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fab

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Posts posted by fab

    Total Tank Crash -> need advise

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by fab

    Very sorry to hear about your crash and the devastating loss of your livestock.

     

    Your live sand and live rock are probably cycling, assuming the bacterial life was not killed off. You said you replaced the water with "fresh water." I hope you did not mean "freshwater" and that you did mean "a fresh batch of saltwater." Assuming you meant saltwater, then I'd recommend you let the ammonium cycle go to completion. Hopefully the nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria in the rock and sand are still alive and working for you. Look for the ammonium level to spike and then to fall off, followed by a spike in nitrites and nitrates that should fall off. When all of these levels return to undetectable levels the live rock should smell fresh, with no rotten smell. If and when that occurs, then your live rock and should be fine. After than I recommend you allow some more time for the rock and substrate to recolonize before adding livestock again. You might benefit from seeding the sand with some fresh live sand from someone else's tank while you are encouraging recolonization. Likewise you might seed the live rock with some fresh live rock, also, just to help it recolonize. A couple or even a few weeks of recolonization should do, although some people like to allow months for this process.

    I believe there is a device that tracks electric leaks of devices in tanks. Would this have help prevent what happened to my tank ?

    Tracking electric leaks only provides awareness that an electric leak exists. It will not prevent anything in and of itself. Prevention depends on how you react to having been made aware. So, I believe the correct answer to your question is 'maybe.' Many believe that grounding probes are likely to exasperate an electrical leak as it completes a circuit allowing electricity to flow through the tank, leading to electrocution. There are lots of articles arguing both sides of the benefits and risks of grounding aquaria.

     

    good luck in your recovery,

     

    fab

    Water change/pH Question

    in General Discussion

    No offense taken. I just wanted to clarify that I was not responding directly to the specific question Jason had asked.

     

    WRT the water change issue and the calcium kalkwasser aspect of the issue ...

    If you have a certain level of calcium concentration/buffering in your tank and you do a water exchange, the calcium concentration will change unless you load up the new water with the right amount to yield the

    desired concentration after the exchange. If the concentration is at the level you want it to be before the exchange, then you just have to match it with the new water, presuming you are replacing saltwater in the tank with the same amount of new water.

     

    fab

    Taking Corals on a plane

    in General Discussion

    Shouldn't get roughed up any worse than when they are shipped from the west coast to the east coast. Just pack them as for shipping, then check them as baggage. Post a lot of "FRAGILE" signs all over them and some "THIS SIDE UP" and hope the baggage handlers can read and are not malicious. If they are well packed you should not have a problem of any real consequence; unless you are trying to ship very large, fragile colonies. Even then, you just need to pack very well to minimize shock damage. Besides, even if you get some tip or branch breakage on a large piece, all you have done is to have fragged it.

     

    fab

    Water change/pH Question

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by fab

    I did not try to address Jason's question of calcium and kalkwasser dosing. Water changes exchange saltwater for saltwater with calcium additives. Clearly that can upset the chemistry of alkalinity and the buffering capacity in a system if those concentration issues are not tended to properly when a water change is performed.

     

    Instead, I picked up on an issue that Jason did not ask about, explicitly that is how evaporation affects salinity, which turns out to be an important issue for how often to makeup fresh water in small tanks. My caution here is to recognize the sensitivity of shallow systems to evaporation that can show up as larger swings in salinity than might be expected. I also caution that large, shallow tanks have the same problem. The problem I discuss in the prior post ties to the depth of a tank, not its volume.

     

    fab

    Water change/pH Question

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by fab

    Evaporation rate, measured in inches of water depth per day should not be very different between a nano, a pico or a mega tank given similar relative humidity, lighting and heat intensity at the water surface. The problem is that the percentage of the tank's volume that evaporates will be highest in a pico, because of its shallowness.

     

    The percentage of tank volume evaporated is the ratio of the number inches of the depth of evaporation to the tank depth, or:

     

    % reduction in volume = inches lost to evaporation / tank depth in inches.

     

    So,

    one inch of evaporation in a 25" deep tank is 1/25 = 4% reduction in water volume.

    Whereas,

    one inch of evaporation in a 10" deep tank is 1/10 = 10% reduction in water volume.

     

    Fact: Seawater runs between 33 and 37 parts per thousand - globally and all depths.

     

    Seawater is nominally 3.5% salt. That equates to 35 parts per thousand (ppt), or a specific gravity of 1.026.

