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revmoo posted:Yeah should be fine near hammers iirc. A quick search on that said that you can "Stick a razor blade halfway under the superglue, twist and pop." if it's not encrusted onto the plug and just glued. If it is encrused you can smash the plug with pliers or use a diamond saw if you are rich. Link to my source
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Oct 28, 2015 18:35
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Yeah I know you can remove them, I'd just rather not bother unless it's required. My tank's really deep so I have to stick my entire arm into the tank to reach anything.
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Oct 28, 2015 18:52
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The only reason to remove the frag plug is if the coral gets too big for the plug to hold it securely. I usually end up epoxying my euphyllia colonies to small flat rocks so they are more stable.
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Oct 28, 2015 18:54
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Kind of looks like a torch to me, which if so, may give hammers an issue. In order of assholeness torch > hammer > frogspawn.
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Oct 28, 2015 20:42
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Sigh. So I bought a bottle of Sybon refractometer calibration fluid over the weekend from my LFS and used it to adjust my refractometer. It showed my tank as way to salty so I adjusted it down. I wanted to double check so I bought a bottle of the Aqua Craft stuff that Bulk Reef Supply sells to compare with. These two bottles are _6_ ppt apart from each other. gently caress's sake. Now I get to order a third brand and figure out which one is to blame. This is some dumb loving poo poo right here. These solutions exist to provide a standard and 6ppt away from standard isn't in the ballpark, it's not even in the same loving town. EDIT: It's the Sybon fluid. I checked both fluids at 35 and then with rodi and the Sybon shows 5ppt whereas the Aqua Craft shows 0. revmoo fucked around with this message at 21:01 on Oct 28, 2015 |
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Oct 28, 2015 20:52
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I just calibrate mine with distilled water like the instructions say. It's been spot on and I've had it checked by 3 different places.
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Oct 28, 2015 21:00
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Yeah i would have been much better off using di water. Calculator says i need to add a kilogram of salt lmao
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Oct 28, 2015 22:33
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Rallos posted:or use a diamond saw if you are rich. What? LOL. Xacto makes some quality diamond saws on the cheap. And they are quality.
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Oct 28, 2015 23:38
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Desert Bus posted:What? LOL. Xacto makes some quality diamond saws on the cheap. And they are quality. Are they wet saws? I couldn't find what you were talking about with a quick google search. When I said diamond saws are expensive I was referring to wet diamond band saws. Like This
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Oct 29, 2015 03:40
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Would not frag corals on something like that without goggles and a respirator.
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Oct 29, 2015 12:30
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revmoo posted:Would not frag corals on something like that without goggles and a respirator. Yeah. That would be inviting disaster. So I picked up the Tunze Nano OsmolatorATO yesterday. Going to set it up today so I can see how it works before the weekend. My rear end in a top hat emerald crab knocked over my frogspawn frag yesterday so I brought some more glue to secure it down. I tried yesterday in the water and it didn't work nearly as well as sticking my gsp on the glass. Going to try lifting the rock out, patting it dry and then glueing out of the tank for ~30 sec.
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Oct 29, 2015 12:53
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Yeah you don't use that table for fragging poo poo that goes on a plug, you use it to saw apart a gigantic rock covered with acans or something. (so yes, definitely goggles and a respirator, and prepare for a gigantic mess, and, and) To glue together 2 pieces of rock I recommend 2-part epoxy. Either buy it at the LFS or if at a hardware store make sure it says right on the tube that it's for potable water applications. Rub together a small ball of that, put glue on both ends of it, and smoosh it into surface contact with both pieces of rock.
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Oct 29, 2015 13:44
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My frogspawn is not attached to a plug. It's just the coral hard skeleton. Do I still want to use epoxy for coral to rock?
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Oct 29, 2015 14:01
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Rallos posted:My frogspawn is not attached to a plug. It's just the coral hard skeleton. Do I still want to use epoxy for coral to rock? If the lower end of the skeleton has no flesh (at that point it's basically rock), then yes.
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Oct 29, 2015 14:32
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Okay. Is there a reef safe epoxy that I could find at the hardware store? People have mentioned JB waterweld but have any of you used it? I don't have anywhere around the office to get any special reef stuff, plus it's expensive. Also: Does this torch look happy? It's flowing gently but the back tentacles are kind of draped down. Maybe because of the flow. Before I secure it permanently I want to be sure. Maybe I'm making something out of nothing but it's my first SW tank so trying to do this right.  
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Oct 29, 2015 14:37
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I've used a lot of JB Waterweld in my tank, it's fine.
