Melev's new 280g Starfire tank thread - Page 22

chrisd4421 · 06/12/2006, 06:06 AM

Marc,
I think I understand the unspoken reasons for the woodwork still not being finished...hehehehe....

If you finish the woodwork, the tank will be complete and then logically, you could start justifying your thoughts of upgrading to a larger tank....if you don't finish the woodwork and the rogue thought of upgrading hits you, you have the excuse that the tank you have now is not finished....

LOL....at least this would be my rational.....

Chris

Stile2 · 06/12/2006, 06:27 AM

Looking good! We are al,ost done with a kitchen/dining room remodel and are about to start on a new garage/master bedroom!

I keep telling myself that I'll finish the woodwork when the new garage is done.

Qwiv · 06/12/2006, 09:54 AM

I wanted to comment on a conversation about flame scallops a few posts back.

First, they eat mostly zooplankton, not phyto.
Second, some recent information shows flame scallops have a very short life span, like 2 years. Collectors tend to pick the large flame scallops for retail as they sell better. These could be a year or more in age.

That leaves a few months left on there natural lifespan plus low availability of food, which seems to account for there short life span in reef tanks. This info is only from 2 recent reports so further research needs to be done, but it might explain things to some folks.

MARK: How is that canopy coming?

jnarowe · 06/12/2006, 11:15 AM

Qwiv I can appreciate that and thanks for the post. I fed mine mostly zooplankton anyway but it is just strange that it suddenly starts to die. If I can get a tool on it, I will extricate it and see what else besides flatworms are on its shell.

I wish I could get regular old clams and oysters for my system rather than just "trophy" species as I believe they provide a valuable part of the ecosystem but I can't stand to pay so much for each one. I would drop in maybe 50 and see if they can't perpetuate themselves so that even though some die off, there would be youngs ones to take their place.

Anyone know of a source?

melev · 06/12/2006, 12:12 PM

Qwiv, if you've kept up with the pictures in this thread, you'd have your answer to that query.

Chris, that's it exactly. Good job!

Jonathan, there is a vendor in south Texas that sells stuff along those lines. I'll try to find out their name for you.

jnarowe · 06/12/2006, 12:23 PM

Thanks!

Qwiv · 06/12/2006, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jnarowe
Qwiv I can appreciate that and thanks for the post. I fed mine mostly zooplankton anyway but it is just strange that it suddenly starts to die. If I can get a tool on it, I will extricate it and see what else besides flatworms are on its shell.

I wish I could get regular old clams and oysters for my system rather than just "trophy" species as I believe they provide a valuable part of the ecosystem but I can't stand to pay so much for each one. I would drop in maybe 50 and see if they can't perpetuate themselves so that even though some die off, there would be youngs ones to take their place.

Anyone know of a source?

Well, flame scallops are normaly 8 bucks around here. You can get clams for around 30 for small, not quite as pretty. I can keep the clam alive for years, but the scallop for a few months. The clam is going to be cheaper after 4 scallops. I think the clam is a better deal.
Take a look at these:
http://www.ipsf.com/sandbedclams.html
There are a few threads google can find on them.

Mark: I have seen the pics. I just want to see a canopy in them on day. Your, it is to cold excuse is now a its to hot excuse. Just holding my breath for the magic to happen over there.

AngeloM3 · 06/12/2006, 06:07 PM

wheres the beginning thread???

i'd like to see the build up of this

chrisd4421 · 06/12/2006, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AngeloM3
wheres the beginning thread???

i'd like to see the build up of this

I think this is the 3rd split of the thread....you should go to the first page of this thread and follow the split links back to the original. It has been a great experience on all topics since the start.....

HTH
Chris

Cprowler · 06/12/2006, 06:45 PM

Page one is right HERE .

AngeloM3 · 06/12/2006, 07:59 PM

awsome thanks.........

chrisd... i tried... and kept going back and back... and i think i just got in a loop... never found the first page

but i got it now... thanks

rdmpe · 06/12/2006, 08:25 PM

Weren't the first few pages chisled on stone tablets?

