What rules of the hobby do you break? - Page 3

NaClH20NMYVEIN · 05/31/2006, 06:31 PM

I dont think rock that has been out of water for a month needs to be cured, it does not have any life left.

143gadgets · 05/31/2006, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by J4Life
I don't believe in spending $300 on an RO unit when you can get the same thing on Ebay for under $100. That will cause a fight I am sure of it.

Cheerio!
Bill

I agree 100%. Mine brings tap down to 0 TDS from ~330. I LOVE it!!!!

Sk8r · 05/31/2006, 06:52 PM

I tolerate a little algae, a little aiptasia, a little of a lot of pests, simply because I'm sure something enjoys them for lunch. So far so good.

wrenchhead · 05/31/2006, 07:02 PM

Originally posted by J4Life
I don't believe in spending $300 on an RO unit when you can get the same thing on Ebay for under $100. That will cause a fight I am sure of it
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
read my thread on wich ro/di unit to buy.almost turned into ww3

SECTER1 · 05/31/2006, 07:11 PM

I don't acclimate, I put a big clean up crew, 2 fish and a fire shrimp before I even tested my water for the first time....(every one alive but a few hermits and snail). keep my lights on for 13 hours..I need a timer so I can turn them on around noon.

J4Life · 05/31/2006, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wrenchhead
Originally posted by J4Life
I don't believe in spending $300 on an RO unit when you can get the same thing on Ebay for under $100. That will cause a fight I am sure of it
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
read my thread on wich ro/di unit to buy.almost turned into ww3

Yeah I have been in the trenches serveral times on that subject. Too bad it always turns negative.

puffer21 · 05/31/2006, 07:42 PM

I froget to feed sometimes. Oh and my favorate is that my little cuz gets to hold my turtle if he tests the tank water and do a water change, but he only has 4 tanks to water change and test it doesnt take that long....

TJimino · 05/31/2006, 08:05 PM

Is what you are all or most of you saying true or are you just kidding. I have done everything under the sun to get rid of red slim. was told I killed all my fish in my 50 gal tank because I washed my glass with windex, And also killed the corals .
Oh and was told it was because the sun hits it from the window that is why it turned green.

FishNutzBoi · 05/31/2006, 08:32 PM

I never QT nor acclimate anything!

Nothin was hurt b/c of this except 4 pep. shrimps lol

Nitroq2 · 05/31/2006, 08:52 PM

This is a good thread so I will add.
Havent done water changes in the new tank and don't do them in my nano either. However I evap about 2.5 gallons a day on a 90 so you add that up and its about 14-17 Gallons a week turnover. I dose A/B add selcon every other day to the food. And I use windex I just spray the news paper down low and then wipe it with it, I have 0 ammonia in my tank and have test just after wiping using surface water and still didn't show ammonia.

spoon671 · 05/31/2006, 08:58 PM

1. Waterchanges... I don't remember the last time I performed one.

2. RO water... I use tap sometimes (Ack!)

3. The 'NO TANG IN TANK LESS THAN 500g' rule... I have a tiny Blue Hippo (Ack!)

4. Photoperiod... my photoperiod is pretty random every day, some days it'll be 12hrs... sometimes 8hrs. I even forget to turn the light on every blue moon.

5. Water top off... I forget to top my water off all the time!

6. Fish feeding... I forget every once in a while.

Draxx · 05/31/2006, 10:19 PM

Funny this topic was here - I came here for my first time to search for good caclcium additives because I felt guilty that I don't add any ... and .. I guess I have to pay to search .... not the way to entice me to do something ....

Anyways... I wondered the other day as I took pics of my tank if anyone else was as bad with "the rules" as I was. All of this is no lie.

1. I stopped using a protein skimmer 3 years ago because I was convinced it took out good stuff and ...... okay because it was annoying. My tank is now 5 years old. Truely natural dissolved organics are awesome! I ocassionally (once per year) start to see signs of red slime but its my opinion this is usually when the alkalinity drops and the spectrum on the lights fade. It goes away when I change the lights.

This leads me to #2.
2: The only thing I add to my tank is Arm & Hammer baking soda.. I do this to raise my alkalinity .... about once every 2 -3 months.

