HELP! Bubbles everywhere!!!

UGH! I am sick of these bubbles I love my tank but i hate the bubbles anyone know why they are EVERYWHERE and so annoying??? I brush them off the rocks at least 4 times a day I am sick of them and have no idea why they are here and how to get rid of them please help me :(

Quick question on lighting

Hi all, I have a quick question about a new tank setup. Right now I have a small 8 gallon nuvo with an ai nano running on it. I've gotten very used to having the power to keep any coral I want in my tank with that setup, but now it's time for a bigger tank. I had my LFS draw up a design for a 36x18x18 50gallon tank with everything already in it and they put in the quote an ai hydra. I was curious as to weather or not the hydra will be the same kind of power as my nano on the 8 gallon and if not what other led fixture should I get that will be around 400$ as well. All together I want to spend 1500$ right now ok just hardware I'm at 1300$ including the light.

emperor angel for sale

I have a friend with an empire angel for sale to a good home. Preferably to a 200 plus tank. He is approximately nine inches or, lol, half pound. Color fully changed to adult. Asking $100 due to the fact that it was in a 150 gallon with three yellow tangs trying to bully it. The result was, it hiding in the rock work and hurting its top quills. He has been monitoring this fish for over a week and it seems to be in very good shape otherwise. He was going to be a resident in my 210. However, I does't want to risk her hurting his lps.



This fish needs to be in either a FOWLR. Or a complete SPS display.



Located in Plainfield Ct

pick up only

Think outside the box . . . .

I have a 55 gallon corner bow-front tank. 40lbs if live sand 45lbs of live rock with many caves. (2) 425 power heads and a 125 gallon Reef Octopus BH-1000 skimmer. Currently I have 2 ocellaris clown fish both less than a 1-1/2" long. Water parameters are near perfect. I want to add more fish. But I don't want your old every day bland no color fish. What else can I put with my clowns. I really want a tank that says WOW. . .

can I add a Pom Pom crab to my 45 gallon??

So my 45 gallon currently has:

1 six line wrasse

1 lawnmower blenny

1 firefish

3 blue legged hermit crabs

2 turbo snails

1 sand sifting sea star

and a ton of live rock! I am planning to add a pair of clownfish as my next fish on my next trip to the lfs which I hardly ever have time to make a trip out there! I really like Pom Pom crabs and hear they are easy to keep but I want to be sure they would be ok in my tank! I want to purchase one of liveaquaria today along with a mushroom coral I am in LOVE with it will be my first coral adiition! I have done lots of research and wanted mushrooms and zoas in this tank but I havent had time to go get some from my lfs :/ so ordering this mushroom and Pom Pom Crab would be perfect!

Need activation

Can someone please activate my account!!! My email provider keeps deleting the messages in the emails because they think its fraudulent.

:( :(

Hammer Coral Issue

So I posted on my build thread that I am having an issue with my Hammer Coral. My parameters are in check, none of my other corals are having any issue. I did a water change yesterday and will be doing another one in two days and will be moving the coral to a darker coral, any one have any advice?



Full View





Baby Skeleton For Hammer?





Side View





Please help!

common clowns

ive had 2 common clowns for 3 weeks now i got a small one and a large one hoping the would pair of i have noticed over the last week the small one keeps going up to the large one and kinda shakeing his body more so his back part of his body is this going the way i hope there has bean no aggression between them 2 at all

Vertex Illumina LED Fixture Sale

Vertex just announced a very generous sale on their Illumina line of fixtures. These are the biggest savings on the Illumina ever! Prices are in effect while supplies last at Vertex. We do still have a few of these fixtures still available here in stock. Im sure they will be moving fast. If a fixture has "call for availability" please contact us for lead times. Those fixtures will be coming in from Germany and will have lead times on them.



If you've been thinking about getting an Illumina, now is the time!

http://ift.tt/1o4mt9L

it does pay to check ur tank

i do check my tank a lot being a sort of newbe to reef tanks i wana make sure all is ok so shock horror tonight i found a metal object at the back of my tank on the live rock dont know how it got there good job i do weekly water changes might all so explain why i have had some hermits die on me to so keep checking girls and guys these thing do happen like i said only gods knows how but they do

6 Line Wrasse eating Toadstool film

Wow, I just watched my 6 Line eating the film that my Toadstool periodically sheds directly off the Toadstool!



I am surprised that the discard from the Toadstool could be food for another tank inhabitant...another amazing example of nature at work!

RO Membrane detailed video

I thought this was something TRT would like to see. I've never seen the nitty gritty...this is way cool.

http://ift.tt/1iEaFG6

flow rate in tank

does any one know how to work out the flow rate in your tank plz

diatom algae bloom

Hello,



So ive been having an issue with diatoms lately in my 20 gallon high reef tank. I do weekly 5 gal water changes my mitrates read between 0-20 every week. Ive cut my feeding back to every other day sometimes every 3 days. The tank is stocked with 3 firefish a clown goby serpant star 2 turbo snails 1 hermit 2 peppermint shrimp and an anemone crab. I also have a handful of corals as well. I feed frozen twice a week with one coming a few hrs before a WC. I use premixed boxed saltwater from my LFS. For filtering I have an AC70 with chemipure and filter floss. The tank is about 6 or 7 months old. I cannot figure out for the life of me why I have such nasty looking diatoma all over the glass every week no matter what. Can anybody shed some light on this for me?

need advise for drilling acryllic tank

I just bought a hanger for my led light and the hanger was meant for an open top aquarium. My tank is an acryllic with an acryllic top that is part of the tank. All I would need to do to modify the hanger is to drill out a 1/2"X6" slit on each side on top of the tank so that the braces can just slide on into the tank.. My question is... Has any one drilled in an acryllic tank with the fish still in it and any suggestion on how I should go about making these slits?



Any help is greatly appreciated!!:thumbup:

power head filtr

I have a powerhead filter is this good for a reef tank? The current is strong and blows away the fish is this good?

Newbie 40B Setup Help

Hello! I am new to this forum, so hopefully I do this right.



I had a SW about 10 years ago that was a pretty basic setup, 20g, UGF FOWLR. It was fine, never anything to write home about and was finally scrapped after a few dead fish.



More recently I have started keeping freshwater planted tanks and love them, but they just arent as colorful as saltwater. I plan to keep my 75g planted tank running, but want to turn my 40B into a SW reef tank.



I have done quite a bit of research, and have an uncle who has been keeping SW for decades, but wanted to run my setup idea past you folks and look for some ideas. So here goes!



Equipment:

40G Breeder

6" DSB with live sand

50-60lbs of LR

Octopus BH1000 Skimmer

HOB Refugum with rubble and chateo

4 MaxiJet 400's (going for high flow)

Lights - 14000k LED from Buymyled

My ambient temp is 74 so I'm going to throw a small heater in but probably will never run...

(note: no sump!)





The plan is to let this run for about 2 months with no fish or coral.



After 1 month (or when cycled) I plan to add a cleanup crew (looking at shrimp and nerite snails)

After 2 months, I plan to add a pair of clowns

If everything stays stable, thats when I want to begin adding coral. At this point SPS and LPS are what I am looking at.



As for maintenance, my tap water seems fine to use (checked the water reports), but with no filter, I plan on doing 20% water changes weekly. I have a 10g tank that I am going to throw a powerhead in and pre-mix my water and let it churn for a day before putting it in the main tank.



So that is what I am planning... Should be a very light stock for the tank size so hopefully that setup should work. What am I missing or not thinking through?



Thanks!

SPS Experts

Hello all-



For all you of you sps keepers, what are the secrets. I have a 60 cube tank, with lps and softies, 4 seahorses, and 2 fish (goby and jawfish)



I have just put in an aussie acro, and 3 montipora. My lfs said, I was going to "fail" with sps, because I have never had them before.



A few fast specs, tank is only 3 months old. 1.025 sg, 74 degrees F (because of seahorses), alk 8, mag 1300, calcium 440, 0 amm, 0 nitrite, 20 nitrates. Maxspect 120 lighting, and diablo 950 return pump (600 gph after head pressure). Vortech mp 10 pointed directly at SPS. Also run a phosphate reactor (phosgaurd) and reef octopus 1000 skimmer.



Thanks

DIY LED Drivers

I found this decent writeup on how to make your own LED drivers.



http://ift.tt/PQYPlh



It gets you started. The first step would be to make a rectifier and then use that power supply to feed into your driver. In circuit 5 I'm thinking you could run a program on a microcontroller with an interface that would allow you to set the time (T1) for the light to initialize and brighten to 100% at (T2), and then set another time for the light to begin dimming (T3), and finally for the light to go out(T4). I think you could do most of it with a 555 timer, but at the least you'd have to plug in a USB cable (after building a USB jack) and program the microcontroller with your computer. And while you're at it, if you're going that route then you could incorporate Bluetooth to do it wirelessly and build an app for your iPhone that allows you to set those 4 times plus the max brightness.



