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16ANA 240G starfire mixed reef (1 Viewer)

NorthSide Reef said:
Don't ask me why, but for some reason I was thinking about this as I was getting ready to leave. If I remember right (I have been away from the hobby for awhile) but don't corals color up better in nutrient poor tanks? I think you will need to give this some time before you test this out since you are just getting your water parameters back up. Your Bird's Nest may very well color up and it will be due to the water quality vs the heat and it might give you the wrong impression.
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Very good point and a good catch! really true for "higher end" SPS. I think I will hold off for now. Note to self sitting in front of the reef tank is better than on the hot seat :jester:


next thing you know everyone will be throwing heat at their tanks :rotflmao:
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Well after pee'ing in the tank it maybe the next fad I may start :eek4:
 
Just thought I will share this, suckers :biggrin:

tonights harvest
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White side
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red side
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LOL, reality check... only about halfish that container is from the ATS, rest from the sump.

its about 10 days worth; however... however... however.... there is a big change from before.. the red side was a suprise.. it had a LOT more algae looking very much like the success stories out there. stringy and cleaned of very easily. Key point to note is the flow on the red side was very less as mentioned before on Data_loss's thread. this time I didnt care to tweak as I had already surrendered... well sort of for 5-10 minutes :biglaugh2: the red side was practically growing in the air so to speak.

Some changes and no changes... the white side has been switched with another red spectrum low watts led fixture. reason to take the whites out is to try and prove the too much light concept wrong. The original red side remains and again like last time i will not "tweak" the flow
 
The tank is starting to look much better with a slow win over the algae situation. I always thought the skimmer has to something to do with the ATS's marginal success tonight so I went googling and voila I'm not the only to think this way.

check post #1002 and a few more posts further down...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1749114&page=41
 
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Flow... can you have too much flow?

lets ask this very important question to Ms pink birdsnest -
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yep.. its the windblown look you'd normally see along a very windy coast; this pink birdsnest has been growing away from the source and in the direction of the flow :greenguy:
 
Taklu said:
The tank is starting to look much better with a slow win over the algae situation. I always thought the skimmer has to something to do with the ATS's marginal success tonight so I went googling and voila I'm not the only to think this way.

check post #1002 and a few more posts further down...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1749114&page=41
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Interesting, I believe I even saw a quote from Floyd (or Bud) that he is starting to consider the ATS as "one" of the tools and not "the" tool for helping maintain a reef. I'll look for it lol I have time here at the hotel.

PS it's only 36 here.....C lol :)

found it

I see now that it is actually a continuation of the discussion you linked from another thread.
 
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sure must be feeling very hot there... no problem we will have the A/c blasting the cool air for you as soon you step out the plane lol
 
I think it is better if we quietly wait, otherwise we are just encouraging him to tease us more as we go.
 
Was just venting, our car is in the body shop wont be back for 3-4 weeks... becoz someone thought driving slow and braking randomly while on the phone is ok until he got rear ended and thought he was wronged so its ok to file a claim. Now the police says my wife was driving too close than is required or prudent. :brick:

I guess it would be prudent to not be behind or ahead of any auto where the driver is extra productive by also being on the phone aka stay home and mind your own business

But but but.. a silly cell phone will not stop life so.... I will start by raising funds for some new purchases, look for some for sale items.. its hard to compete with the name brands though :jester: :bump1:
 
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Taklu said:
Key point to note is the flow on the red side was very less as mentioned before on Data_loss's thread. this time I didnt care to tweak as I had already surrendered... well sort of for 5-10 minutes :biglaugh2: the red side was practically growing in the air so to speak.
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This was bugging me and always made me think of my old fuge where the alage would grow more on the side of the egg crate that was partly out of water. I happened to chance on this thread linked below
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2227151


Needless to say I will be following the thread with some interest
 
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lol yeah Paul always has some off the wall idea.

I told you I had an idea I am kicking around, and I agree the algae always grew the best where it had the most access to air (like right at the over flow). Paul obviously has noticed the same thing.

So I'll go ahead and share it with ya but even if you tell me it won't work I am going to build it anyhow, worse case I have to have extra sets on hand as they plug.


I plan to hook some of these to one of these spraying opposite sides of some type of media to grow algae on.

