Recent content by DonJasper

I'm truly sorry for your loss. I'm clinging to the hope that "Gus" my Coral Beauty - and my first saltwater fish - outlives me. For the rest: I know we all only skim-read posts, but I try to read all the words. (most of the time). Anyway here's the short version, written by someone clearly...

So, in other words, the data gathered today will be suspect in 17 months?

I think Eric Bornemann's Myth #15 should be required reading before you could by a salt mix. I'd suggest you'd save yourself a ton of money if you invested the time to figure out what specificially each action or gizmo or design or CREATURE is before you buy it. I'd suggest you start by...

Yes. No. This is what I would do: 4" or so is all you need to create an 'oxygen free zone' at the bottom. The nitrate eaters live there, and they crap nitrogen gas. Stagnant sand = trouble. So add plenty of little things that move the sand around in tiny bits. If you stir the sand - the...

jdubbya is correct. A shallow sand bed won't do anything but produce nitrates (unless you keep it clean by vacuuming out the crud before it breaks down). The nitrate eating microbes need an oxygen free environment to survive: usually at the bottom of 4 inches of sand, or some minimal areas...

Just curious: What are you going to use to export nitrates then?

So how often will you vacuum your tank to keep it clean? Can you just run a coil denitrator to replace the DSB I wonder? Wonder if the DSB processes other 'stuff' other than nitrates?

Yes, or 'dead sand bottoms'. Some people like the look of sand at the bottom of a tank, but don't want it to do anything biologically meaningful. So you have to vacuum it clean periodically. That way the Ammonia -> Nitrite -> Nitrate cycle never completes. Hence the reduced skimming reported...

... you've got to vacuum out the crap all the time. Hey when I was still buying virgin vinyl records - that's those black plastic disks you see in museums now - that's the way I kept a tank for as long as I cared to. Vacuum the (ah hem) detruis out of the sand every couple of weeks. Now take...

Yes, but as a source of consumer buying information it's pure gold. Someone someday will be able to find out why IO is more toxic to baby sea urchins than the other salt mixes. If it turns out not to be metal related, but some sort of bi-hexa-checmical-babbled-oxide that IO creates - I don't...

I don't understand. The definition of success is life. Easily measuerd by the growth of sea creatures. Fast growth is better than slow growth is better than no growth is better than death. What sort of success did you have in mind?

Boy reef keepers carry on vacuous debates. :roll: When arguing politics there's at a minimum of information. What’s kinda funny is Podman brings up the one and only measure of reef keeping – and it’s so EASY to objectively measure. Despite this, only Dr. Shimeck has so far accomplished it...

So this process happens in the 'real' ocean right? So are there large pockets of this nasty stuff under boulders waiting to bubble up if/when the boulders are moved?

If it were me I'd turn that tank into some sort of commercial enterprise - because if my tank was in the garage I'd never just sit and enjoying watching it.

Check out the PNWMAS Forum - and you'll find plenty of takers. Like me! Drop a line there. Safe to say we'll have to figure out a way to divide the ten bags between us. Or drop me an email with contact information, and we'll work something out.