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Simplified Reefkeeping F.A.Q 3 of 4 2-6-2000 |
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yes
Kalk because its mixed with water is used also to compensate for evaporation. B ionic is easier but more costly
Instant Ocean and Reef Crystals are some that I have used. IO is the most popular I use coralife My survey may be helpful Some say reef crystals promotes algae and it "seemed" to promote some growth for me as well. I can't say for sure it was the crystals. I doubt it again IO is the most popular
HI, Ok.... i just acquired
a 100 gallon tank from a friend. i am VERY new to this hobby.
i have the tank filled with water, specific gravity at 1.020, 3 pieces
of live rock (each taking up lots of space but only weighing 11 pounds)
,substrate, and a motor that is pumping water,. i have no idea what this
motor is doing. i know i have to get some fish to start the tank
cycling. one of my questions is, what if the piece of live
rock is large. does size compensate for weight? my other question
is what else do i need? i would like to set up a sump system but
if i set up a sump will i need a protein skimmer and things like that on
your list? i hope that all makes since!!!!! if you could find
the time to help me out i would appreciate it.
Normally I would try and
answer a beginners question but It seems you need to do some serious reading
or research before you proceed. Your questions are far too vague for me
to answer. Also, normally I wouldn't recommend my book but I think it would
be of a great help to you! That's exactly why I wrote it and I'm confident
if you've read the entire book you'll have a good idea what's going on.
Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Robert
How are you measuring the oxygen content? What size tank? What makes you think the oxygen is low? Typically or shall I say in "simplified" terms the water in the take gets oxygenated via the skimmer and overflows whether drilled or dam type. By using a substantial skimmer and overflows virtually eliminates any concern about oxygen content. YOu have to be a little more explicit in the description of your setup.
I haven't heard about it ( But I know Tampa bay is a decent company)
The package is what they say is a recipe for
a reef tank . The only thing that I am wondering about is the
amount of live rock and live sand. One
of the reasons I'm looking at this is because the price seems really
good and their live rock looks really nice. This is their address:
www.tbsaltwater.com/package.htm
Ok ... you have to give me more information...
First what size tank are you planning? About.. how much are you planning to buy?
What I do know is Richard Londeree has been
in the business a *long* time so I seriously doubt you wouldn't get
a good product from him. He is one of the first people to rent ocean space
to aqua culture liverock
In my opinion he is a real pioneer... Having
said that- his prices look ok -but a little high. It seems he bases his
price on pieces which add up... I know if you buy online from say flying
fish or reefers.. you may get better prices although I think its relative
to the amount purchased. If your going to buy over say $300 then its wise
to shop a bit more.
So if you want me to look it over give me an
approximate list of what exactly your going to buy
Sorry about the lack of information. The
tank is 125 gallons.
These are my plans for stocking it:
185 pounds of live rock
some aragonite sand at the front
cure for one month
Stock maintenance
crew:
80 astrea snails
30 blue leg hermits
10 serpent stars
2 cucumbers??
I had originally looked at Reefers as the
place to get the live rock. That's
where I got the book but didn't get any questionnaire
with it. I'd be more
than glad to fill one out. Would love
to get the cdrom.
The live rock is only $2.50 per pound x185
=463 = 5 boxes
the sand $1.00 per pound ?? = 1 box
blue legs are $1.00 =30
turbo snails, $1.00 x80 =80
serpent stars, $6.00 x 10=60
tiger tails, $6.00
pistol shrimp $6.00 all livestock =
1 box
I'm estimating about 700 for the above + approx 80 for shipping
That is everything you need
to set up your reef, for an almost maintenance free tank. All you will
have to do to maintain your tank is
to add fresh water, as it evaporates, and feed
your tank! It really is that easy. We never have to scrape the glass, or
vacuum the bottom, as all of this is taken care of by the sand stirrers
in "The Package" Please note. In order to receive this special pricing
you must purchase the entire
"Package", there can be no substitutions to
the recipe. When you purchase "The Package" we charge you for the entire
"Package" everything except for the FED-EX charges for your second shipment
of the critters and the freight charge for the initial shipment of rock
and sand which you pay for at
the airport when you pick it up. So for a happy,
almost maintenance free reef tank, purchase "The Package"!
note their warrantee... they suggest 2 lbs per
gallon, So I'm assuming your not going to hold them to the guarantee...
Also 2 lbs per gallon is
a bit steep (allot of rock)
Well, like I said Rich has been in the hobby
a long time and I'm sure he will sell you good product. But my suggestion
to you would be to tell him that your interested BUT-- you want to place
a small order first and if your satisfied with the look of the liverock
and the quality of the animals then you'll buy the rest. Also...Is this
another reef for you? Don't forget that you'll still have to cycle the
rock. Which would probably kill the inverts unless you
placed them in another tank Here's what I would
do get one box of live rock make sure your satisfied then get the rest
of the sand and live rock cycle all of it then get the remainder of inverts
In my opinion.. that's the best way and what I've done in the past wile
establishing a relationship with a dealer.
Did you shop around? How did his price compare? Also I take it there is an airport near your house? (that's the fun part... I love going to the airport to pick up livestock!!!)
Humm.. this is a stumper
Do you use ro or di water? If so when
was the last time you replaced the resin? The resin has a certain life
span depending on the impurities of your
water. I would look into that.
Your maintenance sounds very good so I leads me to the source water.
Another thing is that canister filters are not generally used on modern
reef tanks. I would seriously consider getting rid of it or if you must
use it for a pump then remove the internal media. The internal media becomes
a nitrate factory.. something you *Don't* want or need. do you have
a sump? or area where you could put a fairly large amount of carbon where
the water doesn't have to flow *through* but around. Using sizable amounts
of carbon this way will generally strip most any questionable material
from the tank. I would go to a paint store and ask for nylon pain strainer
bags about .50 ea. and use them to hold the carbon. In a 60 gallon tank
I would use approx 3 to 4 oz of carbon at a time (in the bag) for about
3 to 4 days then replace and continue for 2 or 3 applications. If you see
an improvement continue, if for some strange reason your corals react badly...
discontinue use. They shouldn't but one never knows. Also, the small
bubbles may be being created by not having enough skimming. It could be
small particulate matter coming from the fluval. I know a
backpack is rated for a 60 but that's
probably pushing it. You may want to thorough clean the skimmer and possibly
consider upgrading to a larger
model.