3. I do a 5% water change (its a 75 gallon tank) .... every ..... 4 months :? I hate doing water changes.

4. I dont change the lights but once a year.... (when the red slime starts to appear).....

4. I feed daily until I think my fish are getting fat and then I put them on a fasting diet.

Now ... I admit ... all of this said - I CAN NOT GROW LPS CORALS!!!! I even gave up trying. If it requires calicum to live it does not live in my tank. Now that said I have a mystery coral. I have a pineapple coral that is not only growing... I consider it thriving. It grows pretty fast for a SPS. It displays feeder tenticles nightly... I dont know why it grows .... without constant calcium it should be dead ... its interesting to note about that species. Perhaps calcium is not as important for all SPS corals. I had it transhipped from Fiji ... so it came from the ocean. Anyways mabie someone knows something about that.

Soft corals love this tank. Give me any kind of colt and I will show you how truely fluffy and open the polyps should be. I've even had a few people give me peices of their soft corals and they have all said "it dident do that in my tank". I suspect this has to do with those dissolved organics I mentioned earlier.

Oh ... Mysis shrimp thrive in the tank. They are all over. So do pods. Zoo's love the tank too ... so do Ricordia's and other shrooms.

On the flip side the Red Chili coral has slowly shrunk. Dunno if its light .. or what. It opens and its polyops come out at night .. but its shrinking. The Fungia grow well too and they eat flakefood but I know they also require calcium to keep their tissue attached to their base.... Go figure.

The tank has a wet/dry filter and I have a 15 gallon fuge that grows razor calupera. But I dont empty it .. It just dies and regrows.

I do use RO water for topoff and I do use Phosban ... and obviously .... I change it once per year when I change the lights.

So I conclude that each system has a different set of rules. Depends on your corals - the "stuff" they emit ... the food you use ... the kind of light..... play with things and see how they go I say.

Draxx · 05/31/2006, 10:31 PM

Oh Oops - I suppose I am doubleposting.

I forgot to say the tanks contents are:

150lbs live rock:
1 Blue tang (shut up tang police because he would be dead if not for me) - he is 5 years old in my tank... and probably just over 5 years old in life. He caught ich once when I ... well he doesnt like metallica cranked on the stereo at 3AM!!

1 yellow clown goby: 4 years in tank

2 Neon gobies 2 & 4 years in tank

1 blackcap basslet -5 years in tank

1 Green Mandrin Goby ... who is almost 6 years old in tank! He was MY FIRST FISH ... That was another rule I broke.... but I dont advise people break this rule because I've seen too many people starve their mandrins!!! The tank has grown his food for like 3 years now and Ive have to make 0 effort.

I've had lots of neon gobies but if the basslet can convince them to clean his mouth .... well ...... its a trick ... LOL!

bswedenburg · 05/31/2006, 10:48 PM

i don't have any bling whatsoever....

omni2226 · 05/31/2006, 10:50 PM

Ok heres a off the wall theory.
Some of the worms bore into and through the rocks right?
They die and get eaten by whatever.
Eventualy the "matter" winds up being consumed by the pinapple coral.
Perhaps there is just enough calcium being recycled from the rock boring to sustain the pineapple?

revclyburn · 05/31/2006, 11:11 PM

Ahhh,

the ultimate worst broken rule, I buy fish at Petco, and don't qt them, or acclimate. Bang right into the tank.

RevClyburn

dead beat reef · 05/31/2006, 11:18 PM

I have a 3 inch deep sand bed and I mix it up by hand 3 or 4
times a month. I have a squid and sometimes late at night
well... you know. dbr

spoon671 · 06/01/2006, 12:20 AM

What?

piercho · 06/01/2006, 12:20 AM

In a four year old stony coral & clam tank:

>60% water changes.
Water changes less than 4 times a year
No calcium reactor - and TA under 2.0 meq/L
EYE 6500K lighting.
No chiller.
Haven't tested Ca++ in over 3 years.
Filthy sandbed with coral placed right on top of it.
Currently no live rock in tank (that's concrete in my pics)
Stopped skimming 10 months ago.

Recent pics in my gallery. Good thread topic. Cheers.

Draxx · 06/01/2006, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by omni2226
Ok heres a off the wall theory.
Some of the worms bore into and through the rocks right?
They die and get eaten by whatever.
Eventualy the "matter" winds up being consumed by the pinapple coral.
Perhaps there is just enough calcium being recycled from the rock boring to sustain the pineapple?

Not so off the wall really as I had that thought too. Mabie the calcium leeches from the rock its on.. or from the constant growth and dieoff of the coraline ... but its on aquacultured gulf rock from tampa bay... so it kinda blows that theory....

I do have tons and tons of bristle worms so it is interesting to consider that possiblity.

