I'm Keith and I live on the northern side of the Seattle Metro area (Washington, USA). I have had a couple tanks over the years, but always dreamed of having a mostly-automated, properly-setup, beautifully-appointed, and somewhat-large reef tank. My reef tank journey has been a bit convoluted, but as I start planning what I've always wanted to have, I wanted a cohesive place for the thoughts and the progress. The typical 'Build Thread' on a forum is cool in it's way (and I'll probably keep one on R2R and PNWMAS), but it's weird to start one while I'm still planning, and I thought it might be better to have a conversation contained next to individual topics like a blog would do. So, here we go!
The last post about fish QT refers to ‘medication-soaked food’. But doesn’t really talk about it.
There’s basically three options.
Praziquantel
Basically a de-wormer. This should resolve internal parasites which are most famously problematic in the gut of the fish, especially the famous ‘white stringy poo’. Can be tricky for picky eaters, so you may wait to include this until you get the fish eating. API General Cure is a popular choice; it has the metronidazole as well (below).
Kanamycin
Primarily effective against gram-negative bacteria, some protozoans. Seachem Kanaplex is one option
Metronidazole
Primarily effective against gram-positive bacteria, also against some protozoans. Internal flagellates is a specific subset of bacteria HumbleFish finds this useful for.
You’ll also want Seachem Focus and American Marine Selcon for the soaking. The former helps bind the meds to the food, the latter boosts nutrition and makes it more palatable for the fish.
The HumbleFish recipe that I plan to use for my med-soaked food:
Using a shot glass:
1 scoop (~ 1/8 teaspoon) of medication
1 scoop Focus
1 tbsp food (preferably pellets or frozen food)
A few drops of saltwater or fish vitamins Selcon
Stir until a medicated food slurry has been achieved
Feed after soaking for 30 mins
Refrigerate until 2nd feeding. (offer 2x per day, not more with medication)
I expect the first day I’ll just feed regular food, then I’ll get the kanamycin in the mix, and if I’ve got metro w/o prazi, I’ll do a kana/metro combination. Then I’ll use API GC with kana for the rest
I’ve become a super believer in Safety Stop, but we all know it isn’t actually perfect. I like the idea of QT and prophylactic treatments, but don’t love copper because it’s pretty harsh and fairly dangerous...you have to keep the concentration dead-on perfect for the whole time or it fails (either lethally or by being sub-therapeutic).
Humblefish (on R2R) has found great success with the ‘hybrid’ Tank Transfer method, and I plan to use it with some additions. One note: my current nano has 4 untreated fish in it (prior fish had no treatment, current fish went through safety stop only), so I don’t think I’ll do more than Safety Stop in my nano, but when I move the system, I plan to fully treat the fish that move and leave anything from the old system fallow for 90 days to ensure the new system is as disease-free as I can manage, and here’s how I plan to treat new fish (and the fish that move to the new tank).
Keep two 20 gallon long tanks ready for QT at all times (plus I’ll eventually use my current nano as a coral/invert QT to make sure they don’t bring junk into the system). Each fish QT will have a heater, powerhead, PVC fittings. Also have an airpump and tiny pad heater for the Safety Stop routine. Oh, and Prime for sure. At least one of the QT tanks should have a sharpie line showing the 10g line.
Get one tank ready and running with 12 gallons of 1.026 saltwater in it before bringing the fish home and make sure I’ve got some RODI to salinity-adjust the QT tank
Stick a big sponge or similar in the display’s sump to pick up bacteria (for later)
Every time a new tank is filled (especially during TTM), dose 2x the recommended dose of nitrifying bacteria (like MB7, Dr Tim’s One and Only, Biospira, whatever) and 1x the dose daily during feedings. This also should keep ammonia to a minimum, but should also minimize the risk of bacterial infections because
Day 0
Temperature acclimate the fish to 1g of 1.026 in a bucket.
Open the bag, put in a few drops of Prime to combat ammonia that may have built up and is now exposed to fresh air (more toxic as CO2 off-gasses).
Check salinity of bag, if below 1.023, adjust the bucket to be 1.023, if below 1.020, adjust bucket to 1.020, if below 1.016, adjust bucket to 1.016.
Make sure bucket is one gallon, mix in Safety Stop Part A (formalin).
