OK, Its On!.....

[Tonyscoots84]

i do not have a camera but wonder how you manage to take pics when your hands are all fishy smelly.

have someone else hold the camera and take the pic

 

[loismustdie]

I can't tell you how funny I now find this thread since I've been testing a few members PO4. The 5 members who had the highest PO4 all had 1 common denominator. They used a homemade food. The lowest PO4 level out of all of them was .31
Those who use prepared foods typically had lower numbers (.08 or less), although there was one who I forgot to ask and he had the highest levels (.36)
I'm not saying the homemade food source is the problem, but I made a mental note of how ALL home made fish food users had really bad PO4. All also ran PO4 reactors.
Save your food processor for salsa. Or get your recipe from someone with acceptable nutrient levels.
Here's my food. Only 2 cubes of frozen food are used each day. All other feedings are heavy in flake and algae sheets.

 

[loismustdie]

although there was one who I forgot to ask and he had the highest levels (.36)

disregard... I just read through the thread... this member does use a home made mix.
Looking through, I also found another member whose levels typically test between .10 and .20 and he also apparently uses home made food.

 

[Deanos]

I can't tell you how funny I now find this thread since I've been testing a few members PO4. The 5 members who had the highest PO4 all had 1 common denominator. They used a homemade food. The lowest PO4 level out of all of them was .31

Chris, do you know if there is any degradation of phosphates over time? :scratch: For instance, testing water right out of the tank versus testing water that's been in a sealed jar/vial several hours after sealing. It could make the next frag swap :bigeyes: eye-opening for many members if they could test their level.

Dean

 

[loismustdie]

Dean, I'll run a test today on my tank. I'll leave some in a jar for 12 hours and test it and compare to right out of my tank. I'll post results at 10 PM.
Again, I'm not saying the home made food is definitely the source. It's just the one common denominator I was able to find in the tanks which tested worst for PO4. Also keep in mind that I'm no detective.
I always want to blame husbandry first, but a few of the members would be considered on the A-List. Some also have top notch equipment.

 

[ellebelle]

Chris - what is in the bottle with the blue top on the right hand side of your photo? I can't quite read the label.

 

[loismustdie]

Lissa, that's a feed for SPS. Pohl's Coral Vitalizer. It's a Zeo-Vit product.

 

[ellebelle]

Ah, that's why I don't recognize it. Thanks.

 

[loismustdie]

To give some info about Dean's question:
3 samples
sample 1: straight from the tank to the test kit.
sample 2:sat in a jar that was in my cabinet, sealed for approx 12 hours.
sample 3:sat in a jar that was taken from my cabinet, rinsed with fresh water then tank water for approx 12 hours.
I tested the NO3 and PO4 of each sample and all 3 were the same.
What does this tell us? Nothing. I'm not going to waste anymore of my regents to do this, therefore it will not be backed up several times. Also, my nutrient levels are very low. I would have to assume that someone with higher nutrient levels may have different levels of degradation which could give different results.

disregard... I just read through the thread... this member does use a home made mix.
Looking through, I also found another member whose levels typically test between .10 and .20 and he also apparently uses home made food.

That would make it the 7 worst samples I tested. Not good odds. Read below, you'll find number 8.
As far as my comments about the home made foods being the common denominator, something else hit me. Actually 2 things and both do fall down to husbandry:
1)I've made home made foods before. It's messy. It stinks. It's a pain in the ass to do. After I did it, I couldn't figure out why anyone would go through the trouble of doing this. Then I remembered why I was doing it. It was cheap. This is just an assumption, but I'm thinking that people who spend less money on food are more likely to add more. Overfeeding? This would make me number 8. I made my food over the summer when my nutrients were high. I didn't have a Hanna at the time, so I don't know what my levels really were. All I can say is I had brown acros.
2) I was surprised to see that some didn't know that frozen foods, home made or not should be rinsed with ro/di or tank water before it is added to the tank. You see, to me, that's just sense. Notice I said sense and not common sense. If it were common, more people would have it. 80% rule.
Overall though, I think it is the puree effect blenders and food processors have on sea food. Mysis that I use are mostly large pieces that I can sit and watch all of my fish eat. The home made foods tend to have very small particles That I was able to watch fall into my overflow and behind my rocks.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[masterswimmer]

Chris, I've heard an inordinate number of people say that rinsing frozen food makes sense . I use quite a few frozen foods. Can you explain how to rinse frozen blood worms, frozen Marine Cuisine, frozen Daphnia and frozen Ocean Plankton. Actually the Ocean Plankton would be similar to the fr. mysis. Also, frozen cyclopeeze. I've always understood the why, but not the how.

