FishWife

WE GOT IT!!! REJOICE with us! Our tank is full of water and NOT leaking, and our refugium is connected and flowing water into and out of it after two full months of research and gathering data and equipment from many fine folks on this list. Our RO/DI unit is putting forth our last trash can of water as I type, and tonight we plan hook up our brand new Standard 8 skimmer and start adding sand. IF all goes well, we'll have our clownfish out of her holding tank by Monday night. I just need to say "thanks" again for all the patient answers to my many questions. Here are our assembly pic's:

We are thinking of adding a wrasse as our second fish to a newish reef tank (with second-hand, well seasoned live rocks, refugium in place, etc.). I saw a sixline wrasse in Steve Outlaw's tank and it just looked like it had personality plus. I have a couple of questions: 1. I read about harems of wrasses... Do these do well in schools, or is it one/tank? We have a bow 80 display to work with. 2. I'm finding out that there are a huge number of wrasses... what are some favorite species among us, and why do we like them best? 3. Can I mix wrasse species in one tank? I know they jump; any other concerns issues we should know? TIA for answering!

THANKS so much!

Right now, the one I have has not yet been introduced to our display tank, which is new and in which there are currently no other fish. We plan to do that this weekend for the first time. Is there any wisdom to introducing the second (new) maroon clownfish at the same time? OR would that complicate things, since our current fish would already be disoriented and "cranky" I wonder. TIA!

Can I butt in with a slightly different clown question, please? (Thanks! ) I fell in love with a pretty face and bought a small, young (between 1-2 years old, because she's small--less than two inches--but her stripes have yellowed nicely) maroon yellow-stripe clownfish. I had wanted a matched pair for my 80 bow, but this one was SO cute... well, we grabbed her. Now, what's the collective wisdom from you breeders and experts? Can I add another small maroon clown in the future or not?

So, after two months of gathering data, advice, etc. we FINALLY plumbed our display tank to our sump last night, ran tap water thru the system and.... (drum roll, please) our BRAND NEW, finger tightened bulkheads leaked. :( Yes, there is a gasket; yes we did put it tank-side. Yes, they are the right size for the holes drilled in our tanks. We bought them brand new from our LFS. What's the solution? I've heard before: 1. Add a thin layer of silicone to the contact surface... INSIDE?... the overflow box 2. Add a new washer? (Why are they leaking???)

My camera does have manual white; I'll take a look. THANKS!

How do all of you get good pictures of stuff in your tanks? I have a decent digital camera, and can set it manually, but it's not an underwater one... can anyone give me their light settings or other tricks of the trade? SORRY... just realized this should go down a few forums... can anyone move it, or just respond here, pls?

SO sorry, Tracy! We love our maroon clown. What a bummer. Not to take away, but this raises a question I've been meaning to ask the committee: can we put egg crate where our glass canopies were under a six T-5's fixture suspended about six inches off our water, or will the egg crate melt, as it will under Halides?

OK; thanks for all that! It IS a holding tank, we HAVE turned off the lights (they were bought used and are probably low spectrum... not sure). We have had low flow... we knew that but we thought it was "just for a few days." There keep being delays in getting our display tank with good flow up and running, though, and now we're over here... with problems. Oh, well, we're learning! Just to clarify: the bubbles are clear air bubbles... about the size of small bee bees (dating myself... do they even have bee bee guns anymore?) that cling all over the algae (and under the cyano). Holding tank is bare bottomed, so we have killed the lights and will vaccuum detritus and rocks later today (after church) and do water changes as suggested. Many thanks... and let me know if the bubbles are concerning or just part of longer, regular algae (like an unmowed lawn), not hair algae (I don't think). THANKS!!! This community is SO great. We can't wait until WE are the ones giving back to you all in some form or fashion!

Hey all... So, we bought (about two weeks ago) some lovely, 9-month old (in an aquarium) live rock and put it into a holding tank with three PC lights over top for about 12-14 hours per day with the one hitchiker damself fish (that mistakenly came with...). One mechanical filter, low flow, and all tests are fine. 1. The green algae on the rocks has blossomed and is growing like mad on the rocks and also on the tank glass. No problem, we know but... there are lots of large bubbles all over it... is this ok? AND... 2. In portions of the green carpets are red patches that have started to grow, and parts are growing to look "slimy". They are cranberry red... are they good or bad? (Have tried to take a picture and my camera won't cooperate, sorry. Is this coraline algae? The pictures I find don't have the same "filmy" look...) Any ideas? TIA

We may be interested in 4 bags, again, if it's like in the next week or two... but we're also shopping for someone's live aragonite if we can get it. We're hoping to have our tank cycling by next Wed. at the latest and hope to put fish into it on the 13th or so. If delivery is much later than that, we may not be interested. PM sent, Steve! THANKS for doing this, Brian!

