Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 If you've been following my photo thread the past two weeks, you know I've been in Bora Bora, Moorea, and Tahiti. I did several dives and lots and lots of snorkeling while there. I collected a water sample in a 40 mL VOA vile (no, Victoly, I was not able to put the sample on ice, but it was analyzed within 48 hours!) Thanks to Ty's obsessive hobby of water quality, he volunteered to run tests on the reef water. Here are the results he came up with: Salinity: 1.026 Ca: 370 ppm Mg: 1040 ppm Alk: 6.5 dkh PO4: 0 ppm K: 396 ppm I2: 0.09 ppm This water sample was collected around several large colonies of sps corals, but in only about 3 feet of water. The reef where the water sample was collected from had a barrier reef that started about 0.66 miles from the shoreline where the sample was collected. There could be a chance that some of the numbers are a bit lower because the sample was collected further from the open ocean. An interesting observation I made was that the happiest anemones and zoas I found were located near fresh water springs on the reef. Because Tahiti is a volcanic island with lava tubes running throughout the island, fresh water from the island springs up throughout the reef in cold freshwater springs. The temperature around these springs was definitely cooler than the surrounding ocean. I don't know the exact temperature of the springs, but the reef water was between 78-80 deg F. it's very interesting that the zoas and anemones enjoyed constantly changing salinity and temperatures. Here are a couple of videos where you can see the freshwater mixing with the salt around the anemones and zoas. Heteractic magnificas around freshwater spring https://youtu.be/SbCqzFrMGcU Zoas around freshwater spring https://youtu.be/lcjv-ELFSVM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan H Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 That's really cool. I'm sure the shallows have way different parameters than out on the barrier. I'm surprised at the Ca and alk. Did you run a nitrate test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted June 7, 2015 Author Share Posted June 7, 2015 I did not, maybe Ty did? The water was very clear, so I imagine it was close to zero if not 0.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 No, it was not kept on ice and there were air bubbles in the sample so I would have had to flag the results on the lab report... just kidding... environmental consulting humor. It's because I didn't have enough volume of the sample to run the nitrate test so I had to pick what was of more interest. I could almost guess the nitrates were close to zero so I didn't run it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena95GT Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 That's awesome! Explains why things seemed semi-happy when I had to do manual top offs from a bucket all last week. And maybe why my nem didnt seem displeased at all when I poured fresh tap water all over it to try to get it to go bye bye (Curly Cue Nem) if anything it was kore fully inflated when dunked in FW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woods Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 I pour 5g of RO water into my DT every couple of days and have never seen negative impact to any of my corals. I have 2 BTAs, Zoas, hammer, spas, all right in the area I pour and all grow fantastic. I firmly believe our corals are better at adapting then we give then credit for.... Thanks Gig 'em and Ty for the metrics... I fresh water may bring extra trace elements or particles from the lava tubes that the corals like... I know in deep sea vents lots of extra life is found near by. Probably something similar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 You won't get off that easy with me whipper snapper!!@ Unfortunately, i think not icing the samples may have measurable impact on a few parameters, namely alkalinity. Ca, Salinity and Mg were probably not affected by transit, but i suspect that alkalinity and phosphate were probably affected by a) biotic action and b) physical kinematics of dissolved and headspace gasses (i.e., CO2) dissolving back into solution during transit. Ambient temperatures make those things much more likely to occur. Next time you need a yeti mug and ice on every flight! @ Woods I don't know that the lavatube/FW --> coral health correlation can be made. I think that it's just as likely that they grow *in spite of* all the junk that comes in with lava tubes. Igneous rocks tend to have all kinds of exotic mineral components which could readily dissolve into aqueous solution that you would rarely see at any other locale (think kimberlite in diamond mines). I smell a thesis part 2... Either way, it's super cool that you did this and even though I think there is probably some bias, it's still interesting data nonetheless. Welcome back to reality . Get back out to smellementis you scrub! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted June 7, 2015 Author Share Posted June 7, 2015 You won't get off that easy with me whipper snapper!!