Lexinverts

I took the plunge. I am just too much of a data nerd to be able to resist this. Plus, the two times I have suffered an SPS tank crash, I have lost (at least) the value of this monitor in corals each time. If this thing works like they say it should, then if I am running it I should be less likely to lose corals due to alk spikes, dosing snafus, etc..., and then I don't think the price is unreasonable at all. Hopefully, the kickstarter is funded, and I have some data to report back in December!

Which Iphone macro lens is that, Son? I see there are a bunch of them available. Thanks! Is it the "Fish Eye" model?

This is the kind of information that you would only get by running a continuous monitor of some sort. I think I need to get one!

I've got some hygro I could give you, Ken.

Wow! Did you grow all of those acans from frags? They are slow growers for me.

Interesting!

Cool. I'll be curious to see how well it holds the calibration for you. Are you still manually dosing Mag?

Right, but that doesn't work for saltwater. It very likely does increase photosynthesis. Unfortunately, it does a lot of bad things too.

Here's a link to a paper with a table that allows you to calculate CO2 concentration from alk and pH. https://www.extension.org/mediawiki/files/9/90/Interactions_of_pH,_Carbon_Dioxide,_Alkalinity,_and_Hardness.pdf Whoops, that's for freshwater, which is slightly different.

Sure, increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere can help plants with photosynthesis. Unfortunately, high CO2 also causes climate change and ocean acidification, which are not worth any increase you may see in plant productivity.

LOL, I am starting to see how we could end up getting a little carried away by this continuous monitoring Mindstream/OCD-stream, reefing.

Interesting! Is there are correlation between this and what you had to eat the previous day? What does a trip to Taco Time do to the pH levels in your office tank?

I suspect that if you live in the city, aerating your water will bring more CO2 into solution and will lower your pH. Unfortunately, the same atmosphere that is lowering pH in the ocean is the atmosphere that we are all living in. EDIT: Scratch that thought.....because of the livestock in the tank producing CO2, probably not. But I bet that aeration won't raise pH very much.

In my opinion, ocean acidification is THE primary threat to the future of coral reefs. It's a sobering thought.....As the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere (due to human activities) continue to rise, the ocean continues to absorb most of this excess CO2, and this slowly lowers ocean pH. We all know what happens in our tanks when pH is too low.

I agree. However, I think many people purchase Apex's because of its ability to conduct remote monitoring. I could be wrong here, but this is why I have considered getting an Apex myself. Most of my equipment components have their own "controllers," so that part of it is less important to me. As you suggest, I bet that this unit will be quickly made "Apex-ready" and used with the Apex as an ultimate controller/monitor. And, yikes, will that be spendy!

I'd say probably not, given how well Ecotech's products sell, and they even have much cheaper alternatives. And plenty of people will drop 900 bucks on an Apex controller, which provides some of the same kind of monitoring options. I imagine many people purchase an Apex largely for the ability to check on pH, temp, etc... remotely, which this thing will allow you to do.

Here's what they say about pricing, once in production. Depending on the price of the replacement disc, it would be $360-600 per year for replacement discs. "Pricing We are currently wrapping up a multi-phase market research effort to better understand how to make the MindStream monitor the best possible product for you. We therefore have not finalized pricing for the monitor or the replaceable sensor discs. We are working to make our products as affordable as possible, while making sure we have the resources to provide the best possible customer service and continue with our ambitious research and development efforts. Our best estimation at this point for product pricing is as follows: MindStream monitor and initial replaceable sensor disc: in the $700-900 range retail. Replaceable sensor discs: in the $30-50 range retail. We recommend that the disc be replaced at least every 30 days in order to maintain optimal accuracy."

And, I wonder if you could make the disc last longer by not running it continuously.

Hopefully, the price comes down a little bit once it gets into production mode. Even if not, I bet a lot of people would pay for it.

That nano reactor looks pretty cool!

Awesome pics! I love that Tiger Stripe Derasa. I have one just like it in my T5 tank, and it is growing like crazy.

I would most likely be running reactors in my tanks if it weren't for the need for a below tank sump involved with a reactor. I don't have a below tank sump in my two 66 gallon Red Sea Max systems, so it is difficult to imagine how I could rig a reactor up for my systems. Setting up dosing pumps was much more feasible for me, and I have recently settled on the Triton Elementz after using BRS 2-part for a few years. You have a below tank sump in your Cadlights system, but it doesn't look like there is much room in the cabinet for a CO2 bottle and a reactor. I know that you are going for a clean look, and you'll likely have an easier time achieving that with dosing pumps and some small reservoirs for your alk and ca. Regarding trace elements, you can replenish these when using a dosing regimen by incorporating frequent water changes into your regular maintenance, since these should be present in your salt mix. (Red Sea Coral Pro is my salt of choice.) If you want to minimize water changes, you could add trace elements with your Ca, Alk, and Mag by using Triton Elementz like I do, however this is a 4 part solution and requires significant space in your cabinet for 4 bottles and 4 channels of dosing pumps.

I have groups of three Bartlett's Anthias in two of my reef tanks, and have had them for about a year. Most days I feed them twice with light feedings, but I have also fed them once per day successfully. In both scenarios they have done really well for me, and I have never lost one. (Right now, I am out of town for a month and they are being fed every other day.) Bartlett's don't need to be fed more than twice per day in my experience, but it may be true that other species of Anthias need to be fed more often. Bartlett's are not picky eaters like some species of Anthias---mine even eat flakes. This might contribute to their ability to subside on less frequent feedings. I have had some aggression among my group of Bartlett's. It appears to happen most often when there are two fish of similar size in the group. They duke it out a bit until one of the fish becomes subordinate, and will often end up hiding. The subordinate always comes out to feed, however, and the aggression seems to wane a bit as time passes. I've never had a Bartlett's kill another one in my tank.

Nice!

Are you using GFO? That stuff can suck the alk out of the water. I had a similar problem as you when using 2-part, and then removed my Chemipure Elite, and was able to reduce my daily dose by 1/3rd.