biggles
Premium Member
Two weeks ago i got the calibration fluid out and used it on my broken refractometer which i dropped years ago and cracked the glass and broke the plastic water holding flap off.
Hadn't checked it in 3 or 4 months so i thought the long trek to the cupboard to fetch the calibration fluid was warranted.
After the 1.0265 calibration fluid read as 1.0285 on my refractometer i adjusted it and then checked my 1.0255 system water.
Result - 1.0235
I spent a week slowly raising it back up to where it is now - 1.0255. Been dropping for months obviously but none of you bothered to tell me to check my refractometer calibration and this is the result - thanks a lot
Yesterday i went to Deer Park aquarium to get a new refractometer and guess bloody what - out of stock ! Dave is on holidays spending time with his new daughter Mackenzie, first child so apparently he thinks that's more important than being at the shop in case i need him.
He sent me a selfie pick of Mackenzie asleep on his chest, she was sound asleep and Dave had a look of utter happiness on his face. The poor guy has no idea what's coming............. i remember standing in the backyard in the dark quietly sobbing to myself due to severe sleep deprivation and anxiety.......
Biggles Parenting Tip
If your mother in law tells you your wife ' had terrible colic as a baby and just screamed for the first six months and never slept ' you should do one simple thing prior to bringing your new child home. Wait until late at night and sneak into the hospital quietly, swap your baby with a similar looking one and say nothing to anyone........ especially your wife. :thumbsup:
Anyway, while i was chatting with Mark who is looking after things i spotted the new AF test kits on a shelf and since they are in much shinier eye catching boxes compared to the Salifert ones i decided to try the kH kit out, mainly because it comes with a reference solution so i can verify i'm reading the kit correctly.
New Salifert kit said my water was 7.0, been keeping it there for a while. Tried the same test with the new AF kit and it gave me a result of 6.3. Used the AF ref solution which is 7.3 with the Salifert kit and it gave me 8.0.
I'm getting the AF calcium and Mg test kits tomorrow and chucking the Salifert ones, this hobby is hard enough without that sort of garbage to contend with. Salifert used to include a alk ref bottle but i can see why they stopped that :debi:
The AF alk kit was $30- instead of $25- AU for the dodgy Salifert one but i would pay the extra five bucks just for the cool looking box it comes in lol. The AF kit actually being accurate is just a bonus in my books :spin3:
Try the AF alk kit out at least once if you use Salifert like me, it's worth it just to get the ref solution one time to make sure you can trust the readings you're seeing when you test your water.
I am not an AF groupie and i paid for the kit so i'm not trying to push their stuff - it gives a verifiable result which seems to be spot on so that's a good thing in my books considering how important alk is to all of us :deadhorse1:
Since my Eheim 300W heater has had water in it for a year or more and was 4 years old i decided to upgrade it to a fancy new 500W titanium heater with a temp probe and electronic controller - to me this is like one of you guys buying an Apex system, high bloody tech ! I also got some AF reef salt so i could siphon clean the sand and a new Glamorca gyre pump to have as a backup. They are only about 80% as powerful as my Maxspect XF-150 but cost $300- rather than $550- for a new Maxspect gyre. The XF-150 was $400- a year ago but the new model is now too dear for me unfortunately.
My XF-150 has started turning itself off at random and i discovered there's some problem with the wire connections to the controller. If i tap the wires it suddenly turns back on and i've found the pump off in the morning twice now and it does pretty much all the flow for the display so i need to get it fixed ASAP. For all i know i've let moisture or something into the connections over time but i'm getting Mark to order me a new controller and a set of rotor blades since one of mine smashed itself on a snail finally - i dread to think what the new parts are going to sting me but i want it up and running again.
I think my Maxspect gye is the best thing since sliced bread but i seriously want to take it out the back and smash it with a hammer right now..........
When i got home i pulled out the old heater and set up the new fancy one with the probe in the section where the water enters from the display and the heater down current in another sump section. Looked at my trusty temp probe that's made for monitoring your indoor/outdoor air temp but i just chucked the sealed outdoor probe in the water years ago and it tested spot on against a thermometer i had at the time. 25.7C which is normal, it usually swings from low 25's to high 26's each day and has been this way for ages.
