Saltwater & Reef

carey · 02-23-2012, 06:05 PM

Dont scrub it, just pop them off with tweezers. They will be somewhat hard so you can do it if youre careful. AS soon as you take the frag outta the water they will close up. Just be quick about it and maybe swirl the frag in a cup of tank water before you put it back in, just in case you missed some of the bubble stuff.

TigerBarbs · 02-29-2012, 02:09 PM

I was thinking one more small fish. My list so far is a small perc clown pair and a little purple firefish. I want something small and that stays by the rocks but is also active. I'm thinkin a tail spot blenny. What do you think?

MBliss81 · 03-01-2012, 02:12 PM

Blennies are very fun fish, lots of personality. I just added a bi-color blenny to my tank. Tail spot blennies are cool. So are midas blennies. I’m a big fan.

TigerBarbs · 03-01-2012, 05:05 PM

Awesome! They perch and "hop" around on the rocks right?

MBliss81 · 03-01-2012, 08:31 PM

Yeah. And some of them eat algae off the rocks for you. They find little holes and caves to hang out in and peek out of. They are fun to watch.

TigerBarbs · 03-01-2012, 08:32 PM

Do you think that a small one would be overstocking my tank?

MBliss81 · 03-02-2012, 10:34 AM

Just get one, because if you put more than one blenny in your tank they’re likely to fight. I’m not sure if you’re overstocked or not. What do you have in there already? As long as you aren’t having nitrate problems I don’t think a little blenny is going to cause much of a problem.

TigerBarbs · 03-02-2012, 01:38 PM

As I have said earlier in the thread, I have 2 percula clowns and a purple fire fish. My nitrates have been kinda high at 20 with weekly water changes. My corals seem perfect though. I'm gonna hold off on a blenny until I figure out the trates

TigerBarbs · 03-04-2012, 09:44 PM

I can't find my cleaner shrimp!!

I haven't seen him in 2 days. I checked my filter with no luck. I saw a couple antennas and his head shell floating around, so hopefully he's just molting.

TigerBarbs · 03-05-2012, 08:36 PM

What piece of equipment would give my tank the most benefit? Right now, I have an ac 50 powerfilter (with filter pad, carbon, and ceramic), 425 and 500gph powerheads. I have a fair amount of algae on the rocks and glass that my magnet can't get off. Also I'm getting a little more diatoms on the sand. My nitrates are Kindof high too even with weekly water changes. I've been thinkin about a carbon/gfo reactor or a fuge/protein skimmer. What equipment would help me the most? Hopefully I gave enough info on the tank. If you have questions shoot em.

carey · 03-05-2012, 09:14 PM

Between the two choices of fuge or reactor, i would choose the reactor and run some gfo, try to get a handle on the algae before it gets out of control.

A fuge is a great thing too but I think you would see more results with running some gfo.

Just my opinion, that's what i would do.

TigerBarbs · 03-05-2012, 09:24 PM

Any reactor that you prefer? Brs DIY?

carey · 03-06-2012, 12:49 AM

BRS has nice reactors. Just have to decide if you want the dual reactor that can run carbon and gfo off the same pump or two separate reactors. I plan on adding the dual one to my 125g and the singles to my 60g. I also have the phosban reactors and for a smaller tank they are also fine.

MBliss81 · 03-06-2012, 12:31 PM

For the money it’s hard to beat a Phosban Reactor 150 from Two Little Fishes. I have one running NPX Bioplastics, and it keeps my phosphate and nitrate levels so low that my test kits can’t even detect them. And I haven’t needed to do any kind of water change in over a month!

One piece of advice if anyone decides to use bioplastics, though. Add them slowly, a little at a time. I added them all at once and got a major bacteria bloom that lasted about 4-5 days and killed my sand-sifting sea star.

I’m thinking about adding a second level of media to my reactor, too, and running Chemi Pure Elite in the top part of the reactor, separate from the bioplastics that are in the bottom. I’m still researching to be sure this is a good idea.

MBliss81 · 03-06-2012, 12:33 PM

I also agree with Carey. Bulk Reef Supply have some very nice reactors. I just decided they were too big/bulky for the h.o.b. application I wanted to use, and they cost a little more than the Phosban Reactor 150. They do look like they are much more heavy-duty than what I got, though.

MBliss81 · 03-06-2012, 12:37 PM

It’s also my opinion that no saltwater system should be without a protein skimmer. I tried to make mine work with mechanical filters for almost a year before I finally got a protein skimmer, and I really wish I had just done it right from the beginning. It is also absolutely necessary to have a protein skimmer to make bioplastics effective.

I wouldn’t bother with the refugium/protein skimmer combo. Get a real skimmer that is rated for double your tank’s volume. It’s the heart of a saltwater tank’s filtration, and doing it cheap will only lead to headaches (trust me). Refugiums are nice, but you have to be realistic about how much benefit they are really going to give you, and they just can’t give you the benefits that a good skimmer will.

(sorry for the multiple replies)