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Thanks for all of your comments. I was a little unsure about using number three and I was leaning towards six but its hard because i see these things everyday and my attachment to them seemed to be influencing me. so I am going to go with 2, 3 and 4. I may try and re-shoot 5 with more depth of field because I really like that Turbinaria the clown is in. And I am going look into focus bracketing, thanks for the suggestion. I will post some more rejects from the fish store I worked at too just for fun.Psimitry posted:I'd go with number 4, but I'm also a total Bluespot jawfish whore. Ya I know they are too blue that has always bothered me, but eventually I had to cave when putting them into contests because the picture that won last year was way over saturated and super blue it was total bullshit(I got second). I think I just post them that way now because it is what I am used to even though it is far from a natural look. I do try and replicate the look in my tank at least. 2x150w phoenix 14k...
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Sep 12, 2008 06:27
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LOL the 150W Phoenix 14K's is exactly what I'm going to be running as soon as I get around to swapping my T5's over to Halides. They truly are awesome. The major thing that I learned about public photo contests is that what is going on in the picture is FAR more important to Average Joe than a high quality shot. For example, the first photo contest I ever entered in, I entered one of my very favorite shots I've ever taken of a Ricordia Yuma coral eating some mysis shrimp. It was VERY well shot (by pure luck and also very well shot in my opinion), but it lost to a really lovely picture (the colors were washed out because it was taken with a FLASH for gods' sake (you could even see the flash reflected on the glass)) of a heliofungia plate coral with half of a peppermint shrimp sticking out of its mouth and an arrow crab having the other half. Very cool subject to be sure, but the picture looked like poo poo. I'm not still bitter about it or anything...
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Sep 12, 2008 11:49
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bobbert posted:Here is a good pic of my inhabitants having a little orgy. 
KPD-aGgS fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Sep 13, 2008 |
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Sep 13, 2008 01:07
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Ruh-Roh. So I woke up to find that my 90G tank is dripping. I had actually hoped to find that one of my bulkheads was leaking, but they aren't. A crack is all but confirmed.
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Sep 17, 2008 17:38
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My duncan coral died, what the gently caress. My SPS encrusting Monti thing is actually growing, so I guess my lighting is going alright? Also, I'm having problems with corals staying put. Recently all my mushrooms and rics have started falling off wherever I glued them, even though they've been there for weeks. I don't think my urchin has been messing with them, he's not carried anything in a good while. It's just a big pain in the rear end to have to fish corals out of whatever crevice they've managed to fall into. I've gotten the itch lately about upgrading my tank to a 10 gallon. I saw the awesome Live Framing article in this month's Marine Fish & Reef magazine, and I really want to start a project with something similar. The article mentions that live framing was designed for big tanks, but I want to scale it down a bit to apply to nanos. I have daydreams about a 10 gallon tank with a big arch of liverock with hidden powerheads and fully removable pieces.
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Sep 17, 2008 18:07
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Psimitry posted:Ruh-Roh. So I woke up to find that my 90G tank is dripping. I had actually hoped to find that one of my bulkheads was leaking, but they aren't. A crack is all but confirmed. Hood Ornament posted:My duncan coral died, what the gently caress. What the hell, was this the 24 Hours of Tank Problems?  The powerhead supplying circulation from the overflow chamber in my 3g broke down last night (naturally about an hour after stores closed). If I had the financial means, this would be the perfect time to upgrade myself to a 10g, but a replacement powerhead is all I can manage at the moment.
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Sep 17, 2008 18:23
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It wouldn't actually be that big of a deal for me to downgrade to a 50G tank and not worry about the 90G, but I have the friggin' achilles tang and I love him. Oh. Crap. Not to mention the mandarin.
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Sep 17, 2008 18:30
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Psimitry posted:It wouldn't actually be that big of a deal for me to downgrade to a 50G tank and not worry about the 90G, but I have the friggin' achilles tang and I love him. What about a 75? I'm wondering what it would cost to go up to a 10 gallon, possibly with a fuge as well. I ideally want 2 powerheads, I know nothing about overflows and top-offs and fuges. Ugh.
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Sep 17, 2008 20:33
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Hood Ornament posted:I'm wondering what it would cost to go up to a 10 gallon, possibly with a fuge as well. I ideally want 2 powerheads, I know nothing about overflows and top-offs and fuges. Ugh. If you used an in-tank overflow design - basically partition off one side of the tank with plexiglass, one side with overflow teeth and the other with a return pump - it wouldn't cost that much. Clear plexiglass is cheap, cutting can be done with hand tools (if you're patient), and you can put partitions in the overflow area to create a low-flow area for a fuge. Now, if you're thinking about drilling the tank for a sump+fuge, and the plumbing involved with that, yeah it can get kinda pricey and messy pretty fast. I'm trying my hand at drilling holes in glass this weekend, because I have an empty 10g, a twelve gallon sump, and the pumps for it all sitting around doing nothing, and that is a crime 
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Sep 17, 2008 20:46
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Hood Ornament posted:What about a 75? Considering it has the same footprint as a 90, that would be preferable. But I happen to have a 55G spare. quote:I'm wondering what it would cost to go up to a 10 gallon, possibly with a fuge as well. An overflow/sump/fuge on anything less than a 30 gallon tank is a complete waste of time, unless you're well aware of how to set one up and run it efficiently. quote:I know nothing about overflows and top-offs and fuges. Ugh. Then I wouldn't recommend one. Certainly not on a 10 Gallon anyway. I ran sumpless until I got my first 50G and that was only because someone showed me how to build a foolproof overflow system and I had an 18G tank for the sump. They don't make 18G tanks anymore (they were kind of like an extra tall 10G tank) and were perfect for sumps. quote:I ideally want 2 powerheads, LOL in my very first tank (an 18G tank, which actually WASN'T my later sump) I had I think 4 powerheads. Now of course, you can just do 1-2 Hydor pumps.
