Newbie Corner Feedback Thread

[WaterKeeper]

I think Marc had it. It was the thread of the month and they are doing another for Dec. I'm not a mod over there and don't want to butt in on their forum. It is a long thread and I haven't really followed it. Should it be added to the First Timer Sticky on this forum? My only problem with it is the it is an awful lot to read for a Newbie and is somewhat advanced in its content. You might want to talk to Agu, dc or Ryan about it too.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13841821#post13841821 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
I think Marc had it. It was the thread of the month and they are doing another for Dec. I'm not a mod over there and don't want to butt in on their forum. It is a long thread and I haven't really followed it. Should it be added to the First Timer Sticky on this forum? My only problem with it is the it is an awful lot to read for a Newbie and is somewhat advanced in its content. You might want to talk to Agu, dc or Ryan about it too.

I wouldn't expect you to intervene on my behalf, despite the respect and platitudes I lay on you on a daily basis--you being my mentor and all:lol: :rollface: :lol:

just kidding----I have already asked Marc--thanks

 

[BVISailor]

WK,
I'm sure there will always be newbies finding RC for the first time so the basics are so important. My store is a huge help but I can't turn them into my own personal school and they sent me here. Even though I'm a mod on a travel forum, I'm still learning how to navigate this format and not sure how to reply to an individual rather than the entire thread.
Anyway, thanks for doing this and helping those of us venturing into nano reefs and SW for the first time.
Bill

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13844619#post13844619 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BVISailor
WK,
I'm sure there will always be newbies finding RC for the first time so the basics are so important. My store is a huge help but I can't turn them into my own personal school and they sent me here. Even though I'm a mod on a travel forum, I'm still learning how to navigate this format and not sure how to reply to an individual rather than the entire thread.
Anyway, thanks for doing this and helping those of us venturing into nano reefs and SW for the first time.
Bill

[welcome]

be sure to check in on this thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1031074

and this blog
http://www.reefcentral.com/wp/?p=346

 

[WaterKeeper]

Hi Bill,

We have a messaging system, at the top of an individuals post there is a

button. Press it and you can send them a private message. Remember however, some of us get many PM's and don't answer all of them. In many cases it is better to reply in the thread itself as you usually get faster response. Also, even though you think a question has been asked, it takes the same amount of time to inform all readers as it does to answer a single person's question and we get over a 100 Newbies registering every day.

 

[EnglishRebel]

Keeper, Capn, & Paul B
Another question. I am finalizing my order with LifeReef for a Berlin sump, skimmer and refugium. In discussing my piping configuration I was advised not to run the water coming from the display tank directly into the refugium but to tap off the return pump. The reasoning was that I didn't want to have the fish poop and other "junk" going into a refugium.
Can you great seers :reading: give me some advice as to the best solution with reasons.
Thanks

 

[BVISailor]

Thanks, Tom.. and Capn Hylinur-
I would only use a PM if it were truly private. I'll also check out more of the FAQs and instructional threads. I do understand about the same questions asked over and over... and over. We have the save thing on our forum and some people keep suggesting a Q & A page but that defeats the interaction with newbies and getting to know them.
If you get a moment and would like to browse, visit: www.traveltalkonline.com I'm a mod on BVI and BVI People Talk as well as Charter Boat Reviews and Questions. We're over 3 million hits a month and BVI gets about a dozen newbies a day now. We've only been a forum since the fall of 2000 and it's growing daily but the mods are still purely volunteers.. upaid too!

I can see that Reef Central is huge with tons of resources and information. I just need to take the time to explore it all and find more info. Wife and I went to our store yesterday and got a green polp soft coral (need to know real names) and "he's" apparently happy, open and looking good. Have a banded coral shrimp (aka Rambo) in there and he's quite aggressive with fingers. No fish yet so we'll see how he reacts. Only have a 25 gal so not wanting many fish.. maybe 4 or 5. Waiting for a white anemone and will get 2 clowns for that. Would love a couple tangs too .. and maybe a gobi. Wife loves the mandarin gobi but we're told it might not do well in the nano environment.

Last.. does anyone have experience with a product Eco Aqualizer? I have one on line and it seems new and supposedly replaces the protein skimmer. One call to the Charleston Aquarium for a reference got excellent reviews but no one in my area seems to know much about them.
Thanks all for you comments.
Bill

 

[Paul B]

The reasoning was that I didn't want to have the fish poop and other "junk" going into a refugium.

