LCDRDATA
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Posts posted by LCDRDATA
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Just had my meeting with the insurance adjuster and she pretty much gave me free reign to build what I want; but I need to get her the info on pricing asap. So I need to make a decision shortly.
So for lighting, I am trying to decide AI Sol vs Radions. Radions are just so darn expensive, is it really worth it over the Sols? I would imagine I will need 3 radions or 4-5 sols?
Then I really need help on protein skimmers. I dont know much about different skimmers; but want to keep the price under say 1200 for a new one. What are my options and whats the difference between a $500 unit and a $1500 one?
Thanks
I haven't gone to LEDs yet; as a general principal, though, I think "you get what you pay for" is generally true only to a point, and I suspect the Radions may be beyond that point. I also know Hellolights.com recently had the AIs on sale, although that may not still be the case. As far as skimmers go, I don't presume to be an expert, but some time back the speaker at one of the WAMAS meetings discussed some academic research on skimmers that, if memory serves, essentially concluded that holding other factors constant there wasn't a significant difference between them -- at least the ones they tested. So it would seem that the difference between a $500 unit and a $1500 unit is most likely $1000 and perhaps bells & whistles.
Doing a quick look elsewhere online I found a Bubble Magus at BRS, a Reef Octopus Extreme at Marine Depot and a CS2 'Black Pearl' at Avast Marine Works that are all well short of your $1200 target and would seem to be more than capable of handling your tank. I don't have any personal experience with any of these, so take this for what it's worth, but at least the first two have 5-Star customer reviews on the respective websites. Good luck again!
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So I currently have an egg crate covering for my 72bow to keep fish from getting out. Now I've read that it can keep light out from a few different sources (though it's hard to see a difference with it on). So I'm trying to DIY with 1/4in bird netting. The problem is the BOW part, i can't seem to create a top that has enough structual integrity to stay as one piece. Do you guys have any ideas on how to create a top for a bow tank? Thanks mucho
When I've experimented, the light loss with white egg crate is about the same as my glass top, so while it is reducing light it isn't necessarily catastrophic. My suggestion would be to stick with the egg crate for the curved section and make your screen top rectangular. Also, while the 1/4 inch bird netting will work, if you can wait a few days Bulk Reef Supply carries three different sizes of clear screen netting that you may find preferable to the bird netting. Good luck however you go with it.
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Well, as I'm just about to add the last dose of the Algaefix Marine I thought I should go back and find this thread to update.
Sadly, there's no real change, except perhaps for the worse. My mag is at ~1800 and has been for a couple of months; the biopellets are tumbling nicely and slowly disappearing but not visibly doing much else. I tested my param.s Sunday after the power came back on: nitrates & phosphate both show 0, but this stuff won't die.
The chaeto in my 'fuge is likewise losing the battle (i.e. being outcompeted by the GHA) and I need more; I may take the 'fuge light off the timer and run it 24/7. I turned the lights off for four days and the only difference I could see was major receding on my blue/green acan colony. It made no noticeable difference to the algae. I acclimated a pair of lyretail mollies to salt water with an eye to putting them in my DT - they're reported to eat algae and are pretty, besides -- but although they've eaten some of the film algae in my QT, when I put a piece with the stuff I'm fighting in with them as far as I can tell neither of then will touch it, either.
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... What kinds of fish can I put in my tank w/current inhabitants, that are up to about the size of a medium yellow tang (don't want them bigger than that) that are very nice looking that are in a modest price range? Please give info about temperment/behavior and feeding.
Tank size is a standard 75g but system volume is roughly 120g (figure in bioload)
**Rock work is very open so I have a lot of free swimming room throughout the tank (I keep rock in fuge & sump, not all in tank)
**Fish stock:
- 1 medium sized yellow tang
- 2 ocellaris clowns (they have hosts they stick to, so they don't take up much swimming space)
- 2 ocellated dragonets (they don't really swim around so they don't take up swimming space)
- 1 purple firefish
- 1 Hectors goby
I am thinking for the first one about either a kole tang because they only get to about 5 or 6", or alternatively a Niger trigger, but I have no experience and not much knowledge about triggers' needs, habits and behaviors. Then I would want one more fish, but I have no ideas at all because I have only been dealing with small fish that disappear all the time. ...
