My Slice of Nature (Part 3)

[Xtrader]

Bro, How's your PO3 and NO4? and where do you get the AE Cleanse? Thanks in Advance.

[Sherilyn91]

Bro, How's your PO3 and NO4? and where do you get the AE Cleanse? Thanks in Advance.

Bro AE Cleanse can get from RMS..


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[SubzeroLT]

14 hours ago, Xtrader said:

Bro, How's your PO3 and NO4? and where do you get the AE Cleanse? Thanks in Advance.

Parameter levels measured via Mastertronic today :

 

Nitrates 2.77ppm. Typically hovering around 2-10ppm.

Phosphate 0.2ppm. Typically running around 0.1-0.2ppm range.

OLI (organic levels) - 1u. Not bad. The AquaUV is doing its job.

 

AE Cleanse. You can get it here : https://www.reefmarketsg.com.sg/aquaticexclusive-cleanse-ready-to-use

 

[nornicle]

Wow 0.2 phosphate, I thought mine was high at 0.13 was going to add rowaphos. 
 

Thanks for your tips on mp60 I run barebottom and will probably go to sps only at some stage so I can keep angels in the tank. 

[JiaEn]

18 hours ago, SubzeroLT said:

OLI (organic levels) - 1u. Not bad. The AquaUV is doing its job.

Mm..  Would UV breaks down organics in the aquarium?  I doubt it will. 

Perhaps the low OLI reading (which is based on color of the water, right?) Is due to the reduction of microalgae and bacteria flocks in the water column? 

[SubzeroLT]

5 hours ago, JiaEn said:

Mm..  Would UV breaks down organics in the aquarium?  I doubt it will. 

Perhaps the low OLI reading (which is based on color of the water, right?) Is due to the reduction of microalgae and bacteria flocks in the water column? 

Good that you brought up this fact check! Thanks for highlighting.

Its correct that UV does not break down organics. The spectrophotometer of the Mastertronic measures the color which uses it as a proxy for organics levels.

[Xtrader]

On 9/1/2021 at 1:12 AM, Sherilyn91 said:

Bro AE Cleanse can get from RMS..


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Thanks

[Xtrader]

On 9/1/2021 at 4:19 PM, SubzeroLT said:

Parameter levels measured via Mastertronic today :

 

Nitrates 2.77ppm. Typically hovering around 2-10ppm.

Phosphate 0.2ppm. Typically running around 0.1-0.2ppm range.

OLI (organic levels) - 1u. Not bad. The AquaUV is doing its job.

 

AE Cleanse. You can get it here : https://www.reefmarketsg.com.sg/aquaticexclusive-cleanse-ready-to-use

 

Thanks, your Nitrate is it considered high? but your SPS is still good.

[Xtrader]

On 6/29/2020 at 11:10 AM, SubzeroLT said:

Fragged the chalice for a friend.

 

 

Fortnightly harvest of hair algae. 

 

Leon, what fragging tool is that?

[SubzeroLT]

17 hours ago, Xtrader said:

Thanks, your Nitrate is it considered high? but your SPS is still good.

The nitrates usually hover around the 10ppm range. Just that its slightly lower during this measurement.

 

17 hours ago, Xtrader said:

Leon, what fragging tool is that?

That's a regular dremel tool. With diamond wheel + #A550 Rotatary Shield

[SubzeroLT]

Did some housekeeping of equipment in the sump. Took most of the external reactors out for a good wipe down & inspection.

Installed a set of AquaUV clips. This design is slim yet robust. Holds up very well.

 

Close up

 

Installed a 2nd set of holders for the power supply as well. The power supply is lighter than the main UV unit and placed on the narrow vertical pillar of the cabinet. Hence i'm using another design that has a narrower foot print and the screws on the side (less convenient). But that's OK since the power supply does not need to be removed for maintenance.

 

 

I also got a new CO2 regulator by CO2 Art.

I've used brands like ANS, Ocean Free & Intense. The CO2 Art one is by far the best regulator so far. Key features :

• 12V DC solenoid (runs cooler).
• Replaceable regulator in case it spoils (no need to change out the entire regulator).
• The silicone O ring is very thick. Looks robust. And a 2nd replacement O ring is provided as well
• Comes with an integrated bubble counter 
• Adjustable working pressure. Though this is useful for freshwater planted tank who use high pressure diffusers, we marine keepers don't really need this feature. The default 'low' pressure setting will suffice.
• Most importantly, the needle valve knob is very smooth. It has some kind of friction feature within that does not allow it to run off on its own.
• 

The only downside of the CO2 Art solenoid is that its quite big. Note its sticks out horizontally by quite a bit. So make sure you have space for it. The brand has several models. This particular one is CO2 Art PRO-SE. Got it from ReefmarketSG for $193.

