Are you a note-taker?

[Dom]

I'm currently dealing with a Cyanobacteria outbreak. I have been picking my brain, trying to recall what changes I've made over the last two months and when I made them.

As a "hobbyist" it never occurred to me that note taking might be useful.

I'm going to begin and maintain a diary with daily entries about my tanks. Test results, lighting changes and dietary changes will be recorded, just to name some.

Moving forward, these notes will serve as the notes I wish I had now. LOL

Do you take notes? What do you keep track of?

Dom

 

[mich2599]

I have a composition notebook with all my weekly water parameters, when I added fish, added coral, inverts, when fish die etc....now that I have an apex I just write all my notes there

 

[Brad Miller]

At my age, if I didn’t write down what I do in my journal, I would forget I had reef tank;Inpain

 

[Firemanreefkeeper]

I track everything I do everyday. Testing, feeding, fragging, you name it, it gets logged. Even something as simple as I used the scrapper to clean the glass gets logged. You never know what might be useful later on. I had a similar problem like you and was glad I had notes to recall, change and fix.

 

[Sod Buster]

There are a couple apps you can download that will even graph for you. My old notebook was the bible. It hung on a hook inside the stand.

 

[jsker]

I use my build thread and Apex Fusion to track/Notes for my system.
I used to use a spread sheet and found the above easer.

 

[fish farmer]

I write down weekly tests, WC, skimmer cleaning, organism additions, some renovations.

 

[Dom]

There are a couple apps you can download that will even graph for you. My old notebook was the bible. It hung on a hook inside the stand.

It just feels like something I'd like to have on paper in a notebook. I have a workstation down with my tanks and thought I might put an old laptop there. But this feels like a pencil and paper thing to me.

 

[ccombs]

I have an excel spreadsheet that I print off and the entries are blank, but I can write down my parameters and the date, etc. This is the sheet from awhile back, ignore the goofy parameters, I was having some issues lol.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

I just use an app to keep track of my params. Alk, Calc, Mag, P04, NO3

 

[Slim64684]

I just use a notebook but i only track weekly water tests, water changes and organism additions/subtractions

 

[SDK]

Lots of ways to accomplish and all good suggestions. Like Jsker, I like keeping my build thread updated. This is also a great tool if you have a problem, and those helping you want some tank history.

I also really like the Aquarimate App for several reasons beyond hard documentation. Like Brad, at my age I would probably misplace paper notes lol..

Beyond notes, Aquarimate allows me to set recurring reminders for maintenance, testing etc. I even have things like quarterly reminders to service pumps. It makes remembering all of that stuff a breeze. It also takes testing data and turns it into charts and graphs at the touch of a button. They make for easy reference to how stable parameters are going back through time. These charts are something else I can peruse or share here if trying to get help with a problem.

To touch on forgetfulness one more time, Aquarimate lets you photo document every fish and coral you add to the tank. When you are scratching your head trying to remember the name of some Zoanthid you bought a year ago, the info is right there....

Having said all that. Definitely keep records in any way that works for you and makes the hobby easier and more fun...

 

[Codym808]

+1 for Aquarimate. I log all my parameters, live stock, equipment, supplements, set reminders, and even costs (which you probably dont want to see). One of the top priorities for me is taking photos of the live stock every so often to document growth. IMO its definitely worth the price.

 

[Sod Buster]

Aquarium note is a free app