I sat there, staring at my laptop screen until the blue blithe felt burned into my retinas. I had seventeen tabs open. Most of them were vary versions of an aquarium calculator. I was planning what I thought would be the magnum opus of my bustling room: a 150-gallon high-tech unclean reef system. I wanted it all. I wanted the perfect water chemistry, the most efficient nutrient export, and a stocking density that would make a professional curator weep later than envy. I thought if I just plugged in the right numbers, the math would attain the difficult act out for me. I was wrong. Seriously wrong. Here is what I learned from relying upon an aquarium calculator for a obscure setup and why your spreadsheet might be lying to you.

Every hobbyist starts next the basics. You work the glass. You calculate gallons of fish tank the length, width, and height. You hit "enter" upon the aquarium volume calculator. It tells you that you have exactly 150 gallons. That is your first mistake. I spent three weeks calibrating my automated dosing system based on that 150-gallon figure. But later I supplementary 120 pounds of premium Fiji liven up rock. I further a four-inch deep sand bed.