This is an excellent question, and frankly one
I've never had before. I would think having enough sand *may* do the job,
you'll have to experiment with it and see if you end up with zero or very
low nitrate. Also, you could add the column denitrifier in my book (that
works well). The main suggestion I have is to stay away from fluidized
beds or other conventional aerobic and semi anaerobic filters as these
are sure to *produce* nitrate. I suppose you may have the impression that
I'm anti sand so that's why you didn't suggest it, but my feelings on sand
have been changing so that may be your best bet. Usually when one thinks
of a reef tank it has allot of live rock so it all becomes
easy with that. Another point is if you invest
in the sand say 3 to 4 inches of it then decide you want to add liverock,
will that be a problem? I would try and shoot for 1.75 lbs per gallon of
sand. Whether or not you use a plenum will be up to you. I would suspect
a plenum being possibly better though, for what your trying to do.
Another idea is this will be a semi reef tank...
meaning you have to be careful
(not use) medications if your fish get ich.
Cleaner shrimp are the best bet for
ich. You may need some snails & hermits
also. One other idea is to make your own
live rock have you seen the GARF site? They
have instructions to make aragacrete
(homemade live rock) maybe worth a look
http://www.cyberhighway.net/~algae/
If you have time for these questions, thanks, and thanks for a great book. You saved me $$$
I'm glad you liked it and the revised edition will
be a huge improvement. I hope to
have answered your question here, feel free to
write if I wasn't clear or you have
others.
this is a type of macro algae and can be desirable
(by some) I suspect its growth to lessen as time goes on. So my recommendation
would
be to give it time and see what happens, removing
what appears to be
excessive growth.
does it look like this http://seaweed.ucg.ie/descriptions/Delsan.html
or this http://seaweed.ucg.ie/descriptions/Phyrub.html
I'm sure its closely related to this family.
Macroalgaes are good for a tank as they will uptake
nitrate there by
reducing your nitrate levels. The macroalgae will
only populate to its
conditions, which *could* be why you don't have
any nitrate reading.
If you are concerned about phosphates or silicates...
this shouldn't be a
problem if you use ro or di water.
On the other hand *if* you don't have hair algae
your water is probably
fine. so I would say cultivate the plants as they
are desirable and will
produce a more natural setting, pruning of course
as needed. Search the
links I gave you and you may find the exact species.
Let me know how it goes
thank you
I have my 55 gal. reef tank
about 8 months now. It was doing very well
until lately. I made a water
change and I am assuming I took too much
water and I must have changed the
bacteria. So I lost 2 fish and my anemones
look like they are in shock.
But, from reading I realize I am not adding
any additives which will help
my tank. This is the first time I have heard
of Kalkwasser. I have been
buying from the same supplier for months
and he has never mentioned it. My
question is what tests should be performed
other than ph, nitrates, ammonia
and phosphates. These are the only tests
I do.
that should be fine. Once you add kalkwasser you
may want to test for calcium
but its not absolutely necessary.
Kalkwasser is mainly for coralline algae and stony
corals so I doubt if it had
anything to do with the loss of your anemones
or fish.
When you do waterchanges the absolute maximum
is 50% and that's only to correct
a severe problem (algae) or extremely bad water
an average wc should be around 15% ideally done
monthly. Also you have to make
sure that the temp & salinity are identical
or very close.
Problems happen if one doesn't do a wc for a while
and the animals get used to
that environment (however bad it may be) then
the owner does a significant wc
thereby shocking the animals. Id say that's what
happened in your case. So just
be more careful next time and I really don't advocate
using additives. The
best way to introduce additives in the tank is
with a high quality salt mix
done monthly or every 2 months.
I recommend to be consistent with the wc whatever
schedule you use.
Looks good!
Now you need zero nitrite
I'm surprised you have nitrate. Usually you cant
have nitrate with
nitrite being testable... unless both are so faint
that its near
completing the cycle.
when you get zero nitrite probably tomorrow then
do a 15% wc and your
set to go with inverts
once you do the wc... you should then begin the
kalk drips for ca to
make up for evaporation.
and the tank should then be starting to look pristine.
> Hello. Well if you will recall
my most previous e-mail to you
in regards to getting my water tested at
another local pet store; it
was totally different.
Ammonia: ~0.0
Nitrite: 0.1
Nitrate: 12.5
This pet store's name is Reef World and all
they do is specialize I
use that term loosely--in reef products,
fish, inverts, etc. They
don't test water at all but since I buy my
water there and I was
expressing my disbelief in water parameter
changes in less than 3
days, he said he would be happy to do it
for me yesterday just to see
what was going on.
those readings sound more realistic
He said there was an ever-so-slight trace
of ammonia (the color in
the test tube was a light, light greenish
yellow) and a very little
bit of nitrite.
Never-the-less what do you think? What
is killing me is I don't know
what test kit to believe. . .or is it possible
that my water did
really jump back and forth in less than a
week?
its possible something else died, I cant really say
If your answer to
that is yes, how in the world am I going
to be able to keep water
parameters safe and constant for something
else besides live rock and
water?
I'm really tripping' here Robert. I
got this dying feeling that I am
going to order some inverts and get them
here, put them in and
they're going to die. Then not only
will my reefing dreams be shot
to hell, but there will still be that big
hole in my pocket.
ok answer these questions to the best of your ability
1 how big is the tank
2 how much liverock
3 filtration?
4 type of test kit you use
5 type of test kit the store used
6 where did you get the liverock from? local?
or long distance if it was
local how long was it out of water?