Net fish into Part A (with airstone and pad heater), obvserve breathing for 45 minutes.
This formalin bath should act much like the first H2O2 bath of the hybrid method; ridding the fish of most external and attached parasites. plus these baths ensure a minimum of the source water goes into the QT
Net fish to 1g of Part B (same salinity as Part A) for another 45 minutes
Add RODI to QT tank so salinity matches bucket (or a couple points higher maybe).
Net fish from Part B into the QT tank, make sure it is dosed with Prime to fight of ammonia build up in this sterile tank. Adjust QT tank with new water to make it to the 10g sharpie line
Offer food daily that’s soaked in antibiotic to combat internal parasites
If salinity was low, do the daily topoffs with saltwater to raise it slowly. Otherwise topoff with RODI to maintain salinity.
Try to just de-stress and feed for 6 days, don’t transfer early as 6 days before the peroxide dip is actually important for disease life cycles.
Day 6
Ensure 2nd QT tank is prepped with warmed water at salinity to match QT A.
Turn off powerhead and dose 200mL of 3% store-bought H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) to make a 75 mg/L concentration in QT A (the fish is leaving).
Note, this is 6 days after the formalin treatment, so it probably achieves the last step of the ‘hybrid’ part of the TTM.
Observe for 30 minutes
There’s little risk of losing oxygen as the H2O2 is actually adding oxygen as it reacts with things in the tank, and it’s only 30 minutes. Moreover, it’s important to not agitate the surface to preserve the H2O2 concentration
Net the fish to QT B, careful to minimize carryover from the old system. Make sure QT B has Prime, let it ride.
Clean QT A and all equipment (recommend good gloves due to bleach)
Drain and rinse with tap water
Pour in 1g of tap water and 1 cup of bleach (this is crazy strong, but easy and I’m crazy as a former microbiologist I love me my bleach), use sponge to wet all surfaces, leave powerhead and heater submerged for 20 minutes
Wipe down walls of tank for a few minutes, then fill tank with tap water. in my 20g long, it should hold about 16g of water, so the 1 cup of bleach is about 0.3%, leave this for at least an hour, no more than overnight (needs time dry).
Rinse bleach water out of the tank, and dry. Towel dry is nice, especially if less than 48 hours before the next transfer.
Keep feeding medication-soaked food going to rid them of any internal parasites (nothing else we’re doing touches internal problems)
Day 8
Fill QT A with new saltwater (should easily be at 1.026 now by topping up with saltwater all week), let it warm up overnight
Still feeding med-soaked food
Day 9
Net fish from QT B into QT A, same as on Day 6, Prime in new tank
Repeat cleaning just like Day 6 so QT B is bleached and clean
Still feeding med-soaked food
Day 11
Fill QT B with new saltwater, let it warm up overnight
Still feed med-soaked food
Day 12
Repeat the H2O2 bath just like Day 6. In theory this is unecessary as the Day 0 formalin and Day 6 H2O2 should have fixed all of this, but I’d like to be safe.
Net fish from QT A into QT B, same care as on Day 6.
Clean QT A as above
Fish should be free from velvet and similar external problems, but not yet free of ich
Keep feeding med-soaked food
Day 15 - Repeat day 9, into QT A, done feeding med-soaked food (unless stringy poo was observed; keep med-soaked food for two weeks after those symptoms vanish)
Day 18 - Repeat day 9, into QT B, fish now is ich-free! Clean QT A
Move sponge from sump into QT B, add some Prime, observe carefully.
Hopefully, everything has been beat and you can just watch for two weeks. If anything else comes up, treat it and wait a new two weeks.*see below
Day 32 - Fish is ready for the display!
* if a bacterial infection shows up at any point, I will start dosing the ‘trifecta’ like HumbleFish recommends. I’m hoping this doesn’t show up before Day 6; I want to have the first H2O2 treatment done so that all surface parasites are taken care of (Part A of Safety Stop plus first H2O2 on Day 6). If not, I’ll probably have to just skip the H2O2 and revisit it after the antibiotic treatment.