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Sep 17, 2008 20:52
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Psimitry posted:An overflow/sump/fuge on anything less than a 30 gallon tank is a complete waste of time, unless you're well aware of how to set one up and run it efficiently. A sump and an out-of-tank-into-sump overflow, yes (arguably). The setup I posted to hide equipment, and a refugium in general to cultivate critters and
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Sep 17, 2008 20:54
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csammis posted:If you used an in-tank overflow design - basically partition off one side of the tank with plexiglass, one side with overflow teeth and the other with a return pump - it wouldn't cost that much. Clear plexiglass is cheap, cutting can be done with hand tools (if you're patient), and you can put partitions in the overflow area to create a low-flow area for a fuge. Wow, that's a nice setup! I was thinking of something like this, and putting my lettuce sea slugs and other delicates in the fuge along with the algae. I'd just be afraid of them (or something else) getting caught in the return pump, would I have to have a completely seperated compartment with some sort of netting for the pump? Right now my powerhead is covered in netting to keep my slugs safe, but it cuts down on flow a lot. Edit: Whoops, I see that he put rubble at the bottom to allow for flow but keep important stuff in. Good deal. csammis posted:A sump and an out-of-tank-into-sump overflow, yes (arguably). The setup I posted to hide equipment, and a refugium in general to cultivate critters and This. I want to mainly seperate equipment and use it to provide a safe haven for my slugs, as well as a place for copepods and such to multiply. Psimitry posted:LOL in my very first tank (an 18G tank, which actually WASN'T my later sump) I had I think 4 powerheads. Yup. I have one hydor right now in my 6.6 gallon. Aphelion Necrology fucked around with this message at 21:17 on Sep 17, 2008 |
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Sep 17, 2008 21:04
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 Here is my Blenny. I just did some new aquascaping and he seems to be happy with it!
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Sep 18, 2008 06:14
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I look around my stores for plastic heaters, and I only saw glass heaters  , I'll check some other stores later this week but at least I was able to pick up a bit more live rock and some black card, and a hermit crab with a free snail.Still lovely pictures due to no batteries with my camera, so it's only a phone for now. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v64/rupeed/091808181139-1.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v64/rupeed/091808174625.jpg Yesterday: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v64/rupeed/091608180247.jpg
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Sep 18, 2008 09:15
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Graperape posted:I look around my stores for plastic heaters, and I only saw glass heaters If you can't find them locally, you can order them online from many retailers. So I went to replace my crapped out powerhead last night, but the smallest powerhead I could find locally was a MJ900. Aside from the friggin' typhoon in the display area of the tank, there's so much water being pushed out of the equipment area that it raised the water level in the display area significantly...which caused the little hang-on lamp I have to wick water over the edge  So now I've got flow restored, but seriously gimped lighting because I had to sit the lamp on the tank stand shining in the side. I think a 10g upgrade, in tank as well as lighting apparatus, is going to have to happen sooner rather than later.
csammis fucked around with this message at 15:37 on Sep 18, 2008 |
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Sep 18, 2008 15:34
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Well today is just poo poo. My tank crashed. I have no idea what happened, I did my regular water change and parameter checks on Thursday, everything seemed fine over the weekend. This morning I wake up to a tank basically engulfed in brown algae. I did a big water change and got all my params back to normal, but I had a big nitrate and nitrite spike, and also had a bit of ammonia. Casualties include: Pair of sexy shrimp, one anemone shrimp, pair of lettuce sea slugs, most of my snails, some hermits, some zoas, and possibly my urchin. My featherduster dropped his crown as well. My ricordeas look fine, as do a good portion of my zoas and palys, but I my SPS corals aren't looking so hot. I'm crossing my fingers for them. I'm really upset. I have no idea what happened and I just feel like a failure. I'm very sad about the loss of my slugs and anemone shrimp, they were my favourites.
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Sep 29, 2008 17:56
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Chances are something died and had a nasty explosion of organic waste. The last time this happened to me, it was a glass heater that shattered and killed all of my snails, causing ammonia to spike. Check your heater if you have one. Also - you've had a mini-cycle. Not a crash. A crash is when literally everything is dead. Certainly bad, but not unrecoverable. Start looking for equipment failures. Failing that, start looking for dead things such as fish.
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Sep 29, 2008 18:35
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Psimitry posted:Chances are something died and had a nasty explosion of organic waste. I don't have any fish or anything "big" really, but I guess it wouldn't take much to cycle a 7 gallon. I can only imagine my sea cucumber could cause something like that, but he's still very alive. My heater and powerhead are up and working fine as well (I have a Stealth). I can't find my urchin, so he might be the cause. I wanted to upgrade to a 10 or 20 gallon, but I think this little catastrophe has made me a bit shy. I certainly didn't lose everything, or even a large amount of expensive things like some people have, but it's still depressing. I miss my little sea slugs!
