Aquarium Record Keeping

[Diego]

+1 on aquarium note app.

[Daniel]

On 7/16/2020 at 1:56 PM, Bill Smith said:

Thanks, I just updated my photos to be easier to read (have to host them off-site to do this).

I use Trello for 12 tanks and a pond.

I "archive" months as the page fills up, so they do go older than February, and I can "unarchive" them when I need to revisit. This keeps it clean.

Yes, you can invite external users to your board for collaborating on a project. 🙂

I tried paper first and I have found that I don't update as much as I should, but yet again it turns out that @Bill Smith was correct when suggested Trello.

Trello, I use Trello on a daily basis because it is easy and it is available (meaning I am at my computer, and it is on my computer).

The notebook is only 2 feet away, but the experiment has been run and the Trello is what is getting updated.

The Aquarium Note product seems to be very popular, but it is Android and I am Apple so I never got to try it.

Edited August 11, 2020 by Daniel

[Bill Smith]

Glad to hear Trello is working for you!

I have Android and tried Aquarium Note and one of the other tank tools. Problem with those, for me, is that they requires some setup time. Trello doesn't really. You can just start typing.

[clovenpine]

On 7/16/2020 at 11:22 AM, Irene said:

I use Excel. It's easy to search when I can't remember what treatment I used in the past for various kinds of ailments. 🙂

Do you track by tank or by task? I'm going to build a workbook today and I'm thinking about how best to organize it.

[Daniel]

 

21 minutes ago, clovenpine said:

Do you track by tank or by task? I'm going to build a workbook today and I'm thinking about how best to organize it.

I have been tracking by tank.

But @clovenpine notice that I haven't updated this thread in a long, long time? It is because I am still terrible about writing things down. I take photos with my phone nearly every day and these photos are the only real record I have. But these photos are only part of the picture. I am not sure why record keeping is so painful for me. It reminds me of dieting and exercise. I know I would be better off if I did it, but I am very lax in the execution.

August 20, 2020 was my last entry.

Your post here is a nudge to get back on it. If I don't keep daily records on my 'Honey, I Dirted the Tank' thread, then I will be a doo-doo head!

PS, the @Bill Smith Trello solution works really well for me for planning, but just like paper records Trello needs care and feeding also.

 

[clovenpine]

@Daniel, my job is very documentation-focused, so this is a natural habit for me. My brain starts to get itchy if I can't see my data and I have to rely on my memory alone! I've been poking around the Aquarium Care app and it's nice, but not exactly what I'm looking for, so Excel it is. Maybe even a simple database with form entries to be a little more streamlined...

[Daniel]

3 minutes ago, clovenpine said:

Maybe even a simple database with form entries to be a little more streamlined...

I thought about a database. It would be easy to create a form just the way you want it. If you are data oriented I think a database would be the way to go.

If you do this, I would love to see the fields you used and what sort of relationships if any you created.

[Irene]

3 hours ago, clovenpine said:

Do you track by tank or by task? I'm going to build a workbook today and I'm thinking about how best to organize it.

I track by tank. I don't have many tanks so they're currently all in one spreadsheet, but I could easily divide them into different tabs.

[Maggie]

I'm somewhat of a documentation junkie. It might have something to do with my prior legal career. But I've stressed and fretted over what to use to document the condition my two tanks (yeah, MTS struck early) and their occupants. I bought a spiral calendar, but you only get so much room per day. It worked while fishless cycling my 45, as there was nothing to document but the test result and how many drops of NH4Cl solution were added. I have a tablet of graph paper, but not sure that's going to work either. I don't want to do it on the computer because I am trying to get off the computer as much as possible. I presume just a simple spiral notebook will work best. I want to document notes, "how to" tips, etc., as well as water parameters and fish health/activities, etc. Im going to dive into all the responses and see what might work for me!

