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stevil

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Posts posted by stevil

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    in Nano Tanks

    I don't think you need a canister filter... What kind of tank is it? Is it an aquapod with built in chambers, or just a glass box? Is it drilled, do you have any kind of overflow so you can have a sump?

     

    I think the basics are - live rock, live sand, protein skimmer and pump/powerhead for movement.

    More ICH!

    in New to the Hobby

    In my humble opinion: I suspect that its stress. How big is the hippo tang? From what I understand many fish will continue to carry Ick, even though they don't break out, their immune system keeps it in check until stress overtakes.

     

    I don't know what your stock load is like, or how much other stuff you have in the tank, but if the fish doens't like the environment, it's probably stressed out.

     

    I'd say trade the fish for something else. In the long run a hippo is going to out-grow your 55 gallon anyway (if it hasn't already).

    Winter meeting - I can bring 1 or 2 people...

    in General Discussion

    I live in Centerville, and I will be driving to the winter meeting in D.C. I have room for 1 or 2 people to ride with me if you want to carpool. I have to drive, because I am bringing some equipment in for Carla. If anyone lives between Centerville, and D.C, and wants to carpool, let me know.

    John

    PS - I drive a VW beetle, and theoretically we could get as many as 3 extra people in the car, but the 2 folks in the back seat better be small!

    :bounce:

    I'm in Cville too - in the Faircrest development. Would be cool to share the ride.

    New to all this

    in General Discussion

    If you don't have one of these books, I highly recommend getting at least one.

     

    "The New Marine Aquarium, A step-by step setup and stocking guide". It's an easy read and pretty short.

    "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. I still use this over a year later.

     

    The first one walks you through setting up all your equipment and provides great checklists for different types of tanks. The second one does the same (but to somewhat less detail on the setup), however is an awesome resource for the continued maintenance and stocking of your tank.

    RO question

    in General Discussion

    Do you know the rating on your membrane? It might be an easier and cheaper fix. There are membranes rated for different rejection rates - 70, 85, 95%. Typically though the higher the rating results in more 'reject' water, requires greater pressure and has reduced GPD (unless you have high-pressure). If that doesn't solve it you could keep the membrane and then get a new increased stage unit DI and use it in that.

    water filter or muni water

    in General Discussion

    Advantages of using an RO/DI filter will reduce the amount of unknown elements into your water which has the net effect of reducing algae blooms, which is particularly an issue when starting up a new tank, but can continue to plague you.

     

    Disadvantages are cost, but that is relative. It's at least $60 to get a basic RO/DI unit, average will be $100, and depending on how much water you need per day you might need a more expensive one. You'll also need to buy replacement filters every year. Another possible disadvantage is water waste - in order to get purified water, some of it must go down the drain (or if you are creative you can find other uses for it.. watering the plants, etc...)

     

    Personally, I wouldn't go with straight tap water and dechlorinators... I think the RO/DI investment is well worth it.

     

    How big are you planning your tank to be? You can also buy it from local stores - folks with small tanks tend to find that a cost effective alternative.

    Water Change Questions

    in General Discussion

    I don't think the speed matters as long as the new water is about the same temperature and specific gravity. I don't heat my water, but it is at least room temp, perhaps a bit warmer because of the pump that is circulating it. If you were doing a very large water change (50% or more) I'd say be a bit more careful about trying to match pH and or doing it slower, but at the volume you are talking about, I think you'd be ok.

     

    I do 6 gallons a week on my 90 (about 105 gallons total water volume). Pump out the old, pump/pour in the new - 5-10 minutes.

    Stevil's 90 Gallon 1 Year Update

    in General Discussion

    :biggrin:

    I saw some of your other pictures........are congrats in order??

    You mean the wedding pics? The first set is my wedding from March 2005, the others are from a friends wedding...

     

    But yes, you can congratulate me for not having my wife divorce me after spending all the time and money on my tank!! :biggrin:

    Vacation Help

    in General Discussion

    I could use an emergency contact or two for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have a pet sitter to take care of the daily feeding and basic maintenence, but just in case..., would like to have someone that can be around. Luckily I've never had to have her call anyone.

    Niger trigger stuck help

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by stevil

    Could maybe reverse the flow through the overflow and push him out? I'm thinking you could turn off your returns and then hook one of them to the drain of the overflow he's stuck in and pump water "backwards". With enough force he should be pushed to the top and you could then scoop him back into the tank (or he might pop out anyway). You might need to take the standpipe out.

    pH went from 8.1 to 8.44 in about 1.5 hours

    in General Discussion

    Hmmm.. Well this morning its down to 8.0, which is typical for my am reading. Flow in my sump is a bit restricted at the moment (I put a 5 gallon tank in my 20 gallon sump as a poor mans refugium). I wonder if that had something to do with the reading... If the kalk dumped in, but wasn't rapidly mixing or being removed from the sump then perhaps that's why I got the higher reading. I'll check it again tonight, and run a full suite of tests and see.

    pH went from 8.1 to 8.44 in about 1.5 hours

    in General Discussion

    Ok - good to know. My kalk drip is very irregular, since it's all manual right now. I'm trying to get into a rhythm of 1 gallon per day, but this was the first drip I've had going since last week. Plus I'm taking a v e r y slow wean onto it so I don't do something stupid by accident (like dump a gallon in :biggrin: ).

     

    I don't have a ton of SPS coral yet, most of what I'm trying to do is ensure that I have adequate calcium and alkalinity to support more SPSs. Nothing in my tank 'freaked out' that I can tell. My ph has been pretty stable at ~8.1 for the past 3-6 weeks, my alk has continued to drop/stay low (was 1.25 last time I measured, hasn't been higher than 2 in months), and I've not been able to drive my calcium up above 360. I'm certain it's because I'm not adding enough kalk (definitely not enough to replace my evaporation).

     

    Think I need to revisit the kalk-reactor build or buy.

    pH went from 8.1 to 8.44 in about 1.5 hours

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by stevil

    I was finishing up a water change I started last night, leveling off my water etc... My kalk drip was slow, so I sped it up.. way too much... about 3/4 gallon of kalk dumped in and took my pH from 8.1 to 8.4, although just in the last 5 minutes it's dropped to 8.35. I think i literally just caught this Should I be concerned? Any suggestions? I just mixed up new water, so I don't have any aged water I could do a water change with (and it would be only 5 gallons, but could make more).

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