Courtney's Red Sea Reefer 350

Courtney

Well-Known Member
There's a picture of my sump baffle and my NoPox has just turned up as well so will do a test later and possible start dosing it. Have to do some reading and work out the correct dosage for my tank as I haven't used this stuff in years haha

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SPR

Well-Known Member
I might start feeding a bit more than I am currently am to make sure no more fish start picking on each other.

I'm still playing with the skimmer. Might play with the ATO a bit to get a better flow as I don't think it is helping at the minuet with the way it is set up.

I have some Nyos coral foods coming this week hopefully. Wish I had a helper haha going to need that when I'm at work once I change my feeding schedule [emoji23]

If the ATO is set to drip, and the NYOS is wet skimming thats probably the issue your having as the ATO drip probably can’t top the water level up fast enough to keep up with the NYOS taking it out and as Nobbygas says, on wet Skim the skimmer is removing salt water which is being replaced by fresh water and hence a slow drop in salinity.

I spoke to Red Sea once about the drip of the ATO when I set the tank up because I couldn’t see why it needed to drip per second. I think he said it’s set like that so it’s around the actual rate of evaporation in the tanks. The problem with this though is that it can’t keep up with drops like the NYOS can cause.

Mine is and I think Nobbygas’s is set, so that when the float drops and calls for water, it flows out in a slow stream not drops out. So it’s a much faster top off, but mine is secondary backup now.

PS what’s the sump baffle for ?
 

Courtney

Well-Known Member
Yeah I think my skimmer is still wet skimming so will have to lover the water level again to get the bubbles to around the join height like you guys said. I mean it is pulling out some horrible smelling green tea coloured water. I will set the ATO to a slow flow I think as the water level in the pump chamber drops a fair bit.

The baffle is so I can divide the main chamber in my sump so the back half is for my skimmer and the front will be for my refugium housing the algae and marine pure or xport blocks. It's just to keep the algae and other bits away from my skimmer.
 
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Courtney

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Just did a Nitrate and Phosphate test and with my API test kits I have 0ppm Phosphate and 5ppm Nitrate. So the rowaphos has done the trick despite being a bit old haha although I do still have a bit of algae on the sand but it hasn't got any worse or really spread any further.

should I start dosing the NoPox to deal with the remaining Nitrates I have?

Then tomorrow I'm going to test everything else and if need be start dosing my Brightwell Aquatics Reef code A, Reef code B and Magnesion and alkalin 8.3
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
Just did a Nitrate and Phosphate test and with my API test kits I have 0ppm Phosphate and 5ppm Nitrate. So the rowaphos has done the trick despite being a bit old haha although I do still have a bit of algae on the sand but it hasn't got any worse or really spread any further.

should I start dosing the NoPox to deal with the remaining Nitrates I have?

Then tomorrow I'm going to test everything else and if need be start dosing my Brightwell Aquatics Reef code A, Reef code B and Magnesion and alkalin 8.3
I would start dosing NoPox yes on a low dose as per the instructions (based on volume of water after displacement) and just keep an eye on levels and adjust the dose as required. You need to decide were you want the levels to be first, and then adjust accordingly to stay there.

My reef looks better between 5-10ppm Nitrate but that’s mine which has lots of corals which like a bit of nutrient in the water. To be honest at one point it was as high as 16ppm and although it made me nervous, everything was thriving.

As you get more fish/feeding, the nutrients may start to increase and then you just adjust the dosage as things progress. I just do a weekly test of most parameters and then adjust everything including foundation elements as required but I have auto dosing for the foundation elements so they stay stable.

Just keep your phosphate locked down very low and change the Rhowaphos as soon as you detect any rise as that’s the trigger and you should avoid many of the ‘nasty’ issues.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
Like Shaun, I get the impression that too much is made of the Nitrate levels. I know each tank is different, but in my experience if the Nitrates are too low then you see zero growth from the corals. I wouldn't worry about 5ppm for Nitrate. The same for Phos. Having a zero reading doesn't do much good. It's ok to see it between 0.02 and 0.08ppm.
I'm far more relaxed now regarding the numbers. I think most of us, when we start out in reefing, spend a lot of time chasing the numbers because this is what the 'experts' tell us to do, but the only real indicator of what works for your tank is what you see with your very own Eyeball MKI. If you see healthy corals and growth, then whatever the numbers are, they're working for you!
 

Courtney

Well-Known Member
That's good to know as when I started out I was always told by some LFS's that you didn't want anything in there and it had to be 0 but now knowing that it is alright to have low numbers in there is good and I'm more laid back.

Was wondering what test kits are you guys using? Where you can read really low levels of chemicals as my API test kits only go to 0.
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
That's good to know as when I started out I was always told by some LFS's that you didn't want anything in there and it had to be 0 but now knowing that it is alright to have low numbers in there is good and I'm more laid back.

Was wondering what test kits are you guys using? Where you can read really low levels of chemicals as my API test kits only go to 0.
I use Red Sea for Calcium, Magnesium & Nitrate (Pro)
Hanna Checkers for Alkalinity & Phosphate - they are digital and easier to read than Red Sea's

I have both the Red Sea Nitrate & Phosphate Pro test kits which are very good for accurate low level readings, but the Hanna Phosphate (they don't do a Nitrate) is just easier with the digital readouts and the tests are easy as well.

One thing I would say is that if your Nitrate is above 5ppm, the Pro kit is pretty much the same as the standard Red Sea Nitrate one that comes with the Marine Care Test kit as it goes to a less accurate set of reading colours with 4ppm gaps i think it is. Below 5ppm, its very accurate at low level as is the phosphate Pro.

With whichever ones you get just make sure from the start that when you've done the test you rinse the vials with RODI water. Otherwise they will become stained and despite rinsing in citric acid for a week, some of mine are still stained and I will replace with a new kit at some point.