Ohhh yeah the sponge that sits under the drip tray of the wet/dry filter is the origional. I have never changed it..... and the bio balls are still intact. Im actually afraid to see what that thing looks like .. yuck! In truth though I think this sponge is the source of my dissolved organics.... because even when I was still skimming the softies were soooo bushy!

kgolem · 06/01/2006, 06:24 AM

I have an aptasia in my dislplay tank that I have been feeding, it is now the size of a softball when fully deployed.

I was so fed up with Hair Algae that I removed the the live rock and used a power washer to clean it off. Incredibly, things like feather dusters and the previously mentioned aptasia survived the fresh water pounding. Worked great on the H.A.

old salty · 06/01/2006, 06:57 AM

I use salt that costs more than Instant Ocean
I paid $850 for a skimmer made from the wrong acrylic
I keep SPS under T5's
I use Miracle Mud
Flame Angel in a reef
2 tangs in a 125
5 chromis that are certain to kill each other
Clam at the bottom of the tank (lit by T5's)
I overstress fish by putting them in QT as opposed to straight into the display

jnc914 · 06/01/2006, 08:05 AM

Just a comment on the use of Windex. This can seep into the tank, but not through the glass, rather through the silicone seals. Even if it doesn't appear that there is a space where the corners of glass are sealed together, there is a minute space where the glass panes meet. Windex will still be able to seep into the silicone and eventually into your tank. As some one else mentioned, it shouldn't matter as a tank cycles ammonia, however this is concentrated ammonia and has the ability to wipe out a tank. when I started in the hobbie several years ago, I wiped out my 55 gallon when I decided to use windex. so if you are going to use Windex, stay away from the corners of the tank with it.

superswimmer · 06/01/2006, 08:50 AM

Don't test
Mandarin in a 46 bow that feeds on frozen
Use tap water
Feed everyonce and a while
82-84 degree tank
Vaccum my sandbed

maddyfish · 06/01/2006, 08:57 AM

I use tap water. I have nearly no algea.

05/31/2006, 06:31 PM	#51
NaClH20NMYVEIN Red Dragons! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 5,897	I dont think rock that has been out of water for a month needs to be cured, it does not have any life left. __________________ The planet needs a 50% water change. Current Tank Info: Pacific Ocean

05/31/2006, 06:52 PM	#53
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	I tolerate a little algae, a little aiptasia, a little of a lot of pests, simply because I'm sure something enjoys them for lunch. So far so good. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/31/2006, 07:02 PM	#54
wrenchhead Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: melbourne FL USA Posts: 350	Originally posted by J4Life I don't believe in spending $300 on an RO unit when you can get the same thing on Ebay for under $100. That will cause a fight I am sure of it --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- read my thread on wich ro/di unit to buy.almost turned into ww3 __________________ I could quit if I wanted to. Current Tank Info: 80g mixed reef

05/31/2006, 07:42 PM	#57
puffer21 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,006	I froget to feed sometimes. Oh and my favorate is that my little cuz gets to hold my turtle if he tests the tank water and do a water change, but he only has 4 tanks to water change and test it doesnt take that long.... __________________ I have never been one for guidelines Current Tank Info: 20g Turtle Tank and 58g OC Ultimate Reef :)

05/31/2006, 08:05 PM	#58
TJimino Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Windham ME Posts: 92	OK got to ask Is what you are all or most of you saying true or are you just kidding. I have done everything under the sun to get rid of red slim. was told I killed all my fish in my 50 gal tank because I washed my glass with windex, And also killed the corals . Oh and was told it was because the sun hits it from the window that is why it turned green.

05/31/2006, 07:11 PM	#55
SECTER1 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Oceanside Ca Posts: 61	I don't acclimate, I put a big clean up crew, 2 fish and a fire shrimp before I even tested my water for the first time....(every one alive but a few hermits and snail). keep my lights on for 13 hours..I need a timer so I can turn them on around noon.

05/31/2006, 08:32 PM	#59
FishNutzBoi Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 541	I never QT nor acclimate anything! Nothin was hurt b/c of this except 4 pep. shrimps lol __________________ I'm one of those reefnutz that are actually nutz. Current Tank Info: 8G Biocube, 70W SunPod, Koralia nano + Maxijet900: Mixed Reef with SPS's and no softies.

