should the lid be above the water line, even if the plumbing is submerged .5"-1". The reason i ask is if it is above i am sure foam will collect in there and it will not let the bubbles to flow over the lid. Or should i have it below the surface?
Another drag.......FIREWORMS!!!
They are so tiny its hard to see. You can just see tons of them like little centipedes running around.
So now i have fireworms, there seems to be ALOT of them. Today i seen them going and eating alot of stuff on one of my live rocks. There had to be at least 50 that i could see. I pulled the rock out to rinse it off, about half of them were under the rock and ran. How can i remove. So far things are not going so good, and this has been very high maintence.
-Tom
Thanx for the compliment. I know live rock is expensive but you can find deals. I don't believe in (base rock) "Base Rock" equals dead animals,algae, critters which is helping your nusience algae problem. Just go for cured live rock from ground up piece by piece i have 3 big pieces that I paid 6.99lb (on Sale) and for the rest are just $20.00 piece one week and one $30 piece another thats what I found fun doing. Just so you know everyone here at my LFS I talk to protein skimmers are sworn by people that feed too much or don't do enough water changes. I have no carbon, no protein skimmer, just a 15 gallon refug. with a filter pad to catch any debris. I was just like you about 7 years ago, but I learned you get what you pay for when it comes to live rock. Just my two cents. I am no expert but just my personal experience.
Brad
CR Member
I have some base rock in my tank and I love it...cheep and looks great. See if you can find it in the picture below.
Will
All things can be cured by salt water, whether by sweat, tears or going to sea.
~Isak Dinesen
CR Member
Here is a side view.
Will
All things can be cured by salt water, whether by sweat, tears or going to sea.
~Isak Dinesen
CR Member
The lid should be several inches above the water. The container is pretty long, so in this case it'll be quite tall in your sump standing up on one end. Don't worry about any foam in the bubble tower. If you want, wipe out once a month or so.Originally Posted by TomL
Here's a video of the bubble tower I built into one of my first sumps.
http://www.melevsreef.com/video/trapped_bubbles.wmv (1.2 megs)
Bristleworms are fine. They do no harm and clean up detritus:
http://www.melevsreef.com/id/bristleworm.html
CR Member
Adding rock a little bit at a time is what I did as well.Thanx for the compliment. I know live rock is expensive but you can find deals. I don't believe in (base rock) "Base Rock" equals dead animals,algae, critters which is helping your nusience algae problem. Just go for cured live rock from ground up piece by piece i have 3 big pieces that I paid 6.99lb (on Sale) and for the rest are just $20.00 piece one week and one $30 piece another thats what I found fun doing. Just so you know everyone here at my LFS I talk to protein skimmers are sworn by people that feed too much or don't do enough water changes. I have no carbon, no protein skimmer, just a 15 gallon refug. with a filter pad to catch any debris. I was just like you about 7 years ago, but I learned you get what you pay for when it comes to live rock. Just my two cents. I am no expert but just my personal experience.
Brad
Your tank looks nice. I would run carbon actively to help clear the water, which will allow more light penetration for your livestock. You're paying for that light on a daily basis, and you might as well get your monies' worth.
melev,
I am not sure what i have is bristolworms. I know that mine are not red, they are grey, they look like centepedes such as that pic but are about 2mm long and .5mm diameter, so tine you really have to look. I seen the video of the bubbletrap, it looks nice and does and excelent job. I am learning more and more about this hobby. My anemone (seabae) is doing so much better, i almost tossed him before, he usually perks up with the lights off, when there on he is small. I guess i will take it one step at a time and hope i am doing what is good for the corals and fish. I cant spend my life with the fish tank but i do give it a significant amount of my time.
Can you also answer me a few other questions.
Should i vacume my substrate to keep it clean, or is it okay for it to turn natural and green?
Are water changes 100% necesary when the tank is reading good water chemistry?
Now that i have macro algae, other then harvesting that, what other maintence should i be doing?
I am looking for experienced reef/fish keepers to respond, and melev you seem to fit the bill.
My LFS has a tank that looks great and has NEVER had a water change in 10yrs. He tells me a protein skimmer is ridiculous because it removes all the proteins that these invert and corals need to eat, then we add it back with DT or marinesnow.
I am just trying to get a perspective on the hobby, not just follow what everyone else does because the ideas make sense.
Thanks
-Tom
CR Member
Tom, the reason this hobby is so difficult is because there are very few absolutes. What works for one person will not work for another. And you'll find many opinions that all yield the same results.
Quite often, I find the LFS owners tend to give out poor information, but there are some excellent ones out there as well. So whatever you are told, from them, me, or others - take it with a grain of salt. Look at their tanks and decide for yourself if what they say is provable through their tank(s).
The display tank that has been running for 10 years without a water change, is it an independent system? What kind of livestock is in it? I have a hard time believing he's never ever changed water in it. The LFS by my house changes water in his main display 3 times a week, minimum. His tank looks fantastic, and many people get into the hobby because of the corals and fish they see in that 120g.
For someone that is new to the hobby, a protein skimmer is a huge help. It makes up for errors that often happy to inexperienced hobbyists. I run a huge skimmer on my 280g reef. The skimmer is 12" wide, has two pumps on the side, and is 30" tall. It is probably rated for 500g, but I believe it is perfectly suited for my reef. Here's a full tank shot of my reef from Oct 31:
And here's my skimmer and sump:
I'd rather my tank be super pure due to skimming, and allow me to feed heavily. I also prefer a system that is algae free.
In the past, I felt that water changes were only necessary when the tank seemed to need it, and as long as the water parameters were good then I'd leave it be. However, I had an anemone that was very unhappy most of the time, and that drove me nuts. It would really look great (like your Seabae) at night when the lights were off, and like death warmed over all day long when the lights were on. When I got into the habit of changing water regularly (once a month is hardly a burden), and keeping my skimmer clean, the tank improved. This is the tank I'm talking about (last picture before I took it down):
I recently wrote an article on water changes that was published last month in Reefkeeping Online:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-11/nftt/index.php
If your substrate is fine sand, don't vacuum it. Get a few hermits, a cucumber, a fighting conch (one per 24" x 24" area), and a handful of nassarius snails. They'll keep your sandbed clean, provided your tank has enough flow.
For the macro algea in the refugium, harvesting 25% out of the system once a month is usually enough, but that's about it.
For regular maintenance, everday:
Check that all equipment is running as it should
Check the tank temperature often
Check the water level
Check the livestock!
Reposition any corals that are out of place or have fallen over
Clean the skimmer
Top off the tank
Weekly:
Clean the glass (if not daily)
Test all water parameters, and log them in a journal or spreadsheet
Monthly:
Do a 25% water change
Clean pumps, including return and skimmer pumps
Cull some macro algae
Quarterly:
Major cleaning on items that need your attention
Replace any clean up crew members that are MIA
I hope that helps.
Melev is right on that one thing works for some people and not others. I have just heard more neg. than positive on skimmers---thats why I said it was just my 2 cents. But this (unexperienced person will let you be.) I must have misunderstood when you posted "any ideas on how to make my tank look better"
Brad
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