Hello from Romania

[tropicreef]

Apparently without the water making small waves/tension the overflow is not enough to prevent biofilm from appearing.

if the gap between water surface of the tank and the drain is enough big, the biofilm is automatically pulled into the drain

Hopefully everything will be sorted soon so I can let the tank life enjoy "stability".

You're welcome to report on the progress here.

[MasterBlaster]

I have gotten some more hardy SPS corals from local hobby folks, have a mushroom splitting in two and with the corals from the live rock I now have about 14+ corals. Also noticed the tank lost about 40 ppm Calcium in a month (from 440 to 400) so I am thinking it might be time to start dosing. Have not done any more water changes from the big 100L one. The water params (the major one that I can measure) look fine with the exception of maybe PH which seems a bit under 8. Also NO3 goes low sometimes (0.5 - 1), normally it would be fine but I have a young system and I suspect not allot of nitrogen organic compounds yet. Monday I will send a water sample to Fauna Marin as well as order Sangokai Balance System(the 3 part one) and Sangokai Basis 2+1. Is this the best solution in my case ? Balance adds Ca , Mg and Kh plus some micro elements and Basis 2+1 is dosing for organic nutrients.

I also have a choise of on what to spend the remainder of my reef budget this month. On one hand I can get the GHL Doser 2.1 SA to help with automatically dosing 3 part and one of the coral nutrients or my second option would be getting gear and culture plankton to start growing plankton for feeding the base feeders in the tank ( I am thinking of getting an Knepo Plankton reactor plus culture plankton and nutrients from Grotech). What do you think I should focus on getting in terms of hardware this month ?

I do not use carbon or GFO on the system yet. Also the skimmer seems a bit too powerful for my system(with the current load) as some of the day it under skims. I also fed the fish hatched brine shrimp and I got the best feeding responses by far from all the fishes.I will try to continue as I am not confident in the quality of the frozen food around here.

[tropicreef]

Also the skimmer seems a bit too powerful for my system(with the current load) as some of the day it under skims.

In this situation you can set the skimmer to dry.

[MasterBlaster]

Also the skimmer seems a bit too powerful for my system(with the current load) as some of the day it under skims.

In this situation you can set the skimmer to dry.

Not sure actually I understand you Dieter. Based on my knowledge I already got the skimmer to the maximum dry skimming possible (max air , water opened to max etc) and I am happy with the skim colour etc , it seems that it does not add allot of water in the cup. The problem is that part of the day(actually happens at night) the foam does not even reach the collection cup. I can restrict the air to allow the foam to rise more but that I think that would make it overskim(overflow) in the day time and add allot of water. I will play with the air intake in the next day but I presume more air = better .

[MasterBlaster]

I have made a few changes to my lighting as I found the settings were not optimal at all and I feel some of my corals are a bit on the brown side. My lighting was changing it's spectrum a few times a day unnecessary. First the led starts at 10 AM. Then 45 min later my first 2 T5 start (had 2 x Coral Plus) and then 2h later the other 2 T5 tubes started with Aqua Blue Special + Purple Plus. T5 ended in reverse order of start. The led ramped up.

Now all 4 T5 start at the same time and end at the same time - 10 h duration.The led starts 1h earlier and lasts 1 h more. I replaced the Aqua Blue Special and Purple Plus with 2 Blue Plus. From exterior to interior I have Coral plus + Blue plus || Blue Plus + Coral plus. Because I don't know how to ramp up/down the led lights and what spectrums are predominant in the morning and afternoon I left it the same value all day , without any ramp up and ramp down.

The led is set as following :

Blue 90%
Royal Blue 70%
Cold White 100%
Blue White 90%
True Green 15%
Hyper Red 10%
Sky White 100%
Ultraviolet 10%
Hyperviolet 20%

Any feedback is more than welcomed.

Unrelated I have something (sponge maybe) growing on the underside of rocks. I added a picture. What can you tell me about it?

