Burningbaal

There's lots of blackbox options with the orphek's dimension and are dimmable, I'd go with that route, but what I'd really be likely to do is a pair of sbreeflight (or similar) 165w 'basic' fixtures hacked to be controllable. Kinda like xmas_one has suggested, but with more economical lights. FWIW, I'm part of the group who's opinion on LEDs has shifted to the idea that the primary drawbacks of LEDs is that they are too configurable and this makes it too tempting to tinker with them. I believe if you took everyone who prefers T5 or MH and gave them LEDs of appropriate spectrum, layout, brightness and told them they aren't adjustable: they wouldn't see the benefit in T5 or MH unless it's purely a preference of looks. All this is to say that I think all you get with the high-end LEDs is more temptation to tinker (causing the coral to constantly adjust and never achieve stability), and a spotlight effect (the black boxes usually give more of the orphek/T5 idea that it's a blanket of light)

One further note, it has been known to "tickle" corals when first dosed so they pull in, mostly noticed with softies like leathers. Presumed it's because the dry particles are a little weird, probably can be minimized if you get it fully dissolved in team water before dosing, but it isn't worth the trouble for me. I don't mind my toadstool pulling in for a few hours, especially because I don't dose it very often. My fish actually eat the stuff out of the water column Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

My only SPS at the time was a Monti spongodes frag, but it's as happy as ever. Melev uses it, recommends it constantly, and has a gorgeous SPS-packed mixed reef. I don't particularly know if it helps with bubble algae, but at this point, I think I'll dose every several weeks as a part of regular maintenance. Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

Live rock enhance might be worth a shot. It did seem to loosen a bunch of detritus from my rockwork's insides (blowing with a powerheads after dosing it and mb7 for a few weeks) Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

Ya, mostly the same. My trick was a siphon hose for manual removal. Get the siphon going and block with your thumb. Position over the bubble, flick the bubble off the rock into the hose and suck a little extra water, hopefully sucking any popped bits. Make it a water change while you're at it. I do hear good things about vibrant as long as you go slow. Emerald crabs are pretty awesome, so...get one Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

Agreed, I'm guessing under white lights it's green/silver Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I would make a point to said the sludge when transferring to the tank. Though tropic Marin pro is supposed to have near-zero of this... Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I'll just leave this here https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/do-all-salt-mixes-precipitate-in-saltwater-storage-bins-brstv-investigates/

I hear good things about 8 and 4 line wrasses as well. I'm sure the fairy and flasher wrasses have some utility and are stinking gorgeous Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I just bought a yellow corris wrasse from saltwater city in Bellevue. Rumor is they occasionally pick on snails, but most individuals don't, and they're supposed to be really good at picking off pests (of course dipping is best, I figure this is just in case). He's hiding; I expect that woul be true for a few days since I just got it yesterday. But worth considering. A six line is the usual go to, but they can be pretty vicious after several months of feeling at home Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I like it, if it's not bad...I kinda want some

I'll chime in... They are basically an astrea small that can flip itself over Hungry little buggers all over my glass and rock. Only downside is one occasionally climbs out and dries out. Just found one the other day. Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

Location? Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

Ya know, dinos are a protist (eukaryote), so the slower flow (like for protozoa) may work better for them. The trouble might be that they are also fast-replicators (obviously much faster life cycle that the ich protozoa). So the problem with UV may be the perfect storm: You need a higher exposure (lower flow) to effectively kill it, but a higher flow rate to defeat the fast life cycle. Ergo, you might need something like 200w of UV to knock back the dinos effectively...yikes! As pledosophy has indicated, the combo of UV and phyto is probably not a great plan...the phyto's likely knocked back by the UV, though hopefully it is growing some in the tank and might be able to out replicate the UV destruction...but I wouldn't count on it. I'd focus on phyto and maybe pods to munch on it. Some people report success using a heavy hand with macroalgae can help...if you don't have a refugium, it could be helpful. It does tend to lower nitrates, so that seems odd, but I've heard it has helped. Most effective would probably be dosing live stuff...The phyto's great, but maybe Live Rock Enhance, MB7, Dr Tim's Waste-away, etc. I know you feel like Vibrant caused the dinos, but I'd encourage you (and the whole community) to think of it differently. You had a turf algae problem, so you started dosing a bacterial product and the turf algae went away. Then Dinos cropped up, ok...but I suggest it wasn't Vibrant's fault. I suggest that Vibrant took down one problem, but the core issue wasn't resolved yet: the microbial imbalance was still there, it was getting better, but not done. I think dinos were just the next phase in your progress. I might get railed on for saying this, but I would actually argue that collecting all the variations of microbial additives is the best thing you can do here. If I were in your shoes, I'd be dosing that phyto, but also be dosing Vibrant, Live Rock Enhance, Microbacter clean, Dr Tim's Waste-away, maybe Biospira, biopronto, whatever you can find. I suggest you focus more on building up a GOOD microbiome than on killing the bad microbiome.