Whenever this does show up, I’ll just ditch the TTM plan until the antibiotic course is done and restart it (Day 6 ) when the antibiotics are completely done. You can’t ‘outrun’ bacteria like you can with the parasites, so the TTM just adds a layer of complication to what’s already complicated. Exception: if the fish actually has a parasite (like ich), then I’ve got to stick with the TTM plan and add some MelaFix (and hope) and the antibiotics will probably just have to wait unless I’m feeling up for the double-attack...yuck. I might keep a cheaper 8 or 15w UV sterilizer on hand for these types of emergencies, hoping that by keeping it UV’d for the current 3 days will get the fish well enough it can make it through the next 3 days (I don’t plan to sterilizer my UV for each cycle and not every bit of it that gets wet is sterilized by the UV light).
Taken mostly from HumbleFish below, note that “all 3″ means Furan-2, KanaPlex, and Metroplex; each at their own advised dose. Always good to mix in a bowl of tank water before pouring into the QT and MAKE SURE the tank has plenty of surface agitation to prevent oxygen depletion.
Kanaplex dose: one scoop per 5g of QT water
Metroplex dose: one scoop per 5g of QT water
Furan-2 dose: 1 packet per 10g of QT water
I’ll probably try to soak food in the metroplex or API General Cure as well to try to clear internal infections
Day 1- all three
Day 2- furan-2
Day 3- 25% waterchange THEN all 3
Day 4- furan-2
Day 5- 25% waterchange THEN all 3
Day 6- furan-2
Day 7- 25% waterchange THEN all 3
Day 8- furan-2
Day 9- 25% waterchange THEN all 3
Day 10- furan-2
Day 11- 25% (or more) waterchange
If the fish wasn’t appearing clear of bacterial infection at day 9, then continue-
Day 11- 25% waterchange THEN all 3
Day 12- furan-2
Day 13- 25% waterchange THEN all 3
Day 14- furan-2
Day 15- 25% (or more) waterchange
Every new fish will go through Safety Stop, then observation for a week, FW dip then medicated food for a week, then get more interesting:
Acclimation:
Float the bag in the tank for 20 minutes
Dump half of the water in their bag to sewer and refill with tank water, continue to float. while preparing Safety Stop part A (which will need to float to stay warm). Make sure airstone is ready for safety stop bath.
Safety Stop
is two 45 minute baths that knocks back most things. probably not practical at a commercial level, but great for the hobbyist
Move fish (no water!) from acclimation bag to Safety Stop part A with an airstone for 40 minutes, prepare Part B, make sure both parts stay warm
Move fish (no water!) from Part A to part B, move airstone, observe for 40 minutes
Move fish to tank
Observe for a week
Any signs of infection/illness, treat to the best of my abilities
possible FW dips, formalin dips, special dose of nitrofurazone or praziquentel, etc.
no lights on fish QT, potentially block light from coral QT for the first couple days to destress
This whole week is about getting the fish eating and de-stressed
FW dip
Fill the other fish QT with display water and fill with RODI
Fill bucket with RODI, treat with Praziquentel
dip fish in FW/prazi water for 4 minutes, then move to 2nd fish QT (50/50 RODI). let salinity rise by AWC
Medicated food for a week
Starting immediately after the FW/prazi dip, feed medicated food for a week
Prazi, kanamycin, Metronidazole all likely medines, use pellets, flakes, or dehydrated foods like mysis.
By now, they should be free of just about any fluke, internal parasite, and the bulk, of everything else (ich, velvet, uronema, brook), but some may remain
Final treatment:
Day -2, dose 1 ppm and remove AWC
Day -1, dose 1 more ppm chelated copper sulfate ppm and Nitrofurazone
Day 0, dose to a final of 2.25-2.5 chelated copper sulfate.
Any time a fish is seen with sign of infection, the ‘day counter’ resets to zero, stay in copper for 14 days of zero signs of infection.
Day 1-15, check salinity and copper daily to ensure therapeutic dose. Keep at least 5g of water ready for water changes that has 2.5ppm copper and nitrofurazone pre-dosed. This can just be dumped in and waste overflows to drain. Do this if nutrients build up too high (maybe 50ppm nitrate or 1ppm phosphate).
Day 16, Move to new fish QT for observation
Final observation for at least two weeks, re-treat if anything shows up, potentially keep feeding medicated foods as precaution
I’ll probably clean both QT systems once everything moves to the display, but I’ll set them back up right away, and it will get AWC from the display to keep them up and running. I’ll turn off the coral QT lights and pump when there’s no coral, but otherwise, I’ll leave them running.
