Water Chemistry

Iv'e read some comments recently about some concern over stored saltwater and how it may lose its efficacy. I don't know that I can agree with that premise, but I'm not positive what all has been considered in that topic. Years ago, there was a thread discussing what how long experienced hobbyists wait to do a water change after the water has been mixed up, and a large number admitted that they'd use it within 5-15 minutes as well as up to 30 minutes... more than I would have expected.
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Last week when I got back from my trip to Atlanta, my tank sitter told me he was ready for me to get the cyano bacteria situation in my tank under control. I prefer not to treat the tank when I'm about to travel, so I don't put the reef in a bad spot when I'm 1000 miles away for a few days.

When it comes to using a product for this issue, Chemi-Clean has always been the one I've recommended. I've used it countless times with great results. About two years ago or so, a new liquid ...

Tonight once the fish went to sleep, I did a decent water change, changing 50 to 60g worth of saltwater. I didn't measure it, it was dumped down the drain and replenished with more from the saltwater storage vessel. There's about 90g left in it at the moment.

With all of my lights off, I tested Alkalinity. Lately, it seems no matter which direction I face, the lighting from around me and the plant life outside throws off the color of the titration kit, so in a white room with ...

Double checking parameters is always best, rather than waiting for corals to indicate something is amiss. The numbers look good overall.

I'm only running one liter of Biospheres (np biopellets) and there's a chance nitrate is rising. I felt like it was a little off from the pure yellow I normally see, but I'll keep testing it weekly to be sure.

I've wondered about re-using dead coral skeletons in a calcium reactor for years. I asked about the chance of the stony corals releasing PO4 into the water, but never got an answer of any kind. So I thought, I'll take some of the former colonies from my last reef tank and immerse them in RO/DI water for a week and then test for phosphate.

I filled the bucket with water, and tested it. Zero phosphates. In a week, I'll test again. It's not precise, but...

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