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There are some REALLY pretty polyclads, it'd be really neat to set up a species tank for them. If they weren't completely photophobic, of course.
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May 17, 2013 22:23
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It's really hard to gently caress up a general RO/DI unit build so pretty much most vendors are going to be fine, just go by pricing and availability. I personally use a unit from Water General/Filter Direct, the RD106 (which I've since modded with a membrane flush, dual position TDS meter, float switch/bucket, and a 150gpd membrane). e: In other water filtration related news, we got a water softener installed in the house this past week, so now I can stretch out my filter and DI resin replacements. Thank god.
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May 17, 2013 22:27
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Never heard of them, personally I have an air/water/ice unit, but there's always spectrapure etc. that are reasonably priced. But yeah, as api mentioned, they probably all get their parts from the same manufacturer, so.. yeah.
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May 17, 2013 23:21
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SaNChEzZ posted:Yeah, whatever happened with the chemistry or whatever killed them for sure. The other one is looking alright. My previous plague of Planaria flatworms had a random mass die-off and it made my tank look like poo poo for months. I just waited it out, did a few water changes and it's finally recovering well to the point I want to add stuff again. I also had a return pump that slowly clogged up which caused what I believe to be a lack of oxygen as the tank just looked 'off'. I ended up switching to a DC pump and selling the old AC, but the water flow made a huge difference as the surface tension was preventing gas exchange. Perhaps that's something also to look at since you can't really test?
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May 18, 2013 00:36
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MKLKT posted:My previous plague of Planaria flatworms had a random mass die-off and it made my tank look like poo poo for months. I just waited it out, did a few water changes and it's finally recovering well to the point I want to add stuff again. I also had a return pump that slowly clogged up which caused what I believe to be a lack of oxygen as the tank just looked 'off'. I ended up switching to a DC pump and selling the old AC, but the water flow made a huge difference as the surface tension was preventing gas exchange. Perhaps that's something also to look at since you can't really test? I thought about that but then the water is falling 2.5 feet down a drain into the sump so I don't think that would be an issue, it bubbles plenty in the sump. I'll adjust the return angle just in case though. But I'll be keeping up the water changes also. I also moved the power strip to another outlet in case the one behind the tank got wet when the return line popped off making it do funky electrical things.
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May 18, 2013 00:54
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My tank. The arch thing on the right with the newly placed gsp is something I made. Same with the moon shaped piece in the middle. I'm playing around and testing some basic shapes in my tank. I'm really excited to make more detailed sculptures so I really hope the marine life likes it and it is completely tank safe. My patience is being tested hardcore. I made these basic shapes a little over 6 weeks ago. The moon has been in my tank just over a week and the arch has been in for just 2 days. I really hope the gsp adheres to the arch unlike the piece of tile the gsp came on. Small note: Working with the aqua safe glue was harder than I thought. It really..adheres. A warning on the package says "This product bonds eyes". Interesting.  Duncan (yesterday)  Today we can see all four heads  I haven't really looked at what my options are for separating them if that's even possible. That's something for a bit later.  These are the things I probably killed at least 10 of. It was mentioned that it could be hundreds. Ten sounds better than hundreds.  What a fatty   I'm not sure what the circular little one is ??  My Kenya tree. You can see one of my hermits stalking behind the tree. That is Mitts. He follows my movement whenever I'm around the tank. I don't know if he's curious or just really wanting some brine shrimp.  I'm having a bit of a problem with my frog spawn. It isn't really stretching out like it used to. I believe it's because the current is too strong in that spot. That's a total guess and it will be moved when I figure out where.
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May 18, 2013 01:48
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Since it's so hard to gently caress up RO water filters in general, it being so modular and inter-changeable, and everything being based around 1/4" fittings and parts, the only thing I'd point out as being really important for a reefing setup is getting a DI cartridge that's EASY to replace resin in. I have small-ish cartridges and working with the big foil BRS bags of resin with them is a pain in the butt, but I haven't been annoyed ENOUGH to just replace it with one of the full-sized cans.
