Do You Ever Use Old Parameters

[SAWFISH]

Hi everyone,

I have been reefing for awhile now and I have always kept track of my old parameters, but it seems like I never use the old parameters. Typically, if everything in my tank looks right and my parameters are within the approximate guidlines I am looking for I never have any need to look at past measurements I have taken. I wondered if I am the only one doing this and maybe others have better uses for their old parameters,? Do you use your old parameters and if so for what?

 

[andiesreef]

Hi everyone,

I have been reefing for awhile now and I have always kept track of my old parameters, but it seems like I never use the old parameters. Typically, if everything in my tank looks right and my parameters are within the approximate guidlines I am looking for I never have any need to look at past measurements I have taken. I wondered if I am the only one doing this and maybe others have better uses for their old parameters,? Do you use your old parameters and if so for what?

i'm starting dosing right now so i use my old parameters to establish a "baseline" and what is normal for my setup

 

[Rmckoy]

I keep track of all parameters using a “daily planner “ which I record and track everything from testing , dosing , water changes , change media in reactors , light changes

even if I move a wave maker

when I move frags , buy new ones I record and track everything

 

[fish farmer]

I try to write down many of my changes and parameters that I take weekly/monthly. I really only use them to see trends like why corals do good or bad or just to look back...way back to 2000-2002 when my early tank did well and figure that is the way I should run my tank now.

 

[Rmckoy]

Knowing what was changed , added , tested always helps to look back to .

 

[SAWFISH]

I keep track of all parameters using a “daily planner “ which I record and track everything from testing , dosing , water changes , change media in reactors , light changes

even if I move a wave maker

when I move frags , buy new ones I record and track everything

That is pretty interesting, much more in depth than I personally go. Have you ever observed any big changes as a result of something like moving a wave maker?

 

[SAWFISH]

I try to write down many of my changes and parameters that I take weekly/monthly. I really only use them to see trends like why corals do good or bad or just to look back...way back to 2000-2002 when my early tank did well and figure that is the way I should run my tank now.

Do you have continuous records all the way back to 2000/2002? If so that is really impressive, probably really interesting to look back on

 

[Double monti 61]

Just my eyes and my brain , it’s like taking care of a dog , cat or any animal you know them take care of them and if they seem to have a problem you take care of it right away.

 

[elysics]

If you are dosing something, it's helpful to have a trendline rather than just a current value.

Did alkalinity drop from 8.4 to 7.4 in a day, or in a month? The latter means I'll have to change the amount that is dosed and also provides me with information on how much, the former means I'll have to take a look if something is broken, maybe a line is clogged/torn or the motor is worn out or there was a precipitation event.

Similar patterns can be interesting and useful for the other values, maybe you can even estimate coral growth from those and vaguely relate that to something new you tried

 

[fish farmer]

Do you have continuous records all the way back to 2000/2002? If so that is really impressive, probably really interesting to look back on

For the first few years, yes, weekly parameter tests and WC every other week, coral/fish additions, cycling time, etc.

Started slacking around 2005 when I bought a house, just records of WC and maybe additions. I'm back to taking better data the last few years.

 

[TheDragonsReef]

I take pictures of all the corals every month and log parameters weekly that i manually test and then i have a trident as well. If something changes and a coral doesnt look as good i know why. I also log any flow, lighting and equipment changes as well.

 

[fish farmer]

If you are dosing something, it's helpful to have a trendline rather than just a current value.

Did alkalinity drop from 8.4 to 7.4 in a day, or in a month? The latter means I'll have to change the amount that is dosed and also provides me with information on how much, the former means I'll have to take a look if something is broken, maybe a line is clogged/torn or the motor is worn out or there was a precipitation event.

Similar patterns can be interesting and useful for the other values, maybe you can even estimate coral growth from those and vaguely relate that to something new you tried

I recorded back on my first tank one of my corals, a sinularia had closed up, I noticed my alk was low and started adding reef builder. I did it slowly over several weeks to find the right amount. Soon as I got the level in the acceptable range, the coral opened up.

 

[Spieg]

I also keep a log of parameters and any work done in the tank. It is handy in some cases... for example I just realized that I haven't done a water change/sand vac since September (I'm a few weeks over due so will be doing this next weekend).

 

[mdb_talon]

Yes because for me current parameters are useless if i dont know what previous were. There is a lot of testing variability so i consider a single test normally irrelevant. As an example though if i notice that my alk is dropping .1 on average every day for a week then it may be time to tweak my doser. If my ph preciously ranged 8.1-8.4 and now is 7.7-8.0 then i know my family has to breath less, etc.

 

[Rmckoy]

That is pretty interesting, much more in depth than I personally go. Have you ever observed any big changes as a result of something like moving a wave maker?

No .
more just to say if something happened . This is the only thing that’s changed .
I did notice when I moved my lights up 1”
And in the same day I used epoxy to glue a bunch of frag plugs .
Within a few days a huge rtn episode started clearing out my sps

 

[SAWFISH]

then i know my family has to breath less, etc.

This made me crack up, have you ever considered using elevation training masks? https://www.roguefitness.com/elevat...qb4mujkirzZGku0vNyUyRVkKPNJUuyzMaAmWqEALw_wcB

 

[SAWFISH]

I take pictures of all the corals every month and log parameters weekly that i manually test and then i have a trident as well. If something changes and a coral doesnt look as good i know why. I also log any flow, lighting and equipment changes as well.

I like the idea of logging coral pictures every month. How big of a change do you normally observe? I would love to see pictures if you have them available

 

[mdb_talon]

This made me crack up, have you ever considered using elevation training masks? https://www.roguefitness.com/elevat...qb4mujkirzZGku0vNyUyRVkKPNJUuyzMaAmWqEALw_wcB

Haha perfect. They all getting the same thing on their next birthdays...

 

[TheDragonsReef]

I like the idea of logging coral pictures every month. How big of a change do you normally observe? I would love to see pictures if you have them available

I go back and forth with videos and pictures i just kinda throw them all in a folder by date. I monitor my frags more than my large colonies but i have a few comparison shots. It would be too much to post all of them. Feel free to follow my Instagram if you like this stuff.

 

[SAWFISH]

I go back and forth with videos and pictures i just kinda throw them all in a folder by date. I monitor my frags more than my large colonies but i have a few comparison shots. It would be too much to post all of them. Feel free to follow my Instagram if you like this stuff.

I am not sure why but for whatever reason the photos are not rendering for me, what is your instagram.