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Sep 29, 2008 18:51
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Well as far as the slugs go, did you actually have enough of a food web for them? Sometimes (though not often), a tank can be so devoid of algae and whatnot that there's just not enough food to support a large snail/slug population. A few die, release their organics and suddenly you have water fouling.
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Sep 29, 2008 19:26
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I had 2 slugs, and there is still a big bunch of hair algae that I got just for them. They were always hanging out in it, so I figured they were eating it. When I came in this morning the slugs were basically...melted. 
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Sep 29, 2008 20:16
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Hood Ornament posted:I had 2 slugs, and there is still a big bunch of hair algae that I got just for them. They were always hanging out in it, so I figured they were eating it. When I came in this morning the slugs were basically...melted. could be something got the idea to attack them. 
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Sep 29, 2008 20:17
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Saltwater question ahoy! I've had 2 betta tanks for 2-3 years now and I got a 10g freshwater up and running over the summer. I'm in love with it but miss the excitment of getting everything together and starting an aquarium. I've been researching nano saltwater aquariums for a few months now but have some questions to see if its even possible for me to have one. I live in a house with other roommates so all of this is confined to my bedroom which isnt the biggest. I see everyone say to get a 5-20g bucket setup to premix your saltwater and get it to proper temperature. Makes sense however I really wouldnt want a big ugly bucket of water just sitting in my bedroom. Should I abandon this now since I cant have this bucket setup constantly? I have no problem pulling it out of the closet and mixing it the night before though. I'm looking at a 3-10g "pico" tank, probably closer to 3g as I really like the jbj pico. However I read somewhere where a guy was having to top his 3g off everyday or the salinity would shift. I also dont have a problem with topping this off myself except I'm usually gone on the weekends. Is this normal for so much to evaporate in a day for a salinity change in a small tank? I would really not have a ATO mostly just because I like to keep it as simple as possible. If I really need an ATO then what do you guys recommend?
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Sep 30, 2008 19:54
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streetlamp posted:Saltwater question ahoy! I wouldn't recommend a pico for a beginner. Try something like and 8 gallon biocube if you want something small and compact. It would still be a really small tank to begin with, but that's what I started on and it turned out fine. I have to add top off water to my pico everyday. If I miss a day nothing horrible would happen, because I don't have any fish in there. If you had a small goby in there however you really would need to keep the specific gravity at the correct level. I have a total of 3 tanks and I use three 5 gallon buckets which I keep in the closet. One bucket has salt, one is used to mix salt water in, and the other one is used to drain out the old tank water when I do a water change.
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Sep 30, 2008 20:35
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streetlamp posted:I really wouldnt want a big ugly bucket of water just sitting in my bedroom. Should I abandon this now since I cant have this bucket setup constantly? I have no problem pulling it out of the closet and mixing it the night before though. There's nothing saying you need to have a bucket of saltwater sitting around all the time*. Premixing saltwater can be done five minutes before you actually change the water. The important part is to make sure the temperatures match. quote:Is this normal for so much to evaporate in a day for a salinity change in a small tank? Any amount of evaporation changes the salinity, but a three gallon tank is so small that the swings are that much more severe. This is true of pretty much every water parameter in a nano tank. quote:I would really not have a ATO mostly just because I like to keep it as simple as possible. If I really need an ATO then what do you guys recommend? If you're going to be out for a few days, and your room is at all dry, you'll almost certainly need to have a topoff solution of some kind (this could even be a roommate making sure the levels are okay, if your roommates are that trustworthy). Most float switches are way too big to fit comfortably in a nano tank. You could use a gravity/pressure driven solution like the one on my tank. I wouldn't recommend a three gallon to start with, to be perfectly honest. A 10 gallon or one of the self-contained cube tanks in the 12-14 gallon range would be much more realistic for your situation. It'd be more stable in pretty much every conceivable way. * That said, I have a two gallon bucket sitting next to my tank stand full of fresh water for topoffs. Since I use RO/DI water, it's much more convenient to make a bucketful once a week and then just dole out from that instead of running the filter every day.
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Sep 30, 2008 20:37
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csammis posted:You could use a gravity/pressure driven solutionlike the one on my tank. You filter your own water? Is this the most cost effective solution instead of buying jugs at the grocery store and the such? e: I just read earlier in the thread where you talked about your filtration setup. How often does the filter need to be changed on that? Anyone have any good links to a 8g-10g setup? I wont be trying to grow any crazy corals just the basic lower light ones. streetlamp fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Sep 30, 2008 |
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Sep 30, 2008 20:53
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streetlamp posted:I have seen these and loved the concept but I saw many posts about people have problems with them leading to overflowing. Have you ever had a problem with it? Actually I have the opposite problem, sometimes it stops refilling even when the release line is open on the tank side. I'm fairly sure something's pinching it shut but I'm not sure where. quote:You filter your own water? Is this the most cost effective solution instead of buying jugs at the grocery store and the such? Over the long run, absolutely. I got my filter as a gift, but even if I'd purchased it myself in the first place, after the first year it would easily be around 25 cents per gallon. I don't know how much pet stores charge for RO/DI, but if it's that low I'd be amazed. PS, unless it's specifically advertised as reverse-osmosis/deionized, the filtered water from the grocery store may not be RO/DI. Distilled water isn't the same thing. quote:e: I just read earlier in the thread where you talked about your filtration setup. How often does the filter need to be changed on that?  I haven't had any diatom explosions so I guess my TDS is still fairly low, but I haven't done any filter changes in about two years of running the filter on a regular basis. My city tap water isn't terrible to begin with, that's probably helping.
