Hindsight 20/20

[fishtales]

Hello , I joined a little while back and have enjoyed this site more than others I have read since getting back to this hobby , after a ten year absence , Boy have things changed ! 8O My ? is does chrushed coral have any good sides to it ?
I was surprised with a 29 gal. tank and typical light on Xmas morning after commenting on every sw tank for the past few years to my girlfriend ! I have used cc ten years ago in much larger tanks in the past , but also used a ug filter with ph's 10 years ago , The lfs sold her the cc . The poor girl tried & didn't know what she had gotten herself into! I went out and bought a stand , fluval 204 with surface skimmer, seaclone 100 , coral ,etc. We where very excited to get things going with little patience . After losing a few fish (to a case of ich) we learned " patience is a virtue".
I test for ph , ammo. , nitrite , nitrate and of course sg & all are good.
I treat with Kent's garlic xtreme , Seachem marine buffer & Bacter plus .
I feed with Nutrafin max slow sinking morsels for bottom feeders & Nutrafin max flake food with treats a couple of times a week of Sally's seaweed salad , mysis shrimp & Sally's emerald entree.
Content of tank at this time
1 Flame gobi
1 Yellow tail damsel
1 horseshoe crab
2 pepermint shrimp
1 Chocolate starfish
1 Emerald crab
1 Sallylightfoot crab
Wheh !! I think that is enough dirty laundry to hang out at one time!

Any suggestions would be appreciated since I no longer trust the lf's (after all they have to make a profit to stay open )

P.S. I thought this was suppose to be relaxing LOL

Hope to here any ctritisim,
J.D.

 

[Hara]

Hi, and welcome to AA.
One thing I noticed from your list is the horseshoe crab. It really would like a sand
substrate, and a deep one at that. You mention that you have coral..what kind? Live or the synthetic? Chances are corals will not do well under the stock lighting that comes with most tanks. Also, choc chip stars are not known to be reef safe.
Do you have any liverock in the tank ?

 

[fishtales]

Thanks for the welcome to AA !! The horseshoe crab is like a bulldozer we call him Mr. Magoo , and am looking to ditch the cc for ls . I am currently running a coral life 50/50 20 watt in my light set up , soon to be upgraded to a pc. The tank is a FO but would like to turn it into a FOwLR in the near future.
The coral I have in the tank now is ornamental not live & I agree about the substrate for hs crab
How deep of a sand substrae do you think is good ? I have been told enough to cover the glass bottom to 3" thick. Everytime I read somethig new it contradicts what the last article stated ???
Thanxs for you're response
J.D.

 

[reefrunner69]

The horseshoe crab is like a bulldozer we call him Mr. Magoo , and am looking to ditch the cc for ls . I

Well the horseshoe crab IMO, is not suited for most home aquaria. They get very large (over 24" in diameter), and they dig throiugh the sand looking to eat the fauna that make your sand bed "live". Once they have decimated the fauna (in a short time) they will slowly starve to death. While they can be comical and entertaining....they are best left in the ocean.

My ? is does chrushed coral have any good sides to it ?

If maintained properly, CC is a suitable substrate for a FO, FOWLR or even a reef. It is not the first choice (cause of the maintenance) but it is sutable and workable. With CC a "live" substrate is not possible. Te vacuuming required of CC to prevent nitrate build up wuld prevent the fauna from living in the substrate.

 

[Ender Wiggin]

So no one likes crushed coral? I hate to tell you but ALL chains stores carry that and sometimes only that. So sometimes employees sell that to people thinking that it will help your buffering capacity, expecially if they think you aren't going to add live rock. Plus sand can pack and cause areas of anerobic bacteria to colonize.

You really can't blame the store for trying to sell you what they think is best. Expecially if some person comes in trying to buy a gift for someone and they have no clue what they should or shouldnt buy. Don't disregard your LFS because somehting as trivial as that.

Also, inform yourself before purchasing things, thus you wont be wasting money. The hobby is about learning, not pointing fingers and blaming others. Maybe if you are that pissed off about the CC, so back to the fish store and simply ask why they recogmended it, and explain why you think that isnt a good idea. That way you are educated in their veiw and they in yours, everyone learns. This is exactly why some fish stores are "bad" at fish keeping, they cannot learn from others when no one communicates.

Ender

 

[reefrunner69]

So no one likes crushed coral?

I prefer sand, but as noted above, with proper maintanance, it is a suitable substrate. It is not, however, a suitable substrate for a horseshoe crab.

So sometimes employees sell that to people thinking that it will help your buffering capacity

If aragonite sand is used.........it will not buffer any more than the aragonite, they are both calcium based (most crushed coral is aragonite), and both require a low ph to dissolve and buffer the water.

Plus sand can pack and cause areas of anerobic bacteria to colonize.

