Damn 2.5. I may as well just dose P04 directly into the damn tank.

So if it gets entirely eaten and pooped out...is the P04 still P04? There's no magic anywhere in it's journey I'm guessing.

Actually, phosphorus is an essential element to organisms. We need it, fish need it, but the problem is most prepared foods contain more phosphorus than is needed. What that means in the end, I don't know. I'm not a biologist :)

Well I feel cheated now.

thought I'd throw this pic up. I hardly ever see this guy.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/...e7ac5965_o.jpg

I did a similar test back in 2004 and came up with similar results as yours, so I think your results are quite valid!
I wonder why your rinsed mysis came back with a higher P04 though?

Here's that thread:
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=12625

Mitch

Cool! ya, looks like we got similar results. Again, it sucks about the nori because that tends to sit out all day as the tangs graze :neutral: As for the Mysis, I'm wondering if it was because I left them out all night and let all the fluids in their bodies leech out phosphates.

Baby Blue!
 

Baby blue is back!

When we last left the twin baby blue Linckias they were just nubbins.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/...e98c7abf_o.jpg

I had not seen or noticed them for quite a while. They mostly cruise the rocks and hide in crevasses. Well, now they are back and cruising the glass.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/...3fc74b6f_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4047/...136318af_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1341/...40ec369b_o.jpg

I would assume they are thriving since they have both grown quite a bit since April of this year when I first noticed them.

How much nori are we talking about here? When I feed nori it's usually GONE after 30-45 seconds! But I cut up the nori into pieces about 2.5"x4". So one "sheet" of nori for me works out to about a week's worth, give or take.

That really is a remarkable thing that the linckia's regenerated and failed to die still. :lol: I had the same thing happen to me with a purple linckia (not a Linckia sp. but everyone just calls them that since they look like linckia) but no such luck with the legs regenerating new bodies.

Do yours eat anything that you notice?

That's one well-endowed Linckia. Congrats Dad :mrgreen: You seem to have success with your stars but I'm still scared to try one.

okay, well, "all day" might be exaggerating it a bit, but the nori does last a few minutes as opposed to 30 seconds! Maybe 30 minutes? I rip off a sheet that is probably 4" by 3" and roll that around the nori stick.

I don't notice them eat anything. They must just graze whatever they can find off the rocks.

Nice shots of the linkia babies. I've had mine for about a year and a half and I always see it eating the sponges I have on the undersides of my live rock. I suspect that's why they die in a lot of tanks, as most don't have much. I think the sponge power mass produced sponge in my tank.

Did you go starphire or regular float? While starphire looks clear when empty ive been told that there is minimal difference when filled with water - either way your tank looks great!

Thanks! Just regular glass. Funny thing is, all the builders that I asked when I went to get quotes said not to get starphire. While it is clearer it is also softer. Mind you I think there is a new starphire that is stronger? Anyway, I've seen starphire tanks and like you said, when there is water in there I personally can not tell the difference. If I had to do it all over again I would still not get starphire. Would rather put that money somewhere more useful like gadgets and or livestock :biggrin: But to each their own.

Glad to hear this... I have regular float glass as well... I can tell a slight difference but not enough for the money... the thicker you go the easier it is to see the green tint.

Behind The Scenes
 

I thought it would be fun today to provide a glimpse behind the magic curtain. Here's all the stuff that you typically do not see, but is just as important (in my opinion) in helping maintain my reef.

First up we have the RO/DI unit. 75 gpd with inline TDS meter.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1287175087

All that water gets dripped into this, a 50 gallon barrel.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1287175139

That water is used for auto top off. It also gets pumped into this, a 33 gallon trash bin used for pre-mixing New Saltwater.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1287175185

Here's my chiller to help keep the tank cool in the summertime.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1287175263

Also to help combat heat I have a fan that blows accross the top of the tank to increase evaporation.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1251666590

The result is an insane amount of humidity in the house. To combat this I have installed this bad boy, an HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilator) that dehumidifies the whole house as it draws in fresh air. It is plumbed right into the furnace.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1287175408

We just install this yesterday actually. The house went from a relative humidity of 58% yesterday, to a more comfortable 40% today.

And finally, to help power this whole operation I installed two 20amp breakers.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/...g?t=1287175317

are those the GHL fans that blow across the top?

Ya, those pics were kind of boring.. How about some reef porn? Haven't done any underwater top downs in a while..

