Newbies guide to the nano reef

[johnastig]

Salt, salty, salted:
If you go by manufacturers directions 1/2 cup per gallon, the sg will be 1.020-1.023. Way too low for a reef. Get yourself a plastic measuring spoon and start adding a little at a time measuring the sg every time. Once you are satisfied with that, let it be for a few hours. I'm of the camp that aerating the mix all night is not really that necessary since I do very small, frequent water changes, more on that later. Test for pH, phophates, copper and calcium. Then using the siphon hose, get the sw into the "SW" air tight container and cap. Rinse out everything and let dry. See how easy that was.
On deck: live rock will not make you deaf....

hey guys, got my stand today,finally,and after assembling it and setting my tank up on it, got myself some saltwater from the lfs. so the premade sw they sell is at 1.021 sg. so what do you suggest is the ideal sg for a reef? btw. sorry if this was mentioned earlier =0

 

[4251cpd]

hey guys, got my stand today,finally,and after assembling it and setting my tank up on it, got myself some saltwater from the lfs. so the premade sw they sell is at 1.021 sg. so what do you suggest is the ideal sg for a reef? btw. sorry if this was mentioned earlier =0

No, prob, thats what we're here for. You want ideally to keep the sg in a reef tank between 1.024-1.026 . I keep it at 1.025 to give myself a little wiggle room for evap. If you are a type A'er personality, and can keep it a perfect 1.026 then by all means....but I am human and sometimes get a little lazy, do have a family and other sometimes have legal obligations that tend to take me out of my "palatial" estate. So, I just keep it there "just in case". Take care, Mike.

 

[4251cpd]

Holy cow! (thought you'd like that, since you're a Cubs fan and all.... *Sox rule*). Your Gonio looks great! You need to post a before and after shots as this baby grows. Outstanding!



OMG! ROFL!

Thanks Nikki, I can't believe the progress the flower pot is making. I'm old enough to remember the real voice of Chicago sports, Jack Brickhouse who did all of the play by play for everyone, Hey, Hey......

 

[Maxx]

hey guys, got my stand today,finally,and after assembling it and setting my tank up on it, got myself some saltwater from the lfs. so the premade sw they sell is at 1.021 sg. so what do you suggest is the ideal sg for a reef? btw. sorry if this was mentioned earlier =0

Here's a good link for you....

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters

Got alot of values in it so its not exactly a gripping read...but worthwhile non the less.

Nick

 

[4251cpd]

An update on the Cleaning Crew.

Not for the faint of heart....

Hermit Crabs, smite them down with thee righteous fury of Bartleby hisself. Thoughst seenth with thine own eyes the devil's own agent taketh the soul of an unopened polyp of the zoanthus, (probably was dead though already) with it's claws dripping of hellfire and bulbed eyes lit in brimstone. Ye hath witnessed this and thee hath taken god's mighty strength, protected by his holy might and bravely reached in the briney waters of salvation and fought with all thine heart and vanquished Satan's little minion and sent him back to the 2nd ring of dantes inferno where the bugger thust belonged. Thenst I doused myself with the golden exilir in the silver 22 oz chalice to wash away my sins. I beggeth thee noble borns, please donth thinkith of doust polluting thoust pure briney tubs with these foul imps of evil. Ye feelth much better.
Thoust Humble servant, Michael.

 

[4251cpd]

Here's a good link for you....

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters

Got alot of values in it so its not exactly a gripping read...but worthwhile non the less.

Nick

Your the best office, Mike.

 

[NaH2O]

Not for the faint of heart....

Hermit Crabs, smite them down with thee righteous fury of Bartleby hisself. Thoughst seenth with thine own eyes the devil's own agent taketh the soul of an unopened polyp of the zoanthus, (probably was dead though already) with it's claws dripping of hellfire and bulbed eyes lit in brimstone. Ye hath witnessed this and thee hath taken god's mighty strength, protected by his holy might and bravely reached in the briney waters of salvation and fought with all thine heart and vanquished Satan's little minion and sent him back to the 2nd ring of dantes inferno where the bugger thust belonged. Thenst I doused myself with the golden exilir in the silver 22 oz chalice to wash away my sins. I beggeth thee noble borns, please donth thinkith of doust polluting thoust pure briney tubs with these foul imps of evil. Ye feelth much better.
Thoust Humble servant, Michael.

