Smite's Stout CDA - 205G
- Thread starter Smite
- Start date
I don’t dose N&P — got 6 hungry tangs & other fish that are fed nori and pellets multiple times a day! Fish poop is very delicious and magical for my corals! lol
In fact, I don’t dose anything to the tank — just feed heavy, run skimmer (for CO2 scrubbing), and no water changes. The tank has been super stable, going strong 3 years this Nov.
Trident data is below.
NO3: 25
PO4: 0.10
In fact, I don’t dose anything to the tank — just feed heavy, run skimmer (for CO2 scrubbing), and no water changes. The tank has been super stable, going strong 3 years this Nov.
Trident data is below.
NO3: 25
PO4: 0.10
Attachments
Easy to do — I don’t think it’s a dream really. It’s just time, let things mature.
Main tank (SPS-dominant) - just clean the glass daily with a mag float, clean skimmer & refill the ATO every weekend.
My second tank (mixed) is on chaeto so no skimmer. Just clean the glass daily, dose every weekend, and remove half the chaeto every month. I will need to add a CaRx soon.
Third tank + frag (nem-dominant) : no chaeto, no skimmer. Just clean the glass. CaRx is standing byI will add chaeto once N&P increase over time.
All 3 tanks: no water changes. All tanks are on R2R Build threads.
Good luck with your build.
Main tank (SPS-dominant) - just clean the glass daily with a mag float, clean skimmer & refill the ATO every weekend.
My second tank (mixed) is on chaeto so no skimmer. Just clean the glass daily, dose every weekend, and remove half the chaeto every month. I will need to add a CaRx soon.
Third tank + frag (nem-dominant) : no chaeto, no skimmer. Just clean the glass. CaRx is standing byI will add chaeto once N&P increase over time.
All 3 tanks: no water changes. All tanks are on R2R Build threads.
Good luck with your build.
Great looking tank bakbay. My tank is pretty well stocked and I feed heavy. Aside from moonshiner trace element dosing all I do is feed as well. My last system was much more solid than this one running the exact same way. Hopefully I'll get it straightened out soon. Maybe I'll get lucky and this witch hazel will knock off whatever has been pissing off my corals on/off for the last year+
Thanks. Glad to see that I’m not alone with no WCs (it’s frown upon but I’ve been doing this for more than a decade).
I’m not doing moonshiner and heard people having success with it. As for me, I don’t have the time & patience — therefore, I keep things simple.
Do let us know how things turn out. Hope to learn from your experience. Coincidentally, I’ve lost a little frag (first one in 2+ years) yesterday. Well — I think they my chalice killed it since got really close! I hope that I’m not in your camp.
btw: I was at Tong’s yesterday and all the SPS colonies in one of their display tanks bleached out. I mean — ALL colonies! Just to show that this happen to all of us, even “pros”. Hope they can recover, I’m sure they can repopulate.
Good luck with yours.
I’m not doing moonshiner and heard people having success with it. As for me, I don’t have the time & patience — therefore, I keep things simple.
Do let us know how things turn out. Hope to learn from your experience. Coincidentally, I’ve lost a little frag (first one in 2+ years) yesterday. Well — I think they my chalice killed it since got really close! I hope that I’m not in your camp.
btw: I was at Tong’s yesterday and all the SPS colonies in one of their display tanks bleached out. I mean — ALL colonies! Just to show that this happen to all of us, even “pros”. Hope they can recover, I’m sure they can repopulate.
Good luck with yours.
Will do. I've been off water changes for a couple years now as well, but replacing the traces. I tried without traces but ran into issues before that. I like the shine but it is pretty costly.
A frag here or there is kind of par for the course, atleast for me Hopefully it's just that one piece.
I haven't been to Tong's in a while. I need to drop in sometime soon. That's a bummer the display bleached, he gets some really nice acros in at times. I've scored a lot of cool mari pieces there. Only bummer with those is if you lose them and you can't re-buy them!
I just tested my parameters and I'm really going to have to up my feeding, possible start supplementing with po4 & no3 additives. My ph is also much lower, probably due to all the bacteria I'm adding, also witch hazel acting like vodka I guess?
no3 - 2ppm
po4 - .04
ph 7.79 - 8.04 * This worries me. I know a lot of people say not to mind ph much, but for me when it starts hitting 7.7 and below at night, I get major tn outbreaks. Part of what has me wondering if I do have some kind of pathogen in my tank that thrives in a lower oxygen/ph environment?
A frag here or there is kind of par for the course, atleast for me Hopefully it's just that one piece.
I haven't been to Tong's in a while. I need to drop in sometime soon. That's a bummer the display bleached, he gets some really nice acros in at times. I've scored a lot of cool mari pieces there. Only bummer with those is if you lose them and you can't re-buy them!
