EMeyer

9 hours ago, Blue Z Reef said:

Appears to be $60 on the website. 
 

My question is, what is the advantage/difference of this test? A lot of people use the ATI test which has to be shipped overseas as well and is $45. Does this include a RODI sample test as well?

ATI is only ICP, right? 

ICP alone cannot measure many of the things we care about. It is not possible to measure PO4, NO2, NO3, or alkalinity with ICP. They can estimate these things based on assumptions, but those assumptions are usually wildly wrong (e.g. the assumption that all P in the sample is PO4)

ICP as typically conducted does not produce meaningful results for trace elements, because they use unfiltered dirty aquarium water, which is full of particulates that make large contributions to trace elements. 

For years we've read criticisms of the inaccurate values people were getting from typical ICP services, and the lack of transparency in how those data are gathered. Christoph built his operation to do ICP right, instead of fast and cheap. 

PLUS, they don't just do ICP. They run a range of additional tests on your sample to get accurate values for the things ICP cannot ever measure. 

PLUS, the chemists at Oceamo personally review your results and info you've provided about your tank, and give you customized suggestions about how to correct any issues. 

Hi all,

We've partnered with Oceamo, an Austrian seawater testing company started by professional chemist and aquarium enthusiast Dr. Christoph Denk, to bring this new service to US clients for the first time. 

This is not just another ICP service - its a professional research-grade analysis of your aquarium's water. The Oceamo team applies a range of different methods including ICP, Ion Chromatography with UV, Conductivity, Titration, and Spectrophotometry to accurately measure the parameters that matter to reefkeepers. 

Best of all, you don't have to be a chemist to understand the results. The team at Oceamo personally reviews your results, along with information about your aquarium, and sends you customized suggestions for correcting any imbalances detected in your tank's chemistry. 

You can read more about the service on my website or at Oceamo e.U.

We've got the kits in stock now, and the next test date is Mar 12. You can keep track of testing dates at our Sample Testing Schedule.

how about wet tile saws, anyone try one of those? (Not handheld, the bench type)

Something like this, although I want to find one that can handle thicker pieces

https://www.harborfreight.com/7-in-portable-wet-cut-tile-saw-69231.html

$400ish for a saw is just too silly for words, I'll keep buying $30 dremel blades if thats the only option

I think its time to finally upgrade to a dedicated saw for fragging corals. But the options I see online for dedicated coral bandsaws have prices that make me laugh. 

Anyone have suggestions for a budget coral band saw option? 

Maybe something DIY or repurposed? 

What other creative tools have you used to cut large corals?

I've been using a diamond blade dremel wheel for years, you can cut frags from surprisingly large colonies if you get creative with cut angles. But it has its limits and all the changing angles can make a mess of spraying coral goop. 

Thanks for any ideas!

So weird, theres ice storms from Oregon to Texas but here in this little pocket between Corvallis and Eugene, it hasnt even dropped below freezing. 

Literally, not a drop of snow or ice. Still got the power outage though. 

I'd like the skimmer, and any powerheads you have left, depending on prices. 

6 hours ago, Lazyreefer said:

So have the two been purchased already or not I haven’t received a reply yet 

Sorry I failed to get back to you - absolutely, you spoke first, you get one for sure. 

Easiest thing is just place an order for the rubble, that way you're in the system and I can add an order for free testing. Let me know if you run into any bugs. 

Thanks! 

On 12/21/2020 at 11:52 AM, albertareef said:

Hi Eli,

Great news about the BJD intervention and some promising data re whole tank treatments.  Given the results on the biome balance, I wonder if this could provide some hope for doing targeted antibiotic treatments to help restore balance to tanks that have gotten "out of whack" for one reason or another (you know where I'm going with this one).  Clearly risky but I could see where a combination of targeted antibiotic with reintroduction of desired bacterial strains could potentially be a more broadly useful paradigm (not that BJD treatment isn't a breakthrough in and of itself). Thanks!

Absolutely, I'm really encouraged to see evidence that low doses of antibiotics can alter the balance of the microbial community without killing it off. 

Its really tempting to experiment more along these lines. (Just what I needed, more experiments for the list!) 

Next on my list is Vibrio. I have a pretty potent and specific anti-Vibrio compound that I've been testing as a dip with mixed success. But I think based on the safety and efficacy data from these cipro trials its time to test the anti-Vibrio compound on intact systems. 