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Oct 29, 2015 14:41
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Great. I will pick some up then. Glad it's Goon ApprovedTM
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Oct 29, 2015 14:45
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I've had good success with softie fragging in a small container of tank water, just getting an x-acto knife, and gently scraping the foot/mat off the rock/plug. Angle the blade down so you're scraping the rock, almost as if you were shaving it. It's rough as hell on blades, but they're comparatively cheap, and you can do it underwater, negating any worries about dust or Zoanthid squirts (I still wear wrap-around glasses to protect against splashes.) Then, you can just superglue/rubberband the target to whatever you want.
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Oct 29, 2015 20:29
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Rallos posted:Are they wet saws? I couldn't find what you were talking about with a quick google search. When I said diamond saws are expensive I was referring to wet diamond band saws. Like This Yeah, sorry, I was thinking of Razor Saws, my bad. http://xacto.com/products/cutting-solutions/tools-accessories/tools-accessories/Precision-Razor-Saw-Set.aspx
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Oct 29, 2015 20:44
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Desert Bus posted:Yeah, sorry, I was thinking of Razor Saws, my bad. No worries. Just wanted to know if there really was a cheaper option. So I rescaped my tank today. Will post pics when I get home because imgur hates my phone for some reason and doesn't want to upload ever. Got a torch frag from a shop near work (4 heads) and I added a koralia nano powerhead for additional flow. The way I rescaped has the LPS on the other side of the tank from the powerhead and they seem to like it there. Gently waving around in the current. I only had a short while to observe and they were still pissed about being out of the water for ~30 seconds to get glued to the rock. Will see what they look like in the morning. Got the ATO partially set so I'm gonna come in a little early tomorrow and get it going in the morning so I will have all day to observe before the weekend. For mixing saltwater. I'm thinking to only mix a gallon at a time for water changes. Is an airs tone in the bucket I mix it in really worthwhile or should I just mix it and let it sit? (It's 5 gallon so 1 gal water changes weekly is 20%. Am I doing it wrong?)
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Oct 29, 2015 22:38
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Rallos posted:For mixing saltwater. I'm thinking to only mix a gallon at a time for water changes. Is an airs tone in the bucket I mix it in really worthwhile or should I just mix it and let it sit? (It's 5 gallon so 1 gal water changes weekly is 20%. Am I doing it wrong?) It's not ULTRA critical, but I mix 5gal at a time, and use a powerhead to agitate it for a few hours before doing the water change. When I was doing 1g changes to my 4.4gal, I just mixed it in a 1gal iced-tea pitcher, and shook the hell out of it. You'll still have some undissolved salts, but it shouldn't be too bad.
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Oct 29, 2015 22:42
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Just shake it in a jug, that's fine. And corals can stay dry longer than you think. The best way to ship them is out of water. Think about low tides when corals get hit with 115* heat for 8 hours.
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Oct 30, 2015 02:17
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Hadn't thought about it that way. Updated tank shots:  Also... What is this?? I showed the guy at my LFS and he couldn't ID it. Looks like some sort of crab. Found it when I was rearranging my rock.   -e- Fixed the images. Not sure why they didn't show up before. Rallos fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Oct 30, 2015 |
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Oct 30, 2015 04:30
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Looks like some flavor of decorator crab. Any idea where your rock is from?
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Oct 30, 2015 07:21
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You got all sorts of cool critters in your rock. All i got was a drat eunice worm that wont die
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Oct 30, 2015 15:03
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Most of the rock is manmade reef stuff that was sitting in the rock tank at my LFS growing corraline algae. I got one big chunk from another store around the office and I'm pretty sure thats where all of my hitchhikers have come from. It had been sittin in their invert tank for a long time.
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Oct 30, 2015 20:02
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Rallos posted:
Maybe some kind of squat lobster?
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Oct 30, 2015 21:04
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Possibly. I don't know. In other news. I set up my ATO and did a water change. Will update when I get back to the office on Monday when everything is
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Oct 30, 2015 23:11
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Castaign posted:Maybe some kind of squat lobster? Or a variant of an arrow crab, with that weird shaped body.
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Oct 30, 2015 23:14
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SaNChEzZ posted:Or a variant of an arrow crab, with that weird shaped body. Yeah, but I think it looks a little too thick for an arrow. Some of the squat lobster species have that weird elongated nose.
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Oct 31, 2015 01:31
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gently caress I know what those are. Those are spiders.
