Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

This.:tu

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Here's a pisser, Steve...
I moved this 90 gallon God-forsaken money-pit here from PA because Lisa insisted. I mentioned the other day that I had had a gutful since this last year's disasters (tanks breaking, floods, general misery). 15 years of this stuff has left me out of interest. Turns out she insisted because she thought I loved it. :bh
So, here I am. I can't let it look like hell because I'm not built that way. So I'm going to continue by learning how to kill corals, and spend money at a ridiculously rapid pace.
Here's the thing, though...
There's a large group/organization here in Cleveland that does frag swaps, etc. It's a good base for me to learn from, something I never had before. So I'm going to see about joining, becoming active, making some friends locally, etc. That might salvage this sport for me.
Today's csualty is my chocolate star Patrick. He's outta here. He's the reason I failed my last coral adventure. I had no idea he was a coral eater, but now I know, so he's on Craigslist.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Okay, I joined the reef club. So far, I've met 3 of the members, great guys.
I have procured a bunch of live rock I needed to fill out my tank, and I got a few corals.
I got a bunch of powerheads, just picked up another Koralia 1400 today. I have a wavemaker in the mail.
One of the reef club guys came over and gave me a checklist of stuff to unscrewup in my tank and I've done most. I didn't fix a sand pile because he had me clean my skimmers and I cleaned them so good that they just won't make goo very good. The water is getting bad enough, so I'm not gonna make a bad thing worse.
I stopped feeding for now till the skimmers re-break-in. They should come around in the next day or two, we'll see.
I'm really getting a grip on how to get reef water right and keep it right. These are things I needed to learn. Now if I can apply that knowledge on down to my equipment, I'll be in real good shape. That won't take long at all.
Oh, I'm going to a Frag Swap in Cleveland on Saturday. I should be able to get some cool stuff there, I'm excited about that. :D

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Woah! This is the most crazy awesome thread ever! I had no idea there was such a hobby to this. I had fish growing up, had an albino frog, etc, but nothing since. Crazy!!!

How long will the fish you have live? Will you trade/sell them, or keep them till they pass? Can you insure such expensive fish?

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Reefkeeping isn't so much about keeping fish, it's more about keeping invertebrates. Corals, "bugs", shrimp, snails, live rock, starfishes, sea cucumbers, sponges, things that live in a reef system. Fish are a part of that system, but only a part.
When corals get too big, you "frag" them, which means you cut off pieces and they turn into new animals. That's how you keep your population under control. You can sell those fragments to other hobbyists.
No, you can't insure the stuff, at least not to my knowledge.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Well said, Scott.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Can I get the expert opinions on this tank

Its listed locally on Craigslist for $500

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I like it. I would probably go with only the coarse filter or you will be cleaning it too often. My little tank in the bathroom has been working for maybe 12 years with less gear than that one has.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

The RSM is an awesome system. I dont remember what these cost new but $500 seems a bit high. I paid $800 fro my 90 gallon system. I would recommend getting your eyes on it lok everything over make sure the glass/acrylic isnt scratched. One of the biggest things ive seen with these all in one nano tanks is leaking around the bottom seam. This is what mine did.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Interior scratching of plexiglass isn't that visible when filled with water but looks terrible dry. $500 would not be bad if it came cycled and stocked. Still, you can find great deals all the time from people who are giving up the hobby.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I believe the RSM is glass though.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Yep, so it says. I like that. Easier to scrape the coraline off.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

ABSOLUTLEY and you arent afraid to save some time and use a razorblade just remember vertical or horizontal scraping only no diagonals.

Im currently in the early summer algae bloom i get every year. Its the water I use. Only tap water goes into my tank :ss

P.S. I dont recommend anyone to do this. It works for me based on where I live and local water chemistry. The two keys to being successful in this hobby are DO NOT OVERFEED and DO NOT OVERSTOCK. Imagine living with your whole family in a studio apartment.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Some of the pricing I've seen online are in the $750-$800 range. Apparently this was only used for a month before upgrading to a larger tank.
http://hartford.craigslist.org/for/2281123389.html

However, after reading through this thread a bit last night, my dream of owning a saltwater tank has been a bit diminished.

Is it worth the trouble?

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

That depends on how much you are willing to work and what you plan to keep. If you just want some fish with live rock its very easy to keep. Very little to maintain.

