ReefBum's Latest SPS Journey

[ReefBum]

Back in mid-2015 I started my latest reef tank, a 187 gallon aquarium. For the first time I decided to use dry rock instead of live rock and I had one problem after another, including diatoms, a bacterial bloom and the worst pest I ever encountered, dinos. Ultimately, I was never able to grow SPS like I had in the past so I decided to re-boot the tank and try again with live rock.

You can read more about the re-boot here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/time-to-reboot-my-tank.297700/

The re-boot happened in June of last year and for the first 6 months the tank was struggling....it was either very low phosphates or a rusty magnet on a frag rack....maybe both, but my LPS were dying and my SPS frags were either dormant or flaming out. I ended up doing a series of very large water changes, switching salts and getting rid of the rusty magnet

Right after that (January 2018) things started to turn around. Below are some shots of the tank as of today. IMO, this represents growth over the past 10 months since that is when the rebound occurred.

Oh, some info about the setup....

• Lighting - Two Giesemann Spectra 24″ Fixtures with 400W 20K Radium bulbs + T5s
• Skimmer - Deltec SC 1456 Internal Skimmer
• Nutrient Control - Pax Bellum ARID C30 Algae Reactor
• Ca/Alk Supplementation - ESV 2 Part Ca & Alk dosing via a GHL Doser 2.1, dKH monitoring via GHL KH Director
• Royal Exclusiv 2L Media Reactor - Activated Carbon
• Royal Exclusiv Dream Box Sump

 

[TX_Punisher]

Good job coming back. I feel your pain. Waiting on the ICP test to see what’s going on.

 

[TMB]

Wow, nice comeback! Most would have given up after all your struggles.
You have a great looking reef at this point. Hope you keep this updated, I’ll be following along .

 

[Makers Marc]

Nice. What kind of flow/powerheads do you use?

 

[UFreefer]

How has the Guardian DKH monitor been working?

 

[Scorpius]

If you start with 100% dry rock expect a 12-24 month waiting period for sps to flourish.

 

[ReefBum]

Good job coming back. I feel your pain. Waiting on the ICP test to see what’s going on.

Yes, ICP tests can help diagnose problems.

 

[ReefBum]

Nice. What kind of flow/powerheads do you use?

I have two MP40's in the tank in addition to flow from my two return pumps, a Red Dragon 3 Speedy 100W pump and a RD3 80W pump.

 

[ReefBum]

How has the Guardian DKH monitor been working?

Great. I am seeing very steady levels. Nice piece of mind to have this....monitoring Alk is so important.

 

[ReefBum]

More pics.....

 

[bubbaque]

What is the top one in the last set of pics?

 

[ReefBum]

What is the top one in the last set of pics?

Greg Hiller's Aqua Delight. It has been a fast grower for me.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

Love it, glad to see your back in the flow of things. How many fish do you have in there? Are the pics taken with just t5s on? If so can you take a fts with the halides on? I love the blue tort in the center.

 

[greg 45]

ReefBum what parameter's are different from the tank in the old house. I remember seeing that tank and it was spot on.
Myself juggling a larger system keeping parameter a tad higher seems to help . Also I seem to be using more potassium than ever.

 

[ReefBum]

Love it, glad to see your back in the flow of things. How many fish do you have in there? Are the pics taken with just t5s on? If so can you take a fts with the halides on? I love the blue tort in the center.

Thanks! All of the pics were taken with just the halides on....400W 20K Radiums....T5s were off. Pretty representative of what it actually looks like. And the photos are not color corrected...just adjusted the exposure up a bit. Did use a custom 9,900 white balance setting on the camera to get realistic shots. Yes, the blue tort in the center/right is a Cali Tort, a favorite of mine

 

[Bps619]

Looking good! We're going to need more videos on your YT channel!

 

[ReefBum]

ReefBum what parameter's are different from the tank in the old house. I remember seeing that tank and it was spot on.
Myself juggling a larger system keeping parameter a tad higher seems to help . Also I seem to be using more potassium than ever.

Calcium and Alk are pretty close in this tank versus my old one....around 420-440 for Ca and 8-9 dkh for Alk. Did not really test phosphate with the old tank.....levels in this tank vary in the .02 to .07 range. Mag in this tank is around 1470, which I believe is higher versus the old tank. Nitrates are around 2.5, close to what they were in my old tank. One big difference with this tank is that I am using an algae reactor vs GFO for the old tank. And I dose two part now versus using a calcium reactor. I feel both the algae reactor and dosing give me more control on my paramaters, among other benefits.

 

[ReefBum]

Looking good! We're going to need more videos on your YT channel!

Working on doing more....or you can just watch my live webcam

 

[bhuyett]

If you start with 100% dry rock expect a 12-24 month waiting period for sps to flourish.

Yep I started with Dry Pukani and Dry sand, it was roughly 14-18 months before I could keep any type of Acro. My tank has been up now for 4yrs, and have to say I'm in that pocket of almost being on auto pilot. I've been thinking about upgrading from my 48x24x24 to a 72x30x27... and really worried about having to go through the same growing pains all over again.

 

[Scorpius]

Yep I started with Dry Pukani and Dry sand, it was roughly 14-18 months before I could keep any type of Acro. My tank has been up now for 4yrs, and have to say I'm in that pocket of almost being on auto pilot. I've been thinking about upgrading from my 48x24x24 to a 72x30x27... and really worried about having to go through the same growing pains all over again.

Same here. I would love to upgrade to a larger tank, but the long wait always turns me off. I'll enjoy what I have.