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I got a great deal on a used Current USA Solana from a guy I know. As such, I'm happy to be finally able to post in this thread! I'm mainly a freshwater guy, so if these questions are pretty stupid I apologize. A few questions: 1.) I've got aragonite and a single piece of cultured live rock complete with coraline in the tank right now. Do I need to dose the tank with ammonia or drop in some food to get it cycling, or will it just 'handle itself'? I am hesitant to drop any fish in there for a while, obviously. 2.) The tank came with a 20" T5HO fixture which contains 6 18w bulbs (3 10,000K, 3 Actinic). The thing is like a tiny sun and lights up the entire room when it is on, but the guy I bought it from said it would only be sufficient for soft corals. Their site seems to infer I could even do SPS corals if I wanted. What do you guys think? 3.) What is the prevailing opinion on osmotic shock therapy as a method of acclimating new fish? To me it seems pretty radical, but I want to keep marine ich out of this tank and away from livestock which will be way more expensive than I'm used to. Thanks in advance!
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Oct 18, 2010 16:26
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Trillian posted:3. Quarantine. Just get a small tank, a heater and a HOB filter. A freshwater dip is not enough to eradicate ich, and marine ich is a bitch and a half to deal with once you've got it in your display. That's the thing. It isn't just a freshwater dip. A friend told me he starts off all of his new fish in quarantine at like 1.013. Drops them in right from the store, they freak out for awhile, and he gradually increases the salt content in the quarantine tank over ~3 weeks. By the time the quarantine tank is back up to standard salinity ich's lifecycle is long complete. Apparently OST can make ich parasites basically 'explode' so I'm not sure that a month in quarantine is necessary, but hey the dude overthinks everything.
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Oct 18, 2010 20:45
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My PH is about 7.8 right now, will this raise naturally during cycling with rock, or do I have to dose something to get it up to the 8.1-8.4 it should be?
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Oct 21, 2010 18:32
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That's pretty much how I handle my freshwater tank, but I wasn't sure if that approach was viable in saltwater. After looking at your photos in this thread, it appears it is!
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Oct 22, 2010 03:47
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Watching my tank cycle is like watching paint try but so finding live rock hitchhikers is kind of a way to pass the time. So far I've found a Nerite snail, some sort of cowrie, and today I found a feather duster worm! They are all living so I must be doing something right.
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Oct 26, 2010 22:48
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My new ocellaris clowns seem relatively well-adjusted during the day, but at night they seem to enjoy swimming up and down vertically in the corner of the tank. Is this behavior abnormal, or is it relatively normal like some of the anecdotes I've heard lead me to believe?
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Nov 3, 2010 18:53
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My latest acquisition is a Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse, and in true aquarium fashion my investment is rewarded with a fish that I can't for the life of me find in the rockwork. I hope he comes out 
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Nov 10, 2010 13:25
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arioch posted:I bought a harlequin shrimp to clean out my asterinas which have gotten absolutely massive (3/4" across) and I can't find it either. The wrasse seems to know that low/no flow = feeding time. The second I turned off my return pump and skimmer pump he was out looking around for dinner! Of course, he immediately darted back into the rockwork. Still, a beautiful fish when I actually see him. Also, a harlequin shrimp is a bit easier to lose than a 3" wrasse :P Finally! My first corals! A guy I know grabbed some frags out of the bottom of his tank, which apparently has been up for almost 20 years. He hasn't changed things much tech-wise, and is still rocking old school. Needless to say it is chock full of soft corals (and no GSP, thankfully). Some shots of what I acclimated today:  Some sort of sea-foam green ricordea  Cabbage leaf, with my male ocellaris. There are also a few yellow polyps, but they were tucked in between a bunch of stuff and could use some love   A red mushroom on the same frag as the ricordea, the rock was tucked at the bottom of the tank so it's still kinda small.  My clowns, before I learned how to adjust the white balance. Taking pics of my aquarium is tough, even with full lighting! the Pixies fukken SUCKED fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Nov 11, 2010 |
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Nov 11, 2010 04:16
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 Hey guys!
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Nov 12, 2010 16:30
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I caught one of my hermits eating a zoa polyp yesterday! Is this normal? It was one of the larger (red-leg) ones.
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Nov 12, 2010 19:12
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arioch posted:Absolutely. Banish it from the kingdom forthwith. Large crabs are bad news. Smaller ones behave only so long as it takes to get big. Kind of related, but not really: I forgot to mention that the yellow zoas that I've got are growing out of the shell of a dead hermit crab. How awesome is that?