7 how long has the tank been setup? (from the
time you added the rock)
8 what are your readings *today* from your test
kit
9 are you prepared to do a 15-20% wc
10 do you plan to purchase *all * the inverts
at once?
11 when did the store test the water?
12 lastly, are you sure your performing the tests
correctly?
do a test today, being as careful as possible, and send me the readings
answer those ? and I should be able to make a call
for you
My water parameters were OK but one thing is
baffling me here. I
have 0.0 ammonia, 0.0 nitrite, and 0.0 nitrate.
Also, I haven't done
a water change in about ten days. Are
these parameters possible? I
thought I had to have a lil' of something,
right?
not necessarily. sounds about rite to me.
I figured the anemone wasn't
in there long enough. Also, IME once you cycle
the liverock and bacterial
colonize it.... you can cycle just about anything
;-) In other words
everything else pales to the rock.
One time I had a fish that was missing for a day
or so, only to find it
totally covered in a whitish fuzz... the bacteria
broke it down almost
immediately
I went ahead and canceled my order until (probably) around January 20th.
Good move, you'll do much better that way. At least
you'll be there to
worry about it
Also, I just cannot stand to look at this
empty tank any
longer so I bought a small yellow tang this
afternoon. I know that
doesn't follow the correct order but I gotta
have something in there.
should be fine. Just try and let it be and don't
over feed. Underfeed if
anything at first, until you have a feel for the
fish. Another very good
tip is to make the homemade food recipe from Sanjay
Joshi. But probably
better to wait until your tank is fully stocked
I tested my water today. My ammonia
was back up, and the nitrites
and nitrates didn't exist. So, in my
last three testings, my ammonia
has gone from: 0.25 - 0.0 - 0.75.
My nitrites have been: 0.0 - 0.3 - 0.0.
Nitrates: 0.0 - 0.5 - 0.0.
pH: 8.2
Alkalinity: 340 (7.2)
very odd... Ill bet its very temporary. remember
the tank is cycling and
I would guess something *inside* the rock has
died and that's creating the
ammonia. I'm sure it will all cycle and pass very
soon, don't get so
discouraged.
ha.. you'll remember this cycle for awhile. The
thing is that liverock
has so much life on it and when it ships allot
of it dies which creates a
more unfavorable situation for any other living
thing on and in the rock.
Very soon everything will be balanced, don't you
worry. It MUST! that's the
way of nature!
Unbelievable--I think God doesn't want me
to have a reef aquarium.
I went to another pet store, "Reef World,"
and the manager said he
would test my water since he thought the
other pet stores test kit
was a lil' shady--I don't know, we'll see.
I don't see why the test
kit would matter, ammonia is ammonia is ammonia,
and so on.
you can try that but I'd advise to just sit tight
for a few days and the
ammonia will be a thing of the past, never
again to occur in such
magnitude (unless you cycle a bunch of rock) which
is why I recommend ALL
liverock first.
I could tell you horror stories about bad liverock....
briefly, a friend in Boston had a friend who owned
a lfs he wanted me to
get this rock. so I took about 90 lbs (2 boxes)
he says its all cycled
and ready to use.
The rock took literally 2 months to cycle!!!and
much of that time the
ammonia test kits were the darkest green I ever
saw it was unreal. I
thought it would never go down and my then
girlfriend kept asking why my
house smelled like a bait store!! (notice I say
xgirlfriend... *she*
didn't make it through the cycling...) <laughing>
. Come to find out there were several fairly large
clams imbedded inside
the rock...that were decomposing. Nevertheless
the rock cycled and I
think I still have some of it although the growth
is totally different
that what I originally got.
so don't worry ;-)
Also if you've ever been to a wholesaler of rock
and seen the setup
there... the main vat is outside because of the
smell! It all cycles out
sounds good
FYI, my tank is 50 gal., about 30-35 lbs.
live rock, OK protein skimmer,
use carbon sometimes. Use phosphate remover
by Kent, Alk 8.3 dkh,
calcium 390 ppm, (now using 2-part B-Ionic
by ESV), All other
parameters in good range. Should I be using
carbon more often to remove
nutrients? Do I need to add some more live
rock to make up for removing
the media? If so, can I add some of this
in the chamber where I removed
the media for better nitrification.
the algae boom is most likely temporary. As far
as live rock goes you should have at
least 1 lb to 1.75 lbs per gallon. I would put
it in the tank rather than in the
chamber.I don't think you need to add or use more
carbon. If anything the skimmer may
need to be improved.
So its good you found out before you added water...
;-)
definitely do it. Are your bulkheads threaded
all the way through? if so its
pretty easy to add the 90s.
Really the thing ends up looking like an exhaust
manifold of a car <grin>
I also appreciate you take on
the 5 gal bottle idea. It's nice to
get the been there done that feedback.
well you wont know for sure so try it out. Its
not like it costs anything really.
And when you try it you may come up with something
else...
I did have one other cool concept for the
egg crate. I fully buy into the no
powerhead in the tank concept and the egg
crate setup. I was going to modify
the egg crate set up as follows. I
was going to set up eggcrate in a tiered
fashion. If you were to look at the
tank with the egg crate set up it would
look like a topographical map; Level above
level, each level with less depth
to it then the last. It also will look like
a set of stairs. I would sperate
each level by about 4" and place them on
PVC legs. I thought this would allow
me to tier the rock back from the front of
the tank and give/provide a more
interesting contour to the tank, i.e. cliffs
and valleys depending on how you
tier the egg crate.
yes nice idea... Personally my tanks are only shown
from the front so the angled
back is more than adequate but never the less
this always interests people...
making an actual framework from the eggcrate
here is a guy who is doing something interesting
with eggcrate and a 90 gall
have a look at http://www.simplifiedreefkeeping.com/earl/earl1.htm
I also found a great source of black egg crate.
Actually it not egg crate, it's thicker and
has bigger holes. The stuff I'm
talking about is the heavy plastic bread
trays that the guys in the
supermarket use. When they stock the
bread to the floor they load up a 6'
cart, each level of the cart is a piece of
this material. I got a dozen of
these pieces, each 1"x30"x20" for 5 bucks
:)
now... THAT is very cool!! I'm going to keep my
eyes open for some of that. Is it
black?