05/31/2006, 08:52 PM	#60
Nitroq2 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Jasper, Alabama Posts: 840	This is a good thread so I will add. Havent done water changes in the new tank and don't do them in my nano either. However I evap about 2.5 gallons a day on a 90 so you add that up and its about 14-17 Gallons a week turnover. I dose A/B add selcon every other day to the food. And I use windex I just spray the news paper down low and then wipe it with it, I have 0 ammonia in my tank and have test just after wiping using surface water and still didn't show ammonia. __________________ - Allen Current Tank Info: 90g Reef

05/31/2006, 08:58 PM	#61
spoon671 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The East Bay Posts: 948	1. Waterchanges... I don't remember the last time I performed one. 2. RO water... I use tap sometimes (Ack!) 3. The 'NO TANG IN TANK LESS THAN 500g' rule... I have a tiny Blue Hippo (Ack!) 4. Photoperiod... my photoperiod is pretty random every day, some days it'll be 12hrs... sometimes 8hrs. I even forget to turn the light on every blue moon. 5. Water top off... I forget to top my water off all the time! 6. Fish feeding... I forget every once in a while. __________________ - Enthusiast, In Transit Current Tank Info: IM Nuvo 16 Mixed Reef

05/31/2006, 10:19 PM	#62
Draxx Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 29	Funny this topic was here - I came here for my first time to search for good caclcium additives because I felt guilty that I don't add any ... and .. I guess I have to pay to search .... not the way to entice me to do something .... Anyways... I wondered the other day as I took pics of my tank if anyone else was as bad with "the rules" as I was. All of this is no lie. 1. I stopped using a protein skimmer 3 years ago because I was convinced it took out good stuff and ...... okay because it was annoying. My tank is now 5 years old. Truely natural dissolved organics are awesome! I ocassionally (once per year) start to see signs of red slime but its my opinion this is usually when the alkalinity drops and the spectrum on the lights fade. It goes away when I change the lights. This leads me to #2. 2: The only thing I add to my tank is Arm & Hammer baking soda.. I do this to raise my alkalinity .... about once every 2 -3 months. 3. I do a 5% water change (its a 75 gallon tank) .... every ..... 4 months :? I hate doing water changes. 4. I dont change the lights but once a year.... (when the red slime starts to appear)..... 4. I feed daily until I think my fish are getting fat and then I put them on a fasting diet. Now ... I admit ... all of this said - I CAN NOT GROW LPS CORALS!!!! I even gave up trying. If it requires calicum to live it does not live in my tank. Now that said I have a mystery coral. I have a pineapple coral that is not only growing... I consider it thriving. It grows pretty fast for a SPS. It displays feeder tenticles nightly... I dont know why it grows .... without constant calcium it should be dead ... its interesting to note about that species. Perhaps calcium is not as important for all SPS corals. I had it transhipped from Fiji ... so it came from the ocean. Anyways mabie someone knows something about that. Soft corals love this tank. Give me any kind of colt and I will show you how truely fluffy and open the polyps should be. I've even had a few people give me peices of their soft corals and they have all said "it dident do that in my tank". I suspect this has to do with those dissolved organics I mentioned earlier. Oh ... Mysis shrimp thrive in the tank. They are all over. So do pods. Zoo's love the tank too ... so do Ricordia's and other shrooms. On the flip side the Red Chili coral has slowly shrunk. Dunno if its light .. or what. It opens and its polyops come out at night .. but its shrinking. The Fungia grow well too and they eat flakefood but I know they also require calcium to keep their tissue attached to their base.... Go figure. The tank has a wet/dry filter and I have a 15 gallon fuge that grows razor calupera. But I dont empty it .. It just dies and regrows. I do use RO water for topoff and I do use Phosban ... and obviously .... I change it once per year when I change the lights. So I conclude that each system has a different set of rules. Depends on your corals - the "stuff" they emit ... the food you use ... the kind of light..... play with things and see how they go I say.

05/31/2006, 10:31 PM	#63
Draxx Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 29	Oh Oops - I suppose I am doubleposting. I forgot to say the tanks contents are: 150lbs live rock: 1 Blue tang (shut up tang police because he would be dead if not for me) - he is 5 years old in my tank... and probably just over 5 years old in life. He caught ich once when I ... well he doesnt like metallica cranked on the stereo at 3AM!! 1 yellow clown goby: 4 years in tank 2 Neon gobies 2 & 4 years in tank 1 blackcap basslet -5 years in tank 1 Green Mandrin Goby ... who is almost 6 years old in tank! He was MY FIRST FISH ... That was another rule I broke.... but I dont advise people break this rule because I've seen too many people starve their mandrins!!! The tank has grown his food for like 3 years now and Ive have to make 0 effort. I've had lots of neon gobies but if the basslet can convince them to clean his mouth .... well ...... its a trick ... LOL!