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Nov 14, 2010 05:50
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I just got back from the Cleveland Saltwater Enthusiast's annual Frag-a-thon and I came away with the following for $40 (plus another $20 for a year's membership): 3 - Acro frags (2 pink, one brownish-purple) 1 - Chalice coral frag 1 - HUGE green w/yellow tip torch frag (2 polyps) 4 - assorted zoas (L.A. Laker, Agent Orange, Copper, and some pink one) 1 - Yellow fiji leather 1 - Superman Montipora I think I got a pretty good deal, since it appears frags of torch are going for like $220 in that color combo. We'll see though! Pics to come later when everything opens up. One question though: The chalice came unmounted, can I just lay it on a level piece of rock and it will encrust and plate out? I don't happen to have any superglue at the moment, and I don't really have much in my tank that does landscaping. The smaller zoas are on a separate rack until there are enough of them to survive the occasional hermit crab dinner.
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Nov 20, 2010 05:09
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Sounds like that will work just fine. As long as you give stuff time to acclimate properly I doubt it'd be much different than bringing stuff home from the LFS.
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Nov 29, 2010 13:45
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 What is the blueish bubble thing? It looks similar to that thing linked earlier in the thread (which I don't seem to be able to find easily at the moment). Thanks!
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Dec 3, 2010 03:01
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That does look like a pretty good deal. It's not a bad looking setup either! Most of the stuff on CL in my area is people trying to sell their 75g goldfish tank for $600, or ancient 125g tanks with no additional equipment that would take a ton of extra work to make suitable for a SW tank.
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Dec 3, 2010 15:23
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Ugh, this red slime outbreak is driving me nuts. I'm using RO water, and nitrate tests show 2ppm. I have my lights on a 10 hour cycle (with 30 minutes of dawn/dusk), yet it still continues to thrive. Short of buying an RO/DI unit (which I can't afford at the moment) I'm not sure what else I can do but dose red slime remover again. Also - Coraline algae is starting to grow on my powerhead and return, as well as some of the rocks. I'm glad to see it, but I hope it doesn't get out-competed by the red slime. I barely see diatoms anymore, if at all. Should I shorten my light cycle a bit more? I'm doing the weekly water changes, and dosing B-ionic for alkalinity/calcium. Here's my current parameters: Salinity - 1.025 Alkalinity - 3.2 ammonia/nitrite - 0 nitrate - 2ppm Calcium - 440 Phosphate - trace (~0.1ppm) Psimitry told me that it should be over with in a month or so, but man. What a pain. the Pixies fukken SUCKED fucked around with this message at 15:29 on Dec 6, 2010 |
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Dec 6, 2010 15:26
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Ugh, I just weathered a 6 hour power outage running nothing but an airstone and occasionally a powerhead. My house dropped to 52F (it's single digits outside) but luckily the tank did not drop below 74F. When the power came back on, I checked the tank out and found my Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse looking dead in the corner. He seemed to just be stunned though, as when I woke up this morning he was no longer there. What a relief. I've gotta think about investing in a generator or battery operated pump.
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Dec 14, 2010 14:36
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Mine seems to hover around 5ppm, but I have a really light bioload at the moment. I've heard a lot of corals like 'dirtier' water, but yea. Anything over 10 you should probably do a water change.
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Dec 22, 2010 06:46
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This is kind of a dumb question but I couldn't figure out the appropriate google search to answer it. I siphoned my tank yesterday and the top layer of sand was clumped up with dead algae. Needless to say I got a lot of sand in the siphon. Is it possible to put that sand back into the tank after a freshwater rinse? I vigorously stirred it under the tap to remove as much of the detritus as possible until the water pretty much ran clear. I was thinking of doing one final rinse with RO/DI water to get as much of the impurities out as possible. Would this do any harm to my tank?
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Dec 30, 2010 14:41
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I'm more concerned that somehow I'll get phosphates and other crap back into my tank from the tap water rinse. RO/DI water is still at a premium in my house, so I'm hesitant to use it for anything other than water changes. Thanks for the input.
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Dec 30, 2010 15:38
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Fantastic, thanks. I am glad to hear I won't be shitcanning about a pound of sand!