R

 

[loismustdie]

I've always understood the why, but not the how.

Certain foods like frozen Formula 1 and 2 as well as other gelled foods are impossible to rinse well. I stay away from them. I'm assuming Marine Cuisine is similar? I don't know that one. I also stay away from the foods that are blended.
I only use whole animal frozen foods like mysis, rotifers and Cyclopeeze. I put 1 ml Selcon, 1/2 teaspoon Zoe and 1/2 teaspoon of Marine C in a shot glass and mix it together. Then I take 1/2 teaspoon of this mix and put it in little plate. The seaweeds and flake soak in the plate. 1 cube of frozen food defrosts in the shot glass. After everything is defrosted, I pour it into a brine shrimp net. Then I pour either ro/di or tank water through the food, moving it around with my fingers. The seaweeds go from the vitamins to the tank without being rinsed.
I'm not saying my feeding regiment is perfect, but I'm comfortable with 24 fat fish in a 180 gallon that has a DSB and 0.01 PO4 and undetectable NO3 (my NO3 test kit is not the best). Feel free to ask Rich about my fish colors.
It takes me about 2 minutes to prepare everything.

 

[masterswimmer]

I put 1 ml Selcon, 1/2 teaspoon Zoe and 1/2 teaspoon of Marine C in a shot glass and mix it together. Then I take 1/2 teaspoon of this mix and put it in little plate. The seaweeds and flake soak in the plate. 1 cube of frozen food defrosts in the shot glass. After everything is defrosted, I pour it into a brine shrimp net. Then I pour either ro/di or tank water through the food, moving it around with my fingers.

When you pour the selcon, zoe and marine C into the shot glass, then defrost your cube in it, then put it in the brine shrimp net and pour tank or RO/DI water through it, doesn't that wash away the selcon, zoe and marine C? This is where I always get confused. Also, what about cyclopeeze? Do you rinse that too? Or just put that into the tank?

I do have a minor hair algae problem and I'm thinking that the phosphates leeching from the frozen food could be the source.

Thanks for the input.

R

 

[loismustdie]

It washes away a lot of it, but it also gets under the shells. That's why I try not to use too much vitamins, a lot gets wasted. Just enough to mostly cover the food. My frozen foods are also supplemented with flakes and seaweed soaked in vitamins, you see a white cloud come off of the food when I put it in the tank.
My cyclopeeze was pretty much just for my sun corals (of course, my fish ate up what the sun corals missed. I didn't rinse it when I fed it. That's why I got rid of the sun corals. Due to the way they need to be fed, I feel they have no place in an SPS tank. Now I just add tiny bits here and there to the frozen food. Cyclops don't fit through a brine shrimp net, so they can be rinsed the same way.

 

[masterswimmer]

What about this scenario......defrost the cube in a shot glass of your tank water or RO/DI as always. Then run the defrosted food through the brine shrimp net, dump the rinsed food back into a shallow container and add the selcon, Marine C, et al to it AFTER the rinse? This way 90% of it won't get washed away? Just a thought. Trying to figure out a way for me to incorporate this into my routine.

Thanks,
swimmer

 

[Deanos]

What about this scenario......defrost the cube in a shot glass of your tank water or RO/DI as always. Then run the defrosted food through the brine shrimp net, dump the rinsed food back into a shallow container and add the selcon, Marine C, et al to it AFTER the rinse?

That is exactly what I do :thrash:

 

[masterswimmer]

That is exactly what I do :thrash:

Thank you BD. Good to know I'm on the right track.

R

 

[loismustdie]

sounds like a plan

 

[Slamajamajama]

bump