Edited October 26, 2020 by Maggie
typos

[tolstoy21]

Excel is a good tool if you want to also visually represent trends in your data. So is  google sheets. (These are very useful to quickly make sense of large-ish amounts of raw data). But in your case, it could be useful and fun to visually represent things for others to see, like in a forum post!  Like how different volumes of water changes affect nitrates over time in relation to amount of food going into the system (sounds fun right!). Of course this wont be super scientific as there are so many other variables to account for, but could be interesting nonetheless. 

As for what to track, just track everything you do routinely that can be quantified in some way (with maybe some free form fields for notes), then later you can use that data to make sense of what you did. If you track irrelevant stuff, no biggie. Just don't included it in any later analysis.

On the other hand, if you're just thinking of keeping a basic ledger for posterity sake -- go pencil and paper!

Edited October 26, 2020 by tolstoy21

[Bill Smith]

I highly recommend a system with the smallest barrier for use. I use Trello because I need spend no more than 1-2 minutes per day for all 12 of my tanks and 7 of my ponds. Any system we choose that takes extra effort and brainpower to maintain will not get used as much.

Just like when Cory says that the fish food they actually eat is the best one to use, the same applies here: the system you'll actually use daily is the best one. 🙂

[Ceiora]

Well I actually feel quite inspired after reading this thread, went from procrastinating record keeping to procrastinating sleep! Now I think I have a rough idea of what I want to track and how the table should look. Thanks guys!

By tank, water parameters of course, denizens, feeding (especially since I’m experimenting with different foods), observations (aggression, health), actions (water changes, moving occupants, fertilizers). 

I think that covers the basics as I plan to use a notebook, I miss writing.

[BisScottie Non-Ya]

Thanks for the powerhouse question! I've been using Google Sheets, since I found a template on reddit. I don't know much about using excel software so this was super helpful. I can post a link to the template if you would like? I haven't heard of Aquarium Note before reading this thread, but I'm going to check it out when I get the chance. Thanks everyone!

[Heather]

I use Google Sheets. Kind of a spreadsheet/db junky so the setup doesn’t bother me and I’m always tweaking it. Will probably use it as a model for a db at some point. Excel would work as well but I didn’t have it on my tablet when I started logging tanks and Sheets has worked out fine.

I use one workbook per tank with sheets for water testing/changes, flora, fauna, hardscape, etc. and I keep a sheet in the back of my community tank workbook for periodic tests of my filtered tap. I’m good about recording the regular testing and changes but would probably be better about tracking observations with a paper notepad.  I kick myself because sometimes those observations are what I really wish I recorded - “Hmm, when did I first notice this and has it changed?” But I’m still such a noob that I worry I would go overboard recording minutiae - don’t have a fine tuned sense of what is important and what isn’t yet. 

@BisScottieIt would be interesting to see the template you’re using if you have time to post a link. Thanks! : )

[BisScottie Non-Ya]

20 hours ago, Heather said:

I use Google Sheets. Kind of a spreadsheet/db junky so the setup doesn’t bother me and I’m always tweaking it. Will probably use it as a model for a db at some point. Excel would work as well but I didn’t have it on my tablet when I started logging tanks and Sheets has worked out fine.

I use one workbook per tank with sheets for water testing/changes, flora, fauna, hardscape, etc. and I keep a sheet in the back of my community tank workbook for periodic tests of my filtered tap. I’m good about recording the regular testing and changes but would probably be better about tracking observations with a paper notepad.  I kick myself because sometimes those observations are what I really wish I recorded - “Hmm, when did I first notice this and has it changed?” But I’m still such a noob that I worry I would go overboard recording minutiae - don’t have a fine tuned sense of what is important and what isn’t yet. 

@BisScottieIt would be interesting to see the template you’re using if you have time to post a link. Thanks! : )

Here it is! I made a copy of my original one. Let me know if you have an issues viewing it. @Heather

Forum Share of Aquarium Data - Google Sheets

DOCS.GOOGLE.COM

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10 Gallon Date,Time,Temp (F),pH,High pH,Ammonia (NH3/NH4+),Nitrite (NO2-),Nitrate (NO3-),KH,GH,Water...