-Matt

Pajama Cardinal vs. Banggai Cardinal

I was at my LFS last night and noticed they had a bunch of Pajama cardinals in stock. I've never really cared for them seeing pictures of them online, but seeing them in the store for the first time they look pretty cool so I thought about getting some but I also plan on having (2) Banggai cardinals in my tank eventually so I was curious if that would cause an issue?



Liveaquaria shows pajamas to be peaceful and banggais to be semi-aggressive so not sure if I'm asking for trouble?



40B currently has one black clown (orange died a few weeks ago, so planning on replacing it in a couple of weeks but didn't want to buy any new fish until I get back from vacation mid-May). Also have three blue/green chromis, YWG, and firefish.



Currently all of my fish get along just fine, the clown(s) host around my powerhead at night and swim around during the day, the chromis split up and hide in the rock when scared, two of them usually stick together and the third goes to a separate rock hiding spot, when they come out they are all three together swimming around. my YWG pretty much stays under one of two rocks with his pistol shrimp buddy and only comes out further when its food time, and the firefish spends most of its time hiding under the rock structure, usually only comes out around feeding time.



So far everyone gets along, no fights, everyone has their own space. With the plans to add (2) Banggai cardinals in the future and had considered adding a chalk bass too, would the pajama cardinals (2 or 3?) be OK with the others I already have / have problems with future additions?



I know I'm pretty close to maxing out on my # of fish already so may not be adding them all in this tank (depending on the order I get them some might be put on hold until I go to a bigger tank), I'm watching the habits of each fish I add to determine my overall population just to make sure everyone is happy with their space and no one crowded to make jumpers, so I'm not asking about if they'll fit in the 40B - more will they get along in general?

So long!

Well it seems I've received an infraction for telling a loud-mouth on the server to prove it.



Good luck to all, might see you elsewhere. (where they don't reward the clever-bashes and discredit the direct bashes)



Even had my sig removed. But do you see the 'super villians' sig removed?



That my friends is the ideals displayed.



To those who wish to learn, good luck!

To others, keep it up, because this is all you've got evidently.

LED color vs coral color

So about 6 months ago I purchased 2 Hydra 52's to put over my 120g sps tank. When I first got them they nearly fried everything and I really had to play with the color and percentages to get everything growing well. Now everything is great and looking very healthy but I would like to tweak it a little more to improve color and wondering if anyone has any experience with this. The greens and reds in the tank are doing extremely well and coming out of almost every coral I have but other colors like blue/purples aren't coming out very well. For example I have a stuber staghorn that was brown before with baby blue tips and now its brown with a green shimmer all over it but the blue in the tips and faded significantly.

Right now the settings I have are:

Cool White 30%

Red = 60%

Violet = 60%

Green = 60%

Royal Blue = 60%

Deep Blue = 60%

UV = 60%

Those are the max setting with a 4 hr ramp up/down favoring blue spectrum.

I have been upping the percentages over the last few months. So far when I raise the blues up the corals are fine with it but raising the cool white significantly causes bleaching which is why its so much lower.

Anyway just wondering if anyone may have some insight into what works for them with LED's color as well as where other keep their CW to blue/other colors.

Group Therapy

So we all have things that we don't like in this hobby. Things that aggravate us, annoy us, or things we just don't like.. I would like to open up this opportunity to blow off steam..



BUT... You cannot say what it actually is.. You must replace the word of what annoys you with another word.. Do your best not to let anyone know what exactly you are talking about..



EG... If I don't like "firefish" i'll just replace it with something like "gremlins"







So i'll start..





Why is a big bag of spiders at the local chain store more expensive than a small bag? I have to buy spiders every month. I would be alot cheaper to buy in bulk, but nope.. A small bag of spiders is cheaper per pound than a big bag.. Maybe i'll just stock up, but then I would have little bags of spiders all over the house..

Activation needed

Username babak

I havent got the email

Wet Wednesday in the East

Good mawnin', TRT!



Coffee is on. Super duper oatmeat with nanners, chopped pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon. Biscuits with PB and molasses if you like. Take a towel...they're messy.



Flooding in Wilson, NC (40 miles east of Raleigh) where I lived for many years. Look at all those folks driving through the water! Not good.

http://ift.tt/1lycLNn



Lots of love and hugs and peace to everyone.

Custom sump

Hi all,



I am looking for a custom size sump for my 90 gallon aquarium which I am putting together. The available size in my stand is 46 x 16 x 23 to the top of my door. This leaves me around 8" in order to slide a protein skimmer in the sump with the tank on the stand. I was figuring that I could fit a 35 x 14 x 15 sump in the stand. Would anyone know where I could get a sump or aquarium this size or have one made.



Thanks

Ever see one of these Gobys?

http://ift.tt/1o2ApRJ



Looks like something out of mythology.



Someone wanna try one or two?

rodi any good?

hi i need an ro di unit and i found this on ebay.



http://ift.tt/1pMxx00



do u think its any good?

there are 900 sold and the seller has 99.6% positive feedback.

I have a Ball anemone, I need information about it

I have three hitch hiked ball anemones apparently. I searched clear tentacle anemone and someone had posted a thread on here also and they were told "ball anemone." If anyone has more information on this species please share. Mine has a pink mouth clear tentacles and white ball like tips.



_Thanks :thumbup:

How Long can a Fish Live with Ich?

How Long can a Fish Live with Ich?



I ask because in the past whenever a Fish of Mine got Ich it Died the Very Next Day.



Then I read to get a UV Sterilizer and to Kill the Ich when it fell of the Fish.



Since getting the UV Sterilizer I have never lost a Fish to Ich.



Sometimes a New Fish would get chased around and Bullied by at least one other Fish and get Ich the Next Day but once the Ich Dropped off them it never re-appeared.



I recently got 2 Fish and they were fine for 2 Weeks.



Nobody in the Tank Bullied them and everyone was Happy and Eating Well.



Then I cleaned the Power Heads because they were covered in Algae and the Flow was severly Diminished.



The very next day one fish got Ich (I guess it was not used to that much Flow).



Then the other new fish got Ich the day after the first one got it.



No big deal I thought.



They will drop the Ich and it will get sucked up into the UV Sterilizer and never come back just like before right.



No.



I check on the Tank around 6 times a day and the Ich has never left these two new fish (All my old Fish are Ich Free by the way).



It has been over 6 Weeks now and they still have Ich.



They both eat well and no fish pick on them either.



Why do they still have Ich?



If it would only drop off them once the UV Sterilizer would kill the Free Floating Ich and this would be over with.



But that has not happened.



Is this like Super Ich or something?



Are there different Strains of Ich?



Will they just live with Ich forever or will they die?



What should I do?

possibly a good deal

Today I my nephew had his boyscouts at the house so I definitely don't want to be there for a bunch of kids at the house. I decided to go to petco just to look. I went there saw a bunch of decent size fish amd asked what it was all about. The girl working there said they were up for adoption at 50% off. There was 2 clowns that seemed like a pair but were possibly 2 different kinds but they are adult size and were swimming with each other. They also came from the same tank. So I asked the lady how much. She couldn't find a tag for the black and white clowns and just decided to give them to me.for the price of the normal ocelerius clowns which . were on sale for $15. The adoption also took another 50% off so I paid $15 for most likely a pair of clowns. The small one is all black and white but the bigger one has the colors of a juvi ocelerius clown. Im hoping I didnt make a mistake buying these guys. I swore I wouldnt have clowns again but a black and white clown on live aquaria starts at $50. If they are a pair even better. So did I score or I should I put one in the sump. Ill post a pic in a second

Coral ID please

Hey all,



Got this one about a month ago. The guy said it was a chalice but wasn't very specific. Let me know what you guys think and if it's placement is good (middle of the tank). Thanks in advance

Adding a second return chamber to sump

When I designed my sump, I did so expecting to use an external pump through a bulkhead. I opted to make the skimmer and refugium chambers bigger since the pump would be external. I am using 1" PVC throughout with a Coast to coast overflow and bean animal style drain. External pump is Iwaki MD40-RXT







Two issues -

1) The coast to coast overflow when turning the pump on after feeding almost drains my return section

2) The external pump is just too loud and not enough space in the stand for it.



