:::RHMT::: Real Home Made Turbo
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: marcj on April 14, 2009, 12:51:45 PM
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Goodbye boring ass fresh tank.
No gold fish were hurt during this process.
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Decided to go with a 10 gallon for the reef tank. Easier to maintain as a beginner.
salt and distilled water added.
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Aragonite ocean sand used, which maintains a biological filter; bacteria included :)
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Waiting for temps and pH to stabilize. cycling the filter right now. I will update later once the filter clears up the water a bit.
sand added. filter still clearing the water. going to get some tester fish in a minute
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tester fish (damsel)
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Current Investment:
10 gallon tank: $12.00
10 gallons of distilled h2o: $7.00
10lbs Agagonite ocean sand: $20.00
2 damsel fish: $8.00
Instant Ocean sea salt: $7.00
adjustable water heater: $20.00
temp gauge: free
filter: free
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Friends have a salt water tank.
Fuck all that work.
They made one mistake and the fish got sick so now they have to clean the tank out daily.
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I had fresh and salt water tanks for a while. I would much rather have a tropical freshwater tank so much easier to take care of and you can still have some pretty dam cool fish/animals.
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ok
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Decided to go with a 10 gallon for the reef tank. Easier to maintain as a beginner.
salt and distilled water added.
do you know anything about salt water tanks?
the bigger they are the easier to maintain. a 10 gallon reef tank is not gonna be easy at all.
what kind of lighting do you have for your coral? reef tanks need strong lighting.
do you have a saltwater test so you can test all the things you need to keep an eye on?
how about a salinity tester? or did you just add the amount of salt the box said.
good luck, make sure the fish you get are ok to have in a 10gallon tank and that they are reef safe.
not many salt water fish can live in a tank that small. a few gobies...
i wouldn't recommend a 10 gallon tank as a first salt water setup for a beginner. also i would never recommend a reef tank for a beginner.
check out aquariacentral.com/forums/ (http://aquariacentral.com/forums/) it's a good forum with a lot of great info.
hope you don't kill too many fish, and hope you don't waste too much money.
oh and distilled water could have traces of copper in it which will kill your reef animals.
so you might want to dump all that and use RO water or get a tester and make sure there is no copper in your water
have fun, i wish i could afford to set up my 20g tank again.
good info. I have a hydrometer for salinity, and just ordered a mini-aqualight high intensity (6500k and 10000k). I'm still prepping the tank so there is no live rock in yet. I plan on doing mostly rock and anemone, and maybe a clown fish and blenny.
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also, i went nano because water changes are easy, lighting is cheap, same w/ everything else. doing this on a budget. NOG LIFE O0
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I had fresh and salt water tanks for a while. I would much rather have a tropical freshwater tank so much easier to take care of and you can still have some pretty dam cool fish/animals.
i had some tropical freshwater fish in my bigger tank.. puffer fish died when i was at the hospital for 3 weeks.. a few others tried to eat it and died. :?:
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Planted freshwater tanks FTW. Check out www.aquaticplantcentral.com (http://)
Dont get me wrong, saltwater is sweet but let one parameter get out of whack for too long and everything dies.
MantisX
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update up top
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ammonia levels are kind of high.. stressing the fish out.
going to try to balance it artificially for now.
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Mike is pretty much on par with helping you out. Sadly, you are doing a horrible job so far. That tank is no where near cycled, I wouldnt even consider it a saltwater/reef tank or even the start of one, honestly. Those filters are horrible. Damsels are the most worthless test fish ever, they will live in apple juice, ask how I know. You need lights. You need a skimmer. Your sand bed sucks. You have no power heads. I highly recommend a sump. -and more-so, I highly recommend quitting now before you spend/lose any more money. Honestly. Building a saltwater tank to survive longer than a few months is not as easy as one thinks. You are clear evidence of that.
An anemone is the last thing you want to add to a new tank. Id say, maybe after 3-4 months, unless your tank is doing perfect after at least 8 weeks.
reefcentral.com is another kick ass website.
Here is my old set-up from about 2 years ago.
