DSR tank in Australia

[glennf]

Is If your salifert boron test new than
You added 20 drop ?

In that case you don't need to add for a while.

It seems that if the test becone old or you reach the last few test the result can be faulty.

Hi everyone

A question about Boron:

Tested using the Salifert kit and I get a reading of 10 ppm!

I have never added B+ to my system other than from water changes in the past! It seems that salt manufacturers add high concentrations of B+ to their mixes to buffer the pH.

Dennis from Seaflower says that B+ can be added through dry foods. Do people agree with this?

It would seem that B+ at least in my system, is an element that would never need to be added?

Maybe the test kit is wrong?

Cheers,
Tony

greetings, GlennF

Hi Glenn

Dennis gave me his personal test kit and it was 75% full, so still new, I guess.
I have read that CO2 reacts with the test kit reagents, possibly changing the pH.

Yes, I added 20 drops to equalise the colours between the 2 samples!

BTW. I have experienced further growth in Acropora sp. now that my Sr levels are buffered and stable at ~10 ppm.

Iodine levels are still not buffered and I add 0.01 ppm 2x/day

Cheers,
Tony

don't worry about the iodine it can take a while before you get a stable reading.
in the meanwhile just keep ik available, by daily dosing the typical consumption and do a weekly or bi-weekly correction.
DSR is about being laid back and doing thing that need to be done, with no stress involved (because you are in control).

read about it here:
http://dsrreefing.nl/forum/index.php?topic=75.msg355#msg355

nice that you can see the the difference with strontium dosing. it's always rewarding to see your efforts do pay off.
please keep me informed on your progress.
This will help me improve and share it further with the reefing community.

[TonyK]

Is If your salifert boron test new than
You added 20 drop ?

In that case you don't need to add for a while.

It seems that if the test becone old or you reach the last few test the result can be faulty.

Hi everyone

A question about Boron:

Tested using the Salifert kit and I get a reading of 10 ppm!

I have never added B+ to my system other than from water changes in the past! It seems that salt manufacturers add high concentrations of B+ to their mixes to buffer the pH.

Dennis from Seaflower says that B+ can be added through dry foods. Do people agree with this?

It would seem that B+ at least in my system, is an element that would never need to be added?

Maybe the test kit is wrong?

Cheers,
Tony

greetings, GlennF

Hi Glenn

Dennis gave me his personal test kit and it was 75% full, so still new, I guess.
I have read that CO2 reacts with the test kit reagents, possibly changing the pH.

Yes, I added 20 drops to equalise the colours between the 2 samples!

BTW. I have experienced further growth in Acropora sp. now that my Sr levels are buffered and stable at ~10 ppm.

Iodine levels are still not buffered and I add 0.01 ppm 2x/day

Cheers,
Tony

don't worry about the iodine it can take a while before you get a stable reading.
in the meanwhile just keep ik available, by daily dosing the typical consumption and do a weekly or bi-weekly correction.
DSR is about being laid back and doing thing that need to be done, with no stress involved (because you are in control).

read about it here:
http://dsrreefing.nl/forum/index.php?topic=75.msg355#msg355

nice that you can see the the difference with strontium dosing. it's always rewarding to see your efforts do pay off.
please keep me informed on your progress.
This will help me improve and share it further with the reefing community.

Thanks Glenn

I will carry on dosing I+ and not stress :)

I have attached a picture for you of a happy Acropora  ;D

Cheers,
Tony

[glennf]

Thanks Glenn

I will carry on dosing I+ and not stress :)

I have attached a picture for you of a happy Acropora  ;D

Cheers,
Tony

Beautifull:)
Keep them comming...
You're so close to the source of world most beautifull sps corals.
We are so jealous.....

greetings, GlennF

[TonyK]

Thanks Glenn

I will carry on dosing I+ and not stress :)

I have attached a picture for you of a happy Acropora  ;D

Cheers,
Tony

Beautifull:)
Keep them comming...
You're so close to the source of world most beautifull sps corals.
We are so jealous.....

greetings, GlennF

Thanks for the kind words

You'll be amazed how difficult it is even for us on the Western side of Australia to get our hands on those beautiful specimens from the barrier reef, but we do occasionally get our hands on some  ;)

The best get shipped out overseas, just ask Koji  ;D or if available command very high $ prices!

I must say though that we get some magnificent Acanthastrea lordhowensis and I am collecting them  :D

My Acropora will soon need to be pruned or they will start waging war on each other and then I will distribute frags amongst the members of the reef club here!

Here is another image of a metallic green/pink Acropora spathulata from the barrier reef, enjoy.

Cheers,
Tony

[TonyK]

Hi everyone.

Another update on the condition of my tank inhabitants while employing the DSR method.

I have really seen a large increase in the growth of my Acropora sp., in the formation of new growth tips, and I can only attribute this to the correct level of Strontium being reached in my tank (~10 ppm). It has taken three weeks of constant, low volume dosing of Sr to first build a buffer level and then increase the value to where it is at present. I now believe that Sr is a necessary element that has to be including in a dosing regimen.

