Newbie Corner Feedback Thread

[nrstype]

Start one o~fearless~one! Or lock this one, or both. Looks like this one is turning into a Q&A, and it was originally meant to be about announcing your Newbie corner articles.

Sticky it & lock this one, so newcomers can direct their attention to the "New to the Hobby" section.

(OH.... Speaking of Q&A.....was is your idea to put a rifle and pilgrim hat on the RC Fish?) HMmmmmmmm????

[WaterKeeper]

The feedback thread was intended as a Q&A for article related input from the readers. Author forums usually don't get a lot of attention so I figured I'd try it this way. Besides it does give my articles PR come to think of it.

You have to blame Doug, beerguy. He is our fish dresser upper and has logo's for about any occasion.

[nrstype]

Okie dokie...

I'm slow.. just realized the fish today.. that was kinda cute.

[WaterKeeper]

One of the things I need to teach you Newbies is how to recognize fish from your kids. The one's you can hold underwater for an hour or more are usually fish. The others are amphibians or mammals, possibly kids.

[conjuay]

Unfortunately, I read your article AFTER the deed was done...
There is a used 100 gallon Acrylic sitting downstairs as we speak!
But the upside is that I got tank, stand, wet/dry, protein skimmer and two working power heads for what the tank alone should have cost me. (The lights were/are useless for reefing.)
There are a few scratches, but you might want to suggest this option for others who are looking to get in and can't afford the NEW stuff.

[sharky007]

Hello everyone I am new here and I had fresh water tanks before and have been wanting to get into saltwater aquariums for a very long time but could nt afford one at the time now I believe I am ready to give it a try I have been looking at tanks and read the newbie article on it. One question has anyone heard of the RED SEA MAX aquarium it seems to be aimed at rookies like me and it looks pretty cool. It has a couple awards and looks like a reliable system that has everything included what do you think of this tank ANYONE has one.

Thanks

[WaterKeeper]

Hi Conjuay,

Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with acrylic. I just prefer glass as they tend to look better over the long run. Thanks to acrylic eyeglasses much has been done to toughen the acrylic surfaces and they are far more scratch resistant than they were ten years ago or so. There are many acrylic tanks out there, I sometimes wonder why there are no polycarbonate tanks which are far tougher. Most public aquariums use plastic view panes. Just be careful when working around the tank. And don't rub too hard when cleaning.

Sharky,

The aquarium you are considering is also plastic and is very similar to the JBJ 28 gallon Nano-Cube, a popular aquarium for many of our New to the Hobby crowd. The main difference is that the Max uses T-5 lights while the Nano uses HQI metal halides. It is probably a good starter aquarium but always be aware that a small tank requires more care than a larger one. Especially when it comes to water quality. The up side of a small tank is you can do fairly large water changes at frequent intervals without shelling out a lot of cash for salt mix.

[Paul B]

I sometimes wonder why there are no polycarbonate tanks which are far tougher

My tank is made out of aluminum. It's great and I don't see it if a fish dies.

[WaterKeeper]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I really never listen to Paul B. Sure, he has as much experience as I do but his Vietnam War wounds were to his head. Unlike mine that were between the legs.

Upflow UGF indeed!!!!

[TheOtherReefer]

Hopefully this will be a popular option for newcomers. There is so much information out there it might be difficult for someone starting to know where to begin. I am wondering if there will be a link that can access current and all past information, so reefers can be directed there.

[WaterKeeper]

Well, in this thread at the top of this forum there is a wealth of info. It even includes the old threads that this new series is based on at the moment. Beware however, my open threads are Looong and somewhat disjointed. But, then again, I am Looong and disjointed.

[TheOtherReefer]

Keep up the good work WaterKeeper

[g102413]

i'm new to the hobby, and i read this column every month. I've been looking at different lighting ideas online, and until now have had no idea why any system was any different from any other, besides that regular flourescents were insufficient and metal halides were too expensive for me. Your article completely answered every single question that i've had.
thank you.
now i feel like i can actually get this reef thing started and not come to regret my lighting decision later.
alan

[Fish Friendly]

Well I am fairly new at this and i am very interested in how to better care for my tank! Knock on wood i have had very good luck
with my reef but as i said Luck i need to learn more.
The other day i was moving a rock with some zoes on it and felt something weard on the bottom of the rock and i turned it over and found a New friend(one of those striped skinny star fish) have no Idea where he came from
but cant wait to see him(or her )Grow.
I just love watching every thing grow but by reading this site i hope to learn more how to keep every thing healthy!!

