FarmerTy Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 Victoly, Sold to me as a purple valida... but who knows these days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Victoly, Sold to me as a purple valida... but who knows these days! Thanks Ty, I believe I have a descendant frag in my tank right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 We're like SPS brothers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 It's more like your're my adoptive frag grandfather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 those are some really nice pics. some really nice corals, too. we're not related yet, but maybe at the zao fragathon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Tank looks spectacular as usual Ty. You've definitely moved ahead of the fish stores when I make it to Austin for livestock. Hopefully I can make it by again this summer some time. The tricolor I got from you has changed several colors. I think I have it in too high of light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 11, 2013 Author Share Posted August 11, 2013 Been awhile since I have updated. Nothing new other my topoff bucket being empty for a day or so and increased my salinity enough to piss off my montis and completely RTN a small frag of strawberry shortcake acro. I think Victoly wins the prize for guessing what happened in my tank a couple weeks ago. Then bryopsis popped out of nowhere and ran amock in my tank. Got a gallon of Kents Tech M on the way to eradicate it. Hopefully I am one of the success stories with the Tech M. We will see starting Thursday. Lastly, I always ran a little low on PO4 at around 0.009 ppm in my tank. (natural seawater is around 0.032 ppm if I remember right). Well, I am guessing with the bryopsis explosion, PO4 was being stripped out of my water column even more. I ran the ultra low PO4 hanna meter (reads down to the ppb) and it read 0 ppb twice! Should have noticed my faded colors on my acros and my almost clear chalices but alas, a wedding and honeymoon keeps a guy just a bit distracted. I killed my GFO and shut off my skimmer for a couple of days... not to mention feed the heck out of my fish. We got some fat, round bellies in here! PO4 returned to 0.009 ppm but I am going to keep up the regiment until I get around 0.025. Might not happen with the bryopsis in the tank but once I eradicate it, I should hopefully have a better level of PO4 in the tank. Here's keeping my fingers crossed. Zoa frag-a-thon delayed until I see no signs of bryopsis. If I have time later, I will update with pics of my bryopsis farm and faded sps. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Certainly is a shame to hear all that. I take it bryopsis is an algae that can flourish in ultra low nutrients? How do you manage to keep your phosphate so low? Just regular gfo use? Anything else. I always noticed how spotless your tank was. Hope the kent marine stuff works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Been awhile since I have updated. Nothing new other my topoff bucket being empty for a day or so and increased my salinity enough to piss off my montis and completely RTN a small frag of strawberry shortcake acro. I think Victoly wins the prize for guessing what happened in my tank a couple weeks ago. Then bryopsis popped out of nowhere and ran amock in my tank. Got a gallon of Kents Tech M on the way to eradicate it. Hopefully I am one of the success stories with the Tech M. We will see starting Thursday. Lastly, I always ran a little low on PO4 at around 0.009 ppm in my tank. (natural seawater is around 0.032 ppm if I remember right). Well, I am guessing with the bryopsis explosion, PO4 was being stripped out of my water column even more. I ran the ultra low PO4 hanna meter (reads down to the ppb) and it read 0 ppb twice! Should have noticed my faded colors on my acros and my almost clear chalices but alas, a wedding and honeymoon keeps a guy just a bit distracted. I killed my GFO and shut off my skimmer for a couple of days... not to mention feed the heck out of my fish. We got some fat, round bellies in here! PO4 returned to 0.009 ppm but I am going to keep up the regiment until I get around 0.025. Might not happen with the bryopsis in the tank but once I eradicate it, I should hopefully have a better level of PO4 in the tank. Here's keeping my fingers crossed. Zoa frag-a-thon delayed until I see no signs of bryopsis. If I have time later, I will update with pics of my bryopsis farm and faded sps. Cheers! As a winner for the prize, i get bleached frags of everything that has died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 19, 2013 Author Share Posted August 19, 2013 The bryopsis battle begins! My choice of weapon: I actually started the treatment Thursday but my documentation is a little behind. My Mg level was already at 1400ppm so I increased it by 100ppm/day using the Kent's Tech M until I reached a level of 