Gonzobob

Paid for hammer (no hermits in stock

I emailed Dan to see if I can get in on the order. If I can I'll be getting a hammer coral and some blue leg hermits.

Agreed this one look more streamlined. I do have to say I like the hook on Melev's, let's me hang it on the side of the tank between shots.

Looks very nice. I have one I picked up from melev's reef that works well.

So for dates I'm thinking either Feb 18th or March 4th. Dave, thank you for offering to host again. Would either of those dates work?

You bet. There's very little I won't try Besides I like chicken, I like eggs, this seemed like a fair midpoint.

Oh good Lord. Having had balut in Manila I think I'll pass. (well depending on how much I drink )

Sorry for the late response, had the same issue with one of my MP10s, contacted EcoTech by email. Less than 2 weeks later I had a replacement MP10 which works great.

Oh have a look at one of these in reef crest mode. It sells the system.

Ok,

This would be the second vaguely annual reef talk and scotch celebration.

I cannot host but will supply a bottle of good scotch and if requested a bottle of decent to good bourbon for any particularly patriotic types.

Last time this was Prof, Café Racer Mike and myself but I’m hoping to expand the participant list. The goal is just to get together in a relaxed atmosphere and discuss whatever comes up. Presumably this would be reefkeeping but last time the subject covered reefkeeping, misc other pets and motorcycle mishaps. (thanks Dave and Mike)

No firm date obviously till we find either a host or someone suggest another likely gathering place. I’m presuming either the last week / weekend of this month or the first of next.

Reply to this thread or contact me via PM if interested.

Regards,

Russell

Hey Team,

(sorry my work life is bleeding over) Linda's looking for a 75 glass reef ready tank with stand. (having built her 46 bowfront stand and canopy I'm adding the canopy requirement).

Optional items (we / she has / can get)

Protein skimmer

Sump

Lighting

double plus cool points

Peninsula or island format

Thanks for looking,

Russell

da dum da dum Attack of the pepps.

Plus 1 on peppermint shrimp. I've had aptasia at one time or another in almost all of my tanks. Had being the operative word, I just drop a pep or two in the tank and wait. I have found that they sometimes seem to ignore particularly large aptasias. The only nuisance nems I've ever needed to take active steps with were very large aptasia and majanos.

I clean during alternate water changes. Using the siphon works just the same.

I recently picked up some new heaters. What I do is put them one at a time in 5 gallons of water with a thermometer and run them till I get a solid temp. Then adjust. Cycle each heater through the same process and they should be calibrated to each other.

As stoneroller said it's often one of those things that seems to just hang around.

That being said the methods I've seen work best to manage:

Manual removal (careful not to break the bubbles)

Water changes

Manage nutrients

OK, everyone talks about water changes but in my experience the discussion goes something like this:

Hey, they recommend X% every X days.

Which I do….. or try to do…. Or do every X-Y days.

So methodology of accomplishing X every Y days is something that, in my experience, doesn’t get discussed.

With that as an opening statement I’m willing to accept that either this is already common knowledge, or that the reason that no one does this is well known and undoubtedly someone will chime in immediately.

Using an ATO to make water changes easier

Requirements:

Tank has to be setup with an ATO.

Parts:

2X 5 gallon buckets or other containers, (one for new water, one for waste)

Pump such as maxi-jet (capable of matching the flow, at head, of your preferred siphon hose)

Tubing connected to pump

2^nd pump (in bucket circulation) (or same connected to tubing)

Thermometer / heater for checking / preparing water (ph or other testing)

Method

Mix salt to desired specific gravity, allow to sit for 24 + hours, test for temp / ph / specific gravity ect.

Move bucket next to ato reservoir.

Clamp tube from pump into sump or sump area, or wherever ATO is plumbed (ok, not into the water, as you don’t want any back siphon), adjacent and at the same level as your current ATO plumbing is ideal

Unplug pump from reservoir, plug in pump in bucket so as to use ATO float valve and switch.

Siphon water out as normal.

ATO automatically replaces removed water, having the same capacity waste and replacement water containers makes balancing removal / replacement easier.

Once finished unplug pump from ATO.

Replug pump from ato reservoir and dispose of old water as normal.

Caviets: I have a total (currently) of 5 tanks, using the term loosely that require water changes. This method has over the last 3 months made water changes for these tanks easier to manage as I really hate the drain then replace method I’d been using previously.

In general if the polyps recede at night it's photo, no recession, non-photo.

This is one of these hobbies where a little pre purchase research goes a long way

Manual removal, water changes, only use RODI for making SW. Check the age of the bulbs if you can.

Yup, Robb's got it. These steps will not only get you in good shape reletively quickly but are great advice for keeping the problem at bay once you have it under control. Last point would be to monitor your feedings both in quantity and method.

Long time customer myself. First fresh water then reef. Love the shop, hate the drive from Round Rock.

Welcome Aquadome

I put the food in a clear plastic tube so the food cannot be intercepted by the fish before it sinks to the sand bed. Generally they lose interest once it gets towards the bottom.

You should be fine. I've used this for repairs as well.

The two most common methods for controlling micro bubbles are as follows:

Forcing the flow through a sponge or filter material thick enough to give the micro bubbles enough time and exposure to consolidate into larger bubbles which easily rise and dissipate.

The second method is to force the water containing the micro bubbles down under a barrier which again gives them time to consolidate and float. This method is often combined with the earlier method to catch any bubbles which pass an initial stage.

Providing additional details or a picture of your sump may help others provide you with ideas or solutions.

Yup, Tunze's have my vote as well. I've got both and speaking for the semi lazy reef keeper I can say I do at least twice as much maintenance on the Koralia's to keep them performing.

I have and use both controllable Tunzes (6055s) and Vortechs (mp10s). I happen to prefer the Vortechs but as Mark said both work well.

Ah, offroaddodge,

Good list. I try (try being the operative word) to change my bulbs yearly. On multibulb tanks I try to change half the bulbs every 6 months to minimize the impact. I also give all my stands the once over to check for any rusting hardware, water damage, sagging, ect.