grassi

Ok here are the instructions: Elos test kit po4 high resolution (the new one). Use 10 drops elos liquid reagent in 20ml of water + 0.4ml elos powder (using the elos spoon). In the Hanna cuvette you can fill only 10ml, so you throw away half of it. Unless you use 10ml of water + 5 drops of liquid reagent + 0.2ml of powder (but the Elos spoon is 0.4 in one side and 0.15 in the other, so better to do with the 0.4 and throw away half of the solution, unless you find a way to measure 0.20ml of powder reagent) With this you will have consistent results. I have to try with my phosphorus meter and see. It should be the same. Hope this helps

Just got some infos from my friend Alessandro (same name). Rowa, Elos, DD, Tunze reagents are the same product: rebranded macherey-nagel. The one you can find easier and cheaper will work better that the magic powder that comes with the hanna kit

The Hanna checkers are cute little instruments and they work pretty well. Their reagents are just garbage. If you want to have good results with the phosphates test use D-D or Elos or Tunze reagents with it. They are the same thing. Put into the cuvette 10 drops of liquid and one test spoon of powder and you will have perfect results. With the d-d reagents and the hanna checker you will have the perfect instrument for the $$$ Again, the silica cell is good, the reagent is garbage: you can just put oxy clean and it will be the same lol Note also that the hanna checkers don't "like" fresh water a lot: false positive are possible.

Use the same glass. The device will stay on for 180 seconds. I was able to do the zeroing (c1) and fill the reagent in about a minute. Then you have about 120 seconds to dissolve it. Keep in mind that there is an error tolerance of 0.04 if I remember correctly

You guys are funny. I know why it decreased in your case, but I'm gonna keep it for myself :P

That's a nice wavemaker. Nice setup

I was just reading a Calfo book where he suggest to use acrylic tanks in areas subject to earthquakes. No idea if it based on experience or what. I don't know why, but this recall me the Zoo scene in the movie Underground of Emir Kusturica Fish and corals on the floor :(

Welcome on board!

Yesterday I emailed them telling about the broken ato connector. This morning they sent me a new one already. Seems that also their customer support is top notch

Yes I am lol Sorry, english is not my mother language. In my language we refer to the planet, the element and the crazy roman messenger with the same word: mercurio. I though it was the same in your language, my mistake. I was referring to Hg

Check out this link

It mostly depends on how the reflectors were built. For instance, some Coralvue MH reflectors works better at 2 ft high (or something like that) compared to the traditional 12 inches. They were built for that (lower the heat and diffuse more), so if you lower the fixture you lose par. The powermodule was built to work at about 6-8 inches, and at that level you should get the best par that the fixture can produce in a standard tank. But it is not a spot source of light, so it is possible that it can produce more par when lower. Many people run them at 1-2 inches from the water surface. Par transmission is also influenced by the heat exchange area between the light source and the water, for the presence of evaporation vapors

It mostly depends on how the reflectors were built. For instance, some Coralvue MH reflectors works better at 2 ft high (or something like that) compared to the traditional 12 inches. They were built for that (lower the heat and diffuse more), so if you lower the fixture you lose par. The powermodule was built to work at about 6-8 inches, and at that level you should get the best par that the fixture can produce in a standard tank. But it is not a spot source of light, so it is possible that it can produce more par when lower. Many people run them at 1-2 inches from the water surface. Par transmission is also influenced by the heat exchange area between the light source and the water, for the presence of evaporation vapors

So I got the controller a couple of days ago (sorry Dave!) and I have to say that it is AWESOME. I own an Apex, so I was expecting to get less. I was wrong. The controller is amazing and the possibilities of customization are a lot. The only problem I've found so far is a broken ATO switch, but I'm sure that they will replace it. For $199 you get WAY more than all the other controllers on the market. And it is still growing... It is not easy to use, but if you can program a little, or if you know somebody that can help you, it can do pretty much everything out of the box, just playing with the code. In a couple of hours I set it up and I created a custom code that is able to handle sump and skimmer overflow. I'm using it as a second controller: the apex is for lights and temp management, the Angel is for all the pumps (the feeding and water change program is better than the one on the Apex). It comes with 3 temp sensors, a ph probe, 2 float switches and 8 controllable outlets. Adding 8 more cost 1/2 compared to the Apex

I don't remember exactly, but when I tested on mine I was getting results non proportional when moving the light up or down. Lorenzo, you probably have less par out of the Tek because you don't have active cooling on that unit. Probably the new Tek Elite has same values. Maybe Joel can provide us one for testing

I ran a 14g biocube for about 9 months with drinking water. That tank was running great. But it was an heavy modified biocube, live rock with a few drops of water around, good lighting, daily water change (a cup), weekly water change (10% with natural sea water), bionic 2 part, run with phyto and a few mysis every other day, remora skimmer, carbon, gfo and fuge with cheato, and a lot of flow. That tank was running like a swiss watch. But if I was leaving the tank alone for a couple of days... boom. Algae. I was just lucky and I found a good equilibrium. RO/DI water is the best investment for stable systems. They are cheap nowadays. You can find a small unit with membrane and carbon block for less than $100. Or you can buy it from a store, if you don't mind carrying around jugs

I was gonna start a thread but you were faster! Let's make this official! Scott's readings, from the reservation thread: Ok so my 20l with two t5 bulbs reads top160 µmol m middle 80 µmol m sandbed 60. µmol m Kim, your readings are great: 160 in the far right corner is amazing

Instantaneous photosynthetic photon flux (μmol m-2 s-1) is the most common output used to measure P.A.R. in reef aquaria. μmol m-2 s-1 is a measure of the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD)

Great thread, thanks for all the infos! I'm gonna try to make mines too

Brad, I will send you guys a pm and also updating the status here. Thanks for the pm mark

The battery is a 3v cr2320. I didn't find a new one at Fred Meyer and Walgreens and I was told to go to Radio Shack. At Radio Shack on Columbia they don't have it in store, but it is available online only: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2882528 I am sure that there are places in town where it is possible to find this battery, but I didn't have time to drive around looking for it. If somebody know where to find one in the PDX metro area, please send me a pm and I will see if I can go and get it. Otherwise I will order online from Radio Shack. The meter is gonna be checked out today by LC Scott with a low battery level. In case he will run out during his week we will extend his time

The skimz is not easy to find. But it is a really nice built piece of equipment. Rating on skimmers is somehow variable and marketing play a role on it too. Go with the 5000 int or 3000 ext for you volume and bioload