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Enos Cabell posted:I got mine less for automation, more for peace of mind that my basement isn't going to flood because I forgot to turn off the tap when making RODI water. Is that just a tuxedo urchin? That's neat how it's picking stuff up like a katamari.
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Jun 18, 2015 22:50
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Tuxedo urchins are awesome, I've been harassing my LFS to get in a red one.
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Jun 18, 2015 23:29
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Enos Cabell posted:I got mine less for automation, more for peace of mind that my basement isn't going to flood because I forgot to turn off the tap when making RODI water. Trade me urchins, thanks.
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Jun 19, 2015 01:11
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So I'm thinking of setting up a coral tank in the future, and I'd like to do some reading and research now. Anyone have links to information and basics, etc for that sort of thing?
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Jun 21, 2015 06:50
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ReefCentral has a lot of really knowledgeable people, but the signal to noise ratio is absurdly high. Aim for a bunch of used gear for your first tank (the applicable reef central local forums and general classifieds, as well as craigslist are awesome for used reef gear for pennies on the dollar.) You'll be replacing it all anyway, as you learn from your mistakes. Also, plan for a tank that's easy to maintain, and as labor-free as possible. Your tank will be healthier if you do more water changes, because you planned ahead and set up a water change system, instead of planning to lug buckets around. Ask me how I know. The basics are lights, flow, and filtration. The biggest differences from other types of aquaria being the stronger lighting and flow requirements, and filtration generally being of the protein skimmer variety, instead of a carbon/fiber mechanical/chemical filter. Most reef organisms come from an environment where the salinity, temperature, and PH are nearly constant, so stability is key to success.
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Jun 21, 2015 15:52
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My RODI is outputting at 7ppm. Is that acceptable water quality when first setting up your tank? I'd like to eventually solve this problem but for now I'd just like to get my tank filled and my cycle going.
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Jun 21, 2015 18:25
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What is your tap water TDS and temperature? I have the same TDS monitor and have noticed it will sometimes accumulate bubbles or other 'stuff' in the sensors so I usually have to flick or gently rotate them around to get repeatable readings. The trouble with saying 'yeah 7ppm TDS is fine' is we have no idea what makes up that 7ppm. If you're just setting the tank up to cycle with rock and sand then you have a few months and a couple water changes to figure out the RODI system, before you introduce and fish or coral. My first tank was a tap water and old live rock setup which produced no end in algae issues including bryopsis, bubble and red turf algae buuuuut you can kinda deal with all of that if you have to. I guess that is my rambling way of saying it is totally your call whether you want to wait for 0ppm or whether you want to get things started.
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Jun 21, 2015 19:57
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Okay, well that's helpful to know. I assumed as long as the water is not super contaminated it will probably be perfectly fine running something other than 0ppm at first. Doesn't really matter though because I'm going to be putting set-up on hold. My wife and I both hate the stand that came with the tank so we are getting one made to match our house and the stand already built for the 180 gallon dream system. I was going to set up on the lovely stand then move everything and rebuild it when the nice stand is built but it makes the most sense just to do it right the first time.
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Jun 22, 2015 00:04
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I can say that I can count on one hand the number of people I know of who have bothered to or successfully moved their tanks across stands after it's already been established. I can even cut off a few fingers.
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Jun 22, 2015 00:17
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Knowing that makes it worth throttling my ambition. I'd rather not invest a ton in livestock just to have it all die when I move the tank from one stand to another.
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Jun 22, 2015 04:00
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Is the 7ppm coming out of the RO side only, or is it a full three-stage RO/DI? 7ppm is probably fine, but seems rather high for a post-DI product.
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Jun 22, 2015 13:32
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MrYenko posted:Is the 7ppm coming out of the RO side only, or is it a full three-stage RO/DI?