I love people who are inventive!
Yes this method is a lot more difficult to
create but patients is a virtue
both in setup and plumbing. Tell me
what you think. I also thought about
the annual break down of the tank.
I would make this setup in 3 pieces and
anchor it the same way you do so that removal
is possible.
well the annual takedown has come under fire from
allot of folks so... they say
the tank really starts taking off at that time
and redoing everything is
disruptive. I can agree with that to a point.
One very important principal I've
realized is in using the spraybar.
When you have the spraybar at the bottom rear
its does wonderful for the water
flow- BUT if you use allot of calcium and its
recommended you do, the 1/4" holes
will get clogged, causing problems with the pump
and also a real pita to take
out.. so Id at least recommend to use 5/16 or
slightly larger holes in the
spraybar. That probably a more significant issue
than the original concept of
removing detritus.
Some detritus in the tank is good and with the
skimmers of today and constantly
adding calcium (exporting phosphate) detritus
isn't real an issue at all. The
spraybar however is. Make sure you have adequate
size holes.
Good going with the breadcrate <grin> if you
take some pictures Ill put them
online for you I think it would be very interesting
something like this http://www.simplifiedreefkeeping.com/earl/earl.htm
TTYL
Thanks
I am new in the aquarium subject, but I am
learning
and having fun at the same time.
Someone suggested, that stucco is used
at most marine aquariums as "coral" and "sea
floor".
Well I don't know about that. Legitimate substrates
for marine
applications are usually crushed coral, reef sand
or aragonite which is
a material that is mined and has a high calcium
content.
What may have been meant is.. products that are
used for marine
substrate can be found in or made into stucco.
If you plan to buy reef substrate Id recommend
sea floor brand.
I wouldn't bother arguing with someone who insists
stucco can be used in
a reef. Just purchase a name brand from a reputable
dealer, and move on
;-)
Now... on the other hand... some hobbyists *do*
make their own live rock
from portland cement and crushed coral. Look on
the garf website for
more information. You should be able to find their
link on my links
page.
If you cant find the garf site let me know and
Ill dig up the address
for you.
It seems to me the live rock didn't have much life
on it, if it did and was
transported you would see a significant cycle.
My guess is the tank is cycled to the bioload
of (3 damsels).
depending on
if you plan to add more rock.. you should do it
now
or if you're just planning to wait for the rock
to become encrusted (alive) in
your tank then you can proceed to add inverts-
corals-and fish last. Test for
ammonia /nitrite after you've added several creatures,
then you can proceed to
add more until the tank is fully stocked
It will take awhile for the liverock to look nice
probably 8 months to a year
but will probably save you allot of money using
what you have.
That's the way I see it.
Do I need to run the lights while the tank is
cycling?
I first wanted to say that I looked in the
database and I see you have
purchased my book, thank you.
In the previous messages I didn't realize you
were a reader, sorry.
To answer your question, you don't necessarily
*need* lighting on during
the cycling and certainly excessive ie: full lighting
may be
detrimental. However, most people like to see
what they have in the
tank ;-) so sure, you can have the lights on,
hopefully you have
different sets of lights so you can control the
initial wattage. Once
the tank is cycled then full lighting can begin.
Hope that answers your
question and feel free to write Ill do what I
can to answer your
questions.
I'm not sure exactly which brand is the purist.
I know that distilled it
probably the best quality of store bought. I have
to tell you that
initially it may seem like an alternative but
in the long run its more
trouble than its worth. Your tank should evaporate
between 5 - 10%
weekly, evaporation is good! Most hobbyists encourage
evaporation so as
to boost calcium by adding kalkwasser. If
you figure your evaporation
and a regular schedule of water changes say, between
15 - 30% monthly...
you probably end up having to haul around quite
a bit of water.
I know this is not the answer to your question
but I feel it worthwhile
to mention. Also, from the hobbyists I've spoken
with and participated in
my survey, I don't think anyone uses purchased
store water.
A less expensive alternative is Aquarium pharmaceuticals
TWP system.
That is a common fairly reasonable alternative.
Personally I like a one
stage DI unit, I've had a ultralife commercial
DI unit that holds one
gallon of resin and will produce approx 500 gallons
of purified water. It
may be worth your while to investigate cost per
gallon of the unit you
consider and base your decision on that. Oh yes
one more thing.. its
good that you are choosing purified tap water,
that is the cause of most
persistent algae problems and if you get a half
way decent system, algae
should not be an issue.
For
buying new I would recommend Brian @ Reefers or Marc @ Northcoast
you can find them on my links page.
Links
you can mention I sent you.
Usually the product will be at your door in about
3 days, their prices
are very good also.
OR
for used read & post to --> news:rec.aquaria.marketplace
possibly check your local papers or fish clubs
but I'm sure you'll find
something with the first two recommendations.
I would recommend the VHO
providing min of 3 to max 5 depending on the requirements
of your
creatures. Also read ../METELSKY.HTM
yes, definitely. By eliminating the bio balls you
direct all biological
activity to the live rock where nitrification
& denitrification can take
place simultaneously
>From what I have been reading, for the skimmer
to be most effective it
should take the water straight from the tank
before any pre-filtering.
yes, I suggest having the sump divided into 2 areas-
one "dirty" from tank
to skimmer- one "clean" from skimmer back to tank.
This takes 2 pumps- one
for the skimmer one for the main return to the
tank. Water flows via gravity
from the tank into the sump box.
What I was thinking of doing was splitting
the drainage from the overflow
so, half goes over the bio-ball the other
half goes right into the sump.
Providing you have enough rock <min 1 lb per
gal> you shouldn't use external
bio media as it will produce nitrate.
The skimmer located in the sump will then
pick up water the was taken
straight from the tank plus the water that
just passed over the
bio-balls.
the skimmer should be above the sump - or at least
above the water line of
the sump so it can drain via gravity into the
clean area of the sump box.
