Greetings

[Zakk]

15 years in the hobby, just recently started bringing my tank back 'from the brink' because I was using straight tap water for 7 years, and outdated test kits.  Rocks were 100% black cyano and I have no idea how the corals survived (well most of them).  Bought the new hanna phos checker and phosphates were .78 in my tank, .40 out of the tap, and .10 after the RO (even with brand new membrane and filters!).  Had to add  DI to the system to bring them down to ~.01

Anyway, not trying to ignite the RO-No RO debate, but have spent ~$2000 getting the tank back and will never ever let it get so bad again.  Will postafter pics when I get the rest of the LED's online, and a little more recovery in the corals.

Also hoping to find some traders/sellers of some killer-color corals (kcc's) in the area too. 

Can't believe it took me 15 years how to run a tank.    Here's a pic from 3-4 weeks ago to give an example of how bad it got

 

[marks69]

time to start up some bio pellets lol.
atleast it can't get any worse.
mark

 

[Zakk]

Actually, I added chaeto, started running ROWA and ROX (in 2 phosban reactors) for 3 weeks along with massive water changes.  Phosphates are .05 now, and nitrates are ~5.  Don't want to post current pics until I'm back at 100% again.  Currently, that cyano is gone, and I'm down to a bit of pesky hair algae that is almost see through, and the mexican turbos are doing a really good job of it and the velvet algae I had.

Just waiting on a shipment of hi-cap GFO, bio pellets and more ROX from BRS.  I've been dosing 2 part for about 2 weeks. 

Current parameters:

Calcium: 450 PPM
PH: 8.20
PHOS: 0.09 PPM
Nitrate: 5 PPM
ALK: 212 PPM
Salinity: 1.025

However, I think I had to reach that 'low' point for me to really get back into the hobby.  I ordered an APEX, which hopefully will get here tomorrow, along with another 48 LEDs.  I hope to automate dosing and top off, and set alarms to e-mail me if I let the tank suffer again.

All in all, I lost 2 fish, one big leather and a bunch of candy cane and frogspawn, but the cane is making a comeback, as is the 'spawn.  The chocolate leather was the one big fatality, unless there is a chunk of it somewhere in that that might grow back, who knows.  I feel pretty crappy about it, and really not sure why I let it go so badly.  Hell even the red mushrooms (that at one time I almost had to mow down like weeds) were starting to shrink to nothing...