I also have a 75 gallon setup, although I sounds like I have more rock in the display than you. In terms of more free-swimming fish, I also have a Kole tang and can endorse those as a good choice. I also have a Leopard Wrasse -- which are usually considered one of the more difficult choices -- and normally I would have ruled it out. However, in this case it came from another reefer who was breaking down his tank and I could confirm ate prepared foods, and I'm very glad I have it. He was also a she when I got him.
I also have a pair (started out as a trio) of green chromis, and 2-3 of these or blue chromis would give you additional color and activity.You might want to look into an Orchid Dottyback (Pseudochromis fridmani) or Midas Blenny. Another possibility would be a Milletseed Butterflyfish (Chaetodon milliaris) or Pyramid Butterflyfish (Hemitaurichthys polylepis). With the exception of the Leopard Wrasse, none of these have any particular feeding requirements and (as best I can tell) ought to get along with the rest of your crew.
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Well, I had a detailed post almost ready to send and accidentally blew it all away - and I don't have time to re-write it now.
In the meantime, anyone have spare chaeto? I need to replenish/replace what I have for my various tanks. Thanks! -
FYI, I just found that Consumer Reports is testing generators as we speak (see news item here) and according to the article should have results sometime later this month. They also have a generator buying guide on their website. If you're looking for a generator it may be worth waiting to see what the results are before committing.
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I was very fortunate this time in that our power was only out for 36 hours... My tank is in the basement so it stayed cool, and I purchased a battery powered pump to keep things aerated. My tank actually came out looking better afterwards due to some much-needed algae die-off. I will not however, allow my good fortune to bar me from lessons learned, and am looking to buy a generator. Can anyone recommend a specific model that is good both in terms of affordability and reliability? Thanks!
Consumer Reports is testing generators as we speak (see news item here) and according to the article should have results sometime this month. They also have a generator buying guide on their website. I hope that helps. Now that I've found it, I'll cross-post the information on one of the other relevant threads also.
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i have a 24 gallon tank with a 3 gallon fuge and protein skimmer i am also running a turbo twist 18x uv one day a week. i am thinking about getting a canister filter for my system due to limit space for a wet dry and was wondering which canister i should get.
I have a Marineland HOT Magnum 250 (information here and here) on my 30 gallon cube - mainly softies and an adult snowflake moray. In conjunction with a 2-gallon HOB 'fuge and a Tom Aquatics surface skimmer it seems to pretty much do the job. It has good flexibility in terms of what media you put in it. I don't know that it does a lot of biological (vice mechanical) filtration, but that's what the 'fuge and ~50 pounds of live rock & live sand are for.
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I have never fed pellets as I had always had aggressive fish like triggers... now with smaller fish and a possible reef soon I am looking into an automatic feeder and a pellet type food to supplement my frozen food one time a day...
I am planning on having some wrasses, jawfish, blennies, gobies and possibly some hardy anthias...
So, what type do you use and how does it work for you?
While I generally go with flakes for that role, I've used the Ocean Nutrition Formula Two pellets as well as the sera marin granules (the little yellow bottles that periodically get handed out at WAMAS meetings). Both were, like you describe, additions to the once-a-day frozen, and all my fish (and some LPS, for that matter) seemed to like them just fine. I think the Ocean Nutrition Formula One and Prime Reef come in a pelleted form as well.
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We've also thought about going that route but haven't decided yet. Regardless, your best bet on that question is probably to check with the manufacturer of your specific HVAC unit (if it isn't on the unit itself or in a manual) to find out what the peak draw is. Beyond that you could certainly look at your electric bill to see what your average consumption is. Also, don't forget to take into consideration an estimate of how much you can cut back when you actually need to put it in service. Those figures should go a long way toward letting you size your requirements.
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Our power was down for ~ 36 hours. In my 75-gal I ran a battery-powered air pump about 1/2 the time and ran an air pump from a computer UPS the rest of the time. About 12 hours of that time I also ran a Koralia 1 powerhead off the UPS. I ran another battery-powered air pump in my 30-gal cube almost the whole time; I "stole" it twice for about 30-60 minutes to run in my wife's 5-gal nano. As far as I can tell, we didn't lose anything (at least not yet - fingers crossed for delayed reaction). That being said, we bumped our insulation a good bit a few years ago, so have the room the tanks are in topped out at about 80 degrees; I suspect it would have gone a good deal higher today had power not come back, and we would have had no way to cool it further. So looking at getting some kind of generator or large-scale UPS for the future. My sympathies for others' losses.