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Sep 30, 2008 21:16
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Thanks! I'll be sure to post any updates if I go ahead any do this. Can anyone recommend a good 10gal that doesnt need to be modded to hell? Thoughts on the Aquapod 24 gallon, 64W Compact Fluorescent System? streetlamp fucked around with this message at 22:25 on Sep 30, 2008 |
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Sep 30, 2008 21:38
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I NEED SUGGESTIONS ON STUFF. I have a 50 gallon deep tank, 25"w x 25"l. I need to get new lighting for it because the lighting I have now just isn't cutting it, but I can't find anything 25" wide. Lots of 24", which is what I have now, but it's kind of rigged and I'm worried that one of these days I will bump it the wrong way when putting the big wooden cover back over the hood and it will all go crashing down and zap my fish. So, suggestions on where to find a 25" wide hood would be awesome, preferably something that can hold 2 lights because 1 light just isn't enough. I also need suggestions on fish. My yellow-tailed blue damsel has this tank all to himself for a year now. I really love that stupid little fish and I don't want anything that will eat him or bully him. He can hold his own, I mean, he beat the hell out of a three foot yellow-headed moray and a giant blue crab all by his little lonesome, but that fish has earned his retirement. So, I am looking for peaceful fish that can't fit my fish (about 1.5") in their mouth. I'm wary of adding more damsels because although they are small and pretty they are assholes and while I'm sure my fish could handle it I don't think he deserves another battle. And I would rather not have fish that must be in schools, because I don't want to waste the space in the tank on a bunch of boring chromis or bar gobys or anything. Also if you have any ideas about crabs to add. I love crabs but I don't want a crab that eats fish and I don't want an ugly crab. Cute crabs only, preferably pinku and kawaii, TIA.
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Sep 30, 2008 22:27
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streetlamp posted:Thanks! I'll be sure to post any updates if I go ahead any do this. Can anyone recommend a good 10gal that doesnt need to be modded to hell? The AP24 is a nice all-in-one as long as you stick with soft corals and such, I looked into getting one myself but instead I'm going to try to DIY my own 10 gallon with an in-tank fuge and a big sunpod light so I can have a clam.  (If anyone has a used 20" 150w Sunpod they want to sell, send me a PM)Most all-in-ones usually need to be modded in some way, especially once you get into the more light-intense corals. They usually need lighting/cooling upgrades, and a lot of people replace the stock pump or modify the filters into fuges. Modding seems to be part of the fun, actually.
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Sep 30, 2008 22:38
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Hood Ornament posted:Modding seems to be part of the fun, actually.
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Oct 1, 2008 00:36
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I'm enjoying all the great info in this thread, so let me float an idea that I've had in mind for a while but I'm not sure of how possible it would be. I haven't found much on this, maybe there's a name for it (illadvised?) or maybe not. I'm thinking about setting up 15-20 gal tank with just New England saltwater species in it. I've definitely seen this done in public aquariums (when they're showing off different parts of the world or local species), but maybe it's not doable/legal for a home aquarium. To stock the tank I'd go to Coney Island and catch a couple small porgies or another small fish (maybe a little crab too?). There's probably a legal question in taking fish under a certain size, but people sit out all day at the Steeplechase Pier, and keep EVERYTHING they catch (even fish 2-3 inches long and jellyfish). Anytime I've been out there there's always a Chinese lady with a plastic shopping bag full of bite-sized half-dead guys flopping around on the deck. There are guys that sleep out there nights, and just spend their days fishing and drinking beer. They don't throw things back either. So I really don't think I'd catch any flack for trying to keep a couple alive. In the summer I could use a chiller to keep the water temperature down. Questions I have would be: Does this sound cool or stupid? I know porgies can grow to a good size, should I skip them, or maybe they would stay small in the tank? Are there any species I should especially try to find or avoid? What kind of substrate could I use? Sand from the ocean? Would saltwater mix for tropical tanks work? Any advice is appreciated
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Oct 8, 2008 02:29
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ancient lobster posted:I haven't found much on this, maybe there's a name for it (illadvised?) or maybe not. I'm thinking about setting up 15-20 gal tank with just New England saltwater species in it. The word you are looking for is biotope, and yes it is something that can be done. Check this link out: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showforum=55 As for the legality of it I am not sure. Some things you can take right out of the water, and though not usually advised people use natural sea sand and water to run their tanks.
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Oct 10, 2008 02:55
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why let a thread with such great information die? I'm a complete newbie to reef tanks but I recently got inspired to make my new unused 75 gallon aquarium into a SW reef tank. I have run very successful planted FW aquariums. What exactly is the purpose of an RO/DI filter? Is it really necessary in growing those beautiful corals that are pictured? I want to focus on the coral more so than the fish. How do corals grow? Will they just pop up from the live rock or will I have to buy/order them separately? How much Live Rock would I need for a 75? I don't want it to be too heavy laid with rocks, just enough to have a lot of coral and sustain a few fishes. I want there to be a good amount of open space. What is the best and easiest method of filtration for a tank of my size (75)? I have an extra 20g long sitting around, can I turn it into a sump? What kind of lighting and substrate would I need for a medium maintenance tank? I already have a T5 HO Glo fixture that is 24 inches. I can replace the bulbs for reef ones and get another of the same unit to cover the rest of the 24 inches. Should I do that or just get a new unit? I checked the reef websites but they are very vague and it seems like I should already know this stuff.