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May 18, 2013 03:39
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The circular one is a type of jellyfish, a hydroid. Not bad, the population will wax and wane as your tank gets older. Also, amphipods. They're cute little buggers.
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May 18, 2013 05:29
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I have a question for all you awesome DIY'ers in here. I'm currently contemplating setting up a LED light setup on my 55G freshwater Seaclear system II tank. I originally asked in the freshwater thread, but didn't get any replies. Do you have any preference for brands or general advice? There's a lot of research i'm reading through right now working out what i'll need, the best place to buy, what light wavelengths to run, etc etc. I would appreciate any advice you could give, right now i'm leaning towards ledgroupbuy.com but that's just based off a few reviews. Thanks!
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May 18, 2013 05:36
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Trilineatus posted:I have a question for all you awesome DIY'ers in here. I'm currently contemplating setting up a LED light setup on my 55G freshwater Seaclear system II tank. I originally asked in the freshwater thread, but didn't get any replies. Do you have any preference for brands or general advice? There's a lot of research i'm reading through right now working out what i'll need, the best place to buy, what light wavelengths to run, etc etc. I would appreciate any advice you could give, right now i'm leaning towards ledgroupbuy.com but that's just based off a few reviews. Thanks! If it's a planted tank, go with 10k (cool white) as any blue won't really promote growth and will be wasted light. Go with aquastyleonline.com over ledgroupbuy to save some coin, and buy your heatsink from heatsinkusa.com as they'll make any size you want for cheap. 
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May 18, 2013 08:18
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Eh, waste SOME light. Blues can enhance iridescence. So maybe a couple blue LEDs.
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May 18, 2013 13:04
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Yes. This place is my absolute favourite to read and post in. It is confusing to read other forums because the advice is so diverse from post to post. It's to the point of me just being more confused. I'm really reluctant to kill anything and this place calms my fears about the things I do not know of. Thanks to everyone who posts here! Ahhh a hydroid. Jellyfish. Yay! That's exciting. Googling the name helped me find the name of another string thing I have spotted here and there more recently. A couple weeks ago I thought they were snail eggs or something haha. I don't think I have any predators in my tank except one of my hermits who literally attacks/investigates everything with his little pinchers (I will never remove the little hell raising bastard!!) so I'm sort of expecting the population to increase. Right now I'm just going to trust the process of the cycle and see what happens.One of my digitate hydroids. 
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May 18, 2013 13:27
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One of the coolest hitchhiker things is a (pseudo)corynactis anemone. They tend to stay out of the light and don't get larger than about a nickel or so. GIS them, they're real pretty. e: you know what, here 
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May 18, 2013 14:51
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Oh that is just awesome.
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May 18, 2013 14:58
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Internet Explorer posted:I wouldn't bother with a skimmer for a tank that size. Just do regular water changes. This is what I get for posting before the sun comes up. My fiance has that top off and it is amazing. I pushed her towards it for her nano tank. My reasoning was that it was very accurate, does not siphon, and has a built-in cut off that stops it from pumping water after like a minute or so. On my 90g tank with 40g sump I bought a cheap auto-top off because honestly, it's no big deal if 4-5g of freshwater get added to the tank. It's not great, but it's not like it will flood the house and wipe out the tank. On my fiance's 9g? If the 3g reservoir she uses dumps into the tank, not only will it most likely kill everything, that's 3g of water on the kitchen counter. [Edit: It's very accurate, very quiet, and great quality. My only comment is that if you drain all the water from it by removing it from water and turning it upside-down, it can take a minute of pumping before it gets all of the air bubbles out.]
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May 18, 2013 15:28
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Was scared that my desk would not hold the weight so I am putting it on my dresser until I know for sure. I was able to sit on the place I would put it for a solid 5 minutes and I weigh 180lbs, think this would be too heavy for my desk? The tank is 7.5gal for the record. Seeding! Light is just for photo, waiting on my sexy ecoxotic LEDs.  Will be adding base rock tomorrow.
