Randy's new 120 gallon Reef - Page 4

Reefvet · #76 12/17/2005, 04:04 AM

Randy I'm curious if you upgraded your skimmer with the addition of the 120 or if you're running the same one you had on just the 90 before they were plumbed together ?

Randy Holmes-Farley · #77 12/17/2005, 01:19 PM

Same skimmer (An ETS 800 gemini in an Iwaki 55 RLT). But I may be going to experiment with ozone in thee coming months.

get anything new? Any pics you can add

Not much time for photography these days, but things seem to be doing fine. I lost a fungia when a fish decided to cover it with sand one night.

That, at least, would not happen in a BB.

I'm mostly planning out what things I may do for articles in 2006 because if I buy the supplies now, I can deduct them against article income in 2005.

boxfishpooalot · #78 01/03/2006, 06:50 AM

Did you spend you x-mas present on that powder blue tang?

I love mine, hes the center piece of my tank. Not too agressive either, only to the other tangs. Or in your case a pbt would be ok with your boxfish, he does not even bother mine at all. Pbt's color gets all "fired up" when another tang like my yellow tang goes into his cave. Then they do a couple of tail swatting...., words cant describe it.

So what did you get

Randy Holmes-Farley · #79 01/03/2006, 07:20 AM

Did you spend you x-mas present on that powder blue tang?

No, but I'm thinking hard on it!

I do have a yellow, and I don't want much fighting.

Rook · #80 01/10/2006, 04:29 PM

Nice tank for sure, and very nice stand/canopy. I made my own out of red oak and in a similar fashion (less the dentil molding). Some of the "flaws" and sap in the wood are what make it unique and wonderful.

Bahh, dump that yellow tang in the 90 and get the PBT. They are certainly great fish and very fun to watch.

I love your crispa. I recently tried a LTA that did not survive and was considering a crispa as maybe a better alternative, assuming I could find one that was not bleech white.

Randy Holmes-Farley · #81 01/10/2006, 04:52 PM

Thanks.

I am planning to get the PBT, but will probably wait until after I initiate some ozone experiments to not alter the tank too much while doing that.

Rook · #82 01/10/2006, 04:58 PM

Might as well get the PBT now, since it will be a good four weeks of QT, which will be just about right for your ozone experiments

gussy · #83 01/11/2006, 04:10 PM

How tall is your canopy and how far are the lights from the water? Does the lights heat up the tank alot? I have a cheaper (wood) version of the canopy and if I put and MH light it will only be about 1" from the tank cover.

Randy Holmes-Farley · #84 01/12/2006, 08:30 AM

I forgot to measure last night. I think the canopy is about 15" total, and the 250 w mh lights themselves are about 6" above the water. The PC lights are higher up.

andycook · #85 01/12/2006, 02:51 PM

Randy, don't most people put the MH higher up and the PC lights closer to the water?

Randy Holmes-Farley · #86 01/12/2006, 02:55 PM

MY PC's are just for evening and early morning light, and a ltitle actinic. In my case, they are fine where they are, and would be in the way if lower.

gussy · #87 01/13/2006, 12:27 AM

Hmm...it looks like I could do my MH then!!

Thanks!

tryingsalt · #88 01/31/2006, 08:30 AM

Can I ask what you are using for lighting? Nice tank........

Randy Holmes-Farley · #89 02/01/2006, 09:39 AM

I have 2 x 250 w double ended XM 10,000k MH lamps, and four of the coralife mini fixtures that hold 2 x 9w PC bulbs each, with half as actinic and half as 10,000k.

pcpm75 · #90 02/04/2006, 06:09 PM

Do you dose your tank with many chems or other additives or do you try and keep it as self-sustaining as possible? And if you do frequently what do you use and how often? Sorry if this is a stupid question, i'm a virgin to all of this!

Randy Holmes-Farley · #91 02/05/2006, 10:03 AM

I dose unsaturated limewater to replace evaporation. If magnesium got off track, I'd dose with it, but usually I just boost my water change water somewhat (IO plus calcium and magnesium) and things stay fine.

