Tips

puttycat said:
When I do my water changes I skim wet and drain into a bucket. when the return pump is about to suck air I refill with fresh s/w
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That is a damn good tip, my friend. I always use a pump to remove the water from my sump, then switch the pump over to my water to refill the tank. I had never thought about turning up my skimmer to remove the old water. Good thinking.
 
In addition to the sand, I used a small amount of aquarium gravel around the back of my tank. I turned pvc 180* through the bottom of my tank (I drilled and extra hole for it) so that its just about a 1/16 of an inch off the bottom. I used the aquarium gravel to cover the U shaped PVC. The gravel is too big to fit into the pipe and it acts like a filter. I plumbed the PVC into a valve and then to a hose adapter. When I do my water changes, I just connect the hose and open the valve. I get a lot of detritus out with each change. and the gravel pile acts as a pod farm in the tank. Water changes are a breeze and I have a very healthy pod population!

I also don't dose anything. When I first started in this hobby I bought a bunch of bottles of stuff that would magically make my tank awesome. I realized that the very best way to maintain my levels is to just do frequent water changes. My tank has remained the most stable since I stopped dumping crap in it and just stay on top of my water changes.
 
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yote said:
3-I'll top it off with a...... spend atleast 12 hours a day staring at your tank so you can get your monies worth

I'll go even further on this one.
Dont just stare at the tank.STUDY it.Your animals,especially the corals,will let you know somethings going on,a lot of times before it'll even show up on your test kits.
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+1 Yote! I spend a lot of time looking over my tank and I know it very well.
 
another good tip would be when planning a saltwater tank go with biggest tank you can to save yourself alot of money later on since everyone always wants to go bigger. Especially since bigger tanks are more stable and more forgiving to error than nano tanks.
 
Any good tips on moving tanks? I'm moving to a new place this week and will be saving all saturday for moving my 20gal.
I know it's just a 20 but I finaly got everything where I like and now I have to tear it down. that and all 3 walls have coralline algea on them, if I scrape them off will I OD my calcium? I just hate the white look when it dies.

Don't mean to hijack BUT I am looking for tips!
 
JBReef said:
Any good tips on moving tanks? I'm moving to a new place this week and will be saving all saturday for moving my 20gal.
I know it's just a 20 but I finaly got everything where I like and now I have to tear it down. that and all 3 walls have coralline algea on them, if I scrape them off will I OD my calcium? I just hate the white look when it dies.

Don't mean to hijack BUT I am looking for tips!
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It's good to plan the whole day for the move. You never know what can happen.
I would suggest you have 10g of new saltwater mixed, up to temp and ready to use at the new location. Save 10g of your old water and use the rest to transport your livestock.
If you have any substrate, take it out and wash it thoroughly in fresh water. Wash it alot. You will lose lots of good bacteria, but it's better than having all the crap that's built up in the substrate disturbed, mixed up, spread into your system and possibly causing a little cycle.
At the new location, setup the tank, add the new water, your rock and sand, then fill the rest with the old water you saved and add your livestock.

Once coralline forms, or any other calcium carbonte substance..like hard corals, it won't break down in your tank. You pH needs to be around 7.4 or lower before it can dissolve calcium carbonate. That's how a calcium reactor works. You lower the pH to dissolve the media.
 
parrotchute said:
What do you do with the fish while you're moving?
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+1 Capt

Alex,empty salt buckets are great for moving fish.Or another option is to ask your LFS for enough bags for the livestock.Even if they charge you a couple of dollars,it'll make life easier.
 
There are so many experts on this forum! There's nothing much more I can put in except that if you have questions or problems, post it here!!! You'll get the best answers LOL
 
I think I'd be freaked out to move an entire tank. That's a lot of $ and time if you screw up!

Here's my tip - don't mess with electricity & water. Install a GFI and be very careful! I've had two electrical incidents, one I could have lost my whole tank full. (canister filter screw up with it overflowing all over all my power strips. They are now zip tied above off of the ground.)
 
+1 Biff. I always put my livestock in bags and then put all of the bags in a cooler to transport. Cooler keeps everything safe from trauma and temps stable. if you are going to put fish in bags to transport you should try to put blinders around the bag so that they cant see any of the other livestock. It will help to keep them from getting stressed. Just some paper or a colored plastic bag will do.
 
Dunno, I've never even used bags. Just tossed them in little coolers. Here at Circle K convenience stores you can get coolers that fit a six pack for a buck or so. It's the perfect size to move fish. Tape the lid down, and you're good to go.
 
JBReef said:
Any good tips on moving tanks? I'm moving to a new place this week and will be saving all saturday for moving my 20gal.
I know it's just a 20 but I finaly got everything where I like and now I have to tear it down. that and all 3 walls have coralline algea on them, if I scrape them off will I OD my calcium? I just hate the white look when it dies.

Don't mean to hijack BUT I am looking for tips!
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ccCapt said:
.
If you have any substrate, take it out and wash it thoroughly in fresh water. Wash it alot. You will lose lots of good bacteria, but it's better than having all the crap that's built up in the substrate disturbed, mixed up, spread into your system and possibly causing a little cycle.
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I have become a pro as I have moved my 180gal 3 times, my 80 2 times and my 36 one time. Not to go against your advice cccapt but every time i have moved I have left the sand in the tanks with just a tiny amount of water in the tank (just really what the pump wouldn't suck out) I will pull all of my rocks and fish out and either put them in 5 gal buckets with existing water or trash cans or other large bins depending on what is going in it. I try to move at least 60 percent of the water to the new location and am always successful of 60-70 percent going back in and having extra new water at the new location to put in to top things off. when pouring your water back in what i do is set down a dinner plate or 5g bucket lid on the sand and pump the water in over that so it does not disturb the sandbed too bad. things are crystal clear in hours and everyone is COMPELETELY happy. and I have tested water every time i moved after the move to see if anything is effected and everything is always great. Never lost a single fish, invert, or coral in all the moves I have done. And thats a lot of livestock being shuffled around!

Everything else I would say is spot on but i really reccomend (from more experiece than i care to have!) to keep the substrate in there.
 
Moving? Put LR, fish and water in 5G buckets cheap form home depot, use lids to preserve heat levels. I've kept water in a 5G bucket with the lid and the temp stayed stable for hours. Don't let LR dry out at all! Rinse sand before putting it back in. It may have a deadly amount of detritus lurking in the sand bed.
 
I have plenty of 5gal. buckets but the washing of the sand makes me nervous. Last time I moved I just left enough water in to stay about an inch above the sand.

I would be nervous to wash the sand, afrai of loosing all the good bacteria. What would happen if I skimmed all the junk off the top layer of the sand then bought a small bag of new sand to make up for the lost amount? will it cause a cycle?
 
JBReef said:
I have plenty of 5gal. buckets but the washing of the sand makes me nervous. Last time I moved I just left enough water in to stay about an inch above the sand.

I would be nervous to wash the sand, afrai of loosing all the good bacteria. What would happen if I skimmed all the junk off the top layer of the sand then bought a small bag of new sand to make up for the lost amount? will it cause a cycle?
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I just wouldnt do anything with it. just move as you did last time.
 
Yeah, maybe washing sand is bad but I know someone who poured the water back in, it stirred up the sand, started an ammonia spike and killed everything. The plate idea is good but the real answer is to not let the sand become a detritus trap to begin with.
 

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