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May 19, 2013 07:33
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Saltwater is between 8-9 pounds per gallon, that tank will weigh no more than 60-ish pounds. My office tank is approximately that size, but then it's sitting on top of cubicle steel. What I'm saying is, your average desk should be fine with it. VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 08:24 on May 19, 2013 |
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May 19, 2013 08:21
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Awesome. I'll move it back onto my desk where it rightfully belongs.
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May 19, 2013 08:52
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Went to the aquarium shop for the first time in months! Picked up: - Red brittle star - Tuxedo urchin - Peppermint shrimp - Baby Foxface (~2" max) - Metallic green plate coral They were mostly to replace ones I used to own in my old tank and missed having them. This is my first plate coral, it's way more inflated at home than it was at the store, it snagged the cleaner shrimp when I added it and I had to assist it from getting caught.  Silver conch, I love the proboscis and eyes, they always look silly. 
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May 21, 2013 01:34
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Keep an eye on that Foxface. One of those sumbitches wrecked shop on my 100 gallon reef back in the day. I was told they were reef safe so I added him but he went to town on various corals and really did quite a bit of damage.
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May 21, 2013 08:55
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Same here with the added bonus that my Foxface was REALLY aggressive and nipped at every other fish in my tank. Was a complete bitch to get him out, too.
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May 22, 2013 00:45
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Tank is back in the swing of things, finally. The last things I did were: more water changes, and switched wall outlets. Who knows what the deal was. Anyway, lost my other clam. So no more clams, probably won't get any more for a while, one acan head is skeleton, one arm of the slimer is dead, but that may be an aiptasia that I never noticed that I will kill tonight. The baby hammer is still semi angry, but the rest of the euphyllia are happy again. Slimer even has some of it's color back already, whew. Glad that poo poo is over.
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May 22, 2013 00:51
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SaNChEzZ posted:Tank is back in the swing of things, finally. The last things I did were: more water changes, and switched wall outlets. Who knows what the deal was. Congrats, guess who decided not to get a clam
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May 22, 2013 02:41
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Henchman 21 posted:Congrats, guess who decided not to get a clam They're sensitive, but if things are right they're easy. Also, I just killed aformentioned aptasias and proceeded to turn on the pumps blowing aiptasia x all over the place. Poor tank.
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May 22, 2013 03:27
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visuvius posted:Keep an eye on that Foxface. One of those sumbitches wrecked shop on my 100 gallon reef back in the day. I was told they were reef safe so I added him but he went to town on various corals and really did quite a bit of damage. Thanks, I had a mature one for over a year in my other tank so I'm aware of their personalities and corals that get nipped at. This one is definitely low on the pecking order at least for now, hasn't come out much yet.
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May 22, 2013 03:32
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SaNChEzZ posted:They're sensitive, but if things are right they're easy. If it makes you feel any better I've had random sps frags just decide WELP TIME TO RTN FOR NO REASON and I end up with a 1/2" piece of them saved if I'm lucky enough to spot them before they're completely white. Chemistry is pretty good AFAIK but who knows *flips table*
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May 22, 2013 05:28
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Melchior posted:If it makes you feel any better I've had random sps frags just decide WELP TIME TO RTN FOR NO REASON and I end up with a 1/2" piece of them saved if I'm lucky enough to spot them before they're completely white. Chemistry is pretty good AFAIK but who knows *flips table* Yeah I haven't had that happen yet. I did have a green birdsnest totally get choked out by GHA when I first started, but I haven't seen that stuff in years thank the fish gods. Zoas always melt, always have so I've given up on those. LPS have always been good, as well as most other softies. This last thing was actually the first major problem I've had with the tank in it's 4 years and 2 moves. I'm doing alright by that account.
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May 22, 2013 06:38
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gently caress you aiptasia! 
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May 24, 2013 18:27
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Henchman 21 posted:gently caress you aiptasia! That's rad, I'd be worried about fish swimming through it though haha.
