Ed Reef's Shallow Crest Inspired ART

[Ed Reef]

your coloration´s really awesome!

your macros are getting better too.
are u using a stand or tripod or whatever u call that!

keep photos coming!

Flo

Thanks Flo - I didn't use any tripod as these pictures were taken top down !!

Will try using a tripod maybe this weekend to see if I can get clearer pictures of the polys :bounce3:

 

[Ed Reef]

Random pictures…

Random pictures"¦

Random pictures taken over the weekend to share "¦.


First my friend's fungia"¦"¦

Will be going back into my friend's tank this weekend now that it has fully recovered.


Then to see how my Goniopora Flower Pot is doing?

and trying my hand at some close-up. Difficult as the polys keep waving"¦

And my Maze brain"¦

:fun4:

 

[FloformAustria]

Wow Ed.
This is a awesome macro.

This fungia is a real beauty! :love2:

keep the photos coming

Flo

 

[Ed Reef]

Thanks Flo but unfortunately going back to my local reefer's tank this weekend now that it's natural beauty has return...

 

[Ed Reef]

More random pictures…

More random pictures"¦

More random pictures to share, taken over the weekend"¦.

And they say zoas loves high nutrient water??? LoL

 

[FloformAustria]

LOL Ed!

Is your Camera permanent attached to your hand?

your photos are coming daily now! :dance:

very nice your zoa photos!

i have a plan for a zoa and ricordea nano tank.
it´s going to run in my main tanks circle!

Flo

 

[vt_snowman87]

awesome pictures and tank ed.. beautiful indeed! which part of china are you in now?

 

[Ed Reef]

LOL Ed!

Is your Camera permanent attached to your hand?

your photos are coming daily now! :dance:

very nice your zoa photos!

i have a plan for a zoa and ricordea nano tank.
it´s going to run in my main tanks circle!

Flo

Cool Flo...Yeah, I think I'm becoming addicted to the camera :fun4:

 

[Ed Reef]

awesome pictures and tank ed.. beautiful indeed! which part of china are you in now?

Thanks.... :dance: I'm in a little city called Fuzhou, about 1 hour away from HK by flight

 

[Ed Reef]

ZOA ID Summary….

ZOA ID Summary"¦.

OK, here's the summary of what I got so far"¦

Unknown Zoa A: Crown Royal
Unknown Zoa B: Nuclear Blues, Blue Topaz, Bluesky Proto palys, Metallic blue Zoas
Unknown Zoa C: Radioactive, Zombie Eye, Eagle Eye morph
Unknown Zoa D: Sapphire Blue
Unknown Zoa E: Superman Palys, Tub's Blue, Olaudah Equiano, Bluesky
Unknown Zoa F: Lunar Eclipse, Raspberry, Spiderman
Unknown Zoa G: Bali Safecracker, Japanese Superman
Unknown Zoa H: Mantis Zoas or Emerald Forest

All of them (if not most of em) are actually deep water (from my understanding) so lot's of common names might be unavailable.

I've posted in a few more forums so let's see how many different IDs we can get??


:crazy1:

 

[Ed Reef]

Water parameter udpates…..

Water parameter udpates"¦..

And did my usual weekly 10% WC and check my water params as below:

"¢ Temperature "“ 26.5 degree C (light on)
"¢ Salinity Gravity "“ 35ppt
"¢ pH "“ 8.24 (light on)
"¢ NO3 "“ 0.0 0 (Salifert Test kit "“ same as last week)
"¢ PO4 "“ 0.00 (D&D Test kit "“ same as last week)
"¢ dKH "“ 7.5 (API test kit "“ same as last week)
"¢ dKH "“ 7.5 (Elos test kit "“ same as last week)
"¢ Ca "“ 440 (Salifert test kit "“ up from last week 430)
"¢ Mg "“ 1380 (Salifert test kit "“ up from last week 1350)
"¢ Mg "“ 1350 (Elos test kit "“ same as last week)
"¢ Potassium "“ 390 to 410 range (Kz Test kit "“ same as last week)

Params looking great"¦. I might slow down my Ca Rx effluent drip a little this week.

 

[Bax]

Some really nice pics there Ed!

