Water Parameters

The Trident saved my reef today

melev — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 23:50:44 +0000

The Trident saved my reef today melev Thu, 01/09/2020 - 02:50

As many of you know, I highly urge everyone to test their water on Saturdays. I did so that night, and the Elos Alkalinity test kit measured 9.0 dKH. The Trident measured just slightly higher at 9.3 dKH. All is well, everything is running perfectly.

I just opened up Fusion moments ago and noticed that my alkalinity had plummeted to 7.5 dKH, and the graph showed a steady decline since midnight Tuesday morning. Over the past 48 hours, alkalinity dropped 2 full points. I need to create some type of alert in Fusion, apparently.

The next step was to ascertain what had happened, and my first guess was to check the CO2 tank to see if it was empty. It was. Problem quickly corrected, I hooked up a fresh bottle of gas to the calcium reactor that I had at the ready. CO2 resumed flowing into the reactor, the pH controller shows 6.7 again, and the effluent is trickling as it does.

Next, I opened up the Reef Chemistry Calculator to determine how much Soda Ash I needed to raise the dKH back to the proper level right now.

I dosed a mixed cup of solution (6 tsp in a solo cup of RO water), waited about 15 minutes and dosed another cup. I didn't want to add it all at once, or overshoot the target. 12 tsp (of the 14 tsp recommended) raised the tank's pH from 8.03 to 8.14 in 30 minutes. No sudden spike to be concerned about. I went ahead and added the last two teaspoons' worth.

Glad I saw this when I did. After all, I did test last Saturday, but this snuck up on me mid-week between those weekly tests. Thanks Neptune Systems. Having the Trident and its related graphs always at the ready is completely worth it.

Reef Blog

Where things are today...

melev — Sun, 09 Jun 2019 18:50:27 +0000

Where things are today... melev Sun, 06/09/2019 - 21:50

It's been another month. The 400g has been running for 5 years and 7 months as of tomorrow. I've been dosing 40 ml of Nopox daily for 58 days. It looks like nitrate is finally approaching 10 ppm (looks like 15 ppm today via API), down from 50 ppm. Phosphates measured .1 ppm (Elos)

Other parameters:

33.4 PPT (1.025sg) Hanna
Alkalinity 9.45 dKH Trident (Elos comparison 9.5 dKH)
Calcium 496 ppm Trident (Elos comparison 400 ppm)
Magnesium 1496 ppm Trident Elos comparison 1400 ppm)
Temperature 79.7°F Apex
pH 8.02 Apex
ORP 333 Apex

About a week ago, I did a major cleaning of the reef. Nopox had created a slime in many areas that needed to be extricated from the system. I dissassembed the Nyos 300 skimmer completely and cleaned out a lot of pink goo, and made sure the pumps were pristine again. All Vortech pumps were cleaned. The Abyzz 200A return pump was pulled apart and cleaned. Any sliming stuff I could remove inside the sump was removed. Interestingly, I didn't see any slime whatsoever in the refugium zone.

All better:

The calcium reactor has been my source for alkalinity and calcium for 15 years. This week, I decided to allow my Apex to control the flow of CO2 based on Trident alkalinity test results. Using two virtual switches, it will either let the reactor run 100% as it should, or it will reduce the duration CO2 can be added. It's a tricky setup because you are controlling the output of the reactor based on a reading that is only measured every six hours. The only way to be more real time would be to test alkalinity far more often, such as hourly. That would be very costly in reagent use.

This weekend I did my water testing, cleaned all the glass with the Easy Blade so it's pristine once more, and tonight I'll clean both protein skimmer cups. Yesterday I dosed Live Rock Enhance to the tanks.

The Anemone Cube essentially runs on autopilot. I still need to clean the L1 pump that feeds that aquarium from the main sump.

This week, I'm working on the new sump for the 400g. I want a slightly different layout than what I've had all these years. At the same time, I want to replace the ATO reservoir with a newer one.