Well you better wait for those other "Great Seers" but IMO whatever is in your tank and where ever it is, it is going into your refugium at some time anyway and it does not matter at what point it goes in there.

Oh hail Great Seer Waterkeeper. Come fourth and gather information for this depressed hobbiest.

(he likes it when you call him like that)

 

[EnglishRebel]

Paul
The water off the return pump has already been skimmed which is why I raised the issue. Not sure if all the poop and "junk" has been removed.

 

[WaterKeeper]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13850473#post13850473 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Paul B
Well you better wait for those other "Great Seers" but IMO whatever is in your tank and where ever it is, it is going into your refugium at some time anyway and it does not matter at what point it goes in there.

Oh hail Great Seer Waterkeeper. Come fourth and gather information for this depressed hobbiest.

(he likes it when you call him like that)

If Bill is looking at a Aqualizer I need to step in FAST!
(Marc, Melev the RK editor, will kill me because I promised this months Newbie Forum column by noon. It will be there Marc. )

Dear Bill,

Do you believe that their is a good fairy or that magnets will soften water? If you do then an Aqualizer is for you. You need a ton of faith it you think it will work on a marine tank. For those of us that are less starry eyed I'd place that money on a good HOB skimmer. Air bubbles do far more than magnets at purifying tank water. Something like a Remora or CPR should do.

Let's also keep that stocking wish list under restraint. With good lighting an anemone and clowns are fine but tangs are far too large for a 25. Do some looking around and keep the fish length at only about 2-3" max. The Dragonet, mandy, needs lots of copepods to survive. A 25 won't support one unless you also plan on adding a large refugium.

Keep going with the research and develop a game plan before parting with those $$$. There is a lot of snake oil touted to the unsuspecting, new hobbyist.

 

[BVISailor]

WK-
At the risk of putting everyone to sleep, let me give you a bit of my background. I'm coming up on 70 next spring, semi-retired from owning my own marketing/ad agency for 31 years. Yep, I'm the guy who thought up all those fish oil campaigns for crap you don't need and shouldn't buy.

I looked at the Eco Aqualizer claims with more than skepticism. In fact, the claims were so all-encompassing that I was determined to find out just how outlandish they really were. I called the company and asked for a phone # for a commercial user. They hooked me up with the curator of the Chattanooga Aquarium. The name I had wasn't there but I did get a Dr. Rijah Agasassinian (spelling is a pure guess) who talked for 30 minutes praising their units. They have over 60 on their single species tanks and extremely pleased after almost 2 years.

Then I went in search of Dr. Nelson Herwig, aquarium curator of the Houston Zoo. He is retired and they would not give me a home number but the person I spoke with did acknowledge that the aqualizers are in use there and they're pleased with the results.

That led me to Google Herwig and I found an article by Ben Johnson, "caretaker of the Houston Zoo's reef ecosystem" at this URL: http://www.ecoaqualizer.com/FactorFiction.asp That article is reprinted from Tropical Fish Hobbyist.
I also found references here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/magneticfltfaqs.htm but they are inconclusive.

I finally called the company back and asked about their refund policy again. It's 180 days, no questions asked and immediate. They also offered to email me the names and addresses of the seven people who have returned them. I bought it. I installed it. It's only been 10 days so nothing to base much on but my saltwater dealer asked me to bring in a water sample each week so they can see what's going on. I did it for the first time yesterday and the water was perfect.. everything right on the nose.

It might be the tooth fairy in disguise.. or the magnets that cure pinched spinal nerves but I have nothing to lose as long as I monitor this thing and don't let my tank go to hell without careful analysis. My dealer also has a protein skimmer all packaged up for me and ready to go at a moment's notice.

I shall keep you up to date and we often say.... we shall see.
Bill.......... still optimistic.

