New to saltwater. Trying to convince wife about a tank

mind

Non-member
Newbie here. First post. Still no tank, but I really want to dive into a SPS dominated tank. Likely 48x24x24 rimless with LED lighting and using the Triton method. Currently reading all I can. My wife is not yet on board with having a tank in the house though. Hah! Just wait till she finds out the costs :) :) :)

My last tank was 250gal freshwater over 20 years ago. A lot has changed since then, automation in particular! Since I am a Mechanical Engineer, I see it as an opportunity to build a life support system for fish and corals :)

I will be at the meet today. Looking to connect with people north of Boston, in particular the more DIY type people.

-Richard
 
Hey we met at the meeting today. Why does the triton method interest you? Personally it seems like a lot of expense for essentially 2 part dosing. I could be wrong on that as I've never looked into it
 
Hi! Yeah, good to meet you. If you ever want something 3D printed in ABS, let me know. I have a 8x8x8" build volume.

Triton is basically multi-part dosing, but with your water quality measured for around 40 specific trace elements, so you know EXACTLY what your tank is missing or has too much of. Then they give you deltas for feed rates on your dosing components (simple math, but useful for lots of people!). Price I saw quoted was under $50/time ... so once every few months to get the tank dialed in could be really useful.

There was a nice example about how a few years ago, people in Europe could happily grow Gorgonians, but every time someone in the USA tried, it, they failed. After using spectroscopy to examine the water, they found out that the Reef salt sold in the USA did not have enough Manganese in it. European reef salt was sourced from a different place and did have the required trace elements.
 
Well whatever works.
Have you decided on lights yet? I'm a fan of aqua illumination because of the modular design as I mentioned. But there others that are good as well.
 
I had assumed they were using a mass spectrometer, but it seems not! Good article. Thank you!

Hopefully they figure out how to improve accuracy and precision.
 
Agree, if they use a Mass Spec, then the situation will be very different. But with the high cost of Mass Spec and its maintenance, it won't be $50 per sample.
 
I went straight into keeping SPS with my first tank. You can definitely do it as long as you have a good handle on reef chemistry, lighting, and are willing to put in the effort. You might be surprised how simple it is to produce a nice reef.
 
I got my tank before I got my wife so I had to convince the fish to let my wife live in the house. I mean with all the extra costs and all. :.
 
Upcoming Events

April 21, 2024
Paul B
Club Meeting

Back
Top