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Yea well some of us don't have the Phillips hook up yet. Have you done any test with the PMK to compare both of the lights pars?
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The powder blue and the Fowleri will go in at the same time.Are you planning on adding the rest of these Tangs to your DT at the same time?
Hi Terence nice build! im taging on you post and in the same time im rebuilding my 500 right now I have some question on Apex and Etheral i dont want to hijack you tread so if you or someone gould give me some tip on combo apex ethereal https://forum.neptunesystems.com/sh...installation-and-question&p=110560#post110560
So a little bit of activity on the tank this weekend.
First off, I bought and put together a nice 2x3 cubby bookcase to put under the tank in order to better organize all the crap that we use to take care of our beasts. Foods, test kits, glue, towels, it all adds up and it was looking like a disaster. At some point in the near future I will wrap the right side and the canopy with some wood to match my interior, but for now I just had to clean things up.
Next up was the ongoing nightmare of all these test kits in disparate boxes. Every one a different size. Every one a total PITA. I had to find a solution. I had been thinking about it for a long time and when I was at Home Depot getting the bookcase, I saw something and just like the cartoons, a light went off over my head. There on the aisle was a nice, rugged, 10-compartment storage "briefcase" by Milwaukee. This thing is perfect. It has removable compartments, it's stackable, and it has a rubber seal to keep out moisture. And, it was only $20! When I got it home I immediately started going through all the test kits, throwing out old ones and removing the boxes from the ones I wanted and put them into the individual storage areas. Again, one of the really nice features is that each area can be individually removed. So for testing you can open the briefcase, pull out the couple of tests you want to do, and everything stays neatly together on your counter until you need it. I think I am going to get another one of these for foods, small (JG) plumbing parts, etc. Get one of these, you won't regret it!
Now, I picked up a few more tests from saltwateraquarium.com: A new Hanna Checker for Phosphates (their 736 ULR checker that measures in ppb), a new nitrates test from Red Sea - the Pro version - it has much higher precision, especially on the low scale. The third new test I got is Potassium from Salifert. Potassium seems to be all the rage right now and many claim that proper potassium is necessary for the bright coral colors we all love.
I ran the nitrates test first. On the low range. It was bright purple and over the end of the color on the wheel which means it was higher than 4ppm. No kidding. My prior NYOS test showed between 10-12. So I then did the test again, this time with the instructions telling me to dilute 15:1. To my surprise, my Nitrates still were way up on the scale - between the last two color values - so my nitrates are actually around 48ppm! This goes to show that you sometimes need to switch things up and try some different tests. I am going to try again in a few days. My sulphur denitrator still hasn't settled in yet - the ORP is still coming down slowly but at about 400 now, down from 440. I hope it starts doing its thing soon!
The Phosphates test is where the good news was. I had run the other Hanna checker for some time and while I had a run where my phosphates were .08ppm, The ULR test I did today came up at 0. Seems strange to me that it would be clear down to nothing so we will see again in a few days. That said, my chaeto and other macro algaes are now taking up about 20% of my 4'x7' sump - so anything is possible!
Potassium was next. In all my reefkeeping years I have NEVER tested for Potassium. Justin Credible swears by it, and he and Mark Callahan (Mr SaltwaterTank) are doing a webinar on this I guess. So I thought I would give it a shot. Bizarre test process, but not too onerous. End result - my potassium was 360, about 10% lower than NSW (natural seawater). Now, how bad is that? I have no idea - maybe one of you can tell me your experiences with testing and supplementing potassium.
Here are some pics to go along with this tome. Oh, and one extra pic of my 6" monster scoly getting ready to feed in my 10g office tank!