So, Instead of replacing all the plumbing and figuring out a place for the external pump, I have decided to make a second return section, one that fits the return pump, submersible this time (Sicce Syncra 5.0). I figure I can just get another acrylic box and put another 1" bulkhead in that and run pvc from the output from the bulkhead in the return section of the sump to the the bulkhead in this second box virtually double my return section volume depending on the size of the second box. The water level will be consistent throughout the two chambers and would provide more volume on system startup after feed



My one question is, with a Sicce 5.0, will I have problems with just one 1" PVC pipe connecting the two chambers? All my other PVC plumbing is 1" and I have a manifold off of the return pipe which has three 1/2" outlets for reactors. I would assume the flow through the 1" pipe on the return would dictate the flow through the sump and not cause it to back up?



I was also thinking I could put a "T" between the two in case I needed to drip or dose anything other than ALK, CALC and MAG.



Please let me know what you think. I'm running out of ideas for this setup

50% off EcoTech ReefLink

Buy ANY EcoTech Marine VorTech pump or Radion light and get a ReefLink WiFi controller for 50% off!













Here's how it works:

How much flow would this produce?

My tank is really loud especially where the water goes into the strainer to the sump. The strainer is part way out of the water because my mag 5 can't handle any more flow. I was wondering if I completely submerged the strainer with a little bit sticking up to prevent a siphon, how much flow would it be. It is a 1 1/2inch strainer plus pipe which gets reduced to 1 inch at the sump.

Mystic War Favia Brain Corals

We have some marvelous Mystic War Favia Brain Corals available for as low as $26—have one delivered tomorrow!

NEW! Chemi-Pure Blue

NEW!



Chemi-Pure Blue blends pelleted carbon and ion-exchange resins to create a superior all-in-one filter media in a nylon bag.



Chemi-Pure Blue significantly reduces organic compounds and phosphates while raising redox and helping stabilize pH for a healthy, crystal clear reef aquarium.



THE BENEFITS OF USING CHEMI-PURE BLUE:

• Keeps pH stable and constant


• Reduces fish loss due to pH changes or polluted water


• Keeps aquariums crystal clear


• Provides positive neurological reactions in fish, mimicking a natural environment


• Removes dissolved organics


• Helps fish have a better appetite


• Eliminates osmotic shock


• Increases fish life span


• Filters out coppers, metals, odors and phenol


• Prevents ion antagonism

Reef octo and mrc skimmers

I have a sro3000 reef octo for sale in use right now works great!! Bb 3000 pump only a couple months old....400 obo shipped



Mrc mr2 model skimmer...bought used needs new beckett housing or I was going to diy it...it's all there but the fitting on the bottom broke...new beckett is 125 bucks for the housing air valve beckett everything...can be bought through mrc's site under replacement parts dealers....200 obo shipped



Also have an iwaki 70 that I was going to use on the mrc skimmer...it's loud but works great and moves a LOT of water...200 obo shipped



Mrc and iwaki together 350 shipped



Thanks



Stewie

sump size would it work

i have just measured the space under my tank for a sump

16-18 high x18 inches in lenght x 8 inches wide can any one say wether this would be ok plz my main tank size is 48 inches in lenth x 12 inches deep x 18 inches high

helllllllllpppp external cannistar died

well as time goes on i wonder wether i should ever have a reef tank my external cannister blew a seal pi--ing salt water all over the wood floor good job the misses was not in phew lucky i was in and stopped it after cutting a chunk out my finger so now my reef tank has no filter on it have checked all the bits that ishoud and its ok for the moment i have dun a water change so should be ok for a bit but where do i go from here as i need some sort of filtration on it but my tank isnt a reef tank its a tropical one i used so i really could do with some advice on the way forward



ps dont tell the misses my filter pi--ed salt water all over our new wood flooring or else my man bit could end up in a pickle jar lol:bigeek:

Dose'n Drop from Prodibio

Prodibio Dose'n Drop Dosing System - $43.09



Drip Prodibio supplements over time rather than dump in an entire vial at once!







The first Dose'n Drop-compatible supplement we have available for this cool new system is BioClean Salt, which includes 5 x vials of BioDigest Pro and 5 x vials of Bioptim Pro.

Seriously need skimmer help

I thought I posted about this before but I couldn't find it so sorry if this is reduntant



300 deep dimension build going on and I need some skimmer help...I had planned on using the mrc beckett skimmer I bought cheap...it's a mr-2 that I was going to add a second beckett and neck extension essentially making it a mr-3



I also have a sro 3000 that I'm using on my 210 now and my thought was the beckett first then the needlewheel after but after searching all morning it seems that dual skimmers may not be the way to go??



I was looking at saying screw it and replacing both of what I have with a new model...



I was looking at skimz?? Any good??

I was looking at asm g6x?? Any good??

Bigger reef octo??



Here's what I want...space I don't care about as the sump(125 gallon) is in the basement

Cost...well it is what it is...like everyone cheaper is better but I want a great skimmer

Performance...I will have sps mainly so I want a skimmer that will skim the bejesus out of the tank regardless of the fish load...if I want 30 fish in there I don't want to have to consider if my skimmer can take it...basically I want a monster!!! Lol



Please help and again sorry if this thread is redundant but I have literally been sitting here for 3 hours reading and searching threads but am now more confused than before



Thanks!!



Stewie

Please activate my account!

Please activate herefishyfishyfishyf



Thank you!

Calcium Reactor

I am planning to purchase a calcium reactor and wanted to know if you all think this will work? And by the way it looks like it doesn't need a CO2 setup, is that right? Any advice would be awesome! Thanks!



http://ift.tt/1rBeFwx

New 55 Gallon Tank

Good Morning all! This is my first real SW fish tank (the first 10 didn't count cuz i had no idea what i was doing and killed my fish :( that was upsetting) I plan on doing this tank right. I'm doing alot of research before i even purchase any live rock or corals or anything. I don't know my tanks demintions off the top of my head (and i don't have a tape messurer) but as soon as i get one i will post the dimentions. i built my own 10 gallon sump (i plan on upgrading later on but it'll do its job for now) and i have a hang on the back filter. the sump has the water heater and protien skimmer in it (which i think the skimmer is broken but it said to wait a couple days to let it adjust) I'll list my questions and problems now.

1.) my salinity is super low at 1.014 it has been like this for 3 days now. I don't know how to properly raise it without dumping salt in the tank. I messured the salt and its levels before i put it in the tank but i'm still having problems. No i did not mix it in the tank. If i take say about 1/3 of the water out and put 1/3 in would it change the levels or would i have to over salt the new water? if i do that then how would i know if i am over salting since it takes about a day and a half to stablize.

2.) I bought a reef testing kit with Calcium, KH, and phosphate test. where can i find the rest of the test that i need. also if my levles are too high or low how do i fix the problem? my Calcium and KH are good but my phosphate is high. I've been testing everyday and have got the same results.

3.) I have been researching on when to introduce live rock and corals. Some say to add it same day and let it help cycle the tank but some say wait a month and let your tank cycle itself. i really want to rush the live rock but i don't want to kill everything again, so i'm forcing patients until i get a green light. I don't want to trust my pet store because i don't want their infulence to make me buy something that my tank itsn't ready for. (they have been extremely helpful but i really don't know too much about them)

4.) Is there a free app that lets me record my data from testing the water? i have downloaded "my reef buddy" "Coral reef parameters" and "guide to salt water aquariums" which all have great information but not really unless You're experienced or at a point where you can add fish and that sort of thing.



I have so many questions that google is just making worse because i research one thing but then that topic gives me a thousand more things to research. To be honest i'm starting to get tired of all the research because no one site has all the awnsers i'm specifically looking for which is frustrating. I want to do this right and keep doing it right.



Thank you for reading this and hopefully i can figure out how to post pics.

Candy Cane Coral Growth

So awhile back I bought a frag of a candy cane coral. It is mounted from one "stalk" then "V's" off into two polyps. Kinda looks like this Y. Anyways I have been getting some good growth from it. The branch on the right has since split into three polyps and the left branch has split into two with one of them splitting again. My question is: Is this how the coral will grow from now on? By just splitting polyps? Or can it grow another "stalk" with more polyps that will split? All the pics people take of there candy cane corals are from the top displaying the polyps and not the base of the coral.

bag in the hobby after a break

Hello,

I wanted to introduce myself. I've been out of the hobby for some time and needed something to occupy my time and mind again. I sold all my equipment about 5 years ago when my 75 gal tank got nuked due to a stupid thing on my end.



After the wife begged me to find something to quit bugging her, I decided to get back into it. I decided I wanted a smaller tank and went with a 29 gal biocube I found on craigslist. I've got it up and cycled, a few pieces of my CUC are working on hair algae, and my lawnmower blenny is finding lots of hiding spots.