@ Unfortunately, i think not icing the samples may have measurable impact on a few parameters, namely alkalinity. Ca, Salinity and Mg were probably not affected by transit, but i suspect that alkalinity and phosphate were probably affected by a) biotic action and b) physical kinematics of dissolved and headspace gasses (i.e., CO2) dissolving back into solution during transit. Ambient temperatures make those things much more likely to occur. Next time you need a yeti mug and ice on every flight! @ Woods I don't know that the lavatube/FW --> coral health correlation can be made. I think that it's just as likely that they grow *in spite of* all the junk that comes in with lava tubes. Igneous rocks tend to have all kinds of exotic mineral components which could readily dissolve into aqueous solution that you would rarely see at any other locale (think kimberlite in diamond mines). I smell a thesis part 2... Either way, it's super cool that you did this and even though I think there is probably some bias, it's still interesting data nonetheless. Welcome back to reality . Get back out to smellementis you scrub! To clarify on the water sample, the VOA vile had nothing in it except water, and there WERE NO BUBBLES (Ty!) inside the VOA vile, so there shouldn't have been an effect from bubbles in the sample. I really wish I had a temperature probe when I was down there to see what the water temperature was around those vents. There were not a ton of SPS around those areas, but the soft corals sure seemed to be thriving. The SPS were doing very well at ~30-50 feet of depth where light intensity wasn't as intense, it was cooler, and the current wasn't as strong. There was certainly enough current to keep you from staying in one place, but nothing like what some of us blast our corals with in our tanks. I did find some H. magnifica anemones in shallower water where there was little current. Enough so that the tentacles weren't moving at all. These anemones were much more bleached than the ones by the freshwater vents. Here is a video of them: https://youtu.be/0sSkvdgW3SQ I believe the lava tubes are made mostly of basalt and are mineral rich. Whether or not the water that has filtered through the volcanic rock and into the reef is that much more mineral rich is beyond me. I imagine it would be considering how much surface area it as to travel through to reach the outer reef, but I did not collect a sample of it to test, and I would need an instant spectroscopy test to know for sure what was in it. The reef as a whole should have higher concentrations of minerals due to the deep ocean currents coming up the mountain slope of the island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Haha, no bubbles for sure. He's been practicing his water sampling well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Haha, no bubbles for sure. He's been practicing his water sampling well! Convex on top, water in the lid, no bubbles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Haha, no bubbles for sure. He's been practicing his water sampling well! Convex on top, water in the lid, no bubbles. He nailed it Victoly! He didn't fill out a chain-of-custody but I'll forgive him this time since he was on his honeymoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 Customs confiscated the chain. They said the formatting wasn't right and tore it up right in front of me. I actually chuckled at myself when I filled the VOA because I instinctively did my little routine of filling to the top, putting a little in the lid, and then tapping the vial upside down to find any bubbles. I am forever cursed now with these techniques Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I always did the 3 taps when inverted to check for bubbles. It's basically all muscle memory now after 10 years of that. No tapping these days in real estate other than tapping on walls to see if they are load bearing. [emoji4] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I have no idea what you guys are talking about ... Awesome job Giggalicious! The parameters are pretty much in line with what Randy Holmes-Farley posted in this article. Alk, Ca and Mg are slightly lower, but that could be standard deviation in a low current area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 I have no idea what you guys are talking about ... Awesome job Giggalicious! The parameters are pretty much in line with what Randy Holmes-Farley posted in this article. Alk, Ca and Mg are slightly lower, but that could be standard deviation in a low current area. Giggalicious, I feel a new and better screen name coming!!!I wish I had taken a water sample from the fringe of the reef where it drops off into the abyss. I'd like to know what the alk and calcium are coming up from the ocean depths before the coral has a chance to consume it. Maybe next time I dive in August I'll get two samples AND keep them on ice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reburn Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Sounds pretty close to princess pinkalicious. The joys of having a daughter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 By August I should have a full lab at my disposal. None of these plebian hobbyist kits All you have to do is set foot in the burnt orange palace of geology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 I dunno, setting foot in the burnt orange dungeons of doom sounds a bit treacherous to me... but if it's in the name of science and advancing the hobby, I guess I could be brave. In a separate note, another thing I noticed that was interesting (but doesn't really qualify as reef chemistry) was the existence of corals in areas of very little sunlight. Under each over water bungalow in Bora Bora they had place round concrete blocks that they planted corals on. The only light they ever got was diffused light or maybe a little direct sunlight when the sun was low enough on the horizon. I think there was some artificial light from the bungalows at night, but the equivalent of a powerful CFL. Here is a video where you can see the planted coral and amount of light it received. Quite different from our 400 watt and super bright LEDs we put over our corals... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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