For what it's worth, my understanding for power outage prioritization is that tanks' needs are generally in the following order: 1) oxygen/aeration; 2) circulation; 3) temperature moderation. I also noticed that aeration with the standard (vice battery) air pump, the high volume of bubbles creates limited circulation of its own. For better or worse, large volumes of water require lots of energy to heat and/or cool - meaning that larger aquariums should be stable on their own for a period of time, but will likewise take time and effort to return to "normal" if they get too hot or cold.
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Ha ha, I was just going to say that it looked more like Montipora spongodes than A. palmata. The corallites on A. palmata are pronounced and form a leading edge whereas the M. spongodes (or whatever this one is) are recessed and have ridges between them.
On the bright side, it looks to be a healthy, attractive specimen. I'd be interested in a frag when you reach that point.
While currently illegal, it would be nice if there could be some kind of certification or licensed arrangement whereby vetted individuals could keep these endangered corals. That's what zoos do with preserving endangered species, with great success.
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Well, Momma must have been pregnant, because when I checked my frag tank this evening to see how the mollies were doing I saw about a dozen little bitty mollies in addition to the two I got the other day. I figure the babies should be able to hide in the chaeto ball so mom & dad don't eat them
until I decide what I am going to do with them. -
We're down in Fredericksburg. The Petco off I-95 at exit 143 has no salt water fish tanks set up right now.
The Petco off I-95 exit 130 had multiple tanks, I bought a small yellow tang from them. They fed the tank so I could see that it was eating. The clerk also said you can put in orders and pick up at the store. Orders should be placed Thursday evenings. If you don't like it when it comes in you don't have to take it.
I saw an abundance of ORA clown fish, some coral beauties, and some others I can't remember. The tech has his own salt water set up at home and seem knowledgeable.
We were there for the $1 tank sale, not for fish to be honest.
Maureen
The Petco in Burke (Rolling Road) has a saltwater section that sometimes has decent buys on "basic" fish (damsels, blennies, clowns) and some inverts (snails, feather dusters, and such), although corals tend to be overpriced IMO. I have a pair of green chromis and an engineer goby in my main tank I got there, and they've done just fine (although I did start with three chromis). QT is always recommended, but that's not unique to Petco purchases.
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I got my first saltwater tank in 1987, a 25 gallon setup with an undergravel filter (my, how things have changed...) I remember that a couple of Black Lyretail Mollies were among our first fish. I don't remember them breeding in the saltwater tank (they did in the 30 gallon freshwater aquarium), but they did just fine for around a year and a half before the Air Force transferred me and we had to find them a new home - after converting them back to fresh water. I wonder if they'll eat GHA?
- It may be time to try them again. Well, I went ahead and bit: my frag tank is now home to a pair of creamsicle lyretail mollies. Five hours of slow drip (really slow at first) in a jug in my sump to acclimate. They seem to be doing fine and have picked a little at some of the nuisance algae (although not the worst stuff, at least not yet). I also know I have one each male & female, so there's the possibility (or maybe probability) of babies in the future.
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Only if they get eaten by something. So far, they just swim around with the Purple Tang that lives in the overflow.
I got my first saltwater tank in 1987, a 25 gallon setup with an undergravel filter (my, how things have changed...) I remember that a couple of Black Lyretail Mollies were among our first fish. I don't remember them breeding in the saltwater tank (they did in the 30 gallon freshwater aquarium), but they did just fine for around a year and a half before the Air Force transferred me and we had to find them a new home - after converting them back to fresh water. I wonder if they'll eat GHA?
- It may be time to try them again. -
I have to take down my fuge to transition to my new tank and I have a large cowrie that needs a temporary home. Does anyone have a fuge he could hang out in for about 4 weeks?
I also have a Harlequin shrimp looking for some temporary starfish clean up duty.
I could take the cowrie. Especially if it eats hair algae!
