I've done everything wrong and I have pictures to prove it! - Page 3

Cuby2k · 09/25/2006, 10:35 PM

Well I am compelled to turn you over to the reef police. You can expect a personal visit from them my friend and I am guessing they are way pi**ed off.

Oh man, I'd hate to be you right now.

My advice; just tell them the truth when they ask questions. Don't offer free information but don't withhold when they ask a direct question.

Oh man, I'd hate to be you right now.

outy · 09/25/2006, 10:42 PM

i have not seen one equipment troll post yet. totally uncalled for.

you should not encourage people to start with this hobby taking short cuts that will result in livestock loss, enough of that happens as it is.

it takes more smart,s/knowledge then money in this hobby and thats the point your missing. all were trying to do is help people here not make the mistakes we have. not support the many vendors.

syddakyd · 09/25/2006, 11:08 PM

lol cuby you are joking right? lmao

hatebreed · 09/26/2006, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by outy

you should not encourage people to start with this hobby taking short cuts that will result in livestock loss, enough of that happens as it is.

Maybe you should take this chance to illuminate for all the newbs (me included, yep I admit I'm a newb) what exactly about my setup they should avoid.

It's a given you should probably acclimate your fish, and I've said as much. Barring the fact that the water parameters at the pet store compared to my tank, would be comparable to throwing a living human out of a room full of toxic waste into a carcinogen free outdoor paradise full of fresh air, it's probably a good idea to temperature acclimate if nothing else. With the disclamer that I'm not a marine scientist I'd say my comparison is pretty accurate though I've been wrong countless times before.

I should probably have a heater too, although in July I found myself buying an in window AC unit to keep the ambient temperature of the room low enough to sustain the tank between 80-82 degrees. Unless I shuld have pre planned for an unexpected snow storm in August I don't think I've lived too dangerously.

So help the new guys out, what exactly about my setup is it that you would avoid? My crappy PC lights? The low end skimmer? My 1.5 pounds of live rock per gallon? My lack of a sump or refugium? Like you said, there hasn't been any equipment trolling here yet, maybe you can step right up and be the first.

outy · 09/26/2006, 12:57 AM

PC lights are fine depending on the livestock you keep, you just need to change out the bulbs sooner then some other type of lights. low end skimmers are fine if you do enough water changes to make up for what there missing. [skim wet if you can] 1.5 lb pg is fine as long as you dont overload your tank.

here is where i messed up when i was new. i did nut run a fuge [a old 10g tank and a cheap power head and some homemade plumbing and a cheap lightbulb and your done] the headaches a fuge will save is worth every cent.

if i took over your tank i would get a heater invest in a ro/di unit it will save you money in the long run as well make water changes that much easier. i would do more water changes on a regular basis. at this point you dont have any phosphate management this is one of the most commonly overlooked parts of a successful tank. wheather it be a cheap phos reactor or a fuge, one or the other or both together they will save you from being friends with hair algea. i would also have on hand new PC bulbs your very close to there usable lifespan. test kits for your tanks alk,ca and mag have not been mentioned so if not i would have those 3 as well as a good phophate test kit handy.

without adding any of this the only thing that is really going to happen to your tank is it will load up with phospates and your sandbed will load up with detritus about the same time your PC bulb intensity drops and you will have hair algea and no matter how many water changes you do it just wont go away. because of all this some of your parameters alk,ca and mag, phos and nitrates will probably get messed up and youll see livestock start to show stress/death. it looks like in your pics some hair algea is already starting. if so it wont be 3 months or so and my above statement will happen despite a few more added water changes and then when you post again trying to fix it all youll have to weed through a bunch of useless reply,s trying to get to the good advise kind of like this thread.

hatebreed · 09/26/2006, 02:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by outy
PC lights are fine depending on the livestock you keep, you just need to change out the bulbs sooner then some other type of lights. low end skimmers are fine if you do enough water changes to make up for what there missing. [skim wet if you can] 1.5 lb pg is fine as long as you dont overload your tank.

here is where i messed up when i was new. i did nut run a fuge [a old 10g tank and a cheap power head and some homemade plumbing and a cheap lightbulb and your done] the headaches a fuge will save is worth every cent.

if i took over your tank i would get a heater invest in a ro/di unit it will save you money in the long run as well make water changes that much easier. i would do more water changes on a regular basis. at this point you dont have any phosphate management this is one of the most commonly overlooked parts of a successful tank. wheather it be a cheap phos reactor or a fuge, one or the other or both together they will save you from being friends with hair algea. i would also have on hand new PC bulbs your very close to there usable lifespan. test kits for your tanks alk,ca and mag have not been mentioned so if not i would have those 3 as well as a good phophate test kit handy.

without adding any of this the only thing that is really going to happen to your tank is it will load up with phospates and your sandbed will load up with detritus about the same time your PC bulb intensity drops and you will have hair algea and no matter how many water changes you do it just wont go away. because of all this some of your parameters alk,ca and mag, phos and nitrates will probably get messed up and youll see livestock start to show stress/death. it looks like in your pics some hair algea is already starting. if so it wont be 3 months or so and my above statement will happen despite a few more added water changes and then when you post again trying to fix it all youll have to weed through a bunch of useless reply,s trying to get to the good advise kind of like this thread.

See, now THAT was the kind of constructive reply that might actually SAVE me from doing something really, really stupid! The insight from that reply alone is incredibly valuable and is SO much better than the average replies I have seen.

So many times advice here is without context and could easily SEEM like gear snobbing. If anything, it's my fault for not taking more time to research suggestions, but the extra context within a reply really adds tons to the suggestion.

