DSR tank in Australia

[TonyK]

Hi again

I am having real issues with cyano!

It is now starting to grow on the sand.

Two things were changed recently that may have brought this on:

• The lighting period was increased to 5 hours at maximum intensity on my Radion LED's


• My nutrients (PO4)are being kept under control by the addition of Fe

My flow is extremely high, it disturbs and moves the sand around.
My Caulerpa macro algae is growing well.
I don't use a power filter but have filter socks (changed every 2 days) and a highly rated skimmer.

I must add that my corals, SPS in particular, are doing very well with phenomenal growth and colour.

I am thinking of doing a water change after filtering the sand and going back to a ULNS with no nutrients.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Tony

[glennf]

Hi again

I am having real issues with cyano!

It is now starting to grow on the sand.

Two things were changed recently that may have brought this on:

• The lighting period was increased to 5 hours at maximum intensity on my Radion LED's

....... Ligthing is big factor in cyano development/control.
Read this:
http://dsrreefing.nl/forum/index.php?topic=22.msg46.msg#46

• My nutrients (PO4)are being kept under control by the addition of Fe

My flow is extremely high, it disturbs and moves the sand around.
.......Use 3 points flow as i describes in this topic.
http://dsrreefing.nl/forum/index.php?topic=15.msg0.msg#0

My Caulerpa macro algae is growing well.
I don't use a power filter but have filter socks (changed every 2 days) and a highly rated skimmer.
....... The use of powerfilters is Fundamental in DSR.
I must add that my corals, SPS in particular, are doing very well with phenomenal growth and colour.

I am thinking of doing a water change after filtering the sand and going back to a ULNS with no nutrients.
...... always do what you gut tells you, but watch the signals the corals tells you closely and choose what works best for you. DSR is only the tools to help you archieve that.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Tony

Also use a cleaning crew. To battle nuisance alge and other problem.
Ctenocheatus doktors, (many) snails, urchins are useful in cleaning rock surface.
Sand shifting fish, starfish, and animal keep you sandbed moving and so it stays clean and tidy



greetings, GlennF

[TonyK]

Thanks for the advice Glenn.

I have a sea hare on order and will get some more snails for the sand bed.

I have a question on the methodology for using the power filter:

Do you stir up the sand and brush off the detritus/cyano from the rocks in the tank, then leave off the lights while the filter cleans the water? OR
Siphon everything off into a suitable container, then filter the water in the container and return the clean water to the tank?

I am asking because when I translate the Dutch article, the translation leaves a lot to be desired and gets confusing :)

Cheers,
Tony

[glennf]

Can you place a picture where the cyano develop and how it look like

greetings, GlennF

[TonyK]

Can you place a picture where the cyano develop and how it look like

greetings, GlennF

Here you are Glenn.

The cyano is decreasing a bit in intensity now that my PO4 levels are <0.03 ppm!

Cheers,
Tony

[TonyK]

Hi all

I did a good vacuum of the sand bed and removed all cyano patches today.

Then I replaced the water lost (~10%) with newly made saltwater using the DSR calculator.
Water looks very clear, let's see if cyano returns weaker than before.

Cheers,
Tony

[glennf]

Experiment with you lighting (intensity and length) less light is less cyano.

Hi all

I did a good vacuum of the sand bed and removed all cyano patches today.

Then I replaced the water lost (~10%) with newly made saltwater using the DSR calculator.
Water looks very clear, let's see if cyano returns weaker than before.

Cheers,
Tony

greetings, GlennF

[TonyK]

Hi Glenn

A short update on the cyano and Bryopsis.

All cyano (the red-brown variety) has disappeared from the rockwork and from some patches of sand and all that's left is a very bright green version of cyano on a small patch of rock. I went through my notes and a similar thing happened when I started with ZeoVit. I have not touched my light program!

It seems the biology/system has to stabilise after a major change.

The Bryopsis is growing thinner and becoming patchy in growth and I think this is due to:
Manual removal every week.
The corals growing over and shading the rock and
Decreasing my PO4 levels to 0.02-0.03 ppm.

On that note, my Acropora have really started growing now and my bicarbonate and calcium consumption has increased by 100% over the last two months :)

I have added in an image of the growth comparison over two months and also an image of my staghorn growing to the surface.


Cheers,
Tony

[glennf]

Hi Glenn

A short update on the cyano and Bryopsis.

All cyano (the red-brown variety) has disappeared from the rockwork and from some patches of sand and all that's left is a very bright green version of cyano on a small patch of rock. I went through my notes and a similar thing happened when I started with ZeoVit. I have not touched my light program!

It seems the biology/system has to stabilise after a major change.

The Bryopsis is growing thinner and becoming patchy in growth and I think this is due to:
Manual removal every week.
The corals growing over and shading the rock and
Decreasing my PO4 levels to 0.02-0.03 ppm.

On that note, my Acropora have really started growing now and my bicarbonate and calcium consumption has increased by 100% over the last two months :)

I have added in an image of the growth comparison over two months and also an image of my staghorn growing to the surface.


Cheers,
Tony

Woow.... tony , that is a complete methamorphosis....
You are growing a reef instead of corals.