55g reef dominant tank
2x500w ice cap halides
~15g sump
~150# live rock, from Okinawa
~4-6" live sand bed, again straight from Okinawa
~large skimmer
~calcium drip
~mag pumps
~huge fuckin tunze powehead w/ external controller for waves
...probably more shit than I care to even think about. I had so much money into that...but it was my pride in joy. Lots of time went into this tank. It shows, IMO
Livestock...I had about everything you could put into a tank, in there. lol. Anemones (split twice, -the good way) clams, hammer coral, tons of shrooms and zoo's that I propagated in the oceans of Okinawa, (went snorkeling 3 times a week to make sure they were ok)...lol....clown fish that hosted in the carpet anemone, tangs, hundreds of snails, crabs, shrimp...look at my tank. Some actually say it was a little over crowed. My fish were happy, and my coral spread like wild fire. It was a very healthy tank. I sold it when I moved. I plan to build another large (150g system/100g+ show tank) when my daughter gets old enough to understand responsibility.
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi110.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fn119%2Fjunkyardracer%2FAquarium%2FDec21002.jpg&hash=9e7da00aa70f1bc7a7ec3845db1686cb54a7251a)
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Part of my homemade sump, chaeto...
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Im really not trying to discourage you, I just want you to stop while your ahead. You are going in the totally wrong direction with it. Read, buy everything you think you are gonna need and then start again, with a large sum of money ready to spend. lol. Good luck, and ill offer my advice whenever you need it.
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Oh yeah, that stand is a horrible idea, also.
really, there is nothing positive about your tank, dude.
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it's all good.. this is a very basic setup. I wont be discouraged if it fails. I do plan on buying a mini-protein skimmer, high intensity lights and building a better stand. I realize the damsels live in harsh conditions. I bought them to assist in the bio-cycles.
I never said I was adding an anemone any time soon. Live rock? yes. invertebrates or expensive fish? no.
this isn't suppose to be a "here's how much money I can spend on a salt water aquarium over night to show off my baller status."
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oh, I have a power head to move water too.. I just haven't hooked it up yet
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why did you add fish to it?
they are damsels.. like junkyard said, they survive in anything. the guy at the tank shop said they would help with the cycle over the next 3 weeks. For some reason I don't think that I should listen to him any more.
I'm reading more and more threads online as I go, and learning on the way.
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your tank will never cycle like that. Flush the fish and wait until you get rock to 'cycle' the tank...or order your rock like....tomorrow.
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How many pounds for a 10 gallon do I need for a cycle? I have a petco right down the road that sells live rock. I was about to buy some today but I was going to wait until my high intense 6500k & 10000k light gets here. I could always use a regular florescent fixture and return it once the good stuff arrives.
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Really, it sorta depends. Everyone will tell you something different. id start with 2 fairly decent sized rocks, and build on that. 15# depending on what you get. Some rock is very pourous, some is very dense.
I wouldnt get anything from petco, however. Order from a no shit saltwater store, or get some from the classifides section of reef central or another forum.
I wouldnt do anything unti:
-you have your lights -comp flouresents or a t5 set-up if you can afford it. You can get DIY T-5's for that tank, cheap.
-you have your lights on a timer
-you put the tank on a solid stand, once you start adding rock, that tank isnt moving anywhere
-you have a skimmer
-and please, get a dam fuge. You can add another tank below, for cheap. Get another 10g of water flowing through the system, and add a place for chaeto, your life will be much better.
btw, I started exactly how you are starting. I wasted a bunch of money and I really kick myself in the ass. What you see above is top notch parts, and yes...it is/was a baller set-up. It also worked. Not saying yours wont, but your heading down the wrong path, from my experiences, and reading others.
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Try getting a nanocube, its prefect for the begginer They arent that expensive and super fucking easy to maintain. If your super eager to start, some fish stores will sell you the water they use in their reef tanks, its already cycled so youd be ready to go.
2 years ago I knew shit about having a reeftank (I still dont know shit), When my wifes employer went belly up they gave me the lobby tank with everything in it. It used to be thriving with life, but my son went at it with the feeding tongs, (says he wanted to catch a crab) killed almost everything while i was sleeping, I had to start over. (wife wont let me spend money on it or it would be kick ass) I just ad the chemicals as needed, and test the water quality every week with the lab kit.