 

[Aquarist007]

wow 70 years old--now I am convinced that there must be a 90 year old reefer out there

 

[Paul B]

BVISailor, you diden't put me to sleep and I am glad there is someone here older than me and because I never heard of an
ECO Aqualizer I was interested. A friend of mine sells those magnets for back pain and swears they work. I think he is dreaming as he thinks everything works.
I am facinated by magnets and build all sorts of things out of them but so far I have not found any use for them other than generate electricity.
I would be interested in learning the theory of this thing.
I personally can't see how it will do anything but I have an open mind.
What were the parameters of your water before you installed the thing? Were they also perfect?
And Bill, thanks for the input

 

[BVISailor]

Paul,
I too am still skeptical and watching this "tube" like a hawk. You can see and review their claims on their web site www.ecoaqualizer.com and even watch an animated video of their ionization and magnetic molecular theory. I'm far from an organic chemist so I can't comment on their claims other than to say, "If it works, they've got a slick piece of equipment on their hands." BTW, they also claim it does wonders for swimming pools, hot tubs.. you name it.

The parameters on my tank were pretty slim. I started out with store bought live rock, live sand and their RO seawater. I had already ordered a couple things, one of which was a CoraLife hydrometer. I got all their stuff home last Monday and carefully placed the live rock, sand and then very slowly added the water. My hydrometer read 1.020. I was shocked the store would sell low saline water but they are closed on Tuesday so off I go to Petco to buy some Red Sea salt and get the level up. In 24 hours I had it at 1.026 and 79.2 degrees with water running through the Aqualizer, a separate charcoal (came with the Eclipse tank and cover) filter and small powerhead with a 50 watt heater.

I want back to my store on Friday and told them about the salinity level and they were shocked. He asked me to bring my hydrometer in with a water sample. Did this on Saturday and my salinity was 1.029 on his refractor and hydrometer. The CoraLife was that far off and still read 1.026. Trashed that and got a good one. All the water tests were perfect at that point.. every test possible. Bought the coral banded shrimp, a bunch of small snails and crabs plus the two soft corals. I need to clean the glass in a few spots because there are brown spots forming but the water seems excellent.

I'm testing it myself for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and Ph but I'm also going to take samples for them to check on too at the store. They've been extremely professional and prevented me from buying things more than wanting to sell me something. Only time will tell but as I said, I'm not going to let it get out of hand. I'm not that trusting. If the water quality stays as it is now without a protein skimmer then we might have something interesting to quantify. I'll report in and let you know how it's going.. good or bad. And thanks for you comments and interest.
Bill

 

[Paul B]

It is going to be hard to test the thing on your tank.
Many tanks water parameters stay perfect without a skimmer. It also depends on live rock, livestock and too many variables to mention. If you took some water with some plant fertilizer added for nitrate and run it through the the Eco whatever I would like to see how it works. I am going to look at their web site when I get a chance.

 

[EnglishRebel]

WK
Any comments on my post that Paul B replied to?

THANKS GREAT KEEPER OF THE SACRED WATER (methinks that accolade will elicit some response )

 

[WaterKeeper]

There has been a post or two about it here Eco Aqualizer Thread.

Happy reading.

 

[BVISailor]

I see your point, Paul. I might never know anything really conclusive about how well it operates still I also have another filtration system and lots of live rock and sand. That along might be doing the trick. You do have a good point.. dose the water with the problem chems, then see if the Aqualizer does anything to deal with them. That would be much more conclusive.

Let me know more about your opinion after you browse their site.
Thanks
Bill

 

[BVISailor]

Ouch WK,
I read that whole thread and now have a headache only a good martini will cure.

Far infrared.. ceramics.. magnetic fields.. put the three together and you should have hyperpurified water that makes your corals glow in the dark! The report of more active fish might be due to them trying to determine their polarity. Makes me wonder if magnetized clowns will stick together.

I especially like the remarks about the placebo effect. I know it has worked on some human subjects but how does the water know whether it's working or just a placebo gimmick? Maybe water is really more complex than we know and knows the difference. That gives new meaning to live rock. I didn't want to say it but I do think my live rock moves at night under the moonie LEDs.:eek1:

I guess I'm lucky so far that only a few of you have read my posts and I haven't gained a widespread Reef Central reputation for being a gullible nutcase.

Now... where are my olives? I need a drink!
Bill H

 

[WaterKeeper]

Cheers, and no you're not the first to want an Aqualizer. I have fellow stafff members who love their Kold Ster-ils. That's after my trashing the units over 7 years ago when I first visited RC. Go figure.