Rgwiz11

Just one other thing to think about. Don't panic if the tang doesn't take to it right away. It took 3 or 4 times of me putting nori in the tank before Eric (my yellow tang) figured out what it was.

pm replied to

They were sold to my roommate as blue-legged, but I'm fairly certain they are not. They look more like gulf hermits, but could be something entirely different. All of them look to be about 1" big. We took them out of our main tank as we started to lose snails at an alarming rate. Free for the taking...although, I'm not entirely against a small frag of something for my bare tank.

Ya, +1 on the HEB. Just read the ingredients to make sure it's just seaweed. I think I got mine for something like $2.99, and my yellow tang goes to town on it. Should last quite a while too.

There is a place in the world for the less than perfect fish...

Yup...bottom of the ocean where there are no lights to see the ugly things!

I thought Dripping Springs was only bottled locally. It could be Tito's though... Whatever one that is only bottled locally, I've been told not to buy as they are a big polluter here in Austin

Honestly, for starting your tank out, I don't think tap water is bad so long as you dechlorinate it. As mcallahan said you may get a diatom bloom, but you may get a diatom bloom using RO/DI water or a premade saltwater mix. As long as you top off with RO/DI and stay away from tap during that whole process you should be fine. I filled my 75g with tap, and have been using RO/DI since, with no ill effects other than a small diatom bloom during the cycling.

From what I've read if you want a DSB to form an anaerobic zone, you need a minimum of 4", but no more than 8", otherwise you run the risk of your bacteria creating that nasty hydrogen sulfide gas

I just started using whatever brand it is they carry at RCA. I've had mixed results. All of my fish seem to appreciate the mysis that are soaked in it except my flame angel. He'll eat non-garlic mysis but will spit out the garlic ones

I use a cleaner specifically made for acrylic. Yes it contains ammonia....but I like to live dangerously

Trade made, thanks Chad and Belinda

I've heard of "Black Spot" Algae (I believe it's actually a type of Red Algae), but last I heard it only grew on plants and not rocks.

pm's replied

Hey everyone,

Looking to get a nice piece of some pink birdsnest. I have an "almost new" K4 powerhead (was in my tank for all of 2 weeks before I said it was too much flow). Or, I could just buy some if you're not interested in a trade. Might be interested in the thick branch variety if that is what you have to offer, but am really looking for the thin. I'm in the arboretum area of Austin, so that would work best for me, but I'm willing to do some traveling.

Welcome aboard Dan!

As far as siphoning water out of your tank, yes, replace it with pre-mixed saltwater. If you don't have critters in the tank you can add salt directly to the tank, but I found out it just wastes time waiting for the water to clear up again...

When you mix up the saltwater, I was told to do it at least one day in advance. Not only does this ensure that all of the salt dissolves into the water, but it helps control the pH of water as well.

For protein skimmers, $140 could be a good price, could be a bad price. It all depends on the skimmer that he showed you. Different types of skimmers, and different qualities will cost more or less. For the HOB (Hang on Back) skimmer that I run in my 75g tank (My Skimmer), I payed $200 for it. It retails for anywhere between $225-$250. One piece of advice I will give you is try not to skimp on this. A lot of people will tell you, if you try to cut corners and save money now, it's a big regret down the road when the "bargain skimmer" isn't performing the way you want it. So, it all depends on the skimmer you want. I've seen skimmer prices range from $100 to the one listed on our forums for $2300 (Pricey Skimmer). Check the hardware section of these forums, people are usually parting out tanks and you can get a used skimmer that is still in good working order for cheaper than you can get anywhere else.

For your corals, I don't know what kind of lights you have at the moment. Are they metal halide, T5, an incandescent light bulb? If you know what type of lights they are, and the wattage they are, it will be easier to get some advice.

Hey Laura, some things have come up after work today, and I'm not entirely sure I'll be over to pick up the biocube. I'm trying to work some magic so I can get out early, which, if that is the case, it won't be a problem. Otherwise, I'll have to wait until Thursday to grab it.

Hey Brian, Welcome to the hobby!

Never feel bad about asking "newbie" questions, everyone started out knowing nothing at some point

As far as "salt content spiking" I'm assuming that you mean that your salinity went up. If that's the case, it is more than likely caused by water evaporating from your tank. Something a lot of people don't think about or notice when they are starting out is how much water evaporates out of a tank on a daily basis. In my 75g, it's fairly normal to get about a gallon of water evaporating every 1 - 1 1/2 days. To top off the tank, make sure you are adding fresh water to it, and not more salt water. Salt doesn't evaporate, just the water does.

For adding livestock, most everyone will tell you to start from the bottom of the food chain and move up. It sounds like you have some algae growing in your tank, so it may be OK to add some snails and/or hermits to start feeding on your algae. They will help clean up your tank and you shouldn't need to move your rock out and clean it with a toothbrush. Just remember, add slowly. Start out with only a handful of critters and make sure that the bacteria in your tank can keep up with them before you add more. Your bacteria will break down the waste created by anything you add, and if you overwhelm it your tank could crash.

Do some research to see what critters eat the algae that you'd like to remove. Also, just because you find something that says a certain snail will eat x-type of algae, doesn't mean that it is always the case.

Anyway, best advice I've gotten with my tank so far is to start slow, and don't rush anything. That includes cycling, adding livestock, and anything else.

Hope that helps.

I thought the same thing Alex! I thought it was a typo until I did a search on this skimmer.

I was thinking of getting some pulsing xenia, but after reading all these stories, I'm starting to question it.

Was nice meeting you two. Thanks for the zoas!

I've always heard smaller the better. Yes, the larger ones will eat more, but they can get hostile when they get huge. Also, the little ones can get in between rocks better than the behemoths.

@Roberts,

To answer one of your questions, I think it is very viable for a "newbie" to purchase a complete system. IMO, I think you are less likely to kill something off with a mature system that has been running for a while than if you try to set something up on your own. With that said, however, I think you learn much more by doing it yourself and seeing how things progress. I'm sure you could learn the same things with an established system, just a matter of what you prefer I guess.

My understanding is that they are basically the same thing and work on the same principal. That is, water + air get pumped into the skimmer, a whirlpool is created and bubbles come out in the collection cup. The only thing different is that in a needle wheel skimmer, there is a propeller that spins around and agitates the incoming water+air mixture even further and is supposed to create even finer bubbles.

Personally, I use the RemoraPro. It's different being that it does not involve a vortex being created. It shoots a jet of water at high pressure down into a standing pool which creates the contact bubbles needed for skimming. The drawback is that they are a bit noisier, but in my limited experience, they do a lot better job skimming.

I'll ask...Why is Texas backwards?