--

Anyone else got some brown jelly? I'm still interested in taking additional samples, either from tissue or an infected tank...

2 hours ago, half-astronaut said:

Alright, I'll bite. Purchased. Order #20028

Got your order, thanks!

I'll ship this out tomorrow along with two sampling kits so we can test before and after. You'll get some automated emails about the sampling kits, but can ignore them, the tests are 100% discounted. 

Is it a new tank or already established? 

This is the first of a few new products and services I'm rolling out at AquaBiomics, and I wanted to let you guys know about it first: Live Reef Rubble. This is genuine, old-school live rock tested by DNA sequencing so you know exactly what you're adding to your tank. 

This is the same material I've previously written about for starting new reef tanks. I've set up some dedicated fish-free systems in my new greenhouse for this rubble ... the material is authentic Branch Rock from Tonga, just in small pieces. Perfect for seeding a new tank, while minimizing the risks associated with low quality live rock of unknown origin. 

This product is not sold by the pound, and it's not for aquascaping. This rubble is a unique product intended to establish natural biodiversity in your reef tank, and offers several unique advantages:

• Shipped in seawater from the reef to your tank, to preserve the living communities in the rocks
• Contains functional nitrifying communities with both ammonia-oxidizing and nitrite-oxidizing microbes
• Contains hundreds of different types of microbes from the major families found in mature reef tanks
• Maintained in fish-free tanks to minimize exposure to fish pathogens
• Each batch is tested by DNA sequencing to confirm it’s free of parasites and pathogens
• Includes a certificate of analysis so you know exactly which microbes you’re adding to your tank

Although this process isn't cheap, I believe the end product is worth it. Nowhere else can you buy a product containing hundreds of types of live marine microbes, tested to confirm its pathogen- and parasite-free, with a complete list of ingredients. Natural levels of biodiversity in your tank within 2 weeks. 

No bottled product on the market even comes close (I say this after having measured exactly what's in the bottled bacterial products). 

To demonstrate how effective this material is, I'll put my money where my mouth is and send a *FREE* test of your aquarium's microbiome for the first 2 PNWMAS members to buy a batch. Test before adding it, then 2 weeks later, and share the results here so we can all judge for ourselves. 

On 12/30/2020 at 10:19 AM, bamburgb said:

just noticed this morning that one of the heads on a newer torch of mine seems to have BJD or atleast is looking like it while all my other torches seem happy and fully extended. I was curious when reading the experiment where you got the ciprofloxacin. Did you have any SPS in your tank when treating the tank? If so were there any negative impacts on them? 

 

Trying to find a way to save my Joker torch hoping its not to late.

Sorry I missed this a month ago... hope things turned out ok in the meantime!

No, I have not tested this in an SPS tank yet. I've treated two soft coral + LPS tanks so far. 

eh, I figure you're gonna get vermetids, aiptasia, and bristleworms no matter what. The only one of the three I consider a real pest is aiptasia anyway. 

Biodiversity, on the other hand, doesnt just happen overnight...

My opinion - go for it. Real old live rock is hard to replicate. I'd use it. 

I've found that if you hold live rock with a bunch of peppermint shrimp and don't feed them, they do a pretty good job of cleaning up Aiptasia infestations. I'm not sure one can ever be 100% sure about Aiptasia but IMO the risk is worth the reward.

The life on that stuff looks great. 

Hows the density? Is it mined limestone or real coral skeletons? 

Don't think we've tested a GLR tank yet, I can do a 50% discount on microbiome testing of this tank if you're interested. It'd be interesting to see what kind of microbial community came along with all that nice surface life.