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv318%2Fghetto_d%2Fnanofrontblue.jpg&hash=f1191df9d6fda90ffeb3b082a34e2837c9516192)
24 gallon Nanocube, OdySea 130W lamp, 16K blue actinic, and 50/50 bulb. about 2inches of crushed coral sand, 20-30lbs of live rock. 1 blue tang, 1 yellow tang a few crabs, and snails. 1 anemone, random coral frags.
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heres my 2 tangs, I had a clownfish, but it died a month ago for no apparent reason. water parameters were fine.
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Heres a closer look, its a little dirty, need to change the water this week.
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Their little tunnel, they love swimming thru this thing, chasing each other.
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cheap little water chiller/heater. keeps its at 78° all the time
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The lab, magnesium, strontium, calcium suplements, water test kit, digital temp/ salinity/gravity tester. PH buffer, phosphoban. and the food, I have prime reef, krill, plankton in the freezer.
I wanted metal Halide lighting, but it was too expensive. The tank stays pretty clean, I just do a water change every 2 weeks (20%) scrub the glass with the magent scrubber, and vaccum the sand when i do a water change.
My plans are to eventually build a 50 gallon shallow reef tank out of acrylic sheets, when i move to a bigger place.
check out this site it is filled with usefull info.
http://www.saltwater-aquarium-online-guide.com/ (http://www.saltwater-aquarium-online-guide.com/)
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Nice tank. Those nano cubes arent bad, for the money. Id still rather have a tank/fuge system, but those arent bad either.
You have chaeto in the back?
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isnt it crazy how much those stupid fucking fish get attached to you, and you get attached to them. My blue tang knew exactly when I got home, and would always be up front of the tank when I got home. Any other time, the fucker was under a rock or something. Crazy. I actually miss that fish more than some of my dogs ive had through my life. How retarded is that. When I brought him home, he swam upside down in a 10g tub of water. lol. stressed like a mofo.
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Try getting a nanocube, its prefect for the begginer They arent that expensive and super fucking easy to maintain. If your super eager to start, some fish stores will sell you the water they use in their reef tanks, its already cycled so youd be ready to go.
I wanted metal Halide lighting, but it was too expensive. The tank stays pretty clean, I just do a water change every 2 weeks (20%) scrub the glass with the magent scrubber, and vaccum the sand when i do a water change.
I never touched my sand bed. If you have a super live sand bed, you would never touch yours either. In fact, maybe stop doing the vacuum thing. Just change water. a dirty sand bed is a good thing, if the surface is nasty, get a few more snails. Try it for a month. Toss in some more snails and see what happens.
As for the cube, if you are starting with nothing....and want a small tank...it might not be bad idea. Anything else, id do a 2 tank system. I guess I had luck with my 2 tank system, and I miss it. BTW, Ive actually had 3 tanks. I had one identical to yours, that failed, a ~23g cube tank with a hang on back fuge and a 125w halide, and then I bought the system you see in the pics. the cube was a sexy tank. It was also set up 'properly' and was a great tank. Had a great live sand bed, great light, the calcium level was perfect...actually a little more than most say to have...almost all softies...and no bio load. it was a beautiful tank.
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I had no idea these damn fish were so needy ....
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I had no idea these damn fish were so needy ....
jesus. you have no idea. I bet I spent an hour or two a day with my tank. sometimes an entire saturday was spent cleaning/tending to the tank....I would be up at 5am to get the low tide to collect new coral/propagate the stuff I had in the ocean...and bring some home. I was addicted. Once you get it going, its like you cant stop.
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Dude you are going about it all wrong, paitence (sp) is the best thing you can have with a saltwater tank. I have a 30 gallon with a 20 gallon sump. I have 1x250w Metal Halide 2x65w Pc actinics. i have lots of zoas, mushrooms, candycanes, and a few chunks of sps. A sump with a skimmer and some cheato is literally all the filtration you need. Your live rock will do the rest. About 1 pound per gallon to start with. My tank just turned 1 year old and still doesnt have the really stable water perameters i would like. So it def takes time.
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So just out of curiousity, what kind of financial investment are you looking at to get a tank going and to keep it up and running ...
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I spend about $6 a month in saltwater. + $3 for a sea-lab 28 tablet since i dont have a kalk reactor. so about 10-20 a month on water and food
thats funny how you get attached to the fish to bad you cant pet them. My blue tang comes to the front of the tank when i come home from work. When i bought my yellow tang i was afraid the blue one was going to bully it, but they became homies real quick. they chase the shit out of each other all day long, plus they eat all the algea off the rocks.