That said, I NEED to spend more time in the reef chemistry forum. Let me be the first to say, playing with temperature and salinty fluctuation is NOT anywhere near as harmless as I thought.

From the reef chemistry forum I just read this little jewel on temperature and salinity.

http://web.archive.org/web/200012040.../1/default.asp

to my credit:

"While hobbyists should try to maintain the average conditions in their captive environments near the physiological optimum for the organisms involved, fluctuations in temperature and salinity will not cause problems as long as they are within the tolerances of the species involved."

That said, I will be correcting my sloppy temperature and salinity management immediately. I'll be the first to admit, I probably let a little bit of early success inflate my ego and now, just when I was getting a little too proud I have some learning and reading to do.

Thank you for your contsructive reply.

UrbanSage · 09/26/2006, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by hatebreed
That said, I will be correcting my sloppy temperature and salinity management immediately. I'll be the first to admit, I probably let a little bit of early success inflate my ego and now, just when I was getting a little too proud I have some learning and reading to do.

Thank you for your contsructive reply.

Best thing to come from this thread in my opinion.

And please don't think that posters disagree here because you haven't spent enough money. No one is snobs. Just other people who start out and over time have learned themselves that a 10 degree temperature fluctuation is a nono. That critters die when you don't acclimate. That overall health is much better when water parameters aren't all over the place. When we use good quality water.
I am myself still new to this hobby, I started with PC's went through some Odyssea metal halides that went down in flames then finaly forked over the money required to keep my system happy/healthy/stable. Expensive to get to that point because I tried to cut corners initially....
Cutting corners should be a learning experience at best, not a method.

Paul B · 09/26/2006, 02:10 PM

As was said, your equipment is fine it is just some of your methods that could be improved like mixing the salt for five minutes. That will be fine for fish but most corals have no sense of humor when you dump undisolved salt on them. Your distilled water is also fine, RO is cheaper and I would be a little concerned about the water being distilled with copper tubing but if you have not had problems by now it is probably OK. I also have a cheap swing arm hydrometer. Just last week I discovered that it was way off and I got a new cheap swing arm hydrometer but I checked it against a refractometer and I put a line on it where the measurement should be. I don't believe the exact measurement means anything but it should be close and when I mix new water I want it to be the same as I have in the tank.
Also if I were you I would get a quarintine tank, as you said you already have ich in there. One more thing,

Quote:

Also, I saw Sgt under your avatar there, so I thought I'd just take this chance to thank you for your service to this country.

Your welcome.
Paul

Cuby2k · 09/27/2006, 12:07 AM

outy, that was a great response. Very good information for me as well and presented nicely. Kudos brother

09/25/2006, 10:35 PM	#51
Cuby2k Cuby2k Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 982	Well I am compelled to turn you over to the reef police. You can expect a personal visit from them my friend and I am guessing they are way pi**ed off. Oh man, I'd hate to be you right now. My advice; just tell them the truth when they ask questions. Don't offer free information but don't withhold when they ask a direct question. Oh man, I'd hate to be you right now. __________________ Rod "Cuby" Current Tank Info: 180 display, 100 gal DIY fuge/sump, DIY skimmer.

09/25/2006, 11:08 PM	#53
syddakyd Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 147	lol cuby you are joking right? lmao __________________ 55g- stripped burrfish, green spotted puffer, yellow watchman goby, cinnamon clown, fire clown

09/27/2006, 12:07 AM	#59
Cuby2k Cuby2k Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 982	outy, that was a great response. Very good information for me as well and presented nicely. Kudos brother __________________ Rod "Cuby" Current Tank Info: 180 display, 100 gal DIY fuge/sump, DIY skimmer.

09/25/2006, 10:42 PM	#52
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	i have not seen one equipment troll post yet. totally uncalled for. you should not encourage people to start with this hobby taking short cuts that will result in livestock loss, enough of that happens as it is. it takes more smart,s/knowledge then money in this hobby and thats the point your missing. all were trying to do is help people here not make the mistakes we have. not support the many vendors.

09/26/2006, 12:57 AM	#55
outy Moved On Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: auburn CA Posts: 4,021	PC lights are fine depending on the livestock you keep, you just need to change out the bulbs sooner then some other type of lights. low end skimmers are fine if you do enough water changes to make up for what there missing. [skim wet if you can] 1.5 lb pg is fine as long as you dont overload your tank. here is where i messed up when i was new. i did nut run a fuge [a old 10g tank and a cheap power head and some homemade plumbing and a cheap lightbulb and your done] the headaches a fuge will save is worth every cent. if i took over your tank i would get a heater invest in a ro/di unit it will save you money in the long run as well make water changes that much easier. i would do more water changes on a regular basis. at this point you dont have any phosphate management this is one of the most commonly overlooked parts of a successful tank. wheather it be a cheap phos reactor or a fuge, one or the other or both together they will save you from being friends with hair algea. i would also have on hand new PC bulbs your very close to there usable lifespan. test kits for your tanks alk,ca and mag have not been mentioned so if not i would have those 3 as well as a good phophate test kit handy. without adding any of this the only thing that is really going to happen to your tank is it will load up with phospates and your sandbed will load up with detritus about the same time your PC bulb intensity drops and you will have hair algea and no matter how many water changes you do it just wont go away. because of all this some of your parameters alk,ca and mag, phos and nitrates will probably get messed up and youll see livestock start to show stress/death. it looks like in your pics some hair algea is already starting. if so it wont be 3 months or so and my above statement will happen despite a few more added water changes and then when you post again trying to fix it all youll have to weed through a bunch of useless reply,s trying to get to the good advise kind of like this thread.