albertareef

That is odd and worrisome. What percent water change is that (forgot what size tank you have)? Sounds like something more significant going on with the water chemistry to cause such a substantial shift in Alk given they tested so close separately.

Might try the Wet Spot in Hollywood district if that is more convenient.

I hear you - it's a bit dense in some ways and trying to sort out the reality from the theory is challenging in the descriptions I have read through. I know Brian (PDXmonkeyboy) has spent some time looking at this topic as it's sort of up his alley.

Yeah - this is where you get into conversations about the Redfield ratio (16:1 N:P) and the interconnectedness of it and the microbiome of sea (or tank) water. It's not completely clear but there is some evidence that keeping to this ratio fosters a proper balance of micro flora in your tank (mimicking the ocean) and deviations from it can produce "blooms" of potentially undesirable species that grow better under "imbalanced" or nutrient limited conditions. Organic's experience above is the type of observational info that supports such a relationship. It would be really interesting to add this variable to the biome analyses that Eli is offering through his new service Aquabiomics. I would hope that it (N:P ratio) would be one of the factors he might collect from those submitting samples. @EMeyer This is, obviously, interrelated with your other post about nitrates. Of course, there are a boatload of caveats here - not the least of which is the comparability of our nitrate and phosphate measurements with the elemental testing used in the Redfield studies. Still an interesting topic and one that Aquabiomics might help provide some valuable insight into...

Hey Andy - just curious what you are running your nitrates at with the 0.1 phosphate level. Dodge - have you notice any ill effects from the low phosphate level?

Interesting. Didn’t know this was a common phenomenon with BB tanks.

Figured that might go fast...

I took a break for 7-8 years a while back after a majano infestation cost me my previous tank. While I did enjoy a certain amount of relief not having to stress about the tank i also missed it quite a bit. I used to go into Cuttlefish and Coral on a regular basis just to check out their stock for several years before I actually got another tank up and running. That said, it was probably the right time to take a break for me and I can't say I regret it strongly. On the other hand, I had already lost everything I was attached to so was going to be starting over completely from scratch anyway. I probably would have a much harder time of it if I had a setup and livestock that I was happy with and doing well at the time - much harder to pull the plug under those circumstances I think.

Thanks guys! It's hasn't been a perfect reboot but definitely looking better. Had an unexplained alk spike which caused some damage (had been stable for several weeks before that) but I think it's getting there. You both have been a huge help in trying to stock - much appreciated. I recall the pieces of TDF I had previously definitely had the green base color FWIW. I think I had separate pieces from Kim (your TFT auction score Brian) and Holly and they did look subtly different in different parts of the tank.

Hard to say for sure as I am still dialing in the new (for me) skimmer. I tend to run it fairly dry though so I am thinking a few weeks anyway.

Hey Trevor - I measured it and it’s a medium. Just so happened Terry had a used one on hand. Very nice and simple design.

There was an update a little while ago so it’s probably worth looping @TheClark and @Chief in just in case.

I tend to celebrate success wherever I can find it these days... Glad it's doing well!

I like this idea. Would be nice to surface that material more as a featured item. Might also encourage more updates. Hey Cherany, what do you think @Flashy Fins ? BTW - congrats @CrabbyCrabs for finding and posting in this thread for the first time in 12 years!

As a scientist by training myself I am really excited to see how this evolves! Ultimately, if one could put together a profile for successful tanks (assuming of course there is such a thing) it might really help to take some of the frustration and mystery out of reef keeping - the issue of "all my parameters look good but things still don't thrive" has plagued us all at some point. The more detailed water testing for elements has at least provided some insight into tank conditions for which there isn't home-accessible testing but that still leaves a huge knowledge gap. It will be interesting also to see where this lands re sampling protocol (water column, sandbed, rock, etc.) and what other contextual information proves useful for establishing best practices (type of coral kept, substrate, refugium algae, dosing, food, etc.). Glad someone with a reef-keeping background is taking this on as I do think it has the potential to be super informative. Look forward to hearing more!

Well that is a bummer. What size tank you plan to put those halibut in anyway?

Nice - I’m sure you could find some folk to take those off your hands.

Hey now... never say never 😀We have recently had accidental double IPA dosing so you just never know for sure...

Exciting news! Interested in seeing some of the larger sizes of waterbox for comparison.

Hey Taylor, i have been quite happy with them still. Had good growth and color and have been working non-stop since I put the tank up. Picked them largely due to the form factor and led density. There weren’t a lot of good options to get coverage on a long narrow tank but these worked great. Had one bad display out of the box (didn’t show the correct on/off status for one channel) but got a replacement fairly quickly. Chose to install myself to save time and their support was very responsive and helpful. No problems since.

Looks fantastic. Whatever you are doing is clearly working!

Hahaha - I can totally see the resemblance! Probably wouldn't do too well out in a sunny parking lot though. Sorry Randall - thread jack time again 🤗

Well that didn't last long. Nice chalice for sure!

Welcome back! Lots of returning reefers on here these days (I took about 7 or 8 years off myself). Definitely interesting to see the changes in husbandry and livestock over that course of time. Things that were just starting to show up and were "hot" items have been replaced by new ones and plenty of tech has been introduced into the hobby. Those clowns are particularly nice BTW.

Thanks Calvin. I haven't really had any noticeable issues so far. I lost my acans in the "great crash of 2018" so hard to say for sure but it hasn't really bothered the other LPS in the tank - granted there aren't a lot. So far a model citizen (crosses fingers). I do really like the look of them so I figured it was worth a shot. I just added a tester acan frag last week so will keep a close eye on it 😃