Does this sound like more work than it is worth?
Its not what I would recommend. Basically, all
the sump does is to hold and
control water flow to and from the skimmer &
tank. Its a common
misconception to use external bio media in a modern
reef. My suggestions
no bio media, have the skimmer above the sump
so it drains naturally into
the sump. Use 2 pumps one for the skimmer one
for the main. Use a good
skimmer ETS or venturi. Turn the water over
in the tank 6X per hour <pump
capacity>. Use a min of 1 lb to max of 1.75 lbs
per gallon. Decent lighting
min 3 watts per gal keep photosynthetic creatures
to use up nitrate.
1. Can you start with only a small amount
of live coral and then
gradually introduce more to your tank?
This would lower my initial cost
I believe.
you can start out with less corals however, you
should add all your live
rock first and ideally you would begin as such
add *all* live rock- cycle (largest cycle)
add all or most inverts -cycle (less significant
cycle)
add all or most corals - cycle (tank is now cycled
and adding most or
all corals will have a tiny cycle)
add fish last
2. Is this subject covered in your book?
most definitely, its also full of tips money
saving methods and reasons
why thing are recommended .
I did have a freshwater tank, but would ultimately
like to build a reef
tank. Just want to be able to do it over
a period of time.
I suggest doing it over a period of time if money
is a concern (and it
usually is)
Don't
worry, the vinegar will definitely do the trick. Id check out
prices for a gallon or 2 of the least expensive
brand. (probably $2 a
gallon for a no name brand) Also may be a good
idea to have a container
such as a dishpan where you can drench the rags
in, this may reduce
waste. Just use the vinegar and tools suggested
and I bet your tank will
shine! Also remember about cleaning the interior
of the pumps. Nothing
worse than to come home around midnight and find
the power has gone off
and your pump wont restart due to it being welded
together with calcium
deposits.
Its happened to me at least a 1/2 a dozen times.
That will take the fun out of it
good move
and I was wondering if I had an adequate amount
of filtration present in my tank to handle
my new and upcoming
additions. I have an Eclipse 3 top
(fiber/carbon cartridge &
bio wheel), a Sea Clone venturi style protein
skimmer, and the 57 lbs.
of live rock I have looked at for 8 months
now. Is that an ample amount of filtration to safely and successfully
run
my 37 gallon tank?
yes it sounds good, although if nitrate reading
get a little high it
would be wise to remove the bio wheel as well.
Keep in mind ideally *all* nitrification can and
really should take place
in and on the liverock.
For now it should be fine. As time goes on check
the nitrate readings.
This external biological filters tend to be a
"nitrate factory OTOH
some nitrate isn't necessarily a bad thing and
wont harm the livestock.
The ideal modern reef employs *no* external biological
filtration.
Sounds like your doing a great job!
I had my tank "up" for about 3 months before
I decided to go reef. I
have a 37 gallon with an Eclipse top (carbon
filter, bio wheel), a Sea
Storm 60, and a Sea Clone venturi skimmer
100. I recently added
around 60 lbs. (57 lbs. to be exact) of Fiji
and Tonga live rock to my
tank (10-14 days ago). Right now the
only thing in the tank is water
and rocks. On a weekly basis I: perform a
10% water change (RO water,
Tropic Marin salt; 1 time weekly), add Bio
trace Elements (2 times
weekly), add Kent Essential Elements (1 time
weekly), and four tbs..
calcium daily (Tropic Marin powder calcium).
I cannot afford metal
halide lighting, so I have dual strip lighting
(24") with a 10000K and
a 50/50. My questions are (any advice
you can give would be greatly,
greatly appreciated):
1. Should I change anything that I am doing
to my tank at
present (water changes, calcium/essential
& trace elements, etc.) to
make it function at a more optimum level?
sounds like above average or *very good maintenance
2. Should I discontinue use/try the
same product by a different co.
of anything aforementioned (bio trace elements.,
essential elements., Ca., etc.) ?
sounds good.
3. Do you suggest any additional supplements (strontium, kalkwasser, iodine, etc.)?
kalk is pretty much mandatory add to replace all evaporation water
4. Is there an order to follow when
adding livestock? Or is it ok to
add fish one day, shrimp another, anemones
another, then some more
fish, etc., etc.? What would be a reef
friendly and safe TOTAL amount
of livestock in a 37 gallon tank and should
each particular livestock
be added at its total amount at one time?
add *all* rock first then cycle ---> ammonia >
nitrite > nitrate this will
be the most significant cycle
then add all or most inverts then cycle
---> ammonia > nitrite > nitrate
lastly add all fish then cycle ---> ammonia >
nitrite > nitrate
5. Living in Texas, do I need a heater for the upcoming winter months?
not really sure but I'm sure it would be handy to have one if you did need it.
6. When removing water during water
changes, is it necessary to try
to remove debris from the rock and the sand
via water extraction, or
can I just take the water straight off the
top? I am asking this b/c
I am noticing a considerable build-up of
debris of some sort on the
tops of some of my rock around the sand line.
my advise is yes... remove detritus. other will
say no, detritus is good!
personally I remove what can be seen relying on
what isn't seen to be
beneficial.
If you do plan to remove it use a small dia siphon
hose. This will give
you much better control without wasting water.
7. I am in love with the achilles tang
(acanthurus achilles), hippo
tang (paracanthurus hepatus), and the Naso
tang (naso literatus). Are
these fish reef friendly?
yes
Are they compatible with each other?
yes
If I should choose, considering
all the above to be true, are these fish
functional in 3's or 4's--will they school
or try destroy each other?
better to get one of ea. I don't think they do
well unless in odd # pairs
in a *large* tank
8. Are there any fish/inverts that help
to naturally combat/reduce
nitrate/nitrite/ammonia/etc. build-up's?
If so, what are they and
when and how many can be added?
not that I'm aware of. The liverock does this job
nitrification /
denitrification
I would just run it so the water in the box is even with the top of
the black
box. It appears the change came from either putting your hands in the
tank or
the addition of new corals.