I had a few little hiccups so far. I lost a mithrix on day 2 and a pep shrimp on day 3 after putting in the first part of my CUC (blenny, 3 red legs, 3 blue legs, pep shrimp, mithrix). Ammonia was at .25, so a WC was done yesterday along with some stability and prime to hopefully prevent the blenny from stress. Not sure why ammonia went up other than too much all at once. Something is clicking in the LR and doesn't want caught...hope it's just a pistol shrimp.



The tank is full of dry rock with 5 lbs of LR added to seed. Things are beginning to purple up and look good. I added a zoa frag and a blue shroom because I couldn't resist. I plan on softies and LPS right now. A RBTA will happen this time around once the tank is more mature.



I live in Nappanee and have no one around that I know that is into the hobby, so I'm hoping to find people nearby to help and maybe trade frags later. If I can resist, I will keep the 29, but someday I'll probably break down for the dream tank.



I'll try to get some pics downloaded today of the progress.



I just wanted to say hey and pleasure to meet you. Feel free to get ahold of me if you live nearby.

Tuesday lookin' atcha

Good mawnin', TRT!



Coffee time! French toast with VT maple syrup. Fruit cup with local strawberries from SC Upstate and nanners from LL. Who will fix the breakfast meat? Or do you trust me? ;)



I hope that TRT folks along the path of tornados are safe!



Lots of love and hugs and peace to everyone.

The ever-splitting anemone

I started out with a decent sized green BTA in my 40. (Seen below)









This think is like a super-splitting beast. in the last three months it has split off five offspring...insane.



Here are the two out front...(my main nem is destroying my war coral :mad:)







What I believe is the first split...largest of the small nems.







and the two latest additions I found yesterday hiding in my zoanthids...









Now I have to figure out how to get these **** things OUT of the tank. I can't have five nems in a 40 gal...

activation prooblem

I filled up the registration form, but didn't receive the activation email.



AshleyC

Algae Outbreak Help

Hey guys need help. Ok so I have a 30 gallon shallow reef which I am now battling a bad algae outbreak in. It's been going for about 7 months now and for the first 5 months it did awesome. But then came the problem. I ran across a harlequin shrimp at the lfs and bought it. I knew it's diet and what it needed to survive and I was fine with that. When I first put him in, the tank was Crystal clear. I was not fighting algae at all and to be honest never saw any algae. So about 3 weeks went by after adding him and then the problems slowly started. I first got a red film that covered my sand bed. I sifted the sand on water changes the best I could and got rid of whatever I could. But it never stopped. I now am getting a greenish algae that covers everything, rocks, sand, glass, corals, anything it can. And I still get a bit of the red if it can fight through the green. I continue to fight them both daily. I redid my entire sump in hopes to help fight it. I bought a set of the mini Rubbermaid drawers and made a DIY media rack out of them with the top drawer being filter floss and the middle being chemi pure. The bottom drawer is just a drain. It runs out of the tank, through the rack and then into a 20 gallon Rubbermaid bin that houses my skimmer, heater, and return. My lighting has recently been changed from a two bulb t5 fixture to a now 144 watt 6 bulb fixture running 3 actinics and 3 12000k's ran on a 8 hour photo period which seems to only help the algae grow better. Livestock is two clowns, one harlequin, one pom pom crab, long and short tentacle torch, frogspawn, 6 head Duncan, zoas, yellow polyps, clam, and they all seem to be doing great even during this outbreak. They all still are growing and are open mostly everyday. Have normally done bi weekly 20 percent changes but now do weekly 20 percent changes. Temp is 78. Salinity is 1.025. 0 PPM rodi water used. Latest test have all came up with 0 everything besides the 5 PPM nitrate reading which I have had the whole time of the tank really. Please help!! Thanks guys.

New frogspawn colony

Any suggestions for proper feeding for this big guy I got from a friend

Euro brace in the way?

HI I want to upgrade my LEDs to a programmable unit. I have a 90g acrylic with center brace which is 6in wide acrylic. Could I go with a long unit or do I need to get 2 16 inchers?

All fish died in the FOWLR

Hello,



Over 4 months ago, I started a 55 gallon FOWLR tank since I great success with my 75 gallon mixed reef tank for over a year. I went away for the weekend after feeding the fish on Friday evening and when I came home Sunday evening all of the fish were decease but none of the inverts were deceased.

Background on tank: about 70lbs of Live rock, 20lbs of live sand with about 10 non-live reef sand, Wavemaker with duel powerheads, eheim heater, Coralife 65g Protein Skimmer and a HOB power filter for Chemi-pure bags

List of deceased: pair of Blood Orange Clownfish, Red Spotted Hawkfish, Watchman Goby, small Sixline wrasse, scarlet cleaner shrimp

List of alive organisms: 2 Emerald crabs, Bristle starfish, yellow starfish, urchin, flame scallop, many snails and hermits

Water when I test it was:

Temp: 77.7F PH 8.3, Ammonia 0.00 Nitrite 0.00 and Nitrate 20.0 ppm, Alk 9 dkh

Tank was dosed every week with Special Blend and Nite Out

None of the fish had any visible sign of disease (aka ich)



Any suggestions of what caused this?



Thanks,

Kyle

Zoanthids - Anybody Notice Extra Growth when using Powdered Food Like Reef Roids?

I am trying to get my Zoanthids to Grow.



The Problem is that all the Feeding Videos on YouTube say they do not eat anything (Mysis, Pellets, etc.) like a lot of other Coral do.



But I was thinking maybe something that was Fine like Reef Roids or Coral Frenzy would be Taken in and Eated by Zoanthids.



The problem is that in the Past using Reef Roids my Phosphate and Nitrate went up when I tested the Next Day so I stopped using it.



I will use it but only if it is Proven that they will Definetly eat it.



I do not want to Pollute my Tank for no Reason.



Has anybody Tried any Coral Food with Zoanthids?



Did they Grow more or Not?

Flow problem.... too much?

I have a 170g 72 x 18 x 30 tank, which has been up and running for a couple months now. As I slowly add residents to the tank I'm noticing the flow is considerable, and is bothering some folks. The pump is a mag drive 1800gph pump and is really scooting some pressure out the return nozzles. I also have two tunze powerheads, also.



What I'm seeing is that my maxima clam in the middle of the tank, on the sand bed (attached to buried rock) is not liking the flow, and neither is my long tentacle and sebae anemone. They have moved around the tank considerably, trying to find the 'sweet spot'. The feather dusters really aren't liking the flow, either. Currently have only a couple fish in the tank, as the load slowly increases, but they have high/mod/low flow areas, they seem to enjoy, but I don't have things like butterflys in yet, which wont like the high flow.



I do have a valve just above the return pump in the sump, in-line and prior to the nozzles, and was thinking I could just close that valve down a little to cut flow to the nozzles slightly, and that would help. The down-side to that is restricting flow like that will lead to premature failure, in my thinking. Am I wrong, and closing that valve a little won't kill the pump?



Do I have too much flow going on? What do you suggest?

who uses eBay led fixtures?

I was looking into getting one of the 165w fixtures off ebay and just want to know how long people have been running them and how they like them. thanks!





Posted from Thereeftank.com App for Android

FOWLR Ecobak Trial Journey

Hello all-



I signed up on this site a few months back, however I am not new to saltwater. I have two tanks, a 60 rimless cube, with seahorses and LPS, and a 155 fowlr.



Since doing this from the late 90's, I have always had small bouts with nitrates. However, since heavily stocking my 155, I have had a never ending war with high nitrates. I will outline what I have currently, what I just did, and track the results.



Tank Setup- 155 AGA bowfront, 40 gallon sump, SRO 3000 skimmer, 25w UV light, 2 inches of sugar sand aragonite, and about 50 lbs of live rock. The tank has been running since 1999. For flow, I have two return pumps, both at about 500 gph, after head pressure. I also have a Vortech MP40 for circulation.



Maintenance- 45 gallon water changes weekly(30%), using instant ocean. During water change, I siphon sand (not much to siphon, thanks to not a lot of rock, and lots of flow) clean out skimmer body and cup, and replace filter sock. I have no other mechanical sponges or socks.



Bioload- Like I have mentioned, I do have a lot of fish. I have had all for some time, and have no apparent issues with them.



