etannert

You should PM RChavez if you're cool with SPS, he's got several varieties of blue and a couple of orange, and he'll do package deals and very reasonable prices.

I dose B-Ionic Ca, Alk and Mag daily via a Marine Color dosing pump unit that I've had lots of trouble with (need to start a thread about that) or by hand. Weekly I dose 1 drop Iodine, 5ml Potassium, 5ml Strontium, and 15ml ReefPlus. The additives are not too expensive but the dosing pump can be.

My parents swear by them. Back when I was living at home I had one and it drove me nuts with the different heights on different sides/chambers (queen size). The unichamber is a little better but I still prefer a standard mattress.

A 10g is only going to support maybe 3 fish. My tactic when I had a small tank was to choose "standard" fish and then specialize them - a firefish but purple, a clownfish but orange skunk, etc. - so that I could make the most of my limited selection. Think also about varying heights and activity levels - gobies on the bottom, firefish tend to hang in one place, clowns move around a lot, etc.

A cardinal would look cool in the mangrove roots!

Is the bryopsis embedded in the mat of the plays? If not - I would try to remove the palys and switch them to another plug. If so... high mag (1500+) is the surest way to get rid of bryopsis.

Skimmer, pico light, and ATO gone. Thanks Grim and Dan for coming by tonight in the cold weather!

JBJ ATO pending Grim.

7. Hanna Calcium reagent, $15/ea. - both boxes are brand new and still in the plastic wrap - 2 avail.

#5 & 6 pending Dan, SourDatx second in line for #6. Thanks guys!

Looking to get a few items out of the way... pick-up is in the Parmer/McNeil area. PM please!

1. JBJ ATO - $40 (no pump included)

2. Underwater fuge light - $5 (only one bulb works)

3. Clip-on fuge light - $5 (no clip, just reflector and bulb)

4. Kent Liquid Reactor - half gallon jug, about 3/4 full - $10

5. Pico light - 18w PC bulb, 50/50 blue and white - $10 (originally from a TOM Deco pico kit)

6. Stock Solana skimmer - FREE - just want this gone!!

Thanks for looking!

Greatest cost is the initial outlay for equipment. This is where research and a willingness to buy used will help. A good light fixture is worth the money.

Once you get into upkeep, no cost is crippling but there is a steady, low-level expense that you need to be aware of:

- salt - most people do 5-10% weekly water changes; on a bigger tank you might be able to go a month but would need to do a bigger change. So imagine on a 200g tank, if you did a 20% monthly change, you'd need 40g of saltwater. That's about $40 worth of salt per month, or $480/yr.

- water - buying RODI at the store or buying an RODI unit - the more water you make the more frequently you will have to change your filters and resin

- supplements - mainly, alk/calc/mag. There are budget options for this (the BRS mix-your-own supplements) but when you're just learning how to keep a tank stable, it's good to go with quality, dependable, proven brands like the B-Ionic supplements. If you are dosing 200mg+ per day because you have a 200g tank, you can easily spend $100 a month on this.
- bulbs - depending on the number and type of bulbs you have - PCs should be changed every 6-9mos and T5s/metal halides every 9-12mos. A big tank like a 200+g would likely require 3-4 metal halides; depending on the bulbs you go with, this could cost $100-250.

I have a Solana 34g with a 150w metal halide, Tunze 9002 skimmer, and a Tunze Osmolator auto top-off. I also have a Marine Color dosing pump, although most people wouldn't consider a dosing pump to be must-have equipment. I have always bought used and resold as I've upgraded; I started with a $60 used BC14, next tank was an $80 used NC24, and finally I got this $200 used Solana with stand. My skimmer and ATO I bought used. I've never made back 100% on selling equipment, but I since I buy used I don't loose a lot on the resell price. We have four tanks in the house (I also have a pico, $20 used, and my boyfriend has a 20g and a 30g), so it's a little difficult for me to say exactly what I spend on upkeep for that one tank, but I have a nice variety of softies, LPS and SPS as well as fish, and it's relatively easy to keep up.

Maybe someone who keeps a big tank could chime in with real cost estimates...

You have to decide what is more important to you - your determination to "go big or go home" (in which case, save up for a long time, make an equipment list and buy things one at a time as good deals become available, and be ready to plan/buy/wait for a couple years before you ever put water in) or your desire to get started in the hobby. A massive tank like a 150+ is rarely going to be a positive learning experience, and this hobby has a learning curve regardless of how much research you do in advance. A 40 or 55 gallon reef can be set up and maintained much less expensively and offers sufficient volume for stability and a variety of fish and coral options. Smaller tanks can be beautiful - stop by if you want to see a variety of under-40g tanks, all run on different systems/equipment but all very nice.

If you buy used you can generally recoup at least 75% of your expenses when you resell, which makes a smaller "starter" tank financially feasible.

+1. Temp should generally be 78-80.

Eek. It doesn't look happy, but I don't know what else to tell you. Any recent changes to the tank? Is anything irritating its foot? Sorry :-(

Is it just me or is the search function not working? I just tried a few really generic terms like 'LED' and got no results.

I have extra pots and pans if needed. Also a Target gift card that I can "regift."

Ooo! Pick me!

I have some pots and pans you can have. I also have a bunch of bath stuff and some clothes I was getting ready to donate. I'm sure we can help with frags when the time comes.

What about plumbing that high drain to another container so that you have double the amount of "waste" water storage as you do RODI storage? You would probably still want to put a drain on the secondary storage unit so as prevent overflows, but it would allow you to capture the additional waste water for targeted watering.

+1

Stable environment

Lots of food

Patience

Ich is a frequent part of the introduction of a tang to a new tank. You are unlikely to completely eradicate it from your tank, nor is it necessary that you do so if your fish are healthy and eating, and your tank is stable.

Baby tangs are hard to keep. It took us 3 tries before we got one that made it, and he was a fiesty one that was eating at the store.

I am CLEARLY in the wrong line of work.

Is this for in your tank? Make sure it is marine safe before putting it in your tank!

Also, keep in mind that it takes a coral time to adjust to being moved. Really you should give it several days if not a few weeks to adjust before deciding it's not doing its best.

Red coris (formosa) wrasse.

+1 rocks leaching nutrients back into the system.