|
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.
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2010 15:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 05:46 |
|
|
That setup is a steal for that price, but if it's more than you're willing to spend go ahead and skip it, you'll eventually find a cheaper 75. I have a 120 and they are same length as the other tanks you mentioned, but it's 2 feet tall and feet deep. Makes for a ton of room to placing rock and extra water volume is great for stability. If you don't hop on that deal here's what I recommend when looking on craigslist for a new tank:
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2010 17:16
|
|
|
Internet Explorer posted:Well now you've done it, you've twisted my arm. I guess I'll have to look at larger tanks then. Thanks a lot! Holy crap that's an amazing deal. I spent half that alone on *just* my 90G acrylic tank (with no extras). Spent another $300 or so building a stand (granted, that was built out of premium woods and stuff). Add pumps, sump, skimmer, etc, and it was at least 3x that cost. A 120G is a great size, and you won't be disappointed. It is only when you start getting into the 6' and 8' tanks that it becomes a pain. The 120G is usually a 4x2x2 (my 90G is 4x18"x2). The extra 6" of depth will at least allow for more swimming room for tangs and stuff, and the extra 30 gallons will make it even more stable.
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2010 19:31
|
|
|
Yeah, the more I was thinking about it the more I can make it work. I have plenty of room, was just worried about the depth for ascetic reasons but really what's another 6 inches.  I sent the guy a message a few hours ago, so we'll see. Very excited.
|
|
#
?
Dec 3, 2010 19:44
|
|
|
Update: So I received my Oceanic BioCube Size14 in the mail, really happy with the results so far! I used half of the water from my outgoing 40 gallon, and half from a new water change that my dad had been producing for a while. I placed my two False Percula clowns in the tank, the largest being about 1.5 inches and the smallest about 2/3rd that size, and they swam around happily. Much more active than they ever were in the 40 gallon setup. For those interested, here's what I purchased so far: - Oceanic BioCube Size 14 (14 Gallon) - Oceanic Protein Skimmer - 10-14 Gallon Heater w/ internal thermometer set to 78* The Initial Setup:  Dirty Tank!  Fish in a lonely rock / Dirty Water:  End of Week one: 2 pieces of old rock for base, 6 lbs Fiji Live Rock:  End of Week two: 1 piece of old rock for base, total 10 lbs Fiji Live Rock:  Initially, a few days after setting up the tank, making sure the fish lived and the transition went smoothly, I went to a local shop to start picking out some live rock. I picked up 6lbs of fully cured Fiji Live Rock from the back frag tank for $6.99 / lb, a price pretty comparable to online sales (plus hand-picking rocks is nice). I'm going to give it another week or so to allow the rock / die-off to settle in, then hit it with a water change and maybe put a cleaner shrimp in there, what do you guys think? I'm happy with the setup so far, but the protein skimmer is only okay, not thrilled with the intake level. Any suggestions?
|
|
#
?
Dec 4, 2010 21:54
|
|
|
I have an aquarium and I'm wondering if there is a problem with making things out of clay and putting them in, and if so what types of clay work best?
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2010 01:24
|
|
|
Just moved our tank, it took all day, probably about 11 hours. I am tired. The day started with about 2 inches of snow and only got worse from there, the weather all day was slushy, near-whiteout conditions. It took me probably 6 trips across town to get it all done. I set up, but did not use the staging tank. We put all the live rock in Styrofoam coolers with wet newspaper on top. Live rock, corals and all went into two big coolers. All the fish were put in an Instant Ocean bucket about 2/3 full. I used a battery backup air stone to keep them oxygenated. Temperatures were the concern of the day, it hovered around 32f all day long. I kept the heat on full blast in the truck and left the engine running while we broke the system down and packed it. The biggest 'oh poo poo' moment was when I realized we didn't have the tool to remove the bulkheads, it's a big two ended wrench that is pretty much essential to removing overflow bulkheads. Which have to be removed if you're going to sit the tank flat. We ran down to the pet store (a mile from our old house fortunately) and one of the employees had one in his car that he graciously gave to us. We had already drained the tank, and had we not gotten this tool, we would have been in serious trouble. It probably would have meant refilling the tank and trying again another day. The salt cost alone would have made this a horrible idea, so I'm so glad that this dude happened to have one for us. So I set up the tank at the new place; stand, sump, display tank, plumbing, pumps and skimmer. Then I dumped in the live rock/coral and then finally the fish. The tank is very cloudy right now and the skimmer has given me 4 cupfulls so far. We switched to a new sand, plain aragonite with no gravel. So far I'm liking it a lot better, it has a more natural ocean look in my opinion. We had way too much gravel before and it just looked a bit off. Anyway, everything is looking good, except for our hammer coral which is completely sucked into it's skeleton frame with just a purplish center. I don't know if that is normal or not but I hope so. Two of our fish, flame angel and orange spotted sleeper goby, gave us a fright because they both basically played dead the whole time, lying on the bottom not moving. The clownfish were acting as if they weren't in a bucket the whole time, I didn't notice any changes with them at all. Once I dumped the goby and the flame angel back into the tank, they started acting normal again. Anyways sleep time now, I'll try to post a pic tomorrow.
