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#77
02/10/2002, 09:51 PM
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That's not even funny.
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#78
02/10/2002, 10:29 PM
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Since the original idea was so basic;
Use timers on all your lighting, get the heavy duty variety with the grounded plugs. A digital timer with a half dozen on/off settings works as a wavemaker for smaller tanks. btw, be sure to use drip loops on all plug connections. You can make spraybars out of pvc instead of buying return nozzels. Lights Of America outdoor floods are 6500k pc's and work great for refugiums. Pick up a spare one and wire it to a switch to light your sump, it's easier to work there when you can see what you're doing. A plastic gas can with a spout makes it easier to add topoff water in awkward locations. Use two thermometers on your tank. The digital ones from Radio Shack are great, but get an el cheapo "stick on" one too, if they don't agree you may have problems. Save all the disposable plastic containers you get, eventually you'll find a reef use for them  .If you know the employees at the LFS and they're reefers, bring them a frag or two once in a while for their own tanks. Buy a bag of the crud on the bottom of the LFS rock tank to get critters to populate your rock and sand. They'll probably think you're crazy and give it to you. (esp if you've been giving them frags). When you get really good service from a LFS or small MO place take five minutes to send the owner/manager a note telling him so, and mention the employee by name. A lot of people work in those places because they love the hobby (it sure isn't the money), and they deserve the recognition. Finally, and this has been said before, keep a journal !! It doesn't have to be fancy or completely detailed, but one needs to record actions, observations, and perceived results. Water changes, livestock additions (or losses), bulb changes, etc, this things are forgotten and overlooked until something comes up, and then it's too late. Agu
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Less technology , more biology . |
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#79
02/10/2002, 11:20 PM
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When I have someone babysit my tank, I set up a clipboard with a feeding schedule and a critical point check list (water level, temp, etc.)
I premeasure the food into pill boxes. The week long kind. Each day, one feeding. -------------------------------------------- Tie a string to your feeding clip or get one that floats. -------------------------------------------- mgk |
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#80
02/10/2002, 11:30 PM
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I just want to get an email for every response too. Great thread!
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#82
02/10/2002, 11:47 PM
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And there is another tip. Thank you
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#83
02/11/2002, 01:10 AM
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One little tip
I've found that when acclimating fish you can use the hose off the power-heads that regulate oxygen. The little oqygen regulator also makes a good water regulator. You may need to go to your local HomeDepot and get some longer tubing that will reach all the way to the floor next to your tank. Suck the water through the hole where the oxygen comes in at. Once the hose starts to syfon you can regulate the drip by turning the nob on the regulator. This works well with your more touchy fish and corals, where acclimation plays a big role in whether they survive or not.
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#84
02/11/2002, 03:08 AM
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For the daily dusting off the front glass just do like the professional window cleaners with their large rubber blades. They are available in many sizes and do the job in seconds. With a good shaft your hands will not even get wet.
An up&down sweep motion is needed when using a long shaft  Where can one get a shoulder length gloves? Can anyone post a picture of turkey blaster? I use a tube and blow myselft into it to do the same thing.
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Click www for DNA's reef. |
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#85
02/11/2002, 03:38 AM
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This wasn't my idea, but posted on here somewhere by someone else.
For getting the bubble out of your J-Tube on your overflow: drill a tiny hole at the top of it and attactch some airline tubing and attatch the other end to the venturi intake on your powerhead.... everytime any air gets in there, it gets sucked right out! -dave- |
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#87
03/04/2003, 08:11 PM
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Plexiglass Scraper
NEW PLEXIGLASS CLEANER SCRAPER IDEA!
Instead of using old credit cards to clean algae, or "attempt" to scrape coraline off my 135 gallon plexiglass reef, I needed a stiffer burlyier scraper, and found one an arms length reach away. Use an electrical outlet plastic cover plate for a harder stiffer scraper. Its even got 2 perfectly round holes in it to use as finger braces. Its conviently 2.5" x 4" for either wide or narrow scraping, and its plastic too, so it doesn't scratch my plexiglass reef. Enjoy! RockyHeap |
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#89
03/04/2003, 08:55 PM
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Quote:
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#90
03/04/2003, 09:40 PM
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I put labels on all my power cords,powerheads,heater,lights and the such,so I would'nt have to trace down each powercord to see what it was running,zip ties are a must!!
