A little reading: Blue Coral Method

[ReeferPatt]

what I do is take the cube and thaw it in a cup of tank water. I let it thaw for about 30-45 min. Then I pour it into the tank right in front of a powerhead. I pour about half of the melt on 1 side of the tank and the other half of the cup on the other side. I don't see where turkeybasting and/or direct feeding would do any better.

^^^^^ What she said. Just thaw in tank water and pour it in.

 

[ReeferPatt]

I'd be interest to see if over orp climbs over a period of time after starting this. It seems to be having a good effect on bacteria, almost seems to have improved water quality. Ive noticed clarity and reduced skimmate. I think ReeferPat is seeing a chaeto die off.
Class Clown would you post your orp readings again in another week or so?

Don

Die off? I now have a empty display refugium. May just take it down for now. Not doing me any good or I may go to caulerpra and run light 24/7. Nah, that means putting sand or rock in the tank, cost $$$ and it may not live either.

 

[ReeferPatt]

I have also noticed reduced skimmate and a water clarity that I haven't seen as true before. The skimmate I get is super stinky, gunky. And the water is crystal clear. I said last week in looking from one end of the tank to the other it's like there is no water. The rock and corals are just sitting there.

Same here, have to run skimmer pretty wet to get much skimmate, like tea color or lighter. But once in a while it goes nuts. Have noticed also that even after feeding the recipe I have no explosion of skimmate the next day. I do keep carbon going 24/7.

 

[SueT]

I run carbon 24/7 also and my phosphate remover too. I can put my skimmer cup back on and have a little bit by days end. Just not much.

 

[class clown]

so it's been 6 days, so thought I'd report on what my ORP has been up to - "up" being the operative word. You can see my initial baseline all the way to the left (220-240ish), then the dip is where I added the food my first time, then since then it's been steadily pretty high (270-280ish).

Think I'm ready to add another cube tonight?

 

[SueT]

Ben, I'd only do 1 feeding a week to start with. I did 1 feeding a week for about 7 weeks. I am now only starting to go every 5 days. Was going to do 4 days but I think 5 will be better. Everything looks great and I have no extra added algae, in fact none at all. On my glass, rock anywhere..

 

[jezzeaepi]

Do you use sugar in your recipe Sue?

 

[SueT]

jezzeaepi, yes, there was sugar in this batch. It was made for me by ReeferPatt. I would of used the sugar too if I'd made the food.

 

[jezzeaepi]

" Everything looks great and I have no extra added algae, in fact none at all. On my glass, rock anywhere.."

I will be interested to see if Ben has the same results without the sugar. The lack of algae seems to indicate a lack of excess nutrients in the water, which seems counter intuitive since these cubes are nutrient packed protien nuggets. The sugar though, would be a carbon source for bacteria to consume correct? These would in theory consume the extra nutrients so they dont have a chance to degrade the water, then as the bacteria die they can get skimmed out? Just wondering how vital this bacteria bloom aspect might be to the method. I would imagine though that strong enough filtration would negate the need for the carbon source.


I cant wait till I have strong enough filtration to try this feeding method out myself. I just need to get project "sump addition" into swing here =P

 

[ReeferPatt]

" Everything looks great and I have no extra added algae, in fact none at all. On my glass, rock anywhere.."

I will be interested to see if Ben has the same results without the sugar. The lack of algae seems to indicate a lack of excess nutrients in the water, which seems counter intuitive since these cubes are nutrient packed protien nuggets. The sugar though, would be a carbon source for bacteria to consume correct? These would in theory consume the extra nutrients so they dont have a chance to degrade the water, then as the bacteria die they can get skimmed out? Just wondering how vital this bacteria bloom aspect might be to the method. I would imagine though that strong enough filtration would negate the need for the carbon source.


I cant wait till I have strong enough filtration to try this feeding method out myself. I just need to get project "sump addition" into swing here =P

Hey jezzeaepi,
That's the main reason for the sugar.Carbon source for bacteria which will help in stripping nutrients. If you think about it, it's one tablespoon mixed into the pappone which is then fed over a perion of around 3-4 months. So very little is going into the system per feeding.

 

[jezzeaepi]

Your right thats a very small amount of sugar indeed. Hopefully this time next month Ill be ready to give it a try. My filtration is defintly inadequate at the moment though.

 

[Slickdonkey]

so it's been 6 days, so thought I'd report on what my ORP has been up to - "up" being the operative word. You can see my initial baseline all the way to the left (220-240ish), then the dip is where I added the food my first time, then since then it's been steadily pretty high (270-280ish).

