written record

[duke62]

i had a book that had logs at the end i tried using for mzaybe 3 weeeks and i gave up.haha.that was 3 yesrs ago

 

[jdnumis]

I am

Just started cycling. Def going to keep a log of the fish/coral that I add as well as water changes and parameters.

 

[ryangrieder]

for those of you who do keep a record i dont know if you ever saw this before but i figured id share it... the aruarium journal. its pretty cool, my buddy has one. it has a very organized sections on lfs, chemicals you dose, fish you buy, internet sites, water par, picture album and much more. very cool and nice set up journal. and its all waterproof!

 

[duke62]

that sounds pretty cool ryan.

 

[Simon Garratt]

I tend to log all parameters on a rolling 6 month basis to view important trends like increasing Ca/alk and Mg demand as the coral density increases etc, and it also gives you a time table on nutrient control , but I'm looking to extend this to 12 and 24 months for certain parameters like Iodine etc to see 'what or If' there are certain seasonal trends that can be pre-determined. Allot of tanks go through seasonal peaks and troughs in terms of overall system health and vitality so its one way that i can get a better handle on whats going on during these phases and what happens just prior in terms of the systems nutrient cycles and chemistry.

Many reef keepers have the same scenario...the tank peaks, looking stunning for a period each year or so only for it to then go into a short downturn before bouncing back..I'm quite interested in finding or at least trying to get some ideas on how to extend the up phase whilst minimizing or at least shortening the downphase....

It may well be that the tank is responding to even minor variances within parameters like seasonal ambient temperature change (which you still get with even the best controllers) or 02 availability and air density variations from warm to cold seasons. Hell it may even be changes triggered by subtle variations in gravitational influence of the moon, even if the tank isn't exposed to the light factor.

It all depends to what degree you are interested in understanding whats going on inside the glass box as it were, observation is great up to a point but it will never tell you whats going on in detail ime.

Generally though, Ive found those who have the most successful systems, are also those who keep various records, even basic ones.

regards