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2010 05:46
|
|
|
I've definitely been bitten by the Saltwater bug. I've been F5ing Craigslist like a motherfucker and reading as much information as humanly possible. I may head over to a LFS or two tomorrow after I finish some work around the house. Just want to look around and get a feel for them. I imagine it's a good idea to be friendly with a LFS or two.
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2010 06:17
|
|
|
I just picked up some sun coral (tubastrea) last night (one orange frag, one black). Some of the heads on the orange one are dead/clear (which I conveniently couldn't see at the store), and some look half orange, half brown/black, presumably dying. Is there any chance with some hard work feeding them and treating them right, these dying ones could come back? I'm assuming they died due to lack of proper feeding rather than some disease but I've never had experience with this type of coral before. I supplement calcium/strontium/etc regularly and got phytoplankton+some more mysis+brine shrimp to feed them. Is there anything else chemical or foodwise you'd recommend me getting? In any case, I got my syringe and will start feeding them and hopefully they'll be OK once they start opening up. A few of the baby heads opened up right away after I put some phytoplankton in, but the big guys aren't doing much yet, which isn't too surprising.
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2010 20:48
|
|
|
Just feed them small meaty foods and they will probably be fine. I have had good luck feeding mine new life spectrum pellets as well.
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2010 21:15
|
|
|
Just ordered a pair of TLF media reactors. Going to run carbon (seachem matrix carbon) in one and phosphate remover (seachem phosguard) in the other. I used to use seachem's seagel (mix of the matrixcarbon and phosguard) in my AP24, but it was easy to just plop a bagful in the back chamber. There is no good location to put media bags in my sump, so I really haven't been running carbon reliably, nor have I ever run phosphate removal stuff at all in this tank. I'm hoping that green hair algae problem that I am struggling to remove is due to excess phosphates (I've tested it with my API kit, but the color of the water in the tube is drastically different than /any/ color on the card -- so I don't trust the results [the card goes light green to dark blue -- the tube is a weak yellow]). Also ordered all the stuff to replace the filters / resin in my RO/DI. That crap adds up!
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2010 22:03
|
|
|
Instead of using phosgaurd, which I think is aluminum based, use GFO. It's cheaper, more effective, and the aluminum allegedly causes some soft coral to close for no apparent reason
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2010 22:18
|
|
|
Here are some pictures of the sun coral I got, plus just a general update on how my full tank looks  You can see almost all of my inhabitants in these pics. The orange sun coral is (obviously) the big thing on the bottom, and the black is on a ledge up and to the left, you can see the white of the frag rock at the bottom. I'm not 100% sure these are the best positions for them yet. You can also see my clown fish and goby poking his head of his cave out near the orange sun coral. You can also see the result of my stupid turbo snails bulldozing my thermometer every night. My next addition in the next few weeks will probably be a green bubble coral. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 5, 2010 22:33
|
|
|
That looks pretty good. What kind of live rock is that? How long have you had it for?
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2010 00:31
|
|
|
fanaglethebagle posted:Instead of using phosgaurd, which I think is aluminum based, use GFO. It's cheaper, more effective, and the aluminum allegedly causes some soft coral to close for no apparent reason I already ordered it :/ Besides, I've used it before and didn't notice any adverse affects with my softies, and right now, the softies in my tank are pissing me off -- my mushrooms are spreading like wildfire and smothering / killing my zoanthids. I don't think it'd bother them, but if it did, it wouldn't be a bad thing IMO.