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Oct 31, 2015 03:49
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revmoo posted:gently caress Yep. An underwater spider. With claws. What do the old goons say? gently caress the ocean? ********************************************** On an unrelated note, I purchased a Pom Pom Crab from the LFS a few months back. He didn't have any anemones when I bought him, but after reading up and finding that the species doesn't require an anemone to survive, I decided to go ahead with the purchase anyway. A month or so after I bought him, he molted, and I saw that he now had one of the characteristic anemones in his right claw. A while after that, he molted again and now he has two anemones. Has anyone heard of this happening before, or does anyone have any idea what's going on?
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Oct 31, 2015 04:28
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This is just lore but Pom Pom crabs supposedly will just grab any old anemone of that size and frag it itself. So it's probably a baby aiptasia or something.
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Oct 31, 2015 13:21
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Pom Pom crabs look awesome! Would it get along with my emerald crab?
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Oct 31, 2015 18:10
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It's been my experience that emerald crabs don't get along with anything at all.
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Oct 31, 2015 18:41
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Monday morning tank update: My ATO didn't flood the office over the weekend and everything seems healthy and happy.  The frogspawn could be happier but I think I need to give it more time to get used to the flow and new placement. My big torch appears to love the current from my new powerhead. It's fully extended and waving around. I fed my clown some flake food and the torch would catch little bits and pull them into its mouth. FTS:  Any suggestions on new corals? I wasn some zoas and leathers maybe? Not sure what would be a good flow for the tank.
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Nov 2, 2015 15:22
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Careful with Zoas and Palys, a lot of them contain palytoxin which is mind-blowingly poisonous and there is no antidote. I've got both in my tank and I wouldn't do it again. They're just fine with safe handling practices, but make sure you know what to do/what not to do with them before getting them. In an uncontrolled environment like an office I'd be wary. All it takes is one janitor sticking his hand in the tank and brushing a coral to end up with a fatal situation.
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Nov 2, 2015 15:38
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revmoo posted:Careful with Zoas and Palys, a lot of them contain palytoxin which is mind-blowingly poisonous and there is no antidote. Are there any safe varieties? Also, I don't know diddly about corals other than the hammers/torch/frogspawns. I know what zoas look like but what other types of corals do you think I could fill out the tank with? Not interested in SPS. Or should I go completely nuts and get a bubble tip nem? -e- I just spotted a rather large bristleworm hiding under my rock. Should I be concerned? It doesn't seem like it's bothered anything yet. -e2- Just got an email from the builing management. They are going to be shutting off the power to the building from Friday night to Saturday at 8 am. The temp shouldn't drop much in the tank and everything should kick back on. Do I need to worry about getting a battery powered airstone for such a small tank? (5.5g) Rallos fucked around with this message at 18:52 on Nov 2, 2015 |
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Nov 2, 2015 15:44
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Honestly I wouldn't be THAT concerned about zoas. Unless you're fragging large colonies or boiling rocks with zoas on them in like a garage, I think you'll be okay. I think one of the few threads on there about injury from zoas was a guy who like, fragged a zoa with a knife or something very close to his face and it squirted something in his eye. Really messed that dude up. Don't do what that guy did and you'll be okay. I think your tank is still pretty fresh and so I would wait a little longer before spending money on more corals. Why not give it another month, another few water changes to get some real stability in there? Have you been monitoring your temperature and salinity? Any major swings? If you can get those rock solid and another few water changes, I think you'll be good to go. Either way I wouldn't rush anything. Once you are ready, look at leathers and toadstools. Many are kind of boring looking but a sinularia leather or neon green toadstool are both really cool and can get super large, also they are generally not that pricey. Mushrooms are also awesome. Maybe start collecting ricordeas? There is pretty much nothing better than a ricordea garden (something I haven't managed to put together yet). Look for a couple nice zoa frags or maybe a brain coral. Just take your time and really pick the stuff that you want or that you think will grow well and look good. Finally, when you do buy something, be careful of pests. I will basically never be able to get rid of apstasia in my tank at this point and that poo poo is the bane of my existence. That and bubble algae (shudder).
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Nov 2, 2015 18:53
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My temp has been holding at a steady 78. If anything it varies up to 78.5 throughout the day but nothing lower than that. Usually rock steady around 78.3-78.4. Since I got the Tunze Nano Osmolator it kept the tank perfectly topped off over the weekend. Salinity is stable. I'm not looking to rush out and buy a ton of frags at this point. Just trying to get ideas of where I want to go with this tank.
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Nov 2, 2015 19:01
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