Interesting... We did our docs a couple years ago, but haven't thought about this. I think if it was only me that went, my wife would maintain it while she found takers for the stuff. I'm confident she could take decent care of them while organizing with the LFSs and locals. But ya, if we both went? I guess I might just give a shortlist of stores so my executor can call a few and get some offers. I'm guessing someone will be willing to give some cash to the estate and do the total teardown....right? Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

@Trailermann , you're sort of right. The shower flow would certainly be effective at killing the algae/etc that is flowing through it. The algae/etc is more labile (fragile) to UV damage than the protozoa, so it will certainly have as much destruction as the protozoa at the same exposure rate. The problem is that the algae/etc, because they are simpler, they can replicate (reproduce) much faster. Because of this, you need to focus on getting a huge portion of the tank through the filter every hour to kill the fast-reproducing organisms. If you don't flow the tank water fast enough, it'll probably replicate faster than you're killing it with UV. It's a good thing the algae/etc are easier to kill or you'd need a massive sterilize to get the high (protozoa) exposure AND the high flow rate (algae/etc) through the sterilizer. I do have a background in microbiology, so I definitely grasp the theory. The study BRS did (if replicatable, and as carefully performed as the video made it seem) lends significant evidence to indicate the flow rate must be very high in order to defeat the replication rate. To be specific, they had test tanks where two tanks of the same size, light, setup, etc were set up with the same sterilizer. One with high flow and the other with the lower (protozoa) flow. The ones with lower flow (higher exposure) had a lot more algae than the one with high flow. So the premise is you have to choose. Either higher flow (lower exposure) to defeat the more fragile and faster replicating algae/bacteria or a higher exposure/lower flow for defeating the tougher (slower replicating) protozoa. You certainly could run two sterilizers with different flow rates (about 1/6th is the idea), but that's a lot of setup and $. You could massively oversize the sterilizer so even at a high flow rate you're getting a protozoa-killing exposure, but that's huge $$$. Happy to discuss more of you're interested Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

BRS investigates suggests uv flow should be high for algae, bacteria, etc. Slow is for protozoa (ich). Sounds like you're doing everything right...sorry to hear it's been so hard. Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I dig it. kinda like you're snorkeling somewhere nice

Nice looking. If I still lived down there...oh well

Presumably, you can get a 90% water change ready. match temperature, alkalinity, and salinity dead-on with the tank. Drain, refill, done. I'd also run a boatload of carbon in case you've got something weird going on. I'd probably do this first though: grab a powerhead and hose out the rock (in place) to loosen any detritus from the recent deaths, get it all blow around into the filtration (socks?) Dump 25% of the water to pull out the fines the filtration didn't catch and cut back on any dissolved stuff. A few days later, do that 90% water change (really...as close to 100% as you can reasonably get). Run a ton of carbon for 1/2-1 week, then replace it with more just to be sure. I'd guess you're pretty much back in business...just missing lots of your prized creatures. Sorry you're dealing with this...really horrible

location? approximate dimensions?

I suppose...I definitely like keeping my ATO perfectly clean, though Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I've heard melev say they should be suspended above the water so they are never wet, but I have no experience Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

Looking for a cheap foray for the tank to start the first stony coral, I think any euphyillia would be a great start (adding to the teeny green toadstool leather I have had a for a week). Slight preference for a purple hammer, but I'm not actually picky as I hope to end up with several varieties eventually. I'm in northern Seattle, kind of Bothell Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

Wow! Evidently you've been very nice to that euphyilia! I'd be shocked if you didn't get $15 per head. You might get 25, but I'd be surprised. One thing to consider, depending on your situation is helping tanks for teachers (@albertareef ). They might be able to frag the colony as a fundraiser or offer it to one of the bigger TFT tanks. A bigger piece like that can bring a lot of money, especially because euphyillia are a hot commodity right now, but it will be a bit slower to sell them frags, for obvious reasons Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk