Red Sea REEFER 250 ALL Pre-Conditioned and most CAPTIVE-BRED Fish, SPS, Zoanthids. Slow Poke Reef. WE HAVE WATER!! start page 61.

powers2001 · Jan 10, 2023

powers2001 said:

Here’s the shelf with the AFS.

powers2001 · Jan 26, 2023

Salinity problem in my quarantine tank #reefsquad

powers2001 · Jan 29, 2023

powers2001 said:
Salinity problem in my quarantine tank #reefsquad

#reefsquad

saltyhog · Jan 29, 2023

What's going on with your QT tank salinity?

powers2001 · Jan 29, 2023

saltyhog said:
What's going on with your QT tank salinity?

Good question. I’m trying to get it within the acceptable range. I started out below detectable level with my Instant Ocean swing arm hydrometer. Since there’s no livestock in the tank, I sprinkled in about a level teaspoon of blue bucket Red Sea salt. I waited several hours for the salt to mix in. Then the point of the arm was as high as it could go, against the stopper. BTW the tank is a IM Fusion NUVO 10 gallon. ~10 gallons. I then took out a quart of salt water from the QT and replaced it with approximately a quart of FW. Swing arm swung to the extreme in the opposite direction. Each time I added something to change the salinity it would just swing to the opposite extreme. I think one mistake is not rinsing the hydrometer between uses. The arm movement is very stiff now. Duh. Must have salt creep buildup in the axial that the arm pivots on. What besides hot water will dissolve this fast? Help please.

saltyhog · Jan 29, 2023

powers2001 said:
Good question. I’m trying to get it within the acceptable range. I started out below detectable level with my Instant Ocean swing arm hydrometer. Since there’s no livestock in the tank, I sprinkled in about a level teaspoon of blue bucket Red Sea salt. I waited several hours for the salt to mix in. Then the point of the arm was as high as it could go, against the stopper. BTW the tank is a IM Fusion NUVO 10 gallon. ~10 gallons. I then took out a quart of salt water from the QT and replaced it with approximately a quart of FW. Swing arm swung to the extreme in the opposite direction. Each time I added something to change the salinity it would just swing to the opposite extreme. I think one mistake is not rinsing the hydrometer between uses. The arm movement is very stiff now. Duh. Must have salt creep buildup in the axial that the arm pivots on. What besides hot water will dissolve this fast? Help please.

Best recommendation is to get rid of the hydrometer and get a refractometer and some calibration fluid.

Simple RO/DI water or distilled water should be good to rinse it in and get and salt creep in to solution. The other thing is to make sure you get rid of any bubbles in the water when you use the hydrometer. They can cause this kind of inconsistency.

powers2001 · Jan 29, 2023

saltyhog said:
Best recommendation is to get rid of the hydrometer and get a refractometer and some calibration fluid.

Simple RO/DI water or distilled water should be good to rinse it in and get and salt creep in to solution. The other thing is to make sure you get rid of any bubbles in the water when you use the hydrometer. They can cause this kind of inconsistency.

#reefsquad @saltyhog THANK YOU !!!!! So now how to adjust salinity in small increments without the extreme swings? Just use minute amounts of dilution and minute additions of salt?

saltyhog · Jan 30, 2023

powers2001 said:
#reefsquad @saltyhog THANK YOU !!!!! So now how to adjust salinity in small increments without the extreme swings? Just use minute amounts of dilution and minute additions of salt?

As above, first make sure your salinity measurements are accurate.

If salinity is low, I use 1.026 salt water in place of RO/DI to top off the tank (replace evaporation loss) until salinity is where I want it (1.026 for me).

If salinity is high, I remove small amounts of tank water and replace it with RO/DI. Emphasis on small amounts. Many critters are very sensitive to sudden changes in salinity. Fortunately fish are a little more tolerant than corals/inverts.