Prepare dip for each new coral:
Make up solutions of each of the following so I can go straight from one dip to the next with no timing problems
Bayer, 5mL in 4oz of water (range advised is 1.25 to 10mL per 4oz). If it’s a large coral or lots of corals at once, I may do a bigger batch
Potassium Permangenate: 50ppm in tank water in a bag I can float
Flatworm Rx: 1 drop in a bucket with 2.5g of water, put some in a bag I can float
revive
Possilbly one more as a purely recovery/health-oriented dip, maybe with amino acids and/or coral food
Do the dips:
Bayer: 5 minutes
KMnO4 for 1.5hr
Flatworm Rx: 40 minutes
Revive: 10 minutes
Possible extra dip
and put it in the coral QT with low/medium lights and flow, and more flatworm Rx (4 drops per 10g).
Backstory on Flatworm Rx: I want to do the flatworm dip because if there’s a lot and they die off, I don’t want it in the reef, but it can take a long time to get them all, so I will re-dose in the coral QT.
Feed coral QT 2-3x weekly with things like Reef Chili, Benereef, etc
Within the first week of any new coral into coral QT, just after an AWC happens:
Dose coral QT with interceptor, 1 pill per 400g (I’ll have to do math for a small tank)
12 hours later, add GAC in media bag
Let AWC and GAC soak up the excess
Repeat one week later and a week after that (3 doses in 15 days)
Dose with Koral Recover or KoralMD for 7 days somewhere in the previous timeline.
Dip in Revive again a few days after last Interceptor dose, inspect for pests. If no pests have been seen on any coral in the QT, place in display
When coral QT is empty, drain system dry.
If immediately re-using, rinse with acid (muriatic or strong vinegar), rinse clean with tap water, rinse with some RO or tank water, fill with tank water
If not using right away, fill with tap water, add 1% bleach, turn off AWC and turn on pumps. After an hour, remove pumps/heaters/etc and rinse in tap and set out to dry. Let tank sit in bleach for 1-3 days, then drain, rinse well with tap water, fill with tap water and prime for a day, then drain and dry
For the first two weeks in this QT, I’ll be a bit intense, and remember there will be 1g AWC every day, which should be 10-20% of the QT system.
coral procedure:
dip each coral every other day, not sure yet what the dip process will be, probably bayer, permangenate and revive. this should do pretty well to clean off any pests.
Inspect at each dip, especially for things like vermatids that the dip might not get.
Dose interceptor to wipe out potential pest crustaceans, wait for treatment to be fully AWC away
Dose Flatworm RX, wait for treatment to wash away
Maintain four more weeks with regular inspection to ensure there are no more pests
Fish procedure:
Make sure there’s a HOB biowheel type setup to denitrify and at least some sand for the wrasse. 10% AWC should manage nitrates, biowheel is the best bet to quickly convert ammonia
feed prazi-soaked foods daily to clear internal parasites (remember they went through Safety Stop on the way into QT). This must continue for 14 days once started
At the one-week mark:
Make sure I have a second fish QT tank (same holes drilled for AWC). Fill this tank with 50% water from the display and 50% RODI water.
Mix up 1g of 10% bleach water (1 part bleach to 9 parts tap water)
Separate the fish QT from coral QT
Make up 1g of RODI water with praziquentel do a freshwater dip dosed with Praziquentel for 3-5 minutes, should clear up flukes and other things
Net all fish into the prazi/FW dip for 4 minutes, use separate net to move into the 50/50 tank.
Dry out the previous fish QT tank, pour in the 1g of bleach water, put in all fish QT decor, net, etc. Use sponge (and nitrile gloves) to continuously wash the walls of the tank with the bleachwater for 20-30 minutes, drain and triple rinse with tap water, then rinse with RO(DI).
Copper treatment:
Slowly start dosing copper, maybe 0.5PPM chelated copper higher per day for 5 days (target 2.5).
