TheClark

Sounds like a zoa growout

Looking so good Brad, you the man to do growouts with. Really appreciate the quality frags and the opportunity to go in on this as a group.

Wow

Nice thanks for sharing, have been curious about it.

This is my new favorite thread, cracking me up! LC Scott, that is quite an operation you have going there. FlashyFins - DANG!! Those are the darn nicest LPS I think I have seen. Please PM me all your secrets!

Moorish Idle looks awesome! Oh yeah, and all those giant SPS colonies too

That one wins!! I can only imagine seeing your tank in person, must be a sight

Cannot wait to check it out Sunday!

Friday again, show em off!

Thanks for the update, what are you running the channels at?

That is so funny, exactly what the guy talks about in the MACNA video. If you get a good test, yay! If not, retest, retest, retest til you like the numbers. I am lucky and have a great green egg. When I get a bad number, test again, I get another bad number that is close. To give the NRA slogan a Hanna spin... I'll give you my green egg when you pry it from my cold, dead hands Or 45 bucks, whatever it costs to get a new one

yep, I agree, there are some reasonable things to do to ensure precision and repeatable results. What you suggested is in that article... good stuff Sampling Procedures"Garbage in; Garbage out" is a saying applicable to results generated when improper sampling procedures are in place. Use reasonable care when gathering samples for analyses. It is recommended that the vials (cuvettes) supplied by Hanna are used when sampling to avoid contamination. Alkalinity: Analyze immediately or fix sample by refrigerating at 4°C (39.2°F) for up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before analysis. If the sample is gathered in a container other than Hanna's cuvette, either clean plastic or glass is OK, and it should be completely filled to avoid prolonged exposure to any air trapped in the bottle. Filter if the sample contains excessive suspended particles. Phosphate: Analyze immediately. Use the Hanna 10 milliliter cuvette to draw the sample if possible. If not possible, use clean plastic or glass containers - they should be scrupulously clean - preferable acid-washed with 1:1 hydrochloric acid and rinsed with de-ionized water. To fix the sample, exclude particulate matter via filtration and refrigerate at 4°C (or 39.2°F). Maximum holding time is 48 hours. Treat the cuvettes with respect, and keep them clean and free of scratches. Don't allow the treated samples to remain in the cuvettes any longer than necessary as the chemicals might stain the glass. If the vials do become stained, gently clean them with paper used for sensitive applications (such as that used to clean camera lenses). In extreme cases, a dilute bleach solution may be required to remove the stains. Some hobbyists keep the vials filled with deionized water between uses to prevent spotting within them.

That would be great, seriously! I see these old thread of people shipping zoas to each other with thermos, seems easy although there are probably better ways

Good stuff, is there a number on the wavelength loss for glass? Thanks Matt

This is interesting, I have been thinking allot about this discussion. By chance I was reading something else and stumbled across a phosphate video from macna. Too funny, this video among other things exactly asks the question that you did Brian at around 15:05 (inconsistent results as ArsonMfg pointed out). He also talks about Hanna (bad precision and good). Sure seems like a perfect fit for this intriguing discussion. I found it to be thought provoking, but have no plans to raise my nitrates to 100 and phosphates 1o 1.85, or let my alk swing from 7 to 15, not just yet. I also tend to think this guy may get a little sloppy in his testing, if you watch the whole video you know what I mean. Enjoy if you haven't seen it! http://reefbuilders.com/2015/03/10/rich-ross-focuses-phosphate-macna-2014-speaker-video/

That is troubling to hear. I remember researching this before settling on Hanna for phosphate. Dana Riddle did a review on Advanced Aquarist and claims: The results generated by the inexpensive Hanna Checker are remarkably close to those reported by a $3,500 spectrometer. Article Here: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/8/review I don't work in a lab for a living, but it is a compelling article that claims Hanna Phosphate checker is very accurate. So don't throw out your checkers just yet people...

Interesting, thanks.

Interesting layout, nice to see commercial fixtures including the 380s now.

I am interested to hear more about that.

For me, after trying many things (po4x4,gfo,phosguard, lanathum chloride), what ultimately worked was removing my sand bed and some of my live rock. Apparently the sand was leaching phosphates pretty bad. I still have about half the sand, I stopped removing it after GFO could finally keep phosphate at 0. Before the sand was gone, GFO could not touch it. I barely miss it, and there is some in the back half of the tank for the sand lovers like the diamond goby.

Another noteworthy item, no lenses on the LEDs. So we have no lenses, and LEDs running at 1 watt. Interesting approach, seems different than many of the fixtures out there.

According to amazon, I am going on running 150 phosphate tests (6 orders of 25 pack refills). That is so, so sad. But hey, the algae battle was BRUTAL...

That is a great idea, I am going tomorrow!

I have burned through many refills on that test, but never tried that particular experiment. The test is tricky, but you get a cadence for it. I do the following. Turn on the checker Fill the bottle Wipe it very carefully clean Put it in checker, 10mls facing directly forward Push the button While hanna is reading, open the reagent pack, I cut corner to corner and then squeeze it to make a 'funnel' for pouring it out. Take out the bottle. Pour in the reagent, getting as much in as I can. Shake it hard until all white dots are gone. Put back in hanna Press and hold button (people sometimes miss this). Pressing and holding starts a three minute timer after which the sample is read. Set a timer on phone so I don't forget to read value in three minutes. Read the result and log it. Hope that helps somehow...