[WaterKeeper]

Hi Alan and Friendly

To Reef Central

Glad you found the lighting thread informative Alan. Lights need not break your budget and with a little reading you can find corals that can be used to stock a fairly low intensity tank. Also, simple things like placing a light hungry coral high on the rock work, can allow success with these critters too.

Friendly,

That is called a hitchhiker and they are quite common when adding new LR to a tank. You'll probably find other hidden treasures as your tank matures.

[tanyashankles]

HELLP !
I recently bought a devils hand soft coral, my first and only coral thus far. Well My tank had just finished its cycling, so I probably should have waited, but like most, I was impatient and figured it would 'be okay' so anyway at the time, the FS that i bought it from said I would be fine with flourescent lighting (PS 55g tank 48" long) and to get 1 marine glo and one power glo and that would be peachy. SO that is what I did and my poor coral is all shriveled. So I bought a 175 watt metal halide, which still isnt enough, but it is sufficient until my 260 watt power compact gets here... anyway, the thing is the coral is FINALLY, after about a month, starting to open up and expand a little, thank God, I thought it was a lost cause, but the problem is, that there it forks off at the base, forming two branches, in fact the base sits on 2 small rocks, and anyway one side of the coral looks dead. The bottom of that side is growing what Im assuming is brown algae, (also didnt know about RO water until recently, where I found out I could buy it at the grocery store, which I did and did a 25 percent water change) and the one side is grayish instead of pink and shrivelled looking, the other branch is pink and starting too look healthy again under that mh light..YYAAYY!! But what do I do about the piece that may be dead? Do I cut it off or leave it or wait until I know for sure? Will it hurt it to cut it off if I am this inexperienced?? THANKS GUYS!!!

[WaterKeeper]

Hi Tanya
[welcome]

The leathers of the Lobophytum group are normally photosynthetic dependent and need stronger light than some of their cousins. However, 175 watts of MH on a 55 should be enough to maintain them.

They do like fairly high circulation rates and will suffer if kept under low flow conditions. They are sensitive to nitrate levels and it should be kept under 2 ppm as N.

After a coral dies back it is unusual for it to regrow in the dead area. Like a plant (corals are animals however) it will regrow above the already dead area if conditions are right. I would suspect high nitrate levels are the reason your coral is suffering and further water changes may help it survive.

[tanyashankles]

thank you for your reply, I did another water change (10g because that was all the salt i had at the moment.) so Im now up to about half the tank worth of water changes this week, trying to weed out the crappy tap water, which ended up killing all my snails (tap water) overnight... So a few more 10 percent changes should have the water predominately RO water, and I read the specs on the glacier machine out front of albertsons, and that water is RO/DI with UV sterilization, 7 stages of filtration. And its only 1.50 for 5 gallons. So those who dont have an RO filter yet, look for a glacier water vendor it is filtered better than the bottled purified Ive been buying.
Anyway, back to the tank... I read somewhere on here that the coral will shed? Is that the 'tissue-y' looking stuff that keeps coming off or is my coral just suffering? I will test my water today, the 2 fish in there seem to be doing great, better than ever with the new water in there... And I will put the results on here and see what you think. Thanks for your help!! I feel so alone in all this confusion a little insight is a breath of fresh air. My husband says 'this is your nightmare not mine!' I told him it is my dream that is a lil foggy, not a nightmare. So I need all the help and support I can get (he gets mad at the costs involved but hes not too bad about it, he deals because he loves me, thank God, lol) Thanks again! )

[vito is hooked]

Hey,Just wished i stumbled on RC about a year ago, Would have saved a few bucks. THANKS EVERYONE!