DaveG99 · 06/12/2006, 08:37 PM

I'll tag along....

hipower · 06/12/2006, 09:21 PM

It's taken me the better part of 2 weeks to read this highly instructive missive. What an inspiration for me to do better! Marc keep it up!

jnarowe · 06/12/2006, 10:13 PM

Qwiv Thanks for that link. That is very interesting. I don't have a real sandbed in my display but I do have a nice one in my fuge where these clams would probably flourish. I'll keep that in mind!

rdmpe

jnarowe · 06/12/2006, 10:15 PM

Oh Yeah, and hipower

To Reef Central

melev · 06/12/2006, 10:18 PM

You guys are too funny!

Stone tablets? I'm definitely not that old, but this thread has been split 5 times and we are definitely around page 289 by now. It isn't so much a loop as much as a voyage, that is nearing 2 years this August. For those of you that have been following along since Day 1, you're about as crazy as I am. And for those of you that have decided to read the entire thing in a couple of weeks, we've got people in white coats ready to come pick you up.

hipower,

To Melev Central

jnarowe · 06/12/2006, 10:22 PM

Jinx!!

Oh wait, not exactly!

Micki · 06/13/2006, 05:03 AM

Marc, I guess that makes me as crazy as you are then...

itstheantitang · 06/13/2006, 07:20 AM

"Hopefully I can get the new area ready this Saturday. Final woodwork (trim) will come later, but for now I just want to get it in place."

-Melev

From the very first page.

BrianPlankis · 06/13/2006, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by itstheantitang
"Hopefully I can get the new area ready this Saturday. Final woodwork (trim) will come later, but for now I just want to get it in place."

-Melev

From the very first page.

He never said how MUCH later

Brian

mhurley · 06/13/2006, 07:33 AM

Hi Marc

melev · 06/13/2006, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mhurley
Hi Marc

Hi Mike.

It wouldn't accept a post to this thread for 15 minutes, and I tried repeatedly. Thanks for looking into it.

distracto · 06/13/2006, 07:22 PM

I'm also just getting done reading this thread from page 1 over the past few weeks... phew! But as a newbie still getting together the equipment for my first reef (the big final shipment arrives tomorrow

), it's been intensely informative and entertaining too. So maybe I'm not completely nuts.

melev · 06/13/2006, 07:52 PM

Distracto, welcome to the Nut House.

Back at the reef...

I don't know if I mentioned it, but the cyano was getting out of hand in my propagation section, as well as the refugium and in some key spots in my reef tank. I ordered two boxes of Chemi-Clean from Marine Depot. They arrived, and when I opened them up, this is what I found.

I'm not sure why they don't match, but there is no lot number or dates to explain it either. I called Boyd Enterprises because I wanted to use all of it in one dose, which treats 600g of water. This is almost double the water volume in my tank, and I really wanted to hear from them if there was any known risks in doing so. I believe the cyano in my tank is resonably resistant at this point to the product, since it wouldn't die off fully.

After four phone calls last week, and none returned, I decided to go with my gut and take a chance. Hmmm. I think I did mention this part after all. Anyway...

I dosed 1.5 to 1.75 of the containers' volume, which treats 500g of water. I turned off the skimmer, and removed the carbon running in my system. The ORP dropped from 413 to 71 (or something very close to those numbers) within a minute or two. It took a couple of hours to get it back up to over 200.

Most of the cyano died in my tank this time. There is a little bit left on the one rock I always see it upon, but overall it is reduced by 85% in the system, if not more. Had I had more of the product, I'd probably hit the tank one more time to get the last of it.

Usually, once the 48 hours have elapsed, I let the skimmer remove the product from the water and skip the 20% recommended water change. Last night I decided to change 30g of water, which removes some of the product as well as nutrient-laden water. The skimmer was powered up, and overnight about .5g of skimmate was collected. Today, I mixed up another 55g of water which I'll change this evening, changing 85g total in 24 hours. Perhaps the reason this stuff has been resistant is because I wasn't changing the water as directed.

Today, the water was crystal clean, the red stuff was virtually gone, and the BTAs were super fluffy. In a way, I'm a little concerned that the extra water change tonight will cause them to split. I love the ones I have, but I don't really want to see more in the reef tank if at all possible. They might wander across some corals, killing them in the process.

So that's about it. I just fed the tank, and I'll post a few pictures for you in a bit.