Turned on the new heater and the reading says 21C ! What the $%# is going on here think i, bloody typical that i buy the stuffed heater made late on a Friday arvo......... i had no other temp measuring devices so i was basically freaking out no knowing what the hell was going on with my water. The weather said it was 13C outside so i put the old probe outside and it said 17C even though the main unit read 14C.......... hmmmmmmm
I ring Mark at the shop and told him what was going on and he replied with,
" Sh$t Andy, what are you going to do, those titanium heaters are pretty reliable and we haven't had a bad review from any customers ? "
" I want you to make everything ok Mark, that's what i bloody want mate ! "
" Are you sure you don't have another thermometer anywhere to check things "
" Obviously not or i would have used it, i'm coming to the shop tomorrow to get a digital temp thing and a new refractometer ( came in the day after i visit ). "
" No probs mate, i'll put them aside for you along with the AF test kits "
After hanging up i went to the cupboard and got the digital TDS meter with inbuilt digital temp probe, no way was i telling Marky boy that he had jogged my memory, he'd get a big head.
By now the new heater thing was starting to change between 21 and 22C and the old unit said 26.2C. I stick the TDS thing in and it reads 21.8C............... i was going to make a short video of me reversing the ute over the old temp monitor but it was raining so i smashed it with a hammer on the patio instead and was too angry to think about cinematography at the time. :deadhorse1:
The system is now at 24C and i will leave it there for a few days before lifting it to 25C and watching things for a while. 70F - 73F is where i've been keeping my system water for the last 9-12 months or so............
Anyway, just thought i'd give you an update on my reef in case you think anything has changed since i no longer keep a journal. Nothing's changed, i still do the stupidest things imaginable when it comes to my SPS reef so don't feel bad when you goof - you're amateurs :wavehand:
I also bought a little acro for the first time in 3 months ! I was crawling up the wall with acro withdraws but i feel much better now i had a taste
Hadn't checked it in 3 or 4 months so i thought the long trek to the cupboard to fetch the calibration fluid was warranted.
After the 1.0265 calibration fluid read as 1.0285 on my refractometer i adjusted it and then checked my 1.0255 system water.
Result - 1.0235
I spent a week slowly raising it back up to where it is now - 1.0255. Been dropping for months obviously but none of you bothered to tell me to check my refractometer calibration and this is the result - thanks a lot
Yesterday i went to Deer Park aquarium to get a new refractometer and guess bloody what - out of stock ! Dave is on holidays spending time with his new daughter Mackenzie, first child so apparently he thinks that's more important than being at the shop in case i need him.
He sent me a selfie pick of Mackenzie asleep on his chest, she was sound asleep and Dave had a look of utter happiness on his face. The poor guy has no idea what's coming............. i remember standing in the backyard in the dark quietly sobbing to myself due to severe sleep deprivation and anxiety.......
Biggles Parenting Tip
If your mother in law tells you your wife ' had terrible colic as a baby and just screamed for the first six months and never slept ' you should do one simple thing prior to bringing your new child home. Wait until late at night and sneak into the hospital quietly, swap your baby with a similar looking one and say nothing to anyone........ especially your wife. :thumbsup:
Anyway, while i was chatting with Mark who is looking after things i spotted the new AF test kits on a shelf and since they are in much shinier eye catching boxes compared to the Salifert ones i decided to try the kH kit out, mainly because it comes with a reference solution so i can verify i'm reading the kit correctly.
New Salifert kit said my water was 7.0, been keeping it there for a while. Tried the same test with the new AF kit and it gave me a result of 6.3. Used the AF ref solution which is 7.3 with the Salifert kit and it gave me 8.0.