 

[zorden]

weekly 10% WC. a month of 40% WC, that alot but nevertheless beneficial to your coral

 

[Ed Reef]

Some really nice pics there Ed!

Thanks bax - getting the hang of the camera (I think)

 

[Ed Reef]

weekly 10% WC. a month of 40% WC, that alot but nevertheless beneficial to your coral

Yup....quite a bit of WC !! :frog:

 

[Ed Reef]

Amaing shallow reef was this a custom built?

Thanks Zuska and WELCOME to my build thread...

Yes the tank is custom build. If you got time, read from the beginning as it's quite a journey... :fun4:

 

[Ed Reef]

New Salt Mix Review?

New Salt Mix Review?

Over the weekend, my LFS introduce me to a new local salt mix and gave me a sample for testing.

This salt mix is called ACTIVE SEAWATER CONCENTRATE and is based on using natural seawater re-crystallization method. Below is some quotes taken from their bucket

"œACTIVE SEAWATER CONCENTRATE is based on natural seawater re-crystallization. After activating treatment, there is no difference between the product dilution and the natural seawater in water quality indexes such as ion strength, ion composition ratio, osmotic pressure, buffer capacity, PH values, dKH value and Ca stable quantity. This product is a good replacement for the natural seawater and suitable for aquariums and seafood breeding."

Directions:
One packet ACTIVE SEAWATER CONCENTRATE can make 30L seawater (including the product)

Problem I see here is they did not say what NSW levels we're supposed to be getting, not even the salinity??


First Impression:
Well the salt mix comes in pre packet of 100ml and in each bucket there is 10 pre- packet salt mix, which should be good enough to make 300L seawater per bucket.

The salt mix is wet (not dry powder like other salt mix) so I'm a little skeptical here already but keeping an open mind at this moment.

I do like the idea that the salt mix is pre-packet for freshness but not so sure about the salt mix coming in wet as this could encourage bacteria growth of not pack airtight?

Anyway, the below review is done using common hobbyist testkits as I've no access to lab grade testkits lol


Step 1:
Before we start, I wanna make sure I get a perfect RO/DI water to mix the salt mix in.

With my TDS meter showing zero reading, guess I'm good to go.


Step 2:
Prepared 30L of fresh RO/DI water in a clean bucket and raise temperature to 25 degree Celsius

Step 3:
Pour the whole packet in and place a submerge pump to mix the salt.

Immediately after salt mix is in:

After 10 minutes:

The cloudiness seems to clear after 10 minutes which is expected as the salt is damp so it mix faster, however I will still leave it for 24 hours before my test.


:love2:

 

[Ed Reef]

The Result:
Now that the salt mix seems to have cleared and mixed well for 24 hours, guess it was time for testing result.

Salinity:
Before I start, I calibrate my refractometer with pinpoint solution to ensure there is no error reading.

With the 1 packet of salt mix at 25 degree Celsius, I get a reading of 35 ppt. Hmmm not too bad I supposed.


Nitrate:
First is the nitrate test. For this test, I'm using Salifert testkit

- 0.00 (Salifert testkit result)

No trace of Nitrate"¦I'm amaze!!


Phosphates:
Next is the phosphates test. For this test, I'm using Merck D&D testkit

- 0.045 (D&D testkit result)

Not too bad. My fresh RBS salt is usually around 0.03 so pretty acceptable IMO. Starting to be impressed with this salt mix.


Alkalinity (dKH):
Next would be to see if the dKH levels are close to or just above NSW levels (7dKH)?

For this test, I'm using both Elos and API testkit

- 8.5 dKH (Elos testkit result)
- 9.0 dKH (API testkit result)

I like the dKH levels of this salt mix. With my RBS, I usually get around 7 to 7.5 dKH


Calcium:
Next is the calcium test to see if the calcium levels are inline with the dKH reading as this salt mix are supposed to be based on using natural seawater re-crystallization method and no additional Ca supplements are added.

For this test, I'm using Salifert testkit only as my replacement Elos testkit is yet to arrived

- 330ppm (Salifert testkit result)

Now that's where the salt mix is starting to show it's weakness"¦.. very low Ca levels. If I wanna used this, I will need to boost up the Ca levels first.