06/12/2006, 06:06 AM	#526
chrisd4421 Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Plainfield, NJ Posts: 290	Marc, I think I understand the unspoken reasons for the woodwork still not being finished...hehehehe.... If you finish the woodwork, the tank will be complete and then logically, you could start justifying your thoughts of upgrading to a larger tank....if you don't finish the woodwork and the rogue thought of upgrading hits you, you have the excuse that the tank you have now is not finished.... LOL....at least this would be my rational..... Chris __________________ "Discontent is the first necessity of progress" ~T.A. Edison Last edited by chrisd4421; 06/12/2006 at 06:40 AM.

06/12/2006, 06:27 AM	#527
Stile2 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Yucaipa, California (some little town you've never heard of) Posts: 1,624	Looking good! We are al,ost done with a kitchen/dining room remodel and are about to start on a new garage/master bedroom! I keep telling myself that I'll finish the woodwork when the new garage is done. __________________ If you have a college degree, you can be sure of one thing. You have a college degree! Superman owns Chuck Norris Pajamas!! Current Tank Info: 77 Gallon Custom peninsula 3 sides viewable, DIY Steel Stand, OM Squirt, 2 x 250 w MH, 2 x 95 w VHO, DIY Skimmer

06/12/2006, 09:54 AM	#528
Qwiv Persistant Perspective Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Belmont, CA Posts: 2,168	I wanted to comment on a conversation about flame scallops a few posts back. First, they eat mostly zooplankton, not phyto. Second, some recent information shows flame scallops have a very short life span, like 2 years. Collectors tend to pick the large flame scallops for retail as they sell better. These could be a year or more in age. That leaves a few months left on there natural lifespan plus low availability of food, which seems to account for there short life span in reef tanks. This info is only from 2 recent reports so further research needs to be done, but it might explain things to some folks. MARK: How is that canopy coming? __________________ If I knew keeping fish would be so hard, I would of had kids by now. Current Tank Info: 50Cube + 250DD + Nano

06/12/2006, 11:15 AM	#529
jnarowe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Poulsbo, WA Posts: 14,710	Qwiv I can appreciate that and thanks for the post. I fed mine mostly zooplankton anyway but it is just strange that it suddenly starts to die. If I can get a tool on it, I will extricate it and see what else besides flatworms are on its shell. I wish I could get regular old clams and oysters for my system rather than just "trophy" species as I believe they provide a valuable part of the ecosystem but I can't stand to pay so much for each one. I would drop in maybe 50 and see if they can't perpetuate themselves so that even though some die off, there would be youngs ones to take their place. Anyone know of a source? __________________ Jonathan--Recovering Tankaholic. Current Tank Info: 70g fresh planted

06/12/2006, 12:23 PM	#531
jnarowe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Poulsbo, WA Posts: 14,710	Thanks! __________________ Jonathan--Recovering Tankaholic. Current Tank Info: 70g fresh planted

06/12/2006, 12:12 PM	#530
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	Qwiv, if you've kept up with the pictures in this thread, you'd have your answer to that query. Chris, that's it exactly. Good job! Jonathan, there is a vendor in south Texas that sells stuff along those lines. I'll try to find out their name for you.

06/12/2006, 06:07 PM	#533
AngeloM3 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 1,016	wheres the beginning thread??? i'd like to see the build up of this __________________ "I'm sick of chasing my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where their going and catch up with them later." -Mitch Hedberg R.I.P

06/12/2006, 06:45 PM	#535
Cprowler Premium Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,758	Page one is right HERE .

06/12/2006, 07:59 PM	#536
AngeloM3 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 1,016	awsome thanks......... chrisd... i tried... and kept going back and back... and i think i just got in a loop... never found the first page but i got it now... thanks __________________ "I'm sick of chasing my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where their going and catch up with them later." -Mitch Hedberg R.I.P

06/12/2006, 08:25 PM	#537
rdmpe Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Central Florida Posts: 3,737	Weren't the first few pages chisled on stone tablets?

06/12/2006, 08:37 PM	#538
DaveG99 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Forney Texas Posts: 1,597	I'll tag along....

06/12/2006, 09:21 PM	#539
hipower Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 47	It's taken me the better part of 2 weeks to read this highly instructive missive. What an inspiration for me to do better! Marc keep it up!