Its time consuming, and an investment, but its so worth it. My kids spend hours just sitting there watching them. The sound and smell of the saltwater relaxes me, plus the LED moonlights make a bitchin nightlight
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Me and my girl totalled the prices up for everything i spent on this tank, and its just over 3k in one year. granted, i went through about 4 different lights, wasnt satisfied till i had the best, now i can keep anything i want in my tank.
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if you do a nano setup, like ghetto_d, you can spend about 300 on the tank and then the cost of rock and fish, plus about 20 on maintaining it. bigger tanks need the expensive light fixtures and such.
I don't plan on spending more than 250 total on mine due to the size.
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So just out of curiousity, what kind of financial investment are you looking at to get a tank going and to keep it up and running ...
If I built the tank I had....I would probably have in the area of $1500-$2000, if not more. Thats for the equipment. I paid $1200 for it all, used. If I had a total cost of all of my livestock/equipment, if I paid for my coral/rock/sand I would venture to say it would go north of the $4000 mark. HOWEVER, I paid nothing for my rock, sand. I paid for some of my coral, some of it came from the ocean that I snorkeled for. I paid for all of my fish. My water came from ie island off of Okinawa, some of the best water in the world. I paid like 75 cents a gallon for it. My tap water actually tested real good, so I used it for my top off water. I usually evapped about 2g a day. My air conditioner blew straight onto my tank, which helped stabilize the temps some....I had no chiller.
If I cant build a huge tank next, id really like to build a 20g long tank. I wouldnt attempt to build the tank unless I had about $500 ready to drop on it. That doesnt include sand, salt or rock. I also dont know if I would build one without a generator.
Monthly costs, I think have a lot of variables. Tank size, lights, pumps, there are lots to it. A salt water tank is something that you can neglect for a few weeks, and hope it stays ok, IMO.
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if I do this again, a RO unit will for sure be used. I think its like melves reef site or marve, something like that...anyways he talks about building your own RO unit, and its cheap. Good info. Actually...that site has a ton of great info.
edit
http://www.melevsreef.com/ (http://www.melevsreef.com/)
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Friend of mine's boss runs an acquarium shop. Helped him move some shit one day and he showed us everything he had and some pictures of some of his customers tanks. I sooooooo gotta get a nice setup one day.
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A very well established tank will maintian itself. All you gotta do is keep the salinity levels in check. I've read where people who have reefs that are 8+ years old, do nothing to them. Empty the skimmer, add kalk and top off. Getting there would be a long battle. :-\
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So I know zero people in real life with salt water acquariums, but apparently half of RHMT are experts.
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So I know zero people in real life with salt water acquariums, but apparently half of RHMT are experts.
When you have one, you need to know every last little detail about everything thats going on with the tank, or it isn't going to work. Its just like that, and I found out just like the OP is doing.
OP. Have you drained the tank yet?
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That's not my point.
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Freshwater tanks never really did much for me. Saltwater tanks setups are kind of fascinating though.
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I missed the point also, then. weird.
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I haven't replaced the water yet. Actually thinking about swapping everything over to the bigger tank and using the smaller as a diy refugium setup.
I got a 24" T5 light for 30 bucks on craigslist :yes:
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is that water line at the top from evaporation?
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great observation.. thanks!
I just made a lid for the tank. i'll top off the water level in a few..
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yes i know. salt doesn't evaporate.
thanks though. you're a big help :noel:
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you really need to pay more attention to your tank. Im telling you...one little fuck up, like that and your gonna trash everything. the water level really cant be any more obvious.
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thanks frank. suggestions are much appreciated.
contrary to what the shops are telling me, i'm going to return the fish and go with some live rock for the rest of my cycling.
