Crying 'help' but giving no information on tank...no-no-no

[Sk8r]

For all we know you might be the Georgia Aquarium.
If you don't know what's wrong and need us, you likely don't know what could be the matter---so tell us everything!
Better yet, go to RC and your My RC on a different tab right now, so you can keep this post in a window!
Mouse over toward "YOUR CONTROL PANEL" on the left side. CLick on Edit Your Details.
And just keep scrolling down and scrolling down. Near the very bottom you will find "Current Tank Description" and Other info.
This is where you put in your size, type, equipment, livestock, etc, as much as you can cram in. You can see in my sig line how I filled mine in.
Then add your ideal parameters in "other info." This will also appear with your sig.
AND DON'T FORGET TO PUSH THE 'SAVE CHANGES' button AT THE BOTTOM!!!!!!!
This way when you have an emergency, you don't need to think about it or input: it'll all be there.

Blank for Current tank: Tank size and shape, lighting, pump, sump, fuge, reactors, are you running filters, type of tank (FOWLR, reef, etc), livestock, etc.
Blank for Other Info: typical parameters you try to keep:---and if your current tests show BAD be sure to note that vital fact in your initial 'I have a problem' post if it's a question about fish or something logically affected by the params. 'I have a leak' is not a question that requires you to stop and test current params. 'My fish is acting weird' IS a question that needs a param test. Make sense?

That's how you do it. That'll save you about an hour of time and 3 or four posts in the heart of your emergency. If it's a thundering crisis---that delay or lack of it can make a lot of difference.

Believe me, when somebody posts a Help!!!!---the very first thing we mods look for is the vital info right below your signature, which will instantly tell us you're not the Georgia Aquarium, you're a 29 gallon clown tank.

[tzylak]

Excellent advise.
I, for one, keep all my stats in an e-mail draft. Whenever needed, I edit the parameters before doing copy-paste.
To me, keeping all the pertinent data in "Your Control Panel" is prone to being outdated.
Nevertheless I agree 100% that crying for help without those parameters is just noise that no one can address to.

[Clownfish Chris]

Sticky? It is great advice! When I get home to my desktop, OI will be updating my Sig.

[snorvich]

And saying your chemistry readings are "good" does not give us enough information; we really want to know alk, ca, mg as a minimum; if your tank is relatively new ammonia would also be key. If the issue is fish related, providing a bit of history on the fish would be exceptionally beneficial.

[CStrickland]

test

hmmm... didn't work. is the "current tank" supposed to go in my sig automatically?
I can see the info when I look at my profile, but it's not showing on my post

[snorvich]

test

And then post your numerical results! :headwally:

[CStrickland]

lol steve, you type fast, it was literally 5 seconds before i edited the post haha

I was testing to see if it put the info in my sig
i don't have a prob now *knocks wood*

[snorvich]

lol steve, you type fast, it was literally 5 seconds before i edited the post haha



How do you think I got this many posts? :love2:

[Dmorty217]

How do you think I got this many posts? :love2:

You have a app...:lmao:

[CStrickland]

You have a app...:lmao:

So thaaat's what tapatalk is good for! :idea:

[homer1475]

Great idea, but the only issue I see is people putting their info in there, then never updating it.

[Sk8r]

Well, if you're in a crisis, hopefully you'll realize that the info on your 29 gallon clown tank of five years ago is going to be read instead of your info on your 600 gallon reef.

Srsly, that's why I said post your IDEAL params. We're wanting to know where you think you ought to be...but in your emergency, start testing and telling us what's going on now. If you tell us your calcium is 300 and your stony coral is looking iffy, and you've listed 420 calcium as your 'ideal' ---that tells us what we need to tell you is how FAST you can get that calcium up and how---because your mg is definitely apt to be low, and needs to be tested. Plenty of info there to go on and give you a fast, technical how-to. [The answer would be to test the mg, confirm it's low, and start bringing the mag up, asap. Then the cal can be raised.] So the more you can supply to us of where you want to be, what's going on, and what your tests say now---the more help we can give your very first post. Think of it as a past x-ray of your tank system: it gives us a picture of how it's supposed to be, and your current info, as fast as you can give it, tells us a lot, fast.

[Sk8r]

PS: those of you who've had trouble getting your info to post----you have to push the SAVE CHANGES button at the very bottom of the page!!!!!!!!

[MacPhisto]

It is also very helpfull to know with WHAT BRAND OF TESTKIT people are testing because there are many that claim to have a 0 Nitrate for instance but tested this with a freshwater dipper or something else unreliable...

[Sk8r]

Personally I use Salifert, which for alk-cal-mg gives a numerical result, not a color comparison. Usually, too, on alk, which has a choice, we give the DKH. As someone remarked above, 'good' is not a test result: and, an earnest bit of advice, I know test kits are spendy, but you need the following for FOWLR: nitrate/ammonia, alkalinity, and a refractometer. For a softie reef: nitrate/ammonia, alkalinity, refractometer. For a stony reef: bare minimum--nitrate/ammonia, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, refractometer.

You should run your own tests: by the time you get your water bagged or in a vial and carried to the lfs, changes may have happened. I personally just don't trust it. If you supplement anything you MUST have an on-site test for it, or how do you know what changed and how much it changed? And if you suspect a result is really wonky, THEN take a sample to your lfs and ask them to test it as a crosscheck---test kits CAN expire, and if you're dosing by an expired test kit, really bad things can happen. Write down the purchase date on the kit, and plan to replace it at expiration. If there is no suggested expiration date---figure one year. It's safer than the alternative.

[MacPhisto]

For bare minimum stony reef i also recommend testing Phosphate and calibrate your refractometer regularly with a 35‰ calibrate solution and not with RO/DI water..

[CStrickland]

PS: those of you who've had trouble getting your info to post----you have to push the SAVE CHANGES button at the very bottom of the page!!!!!!!!

That's what confused me, I did push it. That's why the changes are visible on my profile (at least to me). The test was to see if they came up in my sig like yours do (they don't). But it's easy enough to just leave them in the profile for someone to look at I guess. Or maybe I put them in the wrong box or something !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[m0nkie]

That's what confused me, I did push it. That's why the changes are visible on my profile (at least to me). The test was to see if they came up in my sig like yours do (they don't). But it's easy enough to just leave them in the profile for someone to look at I guess. Or maybe I put them in the wrong box or something !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you put them in the wrong box..

click on

-USER CP
-Edit your details
scroll down to
-Current Tank Description
*Information about your tank*

or
-USER CP
-Edit Signature
*write your stuff*

[CStrickland]

you put them in the wrong box..

click on

-USER CP
-Edit your details
scroll down to
-Current Tank Description
*Information about your tank*

is that how you did yours monkie?
Here's mine
Do you not see it in my profile?

[CStrickland]

You need to actually have a signature for the tank info to show up. I couldn't think of anything clever, so I just put a period there. Now you can see my stuff.
HTH

[toothybugs]

I couldn't think of anything clever, so I just put a period there.

"I'm originally unoriginal."

But you can't use that one now, can you? ;)

A short quote or witticism is always good to put in there.

[CStrickland]

Fine. this quote sums up having a reef tank I guess (the mighty force is you guys in the forum :) )