SPS dominated reefs

[theyangman]

[quote author=theyangman link=topic=6631.msg65277#msg65277 date=1382472780]
Take everything that I did, and do the opposite.

You probably don't remember Tony but I tried to warn you.  I have always asked a few questions of people who have come down to buy frags like how long they have been in the hobby, how long they have been keeping SPS and how old is the tank.  I do this to guage experience level.  If you remember I suggested that you might want to try a few nice frags in the cheaper/more common category to make sure they they are doing well.  Than when they have proven to grow and colour for you, you can always buy the rarer/more expensive ones later when you are more confident.  I always give this advice to people who are getting into SPS or have new tanks.  NO point sinking lots of money into corals until you know you can keep them colourful and growing.  Patients is a bitch though and I know how it is......so I dont fight when someone who has an unproven system and lack of experience wants to give me a fist load of money.  Some people have to learn the hard way.  I was like that, but than again when I started there wasnt as much information available and very few were successfully keeping SPS in a major way (no one locally).
[/quote]

If I listened to everybody along the way I probably could have saved myself a lot of trouble and money....

Don't cut classes you need an education to get a good job
Don't steal that car you can go to jail
Don't kidnap that girl she doesn't love you
Don't choke her that hard she is turning blue
Don't dispose of her body in the woods it is too easily found

yadda yadda yadda....

 

[Duke]

straight IO salt here, i used reef crystals before for a while, no difference what so ever for me except i seem to get a cleaner mix with the regular stuff.

 

[theyangman]

I have used both IO and IO RC. New to the RC stuff as it has only been used for the past month or so, but both seem to mix easily for me.

 

[jroovers]

I have used both IO and IO RC. New to the RC stuff as it has only been used for the past month or so, but both seem to mix easily for me.

Changing salt brands in the past month also might have contributed to some of the issues you posted (browning, rtn, etc.)

 

[theyangman]

[quote author=theyangman link=topic=6631.msg65449#msg65449 date=1382536619]
I have used both IO and IO RC. New to the RC stuff as it has only been used for the past month or so, but both seem to mix easily for me.

Changing salt brands in the past month also might have contributed to some of the issues you posted (browning, rtn, etc.)
[/quote]

from something so closely related Jordan? IO to IO RC?

 

[jroovers]

[quote author=jroovers link=topic=6631.msg65511#msg65511 date=1382547137]
[quote author=theyangman link=topic=6631.msg65449#msg65449 date=1382536619]
I have used both IO and IO RC. New to the RC stuff as it has only been used for the past month or so, but both seem to mix easily for me.

Changing salt brands in the past month also might have contributed to some of the issues you posted (browning, rtn, etc.)
[/quote]

from something so closely related Jordan? IO to IO RC?

[/quote]

You'll have to take what I say here with a grain of salt (no pun intended).

I've only ever used IO and never seen the need to use anything else.  Darryl has always used IO and when I started in this hobby with his help, that was all I needed to know.  My understanding is that each bucket of salt within a brand is going to have some variation on parameters (Alk, Ca, Mag and trace elements), and that variation is going to be compounded when moving to brand to brand.  I'm assuming that there is some difference in trace elements and parameter levels between IO and IORC (unless RC is just some clever marketing by IO to rationalize charging a bit more for the same salt).  Therefore, by shifting salt types, you may have contributed to your instability issues... didn't you have some issues right around the time you changed salt (i.e. a month ago) to IORC with your Alk levels and shortly after with RTN?  While maybe not the sole cause, if you take stressed corals and then introduce another variable (shifting salt make-up) you may be asking for trouble.  I know a lot of people have reported problems when changing salt brands - again, I am not one of them, but this info could potentially point to a source of some issues.  Maybe the shift from IO to IORC is less than moving to a non-IO brand, but could be enough to push some of your pieces past a tipping point.  I wouldn't consider a change from RC until you get your conditions stable.

 

[Salty Cracker]

I actually wasn't a fan of RC, but you vcan get good deals on it from time to time so I just stick with it.  PLUS I've had better luck with it than I have with anything else (of course back-in-the-day when I used IO, I was doing everything wrong like Tony, so there's that). 

Reef crystals smells more like cat pee than IO for some reason.  Not sure why, it's just a fact.  It mixes a bit cloudy, so I run it through 2 filter socks when I add it to the tank. 

 

[theyangman]

My rc is always crystal clear. I roll the bucket around for like 10 min to get it mixed up when I first get it as well. But ill be sure to take thay advice jordan and stick with rc till things pan out better for me.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[jroovers]

I actually wasn't a fan of RC, but you vcan get good deals on it from time to time so I just stick with it.  PLUS I've had better luck with it than I have with anything else (of course back-in-the-day when I used IO, I was doing everything wrong like Tony, so there's that). 

Reef crystals smells more like cat pee than IO for some reason.  Not sure why, it's just a fact.  It mixes a bit cloudy, so I run it through 2 filter socks when I add it to the tank. 

Nothing in this world IMO smells worse than cat pee.  Awful stuff.

My rc is always crystal clear. I roll the bucket around for like 10 min to get it mixed up when I first get it as well. But ill be sure to take thay advice jordan and stick with rc till things pan out better for me.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

I'm not saying that it is the cause of your problems, but yes if I were you I would stick with it until your tank matures, your corals colour-up, and you start seeing growth.  Relating this back to the original thread post, as everyone has noted stability is key in an SPS system.  Any change could lead to issues, but a bunch of changes all at once is sort of asking for it. 

 

[Jewel]

First thing you need to do is free up some space for better circulation, So bring all your LPS over to my place, then get your perameters stable, Then wait for theyangmans fire sale and you'll be set. HA HA