cabrego
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Posts posted by cabrego
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Thanks for the input.
This morning I found the frag toppled over again (away from other corals). I guess it is too top heavy to be stable. Do you think I should bother dipping it in an iodine solution. I dipped it in a mild iodine solution before I put it in the tank, I don't know how frequently the corals can be dipped or if it is worth the effort in this case. Hopefully it bounces back..
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Yesterday I picked up a few great looking frags from a WAMAS member, one of which is a SPS (tort) frag from a WAMAS member. Today after work I noticed that it was fallen over on my frag rack and appears to be loosing tissue in 3 places. I am thinking it was stung throughout the day by the one or all of it's neighbors. A Green slimer, Red planet, and a millepora are the immediate suspects. My plan is to move it to a more stable location and monitor for another day before doing anything drastic like cutting it into pieces! What do you guys and gals think? I attached a pic...The frag seems pretty good otherwise but who knows what tomorrow will bring...
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Don't have experience with them eating aptasia but I have heard they are finicky eaters. When I had mine she would only eat enriched frozen mysis and rods frozen. But she ate like like a pig, the tangs took a few days to warm up to her but they eventually got the message after they ran into her spikes! Unfortunately she became an expensive meal for my Hadonni
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Sounds like the problem I was having and still have sometimes with my euro reef RS 135. Do you use an air valve? What is the water level relative to the skimmer body?
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How large is the systems water volume? How much livestock? Did the skimmate issue just start or has it always been a problem?
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are you sure it is the temp that is causing this?
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I've kept Multiple BTA's in your exact set up , 10gallon aquarium with a 20" Coralife 1x96w PC fixture.
Your anemone will have more than adequate lighting requirements, but as other members have brought up before, keep close tabs on your water quality, and you should be just fine!
Thanks for the tip, right now, I have it set as an all in one nano 'type' system. There is a relatively thin sand bed in the back with some cheato that really hasnt grown to much. I checked the paramters the other day and the nitrate was maybe 5-10, everything else was zero.
Is there a another lighting option?
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Solved the bulkhead problem, but now have a really big serious question.
and that is ?????
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Well my search has been quite dry,
I have gone to Home Depot and called Tractor Supply Company with no luck.
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I don't know if it is great or not- it seems reasonable. I just priced the same product locally for 56 and thought that was a bit high for some reason. I believe the boxed stuff was 40 shipped on DrFoster and Smith's site. But, that could have been with some kind of coupon code.
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Kalk is a balanced additive so you should not have to dose baking soda as well. A tank with kalk will stabilize with Ca a little on the high side, but the alk will come up into a good range. Right now it looks like you are a little low on everything.
If want to have a look at a BRS doser just PM me. I am traveling a bit lately but should be around on the weekends.
So you are using a automated dosing scheme, how do you like it? That seems to be the route I am heading towards. It is either that, or get a calcium reactor, but my space is limited. I am looking at the aquamedic with the integrated controller. I would definitely like to take a look at your setup PM your info so we can coordinate.
Thanks!
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I thought about going DIY for dosing. But I eventually just bought massive amounts of BRS products. I have a couple nearly-full 5-gallon containers of both ALK and Ca. If you would like to try some let me know. I would be glad to give you a little sample.
Hey thanks for the offer I could really use some Mg right now as you can see. I can get the calcium up with some of my other supplements. Are you dosing manually? I would really like to get an automated setup. I am still researching the two via on the shelf products vs. pre packaged BRS type stuff to see if it is worth the trouble.
Do you happen to know if I need to dose baking soda if I am already dosing alk?
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Hey Guys and Gals,
I am having trouble keeping my parameters up so I am considering dosing two part via Randy's DIY recipes. Does anyone know where I can find all of the stuff locally? I currently use Kalk via my top off but it has not been saturated for a while, it is due for a refill this weekend. I am looking to get my Calcium and Mg under better control. Here are my current parameters...
Date Alk Mg Calcium PH
30-Apr 7.5 1000 370 7.8
Thanks!
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That is a good suggestion, will look in to that, thanks!
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The old watts per gallon rule is not a good measure for the proper light to use. Just try the 96w light. If you see the anemone expanding and reaching for more light then you can increase the photo-period. If it stays small or seeks out shade you know to lower the photo-period. As it was mentioned, water quality and stability maybe more of an issue then light.
Well another options is to get some sort of a nursery that I can put in my 90g display. The nursery could house the nem with the 6 baby clown fish I have. Do you guys know of anything that could keep everything contained? I have a mesh type breeding nursery but I would not trust it to keep the clownfish contained because the open top is actually submerged and allows for the clown fish to escape.