1 Large Naso Tang (7 inches)

1 Large Powder Blue Tang (5 inches)

1 Medium Yellow Tang (4 inches)

1 Medium Achiles Tang (3 inches)

1 Medium Sailfin Tang (3 inches)

1 Medium Maculiceps Tang-"White spotted face" (4 inches)

1 Large Paddlefin (Rainbow) Wrasse (6 inches)

1 Medium Green Bird Wrasse (5 inches)

1 Medium Aussie Tusk (5 inches)

1 Medium Blue Face Angel (4 inches)

1 Medium French Angel (4 inches)

1 Large Guinea Fowl Puffer (5 inches)

1 Medium Porcupine Puffer (3 inches)

1 Magnificent Foxface (4 inches)

1 Medium Red Stripe Anthia (4 inches)

1 Large Indian Black Trigger (6 inches)

1 Medium Niger Trigger (4 inches)

1 Medium Blue Throat Trigger (4 inches)

1 Fire Clownfish (2 inches)

1 Small Miniatus Grouper (3 inches)



As you can see, I have a lot by I am sure anyone's definition. I feed 1 sheet of Nori per day, Pellets once a day, and frozen once per day. (PE Mysis, Mysis, SF Brand Angel Formula, Krill, Silverslides, and Clams. I also use selcon twice per week.



I feed enough so that the food is gone, with Vortech off, in about 40 seconds. Any food particulate large enough I see, such as a silver slide or a krill, that is left uneaten I remove via net.



I do not have any algae whatsoever. I may have to use magnet on glass once every 2-3 weeks. Perhaps I just do not have intense enough lighting.(Current USA 48 inch LED)



With 30 percent water changes, and along with an oversized, aggressive skimmer, and cleaning out detritus, I have nitrates around 120. (Used Salifert Kit as well as API)



My number specs are as follows: Amm: 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 120 +,-, PH 7.9, Alk: 8, SG 1.022. Temperature varies from 78-80 throughout the day. I do not run carbon, or any additives.



After realizing water changes were not keeping up with Nitrates, (and for all I know, maybe nitrates are not harmful for FOWLRs, however my goal is to make that number shrink) I decided to rehome some fish. However, as the fiancé was looking at the ads I was writing on craigslist, she said to me, that's over two thousand dollars I spent on fish, I was almost giving away for nothing. There has to be something to prevent that. And my response was yes, buy another tank. Then, I did some more reading, talking, comparing charts, and have decided to try bio pellets.



So here we are, 4/28, and my nitrates are @ 120. Keep in mind, this is just after a water change, and a week ago, I also did a 75 gallon change. (50 percent). Rather than rehome expensive fish, or go thru two boxes of instant ocean a month, rather than one, I spent just under two hundred on a SMR1 reactor, 1000 ml Ecobak, and a Maxi 1200.



The reactor has been on for two days now, and I started with 150 ml pellets, as opposed to the 750 dose. I am starting super slow, and I am also not running a lot of flow through it. (100 gph, timed with stop watch to see how long 5 gallon bucket took to fill)



Every 5 days, I will be adding 150 ml of pellets, until I reach my 750 mark.

I invite anyone interested, or naysayers, to glance to see where my numbers wind up. I have been doing this a long time, and have read the good, the bad, and the unknown about bio pellets. Truth is, if this does not work, chances are finances will not allow another, larger tank, and my fish will most likely be given to other homes.



One thing that is clear to me, is that the advice I have been given by several local lfs's, is not working. And it all comes down to math. Unless I am doing 100 percent water changes, the nitrates will be constantly moving upward.



I did my homework, this was not an impulse, and I have contacted many people who use this pellet set up first hand. A few things I learned are:



Less flow, is better than more. Start slow, adding all the pellets at once, is never good, and you will see bacterial blooms.



What I also learned, much to my surprise is, this is NOT a form of carbon dosing. Carbon (sugar, vodka etc) is added to water column, and reaches areas of rock, sand, overflow material etc. Bio pellets, in this case Ecobak, (these are the ones I read most about) are not water soluble. If you place 100 grams of ecobak in a sterile, virgin tank, with no nitrogenous activity, in ten years, if you removed the pellets, you will still have all 100 grams. The only things that can break them down, is bacterial consumption. So essentially you are taking the effect of carbon dosing, and inhibiting it so it can only take place in a reactor.



What I also learned, is when someone uses them and gets a bacterial bloom, or cyano, a particular instance occurred. The bacterial biomass that adheres and grows on the pellet, consumes nutrients. If the flow is greater than it needs to be, this "mass" or growth, can break away from the pellet, and thus enters your water column. If your skimmer does not remove it, it can certainly end up on your sand or gravel. Which can then feed cyano, just like uneaten food wastes could. To me, to avoid this, keep your flow on the slower side.



So with all that in mind, my journey begins (began). I will update periodically, and will be using both Nitrate test kits. When in doubt of a false reading, I will retest.



My end goal, or my desire, is to not change any of my maintenance practices, and in 6 months, have nitrates at or below 30 ppm. Like any experiment, the variables need to be kept the same, so my temp, feeding schedule/quanitity, bioload, water changes and siphoning routine will not change. I will log all of that here, even if I lose a fish, I will document that here. I have seen a lot of threads following bio pellets on SPS or Mixed Reef tanks, with nitrates around 15 or so, but none as high as mine are.

Account Activation Needed

Please Activate my Account, Thank You!



IowaOcean21

New Arrivals 4/28/14

EcoTech Marine Radion Wide Angle Lens Upgrade Kit

These replacement upgrade lens are designed to increase the spread of the Radion LED fixture to 36" x 36". Can be use with any generation of Radion XR30w LED fixtures. 2 lens per pack.







D-D AquaScape Aquarium Epoxy Grey - 4oz

AquaScape has been specially developed in association with Milliput for use within Marine Aquariums. Grey AquaScape Epoxy cures underwater to the color of natural stone, which makes it far more aesthetic than standard aquarium epoxy.







Red Sea Copper/Cu Test Kit - 100 tests

Red Sea’s Copper Pro Test kit accurately measures chelated and non-chelated Copper in salt and fresh water aquarium.







Red Sea Aiptasia-X Treatment Kit- 8.5oz (250mL)

In an exciting development for reef-keepers Red Sea has developed a unique patent pending formula to treat the pest anemones Aiptasia sp., Anemonia majano and Boloceroides sp. Affecting almost every reef aquarium, Aiptasia (otherwise known as glass anemones), are often introduced via live rock or corals and can quickly reach plague proportions in marine aquaria, destroying corals and other marine livestock with devastating effect.







UP Aqua D-522-3 CO2 Glass Diffuser

Glass CO2 diffuser with built-in bubble counter. High quality ceramic plate for atomizing CO2 gas for a higher efficiency diffusion rate.







Real Reef Live Shelf Rock

Works great for adding shelves to your existing or planned aquascape. Great for creating shelves to accommodate frags, clams and other marine life needing a flat surface. Made from the same all natural calcium based ingredients as Real Reef Rock and functions great as a natural filter or growing surface.

Mysterious spider looking thing in my tank??

There is this spider looking thing at the base of one of my live rock. Don't know what it is...looks as though it could be alive (or could be from the 1000gph circulation in my 40 gal tank).



Any idea what it could be? Will attempt a picture post

CollegeReefs

I never received a confirmation email.

my adventures in dosing

A few months ago I found my mag was only 1100 at 1.026 using instant ocean salt. Then awhile back my alk had dropped into the sixes. So I started buying kits brs mag. In the last few weeks I bought 2 brs 1.1 ml dosing pumps brs sodium bicarbonate and calcium chloride. Yesterday I got in the 8 time a day timers a hanna calcium checker. I already have elos mag and alk checkers. Ive been venturing into sps also own a clam. I have a hawkins, tri color ,yellow tenius, red planet a setosa, sunset monti ,purple haze monti and maybe 5 others that im not sure of the name. My hawkins was one of my first and growing good but its so slow I didnt know until I went back and looked its doubled in size in a few months. Im gonna start by getting my mag dialed in which alot of it will be just making sure the water change water is brought up before it goes into the tank. The alk does seem to drop when I bring it up it drops my calcium down to 420 so the calcium I may not even bother with

55 Gallon Drums for water storage

I want to get a 55 gallon drum or two to store RODI water in so that its ready for when I have to mix water. I can get them free at a car dealership but they have had windshield washer fluid in them, and the other place is a car wash, that had soap in them. Can these be cleaned so that they are usable or do i need to look for something else.



Looking for your thoughts.



Thanks,

Chad.

When does PH tells you, you have a ALK problem?

Here is my Apex graph from the last 7 days:





The graph seems rather rhythmic with the PH rising when the MH lights are on during the day..... and PH dropping over overnight.



So my question is: what would I see in my PH readings if my Alkalinity went to 10, 12, 14 dKH ????



I want to know the signs if Alk got way too high bc my calc-reactor was dripping too much Alk



Again, looking for an answer in what would tip me off in my PH readings to immediately start testing for ALK????

Please manually Activate my account

NikkiNoodle needs activated please and thank you. Hope you have a wonderful day

Alan@thereeftank.com

Good morning admins...I have received 23 messages last night from Alan@ thereeftank.com. The message is " no content". This has happened sporadically over the past six months. Thanks for looking into this.

