So you got a new fish tank Newbie

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

Try as I might, I cannot read a lighting thread past two paragraphs without my head hitting the keyboard and waking up an hour later with a backwards "QWERTYUIOP" impression on my forehead.

I am interested in the minutia of the nitrogen cycle and tank chemistry and skimmers, and GFCI's, and refugia, and DSBs, etc. But lights? Bah.

 

[WaterKeeper]

:lol:

You know me I believe in KISS but even doing that ended up being 43 pages. There are, however, some that need help as they think a ballast is just a weight to keep the hood from blowing off their tank.

 

[captbunzo]

What Good are Phytoplankton, Rotifers, Copepods, Brine, and Mysis?

What Good are Phytoplankton, Rotifers, Copepods, Brine, and Mysis?

New to this hobby, I have been read about a thousand articles, forum posts, rants, etc, on the internet about reefkeeping. I have repeatedly come across comments about people home-brewing cultures of phytoplankton, rotifers, copepods, brine shrip, and mysis shrimp.

I have read about how these are good food for some things, good use as detritivores in DSB, and so on and so forth.

However, it's all a little muddy to me right now. I was hoping that someone might be able to give me a good grip on what these different cultures are good for.

I am intrigued at the idea of growing some of these (sounds fun), but would like to know what is most practial and helpful for my tank.

Just for the record, I am setting up a 29G reef w/ 10G sump. Sand bed is 3 inches in display, 4 inches in sump. I will also have some spaghetti algae in the sump (refugium).

I also may get some newborn seahorse eventually from someone and try to raise them in a species specific tank.

Thank you for your time.

 

[n8thgr8]

Paul,
Try this...
http://www.melevsreef.com/
This RC member (never met him, don't know who he is...) is a GENIUS! Not that our bestest buddy Waterkeeper ISN'T.....
He's got a lot of step by steps for "home brewing" the things you asked about. I think you might be able to find it useful, along with other info you might find.

 

[captbunzo]

I am having trouble finding those recipes on his site. Can you give me a little more of a hint?

Thanks!

 

[n8thgr8]

Click on "14 day project"
Scroll down, and you will see a little section on feeding.
There are little links in the text.
Hope that helps.

 

[WaterKeeper]

Darn Newbies!!!

I don't imagine it ever dawned on those lame newbie brains of your's that if you want to "breed" stuff you go to the Breeders Forum. Here top gun, Frank Marini, will instruct your tender newbie behinds in the art of Culturing and I don't mean going to the opera or Louve.

 

[n8thgr8]

well THAT would have been too obvious! ha ha

 

[captbunzo]

Darn Newbies!!!

I don't imagine it ever dawned on those lame newbie brains of your's that if you want to "breed" stuff you go to the Breeders Forum. Here top gun, Frank Marini, will instruct your tender newbie behinds in the art of Culturing and I don't mean going to the opera or Louve.

Well, part of the problem is that as soon as I think I have Reef Central figured out a bit, I find more forums!!!

This is a big freaking place.

Thanks for the point in the right direction!

 

[WaterKeeper]

:lol:

Paul

I've been around RC for close to 5 years now and there are still forums I haven't visited.

 

[n8thgr8]

WHEW! that's a relief to know.

 

[WaterKeeper]

:lol:

You can run but you can't hide Newbie.

 

[spidey07]

speaking of newbies, I'm using a turkey baster to blast any buildup of sediment (detitus?) on the rock about every two weeks. 30 gallon tank, two small fish, two corals, two months old. The gunk is suspended quite well in the water and fed to the overhanging protein skimmer. Added a little carbon in a bag on the return to filter some and take out particles...don't plan on keeping it in there long, just a couple days when it looks like it needs cleaning.

Good idea or stop messing with it newb?

 

[WaterKeeper]

When cleaning rock I run a canister filter with pleated micron filter at the same time. Sucks up all that goop you blow about with the turkey baster.

 

[fishylad]

I made it to the end....

I made it to the end....

I have to say, as many have done before, this is one of the best sources of info, pertaining to my beloved money pit, that I have ever seen. GREAT READ. Love the info and the humor.

I always enjoy reading your posts waterkeeper and always learn something from them. May I just thank you for taking the time to bestow your knowledge and experience upon us newbie's. I know you have saved myself much time, effort and not to mention money, by sharing.

Thanks again for all the time and effort you have put forth.

 

[n8thgr8]

Hear Hear!!

 

[WaterKeeper]

You know a hobby is supposed to be FUN. Unfortunately, entering into the world of reefing can be a bit daunting. Providing a little of the basics I hope makes this wonderful hobby less of a challenge to the neophyte.

Glad I could be of help.

 

[n8thgr8]

Hey Keeper, I have a Protein Skimmer question for you...
Do I need to have it running all the time? Or can I just turn it on a couple of times a week when I go to work?

 

[WaterKeeper]

Some people only run it a few hours per day. The only problem with that method is the conversion of proteinous waste to ammonia is fairly rapid in the reef tank environment. Once the conversion takes place other avenues are the only way the nitrogen is processed. The idea behind skimming is to eliminate protein, and hence nitrogen, before biological processing and uptake. For the small cost it takes to run a skimmer I would run it the majority of the time and only turn it off for an hour or two at feeding time. Some people don't even bother doing that.

 

[n8thgr8]

hummm, good to know. Thanks. Just for kicks, what are those "other avenues" for processing nitrogen?
The only reason I'm asking is that my skimmer creates a HUGE ammount of mocro-bubbles upon water return. I'm working on ways of reducing them.
How about during the tank cycle? I've also heard of people not running their skimmer at all during the initial tank cycle. Wise idea or not?