I also tested the Frag system's water:
Salinity 31.8 PPT (1.024 sg)
Temperature 80°F
pH 8.43
Phosphate .5 ppm
Alkalinity 9 dKH
Calcium 450 ppm
Magnesium 1250 ppm
Nitrate 40 ppm

That tank is going to be reset soon. I want to do a big clean out, and add a new drain so I can set up a Herbie drain system. When I do that, I'll clean out the substrate, and add a frag rack across the front for corals, and rock across the back half.

Reef Blog

ICP test results have arrived

melev — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 01:18:26 +0000

ICP test results have arrived melev Sun, 03/10/2019 - 04:18

For the past few years, several vendors have offered ICP testing. It's a process of blasting a water sample down to its ions and elements. Here's a quick description quoted from icp-analysis.com:

ICP stands for Inductive Couple Plasma. What it does is simple - it injects a sample, in this case salt water, into a plasma chamber that is approximately 10,000 degrees. This extreme temperature breaks everything in the sample apart into the basic elements. Every element is released at a specific wave length. We can then tell the concentration of the element by how much energy is released at that specific wave length. This process allows every element to be picked up from just a few drops of water.

While I've had access to do this, it was only last month that I finally sent in water samples to be tested. I had specific reasons, rather than just measuring it out of curiosity. My 400g reef has been running for 18 months without a water change, and I was looking forward to seeing what exactly was in my aquarium after that duration. It's a fully stocked reef, with a decent fish load and a lot of corals. The things that my tank receives regularly are RODI water for evaporation, Prodibio's for primary additives (Bioptim, Biodigest, Stronti+ and Iodi+), Magnesium Pronto, and Phosphate Rx (Lanthanum chloride based phosphate remover). And food of course, lots and lots of food. I expected that certain levels would be high, as things built up in the system. The main export of waste is the protein skimmer. Very little macro algae was culled during the 18 month period, primarily because about 90% of it died off during the first nine months, and it took time for that to grow back. I may have pulled a few handfuls to give macro algae to a couple of hobbyists in that time, but essentially my system has had the same water the entire time.

I mailed off three samples. 1) The 400g system. 2) The frag tank system as it is separate from my reef. 3) The Polytank's 250g of newly mixed up Royal Nature salt that I had recently made. Each sample was tagged, bagged, and boxed, and mailed to Colorado, and within two weeks I got an email notifying me that my results were ready to review. Also, the day I sent off my samples, I also tested each vessel's water so I'd have something to compare their numbers against.

Let's start with the elephant in the room. How did the 400g do?

The only one with a red marker was Iodine, which for some reason is quite a bit higher than any of their recommendations. Using the interactive website, I could compare my numbers against water that has been tested from Fiji, Hawaii, Florida, or St. Thomas. Let me address the main points:

Salinity 33.59ppt - my refractometer had measured 1.024 s.g. and their analysis came back with 1.0253 s.g.
Bromine is a little low at 37.02, but that is likely a component of most salt mixes. I've never seen it sold as an additive.
Calcium measured 377.32 and my kit measured 375ppm.
Potassium is about 40ppm too low, so this is one I actually could add. Potassium is credited for providing vivid coloration and higher end SPS keepers have recommending K dosing for some time.
Lanthanum measured quite low, and that's incredible to me. Considering that it is the primary method I use to control phosphate in my reef, I was expecting this to be a high number, that it was building up in my system. On the contrary, it was nice and low, lower than the four comparison sites I mentioned above. Nice!
Magnesium registered 1353.79, and my own test had it at 1350ppm.
Iodine was the high one. I'm not sure why, but I can stop dosing Iodi+ for a month or two, and then resume. Their recommendation is .06ppm
Phosphorus measured .1ppm, which is the same as my Phosphate test kit that read .1ppm. I know they aren't the same, but they are related.
Strontium was a little low compared to their suggested level, but was right around the same as the four target global areas (Fiji, St Thomas, Hawaii, & Florida).
Chlorine and Silicon were the strange ones to me. Chlorine measured a little lower than what other areas measure, and why would I have any measurement of silicon at all? Time to check my seams, right? lol Since we use Calcium chloride and Magnesium chloride, maybe that's part of the chlorine measurement; I'll have to find out more about that.