    Specifically, 41.8 grams of salt per liter of fresh water produces 35 ppt saltwater.

     

    If you lose 10% of the volume of a tank of seawater to evaporation, you will end up with 90% of the water volume and 100% of the orginal salt content still in the tank. That runs up the salt as a percentage of water volume to 3.89%, or 38.9 ppt.

     

    In terms of specific gravity:

     

    seawater at 35.0 ppt = 1.026 specific gravity. By losing 10% of water volume to evaporation, the tank

    evaporates to 38.9 ppt = 1.029 specific gravity.

     

    In the case of the deeper tank that only loses 4% of its volume for an inch of evaporative loss in depth:

    the salt content would end up at 3.65% or 36.5 ppt.

     

    evaporation to 36.5 ppt = 1.027 specific gravity.

     

    The shallower tank that loses 10% due to evaporation exceeds the saltiest water in all the oceans by a lot, 38.9 ppt versus 37 ppt.

     

    The deeper tank that loses 4% due to evaporation remains inside the maximum ocean salinity, 36.5 ppt versus 37 ppt.

     

    I'd say it is very important not to let the tank depth be reduced much at all by evaporation in a shallow tank. Depending on where your livestock comes from, you might need to be concerned about even 2% depth loss, which would end up at 35.7 ppt which is a specific gravity of about 1.0266 from a starting point of 1.026 as I have presented the data.

     

     

    As points of reference:

    Indo Pacific water salinity is sometimes relatively low, specific gravity 1.022-1.026

    The Red Sea is more saline, specific gravity 1.027-1.028.

    That is why specific gravities of 1.025-1.026 are considered fairly ideal for saltwater aquariums as it hits right at the near-overlap in these two ranges.

     

    And by extension:

    Shallow breeder tanks or shallow coral growout raceways suffer the same problem as discussed above. If one tank loses one inch of water depth in a period of time, other tanks near it should also be expected to lose an inch of depth. It doesn't matter whether a tank is 10 gallons or 1000 gallons. So the shallower tanks will be likely to have more serious concentration increases than deeper tanks. The concentration increases are for all material in solution, not just salt.

     

    fab

    Off beat question - Saltwater and Grass

    in General Discussion

    In ancient times, conquering marauders sowed fields with salt to destroy the arability of soil. That was a way to vanquish an enemy far into the future. The Romans did this to Carthage and totally annilated it for the rest of history.

     

    Don't kid yourself about dumping saltwater on lawns or gardens. You will produce a disaster over time and it will be extraordinarily difficult to restore your soil to being fertile.

     

    fab

    Christmas tree worm questions

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by fab

    These guys come in some spectacular colors and some really pretty patterns. Their behavior is fun to watch as they disappear in half a blink at any disturbance. They are so fast it is hard to believe. ... Small but great looking and fascinating. They are very high up on my list of "gotta haves." ...Soooo, whoever has extras of these fascinating critters I'll be interested.

     

    fab

    Fan question

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by fab

    Here is a generality you can start with. It does not answer your question directly, but it lays the foundation for understanding the underlying issues in your question.

     

    Drawing (pulling) air horizontally across a tank provides the best laminar flow you will get over the tank. Blowing air across the tank will tend to produce turbulent flow. Laminar flow will move the heat away from the tank efficiently relative to turbulent flow across the tank.

     

    fab

    Last question on pump return from sump

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by fab

    My apologies, I don't normally think in terms of in-sump pumps. I see how that confused you. You are right ...

    If I have the return pump inside the sump, then I won't need to have anything connect to the water intake of the pump, is that correct?

    YES. That is correct.

     

    try these links for pictures and prices:

     

    http://www.savko.com/portal/plasticvalves.asp

     

    http://www.spears.com/prod_brochures/TU2000-2-0605_0605.pdf

     

    fab

    back of my tank

    in General Discussion

    A very dark blue looks very natural. It is what the ocean actually looks like from underwater in the late afternoon near the equator when you look horizontally and when the water is clear of plankton blooms. That's why we say "diving in the blue" when we refer to diving in the open ocean. Earlier in the day (e.g., 1000-1400) within 25 degrees of the equator it looks more of a sky blue, but I don't think that looks as good in a tank.

     

    fab

    Last question on pump return from sump

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by fab

    Be sure to connect the pump into your system with a shutoff valve on the supply side (input side) of the pump and union fittings on each side of the pump, that way you can remove the pump by merely shutting off the water and unscrewing plumbing components. Then if you decide you used the wrong pump, there is no problem to exchange it for the other or even for a new pump later on.