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#91
03/04/2003, 10:11 PM
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Quote:
if you have any electrical equipment that you do not use all the time, but use occasionally, you can use an empty TP tube to hold the wound cords in. oh, and that stainless steel spoon trick to get the stinky smell of fragged corals or hand-harvested caulerpa off your hands, you just rub your fingers with the metal spoon under the tap like its a weird shaped bar of soap.... the metal does some chemical or ion reaction i can't describe and takes the stank away.... |
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#92
03/04/2003, 10:55 PM
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I keep seeing these people say that you can use the iv bags to drip dose your tank, there is a thing that is made more lizards that is a small container with an airline tubing hose and a regulator that is made for chameleons that only drink water that is dripping, you could set the container right on top of the support brace if it's not crowded with lights like mine! you can find these at most pet stores cheap, did anyone mention this?
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#93
03/04/2003, 10:58 PM
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water temp
When I use water out of the tap,(cichlid tank). I have one of those stick on thermometer strips stuck to the metal faucet and it shows the temperature of the water. Great when used with a python for water changes. To bad I can't set the temp of my ro/di output.
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#94
03/04/2003, 11:00 PM
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Using remote control switches has proven very convenient to turn off my pumps, closed loop pumps when target feeding delicate animals. (Some of those are in my basement...) Worth every penny.
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One of these pumps must be hooked to my wallet... |
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#95
03/04/2003, 11:10 PM
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Here s one that worked for me: (Learned here on reefcentral)
My sumps are in the basement I use a U shaped length of fexible PVC in the 55gal refugium tank with a bunch of small holes on the inner part of the U shape, the bubbles come out gently through the holes, the opening is near the surface. No microbubbles, no salt spray. For the bigger 100 gal sump i use a coiled length of 1.5" pvc, no bubbles...
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One of these pumps must be hooked to my wallet... |
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#96
03/04/2003, 11:28 PM
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When your suction cups on your powerheads give out you can get replacements fairly cheaply at arts&craft stores. Or just attach a chip clip to the underside of the cord so that it snags on the rim of the tank to keep you powerhead at the level you want it.
Last edited by RHahn62; 03/04/2003 at 11:43 PM. |
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#99
03/05/2003, 12:14 AM
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for aclimating new fish and stuff.
Use airline tubing as a siphon line into a bucket on the floor. It's a slow and constant way. have your tank drilled for the sump. BTW, I like the idea af frags for LFS employee's  never buy a fish after it just arrived at the LFS, eben if you really want it keep a floating hydrometer in the sump for reference Then there is the advice: Only bad things happen quick.
__________________
current tank 94 corner, SPS/LPS basement sump |
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#100
03/05/2003, 05:00 AM
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-To get problem algaes (and this might even include coralline) off the glass/acrylic, attach your credit card scraper about 1/4" ahead of your siphon tube. That way, when you are changing water, you can also take out the algae without the spores floating all around the tank and possibly growing somewhere else.
-Wear sunglasses or polarized lenses when you need to do work or remove the canopy without turning the lights off. -Make a box out of eggcrate so that your animals don't disturb your DSB too much. Alternately, You could just make a support out of PVC and lay a single layer of eggcrate over the PVC, which essentially does the same thing. -Duct tape of clip the powercord of your powerheads to something (I just tape it to the back of the tank), so that when the suction cups release the pump, it's not going to fall to the bottom and create a sandstorm because the cord is taped in place. -Use a timer or alarm clock next to your RO/DI and set it 1min before it's expected to fill your bucket/container, so that your floors don't get flooded. -Use 3/16" rigid tubing attached to a length of 1/4" tubing attached to a nasal aspirator (sucks a baby's nose and has a bulb at one end and a connection for 1/4" tubing on the tapered end) if a Turkey baster frightens your fish. Use this in the same way as a turkey baster or to precisely target feed frozen foods (such as mysis) one piece at a time. You can also use it to direct a stream to clean off detritus/sand from corals. -Put your pumps on a different circuit than your lights (with backup pumps), so that if one circuit fails, you will can still rely on your reserve pumps/powerheads on a separate circuit. -Put a ball valve about an inch above the bottom of a bucket or rubbermaid container and mix kalk in it. After 24-48hrs, just open the valve and fill as much kalk as you need without siphon hoses. -Place a laminated piece of paper with the information of a reefer that you trust on the inside of a cabinet door. That way, if your family members or baby/house-sitter doesn't know what to do, they can call your friends and have them try to remedy the situation. -Place a fluorescent light fixture inside the stand, so that you can see what's going on down there without fumbling for a flashlight or trying to bring in a bulky light see under the tank.
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My mother used to say, "He who angers you, conquers you!" But my mother was a saint - Elizabeth Kenny |
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