also have florida aquacultured live rock, and I recently had an algae bloom in my tank, so i ordered a phosphate kit. My water tested at zero, which is guess is possible since I have a large amount of cheato in my sump and it would use up the phosphate as it was released.

But my question is, is there any way I can verify the test is working properly? Any aquarium food or product that contains a lot of phosphate so I can see the indicator changing color?

B.

[new2u]

wow, split agian I cant belive it I guess I'm gettin in on the first page this time

[angelfishlover]

wow, this will be one monster thread!

[melev]

Insane. I can't believe Greg did that to me twice now! Soon it'll split after each page.

Garagebrain, you can test my water if you need phosphate laden water. Or maybe test some phytoplankton, or get a water sample from the LFS from one of their tanks. Or test your tap water, it should have some!

Landon, thanks for the link.

[AnemicOak]

Kinda OT to your thread Marc, but you mentioned in another thread (which I can't find now) using some type of air shocks on a canopy lid. Can you post more about these or point me in the right direction?

Thanks

[Awright]

Originally posted by AnemicOak
Kinda OT to your thread Marc, but you mentioned in another thread (which I can't find now) using some type of air shocks on a canopy lid. Can you post more about these or point me in the right direction?

Thanks

It may have been the Linear actuator from parts express.
here is the link:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...number=329-300

At $79.00 closeout seams like one heck of a deal. Lists for $250.00

[Northside Reef]

Marc, with all of the phosphate remover you have already used, and all the water changes you have done. It’s pretty apparent that this is not some PO4 spike that you are going to be able to eliminate with the use of chemicals.
Something is leaching PO4 faster then you can remove it. I hope that all the macro I sent you will help stabilize it but you are going to have to most likely make some hard decisions on your current regiment/setup if you are going to win this battle.

Feedings will have to be lessened, or sand removed, or you will have to cook your rock to stem the tide of phosphates (or worse yet all three).

I guess my advice would be to reduce feedings, continue the water changes, and give the macro a chance to absorb the PO4.
I have a SSB that I know is a PO4 factory but I have been able (so far) to stay ahead of it with the macro. But your system is over twice the size of my current system. (that’s a lot of the reason I am building that gaudy over sized system in my laundry room).

You know the saying, “nothing good happens fast, and nothing that happens fast is good�. I really think it applies here.

Good luck, we are all pulling for ya

[MPH]

Marc,

Aren't you coming up on the first aniversary of your tank? WOW, 2 splits in 1 year.

BTW, I just posted a response on your chemisrty thread about using Phos Buster.

[ChloroPhil]

If this thread were an RBTA you'd be set!

Did you test your Phyto for PO4? What did it come up as?

[krajacich]

I believe that the threads automatically split now after 1000 posts.

[LittleBlueGT]

I think all your tangs and variety of life in your tank is overwhelkming your sandbed. I love my BB. Within a year it will be 60% covered in zoos!

I really think BB will help you a lot.

Do you run ozone? or UV? If not then I believe that ozone will also help, it clarifies water to the point of amazing.

Not dissing your sand, just trying to help.

[liquidblueman]

hey marc...

my frogspawn sometimes opens up really big and sometimes medium size and other days it closes up

i believe i'm placing it too close to the powerheads...so

how does your frogspawn fare current-wise ?

[Jamesurq]

Originally posted by littlesilvermax
I think all your tangs and variety of life in your tank is overwhelkming your sandbed. I love my BB. Within a year it will be 60% covered in zoos!

I really think BB will help you a lot.

It's not ALWAYS the sandbed... Born again BB users are so eager to get us sandbed users to switch. I wonder why?

[LittleBlueGT]

Originally posted by Jamesurq


It's not ALWAYS the sandbed... Born again BB users are so eager to get us sandbed users to switch. I wonder why?

I would not call myself Born again!

I use to have an 8 inch deep sand bed (2 years) in my fuge, and 3 inches in my display. When I took it out it did not stink, it was not that dirty. I did not get any algae bloom. I think sand beds can be kept successfully, but require more money and time.

I do have better success with my BB (actually cuttingboard). I have not had any cyano (ever) in my BB. I had it on occasion in my other system.

I just think that in Melev's system with 6 voracious tangs he might find relief w/o a sand bed. Something isn't working for him, just maybe sandless would help.

[Jamesurq]

It's cool. Everyone's got their own opinions. Personally, I think with his very high bioload, taking out the stability and nitrate reduction of a sandbed would have disasterous results.

But then again - Marc didn't join in the sandtrade yet - so jury's still out

[LittleBlueGT]

Originally posted by Jamesurq
It's cool. Everyone's got their own opinions. Personally, I think with his very high bioload, taking out the stability and nitrate reduction of a sandbed would have disasterous results.

But then again - Marc didn't join in the sandtrade yet - so jury's still out

He definitely has enough LR to support his bio-load. But nothing should be done quickly. It should be siphoned out over a period of a few weeks.

[Ehydo]

Originally posted by littlesilvermax
He definitely has enough LR to support his bio-load. But nothing should be done quickly. It should be siphoned out over a period of a few weeks.

