bues0022

Whoa. Pics or it didn’t happen!!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1935012

That’s an interesting video. In general it makes sense - more smaller frags means more linear frag edge length for growth. It would be interesting if they have have any data on the frag edge length, and could normalize the data to understand if frags actually grow quicker when they are smaller, or if it is just more edges to grow, thus it fills in quicker (thinking mostly about encrusting-types that only grow outward on the edge) for acros and stags, a well respected guy in MN where I came from swore by fragging only the tips of his corals. I think he actually did a “grow out”, where growth from tip frags (1/4” - 1/2”) grew faster and by a certain time point were actually bigger than the multi-inch frags he cut. He thought it had something to do with less damage to the coral so less to repair before getting back to growing, and sincethe tips were already on active growth, they were more deadly to encrust the base.

Volume. The ocean is big. Also, it takes us humans a LOT of work to try to duplicate (in such small scale) that which is naturally occurring. Phyto, rotifers, pods, small food, the list goes on. Even still, an extraordinary few eggs survive to adult. Clownfish can easily spawn 500 eggs every two weeks. If even a few percent reached adulthood our oceans would be thick with clowns.

From what I understand, anemone aren't toxic the way the creatures being discussed here are. Anemones - if they should meet a powerhead - are hard on tanks from a nutrient standpoint. There's a lot of biomass that is now going to be decaying in the tank. Similar if a clam should die, one should take it out quick because it's a large mass of goop which can cause pretty serious nutrient spikes. The creatures discussed here (cucumbers, medusa worms, sea apples) as Tom said can be great for the tank. However, if they should die, they have toxins inside their bodies which can be released which can harm tank inhabitants (this is NOT the same kind of water fouling as a nutrient spike). Some stories of medusa worms even sound like one getting injured/cut, but surviving is enough to have the animal release its toxins and kill fish.

my quick search: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2145660 I know what I'd do....

Back a number of years ago I had some problems with some brown polyps taking over my tank. I had a very bad experience using kalk paste (I tried siphoning as much out as possible, but params still went wack). Instead what I did was just used some kalk water in a syringe. I mixed the water, let a bunch of the heavy particulate fall out, drew it up into a 10ml syringe. Then I put a needle on it (I was working with a dog rescue foster group, so I could get these easily without feeling like a druggie), and I poked through the stalk of the polyp and injected just a little bit. It died pretty quick. I did a few polyps every couple of days until they were all gone.

Water changes are an obvious sure fire way to bring it down. Clams suck a LOT of ca and alk from the water. That would be my bet. If you didn’t adjust dosing after it died, there is less alk uptake thus dissolved alk goes up.

I’ve had this one orange ric for about 6 months. When I got it, it split within 2 weeks and I thought things were looking up (even though it was only about the size of a nickel). Well, it’s been on a very slow demise ever since. Now it’s about pencil eraser sized, and I feel it just barely hanging on before melting away completely. I’ve had it in high flow, low flow, high light to low light. Currently it’s on the bottoms in medium flow. My water isn’t the cleanest, but sps are growing and my other ric night next to it is doing just fine. What gives? I’ve started to try to target feed it, but it’s only taken a little bit once a few days ago - will try again tonite. My mushrooms also aren’t splitting and growing either, so I’m confused what I’m not doing because I had a hard time stopping shrooms from growing previously. Tips are much appreciated. I’d like to save this little guy if possible.

NSW?

I dipped my zoas just recently with a really aggressive one-two punch. 15 minutes in a solution of 90% RO water, 10% HP (the regular HP from walmart), followed by a swish in iodine water (2 drops of betadine (which is I believe 10% Iodine compared to Lugols which is somewhere around 2-3% I believe) in 2 cups of tank water), followed by swishing in the HP solution, then back in tank. The zoas didn't open up for almost 2 weeks, and the ones that looked rough before the dip completely melted away. I'm not sure I'd go that aggressive again. I think 15 minutes was too long.