Magnesium:
Next is the magnesium test. I know a lot of hobbyist do not test for Magnesium but IMO Magnesium is important as it helps keep in balance calcium and alkalinity levels.

For this test, I'm using Salifert and Elos testkit

- 450 ppm (Salifert testkit result)
- 450 ppm (Elos testkit result)

Holy cow"¦I thought my salifert testkits got issue and did the test twice. Both Salifert and Elso shows the same reading"¦.


Potassium:
Next is the potassium test. As I'm running ULNS, potassium test is important to ensure it's closest to NSW (380ppm)

For this test, I'm using Kz Potassium testkit

- 360ppm (Kz Potassium testkit result)

A little low on Potassium but not too bad compare to the Ca and Mg levels. I didn't test for Iron, Iodine or Strontium levels as I don't have those testkits.


Conclusion:
The results are actually much better that I expect, apart for the Ca and Mg levels, which is way too low. I find it hard to believe that this salt mix is based on using natural seawater re-crystallization method!!

Now the only question is also if each packet params are similar?? Will try to get more samples of different batches to try out and comment.


:idea:

 

[Ed Reef]

The Result:
Now that the salt mix seems to have cleared and mixed well for 24 hours, guess it was time for testing result.

Salinity:
Before I start, I calibrate my refractometer with pinpoint solution to ensure there is no error reading.

With the 1 packet of salt mix at 25 degree Celsius, I get a reading of 35 ppt. Hmmm not too bad I supposed.


Nitrate:
First is the nitrate test. For this test, I'm using Salifert testkit

- 0.00 (Salifert testkit result)

No trace of Nitrate"¦I'm amaze!!


Phosphates:
Next is the phosphates test. For this test, I'm using Merck D&D testkit

- 0.045 (D&D testkit result)

Not too bad. My fresh RBS salt is usually around 0.03 so pretty acceptable IMO. Starting to be impressed with this salt mix.


Alkalinity (dKH):
Next would be to see if the dKH levels are close to or just above NSW levels (7dKH)?

For this test, I'm using both Elos and API testkit

- 8.5 dKH (Elos testkit result)
- 9.0 dKH (API testkit result)

I like the dKH levels of this salt mix. With my RBS, I usually get around 7 to 7.5 dKH


Calcium:
Next is the calcium test to see if the calcium levels are inline with the dKH reading as this salt mix are supposed to be based on using natural seawater re-crystallization method and no additional Ca supplements are added.

For this test, I'm using Salifert testkit only as my replacement Elos testkit is yet to arrived

- 330ppm (Salifert testkit result)

Now that's where the salt mix is starting to show it's weakness"¦.. very low Ca levels. If I wanna used this, I will need to boost up the Ca levels first.


Magnesium:
Next is the magnesium test. I know a lot of hobbyist do not test for Magnesium but IMO Magnesium is important as it helps keep in balance calcium and alkalinity levels.

For this test, I'm using Salifert and Elos testkit

- 450 ppm (Salifert testkit result)
- 450 ppm (Elos testkit result)

Holy cow"¦I thought my salifert testkits got issue and did the test twice. Both Salifert and Elso shows the same reading"¦.


Potassium:
Next is the potassium test. As I'm running ULNS, potassium test is important to ensure it's closest to NSW (380ppm)

For this test, I'm using Kz Potassium testkit

- 360ppm (Kz Potassium testkit result)

A little low on Potassium but not too bad compare to the Ca and Mg levels. I didn't test for Iron, Iodine or Strontium levels as I don't have those testkits.


Conclusion:
The results are actually much better that I expect, apart for the Ca and Mg levels, which is way too low. I find it hard to believe that this salt mix is based on using natural seawater re-crystallization method!!

Now the only question is also if each packet params are similar?? Will try to get more samples of different batches to try out and comment.

 

[FloformAustria]

Hey Ed!

Thanks for sharing with us!


My 2 big problems with your results:

1.) The VERY low Ca and MG, i would have to push the level up and that would cost a lot!
2.) I think this product will never make it to Austria!

one question:

could you make som FTS? pls
i know you´re much into macro, but for a big fan of your tank??

Flo