Highland Reefer

Sounds good. I am researching what is needed to start this type of a bio-system: substrate, lighting, water flow, etc. & which fish will work best.

I have been reading about Sea Grasses and have been contemplating installing a new aquarium into my existing system. From my understanding, sea grasses use quite a bit of CO2 and in some cases need to be supplemented with it. I would assume that sea grass may reduce CO2 levels and result in a higher pH. Does anyone have any experience with this?

You've had some luck lately. Trouble comes in threes.

Sorry you loss your fish. FWIW, there are a lot of diseases out there which are next to impossible to diagnose from exterior appearance.

Mark, It seems you have pretty good success with the Brightwell products. Which Brightwell products do you add to your system and do you add any other non-BW products?

I have a similar problem with my Aqua C EV 180. It works great until the electicity goes off and the water level in my sump rises a bit. When the electic goes back on, the skimmer overflows. Very frustrating.

If you are using a high alk., high calcium salt mix for water changes, then you would want to change to a different salt mix with lower alk. and calcium.

Not to change the subject, but I got a chuckle last night when my wife finally got home from work. She said, "remember the guy who was snorkeling in his tank. I have no problem picking his house out. There is this blue glow that emanates out from his house which is stronger than all the other X-mas lights on the block."

I have a problem with so many aquarium company's products and their active ingedients, that I really do not trust very many of them. I find it difficult to put many of their products in my system.

So this is interesting. You are saying that a certain company's unknown amino acids & concentrations are better than another products unknown amino acids and concentrations?

I just wanted to emphasize what you had stated. Even if the data is from a debatable source (which I agree).

Even with heavy skimming with the biggest monsters out there, I don't believe it makes a real big impact on the total DOC in a system. Feature Article: Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and the Reef Aquarium: an Initial Survey, Part I: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/8/aafeature3

I am an Urban Entomologist with a thirst for knowledge about our hobby. I found this article interesting for hobbyists who do dose amino acids and for those like myself who do not dose amino acids. The bottom line in my opinion, is that if you have a lot of fish in your system and you feed them well, like myself, then perhaps you do not need to dose amino acids, since they would already be abundant in your system. If you have a system, with very little food added for fish, then you may be a good candidate for dosing amino acids. The other problem I see when dosing amino acids, is which amino acids do you choose to dose or does it really make any difference? Little research has been done in this area. Many of the products we have available do not disclose which amino acids are in their formula and at what concentrations. How much is too much for a given system, since testing equipment is impractical for most of us. It may be more economical and practical if one were to go to a health food store and buy known amino acids, with known concentrations.

From what I have heard, Lab Aquatics is much better: http://www.labaquatics.com/

I agree with Lancer99. This company does not have good quality test equipment in my opinion. I have seen many test results from this company that states they have high silica content.

Try this: "The Salifert Copper Test Kit is quicker and easier to use. However, it goes from 0.5 ppm copper indicator straight to 1.0 ppm copper (with no in between comparison color/shading), then the next color is greater than 2. ppm. Cupramine is best used between 0.3 and 0.8 ppm. So this scale doesn't give you much information. You can use Cupramine very effectively at 0.5, though 0.6 ppm is preferred for the 'tougher fishes.' For sharks, angelfishes, etc. 0.3 to 0.5 ppm would be preferred, in my opinion. There is a way around this test kit situation. If you prepare freshly made up saltwater (like you were doing a water change) and test that for copper, you can then use that to dilute your tank sample water for the Salifert Copper test, remembering to account for any copper reading of the freshly prepared water. Thus, you can get the relative accuracy you need from the Salifert Copper Test Kit reference colors. (Just remember to calculate the copper concentration reading by the dilution factor). NOTE: In the case of using Cupramine, the manufacturer, Seachem recommends that at first the amount added is half the final dose. Then later the rest is added to bring the concentration to 0.5ppm. FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS. Adding half dose allows the fish to acclimate to the addition of copper. After the second dose totally mixes in, then start the testing for copper." Copper - Treatment, Use, Problems: http://www.reefland.com/forum/marine-fish-...e-problems.html