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Jun 22, 2015 15:56
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Neitherman posted:It's a SpectraPure full 3 stage RODI unit (model MPDI-25) but I bought it used so it may be sitting at 7ppm because I need to replace the filter media. I also live in Phoenix where the water is notoriously full of minerals. My input was hooked to a garden hose and showing over 900ppm when I checked it yesterday. I have a water conditioning system that filters all water inside the house so I may try generating RODI from that instead next time regardless of convenience. Using pre-conditioned water will probably significantly prolong the life of your filters/resin, but I'd agree that you probably have saturated resin. An RO/DI in good shape should do better than 7ppm; as a comparison, my system outputs 0ppm readable all day long, so it's definitely achievable.
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Jun 22, 2015 16:00
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You'll probably want to replace every filter in that thing, including the RO membrane. General rule of thumb is 6 months for the particulate and carbon filters, and then DI resin gets changed as soon as your TDS meter reads anything above 0. RO membrane can last a lot longer, but if you're getting readings that high I'd change it too just to be safe.
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Jun 22, 2015 18:37
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Sounds like a plan then. Like I said I bought it used so I'm not at all surprised I need to replace everything.
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Jun 22, 2015 18:49
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Alright I'm tired of messing with DIY LED's and looking to get a fixture for my 30" tank. What are you all using? Thinking Maxspect Razor 160W (27") is right for me since my LED controller is dead and ACJr has no dimming capabilities.
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Jun 27, 2015 23:55
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Two AI primes. Can't beat the price and the free controller software.
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Jun 28, 2015 00:23
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Wandering Orange posted:Alright I'm tired of messing with DIY LED's and looking to get a fixture for my 30" tank. What are you all using? Thinking Maxspect Razor 160W (27") is right for me since my LED controller is dead and ACJr has no dimming capabilities. Maxspect Razor all the way. If you have the extra funds go ahead and get the 27" but really for that size tank, the 24" inch would even work as you're most likely not going to have SPS at the bottom far edges of your tank. Actually, if you got two of the 120 degree reflectors, you'd be set. It comes with 90 degree reflectors. I've been using two of the 20.5" 10K's with the 120 degree reflectors on my 120 gallon mixed reef and I couldn't be happier. Just to give you an idea of power, I have the actinics set to 100% but the whites only get to 50% max. visuvius fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Jun 28, 2015 |
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Jun 28, 2015 01:41
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So like a dumbass I didn't quarantine the urchin I bought a few weeks back, and I think it might have brought ich into my DT. Crossing my fingers that I'm wrong, but I don't have a very good feeling.
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Jul 12, 2015 02:29
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Just as a heads up, Instant Ocean Reef Salt is part of the Prime Day sale this morning. $46.73 for the 200 gallon box. http://amzn.com/B0002DJU0G
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Jul 15, 2015 14:03
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Mudcrab Merchant posted:Just as a heads up, Instant Ocean Reef Salt is part of the Prime Day sale this morning. $46.73 for the 200 gallon box. drat, picked the wrong day to sleep in.
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Jul 15, 2015 18:49
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Mudcrab Merchant posted:Just as a heads up, Instant Ocean Reef Salt is part of the Prime Day sale this morning. $46.73 for the 200 gallon box. Man I'm bummed I missed this, its back up to $59.19 shipped.
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Jul 15, 2015 18:50
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Well I've definitely got ich in the DT now dammit. Royal gramma got turned into hermit crab food overnight, and now my blenny is looking bad. Guess I have no choice but to try and get the remaining fish out and into QT and let it sit fallow for 8 weeks? Ughh, that's what I get for assuming I didn't need to QT everything. e: got my hospital tanks set up and water mixed, now comes the fun part. Enos Cabell fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Jul 18, 2015 |
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Jul 17, 2015 18:11
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Well the good news is that I don't have ich. Bad news is I have velvet. Lost all but one of my fish, and I doubt he lasts through the night. 
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Jul 20, 2015 22:34
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Sorry for your losses, Enos. A belated 'Welcome to the hobby!' as well since this sort of stuff happens to everyone, all the time, regardless of your experience and planning. You will never know when that nice frag you brought home has tiny pieces of bryopsis or bubble algae just waiting to spread in a new environment. QT everything you can unless you can suffer the losses. My lone clownfish has decided my reef tank must be a single-species exhibit and thus dispatched my royal gramma and possum wrasse. A small juvenile clown that was to be a mate barely made it out of the acclimation box before I saved and returned him. Do all clownfish bite the webbing between your fingers or is it just mine?
