Brew's 187g slice of the ocean

Katrina71 · Jan 24, 2019

Hippie kid's tank is the same way...coralline is slower now, but his sps are growing very quickly. I'm guessing the metabolism of the sps is faster than the coralline?

Brew12 · Jan 24, 2019

Katrina71 said:
Hippie kid's tank is the same way...coralline is slower now, but his sps are growing very quickly. I'm guessing the metabolism of the sps is faster than the coralline?

No idea. I'm not sure the two are related in my system. My coraline slowed well before my SPS took off. That happened as soon as I increased my flow substantially. Almost every SPS in my tank said thank you and started doing great.

Brew12 · Jan 24, 2019

I decided to increase my peak photo period today from 5 hrs to 6 hrs since things are going so well. I have a few SPS that look like they want a little more light.
And then, I went into my GHL software and looked at my settings. I had made a mistake at some point. I had a pretty high photo period for 5 hours but my peak was only 1.5 hours.

So, I fixed the mistakes I had made and have the peak photo period at a true 5 hours now.

Some days I wonder how my coral put up with me.

SashimiTurtle · Jan 24, 2019

@Brew12, I have also noticed my Red Sea alk test is hard to read. I cannot distinguish when exactly is the point it turns. I rely on my Hanna chacker for alk.

On the other hand, my Hanna Ca checker would have me believe I have over 500ppm of Ca, when the Red Sea test came up at 420 and 430 back to back. Checked again with the Hanna and it was 200ppm off. It is very easy for me to see the change with the Red Sea Ca test, so I use it. I've have very inaccurate readings with the Hanna Ca checker, 200ppm off with back to back tests.

I have been dosing 1ml a day of the BRS 2 part for a month now testing Alk consumption only. It has stayed in the 8.2-8.3 range, so I expected somewhere around 420ppm of Ca. Tested almost right on the nose.

I've figured out which tests I can read easily and what is easiest to get accurate numbers. If my Hanna reads 8.3 when it's really 8.0, I'm not concerned with it as much as it reading 8.3 consistently.

Brew12 · Jan 24, 2019

Robin Haselden said:
@Brew12, I have also noticed my Red Sea alk test is hard to read. I cannot distinguish when exactly is the point it turns. I rely on my Hanna chacker for alk.

On the other hand, my Hanna Ca checker would have me believe I have over 500ppm of Ca, when the Red Sea test came up at 420 and 430 back to back. Checked again with the Hanna and it was 200ppm off. It is very easy for me to see the change with the Red Sea Ca test, so I use it. I've have very inaccurate readings with the Hanna Ca checker, 200ppm off with back to back tests.

I have been dosing 1ml a day of the BRS 2 part for a month now testing Alk consumption only. It has stayed in the 8.2-8.3 range, so I expected somewhere around 420ppm of Ca. Tested almost right on the nose.

I've figured out which tests I can read easily and what is easiest to get accurate numbers. If my Hanna reads 8.3 when it's really 8.0, I'm not concerned with it as much as it reading 8.3 consistently.

I agree with that logic. Consistency on all the numbers is more important than the actual value. My biggest issue is that it is hard to know if you are consistent if you aren't also accurate.
I almost never test Calc. Maybe once or twice a month. I figure if my Alk is right, and I do balanced dosing, my Calc must be "good enough". It's always where I expect it.
I do like my Hanna checker for Alk and PO4. As long as my KH Director and Hanna checker are close on Alk I feel comfortable. If they deviate I like that I now have a standard that I can test them against to see where the problem is.

Smo · Jan 24, 2019

When I use my Red Sea Alk tester I hold a white section of the card stock under the vial in bright light. I find this helps to see the subtle color change to a pale green. I also let the color stabilize for at least 20-30 seconds then take the reading.

SashimiTurtle · Jan 24, 2019

Smo said:
When I use my Red Sea Alk tester I hold a white section of the card stock under the vial in bright light. I find this helps to see the subtle color change to a pale green. I also let the color stabilize for at least 20-30 seconds then take the reading.

I must have a different Red Sea test, mine is a blue to pink titration. I never know when is the right color pink. It's not a clear change with the Ca test from red to blue, but more of a gradual fade.

Janci · Jan 24, 2019

Fudsey said:
I'd host but it would take you guys a bit to get here

+1. Weather is nice and cool now here.

Janci · Jan 24, 2019

Brew12 said:
I decided to increase my peak photo period today from 5 hrs to 6 hrs since things are going so well. I have a few SPS that look like they want a little more light.
And then, I went into my GHL software and looked at my settings. I had made a mistake at some point. I had a pretty high photo period for 5 hours but my peak was only 1.5 hours. So, I fixed the mistakes I had made and have the peak photo period at a true 5 hours now.

Some days I wonder how my coral put up with me.

Alk consumption will soon peak even more.

Rakie · Jan 25, 2019

So THIS is why I haven't seen your thread.. There's a medium sized tank sub now?!

Now I gotta look at two places -_-

Victoria M · Jan 25, 2019

Brew12 said:
I'm sure I'll be hosting again in the not too distant future. Would be nice if someone else stepped up since I did host the previous 2 meetings.

Did you feed them? That was a mistake! My husband just does not think this is a reasonable road trip. I am working on it though!

Brew12 · Jan 25, 2019

Rakie said:
So THIS is why I haven't seen your thread.. There's a medium sized tank sub now?!

Now I gotta look at two places -_-

Yup, us pretenders got kicked out of the big tank club!

Victoria M said:
Did you feed them? That was a mistake! My husband just does not think this is a reasonable road trip. I am working on it though!

Of course I did. And he is right, it isn't a reasonable road trip. But, if you ever find yourself in Nashville.....

Victoria M · Jan 25, 2019

Brew12 said:
Yup, us pretenders got kicked out of the big tank club!

Of course I did. And he is right, it isn't a reasonable road trip. But, if you ever find yourself in Nashville.....

Wait? What? You got to slow down a bit...I am recovering from a brain tumor resection you know...

Victoria M · Jan 25, 2019

Rakie said:
So THIS is why I haven't seen your thread.. There's a medium sized tank sub now?!

Now I gotta look at two places -_-

Wait? What? What did I miss?

Brew12 · Jan 25, 2019

Victoria M said:
Wait? What? You got to slow down a bit...I am recovering from a brain tumor resection you know...

I know! I'm surprised they let you out of your build thread this soon after surgery!

Nashville is about 2 hours north of us. If you guys are ever in the Nashville area it would be an easy road trip. Or my wife and I could meet you there. Nashville has gotten to where it smells awful but it can still be a good time.

Brew12 · Jan 25, 2019

Victoria M said:
Wait? What? What did I miss?

The "Big tank" section used to be 180g and larger. Now we have a "Monster" tank thread for those 400g and up.

Victoria M · Jan 25, 2019

Brew12 said:
I know! I'm surprised they let you out of your build thread this soon after surgery!

Nashville is about 2 hours north of us. If you guys are ever in the Nashville area it would be an easy road trip. Or my wife and I could meet you there. Nashville has gotten to where it smells awful but it can still be a good time.

Ah ha! Gotcha! I would love to do that someday.