I'm not sure if I should laugh or shout out a praise!....OK, I'll laugh :lol: :lol:

Good stuff.

 

[4251cpd]

I'm not sure if I should laugh or shout out a praise!....OK, I'll laugh :lol: :lol:

Good stuff.

Tanks Nikki, I believe we don't laugh enough in our daily lives and thinking this stuff up, I write in a way that makes me chuckle. Kind of like the bachelor underware sniff test. Good luck to your "stockings" going back to the lions den of Annaheim.

 

[onehawksfan]

Originally Posted by 4251cpd
Not for the faint of heart....

Hermit Crabs, smite them down with thee righteous fury of Bartleby hisself. Thoughst seenth with thine own eyes the devil's own agent taketh the soul of an unopened polyp of the zoanthus, (probably was dead though already) with it's claws dripping of hellfire and bulbed eyes lit in brimstone. Ye hath witnessed this and thee hath taken god's mighty strength, protected by his holy might and bravely reached in the briney waters of salvation and fought with all thine heart and vanquished Satan's little minion and sent him back to the 2nd ring of dantes inferno where the bugger thust belonged. Thenst I doused myself with the golden exilir in the silver 22 oz chalice to wash away my sins. I beggeth thee noble borns, please donth thinkith of doust polluting thoust pure briney tubs with these foul imps of evil. Ye feelth much better.
Thoust Humble servant, Michael.

Well done sir Michael. I praise thee telleth the truth saveth my own polypsys, thougheth they become youngeth still. For the sly enemys cunning shall not hide the lighteth of the good words of thy teacher's mantle. Praise to thy neighbor, and whench I shall follow in thy teacher's knowledge! Recieveth a handclap Sir Michael, and thanketh for thy leaves of wisdom. For now the sun seteth on this day, a new dawn commeth soon to bring joy and hapiness to thy reefeth.
I'm a dork - I know!!

 

[4251cpd]

Well done sir Michael. I praise thee telleth the truth saveth my own polypsys, thougheth they become youngeth still. For the sly enemys cunning shall not hide the lighteth of the good words of thy teacher's mantle. Praise to thy neighbor, and whench I shall follow in thy teacher's knowledge! Recieveth a handclap Sir Michael, and thanketh for thy leaves of wisdom. For now the sun seteth on this day, a new dawn commeth soon to bring joy and hapiness to thy reefeth.
I'm a dork - I know!!

A hizzah back at you. Thanks a bunch for the kind praise, and don't worry, we're all kind of dorkish in one sense or another. Or, as my wife puts so eloquently "fish geek". I believe this year's match up btn my Bears and your Hawks will be a barn burner.
Seems my zoanthus like the "dirtier" tank conditions, even after being knocked around by my clown and turbo. No, I haven't glued the colony well make that three colonies, not growth but they kinda fragged themselves and I'm still figuring out the best spots for them. Stayed tuned because I'll be back with another highly uninformed post to enrich all of our lives. Mike.

 

[4251cpd]

Chapter 5 Fin.

I've gotten bored with....
Sorry peoples, I'm just so wiped out with my hours, losing two of my days off to work public housing that a subject that should be interesting is just boring the bejeesus outta moi. So I decided to link some wonderful online articles done by people a heck more experienced and edumacted then yours truly. Have faith my folks, I will be back in a day or two full of urea and a slightly acidic substance. And to be really honest with y'all, I just picked up the Da Vinci Code and cannot put it down, damn you D. Brown! My next topic will be a shortie on ethics in reef keeping and especially the unique quandry that us nanoists put ourselves in. Ta ta for the moment, Mike.
Links to the inverts from the RF library:

http://www.reefs.org/library/aquarium_net/0397/0397_3.html
http://www.reefs.org/library/article/r_shimek.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20030624...etwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1998/aug/wb/default.asp
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58

 

[Maxx]

Mike,
This was entertaining beyond belief and very helpful. Thanks for your efforts on this thread. Enjoy the time off with your family, you've earned it.

Nick

 

[4251cpd]

The road to perdition is paved by good intention.

Ethics, we don't need no stinking ethics!

Aristotle once stated morality exists in between two extremes. I've always been fascinated by Western philosophy. I have personal favorites and ones that I just shook my head, and asked "WTF were they smoking?". This entire rant will be about making ethical decisions about your nano reef. Hey Mike, why are you waxing philosophically about salt water tanks? Well, my friend we are dealing with a hobby that if properly managed by upstanding aquarists, knowledgable dealers, and ethical wholesalers and specimen collectors then we can conserve and sustain the ocean environment from which our hobby originated from. I'm not out here to reinvent the wheel, I'm just making sure that our practices of today will ensure that our future generations may enjoy them. Now that I got over the deep reflections it's time to lighten up and discuss ETHICS.