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Jul 20, 2015 23:17
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 My ladyclown drew blood once, but yes, I think they instinctively know that finger webbing is a nice tender patch somehow.
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Jul 21, 2015 00:18
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So the prawn goby I assumed was dead 5 months ago decided to make an appearance tonight. Not sure how I'm going to get him out.
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Jul 21, 2015 03:11
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Wandering Orange posted:Sorry for your losses, Enos. A belated 'Welcome to the hobby!' as well since this sort of stuff happens to everyone, all the time, regardless of your experience and planning. You will never know when that nice frag you brought home has tiny pieces of bryopsis or bubble algae just waiting to spread in a new environment. QT everything you can unless you can suffer the losses. All damselfish are territorial as gently caress and clownfish are the second worst of the lot. Of the commonly available clownfish, ocellaris (the most commonly available) are second only to maroons in terms of orneriness. I've seen breeding females get 1/2 out of the water to bite the hand that feeds them. It's still possible to introduce a male, but care must be taken at this point, including potentially spending days in that acclimation box to see how the two will react.
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Jul 21, 2015 03:32
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What is the normal budget recommendation for lighting on a 20 long these days? The usual - nothing overkill like full SPS. A saltwater shop opened literally across the street so maybe it's time to put my old 20l to use again. 
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Jul 21, 2015 04:57
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BlackMK4 posted:What is the normal budget recommendation for lighting on a 20 long these days? The usual - nothing overkill like full SPS. Fly and ride my 40 breeder! Since you're into mechanics, I'd suggest building an led array. Can be had for cheap, and its a fun project. I could get you links if you're interested!
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Jul 21, 2015 05:05
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SaNChEzZ posted:Fly and ride my 40 breeder! I want to fly-n-ride your 690 but alas... I am poor. Got any links for up-to-date LED builds? I remember XP-Es and poo poo being the thing when I quit last time...
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Jul 21, 2015 05:34
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BlackMK4 posted:I want to fly-n-ride your 690 but alas... I am poor. I built mine using dimmable drivers and cree bulbs from aquastyleonline.com thermal glued to a big rear end heatsink from heatsinksusa.com. it's a big bastard though, 48x3w crees across three drivers. Even mox of white and blue. The owner of aquastyleonline, Ray, is a stand up dude. e: It's actually been a while since I looked at his site, but it appears he now sells heatsinks too. Here's a full kit, non-dimmable though, 20x3w with heatsink and drivers for $70 http://www.aquastyleonline.com/products/Aquarium-20-LEDs-DIY-Kit.html Frozen Pizza Party fucked around with this message at 06:00 on Jul 21, 2015 |
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Jul 21, 2015 05:49
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$70 is reasonable, I'd want PWM dimmable drivers since I'm also planning on building a reefkeeper with my RPi. Hmm. Hmm. I'll stop by the shop tomorrow and see how decent they are.
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Jul 21, 2015 06:02
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Still trying to trap this drat goby. I've seen him swim into the mouth of the trap a few times now, but so far he hasn't gone in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxHiDndqGLA
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Jul 25, 2015 02:33
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You could cut the Barb off of a tiny fish hook and fish him out, my gobies were always hungry
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Jul 25, 2015 06:45
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SaNChEzZ posted:You could cut the Barb off of a tiny fish hook and fish him out, my gobies were always hungry He's super tiny, only 1 1/2" or so. Do they make hooks small enough for that?
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Jul 25, 2015 19:39
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Shrimp fishing hooks might work, but you'd probably have to order them from asia.
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Jul 25, 2015 19:58
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Goby mouths unhinge, a tiny fly hook would work most likely. Throw a single mysis shrimp on it!
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Jul 25, 2015 20:40
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Still haven't caught the drat goby, but I did finally play around with a lens tube I picked up a while back.  
Enos Cabell fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Jul 30, 2015 |
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Jul 30, 2015 04:13
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Very nice shots, nice corals too 
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Jul 30, 2015 17:06
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