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Another ~3g water change and: Ammonia: ~0 Nitrite: ~0.5-0.6 (color tint, not darkness, of liquid is quite a bit different than sheet so hard to read but lighter than before) Nitrate: ~20 SG: 1.024 Tomorrow, I'll try doing a bigger change in one shot of ~4.5g with tests before and after.

Nitrates: ~30 (somewhere between 20 and 50) I don't think my tank is cycled either. Next time, I'll definitely do fish-less cycle. I'd still use Bio-Spira but ignore the bottle about livestock. I did buy some Dr Tim's Ammonium Chloride Solution and I'd go that route next time. It makes sense...

After a ~2.5g water change this evening: Ammonia: ~0 Nitrite: ~0.8-ish (between 0.5 and 1 a little closer to 1, it is hard to read and yesterdays was probably higher than I eyeballed it -- had my wife take a look today too). Nitrates: ~30 (somewhere between 20 and 50) SG: 1.024 Clownfish ate...

The Clownfish slept on the sand bed last night in a corner of the tank. This morning, he was up and swimming around looking happy. I guess mine sleeps and takes naps on the sand.

After reading some more, I'm starting to think it's just odd Clownfish acclimation tendencies. There are a bunch of threads about them laying on the sand. Very weird/unexpected. His poop looks fine (bit stringy but not white).

I'm using the Red Sea marine kit. Some of the colors are a bit tricky to read but after a ~6g water change, I'm reading: Ammonia: at or near 0 Nitrite: ~0.3-0.4 (color hard to decipher) Nitrate: ~2-5 I tested before the water change but realized after that testing round the method I was using...

Also, in the end, the salinity issue was in measuring. I thought I was at 1.026 and the fish store said they were 1.023-24. In reality, my meter was reading high and I was at 1.023-24 too. I'm still at that now with a calibrated meter (so it's reading 1.024). The salinity in the tank didn't...

Sorry, too many thoughts at once. I'm not going to get anymore livestock until I'm sure the tank has cycled. What I didn't say earlier but was trying to figure out was if the Clownfish is acting odd due to being by itself. But I definitely won't add anything until I'm certain the cycle is complete.

Okay, that is what I had expected as I read the ATC mechanism is a thin metal strip in the refractometer which would take on ambient temperature. I was comparing to a cup sat by the tank and cooled down to direct from the tank and the cooled down cup was reading 0.001 higher. That was confusing...

I removed the optics from my "165w" LED light. I think it came with 90 degree and the bare LEDs are 120 degree. This got rid of some color hot spots (I could have raised the fixture too but it was easier to remove the optics). It also made the lighting much more even and lit up the shadows more...

So I tried measuring the calibration fluid which sat overnight by the fish tank (should be around 66-68 degrees). The meter was high (checked twice) so I recalibrated down to 1.026. Direct from the tank, I'm getting readings of around 1.023 and the water is 78 degrees. I let some cool down in a...

Good question. I'm not sure. I found it late last night while hunting down my "put in a safe place" Aquahub DIY ATO kit. All of the items are now in the same small area so I'll check again this evening.

So it turns out I did order some refractometer calibration fluid. It is about a year old but it was in a vacuum-sealed bag. Does it go off? I checked my meter and when it is set to 0 with R/O water, it reads 1.029 with the 1.026 calibration fluid. So it's about 0.003 high. I recalibrated it to...

I haven't yet. I was wishing I'd ordered some calibration fluid with earlier big orders as the shipping is the price of the fluid usually. So I was waiting until I needed something else or for a meetup. I'm in Oakland near MacArthur BART although my wife used to work in Concord and actually...

I picked up a small common clown and 5 blue-legged hermit crabs from Albany Aquarium yesterday. They verified my refractometer was calibrated (at least at 0 with R/O water) too which was nice. The clowns were eating spectrum in the store so I got some of that too and the clown ate a couple hours...

Sounds good. I'm not asking anyone to change anything. I more felt odd I was posting here but hadn't actually met anyone yet and wanted to explain. I look forward to attending events in June!

Are any events later in the day on Saturday? Or are there any events during the week? Mostly just curious. I get scheduling is hard. My wife has a training class on Friday nights and Saturday mornings until 3pm. So I watch the baby during that time. Thankfully, it's over in mid-May. So I hope to...

Training wheel mode enabled! Seriously though, I'll sleep better with this in place. I had the bright idea to put the stand on two 2x4 pieces but only after I cut the opening for the door. So I could have had another 3/4" of protection but it'll do. There is enough space around the back to put...

Yeah! I was happy to catch it early though while it is much less of a hassle to rip it apart.

First big leak that was luckily caught within 15 minutes: skimmer overflowed and ran down a cord that was sloppily placed next to it. That drained into the bottom of the stand which seeped out the foam on the sides. As I'm on hardwood floors, this is no good. I was originally thinking of putting...