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Nov 10, 2008 10:41
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I'll take these line-by-line.Vigilantly Vigorous posted:What exactly is the purpose of an RO/DI filter? Is it really necessary in growing those beautiful corals that are pictured? I want to focus on the coral more so than the fish The purpose of an RO/DI filter is to make sure that you know EXACTLY what is going into your tank. Most times, when you put tap water in, you simply don't know. There'll be a ton of garbage that, while not fatal to YOU, are certainly not good for your tank. For example, there will, depending on where your tap water comes from, be dissolved minerals local to the area. If you live in an area where all the water comes from underground, there'll be a metric gently caress-ton of dissolved calcium. Corals need it, but it also fucks with the pH of the water. You can also have chloramines added to the water by your municipality, which aren't very good. You most likely will have phosphates in the water (especially if you're in the midwest) which will spur HUUUGE growths in nuisance algae. All in all, you just don't want this crap going into your tank. Most times, it makes the difference between a tank that looks like crap, and one that looks spectacular. You quite simply will not find a highly successful tank that uses tap water. You CAN go with a simple RO system, but some impurities will still get through (though it is better than nothing). quote:How do corals grow? Will they just pop up from the live rock or will I have to buy/order them separately? Corals can, and will pop up from some of the live rock that you pick up. Sometimes it will be a pleasant surprise. The vast majority of the time, you're going to be smacking your head against the glass as some loving crap coral that you don't want that is going to spread all over the place and you won't be able to get at it unless you pull your entire structure out of the tank. How do you get GOOD corals in the tank? You import them. In doing this, you will usually get them through frags. The best source I've found for high quality coral frags is local coral trade groups. Fish stores are a good steady source, but oftentimes you won't get the colorful oddities. Finally, there's always online stores, you can find just about anything, but it will be pricey. Oftentimes you'll have to spend $200-300 on an order. Consider getting together with a couple people from the aforementioned coral trade groups to make a group buy so as to dial down the cost per person. quote:How much Live Rock would I need for a 75? I don't want it to be too heavy laid with rocks, just enough to have a lot of coral and sustain a few fishes. I want there to be a good amount of open space. Kinda depends on the bioload you plan on keeping in the tank. Since you don't plan on keeping all that many fish, you don't really need all that much live rock. An idea I really like, if you can find it, is dry live rock. NOT LACE ROCK (lace rock is usually volcanic rock and you don't want it within 50 feet of your tank. You NEVER know what's in it). Dry live rock is the same stuff you would buy wet with life in it, only now it's dry and the stuff is dead. The advantage to this is that you can build rock structures before putting it in the tank. When you build structures, you can do it the old fashioned way (stacking up rocks), or the cool way - building rock structures. To build rock structures, you'll use steel rods, aquamend epoxy and zip ties. I'll let you sorta figure out how they would all tie in to each other, but initially the epoxy and zip ties will look terrible, but coraline algae will eventually grow over it and you won't be able to tell the difference. A good example of a constructed rockscape:  Info on it here. I've seen that one in person and it's amazing. quote:What is the best and easiest method of filtration for a tank of my size (75)? I have an extra 20g long sitting around, can I turn it into a sump? Sure. You can turn it into a sump. It'll also be nice because you can put in all the extra water polishing equipment that you'll need so it doesn't have to be in the tank (heater, protein skimmer, carbon, etc). In order to turn it into a sump though, you'll need to have a method of removing the water from the tank and returning it. If your tank is acrylic, great. It can be drilled. There's instructions on how to do that on the net. If you're talking a glass tank, then it's going to be more difficult. The glass will be tempered, so it can't be drilled. You'll have to go over the sides. Explaining all the plumbing is a bit more complicated than I will go into right now, so just look for siphon overflows and return piping. As far as filters, the best thing I can tell you as far as going from freshwater to saltwater is to forget the concept of canister filters and other traditional freshwater filters (biowheels, powerfilters, etc). Your primary source of water filtration will be your live rock. It will (hopefully) take most of the waste that your fish and corals put out (yes, corals DO put out waste. Not much, but they do). But there is a limit to what it will be able to absorb. And what it does break down, you don't want in your water anyway. A protein skimmer, in this case will remove organics from the water before they start to break down. Now, with protein skimmers, you do need to be a bit selective. Most ones that you can pick up at petco or petsmart are crap. For your tank, you'll want to look at an AquaC Remora if you decide not to go with a sump. If you DO, consider a Coralife Superskimmer 125. It's an excellent skimmer. quote:What kind of lighting and substrate would I need for a medium maintenance tank? Substrate... doesn't really matter all that much. Or rather it does. Or not. There's a LOT of debate on substrate. And I DO MEAN A LOT. Depth of sandbed, grain size of sand in the sandbed, complete lack of sandbed, etc etc. Essentially it will work like this: Depth of sandbed: if you want a sandbed (and I like them, I think they look more natural), you'll need to decide whether or not you want a shallow sandbed or a deep sandbed. A shallow bed should be no more than 1" deep. A deep sand bed should be at LEAST 3" deep. Between there, the bed isn't deep enough to provide the benefits that a deep sand bed should, and it will just gather up garbage. A shallow sandbed will be primarily for looks. It won't really provide all that much biological filtration but it will look nice (and it won't take 3" of your tank depth). A deeper sand bed will have a MUCH greater ability to eliminate wastes. Grain Size: This will depend on how much surface area the sandbed has and thus, how much bacteria it can grow. More bacteria = better filtration. BUT, at that point you do lose the benefits of naturally occuring plankton in-tank. With larger grain sand, you will get better plankton