A take on BB methodology.

[SeanT]

I just saw this in bluebentgrass' gallery.
I sure would like to see some frag to colony pictures too!

 

[SeanT]

Mark do you (or can you get) pics of the inside of their arms?

Thanks,
Sean

 

[MiddletonMark]

I take it you've never had an Emerald?

They're not exactly fashion models ... `turn a little to this direction, and hold your claw over to this side ... good, good ... perfect!' [snap]

 

[joefish]

:lol:

 

[WILDTHING]

I would love to find a way to tell good vs bad emeralds. I had a big one for a while but he died, I replaced him with a tiny guy until I found him munching and ripping up my Zoas. I wouldn't believe it at first, I saw him in a patch that had been getting smaller so I at first thought something was wrong with them and he was just picking off the hanging ones or maybe eating tiny particles of food, then he proceeded to rip healthy ones off right in front of me! I quickly grabbed my hemostats and yanked him right into my sump. Now the patch is filling in again. BTW he didn't look in the least bit repentant for his evil deed.

 

[bpd964]

HIJACK!

HIJACK!

Bomber, I just want to say : THANK YOU!

Today is the 1st day BB with all the equipment running. The tank is a little cloudy because I just turned the Calcium reactor on but everything is clearing up quickly..

Bomber, I don't care what they say about you but I appreciate your wisdom and I love my new BB tank..



Thank you!

 

[Bomber]

and exactly what are they saying???

......first I'd like to put a stop to that porn star rumor right now.

You're welcome

 

[Bomber]

Question bomber .

I know by wet skimming you need to constantly replenish SW. My question is how do you keep you salt at a steady gravity ? check the tank and adjust it accordingly then add back the SW that was lost ?

jp, I use one of the small skimmer cut off containers from Precision Marine. I think it's about 3/4 of a gal when it's full, maybe a gal. Taking that out of a 450gal system does not make a lot of difference.

If your tank is smaller, I would just draw a line on the sump, replace that with RO/DI. When you empty the skimmer, replace that with saltwater.

and check it every month or so.

 

[MiddletonMark]

To add, it took me a few months to get my SW replacement down with wet skimming. Nothing huge, found myself at 1.024 from 1.026 after two weeks, but you can work it out ... based on how much volume you take out.

I use a DIY [cookie jar] waste collector. It's probably about the same quantity as Bomber's yet on a 58.

But, if you want, you can `cheat'. I add a bit less than what I take out of new saltwater into my auto-top-up's feed. It's become habit now, and you need to check salinity regularly a bit to be sure you're not overdoing it ... but now I just check it every water change and it seems to stay the same

When I skimmed really wet [like filled the container daily] I had to add a lot ... but now I look to get 3/4 gallon maybe twice a week - so I put a little saltwater in every few days. If I don't have any around, I don't stress it.

 

[SeanT]

Bomber, I don't care what they say about you

Pffft...if you heard what I said about him you would blush.

 

[diverrad]

I just saw this in bluebentgrass' gallery.
I sure would like to see some frag to colony pictures too!

Just analized the photo interesting history on it also I hope he still has the camera or remebers the model he used to take it.

 

[Mike O'Brien]

Is dark green a pastel color?

 

[SeanT]

Just analized the photo

Hey, what you do in the privacy of your own home is your business.
At least I now know for sure how that Foxface died...you analized him.

 

[Ereefic]

I would like to add something about emerald crabs and an experience i've had with them. I added 2 to help with Valonia, they looked identical except one was smaller. They did seem to help out, but I did see one of them tearing the mantle of one of our clams. Needless to say, I removed both emerald crabs after that.

Just something to keep in mind and be on the look out for if you have clams.

 

[SeanT]

I wouldn't want that stinky fish EVEN if he had survived the analization process. lol.

 

[lduncan]

Hey, what you do in the privacy of your own home is your business.
At least I now know for sure how that Foxface died...you analized him.

:lolspin:

 

[diverrad]

heheh you would be amazed what information a digital photo contains.
there is a good trick to make a foxface eat bubble algea stick him in a qt tank and only feed him the bubbles you pick out of your tank sooner or later they will learn to like them.

 

[ReeferMonkey]

So, numerous clever barbs aside, the moral of this thread (there's a moral?? W T F!!) seems to be that all the once and future BB converts must properly set up the tank (Sean I'm looking at you here ) and then properly maintain it.

Bomber, what's your maintenance schedule? I want to make sure I'm not missing anything painfully obvious.

Water Change - weekly
Siphon detritus - daily/as needed
Supplementation - 2 part for those of us without reactors

I intend to set up a BB SPS-dominant 20L with high flow and high intensity MH after my rocks are done cooking (less than one week into the process). After reading some of the woes of various members I want to make sure to do it right!

 

[Bomber]

Water change - changes
For about the first year I pretty much kept up with regular water changes, mainly because I was siphoning out little detritus piles still coming from the rocks.
When those piles quit, so did I.

water changes - about every few months

Siphon detritus - about once a week during the first year, now about once a month or less and it's a little pile about 1/8th cup in only one spot. (tanks 10ft long for those that don't know)

Supps - baking soda and ca chloride

 

[floridareefs]

Whoaa,

Ill stick with my ssb that I have had running for ver 5 years maintenance (husbandry) is a breeze