Take AWC off the fish QT, do daily test for nitrate and copper, do water change with pre-dosed copper as needed, maintain for two weeks
Resume AWC, then let the copper go away with AWCs,
I want to be careful about QT in my new tank, so I’m going to be a little ridiculous, or at least that’s the plan. I’m doing my transfer of my 29 AIO, which was not careful about QT, so here’s the plan:
New tank fully set up and running with rock that was cured in a barrel, including lots of bottled bacteria, some seed rock and some seed rock from my 29, mostly dry sand plus some seed sand from my 29. There’s a slight chance something can survive here without coral/fish, but mostly this tank (without coral/fish) should starve out any parasites. The only thing I’ll put in the tank will be motile inverts (snails/hermits), I’ll probably feed them some pellets every couple of days.
Get a small tank as a coral QT, have automatic water changes from my main system dump the waste to the coral QT, which overflows to the fish QT (see below). Keep this tank as small as possible so the AWC maintains salinity (a 1g per day change on a 5g tank should keep the salinity quite stable, even without ATO), I’ll check salinity regularly and add RODI as necessary. I can treat this tank with harsh flatworm treatments and interceptor and things if I want (no motile inverts), but will probably just observe and do weekly dips, rotating bayer, revive, potassium permangenate, etc.
Get a fish QT, probably 10g that receives the drain from the coral QT (whenever the AWC moves water from main system to the coral QT, the coral QT drains into the fish QT). Most any coral treatment (ie, interceptor) is safe for fish, so this should be fine. The big thing is this allows me to use copper in the fish QT without it touching inverts, fish QT drains to sewer with the AWC.
So, initial moves I’ll probably put each coral through an intense dip regimen as they move to the QT, and all fish through safety stop on their way to QT, motile inverts and macroalgae straight to the display.
The basic idea is:
a small tank (maybe 5g) for coral QT
Receives the ‘waste’ from the sump during AWC in the main system.
This will have:
a big frag rack,
a small pump for aeration and flow, and
either a HOB filter (biowhell/etc) or a sponge filter.
Note this has very low nutrients as I am not feeding fish or a CUC
Lights from my AIO, but not too bright. It’s hard to kill a coral with low light, easy to kill it with too much.
1/2″ bulkhead with strainer near the top that drain any water that overflows. nothing fancy, this will only get tens of gallons per hour during the AWCs
Possibly as big as a 20L, but more likely a 5g or even a DIY lagoon that’s 8x12x12h
Another small tank (pair of tanks) for fish QT:
below the coral QT so the AWC from coral QT gravity feeds into this tank.
1/2″ bulkhead with strainer near the top to drain AWC water to sewer
HOB with biowheel to process nutrients,
Fake rock/PVC/etc
Probably a pair of 20L tanks
Next is how I’ll manage the creatures while in this initial QT
Some additional thoughts on titrations from Mike in Club Melev’s Reef that I support (my notes in italics, otherwise directly copied from him):
Use a clean container like a portion cup to scoop a single sample when doing more than one test, especially if you’re testing your test kit(ie. performing two alk tests).
This is a nice way to do several tests at once. I use a 1 cup measuring cup to gather about a 1/2 cup of tank water, do my tests, and pour back what I didn’t use. Additional note: don’t do this with pH test kits. Mike would tell you to not even bother with a pH test kit (probe only), but if you’re going to, do the test as fast as possible out of the tank or the pH will start shifting.
Sometimes reagent gets caught in the corner where the tip meets the syringe causing your very last drop to be an air bubble. put moderate pressure on the titration plunger before drawing up reagent. This will draw up a drop more than 1.0ml but will not affect the amount dispensed. This is especially useful for my next tip.
This is reasonable, I usually do press down on the syringe before drawing up to ensure I’m getting the full amount. Probably a minimal impact, but decent advice.
If you test frequently, you should know roughly how much titrant you’ll need. To prevent cross contamination and save reagent, only draw up what you need. For example my alk is usually 8.8 with the salifert test. Normally .43 ml of reagent is left. I draw up 0.6ml, shoot in ~.52 and drip/swirl the last few drops. Saves time and reagent.
This is totally valid if you can keep the math straight, but for many, it’s too weird to shift the numbers around and keep it straight. As such, my advice in general is to draw to the 1mL mark and add most of what you expect to need (maybe 80-90% of expected), then mix well before finishing dropwise. Mike’s suggestion is perfectly valid science if you can keep the numbers straight as you’re doing it.
Some test vials need acid washed to clean precipitate built up, specifically Redsea’s calcium and magnesium(bad) test. You can use vinegar but diluted muriatic is cheaper and more effective. Hanna colorimeter vials should be cleaned immediately to prevent staining and the Red Sea pro phosphate(great kit) needs scrubbed because it stains the vial and may affect other tests.