I know BRK has more even duty nursery type devices but they appear to be custom made...
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I would give it some time to move around, chances are it is going to move some more. I had my baby bubble tip go for a walk over the last few days. I would give it a few days to makes it self comfortable and I would not worry about feeding it right now.
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If anyone has a suggestions on a more suitable light please let me know!
Thanks!
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9+ watts per gallon on a 10g....? Just stay on top of things.
You are going to have to be a bit more descriptive...Are you saying you think that is too much light?
Right now I have a standard 17 watt florescent over my 10g.
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Hi, I am looking to get a light for my standard 10g tank. I use the tank to raise my baby true perculas and one of my anemones has finally split a couple of times and one of the splits has moved to a rock that can be removed from the tank.
So, I need a light that doesn't break the bank but is strong enough to keep a red BTA happy. Will a 20 inch 96 watt PC work?
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You guys might try some kind of carbon dosing (Vodka/Vinegar), I vodka dosed my system to jump start my tank. My 90g sat for months without circulation (I was to busy to get it going) and when I checked the parameters the nitrates were off the charts. I installed the sand bed I described in my earlier post and after a couple of months I decided to go with vodka dosing. I vodka dosed for maybe 2 months max. I basically stopped soon after my nitrates hit zero. They have been zero ever since.
gl
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I have been having a real problem controlling nitrates in my tank and just not sure why. My old tank had a DSB and i never had any problems, but my new setup does not have a DSB. I do not overfeed tank at all and have a very low bioload in the system - very few fish - 90 gallon tank - lots of LR. Water changes help for short period. I have a small refugium in my cabinet with some macro, a DSB, and also using Kent Nitrate sponge pellets in fuge. nothing seems to help and i'm starting to lose some of my corals over time. I just cannot figure out the source of the problem. I do not have bio balls in the sump which would cause this over time - anyone have any ideas or ways to help mitigate the issue??
do you have a sand bed? how large is your fuge? how is your cheato growing? How often do you harvest it? If your nitrates are as high as you say, then you do have enough anerobic bacteria to support your system. How long has the system been running? Consider adding a larger sand bed in your sump or upgrading your sump if it is not large enough to support a sand bed your system has been running for longer than 4 months like this.
My 90g has about a 10 g fuge chamber with ~3 inches of sand and cheato that I had to harvest every 2 weeks (and I should have been harvesting sooner). My stocking is very moderate, mixed reef, pair of clowns, 2 tangs, lawnmower, and 6 line 0 nitrates.
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As long as Hach can trace their references back to a NIST reference, that's good. I'm sure they can, by the way.
The next thing to consider is that you're going to have a single data point. That is, you'll only be testing a single meter and, worse, a single meter at a single point. That will give you some confidence in the general accuracy of the meter in the range of 1.0 ppm, but it won't give you much of an understanding of the accuracy of device over it's measurement range.
Let's take a simple device that we all use: A refractometer. Some people say we can calibrate these with RO/DI and dialing the meter into 1.00 density. But that's not quite right. It's better to use a calibrated solution that's close to what you intend to measure. In other words, use a 1.0264 calibration fluid (35 ppt) and calibrate your refractometer against that instead. This compensates for many error sources in the local vicinity of the measurement while ignoring the accuracy in places you're less concerned with.
For a measurement system using a linear approximation, neglecting non-linear errors, you have a bias (or constant) error and a slope error to contend with. The bias exists at all measurements while the slope error grows as the magnitude of the measurement grows. Thus, the error at any particular point of the curve can be different than at another point. By calibrating with a known source at a particular point, you can minimize errors in subsequent measurements around that point.
For a "real" assessment of these devices, you really need a sample size (that is, many of these devices) that will allow you to have a statistically relevant measurement of the accuracy of the meter design, and calibrated standards against which to take measurements.
(I've got to run. I have to be home by 3 PM today....)
I certainly will only have a measurement from one unit and at best I will have two measurements that I can have a reasonable degree of confidence in. I am certainly not trying to conduct a "real" assessment of these meters-I would expect Hanna to have done this prior to putting them on the market. Especially with the new batch of units they had to shove out the door to meet the unexpected demand, right?