So what did I gain from this $30 test? I am reassured to know that Phosphate Rx (which I've trusted for over 10 years) is perfectly safe and not building up in my system; I found out that my Potassium level needs to come up, and that overall my reef had done very well despite zero water changes. Neat!

The next test was for the Frag System, which has constantly been a probematic aquarium. I don't give it nearly the attention it needs, obviously. It also didn't have a water change for the same 18 month period:

Quickly we can see there are four areas that are really an issue. Arsenic is up at dangerous levels. Bromine, Potassium and Strontium are all low. Salinity was spot on at 35ppt, Calcium was at 459ppm, and Magnesium was at 1437ppm which explains all the coralline growth in that tank. However, I think a few good sized water changes on that tank will balance things out quickly, correcting the numbers we are seeeing.

Lastly, here's the report that came from the new salt I was sent to try out: Royal Nature reef salt.

Everything on this sample looks good, the only red marker was for Sulfur which they deemed to be too low. Mixed at 1.0254 s.g., Calcium measured 366ppm, Magnesium measured 1206ppm, and Potassium was at 350ppm. I've already used 60g of the 250g I mixed up, and I plan to use the rest of that up with water changes on the frag tank, as well as one more on the main reef.

This was actually a satisfying experience. No major surprises, nothing to be embarrassed about either. Win win. :)

Reef Blog

ReefTrace graphs my parameters over time

melev — Sun, 17 Jun 2018 21:32:52 +0000

ReefTrace graphs my parameters over time melev Mon, 06/18/2018 - 00:32

Using the ReefTrace app to track all my water parameters, I've been entering in quite a few data points over a period of many months. Today I decided to use the Compare option and selectively worked my way through each test, and I set the Date parameter from Jan 1, 2017 until today. That was easier than trying to remember when I entered various test results.

I should add that if I'd been a really responsible hobbyist, I would have had results for every test every week. Alas, I do not. And that is why I keep talking about posting our results on Instagram to help me be better about measuring my water regularly. Do keep in mind that there are times I test one thing such as Phosphate or Alkalinity, merely out of concern and not on my normal testing day (Saturday); those don't get entered into the app. Overall, I definitely could do better in this area.

So here's today's barrage of tests, as listed in the app when it is first opened. If you've never done a test, you'll see a graphic instead. It should always show you the most recent results. You can scroll this up and down if you have quite a few entries.

Underneath that list, the word Compare appears. You can then select as many different tests as you want to graph at the same time, or just a single one. Usually if you select several, the graph isn't all that useful because the parameters are far apart (Phosphate is close to 0, pH is over 8, Magnesium is over 1200). It just doesn't chart well. However, if you select only one test result, and then set the date period to cover a few weeks or months, you'll see the below. I chose Alkalinity first.

This graph starts February 2017 and ended today, June 17, 2018. You can see a bunch of months that never had a single entry. :( You also can see the range, which bounced around from as low to 6 all the way up to 11 dKH. What's missing is last year's event when my tank was way up at 22 dKH and I had to bring it down gradually over a period of three or four months until I got it down to the 10 range. By doing this slowly, my livestock didn't suffer any shock and corals simply adapted rather than die off. Under the graph, here are my data points:

This list is scrollable, up and down to look at previous entries. These can be edited or even deleted, if desired.

There's a notebook icon, which you can tap to see natural reef parameters (NSW), parameters I recommend, and the averages from the data users enter across the ReefTrace network.

Now that you know what I was doing, I just show you some more of the graphs I viewed:

Calcium doesn't wander much in my system. 375 - 425ppm is acceptable, and most of the time it measures right at 400ppm.

