Tang Question....

[Anonymous]

Also, before I go, I dont suppose that you perhaps remember the whole, great "condy thread" of yore (that Im still looking for), do you?
A case example where one can be ridiculed and assaulted for giving information that was far from 100% on point, despite several disclaimers and reiterations thereof. Its as though some people believe that there are morons out there who cannot possibly fathom what "what I heard" means, and that it--though utterly obvious--is in no means solid fact or is even believed to be so by its giver. Are there people that witless around here, to not only take advice given as hearsay, but to assault a person who shares their person-to-person epxeriences as a defacing of facts?
I give you krullulonism. I guess he was speaking from experience... :lol: :lol: :lol:

Freakin' nards...

 

[Sprattoo]

while your at Home Depot... check into their RO/DI's Even a 2 or 3 stage is better than nothing at all. They regularly carry 10 GPD which is DAAANNGG SLOW but they come with 4 or 5 gallon holding tanks so you can turn it on, go to work or whatever and the holding tank is full of 100% water.

if your lacking on snails and crabs.... *looking around and getting ready to duck the thrown curses* GARF sells them in big bunches for a buck a whack. I ordered 50 last winter only one mortality... and 2 free corals.

Their grunge while also chunky and not overly pretty but a little overly priced will supercharge your substrate with guys that'll battle Algae.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks a million, Sprattoo! GARF was what again? I remember being told once, but I cant remember what it was... *sheepish*
Dont duck the curses! Dont take it from these arrogant nards (whomever you may be; I know a couple already); I dont anymore (actually, never really did )! Say what you want, do as you please; an online hierarchy is totally ridiculous! You shouldnt be afraid to share something--ridiculous or not--just because "blow-hards" will give you crap for it. That isnt their own self-professed meaning of a forum. For crap's sake, even the Romans knew that!

Wow, are the HomeDepot ROs adequate/appropiate filtration and whatnot for a reef aquarium?! I thought they let too much by or something...? Well, if I had known that the membranes are the same (Im guessing is why they are compatible with reef tanks), then Id already have a NICE setup! I sold it in a garage sale (although, it was at the very, very beginning of my interest in reef aquariums...)! ARGH! It was like a 50 GPD!
Well, Ill be looking into getting a better cleaner crew, and a better skimmer, and better water... Ai ai...

Thanks again

 

[sawyerc]

I read a post recently in which someone said that they were using drinking water for a tank and had HUGE hair algae problems. They eventually found out that the water had some phophate-based additive for taste. This might be contributing to your problem....unlikely, but worth exploring perhaps. Maybe you can buy distilled water in your local grocery instead. Or, a good RO/DI should only cost about $200 or less if you shop around and is well worth the back ache.

Also, I assume you are not using the bio-wheel on the Emperor. I had one of those on my first saltwater tank and it was a nitrate factory. Of course, with the biowheel removed it works quite nicely.

Walmart has great timers for about 5 bucks - make sure you get the kind with a grounded plug.

The seaclone, as you well know, is crap. Sad, but true. When you get the money I would invest in a better protein skimmer. I finally won the hair algae battle after biting the expense-protein-skimmer bullet. An aqua-C hang-on works quite well in my experience, but I'm sure there are many other good skimmers around.

You could also leave the lights off for a few days just to give your algae eaters the upper hand. I don't think your photoperiod is particularly long for a normal reef, but probably not ideal if you are trying to combat nuisense algae.

Good luck with your move. I'm packing my house right now.... what a pain!

 

[sawyerc]

I'm not quick enough here.
Garf is awesome...in my experience. Go to www.garf.org. Their website is not well organized but they'll send you snails and crabs for $1 each. Grunge is great to clean up algae problems, and they send a free frag with a "reef janitor" purchase. Plus your money funds their research. Be warned - great products, great price, but not the most puncual customer service because their primary goal is research.

 

[krullulon]

I give you krullulonism. I guess he was speaking from experience... :lol: :lol: :lol:

Freakin' nards...

is anyone ever going to ban this troll?

 

[Sprattoo]

even if the Home Depot RODI's have bigger coarser membranes, I'm pretty sure the 10" size membranes are standard so you could just buy the .5 micron or whatever replacement membranes online.

but they still claim to produce 99.9% water ... same as the ones at Marine Depot.

www.garf.org

 

[Anonymous]

is anyone ever going to ban this troll?

Solidifying the ninny tendancy are we? You cant let it rest, huh? I love Seattle--my favorite city in the world (grew up about three hours away in the miserable Yakima valley... Bleagh...) in fact. But if people like you are what its producing, I think Im fain to visit the same way I have before. I guess that makes you a terrorist, by definition, right? Whats worse, a troll or a terrorist? :lol:
You can have the last word now, if you so desperately desire it, but your namesake-term will endure and persist just as you have, since its meaning is one and the same with your very character. Tah dah.

