Blog Comments

Thanks for the close-up Marc...

Hope it turns out nice and you get a few awesome frags Marc! I won't be able to make this event too! I did go to my LfS today and picked up two Acan frags though.

very nice

Yes, at some point I'll be installing wood panels across the front and side. It'll be cherry wood.

I'm sure you've answered this before, but do you have plans for covering up the sump and canopy from the kitchen side?

I get my acrylic locally. Living in bigger cities, we have better options. The DFW area has at least 4 acrylic suppliers.

Do you get acrylic locally or on the internet? If on the internet, where? Thanks

No, the foam doesn't touch anything. It's at a very slight angle, so it's leaning out and doesn't get soaked.

i like the nasty grunch in the skimmer cup....
it looks like its working nicely!!

Good idea, Marc. You get the shade you wanted and it looks nice too. Does the foam ge wet where water goes through the overflow into the sump?

Not as cheap but how about this adhesive free tints: http://www.wallpaperforwindows.com/p...w-Film-c45.htm

The Nitrate Phosphate (NP) bio-pellets have been around for about a year, maybe less. In 2010, people started talking about the ones from German (Vertex), since they were the only thing we could get.

Zeovit and Prodibio have been around for a few years now. Polyp Labs in Canada started up a line of probiotics, and I believe Warner Marine did as well. Many years ago, amino acids were available from companies like Salifert, but it was impossible to prove if they did work or not. It was a 50/50 thing - you loved it or you hated it. Vodka dosing has been around for a few years, and some even combined that with vinegar and sugar (VSV dosing).

Like anything, we as individuals need to consider what our reef can handle and how we go about trying something out. I was reading a thread on Reef2Reef that talked about dosing your tank with Hydrogen Peroxide to get rid of dinoflagellates. The problem is that others read it and thing it will work for their problems, such as the mundane and harmless diatoms on the sand. Or people will dose a ton of Magnesium (and not even the right one) to get rid of hair algae, because they read in some thread about how it helped kill Bryopsis - a totally different algae.

So give it some time, and people like myself can learn more about our own personal experiences and then share those results with you once we have a few facts under our collective belts.

I just recently read an article in CORAL on the probiotic method that some are now suggesting is the way of the future. I'm REALLY excited about this trend now that I feel like I have a grasp of what the method is actually trying to accomplish! I had never even realized that Vodka/vineagar/glucose(grape sugar) dosing was kind of the same thing. Of course CORAL explains that the other half if using some kind of media (like aragonite) in a media reactor to help propogate more biofilms.

I recently aquired a used pre-drilled 75 gallon tank (for $75!!!) and am planning to rebuild my previous sump (GE Silicone II caused some issues...). I really wish someone on here would do a write-up on the biomedia that they were using, the reactor, and their impressions on the probiotics method overall. I'm even more excited about this method now that I know Marc is using it! There's got to be something to it for sure!!

I test whatever is questionable at whatever time I feel the need. Such as alkalinity. I've been testing that just about daily or every other day trying to find the sweet spot. Then every few weeks (or monthly), I test every parameter specifically to update my spreadsheet numbers. I have a bunch of test kits and vials that I keep contained in a big rubbermaid storage bin.

Looks like he hadn't tested for a month. Everything looks stable though. At least month to month.

Marc, Does your AC3 test those parameters, or do you test every other day and manually record them?
just curious.

holy calcium batman

Since I'm running the biopellets, often called NP pellets, I was forewarned to keep alkalinity closer to 8 dKH. My calcium reactor seems to prefer to provide 10 dKH which is what I'm seeing.

I just did all my water tests tonight, and the numbers look great. I'll post these up in a bit.

Fascinating. Having zero knowledge on this subject, I think of acidic (Low Alk) would cause burnt tips? Please share your thoughts on how ALK going up (less acidic more alkaline) causes burnt tips. This is going to be helpful as I get more into SPS. BTW, what is your target DKH value for the Monster tank?

My digitata is growing very quickly also. I like them... unique growth patterns as well. :-)