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what are the shops telling you?
the fish wouldnt be bad, if you had a skimmer and rock in there. get rid of the fish, put your rock in there, and toss a piece of shrimp in there. yes, some shrimp.
did you go to the melves reef site I posted?
http://www.melevsreef.com/tanks.html (http://www.melevsreef.com/tanks.html)
Cycling the tank. Unlike a freshwater tank, it takes time for a saltwater tank to be ready for a new fish or other creature. Once your tank has been set up, you�ve added your sand, filled it with saltwater, turned on the heater, started the filters, now you can add your live rock. What your tank needs is bacteria, and you need to breed it before your new pets are added. A very easy way to do this is to buy one or two uncooked cocktail shrimp from the deli at the supermarket. Just throw them in the tank and let them rot. As they do, bacteria will grow as a result. Ammonia levels will rise in the tank over the period of a week or 10 days, then it will suddenly drop (you�ll observe this with your Ammonia test kit), and Nitrites will rise quickly over a period of another few days. Finally, the Nitrites will drop off completely (reading 0 with your Nitrites test), and Nitrates will begin to register on your Nitrates test kit. As soon as your Ammonia and Nitrites tests both read 0 on the matching test kits, it is safe to add the new fish.
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Yeah just top off moe often, dont use a lid on your tank, it makes gas exchange much harder. Also dont bother buying a skimmer from petsmart or the other major brand stores. They mostly suck. Look around at some really decent skimmers, not seaclones.
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got my first LR. has a few hitch hikers on it. looks like there is a VERY tiny feather duster. some centopede looking things. and a few tiny snails.
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Fuck all of that work. Freshwater and one angry fish is all you need:
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A real man's fish is one you can feed table scraps of meat chunks. :noel:
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Good live rock has all kinds of shit living on it. But it gets pricey. At 6 bucks a pound and having about 1 pound per gallon of water, you can see what i mean. I have almost 50 pounds in 45 gallons between my display and my sump, so about $300 in rock alone.
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I miss when I went snorkeling, and found my own rock, and it compared to some of the best in the world. :P
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frank i miss sleeping with your wife
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i bet you do.
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lol.. I just got banned from nano-reef.com for asking about a "ching chong protein skimmer" on ebay. they said it was offensive and they temp banned me. I used a proxy and came back to post porn. the main mod said he would ban me as many times as he needs to. hahahahaha
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There really isn't another forum like RHMT besides 4chan
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There really isn't another forum like RHMT besides 4chan
anonymous is legion.
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Don't waste your money on a Ching chow skimmer. At the least find a used half way decent one. Ill look around for one tomorrow online. Again, doing this hobby on the cheap side will lead you to failure. You can do it, sure but life will be that much more difficult.
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Fuck 4chan. We don't hide behind anonymity.
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buy this
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1621577 (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1621577)
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thanks frank. hopefully he responds to my PM
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your still gonna need a pump, a small maxijet will do just fine. im sure he will tell you.
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Nice lil 10g tank...
Just wait until it sucks you in and then you start buying corals for $50+ per 1/2" :noel:
Had a 90g mixed reef... but took it down so I could buy more turbo parts! :P Actually damn thing got too expensive and time consuming!
Here are some pics from my last tank. Send me a PM if you need some damn advice about this stuff. Still got a 20g and 10g with tons of expensive corals... :evil:
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cvreefers.org%2Fgallery2%2Fd%2F41034-1%2F90g.jpg&hash=e78205cf035fa4ff34fac39d7611f4d65299fc65)
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cvreefers.org%2Fgallery2%2Fd%2F41122-1%2Fbellus.jpg&hash=6805054075a544cbd72d741f5e835db7acb8a107)
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cvreefers.org%2Fgallery2%2Fd%2F41562-1%2Fcorals03.jpg&hash=62944fb33579cf1bb2d21ef70a04b900b0716698)
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cvreefers.org%2Fgallery2%2Fd%2F41571-1%2Fcorals06.jpg&hash=27c1fdb41536c669a988574bad74cdb7d9cedcbd)
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cvreefers.org%2Fgallery2%2Fd%2F41116-1%2FSunCoralsNL.jpg&hash=846c4300d146413ea65c9651f3a507c2e2005b6a)
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(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi395.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fpp32%2FHMT_marcj%2FPicture150.jpg&hash=c63f68d0a12e6b00942b7723c4152cf2879b2409)
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(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv318%2Fghetto_d%2Fdoryandbubbles.jpg&hash=95776026cadce2385efd2d4c116292e2eeae089c)
heres my 2 tangs, I had a clownfish, but it died a month ago for no apparent reason. water parameters were fine.
why do you have a tang in a small tank? most places say they need 80 gallons to be comfy
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dude. your water level is still down. ???