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I was in a very similar position about a year ago. There's a long, detailed thread on this issue at reefcentral.com, PAR 38 LED Spotlights that I went over repeatedly. I was looking to light a 30 gallon cube and ended up going with a trio of BoostLED PAR 30 bulbs. Boost underdrives the LEDs to reduce heat and extend the life, and they offer a bunch of different color combinations. Besides Boost there are definitely a number of different possibilities out there (Orphek being one), which is both a blessing and a curse
. Good luck! -
Poor fishie :(
Although it may well be too late, I know that one of the antidotes for cyanide poisoning is sodium thiosulfate, which is also the active ingredient in some dechlorination products. You could try adding that to the water in your QT. Beyond that, I don't know what else to suggest except prayer.
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I've purchased my 48"/54W T-5s from Reefgeek.com, hellolights.com, and BRS and have never had a problem. I believe the first two offer group buys, and I know BRS does. Hellolights seems to have sale pricing a bit more often. Depending on where you look, you may see the 54W bulbs listed as 46.5" rather than 48" - don't worry, they are the same (the former doesn't include the length of the pins at either end). As far as spectrum goes, there's an ongoing T-5 Q&A thread on Reefcentral here that has all the information you'll ever need, and the main authors usually reply within a few hours. However, I would agree with earlier posts that you're going to need more than 4x54W on a 135 gallon tank if you want to keep stony corals.
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I got the materials from BRS and I'm just about ready to build my screen top, but I am not sure what to do about the penetrations I need - HOB overflow, HOB 'fuge, return inlet, and power cords.
The options seem to be to either build them so there is a "slot" behind them for the accessories or poke holes through the mesh. I think the best option might be to leave the slot - for simplicity and structural integrity - and use eggcrate with penetrations to cover that area. What do you think? Thanks. -
I just learned first hand you shouldn't mix peppermint shrimp and Harlequin tusk fish. Apparently they make a taste snack. Just thought I'd share in case you add one to your Pico. Although it was awesome to watch, not a good investment.
Sorry to hear about that. According to my quidebook, though, my wife's little tank is an order of magnitude too small for a tusk fish, so I don't think that will be a problem.
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They are probably fine, but remember there is no way to be "sure" of anything. The reef really isn't a very friendly place with most of the things we keep being opportunistic. There is always a chance one critter will go for another critter if they think they look tasty that day.
Precisely, which is why I put quotes around "sure" in my original post.
My peppermints seem to hide out-of-sight most of the time until I feed the tank.
That was my experience as well, when we had some to work on the aiptasia in my 75-gal display tank. As we would like to see them, the "maybe" on the Peppermint was to address that.
I had a skunk cleaner tear a smaller boxer shrimp apart in my 24-gallon aquapod before. I was pretty surprised, but apparently it's possible for there to be conflict.
Ouch!
I haven't had any problems mixing lysmata sp. shrimp together with others, even smaller species.
SO, we seem to have +2 on the Skunk cleaner for visibility, +1/-1 on the Skunk Cleaner for behavior, and -1 on the Peppermint for visibility. The Fire Shrimp is an unknown quantity at this point, I guess.
Thanks for your comments - anyone else out there have something to add?
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My wife has a 5 gallon EcoPico with two Sexy Shrimp and a Rainford Goby. Besides another Sexy Shrimp, we want to add 1-2 lysmata species (Fire or Skunk Cleaner, maybe Peppermint) Shrimp and want to be "sure" they will get along. If we added two they would be different species. We'd also like to see them, which is why the Peppermint is listed last. Any recommendations? Thanks.
vinigar dosine
in General Discussion
I don't recall seeing the "how" on WAMAS threads, but then again I haven't looked very hard. I know there are multiple ones at ReefCentral.com.
The "why" is that the vinegar serves as a carbon source to promote the growth of certain bacteria in the water column. In growing, they consume nitrates and then get removed by your protein skimmer. People also dose vodka, ordinary table sugar, and Vitamin C to fill the same role. More recently, the move has been toward biopellets, but they all work in essentially the same manner.
I've dosed sugar and Vitamin C; both helped bring down my nitrates but I got some other undesirable growths with the sugar that didn't happen with the Vitamin C. There's a long-standing thread on ReefCentral.com with more that you'll ever need to know on the subject. The downside I see to dosing vinegar vis-a-vis the others is the acidity; the Vitamin C thread uses a buffered pharmaceutical-grade type that is neutral.