I have a 30 cube, and I’m undecided on what I want for my last fish. So far: pair of percs firefish hectors goby diamond goby I really like the different colors/shapes/personalities of all of the fish, but I’d love to have a fish that spends more time swimming in the water column. I have a peaceful mixed reef, so things like dwarf angels are out. I’m browsing fish online, but any suggestions are appreciated. Maybe a a pair of Chromis? Would and orchid dottyback be too aggressive if I only get one, as I don’t think I have room for a pair? Edit: I don’t care for cardinal fish of any color.

I'm going to quick hijack to tell Jon what I did under my current tank: I don't actually like using foam for my tank. I have a "lip" on my stand so my tank actually sits "inside" the top of the stand (molding is all the way around the exterior bottom of the tank) So if I use thick enough foam to make me feel better, it raises the tank too high. If I use thing foam/rubber, then I feel that while I still spread out the point loads a little, it's not much really and I still have areas of high/low contact forces. So, I know this won't work for everyone in every circumstance, but it worked brilliantly for me. I laid down a very thick bead of construction adhesive on my stand. I then covered this bead with two layers of cling wrap. VERY carefully, with two people (only a 40 gallon tank, but I had to be careful) we set the tank down as close to vertically onto the cling wrap. The construction adhesive squirted out everywhere, but the cling wrap stopped it from touching my tank. I let it sit for a day, the pulled the tank off. The cling wrap peeled right off (did not stick in the least), and I was left with a perfectly smooth, and hard surface to put my tank back on. No high spots, no low spots - I checked with a straight edge. In the uncured form, the putty-like consistency of the adhesive formed a conformable thickness interstitial layer between the stand and the tank. When cured, the entire tank is supported perfectly. Back to the regularly scheduled program.....

That thread is simply amazing! He completely sidestepped the panic mode and went straight to curious researcher. Threads like this are invaluable with understanding for the rest of us to most directly treat the issues - and one cannot treat without knowledge, documentation, and experimentation to know what works and why. Very good thinking to archive the images before his passing. It is too bad his enthusiasm for the hobby and thirst for knowledge is no longer with us.

Just wanted to put a shout out for Blue Ribbon Koi. While I've lived down the road for about a year, yesterday was actually the first time I'd stopped in. Livestock looked very healthy (corals, fish, inverts), clean shop, and very friendly. Even though I was only there to buy one little fish, John took his time and proudly showed me around to orient me with what's happening there (and not in a creepy overly used-car-salesman way, haha). He's proud of his shop, and it shows. I'm looking forward to my next trip!

I would be moderately concerned (at least enough to be careful) about attempting to support the canopy on the rim of the tank and the studs. In theory, everything is square and you’ll be fine. However, very few walls are perfectly square. Having even a slight eccentric load on the rim of the tank due to a non-square wall can dramatically increase point loading on the glass. Think of it like this: set the lid on the tank. Now, when you go to screw it to the studs, as you tighten the screws down hard there is a very real possibility for the lid to tip up (I.e. not be supported by the tank at all any more), or tip down (putting a load *in addition to* the weight - mostly on the front corners). Now, if there’s any left - to - right movement due to screwing it down then you have even more potential problems. If it wereme, I wouldn’t screw-in to the walls. Design it light enough where you aren’t concerned about the weight. OR, make a “false hood”. Basically an empty “box” that sits on the tank itself, but nearly open in the back. Then, make your brackets etc to hold your lights, and screw this to the wall, but do not attach this brackets to the false hood.

The Pyramidellid snails are attacking my snails in my CUC. I had a few emails with Bob over at WWM. He helped me listen to myself. It broke down like this: 1) wrasses that typically eat Pyramidellid snails grow too large for my tank. 2) wrasses that typically eat Pyramidellid snails will also put at risk my ornamental shrimp and CUC. (You can find pro/con stories on EVERY wrasse in this category for eating shrimp). 3) wrasses which are appropriate for my tank (such as the possum wrasses) won’t tough Pyramidellid snails, so while a neat inhabitant, it won’t “fix” the issue. 4) snails are nocturnal and are good hiders, so a diurnal fish which eats them won’t get to them all, but may just keep numbers low. 5) I have no intention of adding a clam (ca/all requirements require more maintenance in this small tank than I want), so I’d be looking at buying a ~$50 fish, and putting another $50 in shrimp at risk, just to try to save $5 worth of CUC snails??? Dumb move. Over the the course of the last few days I figured all of this out already, but hearing it from both him and now you guys has solidified that I’m just going to keep removing them as I see them, triple check any frags I give/sell to ensure I don’t spread them, and just let em be.