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no it's not.. that's from the same day you mentioned it.
btw, I have a feather duster that is hardly even noticeable unless you look really hard, and he's still alive. I've seen him pull himself into his body and then comes out again. it's cool as hell. hopefully he makes it through the cycle.
do you think I could just get a nitrate test kit and watch for the ammonia to fall and nitrate appear, instead of buying both nitrite & nitrate? also, I need to manage phosphate, calcium and magnesium levels with coral and delicate inverts, right? any others?
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Let's review what Frank said,
dude. your water level is still down. ???
Are we still confused? I can make the font bigger, or change the color.
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Why would you skip any testing at the most critical part of setting up a nano tank? Further on down the road, if the tank is doing good you won't need test as often. Right now, if be testing about every 3 days for everything and writing it all down.
Were you able to pick up the skimmer?
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(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flashasylum.com%2Fdb%2Ffiles%2FComics%2FRob%2Fmerderer.png&hash=3218885a8413f57e2cebf03c4ccbd064238efadc)
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(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flashasylum.com%2Fdb%2Ffiles%2FComics%2FRob%2Fmerderer.png&hash=3218885a8413f57e2cebf03c4ccbd064238efadc)
LOL that's classic
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So marcj, did your goldfish die? Did you think a saltwater tank would be easier to maintain?
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So marcj, did your goldfish die? Did you think a saltwater tank would be easier to maintain?
no, the gold fish didn't die.. i let both of them go in the lake behind my house.
I've got a big turbo snail and a small hermit crab now. everything seems good. ammonia level has dropped but still present. Everything else is optimal.
Ammonia: .5 ppm
Nitrate: around 5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Alkalinity: 180 ppm
pH: 8.4
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how many 10% water changes have you done?
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i've had to replace 1.5 gallons.. haven't done any water changes yet
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oh, i forgot to mention.. i have a lot of green hair algae on the glass.. turbo snail is working on it
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Damn. All those pictures are making me want to start my own saltwater setup. Shit looks fucking dope.
My friend has a 75gal tank that just finished cycling and is gonna buy some fish this weekend.
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Damn its been probably a month or more since i tested my tank for anything, and even then i think i only checked my dkh and my calcium. I dont even bother with nitrate or ammonia. And my tank is just aout packed full of softies and lps (large polyp stony) corals. Also its bare bottom, so i gotta clean the glass at the bottom of shit every time i clean the tank.
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i've had to replace 1.5 gallons.. haven't done any water changes yet
get a 10% water change done. And get a few more snails in there.
Damn its been probably a month or more since i tested my tank for anything, and even then i think i only checked my dkh and my calcium. I dont even bother with nitrate or ammonia. And my tank is just aout packed full of softies and lps (large polyp stony) corals. Also its bare bottom, so i gotta clean the glass at the bottom of shit every time i clean the tank.
Once the tank is rolling...you generally dont test for everything...
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just a little update.. went to tampa bay for a 3 day vacation and brought back a few pieces for my tank.. most the rocks are covered in live barnacles.. and I found a huge hermit.
this is right after I added all the new rock and shit.. it cleared up but my camera batteries are dead, so whatever.
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi395.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fpp32%2FHMT_marcj%2Freef011.jpg%3Ft%3D1249586327&hash=df11a36eeaadf141b89e717ecce8228e6d0738b2)
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the huge amount of barnacles really added animation to the tank.. I can't wait for the purple coraline to start covering them to add some color ;D
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I was in the gulf for a few days at the beginning of may. Caught two big ass hermits (one with shell was about the size of my hand) and some big snails. Wish I would have had a tank to keep them in. After seeing the crap my friend complains about his I don't think I would mess with one.
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you need to for real get a major CUC in that tank or taht algae will take that tank over in no time flat. how old are your bulbs?
I know this from experience. I had to totally dump a tank from that algae right there.
btw, im about to start slowly piecing together a tank at my new house. hopefully around a 50g with at least a 30g sump/fuge. Im stoked.
