Pooky's 300

[DanW]

Dan, check both the RODI and the mixed water to compare.

Checked the RODI before mixing and I got 0 TDS with 0.02 PO4. Mixed 20 gallons of TMP last night and tested this morning.

35 PPT (refractometer)
Mg 1450 (ELOS)
Alk 9 dKH (API)
CA 455 (Salifert)
NO3 0 (ELOS)
PO4 0.05 (Hanna) :eek1:

And I always assumed that I was removing PO4 when I did a water change. Gonna buy some Blue Life.

 

[mpoletti]

I tested mine yesterday and mine was at 0 tds and my mix up water was .04. That was my usual mix of salts.

This was one of the reasons I started to go longer and longer between water changes. I thought that I was just replacing my old po4 with new levels of po4 and the tank would not matter. Unfortuanately, I am still playing catch up as a few of my smooth bodies acros just did not like the fact that I was experimenting. I lost a simplex, elegans and a couple turakis over that time

 

[NexDog]

Just caught up the last few months of this thread. Painful stuff. Still no idea what caused it? I don't think pathogen but definitely something went wrong with the water. Maybe just one small incident back in August stressed the corals and they just didn't recover? Like a temp swing, PH swing, chemical imbalance etc. Would be nice to know for sure.

 

[Dejavu]

Alright, so I found out something interesting today. I was testing phosphate levels with the Hanna meter so I thought I would do a couple of extra tests. Besides the tank water, I also tested my RODI and mixed salt water. The RODI read 0.01 and the mixed salt water read 0.02 Has anyone else tested their source water for phosphates and what have you found?

I tested my RO/DI water and it been 0. With that said there is a error range of .04+/- for each hanna. What I have found is that if you test the same water 3 time one of the result is sometimes high. There might also have been some trace left over water in the cuvete. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[29reef]

.04 parts per million? Seems to me thats a very low margin of error. Anyone ever taken their hanna on vacation to the GBR or any other reef and tested it?

 

[Goodwin9]

.04 parts per million? Seems to me thats a very low margin of error. Anyone ever taken their hanna on vacation to the GBR or any other reef and tested it?

Specifications from Hanna;

Range 0.00 to 2.50 mg/L
Resolution 0.01 mg/L
Accuracy ±0.04 mg/L ±4% of reading
Light Source LED 890 nm
Light Life Life of the instrument
Light Detection Silicon Photocell
Battery Type / Life 1 x 9V / approx. 40 hours of continuous use;
auto-off after 10 minutes of non use
Environment 0 to 50°C (32 to 122°F); RH max 95% non-condensing
Dimensions 180 x 83 x 46 mm (7.1 x 3.3 x 1.8")
Weight 290 g (10 oz.)
Method Adaptation of the ascorbic acid method;
The reaction between phospate
and the reagent causes a blue tint in the sample

 

[pookstreet]

I tested mine yesterday and mine was at 0 tds and my mix up water was .04. That was my usual mix of salts.

This was one of the reasons I started to go longer and longer between water changes. I thought that I was just replacing my old po4 with new levels of po4 and the tank would not matter. Unfortuanately, I am still playing catch up as a few of my smooth bodies acros just did not like the fact that I was experimenting. I lost a simplex, elegans and a couple turakis over that time

Mark, I know that the freshly mixed saltwater can have different PO4 readings with every batch since I've checked it before. It's still worth doing water changes just to dilute whatever bad stuff that have built up since the last water change and also to replenish some of the minor stuff that we don't dose. I used to be a a proponent of waiting a long while between water changes. However, with my current tank situation, I can't afford that. Maybe once my tank stabilizes again, I'll go back to that older regiment but probably not as long as it used to be.

 

[pookstreet]

Just caught up the last few months of this thread. Painful stuff. Still no idea what caused it? I don't think pathogen but definitely something went wrong with the water. Maybe just one small incident back in August stressed the corals and they just didn't recover? Like a temp swing, PH swing, chemical imbalance etc. Would be nice to know for sure.