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Dec 30, 2010 17:27
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I had a huge red slime outbreak a few weeks back and my solution was: - Nuke the tank with Red Slime Remover (4 days, it's fairly reef safe) - Cut feedings to 2-3 times a week - If feeding frozen mysis, soak food in RO water, then strain it through a brine net and drop only what will be eaten into the tank directly. - Siphon up as much dead algae as you can, and rinse the sand it's inevitably attached to thoroughly before putting it back into the tank My main problem was that I was dropping a 1/4 cube of mysis into my tank every day without defrosting it. That food is ridiculously rich in phosphates, which was pretty much the sole contributor to algae growth. I am now red slime free, although I still have some green algae (but I'm fine with that). the Pixies fukken SUCKED fucked around with this message at 17:22 on Dec 31, 2010 |
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Dec 31, 2010 14:30
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I've got to replace the flooring in the room my tanks are in, so I've been trying to think of a good way to move the tank without disrupting too much. I'm thinking of moving the live rock with corals into my saltwater mixing bin temporarily, and putting the fish in a bucket. Once I get the tank moved I will put everything back in so it runs normally until I finish replacing the floor. Does anyone have any special considerations I should be thinking about? I don't have any spare heaters except one for a 10g tank, so maybe I'll fill that up with some clean water for a bit.
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Jan 6, 2011 19:15
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ludnix posted:I'd look at bulkreefsupply.com if you're looking for RO/DI units, they have some of the lowest prices and the quality is supposed to be great. I got one of their units for christmas, and it is the reason I have to replace the floor. I forgot to turn it off, and it flooded under my laminate flooring! Oops! Strongly considering moving it to the utility room where I can prevent that sort of thing from happening again.
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Jan 7, 2011 22:11
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Internet Explorer posted:You didn't have a float valve to turn it off? That sucks. It was new years eve and I was running around trying to get everything ready for a party. I usually watch it like a hawk but I actually left the house for 2 hours or so and forgot about it.
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Jan 10, 2011 16:05
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Yea, once I remodel my laundry room a bit I'm going to move it to the wall next to my utility tub and fill buckets there instead. It seems like a much better arrangement.
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Jan 10, 2011 17:43
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I am hopefully getting my very first huge display tank. I found a deal on Craigslist and will be trading my languishing 65g freshwater setup (minus the livestock) plus some cash for a complete 140g reef system. I THINK the lights are power compact, but I have heard they have lovely colors. Even so, 140g tank and stand by itself is worth $300 easy! I also get all the equipment plus half of the person's Live rock since they wouldn't be able to fit it. Great deal at twice the price! In other news, I finally got my 34g cube to where I'd like it. Now to just let these frags grow out for about a year:  the Pixies fukken SUCKED fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Mar 23, 2011 |
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Mar 23, 2011 04:42
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Dono posted:is it drilled and a glass tank? If so that tank is worth easily 500$ good find nonetheless. Do you have any other equipment ready for it, or plans on what you want to do with it? It's drilled with a double overflow, oak stand & canopy (real oak veneer, not that lovely oak-stained pine). Also includes the skimmer, in-stand sump what she seems to describe as an 8-bulb PC lighting system, and whatever rock she can't fit in the tank I'm trading her. It's easily worth twice what I'm paying but she doesn't seem to mind. I actually got pictures of it last night from her phone and they look pretty drat good. I'm planning on making it either one of two things: - Softie tank new home for my coral beauty (who has taken a liking to nipping at my new SPS frags) and some larger not-so-reef-friendly fish - Gorgeous mixed tank including SPS colonies (when I actually GET SPS colonies). I'll need to upgrade the lighting but no biggie. I like T5s and don't want to buy a chiller. Most of my corals are still pretty small, as you can see from the picture in my last post. I haven't really bought them as colonies and most of what I have came from trades. I tend to snipe at really good craigslist ads and people who are moving who post on my local ReefCentral board (Cleveland Saltwater Enthusiasts). It's a policy that has served me well so far without costing me too much. This tank is the first big SW investment I've had in a while. When people say that with saltwater, the most important thing is to be patient. This doesn't apply only to the growth of livestock, it applies to shopping as well 
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Mar 23, 2011 12:34
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Dono posted:Do you know how big the sump is and what kind of skimmer? Post pics when you can, this really sounds like a gem you found. Turns out it's 48x24x30 (150 super tall) with a 20g sump. Before I buy it I"m going to make them unplug it to verify that no, it won't spill saltwater all over my floor when the pumps turn off. Gonna try and upgrade the sump later to a 40g breeder if possible. My only concern is what kind of PAR I get at the bottom of the tank. If I do decide to put any SPS in it, they're gonna have to be in the top 1/3 of the tank unless I want to supplement with MH. I'd like to avoid those, as I really don't want the increase on my electricity bill. Having such a big tank will be bad enough as it is. I'm going to look at it tomorrow and assuming everything is in order, pick it up April 2nd. Stocking as much saltwater as I can! My poor RO unit... the Pixies fukken SUCKED fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Mar 25, 2011 |
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Mar 25, 2011 05:02
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Dono posted:imo that sump wont be big enough for a 150g, and if it is I would say just barely. I'd double look into it. Picking up a 40g will not be a big deal. My first concern is not flooding my floor. If it prevents that I'll be satisfied. It's only one chamber anyway from what I can see. I don't even have a sump on my existing tank - it's just got the all-in-one setup. It'll probably be years before I have enough livestock in this thing to even tax the live rock I'm getting with it.