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May 24, 2013 18:48
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SaNChEzZ posted:That's rad, I'd be worried about fish swimming through it though haha. I was at first but they all avoid the gently caress out of it
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May 24, 2013 18:58
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I'm moving next month and I've been not so subtly dropping hints to the wife that I want to upgrade my tank. Its horrible because I haven't even had the Cadlights 50 cube for a year and I've outgrown the hell out of it. I need something bigger. Every property we looked at, one of the first things I would look at was where I'd put a tank. The place we settled on is awesome except it doesn't really have a great spot for a setup so that is kind of a bummer.  None of this poo poo is mine BTW I took this picture during the inspection. Anyhow, I'm thinking I'll put a tank in that nook to the right of the fireplace. The only real spots are either of the nooks next to the fireplace. The dining area which is across from the kitchen is big and empty except its right under a huge window and I'm worried the tank would get way too much natural light there. Anyhow, I think this is the tank I want:  The one in the pic is 18" deep and I'm going to go with 24". I'm not going to get maximum viewing by placing it in that nook but I really dig the L-shaped layout. Thoughts? Should I just stick with a 48x24x20 rimless rectangle? This is what I REALLY want but I'm not a fan of acrylic and they look slightly terrifying stability wise.  
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May 26, 2013 03:27
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visuvius posted:I'm moving next month and I've been not so subtly dropping hints to the wife that I want to upgrade my tank. Its horrible because I haven't even had the Cadlights 50 cube for a year and I've outgrown the hell out of it. I need something bigger. FWIW I love my acrylic. I also like the L tank, very cool.
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May 26, 2013 04:32
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Have you ever had trouble cleaning coralline algae and scratching on your acrylic tank?
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May 26, 2013 16:28
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Dono posted:Have you ever had trouble cleaning coralline algae and scratching on your acrylic tank? My only gripe with acrylic is sand getting between the cleaning pad and the tank. It makes me nervous every time I clean.
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May 26, 2013 17:46
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I just use either a credit card or the Kent plastic scraper blade. It's far more annoying than keeping a glass tank clean, though.
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May 26, 2013 19:48
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Aside from the stability issue with the L-shaped tank, the scratching problem is my main concern. I used to have a 20 gallon acrylic tank back in the day and had a lot of issues with scratches near the sandbed.
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May 26, 2013 19:53
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Magic erasers are your friend with an acrylic tank. (with any tank really) and coralline comes right off scraping it with a credit card. Don't use mag floats that are meant for glass tanks.
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May 27, 2013 17:47
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Henchman 21 posted:Magic erasers are your friend with an acrylic tank. (with any tank really) and coralline comes right off scraping it with a credit card. Don't use mag floats that are meant for glass tanks. The credit card trick is key information, and I honestly hadn't considered that someone might not know that there are glass and acrylic magfloats, and that they are NOT cross-compatible.  By magic erasers, though, are you talking about those household cleaning pads? I always assumed they had some pretty toxic poo poo in them.
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May 27, 2013 19:30
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MrYenko posted:The credit card trick is key information, and I honestly hadn't considered that someone might not know that there are glass and acrylic magfloats, and that they are NOT cross-compatible. Magic erasers are just blocks of melamine foam which is basically super fine sandpaper. They have no adverse reaction with your fish tank, leach nothing into the water and will actually polish out micro scratches in acrylic. I cant recommend them enough and think everyone should use them. But please get the regular ones without the added blue sponge and no added cleaners. You can also buy them in bulk on eBay for really cheap. On a side note, one of my snails laid eggs today  Henchman 21 fucked around with this message at 00:27 on May 28, 2013 |
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May 28, 2013 00:22
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Henchman 21 posted:Magic erasers are just blocks of melamine foam which is basically super fine sandpaper. They have no adverse reaction with your fish tank, leach nothing into the water and will actually polish out micro scratches in acrylic. I did not know this. Thanks man! 
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May 28, 2013 01:58
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