Amino acids; a true controversy Written by Tim Wijgerde Amino acids; a true controversy By Tim Wijgerde The use of supplements in the (marine) aquarium has always been controversial, dividing hobbyists into two camps. Aquaria are a reflection of nature, but differ dramatically from the real thing. Nature can be regarded as a closed ecosystem; all its nutrients are recycled in the earth (lithosphere), water bodies (hydrosphere), air (atmosphere) and organisms (biosphere). Aquaria, and marine aquaria as well, are open ecosystems, where nutrients are inserted (feeding) and removed (water changes, protein skimming, phosphate absorbants) manually, by the aquarist him/herself. Aquaria usually contain ample nutrients, caused by fish overstocking and heavy feeding. The question is; do supplements really matter? Do we really need to add more nutrients to improve coral health and growth? This article discusses the facts and figures about amino acids, a very popular additive nowadays. Let's briefly discuss the ways in which corals take up nutrients on the reef. We can distinguish three main ways: 1. They receive sugars from their zooxanthellae, by means of photosynthesis. Up to 95% of their daily required energy is drawn from these so-called photosynthates. 2. They capture plankton; either phyto , zoo or bacterioplankton. The types of plankton take up depends on the species. Scientists believe that phytoplankton is the main food source for many gorgonians and soft corals (e.g. genus Dendronephthya). 3. They take up (in)organic nutrients from the water column. Nitrate, phosphate, ammonia, urea and of course amino acids. Many marine aquarists use amino acid supplements nowadays, and it has become a popular market for manufacturers and aquarium stores. There still is controversy; some people think aquaria don't require commercial supplements such as amino acids, trace elements and vitamins, whilst others don't leave their tank without. The pie chart shows the nitrogen (N) uptake of Stylophora pistillata colonies in their natural environment. Fig.1: Nitrogen budget for Stylophora pistillata colonies in their natural environment. Most of the nitrogen is provided by ammonia and nitrate; this is mainly due to the zooxanthellae (adapted from Renaud Grover et al, Journal of Experimental biology 2008). Note that ammonia and nitrate are the main N-source for this coral, both of which are abundant in marine aquaria. Scientists extracted the zooxanthellae from the colonies, and discovered that they are mostly responsible for this uptake. Amino acids are important as well, accounting for 21% of the nitrogen budget. Scientists also found that corals, and extracted zooxanthellae, are able to take up a lot more amino acids than they normally would in nature. Let's look at the types of amino acids and whether corals are able to extract them from the water. Figure 2 shows that at least 11 types of DFAA's (or dissolved free amino acids) are taken up by this coral. Fig.2: Uptake of 11 types of amino acids by S. pistillata. This species is able to actively take up all of the shown amino acids (adapted from Renaud Grover et al, Journal of Experimental biology 2008). Now the question is; is this uptake passive, by diffusion, or does this species actively transport the DFAA's to its tissue? The answer lies in the next figure: Figure 3: Uptake rate of nitrogen (N, nanomoles of nitrogen/hour/cm2 of tissue) by S. pistillata colonies in relation to amino acid (DFAA in

IMHO, there is little difference in your salt mixes in general, except for the concentrations of calcium, alkalinity and magnesium. I would pick a salt mix that will supply them as needed by the consumption of your system. Many hobbyists pick a salt mix that will supply too high a calcium, alk. or magnesium concentration and this results in throwing off their entire system. I personally use Instant Ocean and supplement the calcium and magnesium with a do it yourself mix. This is the cheapest method in my opinion. Here is a list of many of the commonly used salt mixes and their concentrations: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...mp;pagenumber=1

How to Catch Fish and Critters in Displays: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=707656

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The hobby grade Phosphate test kits are fairly accurate down to about 0.04 ppm. I have used the Salifert kit and feel it is reliable down to that level. The recommended phosphate level to prevent microalgae growth is below 0.03 ppm. At levels below 0.04, the hobby grade test kits have an error of (+or-) 0.04, so basically, the hobby grade test kits will let you know if your levels are down to about 0.04. Once your phosphate levels are below 0.5, then using a GFO product would be appropriate do to its high cost. Above the 0.5 ppm level, using macroalgae, deep sand beds or even a carbon source may make better sense cost wise. What you really want to test for is both organic and inorganic phosphates. The only phosphate kit that will do that as far as I am aware of is the Hach PO-19 phosphate kit. It will cost you about $90.00. IMHO, I don't believe it is worth the additional expensive even though I use the kit myself. If you check out the prices for GFO on the BRS web page, you will find that you can get it cheaper there.

I have a nice Derasa clam & it seems to be quite content and healthy. I have noticed that out of the long siphon tube it will secrete a long stringy substance that will extend up several inches and remain attached to the siphon tube. Then it will slowly suck this long string back in and will let it go back out. What is this?

Tunicate:

Keeping your water oxygenated is important to the health of your fish, particularly at night.

Great Thread. How large of a system do you have and how many fish do you have in it?