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Forum Thread
Pets
January 15, 2004 at
01:19 PM
OK. So we know what everyone looks like and what everyone does for a living. This thread will be about your pets.
I have two dogs, Bailey and Kayla. Here is a recent pic of them. Don't make fun of Bailey's shirt, he had an allergic reaction to some shampoo and needs to wear it until he stops itching at it.
I have two dogs, Bailey and Kayla. Here is a recent pic of them. Don't make fun of Bailey's shirt, he had an allergic reaction to some shampoo and needs to wear it until he stops itching at it.
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my first tip for salt water tanks is: when you go to do a water change, make sure you clean the algae off the glass at the top, because if you don't and something comes up in the middle of your water change, then it starts to dry out, and it stinks!
Well ooooo on the stinky algae thing. I'll be leaning on you Jugg.
what are your setups? you've been in it for ten years you must have some really cool tanks!
Well ooooo on the stinky algae thing. I'll be leaning on you Jugg.
what are your setups? you've been in it for ten years you must have some really cool tanks!
I recently helped a family friend in San Diego set up a 300 gallon reef with dual sumps, chiller, 2X250W 10000K halides, 4X55W Actinic PCs, Euroreef Skimmer, 400 lbs Live Rock, 1.5 inches of live sand, and a bunch of fish, inverts, and corals. I really need to get some pics of that one, its pretty freaking awesome. Wish I could afford something like that. At least I can make it look nice.
Don't want to rain on your parade or anything, but I've known a number of people (including myself) that have had a tank crash because of the plenum system you're using. I found it to be a giant detritus trap when I tried it about 6 years ago. Make sure to keep that sand very clean or else you'll run into bad problems within the year.
my tank is currently occupied by the following:
- 45 lbs. fiji live rock
- 40 lbs. live sand
- 1 porcelain anemone crab
- 2 dwarf red leg hermit crabs
- 15 dwarf blue leg hermit crabs
- 1 Haitian reef anemone
- 1 Rock Flower anemone
- 1 Scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp
- 1 - 3.5" Sand sifting star fish
- 3 Turbo snails
- 2 True percula clown fish (1 quarantined)
- 1 Yellowtail Damselfish
- 2 Three strip Damselfish
- 1 Blue velvet Damselfish
- 1 Blue Tang
And I intend on adding the following very soon:the starfish, crabs, and snails pretty much take care of the sand and i have to clean off the glass every other week or so, but that's my preference so i can see them better. i've had my tank occupied for about 3 months now i think and have only had to clean out the sand once because i thought the detritus was getting too deep. and by deep i mean it went down into the sand approximately 0.25" - 0.5" of the visible 1.5"-2" from the top. i was using a protein skimmer, but lost interest in it and have a power sweep that agitates and oxygenates the water at the surface to prevent the scum layer from building. i've been thinking of going 10 gallon sump tank, but haven't really found the time.
The crash I'm referring to was a pretty nice permanent nitrate and phosphate spike that caused a neverending algae bloom to take over. The problem with the plenum system is that detritus will build up in the sand closest to the anoxic water but you can't get it out of there without disturbing the whole thing and releasing toxic gasses into the system. So it sits there and rots, creating a constant algae-feeding nutrient souce in the tank. Plenum systems were basically dismissed as hooey a few years ago. Yes, they are good in theory but rarely work in practice, especially in a heavily stocked tank such as yours. There are exceptions (your friend's tank), but I've found them to be rare.
I'd stay away from the lobster if I were you. It will get big quick and be nothing but a poo machine.
My best advice, start hanging around the reefcentral.com forums and being to take in the knowledge found there. Some of the world's foremost experts post there, along with marine biologists, zookeepers, and hobbyists with years and years of experience. Local fish stores are no place to be getting advice.
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The crash I'm referring to was a pretty nice permanent nitrate and phosphate spike that caused a neverending algae bloom to take over. The problem with the plenum system is that detritus will build up in the sand closest to the anoxic water but you can't get it out of there without disturbing the whole thing and releasing toxic gasses into the system. So it sits there and rots, creating a constant algae-feeding nutrient souce in the tank. Plenum systems were basically dismissed as hooey a few years ago. Yes, they are good in theory but rarely work in practice, especially in a heavily stocked tank such as yours. There are exceptions (your friend's tank), but I've found them to be rare.
I'd stay away from the lobster if I were you. It will get big quick and be nothing but a poo machine.