growth, but less bacterial growth. I usually try to find a balance between bacteria and plankton growth. Remember that in-tank plankton will be your coral's primary form of food (and yes, coral do feed). Lack of sandbed: some people really like this. They claim that the benefits provided by a deep sandbed is not worth the increased amount of detritus (breaking down food and waste) in the tank. These folks that go barebottom really like the look, and I think it CAN look very, very good. But I also think it's unnatural. Opinions may vary. quote:I already have a T5 HO Glo fixture that is 24 inches. I can replace the bulbs for reef ones and get another of the same unit to cover the rest of the 24 inches. Should I do that or just get a new unit? It's tough to say without more information. Who is the actual manufacturer of the fixture? What is the wattage rating? Do the bulbs have individual reflectors (one reflector per bulb)? How many bulbs? A t5HO fixture should have at least two bulbs, preferably four to cover the spectrum that you want. In order to hit the color you want as well as provide the light your corals need you'll need multiple bulbs. On my 75G tank, I had 4x 54W T5HO individually reflected bulbs. One was a 6500K bulb, one at 11,000K, one blue bulb and one actinic bulb. More information than that will be found below. quote:I checked the reef websites but they are very vague and it seems like I should already know this stuff. Not at all. There's no WAY you could possibly know this. I've been in reef tanks for almost three years now and I still am learning. Just be patient, FOLLOW a lot of the advice you're given and ask questions. Also - one of the best pieces of advice I can give is to regard any advice your local fish store will give with scrutiny. Often times they will give partially incorrect or flat-out wrong advice. And many times their advice will not be with the health of your aquarium at heart. Now here's something I started typing up a while ago. It's the first part in what I call "An rear end in a top hat's guide to important reef aquarium terms." This is part one on lighting: Lighting PAR: Photosynthetically Available Radiation. Effectively, the amount of light that a coral (or other photosynthetic life form) can use to produce oxygen and carbohydrates. It doesn't provide the protein necessary for growth. That is provided either by naturally grown plankton in the tank or fed by you. Fluorescent: (A.K.A. Normal Output Fluorescent, NOF) A lighting system that is a longtime stand-by in the aquarium industry. Generally unacceptable for most applications in saltwater systems as it simply does not provide enough light for much of anything that is photosynthetically active to live (with the exception of nuisance algae). Do yourself a favor and skip this type if you plan to run a saltwater aquarium. It CAN be done, but there are better types available for not much more money (CF or T5NO) Compact Fluorescent: (A.K.A. Power Compact, Bent Bulb Fluorescent, CF) A (slightly) more advanced form of fluorescent lighting. Often seen as a basic saltwater lighting system, this is also the type of light you see in home fixtures more commonly. It basically is a smaller form of a normal output fluorescent bulb, bent in ways to make it possible to fit more bulbs in a tighter space. Usable for most saltware applications including basic reefs. A good starter fixture for most people, but consider T5HO if you're planning on running a reef setup. They're higher output and are usually not much more expensive. Very High Output Fluorescent: (A.K.A. VHO) Once the most common reef keeping fluorescent bulb. Now being quickly replaced by High Output T5 for their impressive ability to not catch on fire. These are going away fast. Avoid them like the plague. Though some people still claim that T5HO can't match the color and intensity of VHO, I say that's bullshit, and I personally don't want my house to light on fire. High Output T5: (A.K.A. T5HO) An excellent balance of intensity and efficiency. Initial results of T5HO bulbs were unimpressive however. They were small and they could fit a lot of them in a fixture, but they just didn't have a lot of intensity due to a lot of light being lost to the fixture (a common reflector could only place so much of the unused 50% of the bulb down into the tank). Then someone came up with the idea of individual reflectors. Individual reflectors really made the benefits of T5HO shine (no pun intended). There's really no reason to use T5HO in non-individually reflected forms, and if you're considering a fixture that uses T5HO bulbs that don't have individual reflectors, look at another fixture because you're paying a more for what is basically a Compact Fluorescent fixture. This type of lighting fixture is IN MY OPINION the best overall lighting type for reef setups. Opinions may vary, but unless one is running a very tall tank, the light emitted from a T5HO fixture can strike the bottom with near the intensity of a MH system with far less heat and far less wattage. The only downside of them is that in order to create a pleasing light color as well as an optimum coral growth condition, multiple bulbs must be used, meaning more space is required. Normal Output T5: (A.K.A. T5NO, T5) A solid setup for fish-only tanks. Viable for some soft corals but if one installs this type and wants to keep corals, consider the T5HO instead. However, these are cheap and if fish-only tanks are your passion, this is your fixture. Metal-Halide (A.K.A. Halide, MH): The current mainstay lighting system in the reef aquarium hobby. EXTREMELY intense lighting. Light from this type of fixture can penetrate all but the deepest reef tanks (and if you need to penetrate deeper, you can simply use a higher wattage bulb). Currently the closest replication of natural sunlight available. Produces a characteristic "shimmer" that cannot be reproduced with any other form of common light fixture. One can realistically grow any form of coral under this type of fixture. So why don't I like them? loving HEAT. Seriously. These things are unbelievably hot. They are a space heater for your room, and most people who run multiple high wattage MH systems employ a chiller because these lights employ so much loving heat into the water. They must also be placed about 8 inches away from the water's surface, otherwise a random splash of water can cause the bulb to explode (they're that hot). I really, REALLY like the look of these bulbs, as long as they're in someone else's house. High Output LED (A.K.A. PFO Solaris Fixtures, LED): A brand-new form of aquarium lighting that as Far as I know, only PFO makes this type of light. It appears that this type of lighting may actually be able to provide all the benefits of MH fixtures without the drawback of their insane heat. I've not had a lot of personal experience with these due to the fact that they are loving