Newbie Corner Feedback-Reefkeeping 101

[WaterKeeper]

Alright, already save the bellyaching for your Mama! It appears some of you crybabies miss your security blanket--the Old Newbie Corner Feedback Thread. "Well", I said, "ain't that too darn Bad!" However, with <b><a href="http://reefkeeping.com" target="_blank">Reefkeeping Magazine</a></b> now back I guess we can have a new thread for you whinnying Newbies.



For those of you new to Reef Central, I'm Waterkeeper and I'm glad you have located our board. I'm sort of the drill instructor for Newbies and have written so many threads or articles that I have worn out about a dozen computer keyboards. For those of you that are old timers and just like to hang around this forum-Get a life.

Anyway, each month Reefkeeping Magazine has an article in what we call the-

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In these articles we try to give the neophyte pointers on how to start out in this exciting hobby. I wrote most of the original articles but, thank goodness, we now have several new authors to provide insight into the fundamentals of a marine reef tank.

This month we have Nate Enders writing about The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Newbies and for September Paul Whitby will be talking about pests- like Newbi...I mean aiptasia.

Feel free to post any questions you have on the monthly article in this thread and, as I learned from the past thread, just about any question your feeble Newbie mind can conjure up.

If you have ideas for an article please let us know and we will try (usually not very hard) to come up with an article on that topic.

Here are the articles to date
Water
Tank Selection
Lighting
Sumps
Completing The Set-up
Natural Filtration I
Natural Filtration II
Natural Filtration III
Various Nutrient Control Methods
Adding Some Science to Your Tank, Part 1
Adding Some Science to Your Tank, Part 2
Let's Fatten Them Up!
Bogus Information
The Seven Habits of Highly Successful Newbies
Pests, Parasites and Things That Go Munch in the Night, Part 1


Ok, Ok, stop shuffling aimlessly about. We'll have more good poop for you next month. Fall-out!

 

[Paul B]

Wow, this is great, I am going to suck this stuff up like a sponge.
OMG I am so excited I just want to hang on every word.

 

[Alaska_Phil]

Tom
thanks for starting this up again, and especially thanks for posting links to all the Newbie Corner (aka Reefkeeping 101) articles. At 4 years I still consider myself a novice and refer to them frquently. Not to mention pointing people who're thinking of getting started to them.

For those of you that are old timers and just like to hang around this forum-Get a life.

I think he means you Paul. Maybe we need a new sticky titled "Old Timer Rants" :lol:

Phil

 

[WaterKeeper]

Sure did Phil-

Just got this photo of Paul being happy

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15610976#post15610976 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
Sure did Phil-

Just got this photo of Paul being happy

and this is why

 

[Paul B]

Now your making me hungry again and it's only 7:30 AM

 

[WaterKeeper]

Those are steamers, not oysters, so they must be for me.

 

[Paul B]

Those are steamers, not oysters, so they must be for me.

There little necks but it looks like someone is steaming them. Now they're ruined

 

[WaterKeeper]

Man, we can't agree on anything. I like littlenecks and cherrystone steamed and dipped in butter.

For those of you that are on this thread looking for reefkeeping answers-please disregard the clam discussion. The clams in question don't do all that well at reef tank temperatures.

 

[Paul B]

Man, we can't agree on anything. I like littlenecks and cherrystone steamed and dipped in butter.

You just like them because they live in a DSB.
We collect them here on the South Shore as you know. One thing we have in NY is clams.

They should be eaten raw right from the sea. A little mud is good for you

I have been crabbing lately also when I go collecting tropical fish I get a lot of crabs as a by catch. I am going next week so I should stock up of crabs and hopefully a few lookdowns. :smokin:

 

[chops29]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15614439#post15614439 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paul B
They should be eaten raw right from the sea. A little mud is good for you

As long as it's not to close to the Jersey shore lol Yeah that's right i said.:lol:

 

[NeilFox]

Hey Water Keeper

Great selection of articles! I love the bogus information! It saddens me to see Herbert Axelrod's departure from grace though? He was my hero back in the UG filter days.......

 

[jenglish]

What ever happened to the Ich thread???? It is not there at the top and I am already seeing the same old questions being asked again.

 

[Paul B]

What ever happened to the Ich thread????

Oh no, not another ich thread!

 

[EnglishRebel]

Tom
I read your interesting article on flatworms in the September issue of Reefkeeping magazine. Why would you have to quarantine corals for 4 weeks when you can dip them to eradicate any pests. I use Seachem coral disinfectant (basically iodine). Would this not be sufficient and if not is there another regimen that one could use to dip newly acquired corals?
Thanks

 

[WaterKeeper]

Alan,

First off your article looked great. I'm not too sure that Lugol's, the usual iodine dip, will kill most parasites. Some of the little buggers that infect coral are just as hardy and the coral themselves. Wiping them out can also wipe out your coral specimen. I still suggest that coral be QT'ed just like a fish.

 

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15644270#post15644270 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
Alan,

First off your article looked great. I'm not too sure that Lugol's, the usual iodine dip, will kill most parasites. Some of the little buggers that infect coral are just as hardy and the coral themselves. Wiping them out can also wipe out your coral specimen. I still suggest that coral be QT'ed just like a fish.

Besides Lugols what else should I use prior to QT? Is there one dip that will get them all (besides the ones that cannot be killed)?

 

[WaterKeeper]

Alan,

These routine dips are always somewhat chancy. Lugol's iodine was originally used to disinfect the cut site on freshly fragged corals. Then people started using it a a routine dip for just about any and all coral parasites. The problem is that there is little evidence it is effective, at the concentrations and durations used, to do more than kill bacteria.

If you are dealing with flatworms then Praziquantel seems to work pretty well. I'm always very cautious of adding meds directly into the display but used as a hospital tank treatment it seems to be a good solution. Flatworm Exit also appears to work but is needed at higher dosages than stated in the directions and, if used as a dip, several treatments need to be used.

I wish I could truthfully say that there is a product that one can use in the display tank and treats all diseases. Unfortunately I don't believe there are any and I'm sure if a miracle cure was found it would be really big news on RC.

The key, IMO, is to always isolate new introductions into the tank and, if a disease is noted, try to use a treatment specific for the disease. It is hard as we don't have a good handle on many of the problems that can plaque a reef aquarium.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15641151#post15641151 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jenglish
What ever happened to the Ich thread???? It is not there at the top and I am already seeing the same old questions being asked again.

Its in this thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1031074

 

[Aquarist007]

It might not be listed in there so here is the actual thread link:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1500214