Make sure to stay on top of cleaning your ORP probe. Mine tends to gradually float upwards when cleaning is due... about every 3 weeks.

 

[class clown]

Slick - awesome tip - as mentioned, I'm new to the whole ORP probe thing. Best way to clean it off you think is to just wipe it off with a papertowel (I just did)? any other tips/tricks?

Jesse - I did actually go with the sugar, I debated hard, but in the end I too did the sugar route. I did a teaspoon vs. a tablespoon though. So far, I haven't noticed a big algae bloom, but I do think i've seen an increase in the amount in some hair algae though. If you want to try some after you get your sump hooked up, let me know. I've got more than I need for the foreseeable future especially if I only do it once a week.

Ben

 

[Slickdonkey]

Slick - awesome tip - as mentioned, I'm new to the whole ORP probe thing. Best way to clean it off you think is to just wipe it off with a papertowel (I just did)? any other tips/tricks?

I scrub the electrode lightly with a soft toothbrush and soak it in 50/50 bleach/RO water for an hour or two. Then rinse in RO.

 

[ReeferPatt]

Slick - awesome tip - as mentioned, I'm new to the whole ORP probe thing. Best way to clean it off you think is to just wipe it off with a papertowel (I just did)? any other tips/tricks?

Jesse - I did actually go with the sugar, I debated hard, but in the end I too did the sugar route. I did a teaspoon vs. a tablespoon though. So far, I haven't noticed a big algae bloom, but I do think i've seen an increase in the amount in some hair algae though. If you want to try some after you get your sump hooked up, let me know. I've got more than I need for the foreseeable future especially if I only do it once a week.

Ben

Hey Ben, did you already have some hair algae before starting the pappone?
If so you may want to try to get it under control before going to much further with the feeding. Or keep a close eye on it. Do you use a phosban reactor? After you feed for a while the food should bind the P04 but if you are having problems with the algae right now it might be something to consider. Do you have a good skimmer. Sorry don't mean to sound like an expert hear or pry. Just noting a concern.

Patt

 

[class clown]

I scrub the electrode lightly with a soft toothbrush and soak it in 50/50 bleach/RO water for an hour or two. Then rinse in RO.

whoa - Ok I trust ya, but bleach is scary. :eek2:

 

[class clown]

Hey Ben, did you already have some hair algae before starting the pappone?
If so you may want to try to get it under control before going to much further with the feeding. Or keep a close eye on it. Do you use a phosban reactor? After you feed for a while the food should bind the P04 but if you are having problems with the algae right now it might be something to consider. Do you have a good skimmer. Sorry don't mean to sound like an expert hear or pry. Just noting a concern.

Patt

Yep - had a little hair algae on a rock before started. A couple days before i started this, I scrubbed all hair algae off w/ toothbrush and tried to syphon it off with a turkey baster best I could. I use RODI w/ TDS 0 for topoff & with water changes. I have a Euroreef skimmer that is pretty decent quality supposedly. I do also run a phosban reactor. Honestly, it isn't too bad, and who knows if my observations of seeing any growth on it are real. It's just on one rock and you can see it here underneath that little green frag smack in the middle towards the back of the picture:

 

[ReeferPatt]

Yep - had a little hair algae on a rock before started. A couple days before i started this, I scrubbed all hair algae off w/ toothbrush and tried to syphon it off with a turkey baster best I could. I use RODI w/ TDS 0 for topoff & with water changes. I have a Euroreef skimmer that is pretty decent quality supposedly. I do also run a phosban reactor. Honestly, it isn't too bad, and who knows if my observations of seeing any growth on it are real. It's just on one rock and you can see it here underneath that little green frag smack in the middle towards the back of the picture:

Doesn't appear to be a big deal. I'm sure you'll be alright. I just know that crud can be a drag. Thanks for posting the pick. I myself have some sort of turf algae and no matter what I do it just keeps coming back. Doesn't spread, just stay in the same place. I might post a pick and see if someone can give me an ID.

 

[tike]

Anyone have any updates or pics to show us how things are progressing??

 

[SueT]

I don't have any pics, but have begun feeding every 5 days. I cannot be much happier with how my tank and acropora/montipora are doing. Growth is crazy and they are really using the calcium now too. Growth, color everything in the tank is doing awesome. I am now not even having to clean my glass. Seriously...