Slowtwitch Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I'm sad to note that Sam the mandarin is on his last legs. He isn't responding too well, has been hiding more since 2 weeks. Found him motionless just now, he's alive but probably not for long. Unlike this Sorry to hear it. 1 Quote Link to comment
Pinner Reef Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Aww sorry Kat. You've had him soo long too. You might need a drink 2 Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Thanks everyone. He's been scrawny for a year now. He came to live with me in November 2013. 17 months. Quote Link to comment
TheKleinReef Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 hhahaha. kidding. but seriously, I'm sorry to hear about that Kat. 3 Quote Link to comment
kimberbee Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Hang in there Sam! Maybe he's just tired? 1 Quote Link to comment
reefdiver88 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Have you tried Home Depot's in store pickup? you can order on line and they (theoretically) have it ready for you to pick up in the store. I've tried it a few times. Its more efficient than wandering the aisles, if you can find what you need on the website. But its not a perfect system. I have occasionally had to wait for them to find something even with on line ordering. Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I'm sorry to hear about Sam Do you have any ideas as to why the params are so different between the old and new Red Sea kits? Seems really strange. Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 I'm sorry to hear about Sam Do you have any ideas as to why the params are so different between the old and new Red Sea kits? Seems really strange. Could be any number of reasons. Chemicals in the older kit are contaminated somehow or the test vials aren't clean enough. Could be expired, have to check. The drops of solutions to be added may not be consistent, there is no way to actually measure the drops put in. Maybe sunlight exposure or storage temperature affects the viability of the chemicals in the kits. It's possible that the old kit has different batches of solutions, I've used red sea refills a few times, bought test kits off of people at other times. Have you tried Home Depot's in store pickup? you can order on line and they (theoretically) have it ready for you to pick up in the store. I've tried it a few times. Its more efficient than wandering the aisles, if you can find what you need on the website. But its not a perfect system. I have occasionally had to wait for them to find something even with on line ordering. I have. They often don't have items in stock that is supposed to be in stock per the website. 1 Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Just cleaned the gyre, the tornado is back. Discovered a broken blade, it's not affecting the flow so it's okay. experimented with vertical placement but turned it horizontal again. Might put it on the back wall if I ever manage to empty the frag racks. Quote Link to comment
ml86743 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Rich ross' phosphate is insane and he doesn't have brown corals. That was an awesome video! I'm sad to note that Sam the mandarin is on his last legs. He isn't responding too well, has been hiding more since 2 weeks. Found him motionless just now, he's alive but probably not for long. Sorry to hear about Sam Quote Link to comment
Chris! Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Errbady's been harping on me for parameters. This is for you harpies. Tests are wacky. ALK Red Sea Alk 7.6 New Red Sea kit Alk 6.4 CALCIUM Red Sea Cal 370 New Red Sea kit 420 MAGNESIUM Red Sea Mag 1000 (did test twice second time 1040) New Red Sea kit 1120 Salifert Mag 1470 PHOS Salifert Phosphate between 0.03 and 0.10 Red Sea phosphate 0.36 NITRATE Salifert Nitrate between 5 and 10 Red Sea Nitrate 2ppm Historically, all numbers are about in range. Phosphate is higher than normal if you go with the red sea numbers. Corals aren't brown so not sure if I should go with the salifert results. I'd believe the salifert over the Red Sea lol Your phosphates aren't that high at .03-.1 really, If your shooting for ULNS then sure, but I know your not. IMO your within an acceptable range for an experienced reefer. Everything else seems a bit low.... unless the higher #s are the more accurate ones..... stupid test kits. Do you have a doser? Rich ross' phosphate is insane and he doesn't have brown corals. He also has an old large established tank. He even said in the small portion I could stand to watch that he slowly increased his neglect for the tank..... and from what I could see it doesn't look like he has really added alot (so corals adapted to the change, not like he was adding new pieces and they were doing excellent with the big difference), and growth didn't seem to impressive for 3-4 yrs from the couple pics I seen. Sure he might have done some fragging to maintain sizes but I didn't pay attention long enough to see if he mentioned anything about it. Color was good, but there are alot of factors that go into that and it isn't 100% solely on phosphates Quote Link to comment
Veng Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I may have to watch that video when I get home tonight, if I can remember. 1 Quote Link to comment
FishDooD65 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Very hardy coral. I wish it came in more colors. It's been fragged a lot over the years too. I want a frag! I can't find one ever! LOL Quote Link to comment
Rehype Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I'm sad to note that Sam the mandarin is on his last legs. He isn't responding too well, has been hiding more since 2 weeks. Found him motionless just now, he's alive but probably not for long. Sorry kat 1 Quote Link to comment
Arce Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I'm sad to note that Sam the mandarin is on his last legs. He isn't responding too well, has been hiding more since 2 weeks. Found him motionless just now, he's alive but probably not for long. I have grown such an emotional attachment to my mandy already so it sucks to hear about sam =[. These are by far the most beautiful fish imo. 1 Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 I'd believe the salifert over the Red Sea lol Your phosphates aren't that high at .03-.1 really, If your shooting for ULNS then sure, but I know your not. IMO your within an acceptable range for an experienced reefer. Everything else seems a bit low.... unless the higher #s are the more accurate ones..... stupid test kits. Do you have a doser? Yup, dosers are online. Adjusted for Alk today. I have grown such an emotional attachment to my mandy already so it sucks to hear about sam =[. These are by far the most beautiful fish imo. He hasn't moved from the spot he is in for about 4 hours now. He's still breathing. Sorry kat Thanks Eugene. I want a frag! I can't find one ever! LOL You sure you don't want the colony? I may have to watch that video when I get home tonight, if I can remember. set a reminder. Quote Link to comment
Polarcollision Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I'm not worried about my phosphate and nitrate levels. Visually my tank looks good to me. I have some high nutrient related troubles like a few patches of cyano which I am working to reduce now that I am home. I am worried about the alk and calcium. I've been working to raise the alk and it is not responding. Maybe it's the weather, between Markalot, Jedibear, Arce and a few others, it seems the ALK is not increasing even after upping the dosing. Has to be a function of aliens. The RS mg test gives me skewed results if the vial wasn't cleaned w/ vinegar each time. Any chance that applies? Have any coralline growth taking off? Bacterial growth? Sorry to hear about Sam Quote Link to comment
sangheili Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 If I may make some recommendations: Alk: Hanna all day long. Calc: Red Sea has been good in my experience, but usually reads like 40ppm low for me (I take mid point between endpoint and start of color shift) Mag: Red Sea reads again like 40 low Phos: Hanna ULR Phosphorus. All the rest i've tried as so far off its not even worth owning them. Nitrate: Salifert has been a recent addition of mine. Seems much more accurate then red sea but hard to tell. For all else: Triton. (Also makes a good reference - thats how I know how off some of those are) 1 Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 The RS mg test gives me skewed results if the vial wasn't cleaned w/ vinegar each time. Any chance that applies? Have any coralline growth taking off? Bacterial growth? Sorry to hear about Sam Coralline is there, actually just starting to become irritable. Innoculated the tank with a fresh batch of uncured rock and I add bio digest, dr tims, microbelift so yes I've got a lot of bacteria, Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 The Daily Polyp iPhone 6 pictures The Daily Wabbit 8 Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 Have a frag with your name on it. Beat the bugs, you can do it. 1 Quote Link to comment
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