New to the Forum :)

[G&NSalty425]

Well I just wanted to say Hello Hubby and I are new to Saltwater and Reef Keeping. We have a couple of tanks we were running freshwater but decided to give Salt a try so.... we converted our 90 gallon Bowfront over to Salt. We are right now in the process of cycling the tank. We are customers of Blue Sierra (Jonas you are in big trouble for not telling me about this site lol and Doris ohhh and Andrew too nah just kidding guys). I found out about this site when Hubby and I went over to Saltwater City to check the store out. If I knew there was a local Reef/Saltwater forum I would have been here from the start lol. But I just wanted to say Hi and if anybody has any useful tips I would love to hear them.

 

[tike]

Welcome to RF. Just throw all your questions at us and we will do the best we can to make your tank as successful as possible!

 

[returnofsid]

Welcome to RF!!!! This is a great forum, made up of a huge group of friends!! You'll find lots of great advice here. How about starting off by giving us some details about your aquariums.

 

[G&NSalty425]

Well the 90 is Saltwater here are the stats on it
90 Gallon
Skimmer: HOB CPR Backpak Duo w/ 2 Accela pumps
Powerheads: 2x Rio 530
Mechanical Filtration: Fluval FX5
Heater: 300w Catalina Titanium
Lights: Just your standard strip light with a 50/50 (we are going to be buying a Outer Orbit 36" 2x 250 T5 HQI probably within a month)
100lbs. Rock (80 Base and 20 Live)
65lbs. Sand (20 live and 45)

I am testing everyday I started the cycle on Tuesday everything in check and nothing has started to cycle yet but it has only been a few days.

My other tank is just a 20 gallon Freshwater

 

[G&NSalty425]

Thanks also for the warm welcome

 

[Sascha D]

Welcome

Since you used base rock, I wouldn't expect a huge cycle but you're bound to get something hehe.

What kind of fish and corals are you going to put in your tank?

 

[G&NSalty425]

Aww that's good to hear that I might have less of a cycle phase or not as intense I should say lol. To start we plan on doing fish (Well we were going to wait till after cycle to get anything 6-8 weeks was what I was expecting but nooo hubby brought home some fish on his way home from work 4 Chromis and 2 Yellowtail Damsels). I want a nice school of Chromis so after cycle (hopefully no deaths) I plan on getting some more probably 3 more. We do want some anenome's and soft corals, mushrooms but won't be getting any of those till after cycle and after getting the new light. Our kids insist on us getting some clowns so we will probably get 1 or 2 of those. I also like Tangs so need to do more research on them.

 

[G&NSalty425]

I do have one question I have a small patch of Bubble Algae I tried to siphon it but heck it wouldn't budge. I want to get it out of my tank ASAP how would you guys suggest I get it out of there if siphoning it doesn't work? I am nervous about breaking it up and it spreading around the tank. I also have to say I am having fun with this cycling with live rock I have seen Feather Dusters, Tube worms, Bubble Algae, Brittle Stars, some type of snail or slug with a shell and I have a couple things that I think are sponges they are like white balls. I am on my laptop right now (Hubby is on the main computer that my pics are on) but when I can I will post the pics I have so far.

 

[Red C Aquarium]

welcome to a great family,its really fun here

 

[G&NSalty425]

Yes I can already tell this is a wonderful forum lol and what's cool is it is local. Hubby and I plan on joining the Puget Sound Aquarium Society which will be fun and heck we will get a discount lol that's always good I also like the fact that my favorite LFS posts stock updates so I can check it out from home before i go down there. I have to say I am very excited to be here and Thank you Saltwater City for telling me about this site

 

[G&NSalty425]

Ok I forgot I had pics on myspace whoo hoo so I pulled them off of there while Hubby is on the main computer. Pic 1 is our tank, pic 2 is one of the Yellowtail Damsels, Pic 3 is what I believe to be Aiptasia (I need to kill that bugger) and then the last pic is what I think is some type of sponge. If someone could ID that last pic I would really appriciate it

 

[soyadrink]

Welcome to th forum!! I love it here! Also the PSAS is great!

To your bubble algae problem, just hold the siphon close to it and burst the bubble and you should get the pollen(if thats the right word) out.

You might want to consider putting a sump under that tank. It helps a lot with just storing equipment like skimmers and carbon filters and that sort of thing...
About your equipment there are tons of very knowledgeable people on this forum, including mark/skimmerwisperer who is running as president of PSAS right now.

Good luck!