06/12/2006, 10:13 PM	#540
jnarowe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Poulsbo, WA Posts: 14,710	Qwiv Thanks for that link. That is very interesting. I don't have a real sandbed in my display but I do have a nice one in my fuge where these clams would probably flourish. I'll keep that in mind! rdmpe __________________ Jonathan--Recovering Tankaholic. Current Tank Info: 70g fresh planted

06/12/2006, 10:15 PM	#541
jnarowe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Poulsbo, WA Posts: 14,710	Oh Yeah, and hipower *To Reef Central* __________________ Jonathan--Recovering Tankaholic. Current Tank Info: 70g fresh planted

06/12/2006, 10:18 PM	#542
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	You guys are too funny! Stone tablets? I'm definitely not that old, but this thread has been split 5 times and we are definitely around page 289 by now. It isn't so much a loop as much as a voyage, that is nearing 2 years this August. For those of you that have been following along since Day 1, you're about as crazy as I am. And for those of you that have decided to read the entire thing in a couple of weeks, we've got people in white coats ready to come pick you up. hipower, *To Melev Central*

06/12/2006, 10:22 PM	#543
jnarowe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Poulsbo, WA Posts: 14,710	Jinx!! Oh wait, not exactly! __________________ Jonathan--Recovering Tankaholic. Current Tank Info: 70g fresh planted

06/13/2006, 05:03 AM	#544
Micki Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 7,163	Marc, I guess that makes me as crazy as you are then... __________________ Micki... Western Ohio Reef Club Click the red house for my 125 progress! Current Tank Info: 125 gal. reef, 90 gal. sump, 10 gal. fuge, 40 gallon. 150 gallon fish only.

06/13/2006, 07:20 AM	#545
itstheantitang Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 477	"Hopefully I can get the new area ready this Saturday. Final woodwork (trim) will come later, but for now I just want to get it in place." -Melev From the very first page. __________________ Ignore the smoke and smile...

06/13/2006, 07:33 AM	#547
mhurley RC Staff Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Illinois'ish Posts: 38,805	Hi Marc __________________ Mike Current Tank Info: 60G Cube

06/13/2006, 07:22 PM	#549
distracto Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Endwell, NY Posts: 26	I'm also just getting done reading this thread from page 1 over the past few weeks... phew! But as a newbie still getting together the equipment for my first reef (the big final shipment arrives tomorrow ), it's been intensely informative and entertaining too. So maybe I'm not completely nuts.

06/13/2006, 07:52 PM	#550
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217	Distracto, welcome to the Nut House. Back at the reef... I don't know if I mentioned it, but the cyano was getting out of hand in my propagation section, as well as the refugium and in some key spots in my reef tank. I ordered two boxes of Chemi-Clean from Marine Depot. They arrived, and when I opened them up, this is what I found. I'm not sure why they don't match, but there is no lot number or dates to explain it either. I called Boyd Enterprises because I wanted to use all of it in one dose, which treats 600g of water. This is almost double the water volume in my tank, and I really wanted to hear from them if there was any known risks in doing so. I believe the cyano in my tank is resonably resistant at this point to the product, since it wouldn't die off fully. After four phone calls last week, and none returned, I decided to go with my gut and take a chance. Hmmm. I think I did mention this part after all. Anyway... I dosed 1.5 to 1.75 of the containers' volume, which treats 500g of water. I turned off the skimmer, and removed the carbon running in my system. The ORP dropped from 413 to 71 (or something very close to those numbers) within a minute or two. It took a couple of hours to get it back up to over 200. Most of the cyano died in my tank this time. There is a little bit left on the one rock I always see it upon, but overall it is reduced by 85% in the system, if not more. Had I had more of the product, I'd probably hit the tank one more time to get the last of it. Usually, once the 48 hours have elapsed, I let the skimmer remove the product from the water and skip the 20% recommended water change. Last night I decided to change 30g of water, which removes some of the product as well as nutrient-laden water. The skimmer was powered up, and overnight about .5g of skimmate was collected. Today, I mixed up another 55g of water which I'll change this evening, changing 85g total in 24 hours. Perhaps the reason this stuff has been resistant is because I wasn't changing the water as directed. Today, the water was crystal clean, the red stuff was virtually gone, and the BTAs were super fluffy. In a way, I'm a little concerned that the extra water change tonight will cause them to split. I love the ones I have, but I don't really want to see more in the reef tank if at all possible. They might wander across some corals, killing them in the process. So that's about it. I just fed the tank, and I'll post a few pictures for you in a bit.