Idea came to me when I was spraying weeds on my garden tractor :) so I gotta see if it will work. SHHHH don't tell no one it's a secret :)


PS Stuck in Brazil an extra week, I am pretty bummed :( I really want to make it the the Expo next week, in fact I am supposed to meet people there for stuff I have pending to buy from them. Hopefully I will be back Friday, so can still make if so.
 
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NorthSide Reef said:
lol yeah Paul always has some off the wall idea.

I told you I had an idea I am kicking around, and I agree the algae always grew the best where it had the most access to air (like right at the over flow). Paul obviously has noticed the same thing.

So I'll go ahead and share it with ya but even if you tell me it won't work I am going to build it anyhow, worse case I have to have extra sets on hand as they plug.


I plan to hook some of these to one of these spraying opposite sides of some type of media to grow algae on.

Idea came to me when I was spraying weeds on my garden tractor :) so I gotta see if it will work. SHHHH don't tell no one it's a secret :)


PS Stuck in Brazil an extra week, I am pretty bummed :( I really want to make it the the Expo next week, in fact I am supposed to meet people there for stuff I have pending to buy from them. Hopefully I will be back Friday, so can still make if so.
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I will go "told ya so" only after its confirmed that it works or doesnt... its too early to act important :jester:

for a while I had the idea to spray water onto the screen... simply becoz the algae would keep growing into the spray bar and block the flow...I have very limited room for the ATS in the basement so I cant play around with that :kackle: ..actually I'm trying to stay away from adding more equiment and hope to rely completely on the drains

I plan to be at the expo so see ya there!
 
Some updates -

Finally switched completely to Instant ocean salt. did a 50G water change about 6 days ago.. .
Maybe the change caused this but the skimmer went crazy on day 2 and stayed that way for about 3 days; it skimmed really wet and it appeared I was constantly emptying the collection cup... must have drained about 10-12 gallons in three days. yesterday it was back to normal pulling stinky stuff again

throw too much into the mix and its impossible to tell what caused the issue... I did a lights out in the sump to let the pods munch on the algae with the hope I can see some nice corals I was itching to see but were lost under the algae... also changed once side of the ATS lights to use 1W'ers... somehow one or all of these together caused a purple/pink hair algae bloom in the display. The chaeto that was for all purposes receding since the last encouraging ATS harvest burst into growth over the last 2-3 days.

the sump lights are back to normal on/off cycle

ATS + 1W lights - grows a VERY different algae no slime at all compared to the 3W side, looked more like green silk but stringy and very tightly packed.. not the fluffy growth I see in online ATS pics. for now I have switched that out to white LEDs as I needed the 1W to keep some plants alive. thats an experiment for later when I build ATS V2 ;)

Slime algae is almost gone :banana:

Pink birdsnest is more pink than before. Some of the premium SPS have a lot more color and they have the fresh bright look that makes SPS tanks so attractive. still missing the "new growth" look.

have cycled through three PH probes for the calcium reactor and not sure whats wrong but after holding the readings for about 10 days they go erratic..one was brand new. I have tried to move anything that maybe causing interference but for now there is no PH control on the reactor. I may buy a new probe after the swap if I can spare some cash but for now I'm done trying caliberate.
Question - is it possible that the PM1 module could be suspect?
 
Cant believe how fast time flies, this thread was buried way down the pages... good to see so many active build threads :agree:

so is the world a small place? I think so... I was at menards picking up lumber (question to follow) and got into a conversation with a guy also picking up lumber... guess what he is into fish tanks and reef and knows TCMAS but is active only on RC. Well it so happens I also talked tonight to a Menards employee I know for 5 years who was also into marine tanks, now FW... all in an hour.

Now the question. I'm looking to build a "room" around the sump/fuge in my unfinished basement to trap heat and contain humidity. so the frame is 2x4 lumber, which I already bought today. Need to skin the walls.. is dry wall a good choice? or what are the options?

I want the "room" to work as a buffer/heat trap/insulation in an unheated basement in the event of a power out if/when I'm on vacation. this way there is some breathing room and I'm not breathing down friends to get there asap.

second as moisture trap... I'm expecting condensation so I'd want the water to trickle down the walls, get channeled to a drain.. this is where I think the dry wall falls out of favor.. for an alternative I'm thinking a melamine ply board..its supposed to be fire resistant too?

Suggestions and constructive criticism are welcome!

PS I dont want to use any material that is a fire hazard or will cause the fire marshal to go ballistic. My first choice was expanded foam insulation sheet but the code says if its used anywhere in the building it must be enclosed inside a drywall.
 
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