[Rustylugnuts]

Same here, I started off with poor lighting and I'm still stuck with my pre-RC skimmer. The advice,build threads, and specialty forums here are reefin goldmines!

[WaterKeeper]

Gentle Readers,

Sometimes the Old WaterKeeper goofs and he did in his most recent article on lighting. CalforniaDreamer pointed out to me that the H in HQI stood for Hydrargyrum (Latin for liquid silver and the alchemists name for Mercury (Hg). I have been calling them High Quartz Iodide for years and, upon checking, found out Dreamer was indeed correct. I guess the lamp manufactures thought that too many people would feel they were mercury vapor lamps if they used that term so someone switched it to high in their advertising. The gullible WK took the bait and has been miscalling them for years.

Thank Dreamer for giving me the straight name.

Tanya,

Corals don't shed polyps and if they do they are dead and don't grow back. "Shedding" is a term used more often for the mucus film formed on corals to slip off. The film is used for food gathering, reproduction or protection from a hostile environment and it doesn't harm the coral to shed it.

[tanyashankles]

Yes that is what im talking about shedding mucus film tissue looking stuff, I didnt know if that was normal, i didnt mean shedding polyps... He is not dead, after all, he was just having a hard time with the light i had. I got MH light and am supplementing it with my 48" flourescents, and that seems to be alot better than just the MH alone, since the MH is only 175, but apparently I needed more light than that. I have since bought a 260 watt PC light which will be here this week, luckily. I am still shocked at the difference in my tank since starting to use RO/DI water vs. Tap... I didnt realize the harm I was causing by using the sink or hose to fill my tank, until I started doing research on WHY my tank was looking so bad... Now it is clear and the inhabitants are happy and active, and eating well, etc. Amazing. I wish I would have known the significance sooner. Now the only thing worrying me is my anenome. He is looking rather pathetic, all grey and shrunken. Not to a 'dead-looking' point yet but Im afraid if I dont figure out the problem he will be dead. any suggestions? My levels are great, I had 0ppm across the board and 20 ppm nitrates , so I did a 20% water change (RO of course) I use Oceanic natural sea salt, SG 1.023, and added purple up and buffer to raise my Ph. the Purple up has the magnesium or whatever extra in it too, so the LFS guy told me as long as I buffer it should be okay. And then I have 2 maroon clownfish, 1 scopas tang, 1 powder brown tang, and 1 three stripe damsel. a total of 5 fish. My tank is 55gallon (48" l, 13"w and I think 18"deep)
I feed my fish 1/2 cube in the morning and 1/2 cube at night of emerald entree. I target fed the anenome phytoplankton 2 nights ago, and he seemed to respond well to that. But then with the h20 change, the lights are all removed and now he looks pitiful. Am I missing something or harming him and not knowing it? PS I just got him 3 days ago.... Oh and about 50 lbs LR and 3inch sandbed of Live sand and crushed coral mixed. Clean up crew is 8 sm hermits, 1 decorator, and some snails (I cant find them tho...) some more cleaners coming tomorrow.. Thanks and sorry about the LONG post... Thanks so much! T.

[WaterKeeper]

Need a little more info. What type of an anemone? What is the pH? And I sure hope that LR was fully cured.

[tanyashankles]

Umm Ph is about 8.2 live rock fully cured.. w very deep purple coralline... no hitchhikers so far (had LR as long as the tank) Tank is stable, the Ph is the only thing that seems to drop slightly, thats when I do my water changes, the anenome is doing a little better today, apparently he didnt like the spot he got himself into so I took a turkey baster and blew water lightly at him to create a slight current to move him gently to a different area of the tank, he is now half on sand half on LR on the bottom, and his tentacles are now expanded, still a little grey but the corner he was in was I think too near the canister filters intake tube, because he stayed stressed. But anyway, now he is only a little greyish but should I try feeding him shrimp bits? Or leave him alone? Thanks a bunch! T.

[WaterKeeper]

You can feed the brine shrimp if it is newly hatched and less than two days old. After that, unless the brine shrimp are fed a diet of phytoplankton, they lose most of the nutritive value. You may use finely chopped cocktail shrimp or krill to try to feed it.