Magnesium is one that takes a lot of product to bring it up. Today it measured 1300ppm. I add roughly 1-gallon of Mg to my reef every month.

Nitrate has been an issue for the past year. Today it measured 40ppm. No screenshot of nitrate was saved.

Below are my pH readings that I logged into the app. My Apex controller tracks pH around the clock and provides a very detailed graph, compared to this manual-entry method.

Like pH, ORP is also tracked by the Apex. These are numbers I logged on those water testing Saturdays. I don't watch ORP much at all, honestly.

Salinity is a good one to keep track of. I test this with a digital refractometer, and I always do this three times in a row before I log an entry, to make sure I'm getting the same reading. It takes 10 seconds to check it, so I don't mind doing it three times. That one entry way back in November, the tank measured 1.028sg, so it makes this graph look a little more dramatic than it really was.

Speaking of funny graphs, let's look at Phosphate. It looks like I can't get that number to come down in that graph, but the reality is that when the number reaches .25ppm to .5ppm, I'll dose the tank with Phosphate Rx to bring it down. I don't retest after dosing, so you don't see a lower test results. It will then rise up gradually, and when I'm testing the number is up again. Bottom line, not a big deal. My reef does quite well even with this much phosphate in it, but I see less algae on the glass daily when the PO4 level is lower. I'll dose my tank again this week with Phosphate Rx.

Here are some Temperature readings I logged, but again the Apex tracks this around the clock and provides graphs to watch for trends.

Lastly, here's my SOURCE WATER TDS reading. I think we should check this every few months, log it in ReefTrace and that way we collectively can help build a database of TDS levels across the nation, seasonally. What's your source water's TDS this month?

It's nice to review the various trends of your water testing throughout the year, and the more tests you log, the better the graphs. I hope to post better ones in the future. :)

Reef Blog

What's your Tap water TDS today?

melev — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 12:33:28 +0000

What's your Tap water TDS today? melev Mon, 01/08/2018 - 15:33

I was reading an interesting thread on Reef2Reef about TDS measurements today. I think you might like it as well:

http://www.reef2reef.com/threads/poll-do-you-know-your-tds.349288

It includes a poll. Check out all the people that own their own RO/DI system and actually measure their TDS too. That's awesome!

I always test my TDS of the water coming out of the membrane, as well as the water coming out of the DI stage. I don't test my tap water very often because it doesn't really matter. One good reminder the original post listed was to measure the RO/DI storage vessel's TDS level, and that's something I'd not done in a long time. I have two acrylic reservoirs under the two different systems, each holding 0 TDS water for top off needs.

Current number:

Tap water today: 122
TDS coming out of the membrane: 2
TDS coming out of the DI: 0 (The DI cartridge is nearly completely depleted, and will be replaced relatively soon. It's been changing color from black to orange for some time, but until the TDS rises, the resin continues to work.)

I scooped some water out of this ATO reservoir that I built back in 2010 and has been installed under the 400g ever since. I have absolutely no way to clean this container, but it stays sealed shut 99.8% of the time. I've opened the access door on top maybe 6 times in the past 7 years to install the top off pump, or adjust the float valve. My goal is to keep this vessel pristine, because the only way it will ever come out is if I remove the sump first (unlikely) or I cut it out with a sawsall in pieces because there's only 3/4" of space above it -- in other words it can't come out. I really should have made it a little smaller, but at the time I used every bit of space. Seven years, I've had no regrets but one day I'll have to remove it and that will be a project.