Valid, a muriatic wash is probably a wise choice for any glass equipment, at least as a periodic maintenance. Plastics are a bit more labile for acids, but if diluted appropriately, this is an effective way to clean.
If you missed the background, please see the previous post.
Here, we’ll cover how to properly do a titration, a common type of water test for your reef. We’ll be using the Salifert magnesium test as the example, but the same principle applies for all titration-based tests.
Step 0: Preparation
First, make sure the equipment you’re working with is clean. In a lab, this means glass equipment, cleaned extremely carefully, often including an acid bath, triple rinsed in ultrapure water, and baked in an oven to dry, or disposable (single-use) plastic tools made specifically for analytical processes. This isn’t practical for us. In general, if you very thoroughly rinse your testing equipment with RO (or DI) water immediately after use, and leave it to dry until next time, it’s probably fine. If you want to be a little extra careful, some mild detergent should be fine as long as you rinse it especially well afterwards. The key is a triple rinse with RO(DI). In general, RODI left in the vial won’t impact the test, so feel free to use the equipment immediately after rinsing, this is preferable to potentially introducing a contaminant to the equipment when drying manually.
Finally (for prep), the only thing that you should rinse in tank water is the syringe used to measure the tank water, the actual test vial should touch no tank water except the measured amount. If you want the most accurate results and need to replace tank water already in the test vial, you should rinse the vial (3x) in RO(DI) again before re-adding the sample.
Step 1: Get sample
Fill the syringe with tank water, well above the intended mark and expel it back to the tank, preferably repeat a second time. This ensures any RO(DI) water in the syringe (or salts if you forgot to rinse it) won’t change the concentration of the analyte because it’s replaced with the intended sample.
With the tip of the syringe submerged, pull the plunger out in a patient and controlled fashion until it is slightly above the intended mark. The point of being patient isn’t to be slow, but to ensure the tip stays submerged and the water column doesn’t get any air in it. If you see the water ‘toss’ inside the syringe, simply expel all sample back to the tank and re-draw to ensure an accurate measurement. Note: most syringes provided for this purpose have a hard plastic plunger, so the ‘overdraw and push down’ is less important, it mostly is to make sure the plunger doesn’t change shape while dispensing, which is a minor issue for a hard plastic plunger.
Looking through the side of the syringe, holding the syringe vertically (tip-down), gently push the plunger down until the first part of the plunger is touching the intended mark (2mL, for this magnesium test). Move the syringe to the clean test vial, expel the entire contents into the test vial slowly enough to not cause splashing.
Step 2: Add early reagents
The early reagents are to add indicator dye and to setup the buffering matrix for the test. In general, the analyte (magnesium) should be the ‘limiting reagent’ for the test, but all reagents should be added per the instructions in the test. A reagent specifically identified as ‘Indicator’, such as the Salifert alkalinity test, is less significant for accuracy. If you mistakenly add too much, rinse the vial in RO(DI) water, and get a new sample. The main note is: the powder reagents should be level scoops, not heaping. Ideally, you’d use a clean straightedge (like a knife) to flatten the scoop, but the side of the bottle is often sufficient if you’re diligent.
Make sure all powder is fully dissolved and the sample appears ‘clear (other than the color) and well-mixed before continuing. Ensure no sample splashes out of the vial during mixing.
Step 3: Add the titrant
Ensure the tip is firmly seated on the syringe, submerge the tip into the liquid and pull the plunger out in a controlled way (make sure you don’t ‘toss’ the reagent in the syringe, nor suck any air in). Most syringes provided for this step have a soft rubber plunger, so it’s very important to push down to the mark. The plunger becomes slightly concave during the aspiration (draw) and slightly convex during the dispense, you want its shape to be consistent during the dispense step. So aspirate so the plunger rises above the (1mL) mark and dispense (usually back to the reagent bottle) until the first part of the plunger touches the 1mL mark.
Now, an aside, and this is important because it is the source of repetitive bad advise I see given consistently through hobby forums and groups. Let me be clear:
There will be an airgap between the plunger and the liquid, and the size of this airgap is not relevant in any way to the test being performed.
