update on reef rehab
Well, for those of you who remember my posts regarding my encrusting gorgonian that would not open, here is the latest update. If you recall, I discovered at a LFS that my nitrates were high, supposedly 20 ppms. I thought this was suspicious because for years my tank water and tap water (yes, I was using tap because it tested at zero for everything). So, I brought in my test kit to the LFS and did a test with my kit on the spot to compare to theirs. And, as you would expect, the test kit (API) was crap. It read zero nitrates when many were present. I bought a new, better kit (sea chem) and lo and behold, my nitrates were 50 ppms in the tank and 10 ppm in the tap water. I had been using that tap water for a year or two. I switched back to r/o water before this discovery and have been using it as make up water for the last few months. I was still concerned with the number of nitrates and my LFS store owner, who is a marine biologist and does give good advice suggested that I start a refuguim. Prompted by his idea, I created a DIY in tank refugium from a long, shallow piece of tupperware. I drilled holes for drainage and attached closed glass kit testes to the sides for boyancy (like 55 gallon drum in the movie jaws). So the refugium hangs in the tank at the end. To make sure it does not float around I clipped it to the side with a plastic clamp that I got from a hang on toilet cleaner. I bought some chaetomorpha and placed it in the refugium. It has been in the tank for five days. Nitrates appeared to me to be 50 or above at the beginning and now appear to be 30 ppm. This tank has always had cyano on the rock – not stringy clumpy cyano but velvet-like cyano that will not come off the rocks via water flow. Now that nitrates appear to be going down portions of the cyano appear to be dying. I think they are dying because they are going from deep maroon coloration to a bright orange coloration. I have observed in the past that if you remove rocks with this cyano on it and expose them to the air for a few minutes, letting them dry somewhat, when they return to the tank that same bright orange coloration is present. I hope I am right. The corals have yet to respond, but, strangely, they were all doing pretty well (with the exception of the encrusting gorgonian and my purple mushrooms not multiplying as they once had) even before I switched from the nasty tap water. I’ll keep you all updated but I thought I might share the experience. I hope the nitrates go all the way down, we shall see. If you also remember, I have never had success with coralline in this tank, perhaps the presence of the cyano inhibited it? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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update on reef rehab