Mathematically, in the past seven years this container was refilled weekly, or 364 times. It holds 45g of water, but usually I refill about 35g per session. Using those numbers, that means this reservoir has received and pumped out 12,740g of RODI water into my sump to replenish what's evaporated. After all these years, you might think it may have gotten polluted one way or another. Last time I checked the TDS of the water in it, it measured 1. That was about three years ago, I'd guess. Today, this is what it measures:

Not bad at all. I can live with that number. :)

Next, I checked the smaller reservoir that sits under the frags system. This one isn't sealed as well, and occasionally I wipe away salt creep that the nearby refugium causes. This reservoir hasn't been cleaned since it was installed in February 2016, so it's almost two years old. It holds 7g of water, and is also replenished weekly. 100 weeks x 5.5g (est. refill amount) adds up to 550g of RO/DI water that has passed through it. Today's measurement:

Bottom line, testing these areas allows me to know for sure how my RO system is operating. I also make RO water for drinking, and that comes from a bladder tank (pressurize water storage for on-demand water need) under the sink. It's measuring 2 TDS, which isn't surprising since my RO's output is 2. Keep in mind, I always bleed off the first 90 seconds of water before collecting drinking or reef water to avoid TDS creep. If I'd let that 100+ TDS pump into my bladder tank, the TDS of my drinking water would measure quite a bit higher, despite it being diluted with 2 TDS for the next 20 minutes as the tank fills to capacity.

If you are a person that goes to the LFS to buy your water, you very likely have 5g jugs you transport it in. You should be measuring the TDS of the RO water you bring home, to see if the jugs are pure or if they are due for a good cleaning. Over time, those jugs will get contaminated, and a quick TDS test will tell you if you are still getting the pure water you're paying for. If the measurement is quite high, either the jug needs to be cleaned out with some bleach water (10 parts water to 1 part bleach), rinsed well, allowed to air out & dry for 24 hours... or the water you are buying at the LFS isn't pure in the first place. You can ask them to put some RO water in a fish bag and measure that at home, or you can ask them to measure the TDS in front of you. Or both - always double check results to eliminate error.

Happy reefing!

EDIT 1/9/18: This was the final post of the thread, boiling down the results into some interesting data:

NY_Caveman writes: The Poll of the Day is over but the poll lives on. I thought I would recap some of the numbers after the big response the poll received yesterday. Over 900 people voted which is a little more than 1% of registered users.

The results were about what I expected overall. RO/DI water is touted everywhere on this site and it appears users do put their money where their mouths are. In fact, I am guessing that people voted in numbers because they were very proud of their systems starting with the best quality water possible. They should be proud. Of course everyone’s system is different. The 12.8% of us who do not own home RO/DI systems and know the TDS are just as concerned as the rest I am sure. We have apartments, no room, small systems, or use other types of water, etc.

Here are some broken down numbers:

I added that one at the bottom because I found that the most interesting part of the poll. 8.5% of people who have RO/DI systems do not know the TDS. That surprised me. At first I thought, why spend so much on a unit for your home/business and not kick in the extra $20 for a TDS meter? Then it occurred to me, they probably have a set interval to change membranes and resins and it works for them.

I found this poll very interesting despite its lopsided results. Thanks to @dbl and R2R for making it the POTD!

Reef Blog

Video: How to dose Phosphate Rx

melev — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 00:38:19 +0000

Video: How to dose Phosphate Rx melev Mon, 03/13/2017 - 03:38

I've been using Phosphate Rx for a decade, and it's my preferred product to keep PO4 levels under control. No GFO for me. I've mentioned it many times, but decided "I guess I need to do a video about this product after all." I do realize I could have explained the process in about sixty seconds because it's that simple, but I wanted this to be a fun video. Hope you liked the flashback.

Purchase Phosphate Rx here: https://melevsreef.com/reefshop/dry-goods/additives-and-solutions/phosphate-rx
Purchase 4" 10 micron filter socks here: https://melevsreef.com/reefshop/dry-goods/media/filter-sock-10-microns

Reef Blog

All about the frags

melev — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 20:17:31 +0000

All about the frags melev Mon, 11/07/2016 - 23:17

Once the front viewing panel was scraped clean of film algae, the corals looked a lot better. While my arm was wet, I tried out some Aiptasia Rx today to see how well it would work. Too bad the peppermint shrimp in the tank don't do what I hired them to do. Maybe they'll get motivated?

