Folta March 18, 2005 Share March 18, 2005 Hello everyone! I just moved to Olney, MD, and was looking for local people who are reefkeeping as a hobby. I have much experience with freshwater fish, but until recently none with saltwater. So far things are going well. I actually aquired the tank, stand, uv sterelizer, light bar, skimmer, sump, overflow, tons of chemicals/test kits/fish food for free. The tank was in pretty bad condition (not structurally, just that no upkeep had been done on the tank for over a year) and there were actually still 3 fish left alive when I got it. I've sold one of the fish ( a lunare wrasse ) to a LFS, and the other two (oc. clowns) are still in the tank. The powerheads, skimmer, etc are all running well now, and water parameters are stable (no ammonia, nitrite, etc). I've put in some additions - a coral banded shrimp, a sixline wrasse, a copperband butterfly, and a bunch of various snails (including a redfoot snail that I found out was not reef safe, luckily I've gotten him out). The bulbs needed replacing, so instead I just ordered a new light bar and lights - 260 watt PC fluorescent. I also purchased a bunch of liverock for the tank thats been in for a few weeks now, and replaced the substrate with argonite sand (which looks so much better than the crushed coral, imo). So, I wanted to say hello to everyone out there in the area!! Also, I'm looking to start keeping some easy maintenance corals - zoas, shrooms, etc. If anyone close to me is looking to give/sell some, please don't hesitate to contact me! I've been getting some fabulous advice from reefcentral. In fact, that is how I heard about this site. I have some pictures that I've taken, if anyone would like to see. I have them hosted on photobucket, can I embed links in this forum? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chideloh March 18, 2005 Share March 18, 2005 Welcome to WAMAS Folta !!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tgallo March 18, 2005 Share March 18, 2005 whats up buddy,good to have you here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folta March 18, 2005 Author Share March 18, 2005 Thanks for the welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryL March 18, 2005 Share March 18, 2005 welcome to wamas!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott711 March 18, 2005 Share March 18, 2005 welcome, let us know if you need any help. What size tank do you have? I am in kensington, so relatively close. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folta March 18, 2005 Author Share March 18, 2005 Thanks again! I was just reading the thread about tank tours... that sounds like a neat idea. I definitely would like to see the assortment of corals that people keep in real life, not just photos. Also, I was wondering what LFS's you guys recommend in my area, north of dc. I know of congressional aquarium on rockville pike, tropicalfishworld off of shady grove further up 355, and totally fish on georgia avenue in layhill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctreptow March 18, 2005 Share March 18, 2005 Welcome Folta Congrats on the move to Salt. I did it 3 years ago and never looked back. The things we can do with saltwater and life you never expect to see is amazing. Thanks for saving those fish I know they're getting much better care now. Hope to see you at the next meeting.. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Stearns March 18, 2005 Share March 18, 2005 Welcome aboard! Sounds like you are taking some of the right steps in getting that tank rescued. Once you have read up on some of the basic maintenance thread/stickys and or reviewed some of the basic reef keeping books let us how we can support- many of us have low light corals that we'd be happy to give you to get started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folta March 18, 2005 Author Share March 18, 2005 Thanks for the welcome Chris and Lee! Here's a pic of the tank AFTER I spent a day cleaning it and getting the equipment running (btw, the algae had gotten so bad in it, that all of the glass was coated in it.. even with the lights on you couldn't see anything: Here it is a week later at the time of the move: And here is a pic from last weekend: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grav March 18, 2005 Share March 18, 2005 wow Good work. What is the total time frame from 1st pic to last? phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folta March 18, 2005 Author Share March 18, 2005 Timeframe would be about 3 weeks. I've heard that in Montgomery county, the tap water is really good. Good enough, in fact, to not need a RO/DI unit. What are your opinions on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folta March 18, 2005 Author Share March 18, 2005 Figured I would post a few more pics This one is of the lunare wrasse that was given to me. He's been sold to an LFS because he ate my cleaner shrimp, not to mention he's not really reef safe and needs more than a 55 gallon tank: Here is a pic of the clowns: another pic of them: A pic of my copperband: And another of him: A shot of the left side of the tank: And here's a pic of my cichlid tank: Please excuse the blurriness of the pics... I just bought a new digital camera last weekend and am learning how to use it! Btw, all but the plant in the top right corner in the cichlid tank are live plants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest D33rex March 18, 2005 Share March 18, 2005 Hello there and welcome. Couple things I can throw in there real quick....not using RO water is just asking for trouble...and they really arent that expensive when you think of the algae mess you could be dealing with if you get just one bad batch of water in there. Also some people may differ in opinion...but I advise against the use of the sterilizer...especially when first starting a reef...you want all those good bacteria in there and not getting UVized. Lastly....I think copperbands eat zoos so you may want to stick to other softies and hardy lps to start off. Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folta March 19, 2005 Author Share March 19, 2005 Copperbands will nip at the zoas? I knoew that they were 'reef safe with caution'.. thats a shame, I really want some zoas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller March 19, 2005 Share March 19, 2005 i have had 3 copperbands and one bothered any zoo one did nip at my clam though but they all died in a relativly short time even though each of them were eating well and looked in perfect health none lasted more then a mointh or so Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabrerad March 19, 2005 Share March 19, 2005 Welcome, It looks like you are well on your way. I also second the need for a RO/DI unit, especially if you are thinking about corals. To give you an idea, the water out of my tap reads around 150ppm, out of Brita filter for drinking it goes down to 50ppm, and out of my RO/DI is is 0. That's lots of potential nutrients for algae to grow. In addition, some nutrients in tap water, such as phosphate, are not good for SPS like Acropora. Good water for drinking does not mean good enough for a reef tank. There are lots of good RO/DI units that are inexpensive. Here is a little primer on what these TDS measurements mean: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-04/rhf/feature/ David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folta March 21, 2005 Author Share March 21, 2005 Alright, thanks for that info. Any suggestions on a good but inexpensive ro/di unit? How many gallons per day, etc should I look for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tgallo March 21, 2005 Share March 21, 2005 try www.airwaterice.com thay have great deals on ro/di units.thay have a reefkeeping unit wich sells for $145.00 airwaterice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabrerad March 21, 2005 Share March 21, 2005 I have an air water and ice unit and it performs very well. I have the typhoon III. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folta March 22, 2005 Author Share March 22, 2005 Ok, thats probably what I'll get then. On the plus side, my algae is really getting cleaned up... I have been leaving the lights off for longer, and have reduced the feedings. Only problem is its creating lots of dead algae that I keep having to get out The snails are also doing a good job on whats left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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