Question: If you had 3 teenage boys in your house which of the following would you most likely invite to babysit ?
A. Richard Speck
B. John Wayne Gacy
C. Jeffery Dahmer

What does this have to do with nano reefs, doofus? I'll get to that in a moment.

On our part as marine reef aquarists, our biggest three unintentional ethical problems are:
1. Uninformed = putting a tang in a 12 gallon tank.
2. Impatient = trying to make an "instant" reef.
3. Impractical = cluttering a tank, not allowing for growth.

Just by knowing the problems will further enlighten us and being an ethical person will help us to correct these issues should they come up.

The buisness side:
1. Profit v. conscientious practice.
2. Inexperienced staffing.
3. Intentional misinformation to inexperinced hobbiests.

Find a place that will tell you its a bad idea to cycle a new tank w/a damsel fish, or it's not okay to put a fish in immediately or a nurse shark is a not perfect fit for a 30 gallon long tank. When you find that one, stick with them. I always like to throw, I just got a 15 gallon tank how will a bat fish do in it? If the answer is anything other then a flat out NO I will take my buisness elsewhere. Yeah I can be a real yag-off ,but thats how I feel about this passion.

A great ethical practice for us nanoists is purchasing nothing other then tank- propagated/raised/fragged/aqua-cultured whatever other terms people use for this. Once you have a coral that is getting a bit big for the space, then we start to think about networking and finding how to propagate our own critters and trade/sell to those who would desire them. I believe joining a local marine aquarist society is the only way to go. You have a bunch of geeks like myself who are ready, willing and able to help out. I'm a member of CMAS.

Getting back to the sick and twisted question, it's an allegory. The house is your 15 gallon nano tank, the 3 teenage boys are say, three soft corals already established in your tank. All three answers are three types of corals that you can (babysit your boys) have in your tank, provided that the lighting and such are met.
A. is actually Clavularia.
B. is actually Euphyllia.
C. is actually Hydnophora

All three are dangerous (serial killers) ,the last two being pederasts (look it up). Clavularia is not likely to kill the rest of its neighboring corals. Yet put a frogspawn in a 20 gallon and say goodbye to all of your "boys" in less then six months, same with horn just not as quickly. Thinking of spacing and grow out is one of the most important ethical issue we must address with our tanks. Use your head and be a truly moral reefist. Thanks, Mike.

 

[4251cpd]

When you dance with the devil, you will get torched!

Real quick one. My firefish did his last leap out of the tank. Something he hasn't done in months but I always discovered him in time. Moment of silence for the dumbest animal alive, well kinda inappropriate this time..........................enough, thanks for the condolences. I already poured a 40 on the curb in his memory and neighbors have already set up a makeshift memorial in front of my house. I'm touched, by their sensitivity. Now I've tried to defenestrate myself (for my stupidity) but my window is only four feet off the ground.
MY ADVICE FOR US NANOISTS leave the firefish to nothing but a 30 gallon or larger tank w/ plenty of bolt holes and a covered tank.

My turn to ask a question: You've seen my tank, I have Amph Ocell. what would you match it up with? Any one who answers a Queen parrotfish, will be found, shackled and then drawn and quartered by 4 alpacas. Thanks Mike.

 

[Haole]

A mirror...oh wait, wrong hobby, were not talking about parakeets here.
I think it’s a little too late. Your clown has probably already staked its claim to the entire territory of your tank.

Fantastic thread you got going here, Mike! The humor has been priceless thus far from a fellow “fish geek’s” point of view! I look forward to and hope you continue w/ up coming chapters, especially when you get around to talking about your skimmer-less refugium techniques.

BTW... Sorry to hear about the loss of your firefish.

 

[4251cpd]

Thanks Rob. I knew I was taking a chance w/the FF because I have to keep the feeder open w/a fan on to keep the temps constant. Rolled the dice and crapped out. Such is life, as long as you keep a sharp stick out've your eye your winning half the battle. And yes, I've seen what happens when a sharp stick comes into contact with an eye...I SAID I WANTED MY EGGS SUNNY SIDE UP!!!!!!!!!!! Mike. P.S. The clown was pretty good w/the FF and I will ponder this your advice.