When you submerge the tip in the reagent and just before drawing the plunger up, there is air below the plunger and above the liquid surface. The volume of air in this area is dependent on the diameter of the syringe, the shape of the ‘nose’ of the syringe, the size and shape of the tip on the syringe, and how firmly the tip is seated on the syringe nose. The size will very likely vary from kit to kit because they are not manufactured with particularly exception tolerances (because it isn’t important) and it will vary from person to person (and even time to time) because the firmness of the seat will vary. The important thing is that during a single titration, this really won’t change unless you adjust the seating of the tip on the syringe nose while there is titrant in the syringe (so don’t do that).
If anyone adamantly defies this paragraph, you should ask them for their credentials/sources; I gave you mine in my previous post.
Again: As long as you don’t change the seating of the tip on the syringe while the titrant is in the syringe, the size of the airgap is not relevant to the test in any way.
So, now that you’ve pushed the plunger down to the 1mL mark, tap the tip on the inside of the bottle to ensure it is clean (no excess reagent), and move to hold it above the sample vial (that already has the early reagents mixed in). If you have a good idea of how much to use, you can add a bulk of the titrant at once, making sure it’s less than is actually needed so you can still see exactly when the color change happens. I’d suggest adding about 80% or 90% of what you think is needed (if you think the color change will happen at 0.20mL, perhaps add to the 0.25mL or 0.30mL mark). After any bulk addition like this, make sure to pause and swirl/tap the sample vial for plenty of time to fully mix everything, 20-30 seconds is probably reasonable in most circumstances. Note this magnesium test is particularly quick (complete change in a short number of drops), so be methodical.
When looking for the specific point of the color change, the best way is dropwise; let one drop fall from the syringe tip and mix it into the sample for about 2 seconds and observe. When the first hint of a color change starts, check the plunger position (let’s say the first hint of a color change is at 0.22) and make a note (mental note is fine). You know it takes more than this much titrant, but not much more. Now start the following cycle to determine the exact number:
While carefully watching the color, add a drop (for this test, about 0.02 mL usually) to the sample vial. It works best if you have a bright space and a white background.
If the color changed, replace your note of the plunger value with the new number, repeat number 1 (add a drop).
If the color did not change, that previous number you noted is the final (correct) number.
So hypothetically:
You may have first noted 0.22mL because it started to become less pink at that number,
At 0.16, it turned from a purplish color to a clear blue color.
At 0.14, it did not change (remaining the same clear blue color)
This means 0.16mL is the result, which means you have 1260ppm of magnesium in your sample (look up 0.16 on the provided chart).
Best practice would be to do the test twice and verify they are within a given tolerance (probably about 5-10% for these hobby-grade tests). If the two are this close, then averaging is fine but meaningless (because the test isn’t that accurate). If the two are substantially different, you should probably do the test at least two more times; there is probably an inconsistency in either your practices or the samples have a homogeneity problem (like precipitate).
A final note: sometimes instructions give clear instruction to shake the reagent vial for a certain amount of time. this is essential. This instruction will be given because the reagent is likely to precipitate. You should ensure the bottle is closed tightly and actually watch the clock while you vigorously shake it to ensure it is thoroughly mixed, then immediately remove the top and use the reagent. If you do not have it properly mixed (or allow it to settle after mixing before use), you will not get the correct amount of the reagent in the test (either too much or too little of the suspended precipitate). In addition to causing the current test to be erroneous, if this is done enough times for the same reagent bottle, the contents of the bottle will have an incorrect concentration of the precipitate and all subsequent tests with that bottle will be inaccurate.
I may add a video, but for now, this will need to suffice.
OK, this is a little different than my other posts, but I’ve found such a pattern of bad advice regarding how to do titration-based water tests, I feel compelled to offer a comprehensive guide. For this example, I’ll refer to the Salifert magnesium tests, but the principle applies to all titration-based tests, obviously including the salifert alkalinity and calcium tests, but many others as well.
First, my credential
I received a Bachelor’s of Science from Oregon State University majoring in microbiology and minoring in chemistry. This included numerous lab classes, including an entire 3 credit course that was exclusively an analytical chemistry lab, in which I received an ‘A’. Furthermore, my wife’s Bachelor’s degree (also from OSU) is in Chemistry, and she fully supports my description here.
