Responsible Aquarium Keeping

[gimincorp]

Hi,
I'm into keeping aquariums with out hurting the environment or with minimal damage to it.
So, said that I try to take stuff from PEOPLE, not stores and give stuff back to people - not garbage or toilet!
Since I maintain a blog about the live of my 10 Gallon salt water tank, here I'll post stuff related maintaining a self-sustainable aquarium (with minimum additions from the wild that is).


So about the tank:

• Equipment​
  • 10 Gallon tank​
  • Coralife canope​
    • 10K​
    • Actinic​
    • Night LEDs x 2​
  • Acrilic / plastic cover​
  • Digital thermometer​
  • 200 Wt submersible heater​
  • Fluval 204 filter​
    • Biorings​
    • Purigen​
    • Lots of fiber / Sponge​
• Lifestock​
  • Live Sand​
  • Live Rock​
  • Aiptasias (many will have to kill em later)​
  • Chaeto​
  • Remains of Red Glacilaria​
  • Mushrooms (at least three)​
  • Kenya Tree Corals (to mid-sized)​
  • Baby Yellow Sun Corals (at least two - small)​
  • Some OTHER GREEN SPONGY Coral​
  • Yellow-tailed Damsel x1​
  • Clown fish x1​
  • Turbo-snails x6 (Where are they?!)​
  • Starfish (1st kind) x2​
  • Starfish (Serpent I guess) x3-4​

    
    
    ​

 

[gimincorp]

Responsible Aquarium Keeping:
So back to RAK - Today I split my colony of three mushrooms into two colonies: a peg with two mushrooms mother, and a cork with another daughter. If daughter does well, she'll be offered at MR DBTC.

 

[KathyC]

Sounds interesting..can you post some pics?

You might want to consider reducing the size of that heater from 200w. If it sticks in the on position you'll cook the tank rather quickly.
Is the tank in a very cold location? If not, you might think about replacing it with a 100w heater

 

[gimincorp]

Sounds interesting..can you post some pics?

You might want to consider reducing the size of that heater from 200w. If it sticks in the on position you'll cook the tank rather quickly.
Is the tank in a very cold location? If not, you might think about replacing it with a 100w heater

Working on the pics right now!
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/gallery/browseimages.php?do=member&imageuser=4037

 

[gimincorp]

Sounds interesting..can you post some pics?

You might want to consider reducing the size of that heater from 200w. If it sticks in the on position you'll cook the tank rather quickly.
Is the tank in a very cold location? If not, you might think about replacing it with a 100w heater

 

[Pinkheine]

May I ask why you have the biorings in the Fluval?

 

[gimincorp]

May I ask why you have the biorings in the Fluval?

Because they were there when the filter was used as a Fresh-water filter. I guess their function is to provide more surface for bacterial growth and some mechanical filtration.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Yes they were but in a reef tank they become nitrate factories which is bad.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Oh and are you using a protien skimmer?

Kath I use a 200w heater in my 24 but my controller does all the work turning it on and off and covering in case it gets stuck open.

 

[gimincorp]

Brendan,
I'll check my nitrate levels after waterchange today. I just need to put my mind to it.
Meanwhile here is a phytoplankton factory I'm trying to implement:
1. Taken juice bottle
2. Rinsed it and drilled a hole in the cap of a airline diameter.
3. Drilled another "breathing" hole of a smaller diameter.
4. Put airline through the hole.
5. Put a drinking straw over the airline to prevent bending (I don't have the rigid tubing)
6. Put airstone at the end of airline.
A. Filled bottle with 4 cups of water (Sp. G. 1.019), treated with declorinator
B. Added 15ml of phytoplankton (DT's Premium Reef Blend).
C. Closed the cap, turned the air on and put the bottle on the window.
X. The plan is to keep the bottle on the window during the day (light = 16 hours) and in the closet at night (dark = 8 hours)
We'll see what happens.
Color of the Phytoplankton solution on Ammonia scale:
Day 0: 0 - 0.25

 

[gimincorp]

Fiasco in both: splitting Mushroom coral and growing Phyto.
1. After about a week from removing the coral off the peg, the covering bandage deterriorated and revealed that there was no mushroom underneath it. (It could have died or been blown away too).
2. Yesterday I checked my Phyto farming setup. The water didn't turn any greener since the initial setup. I have tossed it out this morning (7/7/08), re-filled the bottle with used aquarium water and will restart the experiment after I come back from work today.

