Bpb Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Well. I'm still not totally opposed to me flubbing the mix but it's such a simple procedure maybe it's unlikely. Two other things changed. I increased the KNO3 dose, and put a bag of rox carbon in the sump. I have since removed both in the equation. My tank just doesn't seem to like carbon as much as it once did. Causes things to shrink up. I'm also wondering if the increased kno3 is also at fault. It DID cause a growth spurt in all zoas. Noticeably. But the Lps and sps are all upset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I'd cease the KNO3 additions and see how things turn out. Not sure if even just a brief spike due to the additions would cause them to be ticked. I'd be surprised if the ROX caused issue but if you used too much, I could potentially see that. That ROX stuff is way more potent than your regular GAC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Yeah it makes little sense. I used rox in a reactor for a couple years at 1tbsp per gallon. This time it's in a mesh bag at 1 tbsp per 20 gallons. But those are the only things I've done. I've been feeding pappone a couple weeks as well. I'd be heartbroken if that was it because that has finally given me zoa growth I'm proud of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Hmmm, maybe stop the pappone too? I'm sure you don't want to hear that but ceasing all "extra" activites would be where I would start to diagnose your SPS's unhappiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Probably right. I just hate to cut it out considering how labor intensive it was to make. I'll go back to just feeding the fish alone for a couple weeks and see how it goes. Pappone will be the first thing I re introduce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 I'll be happy to make good use of all your hard work and put it in my tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Me too as long as it's not the culprit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Few sandbed pics for fun from the other day 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+KimP Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Wow, those are really good pictures. Your corals are looking great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Thanks Kim. Just the good ole iPhone 4 and careful focusing and zooming. The zoas are really rocking now which is great because in my nearly 3 years I've never been able to have zoas flourish. Now if only the zoas and acros would get on the same page. One is always happy when the other is mad it seems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Wow, I can't take such nice pix with my iPhone 4. But at least now I know it's possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 That first pic is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Tank is looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) Thanks folks. So my next project is going to be finding homes on the rock work for some of these new sps frags. I'm mostly concerned with figuring out which ones can flourish under very high light. There are a couple spots high up on the rocks, directly under the bulb arcs that are getting blasted almost too strong for algae to even grow. Wondering if any of these acros in the bunch are up to the task of growing on the surface of the sun. Some of my existing ones...not so much. It's been a couple months now and my pink passion tenuis, mind trick monti, and blue/green Hyacinthus are alive, but are clearly recieving too much light and show no signs of adjusting to it. Edited February 5, 2015 by Bpb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Do you know your par levels for your tank? I've got a majority of my SPS sitting around 400-500 par with no ills so I'm surprised you are having issues with some acclimating to the higher par. There are even some sitting at 700-800 par as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Sadly I have no par mapping and a meter isn't in the budget right now. Naturally distance makes renting one from an Austin Lfs kind of impractical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Remind of your lights again? What are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 2x250 watt XM 10k, overdriven by m80 hqi ballasts plus a BuildMyLED super actinic led strip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 So, I'm guessing 250-300 in the middle of the tank and 400-500 towards the very top of your rock structures, directly under the light. I'm basing that off my 125-gallon with 250-watt 20k bulbs par readings. I've accounted for the deeper tank and the higher par bulbs you have but understand, it's just an estimation... I sadly don't make a good par meter. [emoji6] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) Lol maybe so. All I know is Sanjay's data of this bulb ballast combo in comparable reflectors put out over 180 ppfd, which ranked 4th highest among all commonly used hobby mh bulbs (including 400 watt). The only bulbs with higher output were the 400 watt xm10k, the 250 watt iwasaki 6500k and the 400 watt iwasaki 6500k. What that means as far as par in my water. Who knoww Edited February 5, 2015 by Bpb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Please advise. Now seeing some STN on a few acros and burned tips aren't recovering. I lowered the dose time to brink alk back down. It's at 10.1 today from 10.5 a few days ago. Would it be more beneficial to cut the dosers entirely and let it fall back to 8.0, and then resume, or stay the course and accept the losses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I'd personally let it get back down to their comfort range for the alk as long as it's not dropping too fast. I'd also stop any additional dosing, feeding, and get back to the basics before there were issues. You've kept SPS long enough to know that what you're really seeing now is the delayed effect of the alk spike prior so I'll only mention for others that are reading along. Another thing not often looked at is the light shock from going from LEDs and predominantly lit 20k tanks to your 10k lighting. When I ran a 10k frag setup, I'd see similar issues of some frags not acclimating well to the change of spectrum which is why I stopped running 10k in my frag system. One question, are Sam's frags you just got affected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I'd personally let it get back down to their comfort range for the alk as long as it's not dropping too fast. I'd also stop any additional dosing, feeding, and get back to the basics before there were issues. You've kept SPS long enough to know that what you're really seeing now is the delayed effect of the alk spike prior so I'll only mention for others that are reading along. Another thing not often looked at is the light shock from going from LEDs and predominantly lit 20k tanks to your 10k lighting. When I ran a 10k frag setup, I'd see similar issues of some frags not acclimating well to the change of spectrum which is why I stopped running 10k in my frag system. One question, are Sam's frags you just got affected? He actually went from T5s to MH and not LEDs. He now runs an LED/MH combo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I meant frags from other systems that are LED to his Manny but thanks for the clarification. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bpb Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Lol SAMs frags look fine oddly enojgh. They're the only sps in the tank with full color and PE. I've been considering pulling the 10k bulbs for a couple weeks now. It was an expensive experiment in which I hoped to get faster growth temporarily but it has not worked at all for me. Only resulted in problems looking at things cumulatively to now. I agree and know that an alk spike doesn't truely start to rear it's head on acros till a couple weeks which is what I'm seeing now. I have gone completely back to basics and am just feeding fish heavily, dosing Elos aminos like I have for a year and periodic reef chili which I've used since day 1. Bummer. I'm going to switch my bulbs back out tomorrow when the lights are back off 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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