05/31/2006, 10:48 PM	#64
bswedenburg Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Everett, Wa Posts: 250	i don't have any bling whatsoever....

05/31/2006, 10:50 PM	#65
omni2226 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Middle Florida Posts: 774	Ok heres a off the wall theory. Some of the worms bore into and through the rocks right? They die and get eaten by whatever. Eventualy the "matter" winds up being consumed by the pinapple coral. Perhaps there is just enough calcium being recycled from the rock boring to sustain the pineapple? __________________ I know enough to know I know nothing. Current Tank Info: 55 Marine. 29 Freshwater planted.

05/31/2006, 11:11 PM	#66
revclyburn Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Neptune, N.J. Posts: 1,853	Ahhh, the ultimate worst broken rule, I buy fish at Petco, and don't qt them, or acclimate. Bang right into the tank. RevClyburn __________________ " In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God" Robert F. Kennedy Current Tank Info: One day I'll get it right. 55 Gallon, reef, softies, gorgorians, ricordia, EVENTUALLY!

05/31/2006, 11:18 PM	#67
dead beat reef Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: New Mexico Posts: 279	I have a 3 inch deep sand bed and I mix it up by hand 3 or 4 times a month. I have a squid and sometimes late at night well... you know. dbr

06/01/2006, 12:20 AM	#68
spoon671 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The East Bay Posts: 948	What? __________________ - Enthusiast, In Transit Current Tank Info: IM Nuvo 16 Mixed Reef

06/01/2006, 12:20 AM	#69
piercho Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Puget Sound Posts: 2,194	In a four year old stony coral & clam tank: >60% water changes. Water changes less than 4 times a year No calcium reactor - and TA under 2.0 meq/L EYE 6500K lighting. No chiller. Haven't tested Ca++ in over 3 years. Filthy sandbed with coral placed right on top of it. Currently no live rock in tank (that's concrete in my pics) Stopped skimming 10 months ago. Recent pics in my gallery. Good thread topic. Cheers. __________________ Howard Current Tank Info: 65G reef shut down 2007. 25G planted.

06/01/2006, 06:24 AM	#71
kgolem Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 79	I have an aptasia in my dislplay tank that I have been feeding, it is now the size of a softball when fully deployed. I was so fed up with Hair Algae that I removed the the live rock and used a power washer to clean it off. Incredibly, things like feather dusters and the previously mentioned aptasia survived the fresh water pounding. Worked great on the H.A. __________________ Kev. Current Tank Info: 130 gallon (Imp) reef, mostly DIY support equipment

06/01/2006, 06:57 AM	#72
old salty Genius Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: The Island of Misfit Toys Posts: 3,131	I use salt that costs more than Instant Ocean I paid $850 for a skimmer made from the wrong acrylic I keep SPS under T5's I use Miracle Mud Flame Angel in a reef 2 tangs in a 125 5 chromis that are certain to kill each other Clam at the bottom of the tank (lit by T5's) I overstress fish by putting them in QT as opposed to straight into the display __________________ "The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers." Thomas Jefferson Current Tank Info: Out of the marine aquarium hobby

06/01/2006, 08:05 AM	#73
jnc914 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,008	Just a comment on the use of Windex. This can seep into the tank, but not through the glass, rather through the silicone seals. Even if it doesn't appear that there is a space where the corners of glass are sealed together, there is a minute space where the glass panes meet. Windex will still be able to seep into the silicone and eventually into your tank. As some one else mentioned, it shouldn't matter as a tank cycles ammonia, however this is concentrated ammonia and has the ability to wipe out a tank. when I started in the hobbie several years ago, I wiped out my 55 gallon when I decided to use windex. so if you are going to use Windex, stay away from the corners of the tank with it. __________________ "Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion." -Jack Kerouac 13 years strictly salty Current Tank Info: 180 gallon FOWLR Angel dedicated tank

06/01/2006, 08:50 AM	#74
superswimmer Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 535	Don't test Mandarin in a 46 bow that feeds on frozen Use tap water Feed everyonce and a while 82-84 degree tank Vaccum my sandbed

06/01/2006, 08:57 AM	#75
maddyfish Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 330	I use tap water. I have nearly no algea. __________________ If an expert says it cannot be done, get another expert- David Ben-Gurion Current Tank Info: 75 mixed simple tank 2.5 pico and 20 gallon QUARANTINE