Nice to hear you are getting over the problem.
Ik will take your experience concerning cyano and swichting into evaluation and share it with others.



greetings, GlennF

[TonyK]

Hi everyone.

I thought I would post some images that compare the growth for nearly 3 months. The first images were taken on the 15 of September 2014 and the second images on the 11th of December 2014 (yesterday :) )

The images are all taken from my iPhone, so they are blue and perhaps not the cleanest images but I'm sure you will get the point. The growth has been phenomenal and getting faster, judging by the rapid uptake of bicarbonate and calcium I am experiencing.

Cheers,
Tony

[glennf]

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

i read back some postings and this one attracted my attention.


Thanks for sharing your  findings tony.
This is exactly what i was aiming for since the beginning of my project (the synthetic aquarium project)
Hobbyist who share their findings through a common ground, with the tools i supply them.
In this way a broad stream of information is comming together and we get to learn more about coral growth and  behaviour by manipulation.
We don't need to put tons of money into experimenting and research before we get to know a few things about real life situations, because everybody take part into this research.

I like how you go about and linked the dosing and results together. if more people can confirm this than we have something meaning full (research wise).

Now i know your' re a scientist, it really explain how you go about applying things to your own tank, so I dearly value your opinion.

Some before and after pictures would be nice to keep track of the situations.

To save for future reference it's best to keep your yank log on your prefered forum besides this one. Because dsrreefing .nl was intended as a support forum, and if i should ever stop (for any given reason) the info is still available to yourself and others.

(I am just thinking ahead)

greetings, GlennF

[glennf]

it seems to me that you are a happy man...... ;)

Hi everyone.

I thought I would post some images that compare the growth for nearly 3 months. The first images were taken on the 15 of September 2014 and the second images on the 11th of December 2014 (yesterday :) )

The images are all taken from my iPhone, so they are blue and perhaps not the cleanest images but I'm sure you will get the point. The growth has been phenomenal and getting faster, judging by the rapid uptake of bicarbonate and calcium I am experiencing.

Cheers,
Tony

[TonyK]

Hello everyone

It has been some time since my last update, but I will try to be brief.

I have added a frag tank onto my display, a 50 X 50 X 50 cube that has given me another 110L of water volume. This was done to accommodate the frags from all the fragging I have to do, as my Acropora have really been growing.

On top of all of that I've also added a calcium reactor, this keeps the alkalinity at ~7.5 dKH and Ca at ~410 ppm constantly, I still have to dose Mg though (with a dosing pump) and the level is ~1320 ppm.

Now to the corals: My nutrients dropped to very low levels during the past month and I noticed that Montipora sp. and certain Acropora, especially the green coloured species, have become very light in colour. My mushroom corals also have shrunk in size and lightened up in colour as have the Zoanthids!

I am now adding 0.01 ppm of PO4 and 0.5 ppm of NO3 to the tank every night and the LPS corals have responded already by opening up more and the colour is returning.

I also noticed that the green colour is slowly returning to the sps corals affected as I now dose 0.01 ppm of Fe+ every morning. Overall the colour seems 'fuller' and more 'vibrant' in the sps with the addition of nutrients.

Besides the low nutrients, the growth of sps corals especially the Acropora sp. has been phenomenal with staghorn corals growing at around 12-15 mm/month in length.

Here are some top down pictures I took with the phone this morning......enjoy :)

[glennf]

Hello everyone

It has been some time since my last update, but I will try to be brief.

I have added a frag tank onto my display, a 50 X 50 X 50 cube that has given me another 110L of water volume. This was done to accommodate the frags from all the fragging I have to do, as my Acropora have really been growing.

On top of all of that I've also added a calcium reactor, this keeps the alkalinity at ~7.5 dKH and Ca at ~410 ppm constantly, I still have to dose Mg though (with a dosing pump) and the level is ~1320 ppm.

Now to the corals: My nutrients dropped to very low levels during the past month and I noticed that Montipora sp. and certain Acropora, especially the green coloured species, have become very light in colour. My mushroom corals also have shrunk in size and lightened up in colour as have the Zoanthids!

I am now adding 0.01 ppm of PO4 and 0.5 ppm of NO3 to the tank every night and the LPS corals have responded already by opening up more and the colour is returning.

I also noticed that the green colour is slowly returning to the sps corals affected as I now dose 0.01 ppm of Fe+ every morning. Overall the colour seems 'fuller' and more 'vibrant' in the sps with the addition of nutrients.

Besides the low nutrients, the growth of sps corals especially the Acropora sp. has been phenomenal with staghorn corals growing at around 12-15 mm/month in length.

Here are some top down pictures I took with the phone this morning......enjoy :)

wow..... tony

Exellent result......

When you get growth you need nutrients!
Something i discovered on my journey, that created DSR.


greetings, GlennF

[TonyK]

Hi again

Another quick update.

I have increased nutrients slightly and now it once again becomes a battle with the algae, but I believe that the colours look much better in my corals, especially the Acropora and Montipora sp.

Growth is always good in my tank with the calcium reactor just being able to keep with the demands of the corals.

I have upgraded my lights to Radion Generation 3 pro's and already see a slight difference in some corals with the colour.

Here are some images, one of a month's growth of Montipora and some other pictures....enjoy.

Cheers,
Tony