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2010 01:05
|
|
|
Internet Explorer posted:That looks pretty good. What kind of live rock is that? How long have you had it for? It's Vanuatu live rock http://www.aquacon.com/VanuatuLiveRock.html from aquacon.com. It's awesome rock, it cost 169.99 for 25 lbs of it and I have about 10 pounds of boring fiji foundation rock under it. They are also who I got my semi-picasso from. A lot of my friends like liveaquaria but I'm kind of hooked on aquacon due to their customer service and shipping procedures. The picture doesn't do it justice, there are so many different colors of coralline growing on it. I've had my tank up for about 3-4 months now. As we speak my sun coral looks much better than when I took the pic a few hours ago, so that's a good sign. I am looking for one more perfect fish to complete my set since I think I'm pushing it even with 2 fish, let alone 3, and if I do buy one I'll get it from aquacon probably. My LFS is awesome for coral and general advice, but they don't really take good care of their fish. Although the tiger watchman I got is from them and he's doing great(he is hilarious to watch, every night he will bury his cave in sand and dig himself out every morning), so results always vary. Aside from the owners, I think I got lucky with a good LFS. edit: I also got my sand from aquacon, 40 lbs of black live sand...I like black, it brings out the colors more and gives the tank a more unique look. edit2: I also have some rocks my brother collected for me in St Augustine(I forget what they are called). They are the brownish/whitish rocks my frogspawn is sitting on and the oval foundation rock on the bottom right. I have bigger ones of those but I only had so much room. They are really cool looking once they get coralline growing on them though, they look like giant clumps of hundreds of seashells. yeah I eat ass fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Dec 6, 2010 |
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2010 01:31
|
|
|
So here's my situation. It's my first saltwater tank that I'll be taking care of solo (I had a 225 gal. with my father a few years back, he did a lot of the major work so I'm not as experienced). I just ordered the "Mr. Aqua 25 Gallon Frameless Glass Aquarium Tank 18 x 18 x 18 Inch" from Marine Depot and I'm going to start off slow and take my time setting it up but I would like some more input on filtration systems. First off I don't know if I should go with the Penguin Bio-Wheel 100B/200B, or with a protein skimmer (if I went this route I have no previous knowledge of the filtration type so I would have to do my reading. I've just been recommended to use one as it provides a better environment for my sized tank. I don't have information to back up that claim made to me either). Also, if I went with a protein skimmer, what sizes are adequate for a 25 gal. cube? Just some background, I only intend to keep live rock, small fish, possibly a few anemones, and starfish for the foreseeable future. Dono fucked around with this message at 08:45 on Dec 6, 2010 |
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2010 08:30
|
|
|
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 |
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2010 15:26
|
|
|
When I had an algae breakout (it was black spongy algae, which is apparently not good), they told me to put my lights on at most 5-6 hours a day. I didn't notice a difference though, to be honest. edit: it did go away eventually though.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2010 22:15
|
|
|
New addition to the 14 gallon setup! 2 of these little guys. Very pleased, they're gorgeous and full of energy!
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 05:49
|
|
|
Well, got the reactors today. Had to modify them a little to work right (glued the center tube and various parts so they were one piece to force water through the system instead of around it, and zip tied the lower sponge to the plate thing. The eheim 300s are simply not powerful enough.. though they may be good enough for the 25-30gph recommended through the reactors (barely) even though they're rated for like 80gph. We'll see how the added phosban and carbon affects the system. I'm crossing my fingers 
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 07:17
|
|
|
Well, looks like I finally found my chance. Picking up a 90 gallon reef ready tank that's still in the package off Craigslist. Still going to have them fill it before I buy, to check for leaks, etc. Found an awesome thread on RC about how to make a stupidly easy, cheap, and strong stand - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169964 Going to take the plunge and while I am building and polishing up my stand, keep an eye on more equipment on Craigslist over the next 2-3 months.
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 13:45
|
|
|
I've built a couple of varying sizes of those stands, they are very easy to make and if you want to put a plywood ledge on it you can give the plywood a coat of epoxy paint to have a rot-proof ledge to rest food, test kits, or whatever you put near your tank. Just make sure that it is completely level, emptying a tank after you notice a lean in the water level is a pain in the rear end but necessary for the sake of your floors and aesthetic value. You can also add a wrap-around drape or cut shower curtain to the ledge to make a sturdy, but ugly stand a hundred times prettier.