I just tested my parameters and I'm really going to have to up my feeding, possible start supplementing with po4 & no3 additives. My ph is also much lower, probably due to all the bacteria I'm adding, also witch hazel acting like vodka I guess?
no3 - 2ppm
po4 - .04
ph 7.79 - 8.04 * This worries me. I know a lot of people say not to mind ph much, but for me when it starts hitting 7.7 and below at night, I get major tn outbreaks. Part of what has me wondering if I do have some kind of pathogen in my tank that thrives in a lower oxygen/ph environment?
My suspicion is that your N&P are bottoming out and your test kit isn't really showing it. Again, hobby-grade test kits, not industrial strength but you've done your ICPs. I think you either have to dose N&P to raise them up or feed more (poop more). I usually shoot for NO3 in the 20s and PO4 close to 0.10.
pH: my tank used to float around your range since in run a CaRx. Ever since switching to [recirculating] CO2 scrubber, my lowest is 8.12 and highest being 8.43. I do notice some acros respond positively to higher pH and others don't care, esp LPS. That said, nothing should die at your current pH range though.
Vodka & Witch Hazel: personally, I think you should pause this for awhile to see if things settle down.
If you're concerned about some weird chemical warfare (not sure if you have leathers & softies) going on but perhaps you can put activated carbon? I usually put it in a mesh bag within a high flow area of the sump... esp my mixed/nem tank. God knows what these guys will secrete into the water column!
My 2c
pH: my tank used to float around your range since in run a CaRx. Ever since switching to [recirculating] CO2 scrubber, my lowest is 8.12 and highest being 8.43. I do notice some acros respond positively to higher pH and others don't care, esp LPS. That said, nothing should die at your current pH range though.
Vodka & Witch Hazel: personally, I think you should pause this for awhile to see if things settle down.
If you're concerned about some weird chemical warfare (not sure if you have leathers & softies) going on but perhaps you can put activated carbon? I usually put it in a mesh bag within a high flow area of the sump... esp my mixed/nem tank. God knows what these guys will secrete into the water column!
My 2c
I appreciate the input bakbay. I'll have to look into a recirculation type co2 scrubber sometime, I ran just a standard pull through the skimmer type setup and it really helped but I blew through media like crazy. Small house, 4 people and a large dog just seem to keep my ph very low. I do pull air from outside but doesn't help too much on it's own.
The witch hazel can cause bacterial blooms ( that's what I meant by it acting like vodka) I'm not dosing both. I believe the witch hazel is supposed to fight off harmful bacteria/pathogens and also fuel the good supplementary bacteria that I'm adding to the system. It's just pulling my N&P down in the process. I'll have to bite the bullet and supplement those until I can up my feeding more. I feed 2x2" chunks of Rods reef mixed with a 2x2 chunk of spirulina brine currently. I feed that throughout the day, about 3 feedings. Then 3 feedings with Cool Mysis mixed with cool Green flakes on a auto feeder 2 x a day. I'll increase the auto feeder going forward for this treatment/until I see it coming up.
I hear ya, I know nothing is supposed to die or TN due to my current ph levels. I stopped running my CARX do to this issue going near 7.7 - It's mostly what makes me believe I do have some type of bad bacteria or pathogen that's able to cause problems for me in those lower ph ranges. Events usually directly correlate with low ph for me in the past. I'll see the dreaded white under the A.M. blues and check my apex, sure enough there will have been a dip in ph the night before, or a few consecutive nights prior.
I plan to continue for now unless I can't keep nutrients detectable. I'm not ignoring your input, just based of testing the day I send off ICP, I have some faith in my home kits being somewhat accurate.
I dosed some no3 I had on hand. Im going to bump the po4 with Reef Roids tonight until I can get some liquid po4 to get myself more of a buffer.
The witch hazel can cause bacterial blooms ( that's what I meant by it acting like vodka) I'm not dosing both. I believe the witch hazel is supposed to fight off harmful bacteria/pathogens and also fuel the good supplementary bacteria that I'm adding to the system. It's just pulling my N&P down in the process. I'll have to bite the bullet and supplement those until I can up my feeding more. I feed 2x2" chunks of Rods reef mixed with a 2x2 chunk of spirulina brine currently. I feed that throughout the day, about 3 feedings. Then 3 feedings with Cool Mysis mixed with cool Green flakes on a auto feeder 2 x a day. I'll increase the auto feeder going forward for this treatment/until I see it coming up.
I hear ya, I know nothing is supposed to die or TN due to my current ph levels. I stopped running my CARX do to this issue going near 7.7 - It's mostly what makes me believe I do have some type of bad bacteria or pathogen that's able to cause problems for me in those lower ph ranges. Events usually directly correlate with low ph for me in the past. I'll see the dreaded white under the A.M. blues and check my apex, sure enough there will have been a dip in ph the night before, or a few consecutive nights prior.
I plan to continue for now unless I can't keep nutrients detectable. I'm not ignoring your input, just based of testing the day I send off ICP, I have some faith in my home kits being somewhat accurate.
I dosed some no3 I had on hand. Im going to bump the po4 with Reef Roids tonight until I can get some liquid po4 to get myself more of a buffer.
