SuncrestReef

No, I don't believe it's dions. I looked at a sample under my microscope and it appeared to be simple algae. Also, dinos typically thrive in low nutrient environments, but my PO4 is around 0.04 ppm and NO3 is around 8 ppm, so not necessarily very low nutrient. Since fragging and cutting off all the dead areas, the colony has stabilized and the frags are looking good.

Anyone else looking forward to trying this new Hanna tester when it becomes available? https://www.hannainst.com/marine-nitrate-checker-hi781.html

So far, so good. Out of 10 frags, only one is showing a bit of loss at the base, but I think I probably didn't cut enough off on that one. I'm not seeing any more loss on the mother colony either.

The DDR is notorious for having failed optical sensors and/or liquid damage to its circuit board which is just below the top of the unit. Mine had to be repaired by Neptune 3 times in one year for failed sensors. It is the only Neptune product I cannot recommend. You can save money and headaches by using any generic dosing reservoirs and adding the DIY optical sensors available on EBay that trick the DOS into thinking you have a DDR connected: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEPTUNE-APEX-DOS-DDR-DIY-8-CABLE-2-OPTICAL-LEVEL-SENSORS-USE-YOUR-RESERVOIR/254602775253?hash=item3b47820ad5:g:DW0AAOSw9V1ae1f2

I have a set of Les Schwab tire chains that don’t fit my current car. Check the listed tire sizes to see if they’d fit yours. Free to the first person to claim them. You pick up at my house in Beaverton. It’s never too early to plan for winter in Oregon!

Is that top row of boards directly above the tank removable to allow access into the tank? The one on the top left looks like it's sticking out just a bit.

Wow, that's a very cool way to surround the tank! Looking forward to seeing pics of what's behind the tank.

I'm not sure that will hold enough frags. 🤣

Thanks to @shaywood for this beautiful yellow wrasse. He seems pretty comfortable in his new home, and added a nice splash of color to my tank.

PM sent.

Welcome to the club, and nice looking tank! My Reefer XL 425 is a similar sized tank, and sometimes I wish I went a little lighter on the rockwork like yours. My tank seems very crowded with rock and the corals are very crammed together. Yours has a very nice open look to it. Be sure to add yourself to our Members Map and take a look at the other fellow reefers on the map in your area.

What approach would you use in this situation?

No, it's several inches to the side from the flow of a powerhead, and I had grown it out from a 1" frag back in November 2018 into a nice sized colony in this exact same position. It definitely experiences random flow. I'm planning to send in a water sample for ICP analysis tomorrow since there's no obvious explanation for why it suddenly went downhill.

PM sent.

About a month ago I noticed a small patch of algae starting to grow from a fork in my WWC Yellow Tips colony. Over the past several weeks, that patch started growing wider and I realized it was losing tissue which gave the algae a foothold. Today I decided I needed to take some action because the colony was losing tissue faster each day. I managed to salvage about 10 frags ranging from 1" to over 3" and placed them on a frag rack right next to the original colony so the lighting will be similar. I'll keep an eye on these frags and the rest of the colony to see if the damage continues to spread. If they remain healthy for the next couple weeks, I'll post a frag sale thread.

Ouch.

30 years of experience creating technical documentation for computer systems. 🤓

If you move your mouse to the upper right corner of any post, it will reveal "Report post":

The only reason I asked about the pods is due to my own personal setup. I have a refugium packed with chaeto that's a major breeding ground for my pods, and they end up getting sucked through my UV before reaching the tank. And since i have a mandarin goby that won't eat anything but live pods, I go out of my way to ensure they survive. But I agree that there are a lot of trends not based on science.

What flow rate do you plan to send through the UV? From your photos, it appears the UV will discharge back into the same sump chamber where it draws water. Are you concerned at all about over-exposing beneficial life forms to the UV? I have mine plumbed to draw water from the sump into the UV, then it goes straight to the display tank, so any pods or other good critters make it into the display without excessive harm.

*Anything* can be turned into a build thread!!! 🤣

Excellent setup! I love seeing this all come together. Nice work. 👍

Looks great! I have the same tank but with the black cabinet. What are you going to do in the sump area? If you want any ideas, I have a very detailed build thread over at R2R: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/suncrestreefs-red-sea-reefer-xl-425-build.358990/

After-hours photo of my frag enjoying a late night Reef Roids snack: (that's right...my frag is on the juice!!!)

Looks great!