Sprattoo, Ive been forgetting to ask you... Ive just gotten a purple coralline-rock, upon which was groing a nice tuft of macro algae (I believe its some sort of red kelp, but the "leaves" remind me of an evergreen tree in a way...). My question is thus; will macro compete for the same nutrients that both hair and cyano? I know that it does for micro algaes and diatoms and such, but Ive gotten mixed answers on cyano... I tried to consult a book I have on cyano, but couldnt find anything on it ("The Marine Aquarium Handbook: Beginner to Breeder" is all I remember...). I dont want to use that arythromyacin (correct spelling? From memory here...), since Ive heard accounts of it killing inverts... Any ideas?
Thanks again.

 

[Sprattoo]

Catch me if Im wrong but... Cyanobacteria is just that... bacteria not Algae. I have seen Cyano over grow Calerpa!! I learned to deal with it when I first setup an early tank I went camping for 3 days... no timers, lights off, got back.. poof it was all but gone.

Coraline will compete for space with the pesty algae, but I believe Macro Algae is doing the same thing hair and green algae is so a good bunch of Macro might steal nutrients from the others or vice versa...... but I still think removal of the nutrients before they get to the algae is the way to go.

Personally, I could buy a RODI with about 3 standard trips to the LFS. I'm farming my leathers as fast as I can now to trade for store credit. I need PC bulbs and RODI cartridges.

maybe look around at local grocery stores and instead of drinking water use / buy RO water for changes / top off. Some sell it cheap, you bring your own bucket. So many yuppies are all about "spring water" no one considers RO water might be more pure, so the price is cheaper.

 

[krullulon]

I love Seattle--my favorite city in the world (grew up about three hours away in the miserable Yakima valley... Bleagh...).

right-on, this explains everything.

 

[Len]

Seriously, please keep things civil; this is a mature community and I expect people to conduct themselves accordingly.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry Len; Ive moved the matter to PM, and my last communication was as peaceful as my pride could make it.
I dont want this to become a pattern, so ban me if you think its the right thing to do.
When your banned, though, can you still se replies to a thread you started before you were banned?
My apologies again for sullying the board with my personal frustrations.

 

[Len]

I don't want (or like) to ban members. If you don't think you're able to express your ideas without keeping your cool, it's a good idea to simply not post instead of clicking that reply button.

 

[Anonymous]

Well said, Len.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I guess thats a matter of what you call "cool" and not... I think I need to add a better disclaimer saying that most of this is good old fashioned "rile em' up" fun! If people arent kept interested, they start to drop off into monotony! :roll:

Anywho, Sprattoo, I have looked at buying my water from the grocery store that sells RO/DI and distilled water and stuff, but its kinda hard to work with that way. Your right, though, in that anRO/SI system for myself is the best way to go, and I am going to look "harder" for one I can afford with the best quality produced.
I thought that perhaps the cyano fed on the same detritus and compounds that algae does, but this didnt make much sense to me in the first place, so sorry for wasting your time. But they are photosynthetic, so the lights idea is a sound one except for issues Im afraid of; my corals! How will they fair (including my rBTA) with the lights off for so long?! My rBTA has refused the last two feeding attempts (I guess I need either smaller chunks or tastier food!), so Im not sure if it will survive...
Thanks for your help, Sprattoo and others! Sprattoo, you are a wickedly awesome artist!!! I just checked out yoursite, and you make some incredible stuff!!! Then again, no wonder; your in Portland, right? I know more than a few artists from there (they dont live there anymore though... Dont know why!)! Hows the oyster season up there?!
Thanks!

 

[sawyerc]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "but its kinda hard to work with that way. " They usually have sealed 1-gallon jugs of distilled water at my grocery store. I would think would be just as easy to work with as drinking water. Another thing to consider with the algae and cyano battle is if you're using any additives for iodine, stontium, or iron. I never really knew this untill some reading last night, but all of these elements can make algae grow like crazy. Probably explains some of my problems with hair algae in the past. I overdose on iodine for my xenia.

 

[Sprattoo]

ahem...

I read a few things as well about Xenia needing Iodine... I juggled the idea around for a while... I tried it VERY sparingly. My xenia grew well.

I stopped using it quite some time ago... my xenia are doing just as well. More important to them (IMHO) is lighting and water. It seems the closer my xenia are to my halides the faster they spread. The ones down deeper spread slower but grow taller/ wider. I'm with Ron Shimek on the idea of not using additives at all... outside of 2 part calcium/Alk.

It could be the BTA is full... The one I had liked teeny shreds of raw Mackerel about 1/8 inch chunks. Anyway.. no lights for 3 days should be ok with everyone and you can try to tempt the BTA with food to replace photosynthesis. The Cyano is photosynthetic and hates current ( I can't remember exactly its food source off the top of my brain but it shows up whenever theres a source of "sugar" and lights perpetuate the stuff)

Believe it or not the Corals are accustomed to a few days of no light... IE The rainy season in the tropics. When I was in Florida one year it rained everyday for about a month... The ocean seemed ok with it ((snicker)) I wonder who checked the SG after that top off?

Thanks on the art thing... Someday I'll update the site. Right now it's about Striped Bass season when Im not working... Im fishing.

Everytime I go out fishing I consider a cold water setup..... *must * resist* expenses*

 

[Anonymous]

Spratoo, if you do go coldwater you should look into getting some Corynactis californica, the strawberry anemone. They're like Aiptasia, except pretty, and they don't sting.