The Hanna checker vials need to be held with a tissue or something so you don't get fingerprints on them which could affect readings and again rinse them after use.
 

Courtney

Well-Known Member
Thanks that is good to know as I had seen the hanna checkers but wasn't sure and had the Red Sea ones a long time ago but when I got new test kits I saw the API ones which weren't to expensive and gave you loads of tests for the money which I thought was good but will have a look into the other test kits.
 

Nobbygas

Well-Known Member
I originally started off with all Salifert tests, but I've moved over to Red Sea for Alk, Calc, Mag, Phos & Nitrate, although I'm not that happy with the Alk test as it's difficult to recognise the colour change. I still use the Salifert tests occasionally, sometimes just to verify the Red Sea results, or other times I get what can only be described as an extravagant result using the Red Sea, so I then test with the appropriate Salifert test.
But with all the tests we do, it's best not to take individual results literally. We are not scientists working under strict laboratory conditions, so there is an element of error in our tests. I tend to use the results as an indication of the trend over a period of time.

But I bloody hate testing !
 

Courtney

Well-Known Member
Testings not bad just a bit time consuming but makes me feel like a scientist haha

Did some tests today and my levels are a bit low so I have dosed Code A&B and magnesium and will check again tomorrow.

Also does anyone have a Kenya tree coral? As I had mine at the top of my rock work and it was ok but it seems to have shrunk a bit so I have now moved it to the bottom of the tank under a overhang. It also looks like part of it is splitting off so might have to mount it on a plug, would you use a super glue for that as it is a soft coral?

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Courtney

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Started dosing NoPox today as tested my water and I have 0ppm Phosphate and 5ppm Nitrate so followed the instructions and dosed 2ml per 100ltrs so came out to a 7ml per day dosage. Was wondering if I should remove the rowaphos as I think I have read that you need some phosphate for the NoPox to work as Nitrate and phosphate go hand in hand.
 
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SPR

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Started dosing NoPox today as tested my water and I have 0ppm Phosphate and 5ppm Nitrate so followed the instructions and dosed 2ml per 100ltrs so came out to a 7ml per day dosage. Was wondering if I should remove the rowaphos as I think I have read that you need some phosphate for the NoPox to work as Nitrate and phosphate go hand in hand.

I would take the Rhowaphos out and use just NoPox for the time being.

You may be able to get away with just using NoPox on its own long term for both and that’s what it’s designed for. I use both but I’ve probably got a very high bioload and the NoPox alone wouldn’t hold it down.

Just keep an eye on your phosphate level and act if you need to if it starts to get anywhere over say 0.1ppm depending on what your trying to achieve. The Red Sea Accelerated Growth actually targets higher nutrient levels, but when I hit around 0.16ppm that was it.
 

Courtney

Well-Known Member
Ok will remove the rowaphos as it has done its job removing the phosphate. I noticed a lot more red/brown algae on the sand and on the rocks.

Was looking at the hanna checkers which ones are best to get as they do different types of each. As I'll most likely get a phosphate, calcium and alkalinity (dkh). Then once my API test kits run out I'll look at the Red Sea test kits.
 

SPR

Well-Known Member
Ok will remove the rowaphos as it has done its job removing the phosphate. I noticed a lot more red/brown algae on the sand and on the rocks.

Was looking at the hanna checkers which ones are best to get as they do different types of each. As I'll most likely get a phosphate, calcium and alkalinity (dkh). Then once my API test kits run out I'll look at the Red Sea test kits.
I can recommend the Hanna Alkalinity and ULR Phosphate (713) as they are very easy to use and read. I sent the calcium back after opening the box!

I did a detailed update on my build thread a few days ago which shows everything I personally use and do.
 
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Courtney

Well-Known Member
That is good to know there good there just so expensive haha although they take the guess work out of reading the colour charts haha

I'm also looking into getting the Apex 2016 kit which will be good and also a dosing pump although not sure which one is a good brand as the apex dos is quite expensive considering it only has 2 pumps but saw this set the other day which looked and sounded really good it is a Pacific Sun Kore 5th Ultimate Edition - 5 Channel Doser

http://pacific-sun.eu/shop/dosing-stations/kore-5th-ultimate-pack/
 
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SPR

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That is good to know there good there just so expensive haha although they take the guess work out of reading the colour charts haha

I'm also looking into getting the Apex 2016 kit which will be good and also a dosing pump although not sure which one is a good brand as the apex dos is quite expensive considering it only has 2 pumps but saw this set the other day which looked and sounded really good it is a Pacific Sun Kore 5th Ultimate Edition - 5 Channel Doser

http://pacific-sun.eu/shop/dosing-stations/kore-5th-ultimate-pack/

I’ve just installed Apex around 8 weeks ago, and pictures etc on build thread.

Well I use a Kamoer 4 channel which you can extend if need be, and it’s that easy to use you don’t really have to read the instructions that much. I have the older non WiFi version but this is the new one:

https://charterhouse-aquatics.com/shop/aquatics/pumps/kamoer/kamoer-x4-wifi-dosing-pump

I did loads of research with recommendations and this finally sold it to me on Dans Reef. So far no issues whatsoever and it’s an excellent piece of kit. If the Kamoer broke, I wouldn’t get Apex DOS even though I have Apex, I would get another Kamoer, its that good. 4 channel as standard + slave if needed.

 

Courtney

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Dan's Reef is where I saw the Pacific sun doser and he is the guy who gave me my lighting schedule haha I'll have a look into there dosers.
 

Courtney

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I have noticed that my bicolour blenny has tiny white spots on him. Do you think it is something to be worried about as he is still feeding and acting normally.

Here is the best picture I could get of him and some of the spots.

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