Recent content by CraigBingman

Rich and Chris-- Nice job on the ICP article! I suspect that there will be quite a lot of discussion and questions, since this is fairly challenging material. As you know, I strongly and specifically support your work. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know. Craig Bingman

John.... short answer is yes. Longer answer is this. 1. 0 ppm TDS on your meter has some uncertainty to it. In actuality it is probably plus or minus a couple of ppm. Not a big issue at higher dissolved solids, but a big deal around the big zero. 2. TDS meters measure the effect of...

I'll do this again, since the first reply apparently went into the bit bin. Part 1 and 2 of the above article are very nice work, but they fall short of settling which kind of carbon is actually best for reef aquarium use. The main problem is that all of the surrogate molecules used in the...

While careful dosing of organics may be an effective way to slowly reduce the amount of nitrate in a marine aquarium, you do need to be careful about a couple of things. Not all carbon sources are equal... lactose is probably an especially bad choice, especially since I'm not fond at all of...

It is a nice piece of work, but I think it falls somewhat short of the threshold where we can pronounce that GAC derived from bituminous coal works better that GAC from lignite coal for aquarium purposes. What was demonstrated fairly convincingly is that the BitGAC did a better job of binding...

Well, magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (epsom salts) isn't really all that much less expensive per unit of magnesium than magnesium chloride. The main advantage is that you can trot down to the pharmacy or grocery store and get epsom salts, whereas USP grade magnesium chloride requires a call to...

It is a pain to do well. You need extremely accurate volume measurements, and a very accurate temperature measurement. And if you can't do it well, in my view, there isn't any point in doing it at all. I can't recommend the stuff that I was trying for general consuption. AA or ICP is really...

Supersaturation of calcium carbonate in near-surface waters of the ocean is driven largely by CO2 depletion by photosynthesis. Deep ocean waters (below the carbonate lysocline) are undersaturated and calcium carbonate dissolves there. The reason why ocean surface waters can persist in this...

Well, I unfortunately have to agree with the poster who suggested that you might have overdosed the fish on vitamin D. You have a tiny tank, and that is a mighty small fish. Pharmacological doses of vitamin D can be fatal. I'm also a bit skeptical that organisms in a brightly illuminated reef...

Magnesium depletion in reef tanks is usually a fairly slow process. So slow that even moderate partial water exchanges control it well. I would advise that you do not add magnesium to your system if you can't test for it. Craig Bingman

Correct. You would probably start dosing an hour or two after the lights go off. Craig Bingman

The magnesium concentration in the system is also somewhat below typical values for tropical ocean surface seawater. So I would suggest that the salinity of the water might be a bit low. Check the salinity or specific gravity before adding a calcium chloride supplement. If you have low...

SrCl2 = strontium chloride KI = potassium iodide (not iodine) Yes, both compounds have been used for the purposes you mentioned. Craig Bingman

Actually, using both limewater and a calcium carbonate/CO2 reactor is perhaps the ideal solution for a large, high calcium carbonate demand system, where you can afford to make the investment in the technical equipment for the reactor. Calcium carbonate/CO2 reactor effluent has somewhat over...