 

 

[alexcyf]

Totally agree with the smoothness of the knob!

And yes, the solenoid really protrudes out a lot haha!


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[nkxyy]

How satisfied are you with the mastertronic? been thinking about saving up and getting one..

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[SubzeroLT]

2 hours ago, nkxyy said:

How satisfied are you with the mastertronic? been thinking about saving up and getting one..

Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app
 

I'm using Alkatronic, Mastertronic & Apex on my system. Each does a different thing.

Specifically for Mastertronic, it simplifies the testing regime. One key factor in this hobby is to prevent mistakes or at least to catch it early. Both the Alkatronic & Mastertronic do this effectively. As I've often said, what gets measured gets done.

One nice thing about the Mastertronic is that you can set the interval to whatever you like and not forced to test too regularly. Interval for each parameter can be different depending on the needs of the tank. Accuracy so far is spot on.

[nkxyy]

I'm using Alkatronic, Mastertronic & Apex on my system. Each does a different thing.
Specifically for Mastertronic, it simplifies the testing regime. One key factor in this hobby is to prevent mistakes or at least to catch it early. Both the Alkatronic & Mastertronic do this effectively. As I've often said, what gets measured gets done.
One nice thing about the Mastertronic is that you can set the interval to whatever you like and not forced to test too regularly. Interval for each parameter can be different depending on the needs of the tank. Accuracy so far is spot on.

Wow alright i shall save up for them. Thank you :3

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[SubzeroLT]

Got 9 fish over the weekend from Pinnacle (Thanks Edwin for picking nice ones! ) - 1 male + 3 female  Blue Eye Anthias, 2 Blue Star Leopard Wrasse & 3 Flame Firefish Goby. 

I actually have resident fish of all 3 types in my tank but wanted to add more to mimick a vibrant and thriving reef (wishful thinking).  Thankfully there wasn't any serious agression beyond the initial 30 minutes. All peaceful now. And all fish are feeding already.

 

Blue Eye Anthias : 

 

Blue Star Leopard Wrasse

 

Current fish stock :

1. Purple Tang 
2. Yellow Tang x 2 
3. Atlantic Blue Tang 
4. Blue Tang 
5. Blue Eye Anthias 1x male, 4x female
6. Blue Star Leopard Wrasse  3x female 
7. 6 line wrasse x 2 
8. Yellow watchman Goby 1x male, 1x female 
9. Yellow Firefish Goby x5
10. Starry Blenny 
11. Adam's Damsel - 8
12. Mandarin Dragonet 1x male, 1x female
13. Red Scooter Mandarin 1x male, 1x female
14. Ocellaris Clownfish  2x male, 1x female
15. Flame Hawk
16. Banggai Cardinal x2

Hmmm... 41 fish 

 

Other recent addition are Cristata torch. They have shorter tentacles and a unique translucent color. Here are some pics of the ones from Coral Fanatics :

 

[SubzeroLT]

Measured phosphates today at 0.22ppm. Its been hovering around the 0.2ppm range the past month. Time to replace the rowaphos.

 

As mentioned before, best to use a tall reactor. This allows space on top for the rowa to tumble without exiting the reactor. For me, i'll typically fill it up to about this height (1/3 of the reactor). Then rinse thoroughly with RODI to get rid of fine dust. After about 3-4L of rinsing, its ready to go into the tank.

 

Recently I don't rinse it that thoroughly anymore as I found a way to just filter out the fine particles as it flows out during the 1st 1-2 minutues.  I make a small disposable filter sock out of extra Clarisea fleece material (25 microns) using an impact sealer.

 

Then hold it at the outlet of the reactor as the flow is turned on. Slow slow initially until full flow is reached. If the filter is fully loaded (clogged) before the reactor is clear, I'll just rinse it under the tap & reuse.

 

The clarisea filter fleece is perfect for catching the fine particles. 

 

Quick rinse under the tap and its good to go again.

[SubzeroLT]

Maintenance weekend update.

Checked my phosphates about 3 days after the rowaphos change. Dropped from 0.22ppm to 0.110ppm. Good rate of drop. Not too drastic.

 

Cleaned up the wavemakers. Simple soak in AE Cleanse (Citric Acid solution) for about 2hrs each & just scrub off all the coraline algae with ease.

 

I noticed my Clarisea filter fleece alarm going off a couple of times this week. But this time, it was because the water level didn't rise & did not trigger the float switch for extended periods of time.

 

Found out the root cause -> The fleece was flipped up at one corner allowing water to pass through without going through the fleece. Caused by a large vermatid snail on the bottom roller.