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 15:01
|
|
|
I have a question that was partially inspired by cculos's new tank...how strict of a rule is the inch of fish per some number of gallons rule? I have two fish, a 3 inch tiger watchman goby and my little clown which is like an inch, and I feel like I'm pushing it adding another fish. Is it safe to add another? Could I even add 2 more small fish(I have a 24G cube in case people didn't see my first post)? I'm trying to follow all the rules I've read here and elsewhere but it seems like people break those rules and do fine. My biggest concern is another fish intruding in my goby's territory and getting hurt, although he doesn't mind the clown going down there at all, so I don't really know. He does freak out and attack my hand like crazy if I ever get close to his cave. Placing the sun coral in front of his cave was an ordeal. They still haven't opened yet, which is making me a little concerned. I put phyto in the same time every day and blow some mysis/brine/arctipods over the coral afterward and only a few of them put their tentacles out. I guess I just need to be patient, with all my other coral it took them about a week or two to get fully adjusted.
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 19:52
|
|
|
The inch per gallon rules are pretty much worthless. You could probably add another two fish so long as they are small and get along and your filtration is adequate. Have you been checking the sun coral at night?
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 20:15
|
|
|
Again, not that I know anything about anything, but I think I remember reading that sun corals were kind of picky. One guy was saying it is important to get them on a consistent feeding schedule and that they start to open up just before it is that time. I think the thread was on RC, let me see if I can find it. [Edit: here it is http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16735828&highlight=sun+coral#post16735828 and here http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1719839 ] Internet Explorer fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Dec 8, 2010 |
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 20:19
|
|
|
Filtration (particularly export) being adequate is the key. I have a sock of activated carbon (changed regularly), a heavy-duty skimmer, a ton of rock rubble, regularly harvested chaeto, mangroves, and a deep bed in my sump, and I dose carbon with calcium ascorbate and some bio pellets. That lets me put more bioload in the top than I would otherwise contemplate and my corals are still doing well with regards to coloration and calcium deposit/growth.
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 20:26
|
|
|
ludnix posted:The inch per gallon rules are pretty much worthless. You could probably add another two fish so long as they are small and get along and your filtration is adequate. I haven't except in the evening when my apartment lights are still on and when I wake up in the morning and only the tiny heads have the tendrils out. If I wake up at like 3am or something I'll try and remember to go down and take a look at the tank...I might even find my abalone that I added 3 weeks ago and never saw again. I'm doing my best to take care of this sun coral which isn't in the best shape, I researched a lot before I bought it, so I hope I'm not killing it. If it does only open up in the middle of the night, should I try and put in food in the middle of the night if they don't respond to the "training" i've been trying? Normally I feed with the lights on, should I try it with them off? e: arioch, how often do you change your carbon? I changed my sock after a month, should I be doing it more? My filtration seems fine so far, I never had any ammonia/nitrite problems after adding new stuff, but if I'm going to add something like another fish I want to be sure I'm doing it right. I took all the bioballs out that came with the cube, I read that with live rock they aren't necessary. I still keep the sponge in, although I did read those can be nitrate traps, but I haven't had a problem with it yet. I think I'm doing ok overall though, considering my only loss has been a nasarrius snail(possibly an abalone, but I've heard of people not seeing them for like a month at a time and they end up being fine). Fingers crossed on the sun coral. yeah I eat ass fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Dec 8, 2010 |
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 21:13
|
|
|
I recently came into a 150 gallon tank, and I was wanting to start a saltwater project. I've done freshwater before, but in these pictures I notice many of you have smaller tanks for your salt water tanks. Is 150 too big and unmanageable for a beginner? I thought everyone who did salt went big, now i'm reconsidering if maybe it's too much. e; also whats your favorite site pick for salt water care/instructions? Umph fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Dec 8, 2010 |
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 23:18
|
|
|
From what I learned, bigger means easier for saltwater. However, you are looking at a much much higher cost for live rock and sand. From what I've read, larger tanks are easier if you can afford it, and smaller tanks like under 50g are good if you know what you're doing. Larger tanks are much more stable and less sensitive to small changes in chemical parameters. If you can afford to do a 150g, go for it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 23:21
|
|
|
a duck posted:From what I learned, bigger means easier for saltwater. However, you are looking at a much much higher cost for live rock and sand. From what I've read, larger tanks are easier if you can afford it, and smaller tanks like under 50g are good if you know what you're doing. Larger tanks are much more stable and less sensitive to small changes in chemical parameters. If you can afford to do a 150g, go for it. That's what I thought, more room for newbie mistakes. I'm getting the tank for 25 dollars (which is amazing), it has a stand, but everything else I will have to provide, which I assume would be quite a ton of things for so much voloume of water. Does the sand need to be replaced regularly?
