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netpez

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Posts posted by netpez

    What's next big thing?

    in General Discussion

    genetically engineered fish and coral that glow in the dark....targeted expression of green fluorescent proteins, et cetera.  heck....at the price those designer clownfish sold for ....maybe I should try this....

     

    Per Big Bang Theory:

     

    Lumfish.jpg

    Feeding time

    in General Discussion

    They have very fast metabolisms....ideally fed a few times a day

     

    Luckily I only have to feed twice a day, as the rest of the time my anthias angrily fights with his reflection in the glass.

    Protein skimmer cleaning

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by netpez

    My Cleaning schedule:

     

    Every week (with water change),

     - Clean bubble trap/mecahnical filters

     - Scrub protein skimmer (the entire thing)

     - Vacuum sump

     

    Every 3-4 weeks (based upon how things are looking:

     - Clean bubble trap/mecahnical filters

     - Scrub protein skimmer (the entire thing)

     - Scrub all pumps (take them apart)

     - Scrub all hoses & outputs that connect to pumps

     - Scrub sump & vacuum

     

    Every 2nd one of the big cleanings, I run my pumps in vinegar for about an hour.

     

    I am a little mental about things in my tank being clean, particularly since I have a habit of over feeding every now & then.

    BRS RODI

    in General Discussion

    Quick update, it did have the membrane in there (took some elbow grease to get it off. The BRS system does come with a wrench, but they are for the canisters, not the tube that contains the membrane.

     

    Couple notes for anyone who wants to get one in the future:

     

    1) It says to setup your entire system and flush, however, I disconnected the DI part as not to waste it for the hour long flush

     

    2) It does not call for it, but since I am sure there was some dust from the carbon, I did a quick 2-3 minute flush of the membrane, so no carbon residue/dust got stuck in it.

     

    3) The system says that 60 PSI is optimal for this system, if it approaches 40, you should get a booster. When I was doing the flush, I noticed I was only at 48 psi, and after adding on the DI, I was at about 50. We chatted with sachabballi reef and she told us she had the same type of psi when she lived in our part of leesburg (it is a restriction by the city). I have noticed last time I checked however, that the psi has risen close to 60psi (not sure why)

     

    4) I am still making water, bit in 4 hours I made close to 18 gallons that is close to 4.5 gph or 108 gpd (much higher output than than our system specifies (75 gpd). I am not complaining, but has anyone else experienced the same type performance?

     

    5) The tds reading going in to my DI is 7 and going out has been 0.

     

    6) I really like the construction on this thing, and the perks, including the pressure gauge, membrane flush, automatic shutoff valve, dual tds meter, etc. So far, money well spent :)

     

    Here is the one I got:

    http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-5-stage-plus-ro-di-system-75gpd.html

    Thrive??

    in General Discussion

    We have been using ESV's 2 part buffer. You guys recommend BRS instead? 

     

    The reason we use the ESV, os because you can pretty much find it at any LFS.

    How to properly read API nitrate test

    in General Discussion

    Hold it away from the card. If you hold it against the card, the shadow from the tube influences your perception of the color.

     

    Coming from the trustworthy man, who taught me to read the instructions on my salifert test, so that I wasn't reading 100+ on my nitrate test :) 

    How to properly read API nitrate test

    in General Discussion

    What I try to do (and this may not be correct) is to put the tube over each color block until I find one that disappears (because the color matches so closely that they are indistinguishable) when the tube passes over the block.

     

     

    Great question though, they are hard to determine sometimes -see my signature ;)

     

    Gotta agree with you on these color comparison cards... they drive me nuts... half the colors look all the same to me... that is why I prefer some of the tests like salifert uses where it changes from 1 color to another and you measure the syringe

     

    I wish salifert would change their nitrate test to the same concept.

    How to properly read API nitrate test

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by netpez

    I use API for common use. I hold it a bit away from the card for a more accurate reading in the light. If I notice the test is higher than my norm, I will go and double check with my salifert which I think is much more accurate, but I use sparingly because salifert can be a little bit more expensive.

    Euphyllia Eating Flatworms and Treatment (EEFW)

    in General Discussion

    Did you guys scrape the egg sacs off?

     

    We are planning on doing several dips over the next several weeks. I keep hearing both ways on the egg scarping. Some folks have told me that the area I have some of the eggs are on is very delicate and that scarping could damage the coral (some are on the main trunk, but sup are at the edge/opening of the coral.

     

    Thoughts?

    Euphyllia Eating Flatworms and Treatment (EEFW)

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by netpez

    great job you two!!!

     

    Tank looks fantastic as always BTW.....

     

    the white stuff could have just been their slime ...when stressed they release it...was it stringy and white?

     

    Yup... looks like they sneezed white snot all over themselves (large amount too). 

     

    Was it ok to try to remove some of it?

     

    - Big Boy elegance was pissed for a while, but the second I put some food in the tank, he opened to his normal size and started munching

    - Baby Elegance recovered quickly

    - Blasto seems to be doing better after the dip too, even though I did not notice anything on him

    - Yellow acro is puffed back out looking like a bush almost immediately

    - Blue acro is is a little slower in getting its polyps out, but is recovering

    - Green torch is recovering nicely

    - Yellow torch is recovering nicely (surprising since it looked the worst before the dip_

    - 2 gold torches still don't look so hot

     

    BTW... the yellow coris wrasse we got maybe the most chill fish I have ever seen. During acclimation, dumping him from container to container.... he never freaked out... just went around looking for food. We got scared in the morning, because he completely disappeared, but we found out, that he may be sleeping in the sand. He popped right out during midday and went along his business looking for food. Not sure he really fits in with the psycho's we currently have in our tank.

    Euphyllia Eating Flatworms and Treatment (EEFW)

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by netpez

    We did followed the dosage on the bottle but doubled it as we dipped rock and all not knowing what might be on it.  Example in stead of 1G we used 2 G and doubled the dose of Coral RX per bottle.

     

    I want to say the recommended dosage is 20 ml per gallon, so we did 40 (as we used 2 gallons). We left it in there with the small pump running for about 10 min. and then turned them upside down and swirled them in the mixture and to remove excess dead worms.

     

    We then swirled them in the clean 2 gallons of tank water to rinse off excess dip for about a minute and then placed back in the tank.

     

    One thing I did notice during this procedure was a buildup of white "junk/tissue" on the torches that I tried to blowoff (most that I could) with a turkey baster.

     

    I don't have any pictures of it before I blew it off, but some of the residual white "junk/tissue" you can see on the after pictures.... anyone have any idea what it may be?

    What is this

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by netpez

    The thing in the bottom middle of the third pic, it is a bristleworm

     

    "shell-less" thing is definitely a stomatella (good thing)... we have a bunch throughout our tank

    mandarin expert help needed

    in General Discussion

    not enough pods. #1 cause of mandarin death. keep the mandarins in a fuge and they'll do great.

     

    Since we got the male, he came to us looking a bit malnourished, but he has gotten (as huly likes to put it) "fat and sassy". He has definitely grown since coming into our tank.

     

    I see pods on the glass here and there, particularly when I get a bit of algae on there (people have told me that is a sign of good pod population)

    .

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