Stormy *onday!

Good *orning!





Coffee is ready,





Storms in forecast today, driving the truck to work.





Kristine out of town for a few days.





I hope you all have a Great *onday!

Chalices - Will they Sting and Kill each other if too Close Like Favia Can?

A lot of Coral that are in the same family can touch each other and not Hurt each other (Zoanthids, Acans, etc.) You can Bunch them up together with no problems.



But some Coral will kill each other through "Coral Warfare"



My Favia are a Perfect example. I have had some Favia Sting other Nearby Favia with their Stinging Tentacles at Night.



So my Question is will Chalices Harm each other or do I not have to worry about them?



I have a Bunch of Chalices on an Eshopps Frag Cave (Holds 12 Frags).



Now most of them have Tentacles that come out a Night.



They are not Long Tentacles though Like My Favia and have not Touched each Other (Yet).



I have added a Picture to Show you the Frag Cave of Chalices.



As they Grow do I have to Worry if they Touch Each Other or Touch Each Other with Tentacles?



Or are Chalices Always Safe Together?

Reefkeeper Elite Titanium or Apex Jr

Need to know if a controller would really benefit me...



Because I run a remote sump with no calcium reactor I am confused as to whether or not a controller will really benefit me.



In the house I have my display, three LED units, two or three powerheads and a 300W heater. I could move the heater to the sump, I guess. It may not matter but I also have a nano and I will soon add a third tank. The nano and the new tank will be stand alone systems but there is always the possibility that in the future I would tie those into any controller I may have if that is an option.



In the garage I have an isolation tank that feeds my sump. The sump has a phosban reactor, skimmer, return pump, kalk stirrer that is powered by a tunze ATO and a 300W heater. The 55G isolation tank has lighting, a 300W heater and a powerhead.



Current issues are that the ATO seems to be over filling the sump which causes the sump water level to be high, causing the skimmer to go crazy which is turn causes the ATO to dump even more water into the sump. I sent the ATO back to Tunze and they tested it and said that it was functioning properly but today I found the skimmer waste container almost full of water and the sump level high.



I think an Apex is the direction I would go but would also consider a reefkeeper or reef angel. The main thing I want is the ability to grow cost effectively.



Can those of you who are familiar with the different controllers offer your opinion, please? If you are familiar with my system then your opinion would be appreciated even more.



Keeping in mind that I am a cheap reefer would be a plus :)

Attention Newly Registered Members

Due to technical difficulties, you may not have received your activation email. If so, please post your username on the "Suggestions and Feedback" forum at the top of the page (you will be able to post there). We will manually activate your account. We are sorry for the inconvenience but very happy you have joined us here on TRT.

Attention Newly Registered Members

Due to technical difficulties, you may not have received your activation email. If so, please post your username on the "Suggestions and Feedback" forum (you will be able to post here). We will manually activate your account. We are sorry for the inconvenience but very happy you have joined us here on TRT.

Reefalooza loot

I couldn't make the event this year as my tank is not ready yet but am curious to know what everybody else bought and to hear your general impressions of the event as a whole

Rock cooking/seeding

I have about 40-50lbs of live rock that has been dry for about 2 years now. I want to bring it back to life and I was wondering how much live rock I should get to seed it? It's going into a 40B so I don't really need anymore rock I just need to seed it. I am going to put it all into a rubber maid container. Or can I do it in the actual tank I will be using? Also is it okay if I seed it using tap water, then switch to RO/DI water for my actual tank? I just don't want to waste the money on the RO/DI water. Will this be okay?

Best t5 bulbs

I'm looking for the "best" t5 bulbs to put in my aquatic life t5 ho 4 bulb fixture. And what is the bulb combo I should do

I'm looking for sps and lps growth.

Help with new 150gal refugium setup

http://ift.tt/1rBWlVV

So i got a 150gal rubbermaid stock tank to use a a new sump/ref to replace my existing 30gal for my 90gal reef tank. I dont think partitions would work.

-Im thinking of installing the intake near the bottom on one side and putting the return pump and skimmer up higher on a milk crate on other side to try to create sufficient flow.

-Also putting inch of miracle mud covered by 3" of aragonite.

-24/7 lighting

- 2 hydor 1500 pumps

- floating caulerpa or chaeto

- few pieces of live rock

Any other ideas or help would be great.

Should I order a Harlequin Tusk Wrasse?

This poll is totally non-scientific. But you guys will act as my "convincing" or "unconvincing" crew. Perhaps I want one so much I am missing a detail and am letting my wanting cloud my judgement.



1. I have a credit of $60 to Bluezoo. But it will expire next year, so no need to order right now. And the fish is expensive.

2. I have a rimless tank, and wrasses are known to jump. Covering is not an option. But I only have one semi-aggressive fish, a Kole Tang, that might spook it.

3. It eats crustaceans. I have a small CUC of Nassariuos and Cerinth snails, as well as dwarf Cerinths. Also two big turbos. I kinda want it to eat the turbos, the Cerinths can be food (it's all food on the reef) and a cleaner shrimp. I'd rather not lose the shrimp. I'd rather not lose the Nassarious, but maybe they hide well enough.

4. My understanding is it is safe for coral

5. I understand it will not bother smaller fish unless they are introduced after. My plan is to add a Bangaii cardinal at the same time. I do have one tiny fish, a rainsford goby. These two (tusk and Bangaii) will be my last fish.



Given these circumstances if you were in my place would you get the fish?



Thanks as always, Helen

over head sump tank could it work

i have converted my tropical tank into a marine tank all is going good with it but i do have a external cannister and have read they arnt that good for reefs, if i had planned it better i do admit i would have put a sump tank under the main tank would have been a bit of a job but it could have been dun but my first question is is it possible to have a over head sump tank it would be 3ft long and 8 inches wide plus could i put a lid on it to what are you thoughts on this idea

Eco runner 2700 pump

2 questions:



1) Anyone familiar with this pump and its performance? I was looking into the Ocean Runner 2500 when I saw on AquaMedic's website that the Eco Runner 2700 will soon be replacing it: http://ift.tt/1lXqUlD



2) When I saw the ER2700's specs, it looks like it's 230W only? If I were to buy one I guess I'd need some kind of adapter?

Green slime algae growing back overnight in 2.5 month old tank

Hey,

Ive had my 30 long set up for almost 3 months now. I Have a damsel and a bunch of zoas and other softies everything is doing amazing. About 2 months ago i started to get green slime algae growth on my rocks and sand pretty bad. Ive been siphoning it out when i do my weekly water change. I had all of it almost completely gone yesterday and i woke up this morning to see some already coming back. My temp, ph, nitrates, salinity are fine. I use RO. Should i buy chemi pure? Will this do anything?

Lighting help!!

Hey guys I need help finding the perfect light for my 55 gallon mixed reef (softie dominated) tank.... Standard 55 dimensions and I have a 350$ limit. Thanks I was gonna buy a Coralife aqualight 2 bulb fixture for 119 but then I was gonna upgrade 2-3 months later not making it worth it.... Please help and if it is t5 ho give me ur bulb recommendation

Not getting validation e-mail

Looking at other threads it seems a site-wide problem, can you manually activate my account please?

PAR38 LED lights - are they any good ?

Hello. I am using Marineland "Reef Capable" lights for my 29G tank, and I do not like them. I am considering getting couple PAR38 bulbs on snake head fixtures. Does anyone have any experience with them ? Would they be good for a 29G reef tank ?



Thanks !

TDS and Plastic containers

A question was raised at our April 24th meeting regarding the ion contamination of TDS=0 water when stored in a plastic container. The question was raised in regards to an experience that Jeff had when transporting RO/DI water in plastic containers and noticing a significant rise. I did a test to see if I could notice any contamination. My top-off container is plastic, specifically #5 plastic which is Polypropylene (PP). I first verified the operation of my portable TDS meter down to a TDS=1 by comparing it to the results of my in-line TDS meter on my RO/DI unit. I then tested the water in my storage unit that has not been filled in almost 2 weeks. Its a 25 gallon container that was down to approximately 10 gallons. The TDS of that water is still reading zero. So at least for "seasoned" PP plastic containers there does not appear to be a problem with contamination. Maybe different plastics and/or newer plastics will exhibit a problem.

"The Uglies" cycle question

So I figured my tank is in the uglies stages right now. I clean the tank once a week and do a 15-20% water change weekly. The algae that has been regrowing steadily, I think has not grown back as much as the last few weeks. Does this mean the ugly cycle is starting its decline? I have read that the algae will just disappear almost overnight but I still can't wrap my brain around that concept. The reason I am hoping the cycle is ending is in the last week or two I am starting to see small spots of coraline algae forming on the glass. I know this is a good sign of a tank maturing. Im hoping for good news here.

