Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

I am actually in the middle of the same thing. Things have been extremely hectic around here and mine are high (I think). I don't know how high because I lost the color chart (have been guessing) and now I am out of tests. Mine were high because I didn't change my filter bag for like 3 weeks. It wasn't overflowing just really dirty. I noticed an acro that didn't look right one night but just the actinics were on so I didn't think about it. The next time I looked into the tank it still didn't look right and there were bubbles all over the sand and rocks so I figured it was N2. Since I didn't have enough salt I started adding something to help. A day and a half after I added it I noticed a lot of bubbles starting to form and one monti that hadn't polyped in a couple of days was extending it's polyps almost normally. Still planning a water change but life hasn't slowed down much, I just hope I can fit one in.

How many and what size water changes did you do to get it below 10? Did you Pocillopora make it? i haven't lost anything they just don't look right.

I did a total of 4 water changes of about 35 gallons each which makes up about 40% of my estimated volume. This really scares me too, because the math is:

After a 40% water change, 60% of nitrates were left...

10 ppm / 0.6 = 17 ppm
17 ppm / 0.6 = 28 ppm
28 ppm / 0.6 = 46 ppm
46 ppm / 0.6 = 77 ppm

At >70 ppm, no wonder something started to happen!

How do you do your water changes and how long does it take you?

I did a ~35 gallon today and it took almost 45 minutes. Some of that time I was just waiting because the container that my new water was in is one of those 15 gallon blue containers at the flea market and you really can't get a powerhead in there and I just siphoned it out. It was also like I did two 15 gallon changes because of the containers.

I start with a full 35G trash can of RO/DI water. I mix it up with salt using a RIO 1100. I don't aerate my water or anything.

I have a 65G reef, a 29G fish only, and a 10G refugium that share a sump. I pull 2 buckets (5 gal each) from the reef then cut off the recirculation pump when the sump is empty. Then I pull 2 more buckets from the reef, but no more because some of the corals get uncovered. Then I pull 3 buckets from the 29G fish only for a total of 35G.

I simply dump 7 jugs of saltwater into the tanks and kick all the pumps back on. It takes about 15-20 minutes to finish it all up. I can only do it once a day because of my RO/DI unit.

I am going to do another one within the next few days. Probably 45 gallons. I will time it this time. I have a red rubbermaid container that is 16 gallons. I pump the sump out into that and siphon 15 gallons back into the sump. Then I pump 15 gallons out of the display and turn the return pump back on and then siphon the make up water into the sump. I turn my skimmer back on while I am pumping from the display. I have a few corals that are above water while I am pumping from the display so I am worried about doing the 45 gallon change but I may be able to pull out my closed loop bulkheads so I can replumb that while the level is that low.

I am hoping that Rich gets in a NO3 test kit Monday so I can check them but I noticed a few more acros that developed white tips overnight last night. I still haven't lost anything and both of my birdsnests look normal and my largest Echinophyllia seems to really like the nitrates. I also was able to remove the sponge on my skimmer output and cleaned out my fluidized bed filter so I can add some carbon and GFO.

How long did you age your make up water? I was going to do another one tonight but I just got the salinity right at lunch today.

Did you see any negative reactions from your corals?

I don't age my water... do you?

My green slimer does a little bit of its "slimming" thing, but overal no negative reaction. It only last a few minutes and is less of a reaction than when I add my 2-part additive... they (my corals) usually perk up within less than an hour and look better than ever.

I usually fill my container with RO/DI water. After it is full I add some salt slowly. I haven't been able to take the time to get my salinity right at one time so it is usually the next day before I finish. Once the salinity is 35 ppt I add one teaspoon of Kent Supperbuffer dKh for every 15 gallons. That gets my alk close to 10. I don't use the water until the next day so I age my water about 24 hours. I haven't always done it and I am not an accomplished reefer so only take it for what it's worth.

I go by the 1/2 cup of salt rule. I add 1/2 a cup of salt for every gallon, then just add a little bit more to get the salinity right. I probably should take some time when doing this though.

I use an old coffee cup and it takes about 15 to get ~35 gallons right but maybe a little low.

What are your nitrates now?

They are sitting at about 5 ppm. I haven't done any more water changes and probably won't for a week or two. I'm now running my refuge 24/7 and my fish are on a diet. I now feed every other day and it's only about 3/4 of what I use to feed per serving. Eventually I'll get by Kevin's house and buy his 29G tank to upsize my refuge. Work hasn't been good for my free time lately!

UPDATE:

The Monti Cap has most of its color back and the Pocillapora is about half way back!