Pets

here is a pic of lil smokey.

n/m it won't upload properly for some reason.

it was a pic of our black kitty cat.

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.

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Yeah, reefcentral can get hectic at times. Some of the smaller forums are just as good and go by slower. Stay out of "New to the Hobby," its just a bunch of newbies giving other newbies bad advice. Eric Borneman's coral forum is good, as is Ask. Dr. Ron. The good thing about all the people is that if you post a question you'll get a bunch of responses back within ten minutes at all hours of the day.

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.

so now i'm curious, what does the aqua-c do that the prizm can't? and how?

i also do 20-30% (rough guesstimate) water changes weekly while vacumming the sand if needed, which in essence is removing detritus or anything lingering in the water that the crap eaters aren't getting. so far everything is fine, been watching my levels closely and nothing rising or dropping to out-of-ideal levels.

Juggernaut, I like the pictures. I don't think I have ever seen a choclate chip star fish before. Good luck on the tank, and keep the pics coming!

i've been wanting a sea cucumber, but i couldn't find one that would be beneficial to my tank but also look decent. so i bought a Sea Apple which is categorized in the sea cucumber section. i also bought another anemone, people are now starting to call me an anemone freak. potty word potty word potty word on them! i also took a picture of one of my turbo snails as he flew across the front glass.

located at my website [geocities.com]

thats a great site, is it hard to maintain? (the tank I mean)

i've been wanting a sea cucumber, but i couldn't find one that would be beneficial to my tank but also look decent. so i bought a Sea Apple which is categorized in the sea cucumber section. i also bought another anemone, people are now starting to call me an anemone freak. potty word potty word potty word on them! i also took a picture of one of my turbo snails as he flew across the front glass.

located at my website [geocities.com]

i've been wanting a sea cucumber, but i couldn't find one that would be beneficial to my tank but also look decent. so i bought a Sea Apple which is categorized in the sea cucumber section. i also bought another anemone, people are now starting to call me an anemone freak. potty word potty word potty word on them! i also took a picture of one of my turbo snails as he flew across the front glass.

located at my website [geocities.com]

Good lord, you gotta research what you buy before you buy it. Sea Apples are known as the ticking time bombs of the marine trade. They're virtually impossible to keep fully fed and tend to die unexpectedly. They're highly toxic and will clean out a tank within hours of passing away. I'd get it the hell out of your tank unless you're a betting man. I can't believe stores still sell those. I wouldn't trust anyone that sold a sea apple to a unknowing hobbyist.

Also with the seahorse, make sure you do a bunch of research before you get one. They're quite hard to keep and usually don't last past 6 months unless you really know how to care for them. There's no way they'd be able to get enough food in a tank with damsels due to their speed. Seahorse.org is the best seahorse site out there. You might want to consider setting up a dedicated tank if you're interested in seahorses.

Good luck with everything. I'm struggling to keep my temp down in this damn SoCal weather.

I like your site, I just got a 29gallon setup. I treated the water and filtered, now I have a couple of goldfish in there just to make sure the water is somewhat livable, they have been in there for a few days everything ok.

any suggestions about what fish to put in there???? I don't reallly want an oscar I think they are mean fish.

you have absolutely no faith in anyone else do you? yes i did research about the sea apples prior to buying it and i know about how it has a toxic tubule that can kill if something goes wrong. but since i don't plan on pissing in the tank after drinking a six pack of mountain dew, not much should go wrong. i don't go to the LFS and just point and buy. i look at what they have, tell them to hold what i like and go research. i thought we went through this before about how i don't listen to the 16 year olds selling me things? as far as the seahorse, i mainly stated that i wanted one, most likely if i decide to get one, i will be getting a seperate tank and putting all the seahorse in there. i merely give general information and pictures here online for others' viewing pleasure. i'm not here to say what i purchased and then give a report on it. i know you're knowledgable with fish also and have good intentions, and i appreciate you giving your info that you have on stuff, but fish, physical training, and being a good father/husband are the things i believe i excel in, i don't claim to know a lot about anything else, but i do my best on being a great father/husband and i do research on the other two. like always, i will keep everyone updated on my tank with pictures or discussion as anyone wishes to discuss.