@mescobar

Woohoo!

> @Drexl wrote: > The problem with doing it this method is the LC can bind to the impeller, motor, etc aka creates a buildup, which can destroy those parts. If you look at the skimmer neck when dosing, you’ll see that buildup, which is easily removed with a little vinegar or citric acid. That sounds like an important consideration to make, degrading/breaking the skimmer in the process probably isn't worth it.

I'm considering automating my LC dosing with a heavily diluted LC solution (for overdosing peace of mind). I agree that a diluted solution also helps in spreading the LC over the course of the day. I was doing some research and it seems like dosing LC into the venturi is more effective than into the skimmer neck, which is how I normally manually dose it. Does anyone have experience dosing LC directly into their venturi? Some people t-off the venturi tube directly. Any consideration against doing this? Could it make the skimmer less effective?

Neat, I'd consider switching the liquid reagents if its more economical and the accuracy difference is actually within 10%. I get wary that the last specs of stranded reagent powder in the packaging impacts the ULR accuracy. Looks like the TM PO4 PRO reagents usually cover 50 tests for 15mL. But you should be able to get 75 tests out of the test reagents with the 10mL Hanna cuvette. Hanna ULR Powder usually costs $20 for 25 tests. That's $0.80/test. TM PO4 PRO test kits also costs $20 for 75 tests. That's $0.27/test Crazy that the TM test kit would be 3x cheaper and more convenient. If only these test kits were readily available...

> @ktran wrote: > https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1353066793415256/?mibextid=dXMIcH > > Wondering if getting this and a couple more pieces would be cheaper. .. smart idea, it's just adult legos right? should be relatively easy to disassemble/reassemble

Overall, it's nice to know that my reef tank is relatively similar to many of those in the data set. It’s also nice to get the stamp of approval that my <3 yr old tank has a mature biome. Even though it’s evidenced by my ability to grow acropora. Part of me is curious though, had I not seen these results and maintained my existing habits, what would be the trajectory of my tank. Old tank syndrome? BJD? Random bleaching events? Unexplained fish deaths? I think the uncomfortable takeaway that maybe most of us won’t agree with is; we need to do more water changes. I know, I too am upset. I wish I didn’t have to pay for a biome test to come to that conclusion, but at least now you won’t have to (and won’t be able to). For those curious, since the time of sample collection my last water change was ~30%, 3 months earlier. Did anyone else happen to do a biome test before they closed shop? It would be cool to compare results with others.

Actions & Takeaways: 1. Consider adding bottled bacteria to increase Nitrification NOBs 2. Monitor sensitive corals like Monits and Bernardpora. 3. Turn my UV Sterilizer back on to help manage vibrio pathogens. 4. Stir up sandbed and sump, do a good water change to remove excess detritus. 5. Consider a more wet skim and refreshing activated carbon. 6. Consider using gloves when putting my hands in the tank to limit potential bacterial infection from rock/coral abrasions on my skin. Any other takeaways I could be missing?

And as far as pathogens are concerned, there looks to be a fair amount present. Vibrio fortis (67th percentile) - Fairly average, assuming most of us have this pathogen present. Vibrio owensii (88th percentile) - It appears in about 25% of healthy and established reef aquariums (oops), but it can act as an opportunistic pathogen linked to coral tissue-loss diseases like Montipora white syndrome. My monits are looking just fine… for now. SCTLD-associated Shimia sp. (96th percentile) - “Because Rhodobacteraceae thrive on organic waste, high Shimia levels often signal that detritus, sediment, or decaying matter is accumulating in stagnant zones of the tank.” - “The exact cause of SCTLD in the wild remains complex and may involve a virus that attacks a coral's Symbiodiniaceae algal symbionts. Shimia sp. behaves as an opportunistic, secondary invader. It rapidly multiplies in response to decaying coral tissue, detritus, and elevated nutrients” - Sounds like this can be attributed to a lack of mechanical filtration, possible build up of detritus, and/or dirty sandbed. Vibrio shiloi (91st percentile) - “Temperature-dependent, Gram-negative marine bacterium that causes coral bleaching by attacking zooxanthellae photosynthesis” - Seems like I could be at risk of coral bleaching if the tank gets too hot, I don’t think I want to find out if this is true.

Woah, that's really interesting. I didn't realize how long clams lifespans were. That's crazy that the clam lived through multiple el niño/la niña cycles and the evidence shows on its shell, really neat.

> Also, am I reading this right? You’re running pretty low & at NSW? That’s a little worrisome for my taste w/o a lot of room for error. Corals doing ok? Yeah, running salinity at 35 PPT. Corals are doing great, the tank tends to run 7-7.5 dKH. I've actually recently had to do a calcium correction which aligns with the increased alk consumption (dropped below 7 dKH shown in the plot). I should probably increase my alk dosing too, I would like to be closer to 8-8.5 dKH.