My best advice, start hanging around the reefcentral.com forums and being to take in the knowledge found there. Some of the world's foremost experts post there, along with marine biologists, zookeepers, and hobbyists with years and years of experience. Local fish stores are no place to be getting advice.
the people i get info from are not the local fish store 16 year old clerks. i read books with credible references and discuss things over with several people that have had systems for some time and look what has worked for them as well as all the problems they've had. for the ones that have used the monaco style aquarium, not one person i've spoken with (personally and not on forums) has ever had a problem with it. 1 person has never used a protein skimmer style filter in the 3 years they had theirs, mainly because a research shows that a skimmer can take out wanted organics as well as the unwanted ones.
the only thing a protein skimmer does that i can think of is remove built up protein from the surface of the water and from within the water. the whole time i ran a protein skimmer, there was never enough protein foam created that needed to be removed. the micro bubbles created by the power sweep i use allows the protein in the tank to bond and then it carries it out of the tank when it reaches the surface and bursts (i've had to scrub the underside of my hoods several times now).
As for your algae bloom, how high did your nitrates and phosphates get? maybe should have had more sand sifting type critters to eat the detritus or vacuumed it up before it became a problem? my crabs, starfish and snails tear my sand up, like i said, i only had to vacuum the sand once in 3 months or so, and that was only a small section of the sand that the starfish wasn't getting to and it looked like the detritus was getting down into the sand too much. it is good for some to get down there, that's the whole point of this type of system, but obviously bad if it gets out of control without catching it by vacuuming or dumping more sand sifters in there.
i did get a nice 40+ page anemone care file that i found had some additional info that i didn't know or elaborated on further from what i knew. i also just got done reading about how several of the members are going "skimmerless"
The newest overriding theory with reef tanks is that they are closed systems, unlike the ocean which is for all purposes an open system. Organics need to be taken out of the closed system or else they will build up and cause problems (nitrates, phosphates) down the line. The only two real methods of removal are protein skimming and water changes (with physical detritus removal). If the total addition of organics (food, animal waste, etc.) exceeds total taken out over time, you're going to get problems down the line. Even if the stars and snails are "getting to the detritus" its not being removed from the system, its just being recylcled into another form. You might not see it, but its there.
By the way, none of those animals you have actually eat detritus. The stars eat critters in the sand and algae films, the snails eat algae, and the crabs eat uneated food and stuff that has died. They'll do a good job stirring up the sand but they don't eat the actual brown crap coming out of the rocks and building up in the sand that is true detritus. Thats where you need to come in with removal. Sounds like you're doing well with that, but you need to stay very vigilant.
Skimmers do remove some beneficial things, but nothing that can't be replaced through your regular water changes with a good quality salt mix. Since you don't have corals you don't need to worry about phytoplankton either. What type of skimmer did you get? Sounds like a seaclone to me, hehe, hope I'm not right on that.
Almost all reef tanks will be fine through the first year, its past that point where it will go downhill if things aren't right. Longterm staying power is the true measure of reefkeeping methods. Good luck.
The newest overriding theory with reef tanks is that they are closed systems, unlike the ocean which is for all purposes an open system. Organics need to be taken out of the closed system or else they will build up and cause problems (nitrates, phosphates) down the line. The only two real methods of removal are protein skimming and water changes (with physical detritus removal). If the total addition of organics (food, animal waste, etc.) exceeds total taken out over time, you're going to get problems down the line. Even if the stars and snails are "getting to the detritus" its not being removed from the system, its just being recylcled into another form. You might not see it, but its there.
By the way, none of those animals you have actually eat detritus. The stars eat critters in the sand and algae films, the snails eat algae, and the crabs eat uneated food and stuff that has died. They'll do a good job stirring up the sand but they don't eat the actual brown crap coming out of the rocks and building up in the sand that is true detritus. Thats where you need to come in with removal. Sounds like you're doing well with that, but you need to stay very vigilant.
Skimmers do remove some beneficial things, but nothing that can't be replaced through your regular water changes with a good quality salt mix. Since you don't have corals you don't need to worry about phytoplankton either. What type of skimmer did you get? Sounds like a seaclone to me, hehe, hope I'm not right on that.
Almost all reef tanks will be fine through the first year, its past that point where it will go downhill if things aren't right. Longterm staying power is the true measure of reefkeeping methods. Good luck.
i'll keep my eye on the detritus build up, like i said, if i notice it getting too deep into the sand i'll vacuum the sand and clean it out, but so far only had to do it once.
the skimmer i had was a prizm pro deluxe.
i registered on RC, there are a lot of people on there, not sure i'll be able to keep up reading all the posts!
i'll keep my eye on the detritus build up, like i said, if i notice it getting too deep into the sand i'll vacuum the sand and clean it out, but so far only had to do it once.
the skimmer i had was a prizm pro deluxe.
i registered on RC, there are a lot of people on there, not sure i'll be able to keep up reading all the posts!
The Prizm is junk unfortunately. No wonder you weren't getting any foam. I'd see if you can return that if I were you. The Aqua-C Remora is a great hang on the back skimmer, but stay away from the prizm and the seaclone.
Anyway, good luck and keep us updated.
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n/m it won't upload properly for some reason.
it was a pic of our black kitty cat.