New to all of this
- Thread starter Zswift
- Start date
lauremf2002
New member
We have meetings once a month. Usually the second Saturday of the month (this saturday in case you were wondering) You should definitely come! You dont have to join to come but if you pay the membership ($25 for individuals and $35 for a family) You can participate in raffles and the Frag Exchange program. Basically, when you are ready for coral you can "check out" what you want from the frag program for free. Then when the piece doubles in size, you frag it and return what you fragged. The meetings are held in Edmond at UCO. Please visit our website www.mycomas.com for more details and WELCOME!
lauremf2002
New member
Our website is currently under construction and doesnt have directions. Im pretty sure its in building 39 on this map http://www.uco.edu/resources/campus_maps/UCOCAMPUSMAP2009.pdf
The meeting starts at 7pm
The meeting starts at 7pm
Thanks, I was about to ask what building it was in. Ha I hope I can make it, but just curious what all do you guys do besides trade frags? I have a oscelaris clown fish and a tomato clown fish. I got them when I got the tank, but he did not have it set up right at all, and so I am trying to get it restarted the right way. Right now they are in a 12 gallon tank, but they are fighting, and looking for a good home for them. I am still doing research, and I am afraid they won't last very long in the tank they are in now.
lauremf2002
New member
+1 on the egg crate, you can buy it in lowes or home depot where they sell the supplies for drop ceiling. It is white plastic grid and you can cut it down to what ever size you need. Trust me this stuff is super usefull in this hobby
So today my dad urged me to get my tank started. I was going to wait until my next paycheck so i could buy everything in one trip and just set it all up at once. Anyways, I didn't have the money to buy everything I wanted, but i got 40lbs of limestone rock and about 10 pounds of live rock. I also purchased 20 gallons of premixed saltwater and 40lbs of sand.
I get paid again on the 15th and here are my next intended purchases:
10-20lbs of more live rock
200W heater
Thermomater
Any suggestions on good brands of heaters and thermomater?
For the time being, I am going to keep it primarily fish only, but maybe a few zoas and mushrooms down the road. Also plan on eventually going to LED lights and an upgrade of my filter.
Thanks for any help!!!
I get paid again on the 15th and here are my next intended purchases:
10-20lbs of more live rock
200W heater
Thermomater
Any suggestions on good brands of heaters and thermomater?
For the time being, I am going to keep it primarily fish only, but maybe a few zoas and mushrooms down the road. Also plan on eventually going to LED lights and an upgrade of my filter.
Thanks for any help!!!
lauremf2002
New member
dont by stealth heaters they keep recalling them. Honestly, I just buy petco's off brand heater. they work fine
Limestone is ok for structure, its really not very good at all as a filter.
Live rock, or dried rock from the ocean is very porous at the microscopic scale, as such it becomes a haven for the bacteria to grow in all the holes and channels thru the rock. Since there will be more bacteria, there will be better filtration.
Limestone, being essentially solid and non porous, will not support rthe same numbers of bacteria and you may end up with high nitrates down the line. As a good rule of thumb- I would recommend having about 1.5lb of LR per gallon. This will give the best balance of structure to filtration.
Im not a fan of limestone in a tank, mostly from the filtration perspective.
Live rock, or dried rock from the ocean is very porous at the microscopic scale, as such it becomes a haven for the bacteria to grow in all the holes and channels thru the rock. Since there will be more bacteria, there will be better filtration.
Limestone, being essentially solid and non porous, will not support rthe same numbers of bacteria and you may end up with high nitrates down the line. As a good rule of thumb- I would recommend having about 1.5lb of LR per gallon. This will give the best balance of structure to filtration.
Im not a fan of limestone in a tank, mostly from the filtration perspective.
As I said, its the microscopic holes and pores, not the ones you can see. Its a common misconception that the holes in LR make it porous, they dont really do anything at all to add surface area.
Although the live rock and limestone are made of the same stuff (pretty much) there is a huge weight difference between them. The weight difference is all the holes, pockets and channels in the LR. these are made as the coral slowly grew to make the LR. These are always present even if the rock has been dried. Limestone, or the Texas holey rock, never had these pores and never will.
hence the reason for it being a bad filtration choice.
Although the live rock and limestone are made of the same stuff (pretty much) there is a huge weight difference between them. The weight difference is all the holes, pockets and channels in the LR. these are made as the coral slowly grew to make the LR. These are always present even if the rock has been dried. Limestone, or the Texas holey rock, never had these pores and never will.
hence the reason for it being a bad filtration choice.
ghellin
New member
+1
As everyone said before, the stuff we use for live rock, whether it's wet or dry, is incredibly porous on the microscopic levels. Bacteria will colonize the surface of your rock and the surface of the traditional LR, but due to the pores the surface area of the LR is MUCH greater.
Your rock will support bacterial colonies, but in smaller populations than normal LR. It's not that you can't do what you're doing, it's just that there is a better way to do it. Starting out is the easiest time to make changes.
Your rock will support bacterial colonies, but in smaller populations than normal LR. It's not that you can't do what you're doing, it's just that there is a better way to do it. Starting out is the easiest time to make changes.