As I believe Marc stated many times when BB tanks are brought up that he does not condemn them but does not want that look.

I agree with him totally. I do not want a bare bottom and if I were to do a bare bottom tank I would have a drain in the bottom of to clean all the detrius out.


By the way, where do your bristle worms live if you have no sand bed?

[LittleBlueGT]

Originally posted by Ehydo
By the way, where do your bristle worms live if you have no sand bed?

They all live in the LR. I had a large snail die the other day and they came out by the 10s to eat it up.

[melev]

Anemic Oak, Awright gave you a link to one kind - the actuator that uses a slow motor to lift a canopy (up to 1400 lbs!). LittleSilverMax has air shocks in his canopy as far I recall, so you might see if those are to your liking.

Frank, I do one water change a month, usually about 50g worth. That allows the tank 29 days to elevate PO4. My refugium didn't have nearly enough macros, once you made me think about it. I've been using various PO4 removers ever since MACNA last year, and they did come down quite a bit. However, I'm not changing it weekly nor spending hundreds of dollars on products in an effort to get them down once and for all. However, in the past week I've really focused on this one thing and feel if I tackle it fully, I'll get them down to the point the tank can deal with the residuals.

There is a risk that my LR is super-saturated with Phosphates, which would be a real challenge to eliminate. Honestly, I hope that is not the case, but it is a distinct possibility.

MPH, with all the dates I track, I didn't even think to figure out the date this tank was filled up with corals. I'll have to go back to the beginning of the thread (or my site) to find out what the date was for Day 14. I'd have to say that is the official "begin" date. I'll check out that other thread a bit later . I've not had any time to rest yet, and wanted to respond to my thread at least.

Chlorophil - no, I didn't test the PO4 of the phytoplankton yet, as I'm not dosing the tank for the past few weeks. I will try it, and probably use your suggestion (posted prior to the latest split).

krajacich , that makes sense. It split at 40 pages, and each page holds 25 posts. 1000 is apparently correct.

LittleSilverMax, I don't run UV nor Ozone. Never have and don't know that I ever will. Since UV kills both bad bacteria as well as the good, I don't choose that method. Ozone has some risks that I'm not too keen on trying. My tank may not look crystal clear like yours does, but it looks great to me. My guess is your tank must look like it is in "high definition", right? Thank you for chiming in. I didn't take it the wrong way. I just don't like the look of a BB tank. It reminds me of a museum display, rather than corals on a beach-like substrate. I might try siphoning my sand, or maybe do something especially ostentatious like getting a Tunze Wavebox to get that detritus back into suspension so the skimmer can pull it out.

James, I like the sand trade, but decided the sand in the bucket I had isn't worth sending. It has sat too long, and been exposed to heat, stagnancy, rain and pure sunshine. Your national trade project is really good for those needing LS to seed their system, but there is the risk of introducing something unwanted (aiptasia, flatworms, isopods...) Still, I think the person can study the sand closely since it is only one or two pounds worth, before pouring it in their tank. While diversity is great, I have a feeling most of us have the same basic biological soup with a few (hopefully) nice extras. Let me be clear: I do support your cause. I just feel people should be fully informed, if possible.

Liquidblueman, you want it in indirect or gentle flow. Less is better with this delicate coral. If it looks like it is being blown away, it is, and it won't last all that long. Mine is low in the tank, and not in direct flow.

[Northside Reef]

Originally posted by melev
[B

Frank, I do one water change a month, usually about 50g worth. That allows the tank 29 days to elevate PO4. My refugium didn't have nearly enough macros, once you made me think about it. I've been using various PO4 removers ever since MACNA last year, and they did come down quite a bit. However, I'm not changing it weekly nor spending hundreds of dollars on products in an effort to get them down once and for all. However, in the past week I've really focused on this one thing and feel if I tackle it fully, I'll get them down to the point the tank can deal with the residuals.

There is a risk that my LR is super-saturated with Phosphates, which would be a real challenge to eliminate. Honestly, I hope that is not the case, but it is a distinct possibility.

[/B]

ah I see Marc, very good news indeed. Have you considered once a week water changes until you get the PO4 where you want it?

PS any idea on those snails lol I really think they are turbos they look just like them only smaller.

Still can't believe that entire bucket of weeds made that trip around Dallas and lived . You should have got a picture of that

[LittleBlueGT]

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I think ozone is one of the easiest things to use to improve a system. I don't use carbon (well on occasion I do, but rarely) and I run a 200 mg/hr unit on a system that is just a bit smaller then yours. After the first day I used it I became a believer.

[melev]

Originally posted by littlesilvermax
I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I think ozone is one of the easiest things to use to improve a system. I don't use carbon (well on occasion I do, but rarely) and I run a 200 mg/hr unit on a system that is just a bit smaller then yours. After the first day I used it I became a believer.

A believe of what specifically? Clear water? What other benefits did you derive from using it?

One thing that comes to mind is that with increased clarity, lighting will penetrate better (increased PAR) and some corals may bleach in shock.