EXPENSIVE - seriously. Like $2,000 (or more) for a 48" fixture. And that's if you can even find one. Once someone starts producing knock-offs, this will probably replace most fixtures as the standard lighting for reefs. Moonlighting: There's some debate about moonlighting and the benefits it provides. There's hard data saying that with moonlights, fish will spawn more commonly, nocturnal hunters will hunt and overall stuff is much more good at night. The problem is, most moonlamps commonly produced for the aquarium industry are improper for moonlamps. They are usually the incorrect spectrum of light, and they have no dimming system. In order for moonlamps to have their proper effect, they need to be in the spectrum of light that is sunlight, reflected off the moon, and then passing through the atmosphere. I'm not sure what that spectrum is offhand, but I don't think it's the more common deep-blue moonlamp or the less-common white. In addition, they need to dim and brighten over a 30-day cycle just as the moon does. Still, they look really cool, so I have them in my tank even though I'm sure none of those conditions are met. Retrofit Fixtures: (A.K.A. Retrofitted, Retro) These are uncontained fixture systems that are built into the canopy of aquariums. Because they are uncontained, they appear to have an "unfinished" look. However, because they are uncontained, they have the benefit of improved cooling, flexibility of installation, and far greater choice of components. These are essentially the "Build-your own" light fixtures. Retrofits are (usually) easy to build and install, and are sometimes cheaper than their "complete" siblings. However, these require a canopy to install them in, and you do run the risk of uninformed viewers thinking it's a ghetto-rigged system (still worth it IMHO). Ballast: All light systems require some sort of ballast. If you buy a complete fixture, it will include any ballast you might need. So chances are, you'll never really have to worry about a ballast (unless you do a retrofit situation). There are a couple rules of thumb about them though. If considering a MH system, always look for systems with an Electronic ballast as opposed to a magnetic ballast. They are far more efficient and help your bulbs last longer. Slightly more expensive, but becoming less so, and worth the cost anyway (this is becoming more and more pointless as magnetic ballasts are quickly becoming extinct). With T5 systems, there's not a lot to know other than Icecap ballasts tend to overdrive bulbs a bit increasing their output, and shifting the color slightly blue. It's debatable whether or not this is a good thing (personally, I don't like it). Watts-per-gallon: (A.K.A. WPG) A metric that just needs to go away. Back in the day, it was estimated that you could grow corals in a tank with x watts per gallon of tank. This is a bad, bad, bad rule and never really worked. Why? Because it never took into account many variables. Gallon is a measure of volume and watts is a measure of electricity going into the bulb. The problem is that NONE of those applies directly to reef/aquarium lighting. A great way would be if we could find some way to change Watts-per-gallon to be intensity-per-depth of tank. Because light must be more and more intense to penetrate deeper tanks. Basically, if you're going to be growing soft corals, go with Power Compact lighting in a fixture that fits your tank. If you need more light, go with T5HO. If you need to penetrate a deeper tank (30"+) go with Metal Halide. Spectrum: In general terms for aquarium usage, spectrum applies to radiation that is visable to the human eye and is usable (for the most part) for photosynthesis. Although there's more to it than that, when talking about aquarium lighting, spectrum refers to the point at which the light peaks in intensity. 6000K is roughly the color of the sun, as such is most usable for coral growth and reproduction. However, a pure 6000K bulb looks like rear end (very yellowish, green). Fluorescent bulbs (typically) only peak at one point of the spectrum, thus they require more than one bulb to produce a pleasing light. Metal Halide bulbs often peak at one point but will provide a decent color spectrum in general (though most people do supplement with actinic fluorescent lighting). 6000K/6500K: (A.K.A. Daylight Bulb) A bulb that peaks at 6000K (Or 6000 Kelvin - I'm assuming this means the color of light when something is burning at 6000 degrees Kelvin). Daylight bulbs often come in 6500K as well, so as not to look so yellowish. But I've never personally seen a fluorescent or a MH system that used only daylight bulbs so you're always going to need more than one bulb if you plan on using a 6000K bulb. But if you're going to use a MH system, don't get a 6000K bulb for it. It looks terrible. Produces the most PAR per watt of any other bulb type. 7100K (A.K.A. Blue Bulb): A bulb that will shift your lighting spectrum blue. Causes some corals to fluoresce and is generally considered to be an excellent addition to a T5 system. Produces some PAR, but not much. Supplementation bulb only - you'd never want to light a tank with this bulb type alone. 10,000K (A.K.A. Blue Daylight bulb): A bulb that produces a decent amount of PAR but shifted slightly blue. Very similar to a 11,000K, 12,000K or 14,000K. Some run their tanks on these bulbs alone, and this produces a very white light (though in my opinion, they still need supplementation). Actinic: A supplementation bulb only. Provides intense fluorescence in corals that have the ability. Makes corals "pop" with color. However, these bulbs produce little to no PAR. Most lighting systems however, will usually use one of these bulbs, in combination with some form of daylight bulb and a 7100K bulb. 20,000K: Only found in Metal Halide systems. Supposedly, an "all-in-one" bulb. In theory, these bulbs provide all the benefits of a 7100K bulb, an actinic bulb and a daylight bulb. In my opinion, that's bullshit. They look overly blue and coral growth is (in my experience) stunted compared to a bulb combination. Aquatraders (a.k.a. Oddysea): An aquarium parts manufacturer based out of China. Previously reviled for their MH systems that spontaneously caught fire (thus producing the common Idiot aquarist's mantra of "You get what you pay for" ). Generally thought to have improved their quality drastically in the last year or so. Their PC and MH systems are generally thought to be pretty decent now, but avoid their T5 and T12 systems as they are not individually reflected. They also have famously bad customer service. For example, because the bulbs included with their lights are considered "free gifts," they do not replace them if the bulbs arrive broken. They also produce knock-off CPR products such as protein skimmers and refugiums, but in my opinion, I wouldn't stick ANYTHING from that company into my water that requires electricity.