> Lighting - my tank is 48" long and I'm using two Actinic Blue and
two full
spectrum 6500K daylight (all 40 watts normal output bulbs).
However, the
LFS ran out of full spectrum bulbs. I got only one, and
temporarily I used
a normal household daylight bulb on the other. What effect
is this going
to have?
the corals will probably not open up as much. In the long term algae
may occur
following a downslide of light requiring animals
> Using the above lighting setup, assuming I want to use two timers
to
simulate dawn and dusk, how many actinic blue bulbs should be
turned on
first and last and how many hours before and after the daylight
bulbs come
on?
actinics on one timer *first* remaining lights on other timer *second*
approx 1.5
hours apart
> I'm also ordering from Brian a Spectrapure CSP-RI 50 gpd.
He says this is
the best unit in the market. Do you agree?
yes
> What brand of test kit do you
use? I ordered Salifert test kits from Brian.
salifert are the best for the money by all means
Humm... as I see it not much has changed, possible concepts have changed
a
bit within the past 5 years.
> I am going to be going with live rock and sand and allowing that
to do
most of the filtration along with a protein skimmer.
Good
> As I have been researching sites for advice your name keeps
coming up along with rave
reviews of your book - which by the way i will be purchasing.
I'm flattered, Thanks!
> My question involves the sump. I am confused as to the actual
configuration and it's purpose. Is it better for me to get
a hang-on
model of protein skimmer or not?
For a 55 allot of people use the Bac pak skimmers, which are hang on
the
back and can eliminate the need for a sump. I understand that a sump
adds to
the cost and can make the system bulky. But I highly recommend sumps
for the
reason of being able to have a buffer area when the power goes off,
or if
you add a bit too much make up water. Its also a good area to increase
oxygen by using a drip plate and if you choose to have some mechanical
filtration, it can be added beneath the drip plate. Also, it allows
an area
to hook up your pumps control water flow etc. In my opinion a sump
is a much
better system. There is a fellow online --> Bill Horst who operates
a
sumpless 55 gallon system and I would suggest you contact him if you
plan to
go with out a sump. He is a very nice guy, helpful and experienced.
here is his site http://www.users.fast.net/~bhorst/marine.htm
tell him I recommended you.
One pitfall is to take a bit of info from allot of people then tie
it all
together. My advise is to get some information and choose a system
that make
most sense to you. Being on the internet allows you easy access to
allot of
information... so much that one cant make up their mind <grin>
> If I understand sumps right they basically take the place of the
trickle filter without the 'trickle'
part; I mean they are basically a water reservoir. Am I
correct?
Pretty much, a reservoir and area to place pumps, drains, in sump
skimmers,
prefilter and increases oxygen exchange. Although many folks like the
CPR
because of it being sumpless and inexpensive, I prefer much larger
skimmers
to add oxygen and remove organics. Does a CPR work? I'm sure but personally
I
wouldn't use on larger than a 20 gallon. On the other hand people love
them
<grin>
> If so I can see where using one would make everything neater,
i could put the
heater in there too, but I'm not sure if I'm thinking right about
it.
I think you got it... and I forgot to mention a place for the heater
> If all this is answered in your book you can just tell me to buy
the
book, but I would appreciate any insight you have on my questions.
I pretty sure most of your questions will be answered. If you have others
feel free to write me and I will do what I can. Once you read the book
you'll have a good concept of my opinions and I guarantee if you follow
what
I say there, your tank will be rock solid...no problems. Some people
on the
net think I'm too radical <vbg> hehehe... but ---> I rarely see my
readers
getting involved in endless discussion of what works and what doesn't.
I hope you enjoy the book and feel free to write. I am *very* busy
working
on a revised edition but for my readers, I answer email 99.9% the same
day.
I think if they are sealed... you could keep it as long as you would
need it.
In other words, nothings going to "go wrong" with the water.
On the other hand if they were not sealed and the water being stripped
of all
chemicals, it *could* attract pollutants.
I don't think you have any thing to worry about
yes for many years Some well water is very good, some not so good. Mine
unfortunately has been the not so good variety.
> On our well we have an iron filter but no other filtration devices.
I have
been contemplating putting, at least, a sediment filter of some
sort before
my RO unit. I have been concerned about early expiry of the membrane
and
was curious what you have done, if anything.
Depending on your budget, there are all kinds of inline water filters.
Go to
any plumbing supply house and you can find many types from a simple
sediment
(hard floss type) to carbons or carbons with floss. I believe they
range in
price from around $50 to $250 depending on size and processing capability.
Its
definitely a good idea. Its somewhat along the lines of my suggestion
to use
several carbon pre filters in line rite before the RO or DI unit.
Replacing
those more frequently prolongs the life of the resin and membrane.
I believe
some manufacturers have membranes that can be cleaned. One other
very important
point is... many wells don't have the water pressure to properly
operate an
actual RO unit. I found that out the hard way.... taking 24 hours
to produce 5
gallons of water! with up teen gallons of waste water.
That's why I prefer and use a single stage DI unit. No membrane
and produces 5
gallons or more on demand. If you haven't used your RO yet definitely
check out
how much PSI your well pump puts out and compare it to the recommendations
of
your unit. I use an Ultralife commercial DI that holds one gallon
of resin and
produces approx 500 gallons, along with 3 carbon pre filters.
Hope its not to late with this suggestion. I think its all in my
book <grin>
> Thanks, and I am really enjoying the book. it is truly excellent
and more
than lives up to all that I had heard/read about it previously.
They decorate themselves with debris from the surrounding... so they
can
become kind of ugly.
Usually the decorators aren't that shy though.
Are you sure its a crab?
Do you hear any popping or snapping coming from the tank?
> vast ocean), told me that VHO and halide lighting are NOT necessary
to keep specimens of higher light requirements and proceeded to
tell
me that I could buy any specimen in the store, and as long as
it was
close to the top of the tank and in direct light, I could
successfully keep it.
hogwash!
what does she mean "direct light"? sunlight?
photosynthetic reef creatures are not that much different than plants.