If you plan on doing many different types of hard coral small polyp stony, clams, etc there will be more to maintain. The RSM tanks are wonderful all in ones. But at 34 gallons you will be pretty limited on how much you can keep in them.

I have been in the hobby for over 5 years which isnt very long compared to Blueface.

What did you have in mind for stocking your tank?

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Well thats the problem, I love the look of both fish and coral, but I understand they are really two different tanks. I figured with that size tank I would probably be limited to 3 or 4 fish if I went with live rock. Is that correct?

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

To add to what Scott said, as far as the fish lifespan goes, many saltwater fish can live as long as 15-20 years in captivity and as long as 30 in the ocean.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

It is not hard to maintain if you commit to setting it up right and staying with your commitment.
To keep both fish and coral there are some rules. 1 is you have to have a sump, a good overflow TO that sump
and a good skimmer. 2 is Not a high population of fish, although depending on your sump and commitment
that is not such a tight rule. All fish do is eat, poop and swim. All three add stressors to your tank. So you
need a good system for dealing with that. You also need to set up a RO/DI water unit in your home, can be
done for 150 at Lowe's.

I recently found out I was not commited properly, and went from a 40 with a great sump to a 40 with no sump.
I was agitated at the power consumption. Enter Aiptasia infestation which spiralled out of control. So I took
all the uninfested rock and coral and kept only my two Green Chromis and went down further to a 20 gallon.
Now instead of a sump or skimmer, I have a kooky surface overflow made out of a plastic bottle and there
is a hose leading from that bottle's neck directly into a plain old waterfall aquarium filter with floss, carbon and
other media. It is working well, but i have to keep the floss changed twice a week. No Aiptasia problem, and
I killed the two hangers'on with Kalkwasser paste. Talk about not a lot of space to work with. But it looks good
again. I should never have cranked up another tank back a few years ago when I re-started. I no longer
felt like spending the money, it was like a zombie walking into the store and getting all the stuff and ordering
even more online. I was not listening to my true inner self. It was crazy. I would not have even moved down
to the 20 were it not for my beautiful purple mushrooms I have, they are freaking gorgeous, and I did not want
to give them away. I figured I would keep a tank just for them, and the rest of the corals are there by the
grace of the purples.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Moe, to continue that thought I got distracted on, I have SEEN reef tanks SWARMING with fish, but naturally,
they have super systems in place to clean the water. Normal hobbyists should probably do as you said, limit
the amount of fish they keep. The desire for great schools of fish would likely add 3-5000 dollars worth of
additional equipment to deal with their pollution. Like was said before, to ME, the tank is much more about the
creatures that you have that you do not see at first, worms, scuds, tubeworms, sponges tunicates, etc.
Some of the most interesting things in the tank never move. But they do grow.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Scott, I was wondering about your skimmer. Do you have a way to keep your water level constant?
i.e. a top-off system? Sump? Most skimmers are pretty reactive to water level changes.
Not sure what your setup currently is, but some skimmers are pretty picky

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

This is my twelve gallon tank in the bathroom. This was from two years ago but it still looks about the same. It went through a crash during a heat wave when the water got too hot but recovered to about what it was before.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

It's like earning a law degree and never making a dime for it.
If you love law, the answer is "absolutely". If it's just a passing fancy, I'd suggest a nice painting.
Moe, in the last 15 years, I've easily spent 14 years of them in saltwater. Most times I don't even wash my hands anymore. Some days I look at the thing and rue the day I ever met a fish tank.
Some days, I very much enjoy it.
Other days, Lisa and I enjoy it very much together. The smile on her face is priceless.
When friends and family come over and there's six or eight kids and four or five other grownups and we're all looking at it together, and the kid's eyes are as big as saucers, that makes it become a true God-given blessing.

When I moved out here, I had made up my mind that I was all done. Lisa made me stick with it. She made the right call. :tu

Oh, one more thing...
That page about the tank and how it makes things easy, blah, blah, blah?
Utter bullsh1t. The best way I can explain the commitment is that it's exactly like getting a dog. It requires just as much work time, if not more. You can't leave it for any amount of time without being in care of another reefer, and it ties a brother down.
Think about the things you do for your dog, checking to see if he's sick, looking after his health, etc. If that's okay with you, go get it.

Now, that's a reef tank.
A marine tank, or fish-only tank isn't near as hard. You can make it hard and some guys do, but it's not remotely as hard as a reef tank, in my experience.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Brad, I have two otb skimmers. Each are rated over the tank size.
I noticed that when they are new, the acrylic is so frictional that it severely retards the whirlpool. As soon as an algae film grows on it in a few days, they kick in. In a few weeks, they work like madmen.
I screwed up. I should have never cleaned both at once. One was practically brand new and didn't need cleaned, as far as I was concerned. They were chugging out the junk every time I fed.
I had a kid come in and help me out, and I got nervous. He had great ideas and was a HUGE help, but he thought stuff out like kids do. In an effort to do honor and respect to the favor he bestowed upon me, I did a couple things that I knew I shouldn't have done in haste.
The one thing I haven't done is disrupted my sandbed and thinned it out as he suggested. I'm not doing that until the skimmers are 100%, my diatom filter is hooked up and running, I have 20 gallons of replacement water ready, and I've removed all my corals down by the bottom.

Oh, I have an otb filter that makes a crazy racket when the water level drops a quarter inch. The tank is right here in our office. If I don't hear it, Lisa points it out. It gets topped off by old Dad every couple days.
My skimmers aren't real sensitive to water level, either, being over-the-backs.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

If it's anything I've decided that I am going to be setting up a reef in my apartment. Prepare for photos galore in the next few weeks.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Florida and Apartment you better be prepared for high power bills. Lighting and keeping it cool either AC or a chiller is going to add up fast. May want to look into LEDs right off the bat.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I'll be using LEDs that will cut back on both heat and power consumption. Last summer my electric bills were only $80 should be ok. :)

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I'll be using this http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...9&pcatid=21599

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Marc, How do you convert the wattage of led's to standard wattage?
For instance, my t5 light is about 450 watts over my 90 gallon reef.
If you have led's, you'd only be able to get maybe 150 watts out of two fixtures over my tank.
So what does that equal in "standard" wattage? Is there a formula, calculator, or does each particular light tell you "Our 75 watts is like 750 watts of t5 lighting", etc.
By the way, I just saw the new led's for the first time a couple days ago. I still haven't recovered from sticker shock. The ones you posted are a lot more reasonable, but that's without comparing them performance-wise.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I don't know the exact formula I believe it has to do with how efficiently they penetrate throughout the water. I'll pull up some info when I get home.

They are more expensive but imagine the cost of replacing bulbs every 6months opposed to being set for 10 years. Plus the lowered electricity bill, and no need for a chiller or blasting AC. These will be on a 14 or 29 gallon tank as well maybe the 50 if I can get my buds to help me move it from 60 miles away.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Thought Id share a picture of my 90 gallon in its current state.

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._6697649_n.jpg

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Looks great, Marc!!!
I went to a frag swap today and spent a bunch of money. Came home with some real nice fast growers and a clam. It's my first throw at a clam, so I'm a bit nervous.
I've got the house wrecked and I'm covered with salt water again. :noon

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Thank you, its a bit sparse currently.

Do you know what kind of clam you got? Corsea, Dersea, Maximus, gigas, squamosa?
Pictures when they are all happy and extended.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Yeah, it's a blue one. It's about 1 1/2" long, white on the outside and blue on the inside.
He only opens a little bit in the bowl. I've decided to call it a Harv Clam until we figure out what it is, then Lisa will probably name it. It's hers, she picked it out.
I have no idea what any of my stuff is. I take that back, we have a big Kenya tree. I know what my fish are, too. :D

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I finally got my salinity up and my lights backed down, and my tank is just hanging in there. It really took a shock from moving here in January. Lots of die-back of algae and live rock.
Right now it's cycling again, to some extent. The hair algae is back despite absolute zero phosphate. I'm pretty sure I'm dealing with silicates for two reasons...
1.) My ro/di unit is desperately overdue for a filters/membrane changeout.
2.) I scrub my water with a diatom filter.
Once I get my new cartridges in the ro/di, water changes should solve that in short order, and I'll clean up the diatom filter and put it away for a long nap.
I'm really happy to be at the "sit and wait" period. I'm gonna let the green and brown algae grow till it peters out and the skimmers will clean that up.
I'm looking forward to the break, this has been 3 grueling months of reef beatings. :D

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

IT could actually be both. Phosphates will not show up on a test if you have algae growing. The Algae eats up the Po4 and to some extent the Nitrate too. Either way you are on the right track. Looking forward to seeing photos.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Thanks for that, brother. I did not know that at all. I hardly have any algae in there at all right now, I think I'll test the phosphate just for the hell of it.
If I can find my little camera, I'll take some pics as soon as I can.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

If anyone is interested, I have some little things left over from my tear down that might be of use. Trades for a few sticks?? :D I'll look in the next few days but I know these off the top of my head.

Clear Filter housing with refillable DI cart
DI Resin ~5 pounds or so
Bulk reef supply feric oxide media (phosphate remover)
Inline digital TDS meter

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I think I am going to snap a photo tonight, because as bad as the switchover from 40 down to 20 could have
gone, all I really got was a diatom bloom, and a small one at that. My two snails mowed that down and had a ball
doing it. I really like this setup better, the green chromis being the only two fish works better than trying to
feed a yellow tang that would not come out if I was in the room. Now everything is blown out and huge,
and although it is not a glamourous tank, there are no freaking aiptasia anymore, and that was the goal.
The two I had that managed to not be seen did not survive a face full of kalk paste. A LITTLE Valonia problem
persists, but it's pretty common on reefs & I am going to let it work itself out. I am not looking for another
emerald crab. My old one used to knock EVERYTHING over all the time. But all in all the tank looks pretty good
actually, for a ghetto, anyway.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Scott, I think I am going to pick up a small HOB skimmer this week. The only reason I restarted my tank,
and this is sadly hilarious, was that I had an old Berlin skimmer which requires a massive pump to aerate,
and some dead live rock. Everything else had to be bought. That junk wasn't worth 80 bucks, so I spent
probably 2000 to build a tank around 80 bucks. :r Ludicrous. But I did it anyway. But now I know I can
get by with a small HOB, although I do like the homemade overflow I made. I need a pic of that tonight, too.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I have been toying with getting a small, 10-20 gal, tank. I am still in a bit of shock! I had a 90 gal that had a pump in the bottom go bad....which destroyed the hardwoods downstairs. Any suggestions?

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Setting the whole thing up inside a baby pool. :sh

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

OK, here is the 20 gallon as it looks 5 minutes ago. This tank was a junk tank for years, and is scratched up and seems to have some
diatoms on the glass that I missed, but you get the idea. My favorite fauna have to be the purple mushrooms, they are the sole reason
I did not chunk the whole lot. TOO fine to let go for free to some Ahole fish store. BUT also there is the purple gorgonian. These used
to be everywhere, now you can't find em. They frag so easy and grow superfast. They also clean the tank water with the thousands
of individuals that make up the colony. A few zoanthus species. Maybe more pics as I see stuff you would enjoy. Also note in the top
left corner, the upturned plastic bottle. The top has notched teeth that strain the top film from the water the way an overflow does.
The water that goes into it is piped directly to the waterfall filter. Imperfect system, but pretty dang effective til I get a HOB skimmer.
If it seems a bit undergrown, remember that the entire tank was stripped down and mostly all new structural live rock added only a few
weekends ago. You can't imagine the life that perished when I burned my live rock in fresh water for a few days, then pressure washed
it and put it on a rack to dry. SAD. This tank at 40 gals was CRAWLING with scuds and copepods and amphipods...crawling.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Purtty.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

ill be trading some of my Green Montipora Cap for some Green star polyps and some eagle eyes zoanthids this weekend. Im excited.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Very nice OLS!! I love the mushrooms the best, too. I just like to watch for the little stuff

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

I'd suggest you get two, if they'll fit. There's little Coralife's that are real cheap. That way when one quits, the other will keep chugging until you realize the venturi tube is plugged with salt. :D
The other stuff...
You're preaching to the choir. You, by no means, have a monopoly on stupid, my friend. :r

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Your tank looks great, Brad. You should get a shipwreck or one of those diver guys that go up and down on bubbles, but aside from that, suhweet. :tu
That thing is gonna be spilling over with corals in no time, I'm waiting to see how long it takes to get back to the 40.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Try a nano-cube like Lance has. The pic is just up there a few posts.
I always thought they were cool, and they seem to do a great job at keeping the water nice.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

Oh, Brad, I have some of that blue stuff like you have on the right. I just like it cause it's blue, and it grows all over Molasses Reef off Key Largo. It looks amazing waving around in the surge. It reminds me of the wind blowing the oats around out in the field.

Re: The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread
 

haha, I wish I lived closer to you, I got freaking star polyps coming out of my star polyps.
Keep em on the sand! Or sit em on a piece of junk rock on the sand. Anything they get within an inch of will
soon have star polyps growing on it.