HTown Reef - 200g Waterbox Reef LX 270.6 (SPS Dominant)

[ryshark]

Should the CLEAN help with the nitrite issue? I read your thread and man I hope mine doesn’t take another 30 days! But if it does, it is what it is!

I think it is supposed to. I called Brightwell and the owner told me to just switch to CLEAN early. However, I still waited it out.

A lot of people believe that nitrite is not harmful to marine life and regardless of the nitrite reading, your tank is essentially cycled after 30-days.

 

[Ugin]

I remember reading why you’re supposed to wait on MB7, but forgot what the answer is.

Yeah I read the same thing after the fact, but with my size tank and the volume of bacteria I had to feed what I bought wasn't enough. Since I had MB7 on hand I just used that but it was a few days after I started and used up my original bacteria. It wasn't optimal by any stretch, but it took under a month.

 

[Ugin]

think too much light on birdsnest, try lowering it...

So the day this was posted I put in on the sand bed. It APPEARS the bleaching has stopped. If it progresses any higher I'm gonna frag it, but so far... so good? *knock on wood*

 

[ryshark]

How is the battle against the ugly stage GHA going?

 

[Ugin]

How is the battle against the ugly stage GHA going?

It goes. I'm dosing peroxide in the worst areas and then tooth brushing the white areas during my weekly water change. It's still very much a problem, but I'll just keep up with it till its gone.

I have 2 tangs in QT (Yellow + Blond Naso) and more CuC (more trochus, nassarius, and a single urchin). When they're in they'll help I'm sure.

 

[Crabby48]

Clean is better for now but either will work. Clean is new version of mb7. Mb7 better for Dino’s and red nasty and clean is better with green nasties. The rest is about the same.

 

[Ugin]

Update

I haven't had an update in awhile as I'm still going through the new tank nasties. I didn't have nearly the CuC I needed because I hate over adding CuC, so I've slowly started to add more. Yesterday I added:

Clean Up Crew (adds)
- 10 Trochus snails
- 10 Nassarius snails
- 1 Mexican turbo
- 1 Florida Conch

These were all QT's in sterile tanks for 76+ days. The conch came as probably the largest specimen I've ever seen... easily 5":

Fish (adds)
Next week my next batch of fish from DrReef are arriving which includes:

- Yellow Tang
- Blond naso Tang
- Marbled Wrasse
- Mystery Wrasse
- Diamond Goby

My current fish are all fat and happy. The largest Lyretail is deep into her transition to male and is starting to display more purple colorations. I don't have a good picture, so when I get one I'll post it.

Algae
GHA is everywhere. I'm not too concerned about it simply because I recognize the new tank uglies for what they are. The GHA has become less vibrate green to turning brown. Every week when I do a water change, I brush the rock with a tooth brush and all that's left is a bright green patch at the very bottom. I take this as a positive sign, but I'm hoping that final layer on the rocks goes away eventually.

Nutrients
My phosphates sit around .02-.04ppm consistently and my Nitrates have bottomed out to 0 for a few weeks now. I've been dosing nitrates 2~ times per week trying to raise the values but I can't seem to bring them above 0. I'm assuming the GHA and my dry rock is absorbing it to a degree. As an FYI, I'm testing nitrates with a Hanna AND Red sea tester.

 

[fishguy242]

hi,
imo, po4 is actually higher.
bound in gha, and released when cleaning
assuming you are using a phos removal media ?

 

[Ugin]

hi,
imo, po4 is actually higher.
bound in gha, and released when cleaning
assuming you are using a phos removal media ?

No, the only media I use really is a bag of carbon. I don't even have my skimmer online because my nitrates/phosphates are so low. I'm testing phos with a hanna low range checker. Do you really think my phosphate is higher than my hanna checker is stating?

I have phosphate-e from brightwell which is probably just Lanthanum Chloride. What do you suggest?

 

[fishguy242]

to suggest is hard,
we run 2 different styles.
i run all natural min maintenance high po4 .10 high nitrate .30 -.40 large skimmers, phos remover, trate remover.
no water changes.

you started dry, with bottled additives,

just i see gha, phos cannot be .02 truly ,jme.

 

[Ugin]

to suggest is hard,
we run 2 different styles.
i run all natural min maintenance high po4 .10 high nitrate .30 -.40 large skimmers, phos remover, trate remover.
no water changes.

you started dry, with bottled additives,

just i see gha, phos cannot be .02 truly ,jme.

Well I have a few options. Add phos remover or not. I can also test my phos before and after a water change (when I scrub the rock with a tooth brush) to see if it is indeed raising the phos.

The one thing I'm excited to see is that the GHA is brown in many areas which makes me think with time, it will just go away on its own. I should have 2 tangs in the tank next week, so we'll see if they munch on it as well

 

[ryshark]

Well I have a few options. Add phos remover or not. I can also test my phos before and after a water change (when I scrub the rock with a tooth brush) to see if it is indeed raising the phos.

The one thing I'm excited to see is that the GHA is brown in many areas which makes me think with time, it will just go away on its own. I should have 2 tangs in the tank next week, so we'll see if they munch on it as well

I agree that your PO4 is probably higher than your readings because the GHA is consuming it quickly. Another option you have, is to start the daily dosing instructions of MB clean. Our tanks are very similar and started around the same time. I started the daily dosing of clean and I’m seeing progress. Then again, I have like 12-turbos in a 120-gallon tank. I don’t think Trochus are great at removing GHA. Your new tangs should help with the short algae on the rocks.

