Giving Nualgi a try

[jrosenblum]

Okay, I've read just about every post and FAQ on the subject (nualgiaquarium.com), and I've decided to try it out on my 55 Gallon with 7 fish, a clam and about 12 corals of various types.

My maintenance schedule is very regimented and consistent. My nitrates are always .1 - .5, calcium 420 - 460, and KH always low (7.6 - 8.0).

I have a small amount of bubble algae and some diatoms on the sand that I've never been able to get rid of. Corals always seems to be happy.

I have a short video of the tank taken minutes after the first dose to help memorialize the "before" at http://youtu.be/Y0JCoevNAGU">http://youtu.be/Y0JCoevNAGU</a>

More tank details include:
Filtration:
Matrix, live rock and a mesh filter-sock.
Purigen and two units of Chemi-pure.
No skimmer

Lighting:
One Echo Tech Radion G2 at 65%. 12 hour "natural" cycle starting at 7:30 AM

Flow:
Total flow is about 1470 GPH
* Danner Mag-Drive Supreme 7 700 GPH return pump contributing probably about 390 GPH due to head loss
* 2 Hydor Koralia 240 GPH power heads
* 1 Hydor Koralia 600

Additives:
Continuum Aquatics Reef Sculpture Part A and B
Continuum Iodine

Feeding:
New Life Spectrum Thera +
Occasionally Reef-Roids once a week

Let's see what happens....

 

[jrosenblum]

Atlanta Reef Guy;949309 wrote: You do know its diatoms in the bottle right?
it gives you a diatom bloom that out competes all other algae.
But it seems to work.

Yes I know. Did it work for you?

 

[indecloudzua]

It didn't really seem to have any effect in my tank at all but I was still dosing vodka not sure if that had any issue with the nulagi. Never saw a diatom bloom of any significance.

 

[camellia]

Nice tank, love the rock work. Everything does look happy!

 

[jrosenblum]

Camellia;949339 wrote: Nice tank, love the rock work. Everything does look happy!

Thanks, hopefully this doesn't mess anything up. I never read a case study (about Nualgi) where it dod harm, so...

 

[jrosenblum]

Here is a history of measurements so that we can better judge any impact

Date Temp. Sg. Ph. NO3. Ca. Kh
Fri Apr 11 1.025 0.2 430 7.3
Mon Mar 31 79
Sun Mar 30 1.0265 0.1 450 7.7
Sun Mar 23 1.025 0.1 470 8
Sun Mar 16 1.026 0.1 450 7.7
Sat Mar 1 1.025 0.2 460 8.1
Wed Feb 12 0.2 470 7.5
Sun Feb 2 1.026 0.2 470 7.8
Wed Jan 29 0.1
Sun Jan 26 1.025 8.2 0.1 460 7.7
Thu Jan 23 0.2
Sun Jan 19 1.025 8
Sat Jan 18 0.2 400
Sun Jan 12 1.026 8.1 0.5 400 7
Mon Jan 6 0.5 8
Sun Jan 5 1.025 8.0 1 400 9
Sat Jan 4 2
Fri Jan 3 79
Wed Jan 1 8.2 2 420 8
Sun Dec 29 1.0264 8.1 2 420 8
Mon Dec 23 1.025 0 380 9 1380
Thu Dec 19 79 8.0 0
Tue Dec 17 79
Mon Dec 16 79
Sun Dec 15 1.026
Sat Dec 14 8.05 0 420 10
Fri Dec 13 1.0265
Thu Dec 12 77.5
Tue Dec 10 1.0245 8.0 400 0
Mon Dec 9 1.0255 8.0 0 400 10
Wed Dec 4 7.8 0 440 10

 

[sn4k33y3z]

Makes one think the skimmer is waste of money lol

 

[sn4k33y3z]

I too am curious. Adding "good" diatoms to eradicate the bad ones look appealing to me. I will be interested in your results Jim.

 

[indecloudzua]

Are any of you also doing some sort of carbon dosing?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[camellia]

Joining you, I just ordered the FREE test samples as well

 

[jrosenblum]

Sn4k33y3z;949363 wrote: Makes one think the skimmer is waste of money lol

When it's needed, it's priceless. I have a philosophy about this (and everything else ), but probably not relevant to this thread.

 

[acroholic]

Personally, I call snake oil on this stuff. But just for clarification, it is not a diatom you are dosing. You are dosing a blend of several metals and non metals, including copper, via a nano silica carrier, per the company.

This has been discussed on RC in some threads, and the reasoning of several of their chemistry guys, including Randy Holmes Farley who specializes in nano delivery type medicine development, is that you can dose the same silica in a much cheaper version, and all the other traces in the product are available in your salt, and food you feed. I would never knowingly dose copper in my system. It is a trace, but why add it intentionally?

This company has another web site that promotes Nualgi as the answer global warming. If that were so, they would not be piddling around in the reef supplements market, they would be making multi billions of dollars remediating the nutrient polluted waters of the world. The mere claim negates any others they make, IMO.

 

[dawgface]

Acroholic;949427 wrote: Personally, I call snake oil on this stuff.

Aye, me too.

 

[indecloudzua]

I'll have to agree with you two after it did nothing for me

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[jrosenblum]

DawgFace;949428 wrote: Aye, me too.

I am skeptical. I'm expecting no qualitative difference, but the trial is free and I haven't heard any horror stories so I figured I would give it a try.

 

[jrosenblum]

On the seventh day, I added the second dose.

Short story, I can neither see nor measure any differences. I will do my normal water change and measure parameters as usual. I will report those values if I see anything outside normal variation.

Videos can be seen at

 

[acroholic]

jrosenblum;950949 wrote: On the seventh day, I added the second dose.

Short story, I can neither see nor measure any differences. I will do my normal water change and measure parameters as usual. I will report those values if I see anything outside normal variation.

Videos can be seen at
http://www.youtube.com/user/BlueRoomAquarium">http://www.youtube.com/user/BlueRoomAquarium</a>.[/QUOTE]

Honestly, it would be great if it does work.

 

[sn4k33y3z]

Thanks for the update and video.

 

[jrosenblum]

So, I just added the third dose. I *do* see increased diatoms on the sand-bad. This was predictable given the ingredients and foretold on the NewAlgi web site.

Other than the diatoms, I see nothing different and I can measure nothing different.

Videos at

 

[camellia]

Interesting, thanks for the update.