     

    The most complete version:

    Supply pipe, UNION, ball valve, UNION, pump, UNION, output pipe

     

    A shorter version just eliminates the first union, hard mounting the ball valve so it can't be removed later without cutting pipe:

    Supply pipe, UNION, ball valve, UNION, pump, UNION, output pipe

     

    If you have space for the complete version, I recommend it over the shorter version. Unions are cheap. Also, you can get ball valves with built-in unions on each end. They are called True Union Ball Valves.

     

    True union ball valve: UNION, ball valve, UNION

     

    If you prefer gate valves over ball valves then use them instead.

     

    fab

    Lionfish selection and compatability

    in General Discussion

    Lionfish are really interesting creatures in nature. I've dived where there is a school of them permanently ensconced next to a tall coral spire just off the southeast tip of the Sinai penninsular. They just float around about 10-15 feet below the surface in a group of about 10-12, all big fellas. It looks like a flight of helicopters. They slowly move around and encircle a school of small fish. Then a few of them make passes 'down the middle' snatching hors d'oeuvres and returning to their position in the flight. Never is there a chase. They just slowly, almost hovering, slide around the area as a though they are flying in formation. They can consume a large bait ball over a period of half an hour or so, never really zooming around in a hurry.

     

    It is really quite a sight to encounter. I've found this same school in the same place a month apart, doing the same thing the same way.

     

    I've always loved these guys. They are elegant and seem to be rather detached from the bustle of the reef, almost blase'. They are really laid back.

     

    fab

    Question on sump set up

    in General Discussion

    Rascal,

     

    conventional wisdom recommendation of 3x the volume of the refugium

    That is an interesting rule of thumb. Do you remember where you got it from?

     

    I would think that going higher in flow would blow out the tiny critters if the refugium has any; e.g., rotifers, copepods, amphipods.

     

    If you're just looking for nitrate export in the refugium, as in an algal scrubber, then higher flows would be fine and the skimmer could be allowed to polish the refugium output.

     

    fab

    courtship dance?

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by fab

    That behavior seems very familiar... Not only that, but I think I've even seen it in aquariums before, also.

    Why don't you capture it on video. Then we'll have some X rated stuff for the symposium this weekend.

     

    fab

    Lionfish selection and compatability

    in General Discussion

    Some people will offer that pretty much anything that comes from an ocean reef is not reef compatible or reef safe. The critters have to eat something and pretty much everything they eat comes from the reef. On the other hand, the optimists offer that, by definition, everything that comes from an ocean reef is reef compatible.

     

    So I guess it depends on your personal philosophy as to whether critters that come from ocean reefs are reef compatible or not.

     

    Personally, I believe that the issue of whether a critter is reef safe has more to do with what level of risk do you tolerate putting your valuable specimens in. We put a lot of stuff in our tanks, each of which will spend a lot of energy trying to stake out its own homeplate chemically or that will nibble at its neighbors mechanically, or harrass behaviorally. Ultimately, whether these critters are suitable in a reef tank has to do with how much space [separation from each other] the tank provides versus the needs of the individual critters and how tolerant the aquarist is of having his critters dine on each other at $$$ per plate.

     

    Certainly, live rock is safe enough in the presence of virtually anything you might want to put into your tank that orginally calls ocean reefs home. That is mainly because live rock is cheap and rather expendible, relative to expensive coral specimens. If a fish likes to make sand out of live rock, I really don't care very much. It is just another interesting behavior to watch. But then, I am an optimist and think that everything is reef safe, maybe not reef tank wise, but certainly reef safe.

     

     

    fab

    Question on sump set up

    in General Discussion

    If you are trying to produce a food chain with your refugium, then you do not want to skim its output.

     

    Presumably you would like your refugium to act as a device to remove nitrates, et al, from your display tank. To do this you can use the display tank water as a food source to the refugium. Therefore you would not want to skim the water that you pass into to the refugium on its input side.

     

    That is why you want to go from your display tank in parallel to both your skimmer and your refugium. Run the refugium output back into your sump where it will not get sucked up into the skimmer before it returns to the display tank. Then both the skimmed water and the refugium output water return back to the display tank together.

     

    Note that the food chain recirculates between the display tank and the refugium. Likewise water circulates between the display tank and the skimmer. The two circulations patterns do come together in the return pump on the way back to the display tank.

     

    fab

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