Water parameters are doing quite well these days in this tank. I seem to have the dosers dialed into a good spot.

Alkalinity 15ml every 8 hours (45ml per day)
Calcium 12ml every 8 hours (36ml per day)
Magnesium 10ml every 8 hours (30ml per day)

The CB yellow tang looks healthy, but is pretty shy when I get too near except during feedings. All those tiny cerith snails that bred in my tank are now a decent size, found everywhere throughout the system keeping things clean. Although, one has gotten caught in the vortech pump and caused the wetside to fall off. They are just the right size to fit in the narrow grate of the cage, stopping the impellar.

Reef Blog

60g setup and cycle - How I did it using raw shrimp

melev — Sun, 14 Aug 2016 19:17:51 +0000

60g setup and cycle - How I did it using raw shrimp melev Sun, 08/14/2016 - 22:17

I've been uploading videos to Youtube pretty regularly lately. Did you happen to catch the Youtube Live show last week? Here's the latest one, so if you've missed a few you need to get caught up. I describe how I set up the 60g frag system I built myself, including all the acrylic work.

Reef Blog

It's Friday Night!

melev — Sat, 25 Jun 2016 11:14:11 +0000

It's Friday Night! melev Sat, 06/25/2016 - 14:14

While most would get excited to go out on a Friday night, I instead stayed in and tinkered with my reefs. Reefkeeping needs attentiveness, and tonight was one of those nights where I needed to address specific needs, or lose corals.

Last time I tested the water in the frag system, Calcium was much too high, Magnesium wasn't where I wanted it, and Alkalinity was low. My dosing container had a bunch of white snow in the calcium section which didn't completely dissolve. Once Mg ran out, and Ca was nearly empty, I just had to wait for the alkalinity to be used up. The last couple of days, a couple of frags went south but I didn't put two and two together. All the alkalinity was gone.

I thought I'd be able to remove the dosing container - that was always my plan for periodic cleanings. Except I discovered it isn't coming out at all. Now that the tank is plumbed with PVC, that necessary headspace that seemed perfect was obstructed. Oops. I resigned myself to clean out the container where it is, down on my knees in the fishroom.

Then it was time to mix up all solutions. I had to bake some Baking Soda to turn it into soda ash, and mixed up 2 cups of Soda Ash with 1 gallon of RO water (my RO water measures 2 TDS, so it's good enough for this solution). Next I mixed up 10 tablespoons of Magnesium Pronto with 1 gallon of RO water. Finally, I mixed up 2.5 cups of Fritz Calcium chloride with 1 gallon of RO water. All three sections were refilled, tubing was carefully inspected for cracks, each line was reprimed and it's ready to go.

While I was involved in this task, I cleaned out the sump of any sediment using a pass-through pumps from Cobalt and a filter sock. It's a painless task, trapping all the crud in the sock. Then I installed a very small circulation pump in the skimmer section because that water has zero moment. Now when the additives hit the water, they will disperse quickly into the saltwater.

Turning my head toward the big reef, I saw the need to mix up a gallon of Magnesium for that dosing pump. And spotted that my ATO had not kicked on today for some unknown reason. I cleaned the sensor, checked the power connections, wiped down the inner walls of the sump and got a bunch of RO/DI water pumped back into the sump to the normal water level. I'll have to keep an eye on the SmartATO - it may be time to replace it after two years of service.

The RO/DI system has been making more water for hours, replenishing three different storage vessels this evening. Tomorrow I'll test all the tanks and see what the current parameters are.

Reef Blog

Magnetic stirrer for water tests

melev — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 22:05:33 +0000

Magnetic stirrer for water tests melev Tue, 06/21/2016 - 01:05

A few weeks ago, I saw something really neat and contacted that person for more information. If possible I hope to sell these from my shop, but for now let me showcase what he sent me as a gift. It's impressive!

Reef Blog