We're in for four bags if it's relatively soon... we're looking for sand. Just checking: the price is $.27/lb WITH shipping... OR is it $1.27/lb WITH shipping? Wonder if BRK or some shop would even broker this? Allow the delivery to come in there to get traffic into their store when we all come to pick it up? We might be able to store a good bit of it in our business' warehouse in G'berg, MD if not.

This is my question Bob: why IS this good aquarium sand? Why is this better than silicone? How much is BRK aragonite again (sorry for dumb questions, but we need sand, have already tried playsand, had the diatomb bloom PLUS clogged our pipes with clay that was in the sand... etc. So, a little gun shy, but the price is attractive...)

We've been meeting all kinds of great people in our pursuit of restarting into this hobby on a shoestring budget. I have seen things in every location that "break the rules" of reef keeping books. I thought it would be a fun thread to start. For instances: 1. Seen healthy tanks with no over-the-sand flow and no closed loops... and no detritus seems to stick to the bottom. Question/Conclusion: are closed loops overrated, especially for beginners? 2. Two different reef tanks included trigger fishes. Question/Conclusion: some triggers are gentle/reef safe? So now, come clean.What have YOU PERSONALLY done that all the books say is a "no-no"? And what conclusions do you draw/recommend?

Anyone had real-life experience with Berghia Nudibranchs? We have about 100 lbs. of rock in our 28 gallon holding tank... if they're a good idea, how many do we need? And, where's a good place to get them? TIA, as usual. We'd be lost without you all!

He's Apitasia all right. In fact, there are three of them on the rocks that I've noticed just today. How does one use "Joe's Juice" (tooth decay) or how does one inject with kalkwasser, Jason? (Mind you, I don't have any kalkwasser... nor a kalkwasser dispenser yet... )

Hi, We're in a bit of a quanry. Our tank is young (not even fully up yet... meaning, our fuge and QT tanks are young) but because of this club, we've been blessed with GREAT live rock with advanced life forms growing on them: corals, advanced stages of algae (purple, green, red) and anemones. Two quick questions: 1. How to feed these hitchhiker anemones? Like, do we spot feed them? There's nothing in the water for filter feeders except what's floating off these rocks and into the water... we just have a sponge filter running for flow and rocks filling our QT tank, with our PC lights over top. If we do spot feed them: with what? (Also... what IS a "nusence anemone" that I read of in books? We want quadricolor bubble tips later, and I know these aren't those... are these white or tan long-tentacled aemones a real problem, or just not "primo"?) 2. How much light do the more advanced algaes need? We have three lighting options: 7000 spectrum, 10,000 spectrum PCs, or T-5's (six bulb fixture) available. And for how many hours a day? TIA for answers!

Lol, Forrest... hey, did you get my PM the other day?

Nitro: we've been working along at our system, which involves a refugium (30 gal), sump, and 80 bow. Our system is not complete; the refugium's been cycling for three weeks, had live rock in it for two weeks, and has one clown fish (we couldn't resist and needed a fish, so) for one week. Meanwhile, the live rock we got (some in the 'fuge -- 2 weeks old -- and some in our QT tank -- got it last night -- is well seasoned: we're cycling and patient but a lot of what we have we've gotten second hand, so the tank in its key elements is much further than one-to-three weeks along. We also have T-5s; all we lack is hooking up the bow to the 'fuge, and for that, we need to construct a closed loop. So, we're about one or two weeks off of bringing the bow tank online. As we've been anticipating that wonderful day, we've been anticipating corals... in a month or more... and got to wondering the above. Thanks for asking! It shows that you care about the animals. And, thanks Rik, for that link.

OK; so we're getting close to importing our first corals. What we don't understand is just how you add corals to a tank. Do you just set a frag (which I guess is growing on a small chunk of rock, right?) to a handy ledge at what a book or person says is the right depth/light etc. and watch it attach to your existing live rock over time? Same in reverse: how do you frag OUT, or remove, or move corals? Just needing more clarity on the general proceedures. PS: In related wonderings... HOW do you "split" an anemone... aren't they one animal?

Welcome! (Wow! My first time to welcome someone else! I used to be the newest kid in the club!) People here are good people. I hope you get to know them as we have!