 

 

A closer view

Its a good time to give the clarisea a thorough clean up. All resolved after that.

 

Glad to see all 9 recent fish from Pinnacle (4 blue eye anthias, 2 blue star leopard wrasse & 3 firefish goby) make it & feeding well on pallet food now.

 

Pic of the resident fish eating seaweed.

 

[Darren Sim]

Wow your Atlantic blue tang used to be the smallest and Tiny but now he’s super big.


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[SubzeroLT]

11 hours ago, Darren Sim said:

Wow your Atlantic blue tang used to be the smallest and Tiny but now he’s super big.
 

Yes...its about open palm size now. Big bully.

 

 

[SubzeroLT]

There was discussion recently with reefers about calcium reactor setup. Some advocate not requiring a PH probe but rely only on Carbon Doser or 'tuning' methods only. 

My opinion is that pH probe is not required for 'normal' operation. But it a pH monitoring is still required to catch issues.

In this example, the CR is running perfectly fine for a long time. But suddently experienced a slowdown & finally clogged. Perhaps its its a snowball effect. Once the effluent starts to slow down, the internal pH decreases & the effluent becomes more 'concentrated'. It then tends to precipitate more easily leading to further clogs?

With Apex Neptune, you are able to be notified when it clogs, shuts off the CO2 & sends you an email. The issue can then be rectified immediately. 

The corresponding effluent slow down affected tank alkalinity level & the effect was also observed on Alkatronic's KH reading. Typically KH will be about 8.4dKH at 8am in the morning. But with the clog triggered at 12.30am last night, alkalinity was at 8.14dKH this morning instead. Usually i'll open up the effluent a little more for half a day to alkalinity catch up. Then reduce it back to original set point to maintain.

 

 

[SubzeroLT]

Memorable & possibly last visit to Coral Farm over the weekend. Going to miss the place.

 

Got a couple of invertebrates

Got a tiny serpent starfish (ophiolepis superba) to take care of detritus in the rocks.

 

A sea cucumber (holothuria edulis)

 

And some bumblebee snails to take care of vermatid snails and detritus.

 

 

Did some relayout of equipment in the sump. Moved the ATO container outside the cabinet & moved the Kalk stirrer inside. 

The sulfur reactor is working well so far. The black stuff seems to appear when its exposed to light. The other side of the reactor that faces the sump is clean & yellow.

 

Nitrates running around 2-5ppm.

Not bad for quite heavy feeding. Right now i'm feeding frozen food equivalent to about 5 mysis shrimp cubes a day + pellets.

 

[SubzeroLT]

The past 3 water change weekends (once every 2 weeks) has been about attempting to remove pest growth from the tank. i.e. aiptasia, vermatid snails & bubble algae. Realistically i don't expect to get rid of them entirely using 'manual' method but objective is just to keep it under control. Looks to be working.

Bubble Algae :

I saw this idea online & decided to 3D print it. Its basically a long tip with a sharp from edge for lifting bubble algae from the rocks. All of it is siphoned through a 9/12mm hose that goes into a bucket. I don't have major issues with bubble algae. No huge chuncks but just some sporadic bubbles here & there. If these are not removed, they will continue to grow.

To reduce the risk of the waste bucket overflowing because I may be too busy concentrating with siphoning stuff in the tank, I use a DIY water level alarm (float switch with a buzzer).

Verdict of the tool : Makes it a lot easier to confidently remove bubble algae. Almost of of the bits get siphoned out & little or non drifts away. 

 

For aiptasia, I prefer to use a pipette & not the syringe/needle that comes with AiptasiaX. Pipette is longer (easier to inject at difficult to reach places) and does not clog so easily. Use about 3 pipette worth each time for my tank size. General method is apply before water change. Wavemaker & return pump off. Lights off entirely & shine with super bright torchlight (easer to see than with tank lights on). 

 

For vermatid snails, this tool that came with the Ecotech fragging kit works best. The design is referred to as a "sponge forecep" in case you want to search for it online. Long enough to reach in to break off the vermatid snail shell. Then leave it to the leopard wrasse to pick them off. 

[Crazycanon68]

For Aiptasia ..maybe u can try kuekenthali shrimp. It’s help to clear all my tank aiptasias


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[SubzeroLT]

On 11/15/2021 at 2:07 PM, Crazycanon68 said:

For Aiptasia ..maybe u can try kuekenthali shrimp. It’s help to clear all my tank aiptasias


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Thanks. I'm likely to get them. Right now they are generally under control but if the tank is neglected (like what's been going on the past weeks), then thge aiptasia show up again.