I tripped a breaker

So I am sitting in my basement watching my fish as they were watching me and all of a sudden the lights go out. I was an electrician for 40 years and I can count on one hand how many times my circuit breaker tripped in my house while I was not doing anything like leaf blowing, arc welding or running some heavy equipment. So I look around and I was mixing up some saltwater and in that 30 gallon tub I have a powerhead and 3 heaters.

So before I turn back the breaker I figured it must be one of the heaters. It's always a heater. So I lift one and it is fine, I lift the second one and it is fine. Then I remove the third one and it is all black and scurvy inside and it is full of water. As I am looking for a crack on the glass, it dawned on me. The crack wasn't in the glass, it was in my head. That heater was "not" a submersible heater. It used to have a bracket on the side to hang it on the side of the tank. Like Duh. I have like 8 heaters and I just pick out a few, plug them in and throw them in a tub of water. I should have realized it wasn't submersible when it floated. I even got a big 1/2' nut and rubber banded it to the thing to keep it underwater.

It's just great getting old.

So now I have a spare, large test tube that I can make a really small Nano tank out of :doh:

S S S Sunday

Super, Spectacular Sensational Sunday, that is.



Good morning TRT Faithful



Because.....it's gonna be another good day on planet earth.



Coffee from the 33.9oz ..used to be a 2lb can of Folger's medium strength.



Eggs from real chickens, shipped in from Helen Wheels. [haha]

Oink oink...from Iowa......Dunno if we have TRT reefers there.

If not, George is real good @ bacon.



There is/ sorry was....a slice of Nancy's quiche, which everyone had a chance to enjoy yesterday.



So, a Super Sunday? yes

a spectacular Sunday? yes

a sensational Sunday? .........





Hey, twoouttathreeain'tbad. :agree:



Enjoy every sensational day

65gal upgrade!!!

So I've had a 20gal mixed reef for about 2 years. Then just the other day my wife and I are at a garage sale and we found a 65gal red sea tank set up that we paid $250 for!!! I'm so pumped. So I have a few questions. Does anyone have experience with these tanks? Is the built-in light and filtration sufficient for a reef tank? Also any recommendation s or comments are more then welcome. I so excited! !

leather coral frag

i was just wondering and this may be a silly question but i got a frag of leather coral not sure of what type thought what do they do and how long do they take before they do it and the best place to put them

amoxicillin to get rid of cyano

Can you use amoxicillin to get rid of cyano?

Would it be OK to use All ATI Blue Plus T5 HO Bulbs? Or do you Need White Bulbs?

Would it be OK to use All ATI Blue Plus T5 HO Bulbs?



Or do you Have to Have White Bulbs too?



I ask because I was always told to do a Mix of 50/50



I have a 4 Bulb T5 HO Fixture so I always did two ATI Blue Plus and two ATI AquaBlue Special.



I was always told Blue is for looks and White is for Growth.



But I just read that the ATI Blue Plus Bulb gives off the Most PAR of any T5 Bulb on the Market (White, Blue, or any other Color) and therefore using all Blue Plus would give you the Best Coral Growth Period.



As a Bonus your Tank would look Amazing since it would be as Blue as possible which I love.



Also, I read that Chalices, Acans, Favia, and Zoanthids prefer and Thrive in Blue Light because they are found in Deeper Waters where the Spectrum is Blue.



Which is also a Plus because my Sand Bed is entirely Chalices, Acans, Favia, and Zoanthids.



I keep all SPS in the Top Area of my Aquarium (Acropora, Montipora, Bird's Nest).



What do you guys think?



Would 4X Blue Plus be a Good Idea?



Or do you think that my Coral Growth would be stunted for not having any White Light?



Could using all Blue possibly Kill the more Sensitive Acroporas?



I do not want to Risk losing anything because of this idea.

Coraline Algae?

I believe my coraline algae is starting, can someone confirm?

Zoanthids - Placement, Lighting, Flow, etc. - Looking for Tips - I get Slow Growth

I am really getting obsessed with Zoanthids and Paly's.



So much so that I decided to set up a Frag Tank that will be all Zoanthids.



It will be a 20 Long (30 X 12 X 12).



But I have not had good Luck getting them to grow in the Past.



For instance I bought a few Frags at a Swap and after a Month each Frag Grew exactly one new Polyp.



I have talked to others who have gotten Zoanthids from the same Swap and they grew like 4-5 Polyps after the first Month.



I am looking for Tips on getting better Growth.



What Lighting Should I have? LED or T5 HO?

Where should I place the Frag Rack (Egg Crate) in the Tank? Bottom, Mid Level, or High Up?

I plan on getting two Hydor Koralia Power Heads for the Frag Tank - Which ones should I get?



Any Tips would be Greatly Appreciated.



Thanks

What is this ?

I have had this growing slowly in my DT for about a month now. I have looked around to try and ID this but I can't come up with a definate answer to what it is. It is the redish orange, leafy looking algae(?), with light colored spots on it. Anyone have an idea to what this is and if it is good or bad ? Sorry for the poor picture quality, its the only camera I have.

Thanks !

best online rock suppliers

Hello,



Im in need of about 8-10 lbs of dry rock for a nano tank im building. Ive talked to a few local reefers who said they would sell me some of their established rock but ive seen their setups and they dont look the best. Id rather have dry rock so I can glue everything together before getting the tank wet anyway. In your opinions what site would I get the best bang for my buck? Id like some rick the porous enough for frag plugs amd that could have so shelving as well. Thanks!!

Cucumber care

I have three of what I'm pretty certain are sea cucumbers and a star fish that came on the live rock. I want to take care of them and make sure they're receiving food but I'm not sure how. Any advice would be great.

hydra or vega color

marine depot has the vega color for the same price as the hydra so i am not sure what light to get i like the color spectrum of the hydra but also like the higher par and the customizing option of the vega hmmm what light to get

Can't keep ornamental shrimp

I'm thinking that one or more of my fish is eating any ornamental shrimp I put in my tank. I had a pair of cleaner shrimp for years and then they both eventually died. Since that pair died I've tried replacing them with skunk cleaners, peppermint shrimp, and fire shrimp with no luck. I acclimate them properly and watch them swim around and eat for the first day or two after I add them, but then overnight they disappear.



I have a 93 gallon cube tank with the following fish:

2 ocellaris clownfish (2" and 3")

1 engineer goby (8")

1 clown fairy wrasse (3.5")

1 dwarf flame angel (3")

1 tomani tang (4")

1 Randall's watchman goby (2.5")

1 starry blenny (2.5")



I have a pretty standard cleanup crew with the largest hermit crab only being about 0.5" maximum. I don't have any other invertebrate that might be the culprit.



I'm guessing it's either the wrasse or the engineer goby that's eating them. Do you guys have any other ideas? I really love how the shrimp used to hang upside down under my cave and jump on my arm to clean me when I had to do maintenance. I would love to add them again. Catching the culprit if it does end up being a fish will be next to impossible, so this question is more just for peace of mind than a solution unfortunately.

condy and maroon

so I have had my tank set up for a while and have had a condy in it that's doing very well under led. I wanted a clown to host it and I know occ clows very rarely will. so I have read Clark's will sometimes and was going to get on till I went to the lfs today and saw they had a few maroons about and inch & a half, all in the condies they had. love the way they look so I got one and see if he will take to mine. anyone else have condies hosting maroons?





Posted from Thereeftank.com App for Android

What CUC if any?

So, i have 16 gallon tank with two Firefishes and 1 Yellow clown goby. I also have 2 Peppermint shrimps and 3 Nassarius snails. The snails are not doing anything except sitting in the sand 22 hours a day.



I do regular 4 - 5 gallon water change every week and i brush the rocks with toothbrush to get rid of detrius and algae. I vacuum the sand also.



I still have so red algae on the sand and green ones also on the rocks.



DO you recommend any extra CUC for my tank? I HAD some Turbos before, but shrimps killed them all. So i'm thinking about Hermit crabs (around 2 or 3)? Would that be a good idea or should i go with snails again?

Sailfin Tang

Sailfin Tang, I'm ready for it.........PM me David

What is this white stringy stuff from my frogspawn

I just bought a frog spawn today and when i put it in the tank hour later I see this stuff.

Best HOB Skimmer for 55g reef

Hello everyone! Im getting my supplies for my soon to be 55g reef. I can not run a sump or overflow so I'm looking for a good, very affordable, HOB skimmer for 55g. It will have about this in the tank:

50lbs of sand

35ish lbs of dry rock

Hob filter running chemiPure Elite

2 powerheads

Of course lights and the other stuff

Ill be keeping softies and a couple easy lps. This is a beginner tank on a college budget so I would love some ideas!