1800. I actually dosed it to 1880 but the target was 1800. I used this link for a guide. http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=52138 Bryopsis growth had stopped once I got somewhere near 1700 but I kept going to 1880 just to nuke it. Day of treatment tank shots: You can see it causes the bryopsis to appear to lose its chloroplasts: After 4 days of treatment and manual removal: Side effects: Snails having a rough time hanging on to things Almost all of my montis faded in color Some zoas followed suit I plan to ride this out for 2 weeks until I see no signs of bryopsis anymore... may continue for additional 2 more weeks just to be sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 19, 2013 Author Share Posted August 19, 2013 FYI, my PO4 level made it all the way to 0.029... hooray! I suspect with all the bryopsis die off (the stuff is literally disintegrating in my hands as I was trying to manually remove it) that my PO4 level increased a bit due to decaying matter and the fact that the bryopsis is not alive anymore and not uptaking PO4 from the water column at the rate it was before. I thought it smart to cut back on my generous feedings and skim wetter, as well as kick back up my GFO reactor. I would say that my SPS color has come back now that my PO4 wasn't reading 0.000 anymore but with the bryopsis treatment, everything lightened up in color anyways. You can never win in this hobby sometimes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 30, 2013 Author Share Posted August 30, 2013 The bryopsis is looking like its gone, but I am gonna keep the Mg level high for another two weeks just to make sure. I also have an order of 10 chromis, 1 ocellaris clownfish, and one mandarin goby. Wanted my school of chomis back again after they died slowly over a 2 year period. I think the key is to treat them like anthias, as they feed in much similar fashion, snapping up zooplankton from the water column. They also have very high metabolisms like the anthias. I will aim to feed 2-3 times a day and see if that curves aggression in the school and also keeps them well fed to maintain their high metabolisms. The clownfish is a buddy for my one lone clownfish that has been with me for 2.5 years now. The mandarin is to pick off the gadjillion pods that are always on my glass and rocks... plus they are really cool. In the meantime, one of my koralia pumps died so time for a replacement. Enter the WP-40 (thanks Ol'Aggie ). Here's the controller box that comes with it: Size comparison: In the tank: It was about the size of my old school koralia 4 that it is replacing. The old koralia 4 did some great work for me for many years. Rest in peace my old friend. Once I plugged the WP-40 in, I tried it in several different modes and liked the "Else" mode best as it ran a variable speed program. I turned all of the other pumps off (Koralia 3 and Nano Wavebox) during the test. The WP-40 could probably be the only pump I need in the tank (125 long) but my SPS do like their flow so I will run it with my wavebox and my Koralia 3. I didn't really spend much time considering the wave modes on the WP-40 as I have a wavebox performing that function already. What I needed was more circulation flow instead of the back and forth flow of a wavemaker. The two in conjunction does move a lot of detritus and keeps it in suspension for export to the sump. Overall, I like it a lot and it seems a lot quieter than my Koralia that it replaced. My canopy setup emphasizes noises because of the open back structure. My wavemaker sounds like a torture device because my canopy amplifies the sound. Even with the canopy amplification, the WP-40 is not that loud at all. Ideally, I would like to add a pocket door to the open doorway between my living room and family room to isolate the fish tank noises but for now, it is at a level that is not terribly distracting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 30, 2013 Author Share Posted August 30, 2013 I plan to hook the WP-40 to my APEX one day. I am not the most electronically gifted person in the world but I might give it a shot since some people on Manhattan Reefs have already made it happen. http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/general-discussion/143186-jebao-wp-40-a.html Unless I can bribe someone with frags of corals to do it for me. I think if I am able to still get the 210 tank (depends on if the person follows through) then I may want two WP-40s for that tank and call it a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Great update Ty. I was going to text you to see how much water you lost when you turned on that wp40. Great pumps at a great price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted August 30, 2013 Author Share Posted August 30, 2013 I knew water would be shooting out of my tank at full power in the wave mode so I didn't set myself up for that disaster! What mode do you have yours in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 5, 2013 Author Share Posted September 5, 2013 Just a few bad pictures of my new livestock additions. 