The only other things that I dose are silica for sponges/snails/diatoms and iron for macroalgae.

boxfishpooalot · #92 02/07/2006, 07:02 AM

Randy, not sure if you posted before, but what light do you use for the macro algae? Do you think the light contains high par?

Whats the brand/wattage/lumens and par if you know

Also, how much are you exporting on a time basis?

tcottle · #93 02/07/2006, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
The only other things that I dose are silica for sponges/snails/diatoms and iron for macroalgae.

Interesting. What test kits do you use for silica and iron?

Randy Holmes-Farley · #94 02/07/2006, 10:35 AM

The iron is, I believe, always below testable levels, so I do not test for it, nor do I consider the level very important.

First Iron Article: Macroalgae and Dosing Recommendations
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/chem.htm

from it:
"Deciding how much iron to add is fairly easy because, in my experience, it doesnâ€™t seem to matter too much. Presumably, once you add enough to eliminate iron as a limiting nutrient, extra iron does not apparently cause harm (at least that Iâ€™ve detected in my tanks or heard of from others). I selected a dose of about 0.1 to 0.3 mL of a solution containing 5 g of iron (as 25 g of ferrous sulfate heptahydrate) in 250 mL of water containing 50.7 g of sodium citrate dihydrate. This liquid is dosed 2-3 times per week to my system with a total water volume of about 250 gallons. This iron(II) citrate has turned brown and cloudy since I first made up the bottle years ago, suggesting that it is oxidizing to iron(III) and some is precipitating from solution, but I still use it. Over the past 4 years, Iâ€™ve dosed nearly all of the 5 grams of actual iron to my tank.

Now that may sound like a huge amount, and it is. Itâ€™s enough to bring 800 million gallons of completely depleted seawater up to the 0.000006 ppm level that I mentioned earlier for natural sea surface water. Still, Iâ€™ve not noticed any problem, do not know the steady state concentration, do not know how high of a solution concentration is actually optimal for my tank, do not know how much is biologically available by the mechanisms mentioned below, do not know how fast it is removed by skimming and other mechanisms, and do not know what would happen if I cut it back by a factor of 1,000.

All that I know is that microalgae has never been a problem since starting the iron, and Iâ€™ve not noticed anything negative that I could attribute to the iron (nor have I heard of any from others doing similar dosing). Still, I donâ€™t keep all organisms available to the hobby, and if you do seem to get a negative reaction from something, Iâ€™d advise backing off on the dose or stopping completely. "

Randy Holmes-Farley · #95 02/07/2006, 10:36 AM

When I have tested for silica, I use a Hach kit. However, it is rapidly depleted, and I do not routinely test. I jsut assume it is fully depleted before each dose.

I show the depletion rate and the dosing rate in this article:

Silica in a Reef Tank
http://advancedaquarist.com/issues/jan2003/feature.htm

Randy Holmes-Farley · #96 02/07/2006, 10:40 AM

Randy, not sure if you posted before, but what light do you use for the macro algae? Do you think the light contains high par?

I have 4 different refugia now. One is lit by two bulbs that are 45-60 w halogen spot or flood lamps on track lighting. One is lit by a 175 w, 4300 k mh bulb, and 2 are together lit by 8 fluorescent tubes that are, IIRC, 34 w 3000k, 4 foot tubes.

boxfishpooalot · #97 02/07/2006, 07:36 PM

About the silica, I too have some encrusting sponges everywhere, from blue to yellow to orange. I use tap water , so thats probalby my source of silica for the sponges. Although I notice they dont live long, but I find them popping up everywhere.Especially underneath the rockwork?

Whats IIRC?

zenya · #98 02/07/2006, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Whats IIRC?

If I remember correcly.

tryingsalt · #99 02/08/2006, 07:52 AM

So..about the Iron , if your were using Phosban it could be good in a a few ways then, yes?

Randy Holmes-Farley · #**100** 02/08/2006, 08:26 AM

Yes, it is possible that using GFO supplies soluble iron. It is one of the things that I hope to test later this year.

I use tap water ,

That could be a source. My tap water has a large amount in it.