Rich Ross - Home Tank - guess the phosphate

[Ron83]

03-17-2017 Ammonia (NH3-4) Good 0 0.000 - 0.050 mg/L
03-17-2017 Nitrite (NO2) Good 0.006 0.000 - 0.100 mg/L
03-17-2017 Phosphate (PO4) High 1.77 0.000 - 0.250 mg/L
03-17-2017 Nitrate (NO3) High 41 0.000 - 25.000 mg/L
03-17-2017 Silica (Sio2-3) High 1.2 0.000 - 0.500 mg/L
03-17-2017 Potassium (K) Good 409 350.000 - 450.000 mg/L
03-17-2017 Ionic Calcium (Ca) Good 128 100.000 - 400.000 mg/L
03-17-2017 Boron (B) NA NA 3.000 - 6.000 mg/L
03-17-2017 Molybdenum (Mo) Good 0.1 0.000 - 0.300 mg/L
03-17-2017 Strontium (Sr) Good 7.3 5.000 - 12.000 mg/L
03-17-2017 Magnesium (Mg) Good 1360 1100.000 - 1400.000 mg/L
03-17-2017 Iodine (I) Good 0.03 0.030 - 0.090 mg/L
03-17-2017 Copper (Cu) Good 0.04 0.000 - 0.100 mg/L
03-17-2017 Alkalinity (meq/L) Good 3.1 2.500 - 5.000 meq/L
03-17-2017 Total Calcium (Ca) Good 430 350.000 - 450.000 mg/L
03-17-2017 Iron (Fe) NA NA 0.000 - 0.010 mg/L

Absolutely stunning! Truly a labor of love. Your N03 of 41! Do you maintain it close to that number? Seems to challenge a bunch of conventional wisdom. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Ron83]

Thanks everyone.
Here is a write up of the system from 2012. I have since changed out the MH and moved onto Radions (Currently G4's). I am also using the Apex DOS to do a 10L daily water change on the system (though it hasn't really impacted nutrient levels at all). I am also running a Bill Wann skimmer and CaRx. The system is also connected to the Secret Home Lab system, so the total is somewhere like 500 gallons in sumps and tanks. The display is 150 gallons, 4 by 2 by 2. http://packedhead.net/2012/evolution-of-a-10-year-old-reef/

There is also this article about phosphates and this tank
http://packedhead.net/2014/skeptical-reefkeeping-ix-test-kits-chasing-numbers-and-phosphate/
and this video from MACNA 2014.

I may talk about this system at MACNA again this year going over the nutrient loads since 2014 and what has changed, as well as talking about the over all changes to the system...mostly in automation.

My wife and I are looking forward to MACNA this year. I would be very interested in hearing your take on nutrients.

 

[phil bevilacqua]

If you read through it all that you’ll find out that this is partially what this thread is about… That it’s time to expand our horizons and possibly do a little less number chasing I believe is the jist .. happy reefing

 

[rushbattle]

His last talk was entitled "The Right Kind of Lazy." I think he was trying to show us that with this thread, partially at least.

 

[CudaScott]

Beantiful tank!

 

[Thales]

Here are my almost current water tests - still working on a video of the autofeeder!

 

[BigJohnny]

Here are my almost current water tests - still working on a video of the autofeeder!

See your dosing LaCl? I assume that's what the "LC/H20" concentration is, although its pixelated so not sure. Would love to hear more about how you are doing it. My phosphates are around 1.5ppm and I'm too lazy/cheap for all the gfo I was using to even make a dent. Been scared to try LaCl though.

 

[Thales]

Still testing so don't yet have much to say about it, but the concentration is 30 ml LaCl/3000 ml distilled water, dosed into the skimmer body by a APEX dos at, currently, 30 ml/day.

 

[Thales]

AEFW. Not a death sentence, but an butt pain. Didn't want to be basting forever, and all the impacted corals are next to each other. Pulled them and glued them to a plate skeleton for easy removal for dipping. We'll see how this goes.

 

[rushbattle]

AEFW. Not a death sentence, but an *** pain. Didn't want to be basting forever, and all the impacted corals are next to each other. Pulled them and glued them to a plate skeleton for easy removal for dipping. We'll see how this goes.