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 23:39
|
|
|
Umph posted:That's what I thought, more room for newbie mistakes. I'm getting the tank for 25 dollars (which is amazing), it has a stand, but everything else I will have to provide, which I assume would be quite a ton of things for so much voloume of water. Again, I'm new to aquariums and salt water, but I do not think you need to replace the sand regularly, at least if you plan on using live rock. You may want to start reading at reefcentral.com, specifically here http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1696795
|
|
#
?
Dec 8, 2010 23:59
|
|
|
You should never replace a proper substrate. ^^^ I change my carbon sock out every month, which isn't based on anything rigorous like actually measuring anything.
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 02:33
|
|
|
a duck posted:From what I learned, bigger means easier for saltwater. However, you are looking at a much much higher cost for live rock and sand. From what I've read, larger tanks are easier if you can afford it, and smaller tanks like under 50g are good if you know what you're doing. Larger tanks are much more stable and less sensitive to small changes in chemical parameters. If you can afford to do a 150g, go for it. Maybe bigger is easier but my first tank is 3.5G and it is doing very well, I just don't have the budget or place to put something like a 40B. Also, I figured I'd post this here since some of you might like it. My girlfriend's ORA Green Mandarin, it pretty much only eats frozen food and is kept in her 18G ADA tank. Here it is in the glass feeding jar. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 03:40
|
|
|
That is a beautiful fish. I have been trying to come up with a somewhat flexible parts list to go with the tank I am picking up tomorrow and the stand I will probably build over the next 3-4 weeks. Going to try and watch Craigslist. As far as I can see, I should be able to get most stuff at just under 50% of the new cost without too much trouble. Problem is having a parts list like Skimmer A or Skimmer B or Skimmer C, without getting a crap one or one that won't work for my purposes.
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 03:58
|
|
|
Well I have been reading all night, could anyone clarify a point for me? A tank with live rock and fish requires a considerably less amount of power consumption, lighting needs are less stringent, and you need less equipment over all, then if you wished to keep coral? Could you introduce coral later (1-2 years or so) on down the road and avoid having to build/buy a new canopy, save some energy, and keep initial investment down a bit? What arguments are there for immediately introducing coral? Can some plants still thrive with a less expensive setup? I know coral is beautiful, but I don't want to bite off more then I can chew, and I'd rather focus on basics before I try to create a perfect ecosystem for coral if it's advisable. e: From what I've gathered reef tanks require better lighting and a protein skimmer, and can be more touchy, unless i'm wrong it sems like a fish only or fish+live rock tank would be more newbie friendly. Umph fucked around with this message at 04:24 on Dec 9, 2010 |
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 04:15
|
|
|
New to saltwater, etc etc... Yes, from what I understand a FOWLR would need much less light and less equipment. I know corals do at least a bit of filtering, but I think that is completely negated by the fact that they are so sensitive to water conditions. I do not think there is any reason you couldn't add coral 2 years down the road after replacing the lights and possible upgrading the skimmer, adding a powerhead or two, and possibly adding a refugium. I will say that I know even less about a FOWLR tank than I do about a "traditional" live reef setup.
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 04:20
|
|
|
Internet Explorer posted:New to saltwater, etc etc... Thanks explorer! I hope we can make our tanks together, ill be sure to post pics once i'm up and running Live rock seems too beneficial and down right cool to pass up. What's the difference in setup between a fish only and fish+liverock tank?
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 04:24
|
|
|
If you are doing a fish only tank you need to have a mechanical filter, similar to a freshwater setup.
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 04:29
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 05:46 |
|
|
There are also some soft corals that will do fine in a 'dirty' tank with minimal lighting. Many mushrooms and green star polyp should do fine.
|
|
#
?
Dec 9, 2010 04:30
|
|