100% Water Changes

[Maxi]

Haha, a 4 year old thread with this much valuable information should be kicked up more often
I don't even remember how I came across this thread, I typed something in the search function but I don't remember what.
So Brandon, you do not have any inverts?

 

[brandon429]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuIIPFeUd2Q

yes I do have some! check this out, they adapt too-

 

[Maxi]

Very cool. Anything is possible in this hobby, you just have to be consistent.

 

[KafudaFish]

Sometimes the best information is found while looking for a different thread or subject. This is why the search function can be better than posting a question at first.

I have drained my 5.5 once a month for the last 23 months and my zoas are exposed up to 30 minutes due to me counting my polyps and cleaning. They open by the next day.

I "match" salinity and temperature and that is about it.

Here is a previous post that hits on the subject. The first deals with water changes and the second is about growth:

How clean is your tank?
When I mean clean I don't mean the chemical parameters we test rather how much detritus build up is there somewhere in your tank?
Is it on/in your rocks?
In your sand?
Your sump?
Your water column?

You put food in your tank right?
Your fish eat that food right?
Your fish expel waste right?
You have a clean up crew that takes care of it all right?
Who cleans up after the clean up crew?
Bacteria?

Think about it for a moment before you answer.

At some point what you put in will be consumed, utilized, broken down and discarded.

What then?

Most who do water changes will tell you the reasons why they do them are:

1. Reduce those chemical parameters we test.
2. Replace the trace elements that are used by the reef building community.
3. Make the water look cleaner.
4. Makes us feel in charge of a small world and we know what we are doing.
5. Remove that waste before it has a chance of impacting #1 - 3.

Today I removed all of my rock out of the tank including the floor and I drained all of the water and sucked all of the mulm off the bottom. I knew I had a large amount because any time I moved my powerhead around it looked like a snow storm in there. I will have to go back in this thread to see the last time I did this but I bet it has been a few months but here is the amount I pulled out of my tank earlier today. It is in a 7 gallon salt bucket and there is a nickel on the left side to show the amount. It is probably about a 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch deep as well. Some of it is probably sand from the rock I made but a majority of it is just detritus that was either on the rock work or underneath the cement floor.

These next pictures show the growth pattern of my frags. They have not opened yet but I wanted you to look at the mats. If you look in the first picture, the polyps look like a Christmas light string and they follow one another. I have several frags that demonstrate this growth pattern. In the second and third pictures if you look at the outer edge, the newest polyps, you will see that they are very tight and compact like a phalanx. These get the most light and the most flow so that could have an impact. However if you look at the older polyps they spread out like in picture #1 which happens to be at the water's surface and when these are exposed to the air I know it is time to top off.

Thanks for stopping by and please enjoy your tank.

 

[brandon429]

30 mins HA!!!!!!! thats rock n roll. Ive never pushed mine that far but I have no doubt it could do it. hell I otta just ship you a zo rock in a baggie with no water and lets see if the humidity alone would keep it alive I bet a dollar it will

cool post Kaf

 

[KafudaFish]

Thank you.
You are probably right since people use to wrap newspaper around rock and ship it (don't know if they still do).

I have one frag that is at the water's surface and when it is exposed to air I know it is time to top off. One time it was exposed for several hours and it came back:

For some reason on Friday I was looking around and saw that some polyps were on the underside of two of my rocks so I did some fragging.

Of the 3 frags 2 of them survived. The one I lost had a polyp attached by the mat but was not attached to the rock. I put some gel down, held down the polyp with a chopstick for a few seconds and then poured some water on the glue to cool it. The gel had not set so it covered the frag.

It was stupid on my part but I really was not sure if that one would have made it otherwise.

The other 2 have opened up. I have one in the back on the floor behind my two rocks. I think there are 12 polyps on that one and over time it should cover my floor.

The other, around 5 polyps I glued to the right side of the tank above one of my blenny holes. I am hoping that over time the zoas will crawl up the right side.

This area gets decent flow from the powerhead but of the main areas gets the least amount of light.

I may swing the light arm back and forth every other day.

On Saturday I got home at midnight to find about half a gallon of water on the floor. My filter was overflowing again.

I mixed up some warm tap water and salt for a minute, poured it in and went to bed.

I did not want to spend the next few hours waiting.





Honestly I don't know how people manage to cut one polyp, glue it and everything go well. If you can then golf clap for you.

 

[Maxi]

Very informative.
I always like to think of my fish tank as a kitchen. The dishes are dirty, so you gotta clean em right? You are not just going to leave them there.
And that's when I tell my girlfriend! hahaha.

Things have to be maintained, remember this is a box without new water coming in like the ocean, we need to provide it.

 

[Maxi]

I decided to go for SPS.

My pico has a millie, a bonsai, two other unknown acros, and their polyp extensions are much better than when they were at the store, and than when they were in my 26 gallon nano!