PS: Don't let anything bring you down in this hobby. Everyone makes mistakes and not everything goes as planned. Just keep your cool and consult the masters(well, the people who have had pretty much every problem and dealt with it)...

Edit: Wow, looks nice! Good photo skills also!

 

[G&NSalty425]

Now am I supposed to just pop it or am I supposed to like scrap it? Aww I won't let anything get us down lol if we would have gone salt from the get go well we would have gotten the overflows and sumps but since this is a conversion and the fact that I have a fear of sumps (I am a complete worry wart and wondering if it's flooding would drive me insane lol) Who knows maybe Jonas and Doris can work us up to the idea of using a sump lol instead of the Nirate trap ohh I mean FX5 lol. We do plan on putting Live rubble rock in it, it's about the best thing you can do with a canister filter.

Thanks so much for the compliment on the pics I am using a Canon Rebel XTi with standard lens I so need a macro lens

 

[Sascha D]

Firstly the bubble algae removes easily, you just have to be careful. If you can pull the rock out, that would be the best thing. You can grab ahold of the bubble and shake it loose or edge it away from the rock with a knife. I've had a few break outside the tank and didn't have an outbreak. My friend even had one squirt him in the eye, which was super funny...to me

You are right about the aiptasia.

The item in the last picture is not harmful.

 

[Sascha D]

Now am I supposed to just pop it or am I supposed to like scrap it? Aww I won't let anything get us down lol if we would have gone salt from the get go well we would have gotten the overflows and sumps but since this is a conversion and the fact that I have a fear of sumps (I am a complete worry wart and wondering if it's flooding would drive me insane lol) Who knows maybe Jonas and Doris can work us up to the idea of using a sump lol instead of the Nirate trap ohh I mean FX5 lol. We do plan on putting Live rubble rock in it, it's about the best thing you can do with a canister filter

When a sump is installed properly, you won't have to worry about a flood. The only thing that would really cause a backup would be a snail stuck in the drain pipe and that is easily prevented with gutter guard and plastic mesh.

I know its hard to have an empty tank at first, but take it from someone who has had it happen. Watching your tank crash is alot harder than waiting for it to fill up. Thats the kind of thing that only has to happen once.

 

[G&NSalty425]

Well I will probably do it tomorrow morning I have the lights off and fishies are all tucked away in the rocks for the night and the one rock that has the bubble algae is a rock that one of the Chromis sleeps in lol if not I would so take that rock out right now and remove it off of there. Now what is this Jones Juice I have heard about on another site that is good for killing Aiptasia? I have also heard lemon juice and hot water being used too? What do you guys use to kill the buggers? I figured the last pic was something good for the tank just curious what it might be it's cool looking I have 1 big one probably the size of my thumb nail and then 2 or 3 small ones. I am just curious if my IDing skills are right and it is a sponge?

 

[krisfal]

Welcome to RF! I hope to meet you at the PSAS meeting next weekend.

I believe you are correct the last picture is some kind of sponge.

I had good luck with Joe's Juice, but it is a bit spendy if you just have 1 apstasia. I had moderate success with boiling water, the trick is getting the anemone zapped before the water cools to much, and avoiding blasting anything else with the boiling water (I slightly scorched a coral once because I did not pay enough attention). I have not tried Lemon juice or Kalk, but many people make a kalk paste (kalk + water in a syringe).

Since you do not have much in your tank I would probably try the hot water, if that does not work I'll try to think of a way to bring a syringe full of Joe's juice to the meeting and you can give it a try (trying to figure out a way to cap the syringe securely)

 

[NaH2O]

I just wanted to Welcome you to Reef Frontiers!!! I also wanted to add that the majority of the 24000+ members are not from your local area ..... we are a world wide forum.

My advice on bubble algae - during your water change, you can knock them loose (and even break them), as long as you have your siphon hose right next to them. If the bubble breaks, then the siphon will remove the fluid and spores from inside, and if you knock them free, then they'll get sucked away with your water change water.

 

[G&NSalty425]

Well thank you for the welcome I do know there are people worldwide on here but there is a large population of NWers on here then any other forum I have seen so that's cool

I got the bubble algae out whoo hoo just took the rock out for a sec held it up side down over a paper towel and took a knife and scrapped it off took maybe 2 minutes and luckily it was a rock that was easy to access so it was pretty easy

 

[Skimmy]

also, make sure you check out barrier reef aquariums, in renton. they are awesome, as well as a red sea aquarium, in north seattle.