10 Chromis, 1 clownfish, and 1 mandarin goby came in from the Reefs2go group buy. I will say I am satisfied with the order and they are all currently in a QT tank for now until they are ready for the big tank. The mandarin looked a little on the skinnier side so I went ahead and put him in the main display to feast on pods. And away he went... "Which one's of the thousands of pods on the wall should I snack on next..." Here's a bad shot of the school of chromis and the overly excited clownfish. They just move too fast! This is hopefully who the new clownfish will pair up with... While I was at it, I did some serious trimming of my green monti cap and then proceeded to make some accidental frags while I was at it. Might as well have a trimming frag party and get rid of some stuff now before the giant tank comes. Look for a "for sale" thread soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 So back to the WP40. Had Victoly whip me up a nice little cable adapter to control my WP40 via the Apex, and not by its supplied control box anymore. He modified a Reef Angel Jaebo cable for me to use with my Apex. Look for the Jaebo/Speedwave cable http://www.reefangel.com/order.aspx One cable should be able to control two pumps via the variable dimmer module (VDM) that is built into the full version Apex (4 variable ports). You can buy a separate VDM module if you have the Apex lite or Jr. Victoly's modified Jaebo to Apex cable: After a crash course in programming and actually using my Apex as more than just an over-glorified timer switch, I setup some pump profiles by using some programming I found online already, and then customized it for my system. Here's the Apex wizard I copied my code from (Slief from Reefcentral): http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1994312 The most amazing thing happened... I put in the code, and it worked! Don't ask me how to program or set yours up... mine was pure dumb luck and straight copying of code. If I can do it, even an untrained monkey has hope. Here's a screen grab of my Apex variable port program chart: Here's video of the wave mode: And of the dawn/dusk mode: All my modes are as follows: Set Wave1 If Time 11:30 to 16:59 Then DuskDawn <-----softer pulse of 7 secs on and 3 secs off for dawn and dusk If Time 17:00 to 00:59 Then Wave1 <-----stronger pulses of on off cycle about 1 per sec (similar to my nano wavebox but way more turbulent) If Time 01:00 to 03:29 Then DuskDawn If Time 03:30 to 11:29 Then Night <-----sustained slower current at 30% power If Outlet Timer1 = ON Then Rt_Flush <-----30 sec burst at 100%, followed by 30 secs off. When I get my 2nd WP40, I'll actually have a Lt_flush If Outlet Timer2 = ON Then DuskDawn If Outlet Timer3 = ON Then Wave2 <-----not functioning right now until I get the 2nd WP40. Basically same as Wave1 but both pumps not synced If FeedA 000 Then OFF This is just a start. May implement some tidal swells of 1 hr one direction, then reverse direction of flow. Would need the 2nd WP40 before I can start messing with that however. Did I mention how awesome this pump is? If not, then... its AWESOME! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Very cool, I can't wait to get my cable from him and setup both of my WP25s like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 Neptune needs to include a random number generator so that you can reef crest with the jebao. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 13, 2013 Author Share Posted September 13, 2013 Agreed, since you are like a 3rd party peripheral manufacturer for them, I think you should bring this up at the next sales meeting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 19, 2013 Author Share Posted September 19, 2013 Ah yeah... let the games begin... Who's ready to upgrade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Aww dang how big is that? Are you going to add a brace? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 19, 2013 Author Share Posted September 19, 2013 210, and I am actually going to be taking it apart and resealing the tank. Then I plan to eurobrace it and forego the center brace. Had a center brace over my current tank and it has been the bane of my existence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted October 2, 2013 Author Share Posted October 2, 2013 A video update of my tank after glueing up some SPS colonies I had laying around and cleaning up the sandbed. The colors are almost all back now after the successful shock and awe treatment for bryopsis. Be on the lookout for a sandbed/frag rack clearance post. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 looks great Ty! very smooth camera motions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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