SPS Macro's

ARC Fireworks

Skittles Granulosa

TCK Smurf Tenuis

Video Update (Acro's Added)

I added my premium acropora frags on April 2nd 2016.

Ricky's Poison Ivy

JF Fox Flame

RR Rainbow Loom

BC Banana Caroliniana

Purple Bonsai

Tyree Pink Lemonade

BC Rainbow in Spain

TCK Field of Dreams

ORA Hawkin's Echinata

BC Beehive 2.0

40 Gallon Update

My display tank is making progress but here is an update on the corals I am growing for the display.

The tank is currently lit by an 8 bulb TEK T5 fixture. The bulb combo from front to back is as follows:

ATI Blue Plus

ATI Blue Plus

ATI Coral Plus

ATI Purple Plus

ATI Blue Plus

ATI Coral Plus

ATI Blue Plus

ATI Blue Plus

The tank does not have a protein skimmer, the sump is full of live rock and Chaetomorpha macro algae.

PAR Readings Part III

My other Lumatek ballast went and I replaced it with another LuXcore and also a new Phoenix 14K bulb to compare the PAR to the Hamilton versus a 6 month old Phoenix bulb from the previous post. I still cannot run the LuXcore ballasts on a GFCI but I am not having issues with them firing up without being connected to the GFCI.


Results:

Phoenix 14K on LuXcore ballast:
HQI Setting -  269 watts of power draw at 825 PAR
Standard setting - 256 watts of power draw at 775 PAR


One week old Hamilton
Hamilton 20K on LuXcore ballast:
HQI Setting -  261 watts of power draw at 765 PAR
Standard setting - 249 watts of power draw at 720 PAR

The PAR measurements were taken 8" under the bottom of the reflector. The Phoenix has more of a white look when compared to the Hamilton. I wanted to have a bluer look than what I am used to without sacrificing PAR so I think I am going to run two Hamilton's over my tank. I have been running Phoenix 14K bulbs for the past 9 years and feel it is time for a change.

PAR Readings Part II

I wanted to test out two other brands of metal halides as I have only ever ran Phoenix 14K bulbs for the past 9 years. I tested the redesigned Hamilton 20K blue bulb and the 20K Ushio. After firing them both up the Hamilton bulb is very blue, almost like Windex whereas the Phoenix 14K is more white with a hint of purple/blue. The Ushio bulb is noticeably dimmer and has much more of a purple look which is good for running Blue Plus T5's and the Phoenix/Hamilton would look good with pure Actinics. The Ushio was ran on the LuXcore ballast and the Hamilton was ran on the Lumatek & LuXcore ballast. I sent back the LuXcore ballast because it was tripping my GFCI so these results are with a new LuXcore ballast which does draw a little more power and will in turn produce more PAR.

Results:

Hamilton 20K on Lumatek ballast:
HQI Setting -  301 watts of power draw at 895 PAR
Standard setting - 278 watts of power draw at 815 PAR

Hamilton 20K on LuXcore ballast:
HQI Setting -  271 watts of power draw at 770 PAR
Standard setting - 257 watts of power draw at 730 PAR


Ushio 20K on LuXcore ballast:
HQI Setting -  271 watts of power draw at 580 PAR
Standard setting - 257 watts of power draw at 530 PAR

The PAR measurements were taken 8" under the bottom of the reflector.


Out of curiosity I put a 6 month old Phoenix bulb in the Lumatek & LuXcore ballast after the glass was cleaned and the PAR readings did increase from the original test on January 10th with dirty glass.

Phoenix 14K on Lumatek ballast:
HQI Setting -  301 watts of power draw at 820 PAR
Standard setting - 278 watts of power draw at 740 PAR

Phoenix 14K on LuXcore ballast:
HQI Setting -  271 watts of power draw at 690 PAR
Standard setting - 257 watts of power draw at 645 PAR

PAR Readings

One of my Lumatek 250 watt dimmable ballasts went on me the other day and I replaced it with a CoralVue LuXcore 250 watt dimmable ballast. The 14K Phoenix bulbs seem to burn the same color on both ballasts but I wanted to do some testing to make sure I was still getting the same amount of PAR as my previous ballast. One thing I do like about the new ballast is that it fires the bulb up faster than the Lumatek ballast. The Phoenix bulbs that are being tested are approximately 6 months old.