Still clueless as ever. I guess the noob factor never goes away :hammer:

I am not so sure it's due to temp or pH swings as the corals don't all die at once or seem to be affected the entire time. There were periods of nothing and then a few would just go. Also, the temp swing is only about a degree or two at most during this entire time. Could be a chemical imbalance but that's a tough one to nail down.

 

[pookstreet]

I tested my RO/DI water and it been 0. With that said there is a error range of .04+/- for each hanna. What I have found is that if you test the same water 3 time one of the result is sometimes high. There might also have been some trace left over water in the cuvete. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Yeah, I am not so much worried but more like "what the heck?" It's a catch-22 with naturally occurring PO4 in our source water. Oh well, you can't win them all. It just seems that I've losing a LOT this past year :mad2:

 

[pookstreet]

.04 parts per million? Seems to me thats a very low margin of error. Anyone ever taken their hanna on vacation to the GBR or any other reef and tested it?

It's not that low when you consider it's equivalent to a 4% margin of error, which is pretty average. We all pretty much use the same salt mixes so the only difference would be the source water.

 

[pookstreet]

Specifications from Hanna;

Range 0.00 to 2.50 mg/L
Resolution 0.01 mg/L
Accuracy ±0.04 mg/L ±4% of reading
Light Source LED 890 nm
Light Life Life of the instrument
Light Detection Silicon Photocell
Battery Type / Life 1 x 9V / approx. 40 hours of continuous use;
auto-off after 10 minutes of non use
Environment 0 to 50°C (32 to 122°F); RH max 95% non-condensing
Dimensions 180 x 83 x 46 mm (7.1 x 3.3 x 1.8")
Weight 290 g (10 oz.)
Method Adaptation of the ascorbic acid method;
The reaction between phospate
and the reagent causes a blue tint in the sample

Thanks for the info, Chuck. I guess most of us don't usually think about the inherent margin of error involved in these instruments or test kits. I guess if you are a glass half-full kind of guy, you can say your 0.04 reading could actually be ZERO. Or if you are a glass half-empty guy, the same reading could be OMG :lolspin:

 

[pookstreet]

Check out this beast :eek2: He's almost as big as my hand, granted that us Asian Americans have smaller hands Haven't had any luck in the past with the regular CBBs so I decided to try the Australian version. It's been sitting happy for almost a month eating away in the frag tank so into the display it went two days ago. The purple tang chased it a little here and there but it's holding it's own so far.

 

[aquariumclown]

Sweet. I always wanted one of those, even though I don't have any aptasias. I think the purple tang chases anything with a long mouth. Mine chased my Idol, but he stopped after a day or 2.

 

[pookstreet]

Me too. For whatever reason, the ones I've tried in the past never made it past 2 days. They just stayed in one corner and the next day it's wrapped around the Tunze

 

[pookstreet]

Early Christmas..........

 

[mpoletti]

Early Christmas..........

Very Nice Kenny. I have been thinking about this same fish The extra colors are stunning.

 

[pookstreet]

I've been waiting quite a while for a suitable specimen to come around. It's hard getting a small one with adult coloration and this one is just a bit bigger than I'd like. This one is spot on at 5 1/2". Although I am more than ecstatic to get this one since it looks so healthy. It even ate brine shrimp in the bucket I am also looking to add a nice small juvi down the road.

 

[Dejavu]

Early Christmas..........

Very nice!

 

[clownnrnd]

nice additions, CBB's are beatiful in person. No pic does them justice....don't know why. Yours is a great pic ...not saying that but when I first got mine I was blown away. The Toyota dealership in town had a emperor about the same size as yours and it was very cool how he and the blonde naso would follow you around the tank kind of checking you out

Chad

 

[pookstreet]

Very nice!

Thanks Brian. I just fed the tank it's in and it ate flakes! :bounce2: