The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread

[Don Fernando]

Originally Posted by Blueface

It looks cranky, what is his name? Al?

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by Wolfgang

Pm me your addy please Carlos :-D you have WON!

Any ideas what to do about my kole tang being a bully or will they all get along once boundries are set?

Don't worry about the prize. Pass it on to a newb on my behalf. I had an unfair advantage once you gave me the price range and knew it wasn't a tang or a wrasse. I kept in mind you have a reef and that limits the fish vastly. If you would have said the $20-30 range, I would have gone with a Coral Beauty as I had already figured it to be an Angel.

There is a trick I always used that worked very well for my customers and for me when I acclimated fish and the other tank mates were aggressive towards it. Can you catch either of them?
If you can, get a plastic 1/2 gallon container at Walmart, with a lid, sort of like a juice container with a somewhat wide opening. Drill holes all over it to allow water flow. Stick the aggressor in there as he is the most acclimated and hardiest at this point. Place him behind a rock or around a rock so he can feel some comfort. Leave him there for a day or two. He will be the most docile pup ever when he gets out. That will have given the flame ample opportunity to get around the tank, find a home and let the tang see him and not be able to bully him.
In the future, if you can't catch the bully, place the new on in the container and place him against a rock for comfort. All others will come around the container and try to rough it up. In time (a day or so, or more if needed), they will get use to the new fish and leave it alone. You can then release with no problems.
Some may say this stresses the fish. I say it stresses them more to be roughed up and chased all over a new environment.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by shilala

Guys, I ordered a battery air pump and shopped refractometers.
I found this one at ebay and was going to pull the trigger, but there were lots to choose from.
The one I picked ships from Hong Kong, but I'm in no big hurry. It looked like the nicest of all of them I looked at.
Let me know what you think, will ya?

I would pay a bit more and go to Drs. Foster and Smith.
Any issues, quick return and shipment to you is quite fast.
You don't know what you are going to get from Hong Kong.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by Blueface

Don't worry about the prize. Pass it on to a newb on my behalf. I had an unfair advantage once you gave me the price range and knew it wasn't a tang or a wrasse. I kept in mind you have a reef and that limits the fish vastly. If you would have said the $20-30 range, I would have gone with a Coral Beauty as I had already figured it to be an Angel.

There is a trick I always used that worked very well for my customers and for me when I acclimated fish and the other tank mates were aggressive towards it. Can you catch either of them?
If you can, get a plastic 1/2 gallon container at Walmart, with a lid, sort of like a juice container with a somewhat wide opening. Drill holes all over it to allow water flow. Stick the aggressor in there as he is the most acclimated and hardiest at this point. Place him behind a rock or around a rock so he can feel some comfort. Leave him there for a day or two. He will be the most docile pup ever when he gets out. That will have given the flame ample opportunity to get around the tank, find a home and let the tang see him and not be able to bully him.
In the future, if you can't catch the bully, place the new on in the container and place him against a rock for comfort. All others will come around the container and try to rough it up. In time (a day or so, or more if needed), they will get use to the new fish and leave it alone. You can then release with no problems.
Some may say this stresses the fish. I say it stresses them more to be roughed up and chased all over a new environment.

BTW,
Trick to catching a fish in a reef.

Go to Home Depot and buy a large piece of plexiglass that is tall enough to stick outside of your tank for you to grasp onto it.
Get it wide enough to cover at least 1/3 of the tank going across the front.
Either clamp it to the side wall of the tank or hold it with your hands and try to stay away so the fish don't get scared.
You place it in front of the rocks, leaving ample room between it and the front panel of the tank, creating an area, with the reef closed off/partioned behind it.
Wait a bit for the tank to settle and all to get use to it.
Best to not have fed for a day but go ahead and feed them, letting the food concentrate and stay in that area created by the plexiglass.
Best to drop it right down the front corner of the tank.
They will go in there as they are dumb and hungry.
If a tang, even easier as you just clip some veggie onto the glass and they will go nuts for it.
When the one you want is in there, even if others are in there too, close off the part of the panel that is in the middle of the tank towards the front wall, creating a triangle housing your fish.
Grab a net with the other hand and scoop him out.
Works like a charm as long as they are hungry.

[Wolfgang]

I doubt I will be able to catch either of them. On a good note. The Angel is poking in and out of rocks this morning. Looks happy and healthy. I have had this problem before with a kole tang and they are supposed to be the most peaceful (hah).

I will pass your winnings on to the troops. Thanks for playing. Next contest you cant play :-P

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by Wolfgang

I doubt I will be able to catch either of them. On a good note. The Angel is poking in and out of rocks this morning. Looks happy and healthy. I have had this problem before with a kole tang and they are supposed to be the most peaceful (hah).

I will pass your winnings on to the troops. Thanks for playing. Next contest you cant play :-P

Note what I just posted on catching them in a reef.

[Wolfgang]

So noted. From what I can tell The tang was just establishing its territory. They seem OK now but maybe its just the angel Is smaller and faster. Oh well. I should have pictures tonight. I gave them lights out early to calm everyone down.

Originally Posted by darb85

Ammonia 0.5
Nitrites 5
Nitrates 20
pH 8.4
Salinity 1.021


Water change?

I guess I'm used to seeing undetectable. These numbers look off the chart to me. Probably good, though, for a curing tank. I would freak out if I saw any nitrite or ammonia in my tanks.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by BC-Axeman

I guess I'm used to seeing undetectable. These numbers look off the chart to me. Probably good, though, for a curing tank. I would freak out if I saw any nitrite or ammonia in my tanks.

Everything is going to be way off in that curing tank.
Evidence of that is the Amonia and Nitrites both showing significant numbers.
You should see Amonia spike, then go down as Nitrites spike, then go down as Nitrates build.
Once established, I always say to throw the kits away as they will just serve to drive you nuts.
I always told my customers to disregard readings after that and only concern themselves with Nitrates, which can be addressed via a good denitrator or best yet with regular water changes.

What are "denitrators"? I use algae removal from the refugium, I think. Does the skimmer remove nitrates? I know they get metabolized into plants. I never have seen significant (or even barely detectable) levels in my tanks unless something bad happens.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by BC-Axeman

What are "denitrators"? I use algae removal from the refugium, I think. Does the skimmer remove nitrates? I know they get metabolized into plants. I never have seen significant (or even barely detectable) levels in my tanks unless something bad happens.

Skimmers won't do it.
The jury is still out on refugiums but if if it contains live rock in it, I would argue it functions as a denitrator to some degree.

A denitrator needs no light, very low oxygen and extremely slow water flow.
You can have it contain rocks or it can contain any type of media that has nooks and crannies for the bacteria to form. It is a different type of bacteria than what thrives in your typical tank filters.
Not too many companies make them.
I experimented with the one pictured below in black, on the left side of the photo.
After a year of it functioning, the nitrate levels were quite low in this system, which is not typical in a fish only tank that needs water changes to lower the nitrates manually.
About a year after doing this installation and a couple of others, I got out of the business due to having to travel so much for my primary job and frankly I have not stayed up with the technology but I can tell you this one worked well.
I also built my own one time using large PVC with end caps. I filled it with media, ceramic type cylinders, and ran water through it slowly. I worked well until it ended up getting clogged.
What I do for mine is I have many bags of media, stuffed tight, sitting in my wet dry, right below the bio balls. Since the media is packed so tight, water flow is quite slow through it. Since it is in a dark enclosure (furniture), seems to help me quite a bit but then again, I have not tested my nitrates in 5 yrs.

[/quote]

Deep in the live rock and the live sand probably does the job in my tank, based on your information. I stopped measuring when I stopped getting readings. I still check calcium levels, though less often, to make sure my calcium reactor is dialed in.
I have a downdraft skimmer about twice the size of the one in your picture. I wish I could hide it somewhere.
It's far to clean under that tank in your picture. I have dust, salt creep, tools, fish bags...

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by BC-Axeman

Deep in the live rock and the live sand probably does the job in my tank, based on your information.

Absolutely!!!
That is why a reef is so self contained. Those nooks and crannies in that rock are natural denitrators. I would only use one like I did in fish only systems that don't have that natural effect you do.

I stopped measuring when I stopped getting readings. I still check calcium levels, though less often, to make sure my calcium reactor is dialed in.

Absolutely. Great regimen.

I have a downdraft skimmer about twice the size of the one in your picture. I wish I could hide it somewhere.

I have an ETSS twin tower on my system but I built the stand very high enough to fit it in there.
The bigger the skimmer, the better!!!

It's far to clean under that tank in your picture. I have dust, salt creep, tools, fish bags...

In time, mine did too.

In bold.

[shilala]

I think I've decided to go with no refractometer.
I'm worried it'll talk me into doing really dumb ****.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by shilala

I think I've decided to go with no refractometer.
I'm worried it'll talk me into doing really dumb ****.

You know what I use?
A cup.

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by Blueface

You know what I use?
A cup.

Have to run so don't want to leave anyone scratching their heads.

I use a cup and a 5 gallon bucket of water.
A heaping cup, two times, with 5 gallons of water = 1.019 salinity.
Want less salinity? Do two level cups and you get 1.016-1.017.
Want more, like 1.023? Easy. Just do an extra half to 3/4's cup.
Very scientific.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by Blueface

Have to run so don't want to leave anyone scratching their heads.

I use a cup and a 5 gallon bucket of water.
A heaping cup, two times, with 5 gallons of water = 1.019 salinity.
Want less salinity? Do two level cups and you get 1.016-1.017.
Want more, like 1.023? Easy. Just do an extra half to 3/4's cup.
Very scientific.

I do the same thing when I mix my water, but I have a dip tester thingie.
I try to keep it in between the lines.
I've always tried to keep it in the middle of the lines, but I'm going to start keeping it on the upper end from now on.
It's been a little high for a long time and a little low for a long time and I've never noticed any difference in anything at all.
If a little more salt will help the corals, I'm sure it won't hurt anything else, so I'll give it a shot. I'll probably have to add a cup of salt.

[taltos]

Scott, as an after thought to this conversation, I agree with Carlos on recommending the good Doctors. I do not keep an aquarium at this point in time but I have relied on the Doctors to keep my cats healthy going back as far as when I was breeding Himalayans and also showing them. I still rely on these folks for products for my strictly house cats. The products are as they state and you can actually get a real person on the phone if you have questions. The final straw is that shipping is reasonable and quick. This post might be off topic and in that case, I am sorry but these are my 2 cents on suppliers to the home pet keeper.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by taltos

Scott, as an after thought to this conversation, I agree with Carlos on recommending the good Doctors. I do not keep an aquarium at this point in time but I have relied on the Doctors to keep my cats healthy going back as far as when I was breeding Himalayans and also showing them. I still rely on these folks for products for my strictly house cats. The products are as they state and you can actually get a real person on the phone if you have questions. The final straw is that shipping is reasonable and quick. This post might be off topic and in that case, I am sorry but these are my 2 cents on suppliers to the home pet keeper.

I agree about the Doctors, I use them all the time.
The picture of the refractometer on their website is a lesser quality model than most any of the ones I saw on ebay (aside from the cheapest junk).
The refractometer I linked to was the nicest one I could find online anywhere, quality-wise.
I decided to do without and keep doing what I've been doing for lots of years. Kinda talked myself out of creating problems where there weren't any.

I just got back from the LFS withe some critters. A couple of peppermint shrimp, a cleaner shrimp and a dozen snails (so the hermit crabs will have something to play with). I traded in a clump of Xenia, a candy coral frag, three green hairy mushrooms and a leather coral. Snails never seem to last more than a year, but a long as it was part of a trade I'll try again.