Hey guys, I think I just found some Pyramidellid snails in my tank this afternoon. My tank is small, 30 gallons, and the infestation looks light at the moment so manual removal has started and is a feasible early control method. However, I’d like suggestions on a wrasse to add to help with control. My tank is peaceful (firefish, hectors goby, pair of clowns, peppermint and cleaner shrimp, and soon a diamond goby), what are some suggestions of what will be an interesting and effective addition to the tank??

I was not attempting to paint a broad stroke saying they were both equal - merely pointing out the similarities between one very specific example (Hawaii) where those who are engaged in the salt water aquarium hobby/industry are making a significant, and noticeable difference in the knowledge and health of the ecosystem which is in discussion. Tom has done a better job of posting links and explaining the status (as depressing as it may because of "mob rule" and political whims overtaking actual science).

Are there any easy biological solutions to vermetids? i.e. peppermint shrimp for aiptasia - what'll eat vermetids?

As an engineer, all of my decisions are based on technical, verifiable data and evidence. However, as I've read about the Hawaii ban, it seems as though there is a percentage of the population who will come to their own conclusions - despite the evidence stating the exact opposite. Evidence gathered from over 30 years of tracking fish populations have proven that due to creating "no take" zones for fish, and managing the resource carefully, populations of reef fish are actually increasing. Even still, there are many in Hawaii who believe taking fish from the ocean for our tanks is terrible, wasteful, and depletes the reef. This is paralleled with hunting deer (or other animals, but I'll focus on deer): Hunting deer for consuming meat must be awful, right? However, hunters contribute the majority of conservation money to states to provide habitat, help with accurate herd count, manage disease, and educate about wildlife management. But, many still think it's bad. In short, you're fighting a loosing battle. In emotionally charged topics such as what you're describing (getting into a discussion about reef aquariums with a conversationalist), I highly doubt, unfortunately, that anything you say/do will bring about a change in their preconceived notions about this hobby, and what it does/doesn't do to our oceans.

I had big troubles with mine a few months back. Unfortunately the only thing that fixed it was calling them and they sent some kind of a reset signal to it that finally got the juices flowing.

I tried this once for my reef, and used it in some humidifiers we had running in the house. Nearly instant algae bloom in the tank, and the humidifiers had more gunk and crusties build up in them than just using tap. I knew better, but was curious exactly what would happen. It's like licking a metal pole in the winter up north - you know your tongue will stick, but you're just too curious not to try (yes, my tongue stuck - tried it once in 3rd grade. That S*^# hurts!)

Also, have you actually calculated how much money it costs you to make your water? I just looked up the water/sewer charges in Warrenton. If you use less than 2,000 gallons of water each month, and have a 1" meter, you pay 43.28/month no matter what (plus taxes/charges I suppose). If you use more than 2000 gallons, you pay $14.03 per thousand gallons. Assuming you use exactly 2000 gallons for your home, then how much extra does 20 gallons/week cost you? 4 weeks/month@ 20 gallons per week = 80 gallons. Assuming a 4:1 rejection ration, you throw out 4 gallons of waste water for every gallon you collect, so you actually use 400 gallons of water. $14.03/1000*400 = $5.61. (water cost). Noble idea, but as Tom said - the water isn't clean. Also looking at the cost breakdown, there are likely FAR better places to save costs than using rainwater for your tank (take a shorter shower for example). I also tend to take a more pragmatic approach when questions like this come up: If saving $6 is the tipping point to you having a reef tank, then the funds aren't there for a successful setup in the first place. I understand a few bucks in a few places can add up, but this isn't a place I'd skimp on - water is literally the life blood of our tanks.

Thanks for the tips. I'll dig around tonight and see what happens. I did contact the guy on ebay - they are completely out. At least they refunded my money though.