Feed more pellets, TDO or Dr. Bassleer's acai formula if you can find it? I tried the witch hazel before my reboot and I never got any positive or negative results from using it. If I see acropora that are getting funky looking, I just pull them out. Sometimes you can give them a dip in Rx or iodine, but you need another system to put them in to recover. I also think mixing mari's with cultured pieces can cause some issues sometimes, but that's back of the napkin thinking. 
Hopefully things will settle down soon.
Hopefully things will settle down soon.
Feed more pellets, TDO or Dr. Bassleer's acai formula if you can find it? I tried the witch hazel before my reboot and I never got any positive or negative results from using it. If I see acropora that are getting funky looking, I just pull them out. Sometimes you can give them a dip in Rx or iodine, but you need another system to put them in to recover. I also think mixing mari's with cultured pieces can cause some issues sometimes, but that's back of the napkin thinking. Hopefully things will settle down soon.
Hopefully things will settle down soon.
I hear ya, maybe the mari is bringing something in the rest don't handle well. I did lose most of that large millepora type I was growing out but I think that could have been a flow issue, it was so compact.
What does it look like? I've been reading at R2R, and most are reporting that some SPS are bleaching from center. If you need some phyto, I have a concentrated phyto coming from Algaebarn, and also some of their other bottles along with their galaxy pod...I can definitely share some with you if it'll help. SPS eats phyto, so maybe that may help fight off whatever is happening.
I appreciate the offer Jimbo,
I've got a buddy who makes great phyto. I might add that back in here soon after this treatment is done. When I dose his phyto my po4 tends to get pulled down so I don't want to add that in at the moment.
What I see is a strange darkening or some pieces going flesh colored on the body. Polyps will be retracted too. Its not so much a bleach look as its not bright under all blues, all blues the skin will almost appear dark grey/black. Under whites, fleshy colored. No bubbles or anything but TN will start some times at the base sometimes in the middle where branches meet. Some STN over a long period and others shed flesh.
I've got a buddy who makes great phyto. I might add that back in here soon after this treatment is done. When I dose his phyto my po4 tends to get pulled down so I don't want to add that in at the moment.
What I see is a strange darkening or some pieces going flesh colored on the body. Polyps will be retracted too. Its not so much a bleach look as its not bright under all blues, all blues the skin will almost appear dark grey/black. Under whites, fleshy colored. No bubbles or anything but TN will start some times at the base sometimes in the middle where branches meet. Some STN over a long period and others shed flesh.
Interesting on phyto. My packed, 150g SPS-dominant tank is doing fine w/o dosing. I just feed the fish nori, pellets, and occasional frozen brine shrimps.
I believe that fish poop is the best reef nutrition! Just buy more fish — besides, some are very cool, except my Hippo Tang, which kept splashing water everywhere! lol
I believe that fish poop is the best reef nutrition! Just buy more fish — besides, some are very cool, except my Hippo Tang, which kept splashing water everywhere! lol
I hear ya bakbay, my last couple attempts haven't gone well with adding new additions. I think if I wanted to add more I'd need to replace some of my tangs. Specifically the powder brown but even tho he's an ass I just love that fish.
So the witch hazel treatment was a wash. I don't think it did anything negative but I didn't see any noticeable improvements either. 2 pieces that have been problematic for me with stn seemed to slow during treatment but not enough to really persuade me to extend the treatment.
I tossed some carbon in this am and I'll be keeping an eye on things. I do see more white new growth on CC voodoo and BC hyper berry. That could be just form the bacteria/increased feeding in my opinion. Some pieces did slightly brown but I did get a little spike in nutrients over the last half of the week. Nitrate is above 10ppm and po4 is .13
So the witch hazel treatment was a wash. I don't think it did anything negative but I didn't see any noticeable improvements either. 2 pieces that have been problematic for me with stn seemed to slow during treatment but not enough to really persuade me to extend the treatment.
I tossed some carbon in this am and I'll be keeping an eye on things. I do see more white new growth on CC voodoo and BC hyper berry. That could be just form the bacteria/increased feeding in my opinion. Some pieces did slightly brown but I did get a little spike in nutrients over the last half of the week. Nitrate is above 10ppm and po4 is .13
I really wanted the witch hazel to do the trick with my system too, but had the same results as you. Try to keep PO4 where it is now (I think .1- .15ish is perfect for most) and some measurement of NO3. I'm not one who says you need 100:1, as nitrate is kind of useless for acropora, but ammonium/nitrogen is more important. Are you running a fuge? Maybe bump up feedings and kick on the fuge to help counter the pH drop at night.
I have been running a fuge and it's growing well. I feel like the recent dip in ph was directly related to the witch hazel fueling bacteria growth. Specially since it's dosed at lights out, really not the ideal time to dose for my system but I guess it can cause an algae bloom if dosed during the photoperiod? I'm expecting it to raise back up over the next couple days now that the treatment is done. Normally I'm around 7.9 for lows which is fine by me.
I'll shoot for keeping it .1+ for more of a buffer on the po4.
I'll shoot for keeping it .1+ for more of a buffer on the po4.