My test will be closer to a QC check on my personal meter-after all the value for me is to really understand the number I get out of the unit. I am also sure Hanna appreciates users giving them feed back too. If the meter is within the stated range of 4% +/- .04 ppm at the two points I measure I think I will be satisfied.Your comment regarding measuremnets of linear measurement device, linear errors, and statistical signficance is a whole other topic that would require us to ensure we have our nomenclature strait with regard to accuracy, precision, standard error, etc. I am glad to see there is at least 1 person on WAMAS willing to delve into the details with me...
p.s. I changed my order to the 1ppm standard, should be receiving it next week.
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The link I provided above was to a 3 ppm standard that Hach makes. Cutting it 50% gives you a 1.5 ppm solution that is nearly midway into the range of the Hanna colorimeter.
The nice thing about a 50% dilution is that you can use the same measurement device to measure out the standard and the dilutant. This helps to bring the error in the measuring system under control because the same error is propagated into both the standard and the dilutant. (You didn't have that when you were using the syringe and the beaker or graduated cylinder.) For example, 5 ml of standard + 5 ml of dilutant, yields the same concentration as adding 5.1 ml of standard to 5.1 ml of dilutant. Both result in a 50% dilution. So, if you've got a reasonably precise 5 ml syringe or laboratory pipette, you should be able to do pretty well as long as you're consistent in the technique that you're using to measure both components of your diluted standard.
very good point. Hach also carries a 1 ppm solution maybe I will go with that one instead. I can use it uncut for 1ppm and use a 50/50 dilute for .5 ppm. The questions about interpreting test results are usually in the sub 1 ppm range, so 1 ppm solution might be a good compromise between cost and usefulness.what do you think?
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If you can accurately measure 100 ml and 1.00 ml, you'll be fine. Just realize that the accuracy of your dilution efforts will factor into any measurement you make. For example, a 1 ml error in your 100 ml dilutant will yield a 1% error. The same problem exists when measuring out your 100 ppm standard. Accurately measuring these so that you get the desired ratio may be tougher than you realize. Read on. (By the way, you want to mix 1 ml of your 100 ppm reference with 99 ml (not 100 ml) to hit your 1 ppm target. Pretest your RO/DI to make sure that it's reading 0 ppm phosphates. It should, but it's amongst the first ions to be re-released when the DI resin depletes.)
Here's a quick sampling on what happens if your dilution is inaccurate (I've only carried things out to the 2nd decimal place):
1 ml 100 ppm standard + 98 ml RO/DI = 1.01 ppm standard
1 ml 100 ppm standard + 99 ml RO/DI = 1.00 ppm standard
1 ml 100 ppm standard + 100 ml RO/DI = 1.01 ppm standard
The same accuracy issues exist for the the standard, though:
1.01 ml 100 ppm standard + 99 ml RO/DI = 1.01 ppm standard
1.00 ml 100 ppm standard + 99 ml RO/DI = 1.00 ppm standard
0.99 ml 100 ppm standard + 99 ml RO/DI = 0.99 ppm standard
Notice how a very, very small amount of deviation from the 1 ml measurement yields an error on the order of the accuracy of the device that you're trying to test. That's where the problem lies. What happens if your syringe is just 4% off? Consider this: There are 20 "standard" drops in a milliliter. That means that if you're just 1 drop off that 1 ml measurement, you're off by 5%.
So, let's say that your syringe measurement is just 2% off (less than +/- 1/2 drop of error). Let's also say that your ability to accurately measure 100 ml is off by just 1 ml (100 ml +/- 1 ml). The result is that, because of the relatively high concentration of the reference, that you're "standard" solution, obtained through dilution, can be off as much as +/- 3%. That's not very good when you're trying to test a meter that's supposed to be accurate to +/- 4%. (When you do measure an error, how much do you attribute to the device and how much to the "standard?")
The best thing to do, if you trust the accuracy of the standard that you purchase to be accurate, is to buy a standard that's close that requires minimum dilution and start from there. Another alternative is to test against a calibrated meter (I've already mentioned this) and compare the results.
Thanks for the input, those are all factors that must be considered. IMO the only way around those factors is to not cut the standard. As soon as you cut any concentration of the standard down (regardless of the concentration) you allow measurement error to creep into your methodology. You seem to have more confidence in the 10 ppm solution, is there a way to minimize measurement error with the more dilute phosphate standards? I can give hach a call and see if they can hold my order if it makes sense to do that..
RBTA Help
in General Discussion
It looks very pale to me, I am not sure if it is just the lighting in the pic or if that is the true color. It also seems over inflated to me but it is really hard to tell from that pic. Did you acclimate? If it was the location I figure it would move to a place that it liked better..mine have no problem moving as they wish. Temp in my tank is usually around 78-80 so I don't think temp is an issue either. I have an RBA GBA and Hadonni.