(oversimplified statement)
placing acropora or a tridachna clam in any light other than the proper
spectrum would surely see its demise.
Did you look around the store? at the tanks that have high light
creatures? did you notice the brand of lighting or wattage? did they
have
any "blue" looking lights? or halides?
Id bet they do have reeflighting particularly in the high light creature
dept.
Or the store has such a turnaround that they don't need to spend the
$ of
reeflighting.
Take a close look and frankly her having a degree in marine biology
doesn't impress me at all
ask her how long tridachna clams live in the wild
ask her if you buy one from the store how long would it be expected
to
live (with low lighting under 5wpg)
Id say from experience 4 months
> When I looked at her like she was crazy, she proceeded to pull
up
the light canopy on EVERY SINGLE ONE of their tanks that held
a very,
very large selection of specimens and showed me normal output
actinic
03's and 10,000 K's ONLY. She also proceeded to tell me
(your book
agrees with this too) that VHOs and halides get incredibly hot
and
more trouble can arise from excessive heat than lack of lighting.
ok NO (normal output) actinic is ok for *short* periods of time (such
as
in a store)
I recommend that the hobbyist not get compelled to buy and run un
necessary lighting never the less pretty everyone agrees 3 wpg is
*minimum*
I've caught allot of flak for recommending low lighting and most folks
agree the tank does *better* with increased lighting However IMO this
*better* is forced growth and thereby shortened life span.
People usually consider fast growth of corals a sign of a good tank
and
one can get that with *higher * lighting 6 -10wpg but to run that 6
-10wpg over the years is virtually cost prohibitive and is probably
the
reason the store uses NO
>
>
> What do you think? I mean a marine biologists word, and then
my own
> eyes looking at literally hundreds of healthy thriving hard/soft
> corals, anemones, etc., etc., living off of actinics and 10000 K's.
> She was also so convinced they would survive she offered me a 7-day
> money back guarantee if for any reason they didn't.
sounds like a saleswoman to me <laughing>
7 DAYS! is that benchmark mark of success? you could keep it in the
dark
for 7 days and it wouldn't die.
Id bet it would go *slowly* downhill and deteriorate in about 4
months. Thats how coals usually die... *slowly*
I'm not berating you ;-) but its just contradictory to anything
I've
heard, experimented with, or had the misfortune of finding out the
hard
way.
Id say in order of importance is
good water and salt mix
proper lighting min 3wpg
regular water changes
good water turnover 6x per hour
adding kalkwasser
decent skimming
Let me know what transpired
Ok.. rock >cycle--->inverts>cycle--->corals>cycle--->fish
the liverock is the worst cycle, the others are *trivial* in comparison
I'm waiting for the time when your nice and satisfied and are able to
look
back on this cycling process.
Its all gained experience under your belt that you can pass on to someone
else.
It sounds like a bristle
worm. Today bristleworms aren't considered
detrimental as they were a few years ago. Primarily they are detrital
scavengers.
If you have an "average" reef tank... with "average" inhabitants, I
wouldn't worry about it.
On the other hand it wouldn't adversely affect the tank if you removed
it but would provide a more realistic setting if left alone.
Personally I would leave it and keep an eye on your polyps growing
on
the rock. If you notice things beginning to disappear its possible
the
worm(s) are the culprit.
Also... if your interested, view the tank with a flashlight after the
lights have been off for a few hours. You'll be amazed what you
see.
all sounds good
> Questions: When should I add the Live Rock?
as soon as you can afford it! <grin>, seriously ideally you'd like
to add all
the rock at once
> Should I wait for it to cycle?
no the rock will have *the* cycle
add *all* rock first then cycle ---> ammonia > nitrite > nitrate this
will
be the most significant cycle
then add all or most inverts then cycle ---> ammonia > nitrite
> nitrate
lastly add all fish then cycle ---> ammonia > nitrite > nitrate
> Should I have the skimmer on when its cycling?
yes it will help by adding oxygen to the water and remove dead detritus
in the
water
> What should I do about lighting in order to get the coralline growing?
Low
lights, long photo period, full lighting, etc?
What should I be using for calcium? (Currently using Seachem
reef
calcium).
coralline will easily grow will average reef lighting and additions of
kalkwasser
add kalkwasser for all make up water.
I'm not to confident of sea chems calcium
either use kalk or the 2 part C-balance from 2 little fishies.
The former is much less expensive, the latter much more convenient
well I don't really agree with that reasoning. Firstly denitrifying
bacteria proliferate well after the fact of cycling. In other words
they
need nitrate to survive.
When you set up a new tank, there is no nitrate.... if its a real new
setup with allot of shipped liverock
you will first get allot of ammonia, then is a while... nitrite then
lastly nitrate.
That will take a few or several weeks
Secondly, denitrifying bacteria primarily live in absence of or in
minimal oxygen and light. They occur inside the liverock and deep in
the
sand so theoretically you could have your lights blasting and not much
would get to the denitrifying bacteria.
Finally, denitrifying bacteria are I would think to be last on your
list
of concerns anyway. Algae is the primary bane of reefkeepers and can
accelerate if one doesn't use ro or di water ... to much light initially
{until everything balances}
Anyway Its good advise not to be over zealous with the lighting in
the
beginning. Get the tank cycled nicely add corals fish inverts slowly
and
then be concerned about he amount of lighting.
again many novices think that just because they have a sw tank with
liverock that the lighting is *critical* initially and the whole thing
may die if its not blasted with halides the moment its set up.
I don't really think the lights have a significant impact on the
actual cycling process. I'd say this advise is mainly to keep you from
running the lights full time as one usually thinks a reef should be
lit
Having the lights on minimally during the beginning procedure at least
lets
you see the tank and also minimizes algae problems
Its probably good advise. Set the tank up test or ammonia then nitrite
when
you have zero on both the tank is cycled. Do a 15% water change then
begin
to run the tank as you plan to
sounds like a refugia
> The water was first went
thought the prefilter (wool) than passed thought the gravel and
back to
the tank again by a power head pump. It has been doing well for
2yrs
until i have changed my filtration to trickle system. That was
a
completed failure to my tank. Fishes died, red algae grew.