Second, what is a titration
According to Merriam-Webster: A “method or process of determining the concentration of a dissolved substance in terms of the smallest amount of reagent of known concentration required to bring about a given effect in reaction with a known volume of the test solution“. Functionally, for our purposes, a titration is a test where small amounts of a reagent are added (usually drop-wise), waiting for a color change; this color change is supposed to be abrupt in the span of one or a few drops. In most titrations, this change is based on an indicator dye that indicates a pH shift. This is primarily distinct from colormetric tests where all reagent is added and the resulting color varies along a spectrum. In titrations, the early reagents (and the sample) are mixed first to add the indicator dye (sometimes embedded within other reagents) and to setup the pH buffer. This buffer is specifically dependent on the ion being tested for. In the case of this magnesium test, it starts fairly acidic with an indicator that is red (color due to the acid, acid is formed by the combination of the powder and the magnesium in the tank water). The titrating reagent is a base that is moving the pH up, but mostly can’t because of the buffering capacity of the sample and earlier reagents until a critical point is passed; as this point is passed, the pH abruptly changes and the indicator dye changes color.
Now, for the real question...how do you do it, read it here
So there are a few ideas for DIY rollermats out there. The basic idea, is a roll of filter fleece (which are easy to buy down to about 20uM size). This is mounted, run down across a field where the overflow water pours, and up to another (’out’) roll where a motor can pull new material onto it.
The overflow water flows into this chamber, must flow through the fleece before it makes it to the rest of the sump. As the fleece gets clogged, the water column gets taller (and the higher column forces the water through the clogged fleece, to a point). At some point, it hits a float switch (or optical sensor), which turns the fleece so the water can flow through more easily.
Set the controller to turn on the ‘out’ roller for a fixed number of seconds (maybe 3?) and wait to see if the water level drops (maybe 30?).
Add a backup float switch above the normal one. If it gets hit, run the motor for 10 seconds and wait 2 minutes. Also send an alert (the primary sensor is either set wrong or there is something wrong).
Ensure there’s an overflow above the high sensor so the water can escape when necessary.
Buy some plastic gutter guard and light diffuser/egg crate. set the eggcrate as the base to support the fleece, and the gutter guard between the egg crate and fleece so the guard keeps the fleece as flat as possible, keeping good support to hold the fleece smooth.
I’ve talked with two local stores that can source a tank for me, both use different vendors (one uses Planet Aquariums, the other Custom Aquariums). the quotes are close to each other in cost, though I only have a firm number for the Planet tank. Freight from Texas is rough, though. Interestingly, the difference in cost for a 30″ vs 24″ tank depth is only a couple hundred bucks. I’m looking at about $2800 vs $3100 shipped (before sales tax).
At that price difference, I DEFINITELY want a 30″ deep tank!
I’m trying to balance things in my 29g. I dosed 64mL of Brightwell’s Magnesion over 6 doses in 48 hours to try to raise from 1260ppm Magnesium. I’m hoping for at least 1350, maybe 1400 or even 1450, we’ll see where it likes to be.
While waiting for my new dosing setup, this is all manual.
Ca is steady at 390, both before and after this Magnesium dosing. Alk is 9.3 (I dosed a little soda ash Sunday, so this is up from 8.2 Saturday. Magnesium only went up from 1260 to 1290, I was expecting it to raise by about 70...
So I dosed 50mL last night and will test this evening...seems weird it isn’t getting a little higher
So I was planning to have the tank built by Crystal Reef in Bellingham, WA...but they just sent an email that they’re closing and no longer taking orders.
So...who else? I’m even now considering acrylic...sheesh
Why do people like dropoff tanks? I just don’t really get it.
The only thing I thought of, is if you had a somewhat complete divider between the deeper and shallower sections, you could make the tall section low flow and no fish moving in between. What I’m getting at is a seahorse section in the main tank. You’d get the benefit of large-volume stability for all the food you’re shoving at the ponies, let them do their methodical slow feeding and not be blasted with 50x turnover in the reef. But you’d still get your reef, and not be maintaining two tanks...it might even look a bit like it’s all one thing.
However, I know horses like colder temperatures, so maybe this is fundamentally flawed. Why not just have a second (tall) tank that’s plumbed to the same sump.
Anyways...why do people like drop-off tanks, they just seem weird to me.
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