I know this seems way out there, but this stuff appears to work really well. Right up your alley, they put together evidence that it works well. I use two other products of theirs and they work super well.

https://www.uwcmn.com/product-page/...a-eating-flatworm-treatment-pre-order-special

 

[User1]

Mind if I ask what AEFW stands for?

Side note - Trident still going strong?

 

[sam.veilleux30]

Mind if I ask what AEFW stands for?

Side note - Trident still going strong?

Acropora Eating Flat Worm, be glad if you dont know them and dont harbor them unknowingly. A real nuisance

 

[Thales]

I know this seems way out there, but this stuff appears to work really well. Right up your alley, they put together evidence that it works well. I use two other products of theirs and they work super well.

https://www.uwcmn.com/product-page/...a-eating-flatworm-treatment-pre-order-special

I have been following that and have seen the same amount of evidence for it working and it not working, which is what we would expect from doing almost nothing. I have also seem them ignoring the evidence of it not working (which happens to almost any product moving forward like this one has been). What I really don't like is beta testing on customers to see if the product works or not. That said, I hope they figure out a treatment, that would be great.

 

[Thales]

Mind if I ask what AEFW stands for?

Side note - Trident still going strong?

Acro Eating Flatworms
http://packedhead.net/2008/living-with-the-aefw-plague/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hitler-finds-aefw-gets-upset-video.573789/

And, yes, the Trident rocks. My tank stopped using up a lot of alk, possibly due to dropping the salinity (interesting correlation) and the Alk was climbing steadily. I wrote a line of code for the CaRx that shuts it off if the alk get too high. Really awesome.

 

[rushbattle]

I have been following that and have seen the same amount of evidence for it working and it not working, which is what we would expect from doing almost nothing. I have also seem them ignoring the evidence of it not working (which happens to almost any product moving forward like this one has been). What I really don't like is beta testing on customers to see if the product works or not. That said, I hope they figure out a treatment, that would be great.

Glad you are keeping tabs on it, I haven’t paid much attention because I have not encountered AEFW yet. Thanks for the thorough evaluation, I didn’t see that there were folks not seeing results.

 

[Thales]

Glad you are keeping tabs on it, I haven’t paid much attention because I have not encountered AEFW yet. Thanks for the thorough evaluation, I didn’t see that there were folks not seeing results.

Rock. The negatives tend to get buried and ignored, which really cheeses me off.

 

[User1]

Acro Eating Flatworms
http://packedhead.net/2008/living-with-the-aefw-plague/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hitler-finds-aefw-gets-upset-video.573789/

And, yes, the Trident rocks. My tank stopped using up a lot of alk, possibly due to dropping the salinity (interesting correlation) and the Alk was climbing steadily. I wrote a line of code for the CaRx that shuts it off if the alk get too high. Really awesome.

Did they send you two by any chance? For your work? Also good to hear that it is working well. You are one of the users I've been lurking on to see how it is doing. So thank you.

Also thanks to all who replied to my question about the abbreviation. Sorry that they are a problem.

 

[BigJohnny]

Still testing so don't yet have much to say about it, but the concentration is 30 ml LaCl/3000 ml distilled water, dosed into the skimmer body by a APEX dos at, currently, 30 ml/day.

How are you dosing it into the skimmer body automatically without taking your skimmer cup off? Did you drill a hole for the dosing line?

 

[Thales]

How are you dosing it into the skimmer body automatically without taking your skimmer cup off? Did you drill a hole for the dosing line?

Just through the cap and down the neck. If I decide it is a good idea, I’ll do something better.

 

[trido]

AEFW. Not a death sentence, but an *** pain. Didn't want to be basting forever, and all the impacted corals are next to each other. Pulled them and glued them to a plate skeleton for easy removal for dipping. We'll see how this goes.

I have them again. Easy to contain in the grow tanks since everything is removable. I've been using R/O straight from the 1/4" hose to combat them in the display tank. Just like Joe, but on a smaller scale. With the volume we have, the 5-10 gallons of RO straight into the system doesnt affect the salinity or temp enough to cause problems. My Anthias and wrasses like the babies not big egg layers. I suck those ones out with the turkey baster once they are stunned and floating in the water column.