I made another adjustment to the Xport-PO4 this morning. Phosphates had stabilized at 0.04-0.05 ppm for more the past week using 12 cubes. I added 6 more cubes and will test for the next week to see if it brings the phosphates down to my 0.02 ppm target.
I decided to treat the aquarium with PraziPro today. We haven't had a big problem with flukes but they did cause us to lose a couple firefish and our poor neon gobies almost always have quite a few visible on them. I did a 20 gallon water change then treated with 2.5 teaspoons. My maxi mini carpets, blastos, and palys were not too happy at first but within a couple of hours they were all back to normal. And, the neon gobies are clear of visible flukes for the first time in more than a month. I plan to do a water change and second treatment next Sunday to try and make sure they are completely gone.
I decided to make a few changes to help stabilize the water quality a little more. A few weeks ago I switched to TLF NPX Bioplastics and the results were almost instantaneous. I also decided to use BA Xport-NO3 and Xport-PO4 instead of Chemipure and Purigen. I was struggling to keep nitrates down and now they're stable at 4 ppm. The phosphates have been a little more challenging but at least they are staying between 0.04 ppm and 0.08 ppm. I made another adjustment yesterday to try and get it stable. Once that happens I can work on bringing it down to my 0.02 ppm target. I like the idea of using the Xport products with the Bioplastics. I think it will make it easier to make adjustments and keep things stable at my target concentrations. I guess we'll see.
A new reef was born in the Atkinson house today. Our Innovative Marine Nuvo SR-60 arrived in the middle of a sleet and snow storm. We unpacked it in the garage and thoroughly inspected it before we brought it inside. I must say the clean lines and simple design of the aquarium and stand are beautiful. After a successful leak test, we drained it then added the sand, rock, and saltwater. For now we are only running the pumps and heaters until we can get the rest of the equipment set up. It's been a long but exciting day. Now it's time to wait patiently for it to cycle before moving everything over from the cube.