obrien.david.j

9 month update. Tanks doing well, this was an easy treatment and I'd do again if needed. There must have been some bacteria in my tank. Because before treatment I couldn't seem to keep torches nor fragspawn, yet I've got SPS growing like crazy. They'd just slowly close up and eventually die over time. After this treatment, new ones I've introduced are doing fine. At least my feeling is, it helped. And no, never removed filter socks during treatment.

I went for almost a year with increased PO4 and NO3, and trying to gradually bring them down. (peaked around 0.35 and ~100) During that year, my corals grew like crazy. But I knew I didn't want them to increase, so went for methods to bring down... gradually. No Lanthanum for me, no NoPox. I did Chaeto, phyto, and carbon dosing. (via Tropic Marin NP-Elim) Looking at your measurements above, I suspect you're not using Hanna test kits. What I found is I needed the increased accuracy, to see what was happening. and I tested every, every other, every 3rd day - for weeks! I'm using these test kits, and find them easy, consistent, and relatively fast. HI736 and HI782 (Hanna) I know there's an alternative Hanna phosphate test kit, and I don't know the real difference. Maybe others will weigh in.

I'll need another 32oz by then please. BTW, I'll bring my current two 32oz bottles back to you, empty.

And one just was listed for sale.

Yes, Blue German Digi Monti, attached. I've got a mass Monti island growing. Bubble Gum, Blue German, and Red Monti Cap (hard to see) + Pavona Cactus and Miyagi Tort, all together. I harvested this frag from the island. Bubble Gum tends to be on the lower/outer fringes, so in this picture it looks like a mound of Blue German diti.

Thanks for everyone coming today. It was good to see many of you again, and it was nice to meet people I've never met before. There's some fun tanks going on out there! Thanks @Eatfrenchfries - your talk was excellent and I learned a bunch. Took notes too.

Harvest #40 complete (Oct 4th) <-- Belated post - Easy Summary, no change to procedures, same good results, including 100% Poseidon Reef Fertilizer. Harvest #41 complete (Oct 28th) - Easy Summary, no change to procedures, same good results, including 100% Poseidon Reef Fertilizer. - Life has been busy, so harvests have moved to ~3wks apart. Still giving 2nd dose of fertilizer after week1. These 3 week windows are stretching it. But Phyto comes out dark dark.

Great article. Copying title here, to encourage others to read. Could Purple Non-Sulfur Bacteria Change Reefing?

I'll see what I can grab, and bring to the club meeting Sunday.

I've got micro brittle stars accessible in my tanks. maybe 1/2-3/4" across. How many you want? Do you expect them to be bioluminescent?

I'll be there!

Any chance you have Green Pocillopora in your tank? I used to keep it, and it looked fantastic. And then one day I realized, I had little green dots sprouting up all over my tank. And then little green Pocillopora colonies all over my tank ... When I upgraded my tank, pocillopora is not allowed in the new setup. (picture off the web)

I thought the bushy colony looked like a dragon. Thanks.

@Lexinverts - Check out the 600 gallon system video posted at this link. Talk about a fun video. I've watched a few times, trying to see what I can identify, and to think about the size of the colonies visible, verses the size in my own system. Even my Big Ones, don't feel as big as some in this video. Do you recognize this colony, center of the screen, 12seconds in? And this monster/chunky growth pattern, about 18 seconds in. And do they keep a Goni UNDER their frag rack, at the very end of the video? Link to post & video https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-ammonia-dosing-for-low-nitrate-systems.987087/post-11852039

Completely fair observations, and method of increasing nutrients. Right now, I feel like I'm a heavy feeder... but I'm starting to wonder.

5ml/day & 13ml/day - of what solution concentrate? (did you follow the stock solution ratio from the R2R article?) And, 5ml and 13ml - is this Ammonia chloride or Ammonium bicarb? What Nitrate level are you at in your tank?

I spent half of 2022 and first half of 2023 getting my Phosphate and Nitrate levels down. And what did I find, Success. Almost too successful for a while. And I had to dose to get levels back above zero. (Zero is bad for me, I believe it was the reason I crashed so bad in 2021.) Bumped into this Ammonia dosing thread. I can vouch, when you get Nitrates to Zero - things change. And put a little back in, and I like the results better. So that would be the purpose of dosing. More easily assimilated. Anyone tried this? Got a before and after picture? How much did you dose, for how long, with what results. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-ammonia-dosing-for-low-nitrate-systems.987087/

Love your posts. We're pretty lucky to have someone with your wealth of knowledge locally! Keep sharing. So you don't tumble. But the picture looks like a 2 liter soda bottle. How's this work?

treatment didn't bother my small aptasia population at all. @Lexinverts - any idea on anemones?

Mark VanO won the full Apex setup. Kim won a tank and an awesome rock.

No such luck. Must be present ticket, at the event, to be in consideration of winning. BTW, My ticket number was 035533... I think we got side by side tickets.

Warning... Phones cameras have gotten bigger. I bought gen1 of these lenses, gen2 of these lenses. ... then got latest phone (a few years ago) - and I need to use the Bigger version of these camera clip ons. Which means 52mm for my phone. (iphone13 pro max) I use this regularly. Dramatically improves tank pictures https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/2021-extra-wide-52mm-smartphone-coral-lens-kit-4-lens-w-storage-box-orphek/

My voice is a bit horse and froggy today. I'll leave the Bum Bag jokes for another day. https://whatsdifferentinaustralia.tumblr.com/post/98208963804/bum-bag

And a big thank you to @Emerald525(aka Kim!) You did a fantastic job on this event. And even managed to take photos. I didn't get even a single one. And to everyone who really wants to hear it... "It's a RED ticket, number xxx..."

Yes, Thank you to the PNWMAS board members for their time and energy. But the biggest thank you goes to our day's host. Thank you @CuttleFishandCoral!