Banner image

Chris' Elos 160 (1 Viewer)

Coming up on a year this month, so I added the next progression photo to the first page. The tank is looking more like a reef these days and coralline is starting to get a foothold. Mostly frags still, but a couple of the early fast growers have shown some growth despite a young system. Hopefully I'll have lots of small colonies by this summer for the meeting-

fts3_1600.jpg
 
Last edited:
Was browsing my phone the other day and found a video of me adding saltwater to the tank dated a year ago today. Mentioned it to my girlfriend this morning and she got me this card :biglaugh2:

elos-54.jpg


(This build thread has officially derailed)
 
Awwww how sweet. I wish my wife would show some interest once and awhile.


Those corals look great. I love the look of the sea fan and large pocci in the middle as well as your euphyllia collection on the bottom. That leopard wrasse is also quite stunning.
 
Swapped out my lights this week to the new versions of the Radions. Here are some shots of the hardware changes.










Can't get the camera out without taking a few pics of coral too:









 
Last edited:
Switching salts this week from Reef Crystals to Red Sea. My alkalinity has settled at 7.5dKh and I've had to limit the maximum water change size to avoid swings with RC. It's been years since I've used anything else, but I've heard good things. Otherwise, everything is running smoothly. Some more photos of the inhabitants:

Reef Raft Starry Sky


Semi-Male Bartlett's Anthias


Female Lyretail


Tang in yo' face!


Do I have something in my teeth?


Purple Poison Aculeus


Setosa under Blues


Fruit Loops


Pearlberry; Raspberry Nasuta, RMF Very Berry Prostrata


Sexy in her 'nem


Thanks for looking!
 
Incredible stuff man!

Not sure if anyone has asked, but what supplements are you using?

How are the biopellets going? I have thought about switching, but I get spooked by the stories of cyano, burnt tips, bacteria blooms, etc.
 
Kepler said:
Not sure if anyone has asked, but what supplements are you using?
Click to expand...

Current Dosing:
20mL Brightwell Aquatics Alkalinity (Daily)
20mL Brightwell Aquatics Calcium (Daily)
4mL Pohl's Xtra (Every odd day)
4 drops Zeo Amino Acid Concentrate (Every even day)
Full dose of Zeo Coral Snow (Monthly)

2mL Reef Nutrition Oyster Feast (Daily)
BRS Reef Chili (Weekly)
3 drops ZeoBak (Weekly)

How are the biopellets going? I have thought about switching, but I get spooked by the stories of cyano, burnt tips, bacteria blooms, etc.
Click to expand...

I am a big proponent of biopellets. It's very nice to simply not worry about overfeeding the fish, especially with anthias. The system is always tending toward zero levels and as long as you're around to keep the tank a bit dirty, it's great. Coral coloration can also be very different. Most of the time I like what happens when I add a new coral; I've seen some brown stuff turn amazing. On the other hand, I've also watched some beautiful deep colors go away with contrition. At the end of the day it just comes down to taste, and you can't have it all.

I did have some cyanobacteria for a few weeks about 9 months after they went online. Obviously it wasn't a nutrient problem, but the cyano was filling some small ecological niche (which is what it's good at) and started to spread. I ran Chemiclean to eradicate it and immediately started dosing ZeoBak with the goal of providing a variety of bacterial strains that would hopefully fill the niche and remove whatever was fueling the cyano. I haven't seen it come back (3 months) so hopefully it's gone for good. If not, it was an easy band-aid that I can just repeat as needed.

I have yet to see burnt tips. My understanding is that this is most commonly caused by elevated alkalinity levels (8.5dKh+), which for whatever reason SPS just can't handle without some minimum level of phosphate and/or nitrate. I keep my alkalinity at natural levels and don't have problems in that regard.

As far as bacterial blooms, I also get strange bacterial growth colonies on the rock work. If you look at the bottom of the anemone photo above you can see some of it. The colonies are very localized and grow in clumps. I simply siphon them up when I do water changes and it will take a month before they become eye sores again. I actually rather like it, as compared to the algae battles I could be fighting otherwise, and it feels good to physically export some nutrients from the system.
 
ChristopherKriens said:
Just the regular stuff, that's the version that's got the alk where I want it. I guess I'm just not a coral pro :frown:
Click to expand...

Haha guess not ;)

Let me know how you like it, I always wanted to try the stuff. I went from Coral Pro to Tropic Marin Bio-Actif, and I was extremely happy with the TM except for the price.. Where do you plan on buying it from?
 
You've probably already ordered some but for others than may want to try it with biopellets heres where I buy mine.

Red Sea Salt (Blue Bucket) from PetSolutions can be 53.99 with shipping. Its usually 59.99 - use "Thanks" at checkout for 10% off and because its over $50 you get free shipping.
 
I just picked up a bucket from Bulk Reef, but it was about $65. That sounds like a better deal from PetSolutions, and you don't have to cart a heavy bucket around. The levels seem much more appropriate for my system.

Their advertised levels are:
  • Salinity: 1.026 sg
  • Calcium: 420-440 ppm
  • Alkalinity: 7.8-8.2 dKh
  • Magnesium: 1250-1310 ppm

My measured levels after mixing 5 gallons for 24 hours are:
  • Salinity: 1.026 sg
  • Calcium: 380 ppm
  • Alkalinity: 7.8 dKh
  • Magnesium: 1280 ppm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top