My Slice of Nature (Part 3)

[SubzeroLT]

The things we do to keep fishes out & allow the coral a fair chance to feed.

Plastic tray covering the rock flower anemone during feeding time

 

[equiox]

Thumbs up and support!

[SubzeroLT]

Some tank updates.

Finally got 2 replacement pH probes for the Apex Neptune. The original ones were about 2.5yrs old & time for a change. The Pinpoint probes work great. As with any probes, they must be calibrated before use.

 

Hooked up the DIY kalk stirrer & peristaltic pump to the Apex. 

My current pH hovers between 7.9-8.1. This setup attempts the following :

(1) Stir kalk for 1 minute a couple of times a day

(2) Dose kalk at a constant rate slowly throughout the day until pH 8.3 is reached & attempts to maintain at around this level

(3) If pH 8.3 is reached then ATO pump takes over & replaces evaporated water with fresh water (no kalk)

 

 

Got one of these splash proof wire connectors. Especially useful in the sump area.

 

In memory of this Florida Ricordea that detached & floated away....lost

 

 

Trying to build a collection. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jairus]

gosh! what are those corals? the colours are so intense

[Ranz]

nice collection of rock flower anemone!

[SubzeroLT]

17 hours ago, Ranz said:

nice collection of rock flower anemone!

Thanks...a 4th (and nicest one) didn't make it. Suspect it was hurt by a shrimp or crab digging into the anemone to pull out a recently fed piece of prawn meat. Could see cut marks on the body.

[Harlequinmania]

The rock flower anemone color is amazing.. by the way, you mention that you use pinpoint ph probe for your apex and it is working well?

I bought a brs ph probe previously and try to use it on my apex but it doesn't seem to be able to calibrate the reading

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[SubzeroLT]

Yes, the pinpoint probe is working well. I rechecked it a few days later by dipping it in the calibration fluid & the reading was accurate.


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[Harlequinmania]

Yes, the pinpoint probe is working well. I rechecked it a few days later by dipping it in the calibration fluid & the reading was accurate.


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Ok thanks for the advise.. Maybe is the brs probe is not comparable then.

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[SubzeroLT]

On 6/24/2017 at 9:05 PM, he said:

 

Ok thanks for the advise.. Maybe is the brs probe is not comparable then.

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That's odd. Any pH probes are supposed to work as mentioned by a seasoned user in the Apex user forum. 

[SubzeroLT]

Changed to a shorter reactor to allow the slurry reach closer to the water outlet.

This is what it looks like after a 1.5min stir. Kalk is dosed after giving more time for the sediments to settle.

 

With the Apex, it was easy to program to dose kalk only when the pH was on the decreasing trend. For the past week, the overall pH has gone up a little & observed reduced pH swings.

 

Someone asked me recently about the Nyos 220 skimmer. I can only say it pulls out a lot of crap and give peace of mind to feed freely. Very happy with it.

 

 

[zaiqiu]

That's odd. Any pH probes are supposed to work as mentioned by a seasoned user in the Apex user forum. 

May I ask where did u get the PH replacement probe? Wonder whether it is compatible with aquatronica sys...


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[Admiraltian]

On 6/27/2017 at 0:09 AM, SubzeroLT said:

Changed to a shorter reactor to allow the slurry reach closer to the water outlet.

This is what it looks like after a 1.5min stir. Kalk is dosed after giving more time for the sediments to settle.

 

With the Apex, it was easy to program to dose kalk only when the pH was on the decreasing trend. For the past week, the overall pH has gone up a little & observed reduced pH swings.

 

Someone asked me recently about the Nyos 220 skimmer. I can only say it pulls out a lot of crap and give peace of mind to feed freely. Very happy with it.

 

 

Cup looks kinda small, how often do u need to clear and wash it?

[SubzeroLT]

The cup volume is 1.25L which is large enough for 1 week if skimming medium to dry.

 

In any case, I usually drain it to a bucket with a float sensor. Power to the skimmer is cut off when the bucket is 3/4 full & the Apex app sends me a notification.

I empty the bucket every 2 weeks on water change day. Wash the cup probably once a month. 

 

 

 

 

[Admiraltian]

On 6/30/2017 at 10:57 AM, SubzeroLT said:

The cup volume is 1.25L which is large enough for 1 week if skimming medium to dry.

 

In any case, I usually drain it to a bucket with a float sensor. Power to the skimmer is cut off when the bucket is 3/4 full & the Apex app sends me a notification.

I empty the bucket every 2 weeks on water change day. Wash the cup probably once a month. 

 

Ah...I see. Nice diy skills with help of technology. 

[SubzeroLT]

Some recent macro pics :

 

Rock Flower Anemone :

 

Pocci 

 

Yellow Feather Duster. 

 

Forest Fire Digi. The green base colors coming back after trying a new amino acid

 

Have been trying the Polyplab Colors concentrated amino acid recently.

Its very concentrated - that's a good thing as you are buying the real deal instead of a diluted product. 1 drop per 250 gallon (950L).

Though my system is roughly 1000L, I don't dose the full dose as my tank is not ULNS. I just dilute it with RODI in a container & dose half the amount.

 

Also been trying the Fauna Marin Bakto Balls. 

This is how a new ball compares with a depleted one. I suppose the gel ball is saturated with enzyme and/or bacteria which is slowly released.

 

Time to discard some of the old ones?

Cut one up a used one to see what's its like. Solid gel ball. Not hollow.

[vincentwangz]

Love your thread! Gives a lot of confidence to try new products. I'll be trying the Polyp Lab Polyp Booster soon to pair with my reef roids


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[Harlequinmania]

12 hours ago, SubzeroLT said:

Some recent macro pics :
 
Rock Flower Anemone :

 
Pocci 

 
Yellow Feather Duster. 

 
Forest Fire Digi. The green base colors coming back after trying a new amino acid

 
Have been trying the Polyplab Colors concentrated amino acid recently.
Its very concentrated - that's a good thing as you are buying the real deal instead of a diluted product. 1 drop per 250 gallon (950L).
Though my system is roughly 1000L, I don't dose the full dose as my tank is not ULNS. I just dilute it with RODI in a container & dose half the amount.

 
Also been trying the Fauna Marin Bakto Balls. 
This is how a new ball compares with a depleted one. I suppose the gel ball is saturated with enzyme and/or bacteria which is slowly released.

 
Time to discard some of the old ones?

 

Cut one up a used one to see what's its like. Solid gel ball. Not hollow.

 

Need to throw away the used bacto ball ? I thought that we can continue using it until it fully melted in the tank

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[SubzeroLT]

I've been using them since February and the balls from different 'batches' reduce to about the same size. 

Will they fully dissolve? So I should not use the term 'depleted'. Will monitor over the next many months. 

 

 

[Harlequinmania]

I just throw it in my sump too thinking that it will fully melted.

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[pcw]

The bactoballs remind me of those crystal jelly soil (aka water babies). 

[SubzeroLT]

The kalk dosing regime seems to be quite reliable. No issues so far. And SPS growth seems to be picking up.

Probably need to top up the kalk once a month. I'm not sure if replacing the kalk is required.

 

Status wise, pH now hovers between 8.03 to 8.23 now. The minimum was in the 7.85-7.9 range prior to dosing kalk.

 

 

Kalk stirrer in action.

 

[Daniel Poh Yang Zheng]

does dosing Kalk increase ur dkh indirectly?


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[SubzeroLT]

It probably increases KH slightly but not that much.

My parameters :



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[daveyy]

Do you have any problem with the sea cucumber entering yr wavemaker?


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