Edison
Member
Hey Everyone! It's been a while since any tank updates so I thought I'd update with some photos and a brief overview of what's been happening with the tank in the past year and a half.
About six months after setting up this tank I began to have some algae and Cyano issues, the SPS were going brown and LPS weren't looking too chipper either. Tests showed NO3 to be 3-5 PPM and PO4 1-3PPB. Not too bad but with the hobby PO4 kits we use, we can never really be sure what the PO4 is. I started studying on how to run a tanks with zero nutrients; an ULNS. After reading a bit more, I thought about Zeovit, Bio Balls, vodka and white vinegar. Zeo seemed like it had too little of a margin for error, the guy at the LFS recommended against bioballs because they can pull too much out too fast and kill a tank.
That left vodka and white vinegar. I went with vodka for a couple of months and it was working well. I was able to ramp up the dosage slowly and the NO3 and PO4 levels were unmeasurable, the corals looked good.
I was feeding them daily and things were going well until a huge Cyano bloom started. It covered most of the substrate and some of the Acros were getting overgrown.
I'd vacuum the tank daily and blow off the Cyano that was on the rocks and corals.
The Cyano was a side-effect of vodka dosing, some tanks get it and some do not. While cleaning the tank every day, I began dropping down the vodka and about a month later, the Cyano was gone and the animals were happy again.
After stopping the vodka, I noticed the macro algae in the refugium growing fast and knew without having to get out the test kits that the nutrients were back. Well, there was one more simple thing to try before going Zeo and that was white vinegar. I used this article as a starting guide and a couple months later, the sinister chemicals were not measurable and the macro algae mass had shrunken down to about 1/5 of what it was. Everything is thriving and growing. I feed the corals daily, the SPS get Zooplankton, LPS and Gonipora get a mixture of Justin Credible's Goni Power, Mysis, Phytoplankton and the LPS pellets made my Fauna Marin. I'm also using Pohl's Coral Vitalizer, 4 drops at night and Amino Acid Concentrate, 2ml/daily. Both are made by Korallen Zucht.
Scoly and Rock Flower Nem
Blue Torte Acropora. I've had this colony about 2 and a half years now.
Close-up of the Torte
Yellow-tipped Elegance
Full tank shot taken late and night so many corals aren't open.
Full tank shot taken during the day but it's a little out of focus. I'll re-shoot soon.
Godzilla-the BOSS of the refugium and slayer of many a snail.
About six months after setting up this tank I began to have some algae and Cyano issues, the SPS were going brown and LPS weren't looking too chipper either. Tests showed NO3 to be 3-5 PPM and PO4 1-3PPB. Not too bad but with the hobby PO4 kits we use, we can never really be sure what the PO4 is. I started studying on how to run a tanks with zero nutrients; an ULNS. After reading a bit more, I thought about Zeovit, Bio Balls, vodka and white vinegar. Zeo seemed like it had too little of a margin for error, the guy at the LFS recommended against bioballs because they can pull too much out too fast and kill a tank.
That left vodka and white vinegar. I went with vodka for a couple of months and it was working well. I was able to ramp up the dosage slowly and the NO3 and PO4 levels were unmeasurable, the corals looked good.
I was feeding them daily and things were going well until a huge Cyano bloom started. It covered most of the substrate and some of the Acros were getting overgrown.
I'd vacuum the tank daily and blow off the Cyano that was on the rocks and corals.
The Cyano was a side-effect of vodka dosing, some tanks get it and some do not. While cleaning the tank every day, I began dropping down the vodka and about a month later, the Cyano was gone and the animals were happy again.
After stopping the vodka, I noticed the macro algae in the refugium growing fast and knew without having to get out the test kits that the nutrients were back. Well, there was one more simple thing to try before going Zeo and that was white vinegar. I used this article as a starting guide and a couple months later, the sinister chemicals were not measurable and the macro algae mass had shrunken down to about 1/5 of what it was. Everything is thriving and growing. I feed the corals daily, the SPS get Zooplankton, LPS and Gonipora get a mixture of Justin Credible's Goni Power, Mysis, Phytoplankton and the LPS pellets made my Fauna Marin. I'm also using Pohl's Coral Vitalizer, 4 drops at night and Amino Acid Concentrate, 2ml/daily. Both are made by Korallen Zucht.
Scoly and Rock Flower Nem
Blue Torte Acropora. I've had this colony about 2 and a half years now.
Close-up of the Torte
Yellow-tipped Elegance
Full tank shot taken late and night so many corals aren't open.
Full tank shot taken during the day but it's a little out of focus. I'll re-shoot soon.
Godzilla-the BOSS of the refugium and slayer of many a snail.
Last edited:
![coralsandtonga.jpg](http://[URL="http://img824.imageshack.us/i/coralsandtonga.jpg/"][IMG]http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/5880/coralsandtonga.jpg)