Results:

Lumatek ballast:
HQI Setting -  301 watts of power draw at 775 PAR
Standard setting - 278 watts of power draw at 710 PAR

LuXcore ballast:
HQI Setting -  261 watts of power draw at 675 PAR
Standard setting - 248 watts of power draw at 620 PAR

The PAR measurements were taken 8" under the bottom of the reflector.

I also tested my T5 supplemental lighting with two 48" ATI Pure Actinic bulbs and the power draw was 125 watts.

The light on my frag tank is a 8 bulb 48" TEK T5 Fixture. The bulb combination from front to back is as follows:
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Coral Plus
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Coral Plus
ATI Blue Plus
ATI Pure Actinic

PAR measurements were taken 8" under the fixture.

Results:

Left side the fixture the PAR was 795
the front center was 900
the back center was 795
the right side of the fixture was 665

Overall power consumption for the 8 bulbs was 489 watts. I really do miss the simmer from the metal halides but the color looks better than the display tank plus it draws less power and has higher PAR.

Fish Update

Here are a few pictures of some of the fish I currently have in the display.

The algae is pretty much gone from the display tank. I am now dosing 5 mL of vodka daily and the nitrates are around 1 mg/L and the phosphates are at 0.03 ppm. I am slowly ramping up the lighting period so I can add coral without the algae growing back. The algae growth in the refugium has really taken off after adding a second light and running the lights 24/7.

Fish Update

My tank is currently an algae farm but here is a quick video of the fish I have. I added a Chevron Tang as well as a Male Pintail Fairy Wrasse. I am letting the tank run its algae course before I add corals back into the display. I removed the corals in August because the green hair algae was beginning to overtake the corals. I let the tank run for two weeks with no lights to kill the hair algae but to my surprise it did not make a huge dent. I am currently running a refugium with Chaetomorpha algae and dosing vodka. I still dose ZEObak and Sponge Power but the other ZEOvit products are not being used. Nitrates are at 2.5 mg/L and phosphates are between 0.05 and 0.08 ppm. I am no longer running GFO, I occasionally dose lanthanum chloride. I still run ROX 0.8 carbon passively in a mesh bag in the sump. I am currently running the metal halides for 3 hours per day and the T5's for 6 hours per day.

DIY Balling Method

I am experimenting with my own DIY Balling Method. I use Randy's recipe for DIY three part and added a few of my own supplements. I added 2 tbs. of strontium chloride into the calcium mixture (2.5 cups calcium chloride per gallon of RO water). I am also adding 5 tps. of potassium chloride and 10mL of Sachem Reef Trace into the magnesium mixture (5 cups magnesium chloride and 3 cups magnesium sulfate per gallon of RO water). The alkalinity mixture contains 2 cups soda ash per gallon of RO water. I want to start slow and document my findings. If I don't see results and my levels do not maintain via weekly testing I will adjust the dosing accordingly. I am currently adding 24 mL of alkalinity daily to maintain my levels. I am starting with 16 mL of calcium mixture and 12 mL of magnesium mixture.

May Update

The corals have been in the tank for two months are beginning to encrust and gaining color. The Mystery Wrasse has developed a strange red bump on its lower lip, I am not sure what it is.

My ZEOvit dosing schedule is:

Daily

0.5 mL of ZEOstart3 

Shake rocks daily

Twice per week

4 drops of ZEObak

15 mL Micro-Lift Special Blend

5 mL Brightwell MicroBacter7

4 drops of ZEOfood7

4 drops of KZ Sponge Power

4 drops of KZ Amino Acid Concentrate

Current parameters:

Temperature: 79

pH: 8.1

Salinity: 35ppt

Alkalinity: 9.3 dKH

Calcium: 430

Magnesium: 1240

Potassium: 430

Phosphate: 0.11

Nitrate: 2.5

I am running ROX 0.8 carbon and GFO passively in a mesh bag in the sump.