 

[gimincorp]

Yesterday I tried to tear off the smaller Kenya Tree. With a pretty big effort (They do hold on to their rocks!) I was able to do so. I took a small stone from the tank and attached the fragged KT to it with a rubber band. We'll see if KT will attach itself to the rock in a week or so.

 

[DontXtripNfall]

IME I've had xenia attach in a day or 2 so it might attch sooner than you think.

 

[gimincorp]

I think it's good news: It seems that 1" frag of Kenya Tree that I rubber-banded to the rock was flaring out yesterday night pretty nicely after being flashed with phyto from a syringe.
From what I read, it takes 2 weeks. But, I'll check attachment to the rock on 7/16/08 (one week). Thanks for the tip, DontXtripNfall

 

[georgelc86]

Finally a serious topic on what I like to call GreenReefing, but I have one question. I applaud your eco-friendly approach to your reef tank but are there any particular "rules" that you have. Such as stocking with tank-bred fish only and using only propagations from other reefers. Things like that.

 

[gimincorp]

Finally a serious topic on what I like to call GreenReefing, but I have one question. I applaud your eco-friendly approach to your reef tank but are there any particular "rules" that you have. Such as stocking with tank-bred fish only and using only propagations from other reefers. Things like that.

Sort of.
My salt water I got off the craig's list (complete setup). My Fresh water too.
The fish in Freshwater I got from the breeders (read hobbysts - not LFS). They are rare species too!
I got three corals from LFS (mushroom and two others I don't know what (the guy said they are farmed).
The Kenya Trees (KT) and the sun polyps were gotten through DBTC.
I had to re-attach the KT frag yesterday as it detached from the rock I wanted it on and was getting itself on a bigger one. I'm growing it for DBTC and hope to offer it next week (pending attachment to the rock).

 

[georgelc86]

Very cool. I applaud you. Sometimes it seems like trying to make our tanks eco-friendly is a taboo subject around here.

 

[marrone]

Very cool. I applaud you. Sometimes it seems like trying to make our tanks eco-friendly is a taboo subject around here.

Says who?

I not sure where you got that from, if anything I would think it's just the opposite.

 

[prattreef]

Sometimes it seems like trying to make our tanks eco-friendly is a taboo subject around here.

As the author of the Marine Fish and Reef USA 2002 article "A Captive reef for the Conscientious Aquarist" and numerous other articles, I really must object to this statement. I and many other MR members have been advocating responsibility in are our hobby for years-- far more years and many more members than you obviously are aware of.

 

[georgelc86]

Man people are always looking for fights here, why. I love how simple opinions and statements just want to make people smash their heads through a window.

Where I am coming from is that I don’t see it too often if hardly ever at all. Know mind you I am not on this forum every half hour everyday reading every thread. Secondly I joined this forum maybe a year ago and haven’t been on it for about 4 or 5 months. Now just out of curiosity, as an author of said article what is the scope of responsibility. Does it just encompass the realm of our homes or does it expand further than that. I am not judging people because everyone has their own right but what are your feelings of people doing local collections from local waters. If we are so concerned about our waters both national and international then why are we so quick to jump on a boat or do to the shore line and drop a net. In terms of the home aquarium why are we not encouraging our LFS to purchase more tank-bred fish from local farms. I applaud our community for the establishment of the pay it forward idea as well as offering propagations and cuttings from our own tanks. Today I am giving a free tank to a member who is going to breed Bangii Cardinal fish. Do we as responsible reefkeepers understand that the natural habitat of the bangii cardinal fish is becoming ravaged due to the popularity of this fish in the hobby. Ravaged to the point that the populations in their habitat have dropped each year. I personally have a blue streak cleaner wrasse. And frankly, after doing research after purchase it shouldn’t be in my tank. As a responsible reefer, I will not be purchasing this fish again. I am not perfect nor is anyone else here perfect. I just would like to hear what people are doing and as far as my knowledge of this forum extends, gimincorp is the only thread I have come across sharing his philosophy on responsible reefkeeping. Thats all I am saying, I am not attacking anyone or judging anyone. But I would like to know what my peers are doing on their part to help preserve what we so much love that to the point we spend thousands of dollars a year on. If people choose to see my statement as ignorant to the point that it begins to produce evidence, opinions and respectful debates, then you know what, I did my job.

As for your article I really would like to read it, can you point me to where I can obtain it.