1 hour ago, psychofireman said:

I have read many things in this section but am still confused. currently my alk is 10, Cal 314, mag 1478, ph 7.97-8.25I am trying to get my alk down and Cal up. To my understanding if I dos Cal my alk will decrease and. if true, what is the best Cal liquid to use to dose? Reef Chemistry Calculator (diesyst.com) says I need to dose alk as well... as the relationship between the 3 basically Alk decreases= Cal increase and mag increases and if Cal increases= alk decreases and mag increases? I'm sure it isnt that cut and dry, but as a basic thats what Ive been noticing in my tank. Therefore, I'm assuming I need to mainly dose cal right now what cal products alk products should i look into gettig? that would give me a better idea how to fill in the chart in the link above

Dosing only Ca will fix this situation. That plus time. I'm not sure why that calculator would recommend also dosing Alk, I would turn off my Alk dosing pump, keep my Ca dosing on, and also do some manual daily doses of Ca til it hits 400-450. Over time, you'll get some precipitation... keep adding just Ca to maintain it over 400 and your Alk should drop to normal levels within a week or so. 

my 2c

8 hours ago, SuncrestReef said:

Yellow tangs are like the Gamestop of the reefing industry right now.

My only problem with this analogy is that in the (hilarious and ongoing) Gamestop story, the little guys won (or at least drew blood)

As far as I can see there arent any winners in the Hawaiian shutdown 😞

A month or so ago I ordered a few tangs from a wholesaler, I consider them essential utility fish. I now see my decision not to buy yellow tangs in that order the same way I view my decision not to bother mining a few bitcoins back in 2010-2011

Still looking for a skimmer below $100 if anyone has one

one tip? real live rock, and ignore advice to the contrary

Id be happy to raise the price to $100 if you prefer

https://orchardreef.com/product/zoanthids-gold-mauls/

I spotted this guy while feeding my fish yesterday. What a monster. I have lost a couple fish mysteriously in the past few months... mystery solved

trapped him last night... he gets to be the first sump monster for the new coral shed!

Looking for a used protein skimmer, anyone got something lying around? 

Must be priced at less than $100 and large enough for 50+ gallons. 

This is a really interesting experiment. Looks like you rapidly corrected the pH but are leaving the alk extremely high, and reducing it slowly. Do I have that right? 

I think I would have also rapidly adjusted the alk back down, for the same reason as the pH (better to get it back within range quickly rather than let the damage accumulate). But I can see arguments in both directions. 

I am not sure which course would be better - I'll be curious to hear how your corals do over the next couple weeks. 

Bjd showed up in a different tank (a grape coral with 2 polyps), so I sampled and removed the diseased head, and treated the tank with the same treatment as described above. Currently 7 days in, the cut coral is fully recovered and I don't see any algae issues or nutrients. I'll report here again when I get the microbiome samples finished, but so far at least it appears thats n=2 saying the treatment is safe and associated with recovery. 

Does anyone who's sent me samples in the past have a nice healthy torch colony in your tank at the time of sampling? Please let me know if so.

Does anyone have a video of a gold or other high end torch you would be willing to donate for advertising purposes? I can trade corals or microbiome tests!

Also, take heart! Coral reefs in nature go through a continual cycle of destruction and regrowth.

In nature, coral reefs are described as "disturbance dominated" "non-equilibrium" communities. In other words, they don't go through a succession process, reach their apex community, then remain in that condition forever. Instead, they are destroyed every few years or decades by storms, and then new corals regrow on top of the old corals. 

So from a certain perspective, our periodic tank crashes are not that unnatural, except theyre caused by other things besides storms. 

On 12/10/2020 at 11:06 AM, albertareef said:

Doesn't sound like John had any precipitating event he can point to but perhaps facing a similar situation currently.  Maybe we should discuss a strategy and try a coordinated "treatment" paradigm to try and rebalance? @SuncrestReef  Might be hard given our different setups and husbandry but perhaps we could come close re products/dosing etc.?

As I said in PMs, I think its worth trying the live sand/live mud treatment. Figured I'd echo that sentiment on the thread to spur some discussion. 

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/effects-of-live-sand-mud-on-the-microbial-communities-in-my-tanks-updated-with-new-data.684209/

This treatment improved the microbial communities in my tank. 

Its also worth considering removing any sterilizing influences. UV sterilizers appear to preferentially kill free living types like Pelagibacteraceae, leading to atypical communities. 

Finally it is beginning to look like in-tank antibiotic treatments are not entirely off the table. People said for a long time you couldnt do it because it would kill the beneficial bacteria in your tank. (Funny how many statements in our hobby get repeated endlessly without any evidence!) Turns out, at the right dose, they only improve things...

But I'd absolutely start with live sand/live mud. It is what I did when I found atypical communities in my display tanks, and its done nothing but improve things. Including coral health.