Fudsey · Jan 30, 2023

I agree, ditch the hydrometer and get something more reliable. I use the Hanna and a refractometer

powers2001 · Feb 9, 2023

Fragging time containers. Can be found at restaurant supply stores.

powers2001 · Feb 10, 2023

saltyhog said:
Best recommendation is to get rid of the hydrometer and get a refractometer and some calibration fluid.

Simple RO/DI water or distilled water should be good to rinse it in and get and salt creep in to solution. The other thing is to make sure you get rid of any bubbles in the water when you use the hydrometer. They can cause this kind of inconsistency.

#reefsquad @saltyhog Realized the mistake that got me into this dilemma. Wasn't rinsing the swing arm hydrometer BEFORE and AFTER use. Arm got stuck in the down position with an observed measurement. Assumed the salinity was very low do to the observation. Chucked in a small amount of salt and noticed an extreme opposite measurement. So puzzled and frustrated I decided to seek help from the #reefsquad group. Someone from there mentioned rinsing the instrument. That was the problem. Now lowering the salinity in small increments. Someone from #reefsquad encouraged me to get rid of the hydrometer and get a refractometer. This advice has got me on a rant. First of all I get rid of nothing. Hopefully this was just a symbolic meaning. Second, the swing arm is accurate adequate for me. Third and most importantly I've tried several refractometers and found my eye sight to be too poor to trust any of them. Well that's my rant about this issue. Thanks anyway #reefsquad !! B-P

bigbugoutfitters · Feb 25, 2023

Well, i dont know how your build thread has escaped my notice. Im in troy, didnt know there was another reefer so close!

powers2001 · Mar 18, 2023

bigbugoutfitters said:
Well, i dont know how your build thread has escaped my notice. Im in troy, didnt know there was another reefer so close!

Good to know you’re so close. Literally 30 miles away. We’ll have to get together for show & tell. Compare notes and all.

powers2001 · Mar 18, 2023

I’m on a new rant. All the money I’ve spent in this hobby. I asked a woman out for a date and realized I didn’t have enough to buy her dinner. Spent it all on unnecessary backup equipment. Then my college son needed cash so I returned a drill able overflow BNIB to BRS and they jipped me $24 and just called it an adjustment fee. No explanation other than that. I’ve been getting disappointed with some things in this hobby and want to do some complaining although it’ll probably get me nowhere. Don’t get me wrong I’m still a Reefer but spent so much money and have so little to show for it. My rant for tonight.

bigbugoutfitters · Mar 19, 2023

You bet. Do a lincoln county frag swap! Ha!
you wouldnt by any chance know of anyone else locally with a tank? Im needing to rehome a Neon wrasse that has just begun beating on my dusky wrasse. Great fish, just getting aggressive. Currently have a fish trap set to move it to my fishless biocube.

powers2001 · Mar 19, 2023

bigbugoutfitters said:
You bet. Do a lincoln county frag swap! Ha!
you wouldnt by any chance know of anyone else locally with a tank? Im needing to rehome a Neon wrasse that has just begun beating on my dusky wrasse. Great fish, just getting aggressive. Currently have a fish trap set to move it to my fishless biocube.

@bigbugoutfitters glad I contacted you. Together we will rehome your wrasse. Since I talked to last I learned we won't have time on the 21st to drop your fish off at a local fish store. However I'm glad to take your wrasse into my quarantine tank temporarily to get his/her aggression out of your tanks. That's the first order of business. It is not wise aquarium husbandry to have aquarium fish aggression especially with such prize specimens. I will have leeway to rehome within a comfortable time range of a few weeks although I think I have the problem solved much sooner. You say the fish is approximately 4.5 inches? He will do fine with me until he's in an appropriate sized tank. I won't cause it harm for the short term. I know the owner of The Aquarium Shop in Kalispell, Montana personally. I am positive he can take the fish and if he can't, he can definitely find and rehome it securely. And if the Kalispell area doesn't work out, someone here on Reef2Reef.com will gladly PAY for the fish. The trick there would be arranging the logistics. Text me when you have the fish caught please! And we'll go from there.