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I have not had time to keep up on my tank. All my purple green grass stuff has died. my snails all but two are empty shells my crabs are gone. and I got green moss on the glass. I have been doing my water changes but the bulbs are tired. and the light timer has now been clocked back two hours. My sump looks fine. And so does my sponge and what not. Im just lacking time for the 75gal tank. salt level s I will check tonight. Finally will have time to check it all out.
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I took out the tampa rocks.. found a good deal on a new rock with some zoas and what looks to be 2 green carpet anemones
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com%2Fimages02%2F89%2Fl_36e318293e8e492a9e85f427c72c19c2.jpg&hash=8d1f282538cc7e337b8fceb78a61bc69cbbd5d0c)
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com%2Fimages02%2F106%2Fl_421069f811f14cb5920fb7953b08b5ff.jpg&hash=974edddeeb5801f5ecdbd01cf997e054149559a1)
I'm still in need of some turbo snails and hermits..
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got a new anemone :)
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi395.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fpp32%2FHMT_marcj%2FPicture056.jpg%3Ft%3D1250364212&hash=34b2ce01c4846d84e8bd4ed94449d930b0d6fc76)
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Are those semen stains on the glass? :-X
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You would think that Yosiph
Coral line Algae
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Are those semen stains on the glass? :-X
Purple semen? :?:
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So did your tank crash yet or is it still ok?
I found some decently recent pics of my tank. I had a huge cyano algea breakout that just about killed all my stuff. Its all just now starting to regrow after i cut my lighting down to only 2 hours a day of metal halides.
Kryptonite CandyCanes
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg4.imageshack.us%2Fimg4%2F4374%2Fdscn2044j.jpg&hash=02aeb166532a5dfdd70dc4272cb0b13fb89e506e)
You can see the red algea starting already in that pic. That Candycane was the only coral i completely lost. Everything else just shrunk to a quarter of its old size.
Some Nuclear Grass
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg27.imageshack.us%2Fimg27%2F5096%2Fdscn2047o.jpg&hash=057b95ae23b9a3db7e39c4d93aa14dc94fb89622)
Here is a colony of some ugly brownish pally's. Now that they have been bleached out they are really white, almost pinkish. Hope they stay that way this time.
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg190.imageshack.us%2Fimg190%2F5605%2Fdscn2052ch.jpg&hash=0a29867ffa4010977736021007f67f2416894f82)
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that nuclear grass looks pimp.. i'm wanting to get some type of algae going in my tank.. I might set up a fuge with some mangroves and chaeto to keep excess nutrients down.
here's a few updates
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com%2Fimages02%2F94%2Fl_5dad1e485e0c48818fe6b376b4580cec.jpg&hash=26a101bfae2361ce5b9200b66d711b2279ea12df)
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com%2Fimages02%2F16%2Fl_cea6526342434ee4b3e1c5610fdaa07c.jpg&hash=efb7422cba1b97bcfb69549c0a69665143fcf44f)
new additions:
yellow watchman goby
false percula clown
coral banded shrimp
flame scallop (not sure if this guy will survive.. I thought they were photosynthetic when I bought him)
I'm trying to get my xenias to climb up on the rock.. that's why the plug is sitting vertical up on the rock.
I might start dosing the tank to get my polyps to grow faster.
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Lol pull that xenia shit out while you still can. It pretty much loved the cyano outbreak in my tank and took off like it was food. Im still taking scissors to that shit whenever i find it in my tank. I had a huge amount of it.
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg8.imageshack.us%2Fimg8%2F5633%2F1222081.jpg&hash=a6a5856132bb4e9ed438ce8a60605177cb2832ac)
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that nuclear grass looks pimp.. i'm wanting to get some type of algae going in my tank.. I might set up a fuge with some mangroves and chaeto to keep excess nutrients down.
that grass will go nuts if you dose the shit out of your tank with calc.
as for your fuge...
You need a skimmer I highly recommend a sump.
I told you a long time ago. http://www.melevsreef.com/ (http://www.melevsreef.com/) is the RHMT of sumps.
find someone with a fist size of healthy chaeto, toss it into the sump/fuge, give it a small light and it will grow like no tomorrow.
mine started like this
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi110.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fn119%2Fjunkyardracer%2FAquarium%2FSept16008.jpg&hash=491d531dae5a4ba0d943f61db4a7be056444f16c)
only a short time
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi110.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fn119%2Fjunkyardracer%2FAquarium%2FFugemay1001.jpg&hash=a109952551cf908817b23dab0858963ea040fc40)
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi110.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fn119%2Fjunkyardracer%2FAquarium%2FFugemay1003.jpg&hash=326faf3b96243253a096f6b7061a28a9cf349a62)
also, if you make a fuge/sump, get yourself a good deep sand bed in there and find someone local who can give you some of their sand bed to seed yours. It will make a world of a difference. Also, are you skimming? I assume not.