DE
Ich habe einige Änderungen an meiner Beleuchtung vorgenommen, da ich feststellte, dass die Einstellungen überhaupt nicht optimal waren und ich das Gefühl habe, dass einige meiner Korallen etwas braun sind. Meine Beleuchtung veränderte das Spektrum ein paar Mal am Tag unnötig. Zuerst beginnt die LED um 10 Uhr. Dann 45 Minuten später mein erster 2 T5 Start (hatte 2 x Coral Plus) und dann 2 Stunden später begannen die anderen 2 T5 Röhren mit Aqua Blue Special + Purple Plus. T5 endete in umgekehrter Reihenfolge des Starts. Die LED stieg an.

Jetzt beginnen alle 4 T5 zur gleichen Zeit und enden zur gleichen Zeit - 10 Stunden Dauer. Die LED startet 1 Stunde früher und dauert 1 Stunde länger. Ich habe das Aqua Blue Special und Purple Plus durch 2 Blue Plus ersetzt. Von außen nach innen habe ich Coral plus + Blue plus || Blau Plus + Koralle Plus. Da ich nicht weiß, wie ich die LED-Lichter hoch- / runterfahren soll und welche Spektren morgens und nachmittags vorherrschen, habe ich den ganzen Tag den gleichen Wert belassen, ohne dass es hoch- und runtergefahren werden muss.

Die LED ist wie folgt eingestellt:

Blau 90%
Königsblau 70%
Kaltweiß 100%
Blau Weiß 90%
True Green 15%
Hyper Red 10%
Sky White 100%
Ultraviolett 10%
Hyperviolett 20%

Jedes Feedback ist mehr als willkommen.

Unabhängig davon wächst etwas (vielleicht ein Schwamm) auf der Unterseite von Felsen. Ich habe ein Bild hinzugefügt. Was kannst du mir darüber erzählen?



https://easyupload.io/3ggimd - short movie with the sponge thingy

Unrelated some different things have happened :
I got some ciano growing . Not an expert in this but I this it is because of high No3 (currently 4) and very low phosphate (0.02) Hanna Phosphorus. Flow is good in that area. Also green thread algae has started to pop up in areas in the tank.Also noticed a new coral growth on a frag I recently added. I think it is from one of my older corals via polyp bailout or ?

Unabhängig davon sind verschiedene Dinge passiert:
Ich habe etwas Klavier wachsen lassen. Kein Experte in diesem Bereich, aber ich denke, das liegt an der hohen No3 (derzeit 4) und sehr niedrigen Phosphat (0,02) Hanna Phosphor. Der Fluss ist in diesem Bereich gut. Auch grüne Fadenalgen tauchen in Bereichen im Tank auf. Außerdem bemerkte ich ein neues Korallenwachstum auf einem Fragment, das ich kürzlich hinzugefügt habe. Ich denke, es ist von einer meiner älteren Korallen über Polypen-Rettungsaktion oder?

[MasterBlaster]

Also the skimmer seems a bit too powerful for my system(with the current load) as some of the day it under skims.

In this situation you can set the skimmer to dry.

tropicreef I tagged you especially as I noticed you have a leg in a lot of scientific articles and in general you are knowledgeable. I have a question specifically directed at you. It seems my phosphate is getting very low while the nitrate is actually increasing. The solution in case of PO4 deficiency would be to dose sango nutri-P comPlex but I don't have it and I don't want to pay the cost of shipping from Germany just for that plus it would take a week. What food can I add that will elevate my phosphate but not increase too much my nitrate which was a few days ago around 4-5. I tested my phosphate on 18.04 and it was 0.021 (via Hanna HI736 checker) and I suspect my ciano appearing few days ago indicates a imbalance because of low phosphate/ lowering of phosphate.

[tropicreef]

you can feed frozen Food. it helps to rise phosphate. i send you also a pn.

[MasterBlaster]

Again I am asking for feedback and advice on a topic of cooling as I have no experience , this being my first summer in reefing. Consequently I am looking for the best strategy to keep the water somewhat cool(28 max) in the summer.

First I want to clarify if it is normal for the tank water to be 3* C higher than the room temperature or my pumps/lighting heat the tank water way to much. Currently the tank room temp is 24.1 and the tank temperature is 27.1 .This days the tank does not go under 26 *C even in the night. I have 4 x T5 24W + GHL Mithras 7402 more than 30 cm over the water level (no canopy , open system). For movement in the tank and sump I have 2 Sicce nano 2000l , 1 Sicce Nano 1000l , 2 x Rossmont Mover 7200L/h and 1 Jebao OW 10. Also I employ a return pump 2700l , a skimmer and a tunze e jet 1605 pump in sump.

