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Showing posts with the label chemistry

Sneeze: Learning Biology/Chemistry basics

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 Hi friends! I get asked a lot of questions every week about my reef tank. One of the more common questions I get asked is along the lines of: "How do I get to the next level in reef keeping?".  I LOVE vague questions like that. Everyone's reef tank experience is different and everyone learns at different paces. So this is a hard question to blindly answer for everyone. But if I were to give a general blanket statement, I would recommend everyone brush up on their biology and chemistry. Learning the basics of these two sciences can greatly expand what you know and connect all of the dots.    There is a lot of overlap for the two, so it helps to know a little of everything. First, if you have not checked out my posts about cycling a tank, check them out here:  Cycling a tank  Ways to cycle a tank Its the nitrogen cycle! These links will help you understand a little more about the biology process going on inside of the tank and why things such as live rock are so important

Randy Holmes-Farley, A profile of the community

 Hi friends! Today I would like to introduce you to a person that helped me deep dive (get it?) into the reef tank hobby. Randy Holmes-Farley is a chemist by trade that is very active on reef tank forms (primarily Reef 2 reef). He has been in the reef tank hobby for a little over 30 years and has helped advance the hobby to where it is today. He has a BA in chemistry and biology as well as a PhD in chemistry. He breaks down a lot of water chemistry and parameter topics into something easy to understand and use.  Water chemistry is a fundamental part of excelling in the reef tank hobby. There is a difference from having your tank functioning and surviving to thriving and glowing. An understanding of water chemistry will help you know what the coral and fish will need and how to keep things stable and safe. If your alkalinity is low, for example, your coral may have stunted growth. Knowing how much of what to add (I use ashe water for alk drops because of him as well), how slowly, and wh

Instructions: Making Saltwater! The foundation for healthy fish and coral.

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One of the most important parts of reef keeping is clean and consistent water parameters. Water is something that has a little bit of a learning curve but gets easier with practice. Here is a link to a good salt mix if you need some ideas. To start, I STRONGLY recommend using RODI water. RODI water is filtered water. An example is in the picture to the left. A standard 4 stage filter will normally be sufficient. This may seem unnecessary to a lot of people. But something to consider... We are responsible for the health of the coral. We need to know exactly what we put into the tank. Otherwise one mistake can destroy everything we work so hard to care for. In order to do that we must strip everything from the water in the form of filtration. We add everything the coral and fish need to survive through the salt mix. It contains the salt and major and minor trace elements. Once filtered, it is important to verify the water comes to 0 PPM with a TDS (total dissolved solid) meter . This is