I'm getting the AF calcium and Mg test kits tomorrow and chucking the Salifert ones, this hobby is hard enough without that sort of garbage to contend with. Salifert used to include a alk ref bottle but i can see why they stopped that :debi:
The AF alk kit was $30- instead of $25- AU for the dodgy Salifert one but i would pay the extra five bucks just for the cool looking box it comes in lol. The AF kit actually being accurate is just a bonus in my books :spin3:
Try the AF alk kit out at least once if you use Salifert like me, it's worth it just to get the ref solution one time to make sure you can trust the readings you're seeing when you test your water.
I am not an AF groupie and i paid for the kit so i'm not trying to push their stuff - it gives a verifiable result which seems to be spot on so that's a good thing in my books considering how important alk is to all of us :deadhorse1:
Since my Eheim 300W heater has had water in it for a year or more and was 4 years old i decided to upgrade it to a fancy new 500W titanium heater with a temp probe and electronic controller - to me this is like one of you guys buying an Apex system, high bloody tech ! I also got some AF reef salt so i could siphon clean the sand and a new Glamorca gyre pump to have as a backup. They are only about 80% as powerful as my Maxspect XF-150 but cost $300- rather than $550- for a new Maxspect gyre. The XF-150 was $400- a year ago but the new model is now too dear for me unfortunately.
My XF-150 has started turning itself off at random and i discovered there's some problem with the wire connections to the controller. If i tap the wires it suddenly turns back on and i've found the pump off in the morning twice now and it does pretty much all the flow for the display so i need to get it fixed ASAP. For all i know i've let moisture or something into the connections over time but i'm getting Mark to order me a new controller and a set of rotor blades since one of mine smashed itself on a snail finally - i dread to think what the new parts are going to sting me but i want it up and running again.
I think my Maxspect gye is the best thing since sliced bread but i seriously want to take it out the back and smash it with a hammer right now..........
When i got home i pulled out the old heater and set up the new fancy one with the probe in the section where the water enters from the display and the heater down current in another sump section. Looked at my trusty temp probe that's made for monitoring your indoor/outdoor air temp but i just chucked the sealed outdoor probe in the water years ago and it tested spot on against a thermometer i had at the time. 25.7C which is normal, it usually swings from low 25's to high 26's each day and has been this way for ages.
Turned on the new heater and the reading says 21C ! What the $%# is going on here think i, bloody typical that i buy the stuffed heater made late on a Friday arvo......... i had no other temp measuring devices so i was basically freaking out no knowing what the hell was going on with my water. The weather said it was 13C outside so i put the old probe outside and it said 17C even though the main unit read 14C.......... hmmmmmmm
I ring Mark at the shop and told him what was going on and he replied with,
" Sh$t Andy, what are you going to do, those titanium heaters are pretty reliable and we haven't had a bad review from any customers ? "
" I want you to make everything ok Mark, that's what i bloody want mate ! "
" Are you sure you don't have another thermometer anywhere to check things "
" Obviously not or i would have used it, i'm coming to the shop tomorrow to get a digital temp thing and a new refractometer ( came in the day after i visit
). "" No probs mate, i'll put them aside for you along with the AF test kits "
After hanging up i went to the cupboard and got the digital TDS meter with inbuilt digital temp probe, no way was i telling Marky boy that he had jogged my memory, he'd get a big head.
By now the new heater thing was starting to change between 21 and 22C and the old unit said 26.2C. I stick the TDS thing in and it reads 21.8C............... i was going to make a short video of me reversing the ute over the old temp monitor but it was raining so i smashed it with a hammer on the patio instead and was too angry to think about cinematography at the time. :deadhorse1:
The system is now at 24C and i will leave it there for a few days before lifting it to 25C and watching things for a while. 70F - 73F is where i've been keeping my system water for the last 9-12 months or so............
Anyway, just thought i'd give you an update on my reef in case you think anything has changed since i no longer keep a journal. Nothing's changed, i still do the stupidest things imaginable when it comes to my SPS reef so don't feel bad when you goof - you're amateurs :wavehand:
I also bought a little acro for the first time in 3 months ! I was crawling up the wall with acro withdraws but i feel much better now i had a taste