Scored a good deal this weekend, I'm now on team Aquawiz 😎 I've been running the Aquawiz for ~24 hrs so far, and it's still being "broken" in. The Trident is still running, I'm hoping to do some testing to see how the alkalinity results different between the two before I take the Trident offline. Here's a plot of the two plots charted over the past day. The Apex needs to be re-calibrated, its off by about 0.4 dKH, and the trident data looks to have been off by 6hrs. Interesting to see how closely the up/down trends correlate and just how much the alkalinity shifts between those 6hr Trident test intervals.

I'd consider the Straton Flex, but I think ATI stopped production of the light which probably would have fit the 6ft length nicely. Otherwise 2/3 Xs might be needed. You're trying to keep sticks in the frag tank, right?

I think Ali in Orange carries some if you're feeling impatient I would love a reagent-less tester, however, I don't want to pay $900 for one. Maybe once the big guys come out with one, the AquaWiz will drop in price. I also heard the AquaWiz UI leaves a lot to be desired, maybe the next generation will be cheaper and more polished 🤞 I believe the AquaWiz also requires a third-party alk tester to set the baseline when setting up. Since it keeps track of alk based on pH changes, you need to supply the initial alk reading from a salifert test for example.

https://media.giphy.com/media/q3ObbdX8l8j5phqR6S/giphy.gif happy birthday!

Home at 78, I have a 7" wall mounted fan blowing over the surface of the tank. Tank is currently sitting at 77.5 degrees, I'll let evaporation do the work lol

> @Drexl wrote: > Yeah, those lights are pretty good. I think Julian is using them or keloray on his new nano setup. I really think it’s great that there’s some competition out there, as this drives innovation, which we truly need in this hobby. The big boys have done nothing in this regard, so it’s up to hobbyist creating and bringing new ideas to market, which I’ll always support. > I think Luca’s panels will be out later this month or next month? But I know he mentioned they would be out this year. I hope you're right, the sooner he comes out with pricing and release date the more likely I am to pick up his lights over the other flat panel options.

Right now the big tank is running 2 XR15 G5 Blue's and a 21" AI Grow. The XR15s came with the tank and AI blade was an easy upgrade to add supplemental lighting. My new Nano has the Kassray T120 (Straton X clone), and these lights are clean. I'm getting a ton of PAR and I appreciate how good the spread and blanket light is. I also like that there are no fans/moving parts, and the reflectors keep light from shining directly into your eyes when looking at the tank (no shroud required). I don't like how I pretty much have to jerryrig my own mounting solution to get these lights situated given how heavy it is (~8lbs). Overall, I think I'd struggle going back to puck lighting after seeing these panel lights running for a few days. The panel lights have given me the Diderot effect, I now look at my XR15s as dated and inferior. I'm now exploring changing the big tank lighting setup entirely. I'm currently between the ATI Straton X and the Zoox Phantom. I'd like to go with the X since its significantly lighter, but the Phantom is more a more powerful light and future proof. The Phantom would also fit my tank footprint better as well. I would strongly consider the Luca's panel light, but there just isn't much info to go on right now, and I don't think I'd want to wait until early next year (March 2027?) to get my hands on the quanta panel light.

> @ktran wrote: > Some extra beef ribs for the freezer >  that's tenderism 💯

On the nano, I keep it stupid simple with AFR. On the bigger tank, I dose A (soda ash), B, and C. And more recently started incorporating TM A/K. I am also dosing NeoNitro, but nitrates look to be stable and climbing little by little (15ppm), might need to stop dosing nitrate soon.

https://media.giphy.com/media/RfvBXK1m8Kcdq/giphy.gif the WCR servers soon 😃

You should pickup a UPS battery backup to run your powerheads at the very least. I recommend ecoflow or anything with LiFePO4 based batteries (they retain their charge for longer). I think you should be fine with anything over 200 Wh in capacity. Mileage will depend on what/how long you want to run your equipment for.

I saw RN was gauging interest on selling live foods, I think it was live mysis at the booth? I would be interested in getting live foods in the future, hopefully other here would be interested too.

Local shop is Ocean's Tropical Fish, I'll usually get my frozen fish food and snails or crabs when needed. Usually avoid getting fish or corals there, but Dave the owner is a chill dude.

Beautiful Radiant Wrasse! Woah, how do you keen your Porcupine Puffer from eating your inverts/coral?

> @BackbayReef wrote: > No different if your alk/ca doser going crazy, esp alk - that might nuke your tank faster. For my 150gal where vodka is still running, I set a max limit of 15mL/day as a failsafe. If indeed failed open, you will have excessive algae bloom and will need WCs to bring down. Depending on severity (qty of overdose) one can create more surface agitation due to oxygen-depletion, add skimmer, monitor ammonia, etc. My understanding is that it takes much more alk/ca to kill your corals and fish rather than a carbon overdose. Agreed that WC and more surface agitation is the key to mitigating a carbon overdose. I like the refugium approach since is allows for copepods other life to populate in the tank, its just an annoying amount of maintenance to prune and manage coralline algae in the sump. Carbon dosing is a nice and easy way automate the nutrient export, however, it does come with it's own set of risks.

What are the risks of overdosing carbon? You could put vodka or vinegar on a doser, but what happens if/when the doser fails on/off?

Sorry to hear that , hope you're able to build back better.