Aside from the packing (which can be avoided with sand fauna) this is considered a good thing. It can also easily occur with CC.

You really can't blame the store for trying to sell you what they think is best.

Agreed, if they think it is best, or don't know any better. As with anything used in your aquarium (sand also) there are limitations to what you can add to it or use it for.

Expecially if some person comes in trying to buy a gift for someone and they have no clue what they should or shouldnt buy.

No real comment except to urge felloow hobbiest to encourage those that might purchase you something for your tank..........to get gift certificates.

 

[Guest]

Well Said

 

[fishtales]

Take it easy ender wiggins

Hey I was looking for opinions not some sort of lecture !! I have been in this hobby for over twenty years and not evrything stays the same over a period of time. If you're gonna stand on you're soap box don't even bother ! As far as everyone else ,Thank you for you're outlooks. that is what the board is suppose to be about .

 

[Hara]

wow, where did all that come from?

 

[michealprater]

Hey I was looking for opinions not some sort of lecture !! I have been in this hobby for over twenty years and not evrything stays the same over a period of time. If you're gonna stand on you're soap box don't even bother ! As far as everyone else ,Thank you for you're outlooks. that is what the board is suppose to be about

Who exactly are you refering to? I read the whole thread and it appears everyone was indeed giving their opinions. From the way it looks they were trying to help you by showing both sides of the story. I did not see anyone talk down to you.

 

[Ender Wiggin]

Wow, with that kind of reaction I don't feel as though my opinions aren't very welcome in this forum. The hobby is all about learning and being open minded to other people's opinions, good or bad. Thats what forums are all about.

Ender

 

[reefrunner69]

Wow, with that kind of reaction I don't feel as though my opinions aren't very welcome in this forum. The hobby is all about learning and being open minded to other people's opinions, good or bad. Thats what forums are all about.

Everyones opinions are welcome in this forum. Unfortunately as you, undoubtedly have found, not all opinions are well received. Please don't let that discourage you from posting and stating your opinion. Everyone has something to give to this hobby.

 

[d9hp]

As Kevin said, all opinions are very welcome, but you may get some info that contridicts them. Please be very open minded when recieving critism, contructive or not.

 

[loganj]

Also, inform yourself before purchasing things, thus you wont be wasting money. The hobby is about learning, not pointing fingers and blaming others. Maybe if you are that *beep* off about the CC, so back to the fish store and simply ask why they recogmended it, and explain why you think that isnt a good idea.

Possibly this was where the problem was? VERY direct to say the least... I didn't remember seeing anything in any of the previous posts that indicated that anyone was "beeped" off or pointing fingers. I guess we need to remember that everyone isn't the same. Those of us who are kinda thin skinned need to remember that, because someone is very direct doesn't mean they intend to be offensive...some folks just talk that way. Those of us who "just talk that way" might want to read it first and ask "Will this be construed as offensive by whomever is on the other end?". Sound silly? Maybe, but things like this can rapidly escalate into a flamefest which, and I think the other mods/admins will back me up on this, will not be tolerated. Everybodys opinions are welcome. Now, I'll get off my soapbox before someone kicks it out from under me .
Logan J

 

[Guest]

I don't care what anyone says, this site is hands down the top site IMO because you can post your opinion and you don't get kicked in the rear for sharing. Believe me, I will argue with the best of em' however, at this time, I would like to extend a thank you to all of the administrators of this site.

Even the arguments and tudes shine new light on a subject every now again......

Thanks

It's all good!

 

[d9hp]

Dont worry Logan, I got your soapbox real secure, no one is taking it. Well said.

 

[fishtales]

I was referring to Wiggin . After much research I Changed out my cc for ls & lr because with cc I would have to vacuum out the substrate & with a 29 gal. tank I cannot see how a 10 - 15 gal water change once a month would keep up with the detrius that would build up in between changes with the cc. I didn't mean to offend anyone . Sorry 8)

 

[Ender Wiggin]

I believe I was being quite fair in telling you not to blame the fish store for something that wasn't their fault. I dislike the fact that people don't understand that this is a science hobby, something everyone is learning from all the time. Information gets updated almost daily as to what is good, what is bad, what scientific names have changed, what fish are compatable, what fish eat, how they breed, ect. As much as we want a for-sure answer, there sometimes isn't one, and sometimes it's a matter of opinion and experience. So if information is different, that's because it's a science. You can't blame a person at a store for trying very hard to put a sw package together for someone who has no clue what they are buying or what they are trying to accomplish tank-wise.

Just because someone on here disagrees with your opinion, doesn't mean they are preaching or lecturing you.

Welcome to a forum.

Ender

 

[reefrunner69]

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[PrettyFishies]

Ender & Logan... can I have your soapboxes? I'm sure I can build SOMETHING for my tank out 'em....