Rich Ross - Home Tank - guess the phosphate

[Thales]

Here is an update video:


Water test results 10/11/17

Ammonia (NH3-4) 0
Nitrite (NO2) 0.006
Phosphate (PO4) 1.89
Nitrate (NO3) 47
Silica (Sio2-3) 0.9
Potassium (K) 442
Ionic Calcium (Ca) 134
Boron (B) NA
Molybdenum (Mo) 0.3
Strontium (Sr) 7.8
Magnesium (Mg) 1460
Iodine (I) 0.02
Copper (Cu) 0.04
Alkalinity (meq/L) 3.7
Total Calcium (Ca) 430
Iron (Fe) NA

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Very nice!

Did you ever try dosing iron to see its effect in this nutrient soup?

I know you mentioned you might quite some time ago.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Ionic Calcium (Ca) 134

Any idea what that actually means? I never understood it.

 

[Thales]

Any idea what that actually means? I never understood it.

I don't think anyone knows that that means. I ignore it.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Any idea what that actually means? I never understood it.

I don't think anyone knows that that means. I ignore it.

...

I think that means I'm on the right track.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

...

I think that means I'm on the right track.

lol

I've thought about this designation of "ionic calcium" vs "total calcium" for years since AWT first came out with it (I think it was them). It really defies any explanation I can think of. It means that most of the calcium is something other than "ionic calcium". Even ignoring the truism that every calcium in seawater is present as Ca++ (and hence is ionic), I cannot imagine what could be present at hundreds of ppm or more to interact with a large fraction of the calcium to convert it into something else. Even ion pairing doesn't explain it, because according to Millero in Chemical Oceanography (Figure 4.29, page 157), the vast majority of the calcium in seawater is simply free Ca++ ion, and only a little (maybe 1/8th) is ion paired to sulfate.

 

[sundog101]

Here is an update video:


Water test results 10/11/17

Ammonia (NH3-4) 0
Nitrite (NO2) 0.006
Phosphate (PO4) 1.89
Nitrate (NO3) 47
Silica (Sio2-3) 0.9
Potassium (K) 442
Ionic Calcium (Ca) 134
Boron (B) NA
Molybdenum (Mo) 0.3
Strontium (Sr) 7.8
Magnesium (Mg) 1460
Iodine (I) 0.02
Copper (Cu) 0.04
Alkalinity (meq/L) 3.7
Total Calcium (Ca) 430
Iron (Fe) NA

That’s just crazy!

 

[McArcher]

Nah, I'm just some guy you know?

You must have a Heart of Gold

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

You must have a Heart of Gold

Squid mainly I belive.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

One of the best tanks iv'e ever seen! Is that one of those really rare and expensive yellow/blue wrasse I see?

 

[Thales]

One of the best tanks iv'e ever seen! Is that one of those really rare and expensive yellow/blue wrasse I see?

Thanks and it is!

 

[revhtree]

Here is an update video:


Water test results 10/11/17

Ammonia (NH3-4) 0
Nitrite (NO2) 0.006
Phosphate (PO4) 1.89
Nitrate (NO3) 47
Silica (Sio2-3) 0.9
Potassium (K) 442
Ionic Calcium (Ca) 134
Boron (B) NA
Molybdenum (Mo) 0.3
Strontium (Sr) 7.8
Magnesium (Mg) 1460
Iodine (I) 0.02
Copper (Cu) 0.04
Alkalinity (meq/L) 3.7
Total Calcium (Ca) 430
Iron (Fe) NA

Bro this is a killer reef! Amazeballs! Thanks for sharing the parameters with us as well.

Any chance I could get the original vid sent to me to share on our FB page?

 

[Thales]

Bro this is a killer reef! Amazeballs! Thanks for sharing the parameters with us as well.

Any chance I could get the original vid sent to me to share on our FB page?

Thanks. If I remember when I have time to do that processing, downloading and conversion! Why not just use the vid that is already on FB?

 

[Thales]

Not KHG.
I have a prototype of Jim Welsh's alk monitor.

 

[fish head]

A question do you the KH guardian ? Is that what’s reading your Alk ?

 

[revhtree]

Any update on this beauty?

 

[iTread]

Great thread...would love to get an update on this tank too.

 

[Thales]

I started playing with bringing down the phosphate, all was going well until I got real busy and salinity got out of hand three months ago - LARS on crack. Alk dropped too. SPS started losing tissue on the tips and, what seemed to protozoans started popping the polyps off of LPS. Lots of colt coral disintegrated and likely released all kinds of nasties, and shot the nitrate through the roof, which likely means ammonia too. Some stuff was rock solid all the way through, some wasn't. It was not a happy time.

This put a dent in the phosphate work, so we will see if I become aggressive on that front again - is't down from like 1.8 to around .4

It seems like the tank is back on track now, with new stuff holding fine, and old stuff recovering. Just my luck, I am off to the field and MACNA for two weeks, so hopefully everything holds.

Here is a quick video using one of the new phone filters

 

[trido]

Let me know when you get settled back in. I'd love to send you some of my more interesting pieces. I never did send you home with anything the last time you were up here. Unfortunately, it never crossed my mind.

 

[Thales]

Let me know when you get settled back in. I'd love to send you some of my more interesting pieces. I never did send you home with anything the last time you were up here. Unfortunately, it never crossed my mind.

Will do! Thanks!