Related to cooling strategy... I know that because of the building/ room position etc in a mild summer 27 *C room temperature (tank 30) is achieved quite often continuously 24h and for that reason using fans on a continuous basis does not seem like a good option. The fans look to me as temporary solution for a few hours each day, not to mention the room humidity and RO water supply needed if I would use fans 24 h continuously. So I think the cheapest option would be a chiller + AC in the room. The chiller would cool the tank to a set threshold and the AC is used for human conform and and when the temperature is really high.

If a chiller would be a good option in my situation do you advise me to go for that just fits my tank volume or something that can cool over my volume. Another reefer advised me that going bigger actually saves electricity and adds less heat in the room as it does not need to run on a continuous basis to keep the aquarium cool. I have no inclination to keep the water at 25* C all summer , that is too big of an effort. For me 27.5 would be a good compromise. I have a aquarium controller so some automation is possible no matter the option.

Thanks ,
Mihai

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Wieder bitte ich um Feedback und Rat zu einem Thema der Kühlung, da ich keine Erfahrung habe. Dies ist mein erster Sommer im Riff. Aus diesem Grund suche ich nach der besten Strategie, um das Wasser im Sommer etwas kühl zu halten (maximal 28).

Zuerst möchte ich klären, ob es normal ist, dass das Tankwasser 3 * C höher als die Raumtemperatur ist oder meine Pumpen / Beleuchtung das Tankwasser viel zu stark erwärmt. Derzeit beträgt die Tankraumtemperatur 24,1 und die Tanktemperatur 27,1. An diesen Tagen geht der Tank auch nachts nicht unter 26 ° C. Ich habe 4 x T5 24W + GHL Mithras 7402 mehr als 30 cm über dem Wasserspiegel (kein Baldachin, offenes System). Für die Bewegung im Tank und im Sumpf habe ich 2 Sicce Nano 2000l, 1 Sicce Nano 1000l, 2 x Rossmont Mover 7200L / h und 1 Jebao OW 10. Außerdem verwende ich eine Rückförderpumpe 2700l, einen Skimmer und eine Tunze E Jet 1605 Pumpe Sumpf.

Bezogen auf die Kühlstrategie ... Ich weiß, dass aufgrund der Gebäude- / Raumposition usw. in einem milden Sommer 27 * C Raumtemperatur (Tank 30) ziemlich oft kontinuierlich 24 Stunden erreicht wird und aus diesem Grund die kontinuierliche Verwendung von Lüftern nicht erscheint wie eine gute Option. Die Ventilatoren sehen für mich täglich eine vorübergehende Lösung für ein paar Stunden, ganz zu schweigen von der Raumfeuchtigkeit und der RO-Wasserversorgung, die erforderlich sind, wenn ich die Ventilatoren 24 Stunden lang ununterbrochen verwenden würde. Ich denke, die billigste Option wäre ein Kühler + Klimaanlage im Raum. Der Kühler würde den Tank auf einen festgelegten Schwellenwert abkühlen und die Wechselstromversorgung wird für die Anpassung an den Menschen und bei sehr hohen Temperaturen verwendet.

Wenn ein Kühler in meiner Situation eine gute Option wäre, raten Sie mir, dies zu tun, das nur zu meinem Tankvolumen passt oder etwas, das über mein Volumen abkühlen kann. Ein anderer Kühler riet mir, dass eine größere Größe tatsächlich Strom spart und weniger Wärme in den Raum bringt, da dieser nicht kontinuierlich betrieben werden muss, um das Aquarium kühl zu halten. Ich habe keine Neigung, das Wasser den ganzen Sommer über bei 25 ° C zu halten, das ist eine zu große Anstrengung. Für mich wäre 27.5 ein guter Kompromiss. Ich habe einen Aquarium-Controller, so dass eine gewisse Automatisierung möglich ist, unabhängig von der Option.

Vielen Dank ,
Mihai