 

[Ugin]

I agree that your PO4 is probably higher than your readings because the GHA is consuming it quickly. Another option you have, is to start the daily dosing instructions of MB clean. Our tanks are very similar and started around the same time. I started the daily dosing of clean and I’m seeing progress. Then again, I have like 12-turbos in a 120-gallon tank. I don’t think Trochus are great at removing GHA. Your new tangs should help with the short algae on the rocks.

Good call, I think I'll start the daily routine with MB Clean today.

As for snails, you aren't wrong. I admit to going way light with my CuC. I may get more mexican turbos since they've always done well with GHA for me. I like Trochus as my "every use snail", not so much for GHA.

 

[Crabby48]

PhosphatE is lithium chloride so follow lithium guidelines and don’t just dose to tank. Also be carful with some fish.

 

[Ugin]

The most current batch of fish arrived Wed from DrReef. This included...
- Marbled Wrasse
- Mystery Wrasse
- Yellow Tang (captive bred)
- Blond Naso Tang
- Diamond Goby

They all arrived healthy and eating. All of them except for the marbled wrasse are much smaller than I expected, but I'm not really complaining. I'll get some pictures when I can take a few good ones.

Last Fish Batch
The next batch of fish has begun QT'ing that includes:
- Quoyi Parrotfish
- Achillies Tang
- Sailfin Tang (Dejardini)

I decided on these 3 last because in my experience, these two tangs are more aggressive then the yellow/blond and the Quoyi because I wanted a more established system before adding one in. Down the line I plan on adding a mandarin, but not for awhile.

UV Sterilizer

I'm currently working through initial plans on adding a UV sterilizer. I'm looking at the 57 watt Aqua Ultraviolet unit which is rated for 355g tanks. The purpose would be primarily algae control, so I'd be running it around 2000GPH on a separate pump I have in my fish closet.


I want the unit mounted vertically for ease of maintenance, bulb replacement, and to keep my sump free of clutter. I created a mock plumbing design below but it's still very much a WIP. The main points to keep in mind is that I want the intake to come AFTER my filter socks and my outake in my return chamber. This will prevent recycling water as much as I feasibly can.

 

[Ugin]

GHA Update

GHA is steadily going away. I contribute that to:

• I'm maintaining low nutrients (5-8ppm Nitrates, .02-.04ppm Phosphate)
• Added a bunch of mexican turbos + 1 urchin
• Added Yellow and Blond Naso Tang's
• Dosing Microbacter Clean (daily)
• Weekly water change (30-35g)

Here's a fun progress shot of my tanks fight with GHA.

2/25
Lights turned on for the first time. You can see some faint green tint to the top of the rocks

3/15
About 20~ days later the GHA is bright green and living its best life. I'm still afraid of putting the coral on the rocks at this point because of irritation/being suffocated by the GHA

3/28
The GHA has started to lose its bright green color

4/18
GHA is brown/very dark green in 99% of the rock. It appears to be dying.

5/2 (Today!)
As you can see, there are finally patches of clean rock on all fronts. The left and right structure are the most obvious. The center structure I immediately don't toothbrush as much, but tooth brushing will never fully remove the GHA, only remove the weak strands.

I'm very happy with the results so far. It's taken quite awhile to get here, but with time and hard work it will go away.

 

[ReefSlice]

I started my tank right about the same time and have been going through the exact same struggles with GHA, and am also starting to turn the corner (I hope!). Keep it up, we got this!

 

[ryshark]

I started my tank right about the same time and have been going through the exact same struggles with GHA, and am also starting to turn the corner (I hope!). Keep it up, we got this!

Same here and my GHA is finally about 95% gone now.
As I mentioned above I started the daily dosing of CLEAN and added a bunch of turbo snails, but what I forgot to mention is that I also cut my photoperiod to:
6-bulbs: ON 6-hours
2-bulbs: OFF
XHO: OFF

 

[Ugin]

I started my tank right about the same time and have been going through the exact same struggles with GHA, and am also starting to turn the corner (I hope!). Keep it up, we got this!

Hell yeah brother!

Same here and my GHA is finally about 95% gone now.
As I mentioned above I started the daily dosing of CLEAN and added a bunch of turbo snails, but what I forgot to mention is that I also cut my photoperiod to:
6-bulbs: ON 6-hours
2-bulbs: OFF
XHO: OFF

Tbh, I think I would have been right there with you if I added an adequate CuC at the start. I waited too dang long to do so. I'm sure the photoperiod adjustment helped too, but I'm stupid and picked up that acro (even though it's a green slimer lol) so I figured I'd leave it alone. The acro btw is still doing good. It's browned out a bit due to the nutrients constantly bottoming out, but it's not fully browned yet since I do dose nitrate/phosphate as I can.

 

[ryshark]

Hell yeah brother!



Tbh, I think I would have been right there with you if I added an adequate CuC at the start. I waited too dang long to do so. I'm sure the photoperiod adjustment helped too, but I'm stupid and picked up that acro (even though it's a green slimer lol) so I figured I'd leave it alone. The acro btw is still doing good. It's browned out a bit due to the nutrients constantly bottoming out, but it's not fully browned yet since I do dose nitrate/phosphate as I can.

You’re probably right.

I didn’t get my CUC as early as I had hoped because of delays and miscommunication on my order. In the meantime I watched the diatoms turn to beginning signs of GHA. But I still got it quicker and in more quantities per gallon than you. Then I kept buying more and more turbos soon after

Next time I may add a hefty CUC before I even see diatoms!

I also made the coral too early mistake in regards to slowing my GHA fight. If I didn’t buy 1-hammer coral, I probably would have went lights out until the GHA completely died off and then turned the lights back on with the big CUC ready to eat.