Brand New 8 gallon bio cube

[living_tribunal]

Oh absolutely, corals are animals. But I kinda think of them as plants, because I’m good at keeping plants alive and helped my dad keep a garden growing up. (It’s something I already understood). I was only half joking about fertilizer- nitrates and phosphates are what helps the grass grow! But, just like in the reef tank, you don’t want to use too much, however some is better than none at all.

there is absolutely a large range that your nutrients can fall into while still keeping a successful tank, but there is of course some “optimum” numbers that achieve the best growth and coloration. My Ca being so much lower than NSW is obviously still growing my SPS, after all there IS available calcium, just not as much as I would like.

At least, that’s my understanding of it.

I think those optimal numbers are always provided since reefing is so difficult and ambiguous. We just know at those ranges everything will be ok.

But you have reefers like yourself at 350 calc and others with 1ppm phosphate whose tanks are growing.

Those ranges just encapsulate both the balance and amounts required without the user having to do any additional think work.

 

[Magellan]

I think those optimal numbers are always provided since reefing is so difficult and ambiguous. We just know at those ranges everything will be ok.

But you have reefers like yourself at 350 calc and others with 1ppm phosphate whose tanks are growing.

Those ranges just encapsulate both the balance and amounts required without the user having to do any additional think work.

I like how you gave me a bonus 40 Ca...I wish I was at 350!

but, exactly this comment, 10000% agree. I saw someone post a large tank recently with a DSB that was thriving with phosphates at 1! I can only assume they had a massive CuC and never fed their tangs, but if it works it works!

 

[living_tribunal]

The Duncan opened up a little more this morning after dosing 2ppm nitrate. I may have to start testing nitrate again frequently.


I’m considering dumping skimmate into the frag tank once a week. This wilsoni is an animal on nutrients, he’s so big! About 4-5” diameter.

 

[Magellan]

The Duncan opened up a little more this morning after dosing 2ppm nitrate. I may have to start testing nitrate again frequently.


I’m considering dumping skimmate into the frag tank once a week. This wilsoni is an animal on nutrients, he’s so big! About 4-5” diameter.

Just make a bold decision and unplug that bad boy

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Just make a bold decision and unplug that bad boy

I dont have a skimmer on my tank...

What's it called again? Protein Skimmer. What does it remove, proteins. What are the essential building blocks of healthy tissues? Proteins.

I just prefer not to run one on a reef.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Oh, remember when I said my trachy was 6" diameter inflated... I lied. It's closer to 8" diameter.

You cant see here, but a good bit of it is behind that arch on the left.

View from left side of tank

Really bad top down, but I didnt feel like sticking the phone underwater and have it ***** at me about the charging port being wet for the rest of the day. Here you can see the biggest visual difference in the radiata and geoffroy. Radiata are perfectly rounded.

 

[Magellan]

I dont have a skimmer on my tank...

What's it called again? Protein Skimmer. What does it remove, proteins. What are the essential building blocks of healthy tissues? Proteins.

I just prefer not to run one on a reef.

Shots fired!!

me either. Why would I want to remove all the good stuff from my water...

 

[living_tribunal]

Just make a bold decision and unplug that bad boy

Lol the skimmer?

 

[living_tribunal]

Oh, remember when I said my trachy was 6" diameter inflated... I lied. It's closer to 8" diameter.

You cant see here, but a good bit of it is behind that arch on the left.

View from left side of tank

Really bad top down, but I didnt feel like sticking the phone underwater and have it ***** at me about the charging port being wet for the rest of the day. Here you can see the biggest visual difference in the radiata and geoffroy. Radiata are perfectly rounded.

Some people want to be like Mike, I want my trachy to be like yours.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Lol the skimmer?

Yes!

 

[SashimiTurtle]

I also snagged me a great picture of Ahi the tomini tang... he's hard to photograph.

Here he is in April of 18... he's grown a LOT.

 

[living_tribunal]

Yes!

I don’t have one on my frag tank.

I like having one on my display because the water gets ugly without it, want to kill bad stuff.

 

[anon9896]

Here is what im working on

Any thoughts ?

 

[living_tribunal]

Here is what im working on

Any thoughts ?

They look like daquiris with straws hanging out on a bar table.

 

[living_tribunal]

Here is what im working on

Any thoughts ?

Are you going to drip the cultures out slowly yet continuously into the system?

 

[anon9896]

They look like daquiris with straws hanging out on a bar table.

They are party pods

 

[Magellan]

I don’t have one on my frag tank.

I like having one on my display because the water gets ugly without it, want to kill bad stuff.

What’s your filtration like @Robin Haselden?

I always assumed when I got a larger tank I would be forced to run a skimmer, good to know it’s not mandatory

@living_tribunal I think that’s why my corals grow so much. To skim or not to skim is the question I put the most time into researching, it seemed like it would take out good stuff as well as bad stuff, and there are other ways of taking out bad stuff.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Lol the skimmer?

Yes!

Small caveat... I have a decent sized fuge lit by a Kessil H80(wanna upgrade to a H160) 24/7 and run a filter sock amd replace it every 2 days. I do remove gunk from the water, just not stripped like a protein skimmer would. All the teeny tiny small coral foods get to keep circulating and the chaeto absorbs any extra nutrients. That with carbon and water changes to remove any toxins from internal or external sources is how I run my tank.

I mean, that's how it's supposed to work when you dont ignore obvious signs of distress for months at a time and allow it to become overrun with nuisance algae.

 

[anon9896]

Are you going to drip the cultures out slowly yet continuously into the system?

Thats the main goal actually.
Im starting slowly into making a 'continuous system'
And trying to figure problems before hooking it to my system. Btw It does not require a dosing pump , only an air pump

 

[SashimiTurtle]

What’s your filtration like @Robin Haselden?

I always assumed when I got a larger tank I would be forced to run a skimmer, good to know it’s not mandatory

You gotta have some way of excess nutrient removal. As mentioned above, I like water changes and a fuge. Fuge works 24/7 to absorb nutrients and water changes correct any thing I screw up dosing(or not dosing) and anything I cant test for.

Heres a pic of my sump. Filter sock, fuge, rock chamber, bubble trap, return chamber with carbon reactor.

And display, looking a lot better since I got rid of that toxic water in there.