Against what may be considered better judgment on my part, I’ve been picking up a few azooxanthellate corals as of late. Having recently plumbed in an additional display area to the main tank, it needed to be filled with something. Some of the current resources available (articles / info from Stottlemire, Kallmeyer, Torsten, Matthews, Dame, [...]
March 18, 2008
Despite it being a major element of natural sea water, as an element in our reef tanks, Potassium (K), is often overlooked. From what I’ve read in articles and discussions, regular water changes should be sufficient enough to keep it moderately maintained, albeit less than NSW levels of K. And, I’m not sure whether it [...]
February 25, 2008
A few weeks ago I added Fauna Marin’s Ultra-Life water purification power to my FM regimen. It’s a very fine powder that can be used to assist in delivery of the amino acids (UltraMin S, UltraAMIN, etc.) to the animals and to help skimming, in that pollutants will bind to the Ultra-Life (which I believe [...]
December 31, 2007
New Year brings in revised dosing schedule, UltraLith reactor, and new Fauna Marin products to be used. I’ve cut back on the Prodibio, but will continue with it – one Biodigest on the 1st and 15th, and one Bioptim on the alternating weeks. Per an email conversation with Claude, I’ll also cut back my UltraBio [...]
December 14, 2007
For the last 3 evenings after dosing the Ultra, I’ve noticed mesenterial filaments from my acro, something I’ve rarely witnessed before. From what I remember in coral biology classes, it can be a normal feeding reaction, or elsewhere in the spectrum, defensive. Given the circumstances and idea behind the products (i.e. feeding coral in low [...]
December 8, 2007
The last water test was November 1st, just over a month ago. During that time, I’ve re-aquscaped the tank, kicked up tons of crap, didn’t run a skimmer for over a week, and only did one water change. Regardless, my phosphates are down even more, my NO3 is now UNDETECTABLE (compared to 2ppm), and I’m [...]
December 7, 2007
Don’t mind the brown acro front and center. or the flying dust.. Under construction. Almost to the point, after a few weeks of re arranging, gluing, and contemplating, that I can sit back, relax, and let it all grow. A water change is in order this weekend, then I’ll devise my next course of action, [...]
December 3, 2007
Gotta let them burn in. I’m now about 2 weeks into the Ushio 14K bulb, and I am happy with the change. The first week was awful, water color was akin to someone taking a leak in the reef. But, the yellow has faded, much more white, little blue to speak of. The color of [...]
November 8, 2007
I suppose a possible result of any c-dosing is a dinoflagellate bloom, and I am starting to see them. Skinny strands of reddish / brown that grow straight up and trap bubbles. I see just a strand here and there, and do my best to baster them out when I can.I have been feeding (too) [...]
October 27, 2007
It’s been a while since I’ve checked water parameters, aside from kH. Tank is totally being overfed (2x / day, heavily) since the new clowns went in. I want to be sure they’re eating and fat. Without having tested, I’ll venture to guess phosphates are over 0.14 and NO3 may be high. I plan on [...]
October 22, 2007
My first schedule posted didn’t include any Reef Booster. Since I went ahead and started, I’ll add it to my schedule. Since the full vial clouded my tank, I think I’ll do 1/2 vial tonight, and weekly from here on out. Not due for any biodigest or bioptim this week, but both next week. SEPTEMBER [...]
October 15, 2007
Checked the tank on my way to work this morning – totally cleared up. So, good to know. Dose Reefbooster at night, otherwise you may be staring at a cloudy ass aquarium . I think I’ll use one of the ‘feed’ programs on my Aquacontroller to shut down the skimmer and carbon and have them [...]
October 15, 2007
This morning added a vial of Biodigest. One thing I have started to notice after adding Biodigest or Bioptim to the tank is that the water becomes crystal clear and seems to retain this sparkling clarity for a few days. I’m hoping that, as the bacterias are more established, this is how the water will [...]
April 15, 2008