Wow,
I haven't posted here in nearly a month. I may be fired from this tank thread soon!
Here's the news, good and bad.
Heavy feeding after the first two months must have caught up with me, since despite zero readings of
nitrate and
phosphate, existing hair algae and Bryopsis growth (on the right side of the tank) accelerated. After that, what I believe to be dinflagellates took hold, and at their worst they seemed to smother the HA and Bryopsis (making it much easier to remove) and even slowed the growth of my Chaeto at one point. Fortunately, the dinos have had little to no effect on the corals, fish or inverts. Now the dinos seem to be waning, and I have adjusted the feedings and feeding method to minimize leftover nutrients.
The tank's
pH hovers between 8.0 and 8.1. I've read articles and posts from Randy Holmes-Farley and Anthony Calfo stating that high
pH levels can help ward off dinoflagellates and Bryopsis.
I have considered dosing
Kalk to help raise the
pH, apart from the obvious benefits of maintaining
Ca levels. Instead of dripping, I am thinking I might (if I actually can find room in the stand) get a
Kalk reactor and tie it into my top off. In order to dose calk more gradually, my
ATO unit can be adjusted to pump for a nominal number of seconds (ie.. 6 seconds instead of the usual 12). The
ATO water will pump into the reactor (the reactor is a $300 (!) device to keep the
Kalkwasser at maximum saturation), and then the
Kalkwasser will overflow to the
sump.
I think I would rather spend the $300 for two dosing pumps for 2 part, and switch my Salt mix from Reefcrystals to some other salt (like Bobby's Coral Reef Pro? or Tropic Marin Reef Pro) that actually has the
Ca levels I need.