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Mar 25, 2011 12:24
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Deal for the 150g fell through. Like any deal that's too good to be true, the chick flaked out on me at the last second. In the market for a 75-90g, or a 125 if the price is right (and its a 60" not 72")
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Mar 27, 2011 05:13
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Whats up, neglecting freshwater tank buddy? Found a 90g reef-ready with sump and custom stand local for $150. Hoping this guy doesn't flake out. He offered a 2x250 MH fixture with Icecap 660 ballast but I really wouldn't like what it'd do to my electric bill. It's only 2" deeper than my cube, which has T5HO, so I should be ok with that.
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Mar 28, 2011 05:52
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Stupid question Dono, but are you just dropping a cube of mysis in? That has a shitton of phosphates in it. If you are, melt it in some hot water then strain it through a brine shrimp net. I just drop the net in my tank from there to feed. I also only feed brine like 2x a week. I doubt that's your problem though. When I was dropping cubes in I had a massive red slime outbreak.
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Apr 1, 2011 03:58
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Still picking away at my 90g display's equipment. Picking up a Reef Octopus NW-150 and a Nova Extreme Pro 8x54w T5 48" fixture if the sellers dont flake out on me. I figure if I spend a little extra money up front I'll be much less likely to feel the need to 'upgrade'. When I actually get something in it, I'll post pictures.
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Apr 5, 2011 05:10
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Dono posted:That's the same skimmer I have in my 75gal and I love it. Since Im upgrading my sump though I'm still wondering if I should have gone with the 200 instead. The owner replaced most of the bulbs with blue-spectrum ones, so I assume I'm going to be getting a fixture full of 460s and 420s with a few 10k daylights on it.
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Apr 6, 2011 12:40
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Yawgmoft posted:I absolutely love your GSP. When you are ripping it off the walls of your tank in sheets you won't love it so much. It grows obscenely. Add it to the list of 'beginner' corals along with yellow polyps, xenia, and texas trash corals and you'll have the softie equivalent of an impenetrable amazon rainforest canopy.
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Apr 7, 2011 03:05
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I've got several LFS around me but the only one that has a decent coral selection is over an hour away. I've succeeded in getting almost every single piece of coral I own from other hobbyists or local club Frag-a-thons. One has awful SW selection and a bunch of half brown jelly LPS, the other just has a bunch of brown stuff that I really don't want. The third has a huge (like 48"x48"x14") frag tank lit by halides, but they're super expensive and also an hour away. Oh well!
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Apr 7, 2011 04:29
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The only thing I have on my glass that annoys me is the green algae that grows in the corners and edges where my magfloat can't get to. I'll buy a scraper eventually.
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Apr 27, 2011 17:43
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How long does it take your hammers to split new heads? I've had mine for ~3 months and it still has 2 heads. The tentacles are a lot larger than they were when I got it, but it's still just two giant heads. In contrast, I've got a candy cane that's split from 2 to 5 heads in the same amount of time.
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May 5, 2011 23:30
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One of my clowns decided to go on a vacation to my overflow and ended up flopping around in the middle chamber on the grate, dry. Luckily i was sitting next to the tank and heard the telltale *flop* ..... *flop* and was able to toss him back into the tank. He's swimming well enough, let's hope he isn't the next great cleanup crew feast tomorrow morning.
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May 6, 2011 04:35
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