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Nov 10, 2008 12:42
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I agree with every single word Psimitry said except these two:Psimitry posted:steel rods ...will corrode like a motherfucker in an aquarium. Rock formations like the one you posted are put together using PVC or some other type of acrylic rods as the backbone.
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Nov 10, 2008 15:59
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Psimitry posted:Metal-Halide (A.K.A. Halide, MH): The current mainstay lighting system in the reef aquarium hobby. EXTREMELY intense lighting. Light from this type of fixture can penetrate all but the deepest reef tanks (and if you need to penetrate deeper, you can simply use a higher wattage bulb). Currently the closest replication of natural sunlight available. Produces a characteristic "shimmer" that cannot be reproduced with any other form of common light fixture. One can realistically grow any form of coral under this type of fixture. So why don't I like them? loving HEAT. Seriously. These things are unbelievably hot. They are a space heater for your room, and most people who run multiple high wattage MH systems employ a chiller because these lights employ so much loving heat into the water. They must also be placed about 8 inches away from the water's surface, otherwise a random splash of water can cause the bulb to explode (they're that hot). I really, REALLY like the look of these bulbs, as long as they're in someone else's house. Yeah, a splash of water shattered the glass cover on my metal halide lamp (70w Viper Clamp Lamp), but the bulb needs to be replaced soon anyway and that's a good excuse for me to get the 150w with built-in fans. I was dumb, my light is only about 4 inches from the water.  Also, if you are planning on having any clams or large anemones in your tank, I would suggest MH lighting.
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Nov 10, 2008 18:30
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csammis posted:I agree with every single word Psimitry said except these two: Sure enough. My bad. I would have bet my unborn children that the guy who built it said steel rods when I asked him about it. I asked him what he used when I was looking over the rock structure for joints and couldn't find the zip ties or the epoxy. It was damned impressive. Hood Ornament posted:Also, if you are planning on having any clams or large anemones in your tank, I would suggest MH lighting. Anemones or clams will do just fine under IR-T5HO. I kept a green BTA happy and healthy under them, my former roommate kept a HUGE Rose anemone near the bottom of the tank with the exact same IR-T5HO setup. The only reason one should HAVE to use MH is if your tank is 30" deep or deeper. That and I have to admit, it is prettier (though the shadows they create are kind of a bitch).
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Nov 10, 2008 20:19
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Need some advice, saltwater gurus... I recently found a MAMMOTH aiptasia hiding in the back of my tank (it's a good 2 inches long with its tentacles stretched out). How should I go about getting rid of the sucker? I've used lemon juice on smaller ones in the past, but I'm really worried about this thing breaking up and spawning even more.
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Nov 10, 2008 20:32
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tgijsola posted:Need some advice, saltwater gurus... The best way, in my opinion is through peppermint shrimp. Depending on the size of your tank, picking up 2-3 (or more) is a surefire way to make sure that eventually the offending anemone will get eaten. If you have moonlamps, turn them off so that the peps will be more apt to go wandering in search of food. It may take a while, but the 'nem SHOULD eventually disappear. Even nicer about peps is the fact that they are pretty docile and ABSOLUTE PIGS. I've actually noticed a general reduction in the amount of detritus that ends up on my sandbed after I added my 4 shrimp. They will eat seriously ANYTHING that your fish and corals don't eat. If for some reason you can't have peps, then a turkey baster full of boiling water occasionally works, as does kalk paste. But in my experience no matter how quickly you kill them, they WILL come back unless there's a predator deterrent.
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Nov 10, 2008 21:06
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Thanks for the quick and thorough reply. I think I'm just gonna buy a whole new lighting system. Hopefully this one will fit in my hood. http://cgi.ebay.com/ODYSSEA-48-260W...tem300270422031 is the one that I am thinking of ordering. The only problem I see coming up is finding a place I could buy bulbs for it. I think I will be investing in an RO/DI unit for my tank. Any brand recommendations? From what I understand I don't need to invest in a canister filter, just a protein skimmer that I will be putting in my sump? My tank will be glass so I am at quite a conundrum of what I will do about the siphon and overflow.
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Nov 10, 2008 21:07
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