Itll also have probably 2 clowns, a couple damsels, and a goby. (All is still TBD)

HTHD and HLLE may be Carbon Brand Specific

So I noticed a few days that one of my Chromis had a small white blotch on his head, and my Randalls Assessor had light lines down her side. Nothing serious, but I noticed it since i'm always watching the fish. I knew exactly what it was.. The Chromis had early stage HTHD (Hole in the head disease) and the Assessor had HLLE. I knew instantly what caused it.. I had switched from Marineland Premium Activated Carbon to Seachem Matrix Carbon. There was no Marineland at the store so I had to buy the Seachem. It was only in the tank for one or two water changes, but that was enough.. I removed it, and now two days later both fish are back to normal with absolutely zero residual damage. They look like they are back in their prime.



Just something to think about..

Some pictures from the keys

My closest friend and dive partner spends half the time in the Florida Keys and half here in New York. We can't really tank any kind of pictures here as the visability here is measured in inches. My avatar was taken from about an inch away here in NY and that's about the farthest away you can get to see on many days. My friend is also a much better underwater photographer than I am. These looked to be very shallow dives and were taken yesterday.

You don't often see these large elkhorn corals any more but I have seen some as big as a house in St Lucia in the Caribbean. Hurricanes and typhoons have a way of toppling these as they are more delicate than more rounder corals.



These roundish corals make up most of the reefs in Florida.





If you dive, you will see fry like these all over the place and most fish consider this an all you can eat buffet. Fry make up a large part of many fishes diet.

what order should i put my new fish in ? ?

Just wondering what order you guys and girls think I should put my new fish in. I have a 55 gallon tank and will be stocking soon. iam looking at 25" of adult sized fish for my 55 gallon aquarium. here is what iam looking at.



2 ocellaris clown fish



1 six line wrasse



1 longnose hawk fish



1 flame angle



1 one spot fox face



What order should they go in ? ? ?

How long do i wait ? ? ?

Still kinda new to saltwater. iam Setting up another 55 gallon tank. I have used distilled water, 40lbs of live sand and have put in 45lbs of cured live rock. I have my BH-1000 skimmer on there and (2) 425 power heads running. How should I cycle the tank? and how long am I looking before fish?

DI resin...storage

Other than keeping the bag sealed [BRS -ziplock type], would fridge or freezer make any difference in quality?



Thoughts? Experience?

Slightly Soggy Saturday

Good morning TRT Faithful



Coffee is on...toast and english muffins with jams to start. I see a package of spinach thawing in the dish drain, so I think quiche is on the menu this morning.



Got the left front gang back on the discs yesterday. Stosh, the farmer friend wanted to do the other side, so we got it apart. Had to burn the nut off the shaft....and as luck would have it, one of the 3 bearings was broken in its housing. More heat, snap ring removal, blacksmith vice, hammer, drift, gloves, no bruises or blood. Ready to put a new bearing in the housing, and get that gang back on. The disc cleaners are a bear to re-attach. Won't be working out in the rain, so things will have to wait.



Enjoy everyday

gorgonian help!!

I have a blue ribbon gorgonian thats doing something weird. yesterday half the flesh was gone and only a needle thin skeleton. today when i got home from work all the flesh was gone! all my other corals are doing great and a few sps were only a few inches away. i heard they shed but do they shed all the flesh?

club

Is this club pretty much A done deal or what?

Help me diagnose this....

Snowflake Clownfish... skinny, lethargy, not eating, white on body appears mottled. Has stringy white poop hang out bottom. Sorry can't take better pics than this....



I was thinking a worm of some type and need to get him into hospital and begin prazipro treatment. Possibly Brooklynella?



Any other thoughts?

Whats causing this?

I have a 3 month old nano with no fish but a shrimp and couple of small corals and mushrooms.



Every day I noticed something new but I would like to know what is this on the photo and whats causing it?

Stocking for 36 gallon bowfront

Over the past month or two I have been setting up a tank. It has about 25-30 lbs on lr with about a 4" dsb with two 800gph powerheads and a Chinese 120w full spectrum leds. It also has a refug with some lr and cheato. I have a 65 gal skimmer running.

As of now I only have a cuc, 1 chromis, and a orange/white with black/white clowns(one is smaller than the other).

So far all my levels are at 0.



I have thought about doing some type of goby or blenny maybe even a wrasse

I have been looking at either a midas or a watchman

With a mc cosker wrasse

7 Cool Tools to Clean Your Dirty Reef Tank

With spring in full swing, it may be time to give your aquarium a good spring cleaning!



I won’t lecture you on the importance of regular tank maintenance. If you’ve been in the hobby for a while, you already know how important it is to stay consistent with aquarium upkeep.



Today we’re here to talk about all the tools available to help us with the dirty job of cleaning up a fish tank.



READ: 7 Cool Tools to Clean Your Dirty Reef Tank





MORE MARINE DEPOT NEWS

• Hydor Nano-Skim Protein Skimmer Review: Great Skimmer for the Nano Crowd!


• Real Reef Shelf Rock: Recreate the Tonga Look and Save a Reef


• How to Hang an Aquarium Light with a Suspension Kit


• Hydor Smart Level Control ATO System: Simple, Inexpensive and Effective


• Can’t We All Just Get Along?


• Fed up with carrying buckets? Try an auto top-off system!


• Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm Heaters: A uniquely different and better heater!


• Reef It Simple, Part 2: Let's Talk Filtration


• 5 ways to change your aquarium water like a pro


• Two Little Fishies AquaStik Epoxy Putty: Versatile and Easy To Use... Have you Tried It Yet?


• Reef It Simple—Your First Reef Tank


• 5 Creative Ways to Use LED Light Strips


• Which Clean-up Crew Critters Should You Have in your Reef Tank?


• Coral Frenzy Reef Pellets: The ULTIMATE coral food now in pellet form

I took a tank video

I can't even see it because my computer is made out of wood so I am not even sure if it works.

Placement and Size of Coralife Protein Skimmer

I have almost completed my tank transition, moving my old 55 gallon setup with the Aqueon sump with my new 93 gallon rimless cube. Along the way, I discovered that my Aqueon sump would not fit into my tank stand. Total error on my part! So I went to the LFS and purchased a repurposed 20 gallon tank with baffles to serve as my new sump. However, now I have an issue on the placement of my Coralife skimmer. When hanging on the sump (20 gallon tank), the skimmer collection lid sits too high, and will not fit. Is my only option placing the skimmer in the sump, rather than hanging on the side? Is this a reliable setup? Are there any other options? (Smaller cups, displaced cups, etc).

Brs reef saver rock

BRS reef saver rock... Do a you'd you guys have it and your thoughts on it... I heard it's very easy to aquascape.... And since it's dry should I put it in a 20 gallon tub to try to build some bacteria before putting it in my display... Or should I buy pukani but I heard it does sometimes have dead sponges on it which would let phosphates and nitrates out into my tank durining the cycling



My tank is standard 55 gallon ..... Probably gonna order 60lbs of rock

Reef A Palooza Sale On Now!

Reef A Palooza Orlando starts tomorrow! We'll be at booth 505 if you'd like to come by and say hello. Be sure to check out our famous MATSA aquarium filled to the brim with tons of awesome pieces!



In honor of Reef A Palooza, please use coupon code RAP10 during checkout to receive 10% off applicable items. Please see site for the list of exclusions. Sale ends 4/28/14!



Have a great weekend and be sure to pop in on Scott and Harry if you go to the show!



http://ift.tt/1jfL5cF

Nanos Only!

Today we're highlighting supplies suitable for smaller reefs.



See what's new and what's on sale now for your nano!









MORE MARINE DEPOT NEWS

• Hydor Nano-Skim Protein Skimmer Review: Great Skimmer for the Nano Crowd!


• Real Reef Shelf Rock: Recreate the Tonga Look and Save a Reef


• How to Hang an Aquarium Light with a Suspension Kit


• Hydor Smart Level Control ATO System: Simple, Inexpensive and Effective


• Can’t We All Just Get Along?


• Fed up with carrying buckets? Try an auto top-off system!


• Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm Heaters: A uniquely different and better heater!


• Reef It Simple, Part 2: Let's Talk Filtration


• 5 ways to change your aquarium water like a pro


• Two Little Fishies AquaStik Epoxy Putty: Versatile and Easy To Use... Have you Tried It Yet?


• Reef It Simple—Your First Reef Tank


• 5 Creative Ways to Use LED Light Strips


• Which Clean-up Crew Critters Should You Have in your Reef Tank?


• Coral Frenzy Reef Pellets: The ULTIMATE coral food now in pellet form