Keep a reef journal

[moby]

Hello fellow reef heads,
Something I thought I would throw out to you was keeping a reef journal.
I read posts here all the time were folks say things like,"Everything was going great and then all of a sudden..."

This is about the time a calamity of some sort is described. Usually due to a change in the tank enviroment identified after playing "50 questions".

Here is were a reef journal really helps.
I keep one on all my tanks and when something starts acting strange I can look at the history of water readings and inhabitants behavior. This is something really helpful when you begin diagnosing for causes to the problem.
It doesn't have to be hourly readings just once in the morning and once before the lights go out. Often time is critical when things start to go south and this provides a quick reference.
Plus it is fun to go back and look at things like when that fish first found his new home or when that coral decided to suddenly start a growth spurt.
Give it a try and once you get in the habit it becomes sorta fun.

Moby

 

[reefdude37]

Originally Posted by moby
Hello fellow reef heads,
Something I thought I would throw out to you was keeping a reef journal.
I read posts here all the time were folks say things like,"Everything was going great and then all of a sudden..."

This is about the time a calamity of some sort is described. Usually due to a change in the tank enviroment identified after playing "50 questions".

Here is were a reef journal really helps.
I keep one on all my tanks and when something starts acting strange I can look at the history of water readings and inhabitants behavior. This is something really helpful when you begin diagnosing for causes to the problem.
It doesn't have to be hourly readings just once in the morning and once before the lights go out. Often time is critical when things start to go south and this provides a quick reference.
Plus it is fun to go back and look at things like when that fish first found his new home or when that coral decided to suddenly start a growth spurt.
Give it a try and once you get in the habit it becomes sorta fun.

Moby
I agree, I keep a Journal and write down when I test my levels and stuff like that.

 

[shnabbles]

me to

 

[eclipse715]

me 3

 

[dejaco]

I have kept a journal on my reef since it's construction was started. I also find that making a data sheet with Temp., pH, salinity, Alk, Ca, Am, NO2, NO3, Phosphate, and Iodine level with date stamps on top. You can actually at a glance check level for a few months at a time when there is a problem then usually one can check dates in the journal for what was done and glance at a parameter sheet to see if there were any swings in readings corresponding to journal enties. Also a note from my old college days - keep
notes in pencil. If the paper gets wet pencil is still readable - ink often is not!

 

[moby]

I use an excel spread sheet for all my measurements and Lotus notes scheduler for my "diary" portion.
The Excel spreadsheet works great because you can create graphs and charts.
Glad to hear I'm not the only "neurotic" fish keeper here!

It really is a great tool for diagnostic information.
Also a note from my old college days - keep
notes in pencil. If the paper gets wet pencil is still readable - ink often is not!
Good advice! Thanks!
Moby