I have also now reached a stable value for Iodine in the system, this has taken a month of small daily doses of 0.01 ppm. I must say that there has not been a noticeable colour change in any of the blue or purple coloured Acropora sp. they remain as brightly coloured as ever, however, a small colony of dark green Acropora austera, has started to change into a purple colour, with the stem changing to purple and the corallites remaining green, I am not unhappy with this as it looks very beautiful

A big bonus for me is that in the very near future I will have to start fragging the corals to prevent warfare and share these among my fellow reefers here

I will now start to slowly increase the intensity of my lights over a period of several months to see what changes in growth or colour they affect!

I will try get some pictures up when I can.

Cheers,
Tony

[TonyK]

Hi Glenn and everyone else

I need an opinion: I know that you are not in favour of using GAC, Glenn, but I was thinking of using a good quality GAC once/month for 2 days to remove the following:

• Yellowing agents 'gelbstoff' from decayed organic matter and macroalgae, thereby making the water crystal clear.


• Allelopathic toxins given off by LPS corals and other organisms.

This limited use of GAC should not cause trace elements (e.g. Fe) to be absorbed by the carbon in large quantities.

How do you keep the colour, crystal clear and toxins at bay in your system, Glenn?
Bearing in mind that I have a smallish water volume of ~500L and it is a new system still.

Cheers,
Tony

[glennf]

Hai tony,
If your water turn yellow you need it. If not why use it?
I use ozone and uv primairy for my fish, but it also help  clearing the water.
Beside that the powerfilter removes coloring also, if you let the filtercotton become dense enough by leaving it a little while longer.
When the filter cotton become dense the pump start cavitating.
Stop dosing Fe and other heavy metals complex days before and during the GAC application.
Also watch your corals before and after you alter things in you system.

greetings, GlennF

[TonyK]

Some pictures to show the excellent results  8)

[glennf]

Some pictures to show the excellent results  8)

Judging from your posting , you are a happy reefer.....

greetings, GlennF

[TonyK]

Hi Glenn

I have a strange issue.
For the last three days my protein skimmer skimmer has gone periodically crazy!

It skims dry, normally, but then will overflow randomly with a massive amount of what looks like soapy foam but is really a big build up of proteinaceous compounds or bacterial blooms?

My dosing has not changed.

I have to check my skimmer every 6 hours now and will wait till all gets skimmed out unfortunately.

Cheers,
Tony

[TonyK]

I have to add that my corals do not show any negative signs and the skimmer seems to have returned to normal.

Let's see.

[glennf]

I can't explain the sudden activity of your skimmer. It could be anything from temperature to feeding.

Although ... did you changed filter wool without rinsing it with hot water before applying it?


greetings, GlennF

[TonyK]

I can't explain the sudden activity of your skimmer. It could be anything from temperature to feeding.

Although ... did you changed filter wool without rinsing it with hot water before applying it?


greetings, GlennF

Hi Glenn

Nothing has changed and was not using filter wool.

The only thing different was adding a dose of K+ (10 ppm) on Friday and Saturday to bring the levels up, as K+ is definitely being skimmed out of the water with my needle wheel skimmer.

Corals look good and skimmer is back to "normal" now.

Might have been a bacterial bloom or a rise in temperature, as we are going into summer now and the tank is getting warmer, very slowly.

Cheers,
Tony

[glennf]

the only way to make sure is keep track of data and see if it happens the next time you dose K+

I can't explain the sudden activity of your skimmer. It could be anything from temperature to feeding.

Although ... did you changed filter wool without rinsing it with hot water before applying it?


greetings, GlennF

Hi Glenn

Nothing has changed and was not using filter wool.

The only thing different was adding a dose of K+ (10 ppm) on Friday and Saturday to bring the levels up, as K+ is definitely being skimmed out of the water with my needle wheel skimmer.

Corals look good and skimmer is back to "normal" now.

Might have been a bacterial bloom or a rise in temperature, as we are going into summer now and the tank is getting warmer, very slowly.

Cheers,
Tony

[TonyK]

Hi everyone

This is a copy of a post from the Dutch and Belgian reefing forum.

It's been awhile since my last report and I have had some issues.

First on my dosing and nutrient levels:
My PO4 levels have slowly been creeping up over the course of a few months (since stopping ZeoVit) and peaked at 0.08 ppm, this was unacceptable to me so I now dose 0.04 ppm Fe every night into my DT and this keeps the PO4 levels at ~0.03 ppm.

I am also unable to build an iodine buffer so I just add 0.01 ppm into the DT every day as a maintenance dose.

I have noticed certain effects from this:

I have noticed an explosion in bryopsis growth, especially on my wave makers and a certain rock feature. This algae could be fueled in part by the PO4 and especially I think by the Fe and it grows really fast and has to be removed weekly!

Cyano has started to appear on certain places of the rockwork and I have been siphoning it out (my light period at maximum intensity has also been increased over time, so this probably is contributing to the cyano).

Actually the cyano is now spreading onto the bryopsis and it is driving me crazy!

I did not have algae or cyano issues when I had no detectable phosphates in my tank!

Now for coral and colours:
My Acropora sp. are growing really fast with many new growth tips and polyp extension during the light period, which I have not seen before. I have started to frag some already

Colours have become more vivid, especially the blues, purples, pinks, yellows and now the greens (this could be due to the addition of Fe).

As far as growth, colour and general health of the corals are concerned, I could not be happier

I will post some pictures soon.

Here is a printscreen of my parameters

Cheers,
Tony