The question is : Is that true that by using traditional method
(
under gavel) in this case, are much more stabilizes than trickle
system
(plastic ball) so call the "advance techic"?
trickle filters are not really used today, nor are under gravel. I'm
assuming this is a reef and not fish only?
For fish only, I don't think the *type* of filtration whether UG or
trickle led to the problems, most likely
it was because the change was done suddenly as opposed to gradual.
In the US UG were replaced by trickle filters about 7 years ago for
fish
only.
Today, in a modern reef aquarium one relies solely on liverock and
protein
skimming. No external biological media is used as it contributes to
nitrates amongst other problems.
that's fine
> I was told at my live fish store that this is too low for a reef, bordering on brackish???.
Hardly
> She said my tank should be at least 1.025 or higher. All info I have ever read say 1.022. Which is right?
Well, its pretty much agreed upon that one keeps the sg at around
1.022
-.024really the widest acceptable range is between 1.018 to 1.025
18 being about the lowest at 25 the highest. My tanks run at 24
although will
fluctuate sometimes with water changes room temp and evaporation.
My advise is always common sense... how do *your* creatures look?
If they are
thriving don't make any changes.
Your LFS seems over zealous on the salinity issue.
Is this just friendly debate between you and her or are you having
problems?
What size of a tank is
this? Are you using a sump? If you do use a sump
then you have a "buffer area" where the water can ebb (recede) without
having a noticeable affect on your tank.
If your tank is larger than a 125 I would suggest using the 5 gallon
bucket method I mention in the book. If the tank is 125 or larger
you
can drip in the entire 5 gall at one through the airline hose, as
long
as its done in the Am (after the pH has dropped due to the lights
being
off. I don't think there is any way to get around allot of evaporation.
Ideally, you want to add all kalkwasser for evaporation so that
forces
you to have to physically deal with the water. On my tanks I basically
have 5 gallons of kalkwasser all ways either mixing or settling..
on
standby - ready to add to the tank. Possibly you could reduce *a
little*
evaporation by using different coverings. 1 - 1.5 gall per day is
acceptable while 2 is on the high side. Unless of course you have
a
extremely large tank.
Your cd was sent last Wednesday so hopefully you should receive
it any
time. I also welcome you to take the reef keepers, this will give
a
snapshot of your tank.
One more thought: you understood that my aquarium is up and
, almost ,ready...so adding the eggcrate now could be a problem, as there
are no anchors provided. Unless you have a good idea to accommodate that
problem.
You don't really have
to use the eggcrate material especially if your
tank is already setup.
The eggcrate does work very well though at giving you excellent
water
movement.
The only way I could think of off hand is to use a couple of small
pieces of pvc pipe between the pvc support pieces and the front
glass of
the tank. This will keep the whole thing from sliding forward and
you
could possibly bury them in some sand, so the aren't noticeable,
> When building rock islands, I will also raise them above the sand
level ,
with sections of pvc pipe , so, if I can somehow hide the pipe
coming from
the sump , I will be able to use the same spraybar system you
do, don't you
think?
Have a look at these 2 urls
http://www.simplifiedreefkeeping.com/earl/earl.htm
first look at the tank -
Earl did an island with spray bars underneath
I personally think the island is too much work and I prefer the angled
back as I describe, but you guys are pretty innovative!
Now look at Eric's
http://www.simplifiedreefkeeping.com/Eric/eric.htm
Eric has no spray bar but does elevate the tank nicely with the eggcrate
I would have used the gray PVC and a smaller diameter but it still
looks
good
> I just found an egg-crate supplier (only white , but that'll have to do...)
did you call or try Modern Plastics? Id bet they would ship overseas.
If I was doing it I would follow the angled back as I describe.
The down
side is tank the sides of the tank are somewhat un attractive.
I also would avoid white at all costs. White will stick out, black
blends in perfectly. Id go to some trouble finding the black.
Modern Plastics 800-243-9696 ask for Raul Flores black is about
$8 per
2x4 ft + shipping
> and am still in doubt about which landscape I will create: small
island of
rock or a real reef, like suggested in the book. I have one question
about
the reef: what happens to death fish , trapped behind the eggcrate?
On the other hand , as I have an available surface of 59" x 27
", all
options are open....can you point me the benefits of the island
version
versus the reef version, or the other way around?
I like the angled back. That gives you a really nice display. The
draw
back is the sides show. And island is nice all around but you don't
get
as much coverage with the rock. (virtually no stacking with the
angled
back method)
And no.. fish don't get stuck at all, its no problem.
when you're done mixing it in a blender you'll have what looks like
thick pea
soup. In order to use this mix so as to have it for the future you'll
want to
freeze it. So
place 3 tbspns of mix in a sandwich baggie- kind of roll it up and
double bag
it to have a convenient portions of food
place in freezer for future use
when you want to feed:
depending on how much you feed... take out one of these "rolls"
(3 tbspns in
the plastic bag- frozen)
and break off say... approx 1/3 of the bag- defrost a bit, like a
1/2 hour and
then drizzle it in the tank.
The fish will go nuts! ;-) as will any corals, mushrooms hermit
crabs etc.
If I remember correctly I suggest to use a piece of plastic gutter
guard bent up
in a cup shape. Place the mix in that and shake it in the tank.
That does a
nice job of dispersing the mix.
I cant stress enough how good this food is. Once you use it a bit
you'll see.
Also its very economical
For a realistic look at costs see http://www.simplifiedreefkeeping.com/n/survey.htm
I'm sorry to say that seahorses, sharks and rays don't do well in a tank
unless its *very large* 1000 + would be a starting point. You can
however have a beautiful tank without such large creatures
My survey will give you a good idea of what people use etc