Glad to see your still alive though. :)
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Yeah see im just going with bare bottom. No sand for me cuz it seems like i can never find a permanent home for my tank, Im always moving it somewhere. Ill probably be giving my current tank to my dad when i move from texas to alabama in a couple of months so i gotta find someone up here in dothan alabama that is into saltwater that can give me the hookup.
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is that a biocube? man those are nice tanks, but i'm glad I did mine homemade style.. wish I would have made the tank itself with acrylic with built-in plumping for a sump. maybe next time
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check page 1. no, thats a 100% homemade sump/fuge.
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Marc just told me he needs to sell his tank as he ships out for the Airforce on Wednesday! No reasonable offer refused, lowballers welcome!
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ill take a fat taco bell shit in that nano faggotry and watch all the fuckin animals die will i drink lady bligh rum which is the scottsi's mom of rum
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Marc just told me he needs to sell his tank as he ships out for the Airforce on Wednesday! No reasonable offer refused, lowballers welcome!
the only low balls will be mine tea bagging your mouth
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i made a protein skimmer today with stuff i had around the house.
water bottle
mc donalds cup
clear tubing
wood air stone
etc.
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com%2Fimages02%2F1%2Fl_19bfa23db59e4d939a829c425e108348.jpg&hash=a53ab79c98aef8df4188dc288fc3fbe3d2deaa16)
obviously not permanent placement.. i was bored..
the skimmate is nasty and smells like the mysis shrimp i feed the tank with, so i guess it works :)
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chair force huh? I wouldnt run around telling people that. :?:
haha. no, good for you man.
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how would a fat deuce effect the ph level
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how would a fat deuce effect the ph level
it would raise the pH due to the acidity of chyme aka digestive juice (hydrochloric acid, pepsin,etc.)
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here is two or three hours of running my homemade protein skimmer.. shit stinks :?:
(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com%2Fimages02%2F33%2Fl_48942ade80494cf987da97ca78d7a793.jpg&hash=b70810a0386ffbc4ad26800db8dea897218ac5b1)
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Lol thats not shit, My css skims some nasty shit. Literally its nothing but black sludge. And it biulds up like a half inch thick of mud looking shit that you have to physically remove. pretty gross. I would definetly invest in even a decent skimmer at least. Thats one of the really important parts of a saltwater tank.
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i sucked it up, took your advice and dropped $80 on a AquaC Remora skimmer. it's the HOB nano version, and got excellent reviews. i'll just leave my ghetto skimmer running until it gets here. btw my watchman goby made a little cave right beside the condy anemone.. i'm afraid he's going to get sucked in, but hey, that's TTHHE CIRRCCCLLLEEE OF LIFFEEEE
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LOL i started whistling that shit as soon as i read that. Yeah you will be impressed. The remora is a pretty decent skimmer. try cleaning the collection cup after a week of dry skimming. That shit will make you gag easy.
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(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fc4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com%2Fimages02%2F52%2Fl_159c71c2fcf04a5da9c83214d00e7e5b.jpg&hash=45cb525beb5caeb4af898b58a84e29106b5b32ff)
my coral is so much happier since I got the aquac remora skimmer..I'm going to pile all my rock up to make a center column as the focal point in a few days.. I just hate moving the rocks because the goby has his home dug out under the biggest rock.
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(https://realhomemadeturbo.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi256.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fhh166%2Fjoeymisanthropy%2FMisce%2FMarc%2520Justice%2520has%2520a%2520sucky%2520Nano%2520Reef%2520Tank%2FFISHTANK.jpg&hash=7fe55b37766e5fa40f721f8f6dfcf2bb93ffde18)
Travis moved his tank in at the shop, it's ~8 years old. He just got the water stabilized and dropped some damsels in to make sure everything's legit. Sometime this week he's buying something cool that will eat them.