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/...3d4a1ca2_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/...fb4115f0_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/...3c314d2c_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/...1c581a76_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/...1d34f65c_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/...ed61767a_s.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/...fb8b502f_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/...cd951ff4_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/...c6daea81_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/...c488a3f1_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/...3020c9f2_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/...78d1134b_s.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4125/...628f66d0_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/...5b659261_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/...e26f2602_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/...96a66c9c_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/...a827cd20_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/...a660d36b_s.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/...4d141748_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4153/...a545e8cb_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/...b76e7555_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/...4de489ae_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/...54c0a701_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/...9bd99671_s.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/...f9c49b1b_s.jpghttp://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/...1b67ffd0_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/...17158520_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/...c5f1bd6a_s.jpghttp://farm5.static.flickr.com/4124/...9d9db418_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/...3c2bb36e_s.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/...36f22298_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/...8a01e6be_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4021/...af79303b_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4107/...516dce63_s.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/...dd62102f_s.jpg

Yup, GHL Breeze, controlled by my Profilux. They come in 2, 4 and 6 fan configurations I believe.

Kein, I hope the tank I'm setting up can be 1/2 as sexy as yours is....

You installed the hrv yourself?? Is it worth the cost?

Thanks!

No, the vendor installed it. Took them 6 hours :). It was a challenge since my basement is developed. Yes we noticed a difference the next day. The air in the house is no longer stale and soggy and we no longer have any condensation on the windows.

It was my understanding that HRV's needed set "intake points" in a house and didn't draw from your cold air returns...is that true? If yes, did you put an intake point near your tank?

To be honest I did not pay too much attention to where it is plumbed. All I know is that it is tied into the furnace and I can see a new exhaustvent that they had to drill outside. No I did not put and intake near the tank.

HRV's are hooked up to the cold air intake of the furnace, the cold air intake of the actual outside. Then also exhaused back into the main furance output and to the outside. Basically four lines.

Mine has a 2 fan setup inside and 3 filters, 2 normal foam ones for cleaning the air, and the one big one (I think this is the one for condensation of water)

I've been following this thread for awhile now and I got to say very impressive and informative.

Hey thanks!! :D

Going Bananas
 

Thalassoma Lutescens (aka, Sunset Wrasse, Green Moon Wrasse, Yellow-brown wrasse, Banana Wrasse, etc..). I've only been looking for this fish for 6 years :lol: Thanks to Kevin @Red Coral my search has finally ended :biggrin:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5204/...ce3d11f4_o.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5288/...83432d3a_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/...87ccc899_o.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5042/...f403766e_o.jpg

saw them at the store on the weekend. AMAZING fish

Beautiful fish!

And I got a Male & Female pair of them to boot!! The female is a much much smaller target to photograph. It doesn't help that they cruise the tank at 200mph either.

Ya when I was in the male was kind of hiding in the rock and the females was out. Only got a glimps of him. Great to hear he is loving the new home. So are they living in your aggressive tank or the main tank?

good to know that they seem to be doing well......really is a gorgeous fish....great shots of the male to boot:biggrin:....

I think he said they were going on the aggressive side....

Live Aquaria's site indicates they're aggressive and not reef-compatible. Too bad what a beauty! Thankfully Kien's will be in a 'FOWLR' so no real risk right? :biggrin:

Aggressive tank for sure. I have way too many ornamental inverts in the mixed reef that they would likely devour :) Thalassoma wrasses are typically not reef safe and can be very aggressive. I've owned two others in the past, a Lunare Wrasse eons ago and a Quinquevittatum (aka pink face wrasse) which I re-homed. Both very pretty but aggressive fish.

They are doing quite well. I think that they are the only fish that I've ever put in the tank that has not immediately went into hiding. They took to my fish mush right away. I think the other fish are afraid of the dynamic duo :biggrin:

Now that fish is beautiful. Great addition.

Very, Very helpful!! Tim

2011 Update
 

Everyone seems to be updating their threads these days so here's mine :biggrin:

Aside from a few new corals (more on those later), there are actually a couple of things that I have changed. First, when I read about Dez's approach to salt I thought that was a brilliant idea so I have adopted it myself. Since December I have been performing water changes with 4 different salts. My water changes are done 10% weekly and each week I do the water change with a different salt brand. Currently I am rotating between regular Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, Seachem and Red Sea Salts. Once one of those buckets runs out I'll probably buy a completely different brand to replace it. Honestly, I never did have any problems with using regular IO for the past 6 years but I do like the philosophy behind this approach. It is sort of like mixing all of the salt brands out there into one giant bucket and using that giant salt mix :) Anyway, so far so good!

Secondly, lorenz0 thought that maybe I should run MORE bio pellets so I have added another bioPellet reactor. I now run two vertex-UR20 reactors daisy chained together.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5241/...c5ac5cf1_o.jpg

And that's about it.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5046/...d7b6a03f_o.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5167/...07b977da_o.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/...83404ae2_o.jpg

some coral p0rn to follow..

really just had to add my name in before that comment lol, I gave up on those conversations

secondly, as always the system is looking amazing