Tips and Tricks 101

[powerreef]

Great thread. Here's a little one I use. On the odd occation RTN rasies its ugly head. I take the coral out and dry the affected area with a q-tip. Then i get some crasy glue and cover the affected area, and just slightly onto the good tissue where the RTN is about to move on to. Give it a quick blow to form a skin and back in it geos. On the corals I have ahd to do this, the tissue grwos right back over the hardened glue.

Mike

[SuperFudge]

Hi all i thought this would be nice to bring up again, many here have not had a chance to read or add to it.

Ill Add another.

Microbubble`s from your drain line?

A good way to rid yourself of atleast 50-70% of them is to extend your drain line about 6-8 " below the surface of the water in your sump.
Then (or before hand) drill a hole about 4" above the water line (tap or tee here if you wish aswell,it works a little better to hold the line in place)
Insert some 1/2"(or so) diam rubber line (or rigid if you tee`d) in the hole (not too far in) and point this back down into the sump aswell (above the waterline), as the air will want to burp and spray a bit.

Air wants to exit this line instead, as its a little easier to get out rather than force the air 6-8" below the water line.

This has worked like a charm for me, if your unsure if its for you, make sure you just buy a union first, and cut the line and just dry fit some test pieces and run it to see how it works for you.

Marc.

[albert_dao]

I'll play.

- Microfibre cloths are a cheap and effective way to get a streak free clean up on your glass. Just make sure to prewipe with a damp rag. No detergents are necessary.

- 8" personal fans move a lot more air than computer fans and can be nearly just as quiet if you get the right one. They're also prewired and have a built in setting dial.

- When planning out a rock scape, draw it out first. Then figure out how you can support your aquascape with PVC. This pretty much eliminates the need for "base rock" and creates a much more open reef structure.

- Soak crushed coral in RO/DI water for three weeks with a complete water change each week. Make sure it's aerated. Ever see that fancy and expensive reactor media for the Schuran reactors? Well congrats, you just made a bunch of it cheap.

I'll put more later on as I remember.

[kwirky]

here are some of my tips:

keep important building materials on hand at all times. IE: 1/4" glass, acrylic, silicone, PVC piping & elbos, egg crate, etc. You never know when inspiration might hit

Oh, and PVC piping can do neat things if you cut it lengthwise to make original things. I made a "reflector" for a cold cathode moonlight by cutting a piece of 3/4" PVC down the length in half, then supergluing a piece of aluminum foil to the inside. Saw somone use this idea for making a metal halide hood, actually (out of 2 foot PVC)

When starting up a reef, don't be daunted by the cost of larger tanks. Doller per gallon, larger tanks are cheaper than smaller tanks. Just get the biggest tank you can for your space, because equipment for larger tanks is not much more than smaller tanks. A metal halide ballast is usually the same price, whether it's 150W or 250W, the heaters are only 10% more for the larger versions, and the pumps are almost the exact same price. The only scaling cost is the tank the liverock, and possibly the skimmer, which isn't much really.

Oh, and don't turn your tank into a fruitstand. Being an artist myself, I visually despise people who buy 1.8 lbs of liverock per gallon, and pile it against the back of their aquarium, and then display their corals rising up their rock structure laid out like a fruitstand selling goods. It's not aesthetic, doesn't look like the real reef (there's NEVER that much assortment in a 4 foot area), and it's bad for flow.

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by kwirky

Oh, and don't turn your tank into a fruitstand. Being an artist myself, I visually despise people who buy 1.8 lbs of liverock per gallon, and pile it against the back of their aquarium, and then display their corals rising up their rock structure laid out like a fruitstand selling goods. It's not aesthetic, doesn't look like the real reef (there's NEVER that much assortment in a 4 foot area), and it's bad for flow.

then being an artist you should know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what you might find bad others might find beautiful and what you might like others might find ugly.. I don't think you really have the right to tell people how to arrange their tanks.

Steve

[SuperFudge]

Originally Posted by kwirky

and it's bad for flow.

A very important point, and one often overlooked i think.

If you look at the largest Aquascaping threads on many of the larger boards, many have stated what they find distracting, and i dont think Sean or anyone on those topics meant to slam anyone.

these threads include many saying simple things like take the damn magnet off there, or clean up the cords, or hide the plumbing....it is all opinion and personal taste here.
But if i could be honest, i too find things like that distracting.

Not to mention even taking the time to Design a structure in the first place.
I have a hard time myself dumping piles of money and time into it, and not paying close attention to the backdrop of the whole scene,wether its practical or aesthetics in mind.

Ive dumped enouph money into this system to build a hotrod or a bike, so if i did, i certainly wouldnt have completed the project and left original white walls on.

Cmon, Pick that brain of yours Steve and add something you think others may use on their system...

Keep em comin, i dont care if they are bad or good according to the next, let the readers decide what to disregard.

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by kwirky

Oh, and don't turn your tank into a fruitstand. Being an artist myself, I visually despise people who buy 1.8 lbs of liverock per gallon, and pile it against the back of their aquarium, and then display their corals rising up their rock structure laid out like a fruitstand selling goods. It's not aesthetic, doesn't look like the real reef (there's NEVER that much assortment in a 4 foot area), and it's bad for flow.

So this looks like a fruitstand I take It. You should pick your words before typing them out they might come out in a wrong sense that people might take offense too. In other words voicing your opinion is ok to a certain point, But stating a fact about opther people's hobbies or anything pertaining to them can be rude/..

[SuperFudge]

Ok...shoulda let this one sit another 5 yrs...


I dont think he meant offense fellas, easy on the guy.

He thought it a good idea for someone who may be setting up a new tank.

Comon....

[albert_dao]

A couple hints for someone getting into a new system:

- Always plan for worse case scenarios.

- Try to do it in a basement. Temperature control is so much simpler when you're not dealing with a muggy upstairs atmosphere (most homes).

- Leave a space between the sump and the wall that you can reach behind. Sometimes fish jump, tools or frags drop, or cords need to be fished out. That space gives you the play you need to get in behind the sump to retrieve these items.

- When choosing a pump, go external unless you absolutely cannot afford it or find space for it. They run with less heat transfer, have better pipe diameters right from the volute (most brands) and, IME, run quieter with less maintanance than internals.

- Try to get a temperature controller/computer to regulate your heater. It makes no sense to invest thousands of dollars into a system then cheap out on the component MOST LIKELY to kill everything. Ranco controllers are very well regarded as they are an industrial utility component.

- Give yourself a good height on the stand. Your back will thank you and it will give you access to MUCH better skimmers and other equipment down the road.

- Go straight to Metal Halide or HO T5's. Everything else is just going to need an upgrade once you get bored of Xenia, Frogspawn and Mushrooms.

That's it for now.

[Ruth]

Well my first "tip" would be to first and foremost please yourself - be happy with the way your tank looks even if it doesn't conform to traditional setups - if your happy with the way it looks and everything is doing great - just be happy
My 2nd tip would be if you do your water changes manually - like I do - get a smaller pump and attach a piece of vinyl tubing or spa flex to the outlet and use it for both taking water out of your tank to your change bucket and for putting the new water back into the system. I use rubbermaid garbage cans for mixing my new water so I just put the can right by the tank I am going to change the water in - mix the water for about 24hrs - and then use the pump with spa flex to replace the water I have just removed with new.