Recent content by Alexander1312

@Darkxerox - how would these bricks fix high nutrients?

It is actually not as uncommon to do this as you think, and solves larger nutrient issues as yours much better. Also, I worry what else is in the rocks. Working with LC at this early stage is not a great idea but working with gfo type media will take a very long time (and expensive). I am not...

I see, a lesson learned of being extra careful when using used aka cycled dead rock. You get your tank started right away but fight lots of issues later. And you have not done an ICP test yet, lets see what else leaches out of these rocks. In all honesty, an easier and potentially cheaper way...

Welcome back to your journal :). Why not posting pictures so the before and after is coming out better? I should think about spending my work granted volunteer time at your school tank as this seems to be a great purpose :).

That’s a lot of phosphate. Where did you get your rocks from? Do you have a picture of your skimmer in action?

In a nutshell, the concern is to lower PO4 very slowly as it otherwise stresses your corals too much. Applying too many methods simultaneously might create a too sudden drop, specifically if misusing LC, which tends to be powerful unless diluted significantly. Just to confirm, your PO4 was...

Haha, yes, and this is where belief comes into play :). I believe that the Fauna Marin Reference solution is as accurate as possible. Unopened the solution is supposed to last for 2-3 years, opened it is supposed to be stable for quite a while too, but I do actually need to check how long...

Still I was, a mystery we are not able to solve here. All good Randy.

Agreed. I am at a point where if I find a convenient way to test salinity which brings me consistently <0.5 PSU to my target, I am content.

For new tanks massive, for existing tanks it depends more on the situation. I personally only add artificial rock to my tank but occasionally change the sand with live sand.

Not sure if its environmentally friendly to ship live rock from 5,500 miles away to California. Also, real ocean based live rock can be a key success factor if it has the maximum amount of life on it. If not submerged in water, I am personally not interested in it. It looks like the look is...

As a FM fanboy, I was able to talk to Claude S about the salinity issue, mainly because I was using his reference solution and wanted to confirm its proper application. These are the takeaways, some are quite similar to some of the comments made here: There are too many cheap refractometers in...

I am aware of this but thank you for providing this context. Also, I disagree as I am of the opinion that ‘we’ are not putting enough effort into getting salinity right, and have therefore a less positive reputation in ICP labs which get water from various places around the world.

Agree with not recommending KCI more broadly, as it feels a bit cumbersome to use, and not really that powerful in the recommended solution. I am using this dip, with its rather eerie name: https://premiumaquatics.com/products/fauna-marin-dip-250ml?_pos=4&_sid=32584a10d&_ss=r&variant=47329633796338

Euphyllias look pretty unhappy immediately after dipping in KCI, but not too bad. Cotton candy added from nano tank. Flesh band is not great, which is why I moved it from the nano tank, and hope it will do better here where I am watching closer trace elements.