 

[Maxx]

I would suggest a neon goby or two...
Maybe some other type of goby....Yasahash gobies etc....

Nick

 

[Haole]

I just wanted to jump in here real quick to explain my previous post since you are gearing this thread for beginners Mike, and then I’ll crawl my way back to the last row and take a seat all the while trying to remain quiet.

I also own an Amphiprion Ocellaris clownfish for 5 years now. Clownfish are members of the Damselfish family which are known to be very territorial. I’ve seen many recommendations to only add these types of fishes last after all the other inhabitants have been introduced and have grown accustomed to their surroundings. I have also witnessed this firsthand with my own clownfish whittling down a small school of green Chromis after I was begged to by my wife and kids to get some more fish because our 40gal tank needed more “color” and “action”. Well boy, action and color were what they got! (Not the color of blood though) So now after 3years I only have “Nemo” the clownfish and one remaining un-scathed perfect finned Chromis named “Green Guy” (Can you notice I let the kids name the fish?) and still to this day my son still say’s; “Dad, you remember when “Nemo” was shaking all those other green fish by their tails like a dog?” And I answer him back by saying; “Yeah, I think “Nemo” is part Bulldog.”

This is just my experience with these fish and maybe yours has a different disposition.
I hope you were trying to segue into a topic for compatibility of inhabitants in a nano with that question, Mike. Otherwise, I hope I haven’t de-railed your thread too much with my ramblings...

 

[4251cpd]

I just wanted to jump in here real quick to explain my previous post since you are gearing this thread for beginners Mike, and then I’ll crawl my way back to the last row and take a seat all the while trying to remain quiet.


This is just my experience with these fish and maybe yours has a different disposition.
I hope you were trying to segue into a topic for compatibility of inhabitants in a nano with that question, Mike. Otherwise, I hope I haven’t de-railed your thread too much with my ramblings...

Thanks Haole. I appreciate everyone's feedback and experiences just to have a broader scope of reference. I got my clown he was a runt, the one that got chased, caught and beat down from his school mates. So when I brought in the FF 6 weeks later, even though he was established the FF was slightly bigger then him. Maybe that helped??? I also noticed he was a lot more behaved when he hosted a clump of bottlebrush macro. I overreacted a bit thinking I might've had a parasitic isopod when I noticed my clown developing dark round spots on his body. Thanks to Steve-S, it was only the clown's melanin reaction to the newly introduced zoanthus colonies. So I removed the bottlebrush. Big Friggin Mistake. Ole Nemo starts acting like my toddler when she doesn't get her way. Try reasoning with a toddler....I'd rather tickle a mad lion's azz with a feather. Well, the brush is coming back and wallah....Nemo is back to his old self.

I know some may argue against this and that I'm a hypocrite, but I fell in love with a juvenile yellow watchman goby. He is in the make-shift QT. He is about an inch and a quarter and the book states 3"s in length. Worse that can happen is if he seems to outgrow his surroundings I will find him a suitable home. I have a couple of under rock caves that he should find to his liking, plus the SB is close to 3" deep.

Oh yes when I get to fish section, I will get into all kinds of general silliness and gnostic reaffirmations of fish faith. You can bank on that my briney brothers and sisters. Have fun, I'm gonna take a nap. Hugs and big sloppy wet kisses, Mike.

 

[4251cpd]

OT: Kentucky Derby

Triple crown winner in the making?????

I fancy myself (too British?) as a bit of a horse player, not a degenerate mind you, but I go watch the harness races once every six weeks, but I do follow both the trotters and thourghbreds. I told my FIL who loves the ponies that after seeing Barbaro's last three races he would dominate at 1 1/4 mile. Great ride by Prado, having him stalk the leaders in 5th and start to gently nudge him have the 1/2. Some will argue that Brother Derek and Lawyer Ron's posts hurt their chances and that they were the better horses on the field. Repeat after me kiddies: Left coast horses do not like the East coast dirt. The footing is not as firm as they are used to back at their home tracks. After replaying the race again, the thing that puts hope into seeing a triple crown is that this horse seems to get his second wind after he hits a mile. Just keep the leaders in sight and he picks them off one by one. If you don't believe me check out chuchill downs site and it'll show previous races for Barbaro. You'll start to drool all over yourself. I'll be back soon talking other inverts, Mike.