Are you making this mistake with your water quality?

wgibbons · 11/21/2010, 01:08 AM

When I used to work at the New England Aquarium in Boston, we collected tons of water quality data every week, and that data just sat there the tank chart. I couldn't use the raw data - it needed to be graphed to be useful.

Here's a quick video I did on the topic.

http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=326

Warren Gibbons

tomsfish · 11/21/2010, 01:16 AM

I think very little people graph their parameters they get from their tanks after tank results and don't realize how important visual graphs are when it comes to analyzing trends.

rayjay · 11/21/2010, 08:01 AM

It is even harder to graph when you don't do any testing other than s.g. for my fish only tanks, but I do Calcium and Magnesium and Alk for new I.O. once a year when I buy 12 cases of I.O. at Boxing day sales each year.
This once a year testing is just to know how much adjustment I want to do when using the new batch of salt as I use it in the coming year.
In my 17 yrs of reefing, I basically only tested when I first started a tank, but in the last ten years or so, each tank only gets tested for ammonia when I set them up new, and some that are set up long before I place fish in them don't even get that done.

wgibbons · 11/21/2010, 09:06 AM

If you had a time-tested data recording and graphing sheet (physical and computer), would you use it?

rayjay · 11/21/2010, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wgibbons

If you had a time-tested data recording and graphing sheet (physical and computer), would you use it?

I don't know what I would use it for.
If I've not needed it in 17 years, I can't see the need for it now.
I think the hobby has gone TOO high tech for me.
I still use tap water, NO fluorescent lighting, and no dosers or equipment other than power heads and DIY skimmers.
I use industrial grade chems for Calcium and Magnesium, baked baking soda for alk, and make my own water that I mix half and half with Instant Ocean to reduce costs.
There are other hobbyists in the area with all kinds of equipment and fancy lighting systems and having problems with their tanks, like algae and other unwanted pests.
My biggest problem with reef tanks is that they leak after a decade or so and I have to strip them down to reseal.

reefgeezer · 11/21/2010, 11:21 AM

I visited the Boston Aquarium last summer. Nice aquarium in a great location. If you haven't been to Boston, you're missing out. I don't use a controller so no data streams are available that need analysis, but I do chart my weekly testing. It's an old habit. I can't say that it is of any value now, but it was in the first year.

wgibbons · 11/21/2010, 03:55 PM

RayJay, it sounds like you've got a routine that works for you and results are what matters the most (not whether we use the "right method" to get to those results). What I was suggesting in my original post was a way to add certainty and consistency to the routine.
After 20 years of keeping reef aquariums, and 15 years running a high-end custom aquarium business, I have been forced to develop systems and procedures that will provide certainty and consistency and will help to avoid preventable problems.

It has been my experience that more than 90% of problems are preventable, and are either human, mechanical or biological.

Graphing your water quality is one small way to help maintain a bird's eye view of trends in water quality, and is also a great way speed up solving problems that are related to water quality.

UVvis · 11/21/2010, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wgibbons

Graphing your water quality is one small way to help maintain a bird's eye view of trends in water quality, and is also a great way speed up solving problems that are related to water quality.

Amen.

Also adding notes of what changes were made when, as it helps back track to see what may have been of long term influence down the road.

11/21/2010, 01:08 AM	#1
wgibbons Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Marion, MA Posts: 20	Are you making this mistake with your water quality? When I used to work at the New England Aquarium in Boston, we collected tons of water quality data every week, and that data just sat there the tank chart. I couldn't use the raw data - it needed to be graphed to be useful. Here's a quick video I did on the topic. http://saltwateraquariumsecrets.com/?p=326 Warren Gibbons

11/21/2010, 01:16 AM	#2
tomsfish Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Ocean Deep Posts: 53	Nice tips on your video I think very little people graph their parameters they get from their tanks after tank results and don't realize how important visual graphs are when it comes to analyzing trends.

11/21/2010, 08:01 AM	#3
rayjay Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 3,969	It is even harder to graph when you don't do any testing other than s.g. for my fish only tanks, but I do Calcium and Magnesium and Alk for new I.O. once a year when I buy 12 cases of I.O. at Boxing day sales each year. This once a year testing is just to know how much adjustment I want to do when using the new batch of salt as I use it in the coming year. In my 17 yrs of reefing, I basically only tested when I first started a tank, but in the last ten years or so, each tank only gets tested for ammonia when I set them up new, and some that are set up long before I place fish in them don't even get that done. __________________ Seahorses. Culture nanno, rotifers and brine shrimp. Current Tank Info: Seahorses

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11/21/2010, 09:06 AM	#4
wgibbons Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Marion, MA Posts: 20	If you had a time-tested data recording and graphing sheet (physical and computer), would you use it?

11/21/2010, 11:21 AM	#6
reefgeezer Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Wichita KS Posts: 2,621	I visited the Boston Aquarium last summer. Nice aquarium in a great location. If you haven't been to Boston, you're missing out. I don't use a controller so no data streams are available that need analysis, but I do chart my weekly testing. It's an old habit. I can't say that it is of any value now, but it was in the first year.

11/21/2010, 03:55 PM	#7
wgibbons Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Marion, MA Posts: 20	RayJay, it sounds like you've got a routine that works for you and results are what matters the most (not whether we use the "right method" to get to those results). What I was suggesting in my original post was a way to add certainty and consistency to the routine. After 20 years of keeping reef aquariums, and 15 years running a high-end custom aquarium business, I have been forced to develop systems and procedures that will provide certainty and consistency and will help to avoid preventable problems. It has been my experience that more than 90% of problems are preventable, and are either human, mechanical or biological. Graphing your water quality is one small way to help maintain a bird's eye view of trends in water quality, and is also a great way speed up solving problems that are related to water quality.