Magic Kiwi's Tank Journal Thread

[Kryptic4L]

Cool story bro.

It's amazing how many people never end up with the fish that got them motivated in the hobby to begin with. Congrats on getting your tang and your in before the export ban

[Magickiwi]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

I use the Hanna phosphate checker and found it to be very accurate and consistent. The trick is to be sure your vial is clean (no fingerprints or smudges) and mix the colour solution for close to the max time (3 mins). Also be sure to press and hold the Add C2 or you won't get the full 3 min countdown. If you just press and release, you will get a reading but it may not be accurate.

Like you, I found the other chemical tests reading zero while the Hanna read higher. But as my phosphates dropped further, the Hanna also consistently read zero. So I believe the Hanna.

That's fair enough and if it works for you then awesome. I am dubious about how well it is working for me though.

I always use the same vial. When I clean it I soak it in vinegar to remove any mineral deposits and the soak and rinse in RO/DI water. I do use the timer on the checker. I don't normally mix for three minutes, just two or so.

Well I guess I will just swap out the POx4 frequently, although I might just switch back to the Rowaphos. Just don't see how the tests are always higher then lower then higher still etc.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Magickiwi

I do use the timer on the checker. I don't normally mix for three minutes, just two or so.

I always mix close to the 3 min max. I find 2 min is not enough to dissolve all the colour mix.

What do you mean when you say you "use" the timer? Do you add the vial the 2nd time after mixing, and before pressing and holding the C2?

[Magickiwi]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

I always mix close to the 3 min max. I find 2 min is not enough to dissolve all the colour mix.

What do you mean when you say you "use" the timer? Do you add the vial the 2nd time after mixing, and before pressing and holding the C2?

Yep, exactly as the instructions indicated. The kit came with two vials and one gives me lower readings such as in the .15ppm range for my tank and 0.00ppm on my RO/DI water and the other vial gives me values in the .25ppm range and .04ppm in my RO/DI water. So I started using the one that gave me the lower values but even then the results have been wildly different. I haven't actually ran two tests back to back on my tank water yet but I am willing to bet that I'd get different numbers that exceed the +-4ppm accuracy.

[Reef Pilot]

Yes, I always use the same vial for the complete test. Don't know what else to suggest.... Hopefully your reagent powder is OK. Good luck.

[Magickiwi]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Yes, I always use the same vial for the complete test. Don't know what else to suggest.... Hopefully your reagent powder is OK. Good luck.

Believe it or not I've eliminated the reagent as the potential failing point. I bought refills from two locations so I now have three different expiration dates for my reagents.

[Magickiwi]

I monitor my Mg every week or two. According to the RSM kits it is usually in the ideal range. Possibly a phosphate issue according to my Hanna checker but no other test kits lol.

I had bought the cuke to sift the sand bed as my star doesn't seem to get deep enough and my green brittle never leaves the rock. But the cuke is MIA.

[Magickiwi]

Added an Apex JR controller last night in order to use it as a light controller since Coralife can't put out a product that actually functions.

So far so good, it set up pretty easily and it's publishing graphs etc. I haven't opened the internet to it yet because I want to ensure I'm not exposing my entire network.

The temperature probe agrees with the JBJ controller I've been using for my heater. That's the only probe that comes with it. Also I'm only able to run my lights on the power bar since I have four plugs for my lights and the power bar that came with it only has four outlets. Maybe I'll upgrade to the eight outlet bar if things continue to go well.

My expectations for this unit are relatively low and as long as it controls my lights as expected I won't mind investing in additional probes etc. I wanted to get the oxygen saturation probe for it but it's $600 just for the probe! You would still need to spend $125ish on the controller!! I'll settle for pH, temperature, ORP, Salinity etc.

One thing that's kind of goofy is that every module you add on comes with a temperature probe. How exactly is that useful? With the JR you can add up to four modules so what exactly would I do with five temperature probes?

Anyway the JR is less than 1/2 the price of the full blown Apex controller so I'm happy with the limitations on it and what it comes with etc. The only thing is that damned power bar lol... Would be nice to control my pumps, UV, ozone, skimmer, etc.

[Magickiwi]

They aren't very green are they?

[Magickiwi]

Found a clutch of clownfish eggs last night. Hiding in a crevice under my RBTA there was an orange glob that looked orange/peach colored. Well googled clownfish eggs and what do you know?

I will TRY to raise some but I know nothing about how to collect the babies once they're hatched, how to keep them separate from everything that would eat them etc.

If all goes well I'll have a bunch of baby pink-skunk clowns!