<--- following for the sole reason of seeing what people are doing with NO3 these days.
You kids and your high NO3 readings haha.
What do you consider high?
Where's everyone parameters?
- Thread starter JJONES2984
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What do you consider high?
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It’s interesting how the thought on NO3 has changed over the last 15 years.
It use to be that ANY ‘NO3 was high. Now I see people with ~20
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Salinity is actually 1.025 SG. I need to recalibrate my Neptune salinity probe.
Alk is a little higher today than the usual 9.5ish.
So, normally:
1.025 Salinity
78 F temp
PH 8.1-8.3
Alk 9.5 - 10
Calcium 450-480
Magnesium 1400-1500
Phosphates 0.04 - 0.05
Nitrates - Usually really low to undetectable
ORP 330 to 360
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Alk is a little higher today than the usual 9.5ish.
So, normally:
1.025 Salinity
78 F temp
PH 8.1-8.3
Alk 9.5 - 10
Calcium 450-480
Magnesium 1400-1500
Phosphates 0.04 - 0.05
Nitrates - Usually really low to undetectable
ORP 330 to 360
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Yeah... that old way of thinking of a ULNS is the only way to grow acros or you need this light, blah blah blah, its all out the window. Stability is key. Back when I first started in this hobby - chasing those ridiculous numbers only lead me to failure.It’s interesting how the thought on NO3 has changed over the last 15 years.
It use to be that ANY ‘NO3 was high. Now I see people with ~20
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Salinity - 35 ppt
Temp - 78-78.5
PH - 8.2-8.3
Alk - 9.1-9.4
Ca - 450-460
Mg - 1460-1470
PO4 - 0-0.03
NO3 - 2.5-5
Temp - 78-78.5
PH - 8.2-8.3
Alk - 9.1-9.4
Ca - 450-460
Mg - 1460-1470
PO4 - 0-0.03
NO3 - 2.5-5
I agree V, ULNS is just one option among many.
Lol; it’s funny that people are still on with the “you need this light” trend, thinking you need at least 150-250 PAR to grow Acros. I’ve stated before that my old tank grew great color Acros with an average PAR around 65. I think maybe some people dismiss these comments thinking I must be measuring incorrectly. Justin can this weekend with the PAR meter and seemed slightly shocked to see one of my tanks ranging from 25-95 PAR with 20 or so small Acro colonies growing great. High-light works,... but medium-intensity light can also work.
I'm moving to halides - not to increase par or anything - but to remove my ability to worry about the lighting. I have the space, I'm not concerned about the energy consumption at this time, I'll deal with the heat - and I won't have to worry about my ramp times, which spectrums are at what percentages blah blah. Plus - I was needing to light another tank and looking at $1200+ for lighting was annoying so much it pushed me over the edge.
I have LEDs in the house and will keep them where they are - but it's highly doubtful I'll ever buy another to be used as primary lighting for a tank.
I’m with you 100%. Unless something comes around that I’m not suspecting, I’ll be doing fluorescents in future tanks and just using LEDs for supplemental light and to control slow and colorful sunrise and sunset.
Yeah... not sure I could ever justify $1200 in lighting. For me, I liked the look of the light output of MH, but I hated the cosmetic look of it and where my tank sits, I need something that is aesthetically pleasing as well. T5's was my next choice, but accounting for 5 years of bulbs at $25 a bulb on a 6-8 bulb yearly lead me to choose LEDs. I just got the cheaper LEDs and they work like a champ for me
I'm planning on doing some MH on one of the QT's in my new build but for the display I'm looking into building my own LEDs to keep the expense down and running T5 too, similar to the old setup. Two rows of led 16 pucks total and 3 rows of 4' t5 12 bulbs total.
Back to the OP topic. I too think that stability is key. Knowledge in this hobby and the wider net presence to distribute that knowledge has grown substantially over the last 15 years, more like 30 years... it will continue to expand. The number of people successfully keeping coral now is nothing like it was back then. It's definitely an exciting time for us all.
Back to the OP topic. I too think that stability is key. Knowledge in this hobby and the wider net presence to distribute that knowledge has grown substantially over the last 15 years, more like 30 years... it will continue to expand. The number of people successfully keeping coral now is nothing like it was back then. It's definitely an exciting time for us all.
RonS
Well-Known Member
I hope this is in the spirit of the OP.... but this is a 4-month old tank, that was recently upgraded from a total system volume of around 18 gallons, to >75 gallons:
Salinity - 1.026
Temp - 79
PH - 7.7 (that's what my gawd-awful Hanna checker says, but my chemical test shows closer to 8 or 8.2. Since my Hanna now won't take a calibration, It's probably closer to 8.2)
Alk - 7.7 (desperately trying to raise without shocking the tank. Currently dosing the KH portion of 2-part at 50ml/day, and would rather not try to go higher. Raising pH will help, of course)
Ca - 465
Mg - 1500 (gotta be my salt)
NO3 - 0.5
PO4 - 0.04
FWIW...
Salinity - 1.026
Temp - 79
PH - 7.7 (that's what my gawd-awful Hanna checker says, but my chemical test shows closer to 8 or 8.2. Since my Hanna now won't take a calibration, It's probably closer to 8.2)
Alk - 7.7 (desperately trying to raise without shocking the tank. Currently dosing the KH portion of 2-part at 50ml/day, and would rather not try to go higher. Raising pH will help, of course)
Ca - 465
Mg - 1500 (gotta be my salt)
NO3 - 0.5
PO4 - 0.04
FWIW...
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Have you confirmed your Alk ? Do you have anything in the tank that should be using Alk and what is your target?
RonS
Well-Known Member
To clarify my post, I meant I'm not comfortable dosing more than 50ml Alk / day into a 75 gallon system, but maybe I'm being too squeamish (and cheap!
My target would be the high 9s. I have always had issues with low alk in every tank I've owned. When I transferred the sand from my previous tank to this one, a good bit of it had already cemented together.
Today, my API kit tells me "somewhere between 7 & 8", and my Red Sea Pro kit is telling me 7.4. I am switching from Red Sea to ESV alk today; we'll see if there is any improvement.
There is almost no coral in this tank, and mostly softies. There is a 2" piece of orange monti cap that is growing like crazy, but I can't believe it's soaking up all the alk!
My target would be the high 9s. I have always had issues with low alk in every tank I've owned. When I transferred the sand from my previous tank to this one, a good bit of it had already cemented together.
Today, my API kit tells me "somewhere between 7 & 8", and my Red Sea Pro kit is telling me 7.4. I am switching from Red Sea to ESV alk today; we'll see if there is any improvement.
There is almost no coral in this tank, and mostly softies. There is a 2" piece of orange monti cap that is growing like crazy, but I can't believe it's soaking up all the alk!
