March 9, 2010
Another question saltwater tank owners always ask is:
“Do I need to run filter socks on my tank”?
My answer is always, no, unless you are a reef junkie.
In its simpliest sense, a filter sock is a tube sock looking piece of mesh or felt that goes below your downpipe on your tank so that as the water falls from your tank to your sump, it has to pass through the sock. The sock catches small particulates (down to 200 microns) which means clearer water for your tank, but it comes with a cost.
These socks need to be cleaned and changed out every 3 days so keep from creating nitrates which can really wreak havoc on your tank. (The trapped particles break down in the sock and generate waste – the nitrates). Filter socks can also get clogged and overflow if you leave them unchanged for a long time.
As a tank enthuiast, its not worth having to clean a piece of your tank every couple of days. The difference you notice with the filter sock isn’t worth the effort. The same is true for reef enthuiasts. It’d be nice to run socks, but you can get by without it.
Reef junkies..stock up. Remember you want the best tank and if someone saw small pieces of who-knows-what floating around your tank, it’d be detrimental to your reputation. Just remember to change them out every 3 days and wash them with cold water and no soap!
(Marine Depot is running a buy one, get one free special right now if you just can’t resist)
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March 8, 2010
One the basic laws of keeping a saltwater tank is to only use water from an RO/DI system for your tank. RO/DI water is very, very clean, so by using it, you won’t be introducing bad things into your system such as silicates, heavy metals and chorine that can cause a major of problems in your tank.
(If you are interested in learning the chemistry behind how an RO/DI unit works, read this article)
RO/DI water is usually available at local fish stores so a lot of saltwater tank owners ask,”Do I need my own unit when I can just buy it at the fish store?”
For all the tank personalities, my answer is always, “YES!” and here’s why:
1. Its a matter of having insurance.
If anything ever goes wrong with your tank such as it starts leaking, or you need to do a large water change, by having your own RO/DI unit, you’ll have the piece of mind that you can make all the water you need, when you need it. If you didn’t have a RO/DI unit, then you’d either have to store large amounts of water in jugs which takes up a lot of space and are heavy and not fun to move around. And, if you didn’t have your own unit, then you’d have to bank on the fact that either your buddy who has a RO/DI unit would want to take your call when you call them AND that they’d be willing to have you come over at any moment to pickup more water. Oh yeah, and you’d have to rely on the fact that they actually had enough water on hand to meet your needs at the time. Murphy’s Law would apply here that chances are when you need the RO/DI water, your buddy would have just used up his supply so you’d be fresh out of luck.
Also, I’ve yet to see a local fish store that is open 24/7 so if you needed the water when are closed (Murphy’s Law again), well, I hope you (and your tank) can survive the wait.
There is a certain peace of mind knowing that if anything goes wrong in your tank, all the water you need is within your reach.
2. Its actually cheaper in the long run
Most local fish stores sell RO/DI for 25 cents a gallon which is pretty darn cheap. But what most tank owners don’t think about is the amount of time they spend driving to the local fish store, filling up their jugs, loading their jugs (did I mention they are heavy?), driving back home and then unloading your jugs. And unless you have a set routine to get more water from the fish store, chances are you’d run out when the store is closed.
Doesn’t sound like a big deal to you? Well here’s where you really save money:
By not going to the local fish store, you aren’t walking by all the pretty display tanks and being tempted to buy that fish or coral that is just calling your name! (Remember those puppy stores in the malls back in the 80’s? There is a reason they put them by the front entrance!)
I actually think local fish stores should make their RO/DI water 10 cents so people couldn’t resist coming into the store. More people in the store = more sales. How many people do you know who go into the fish store to buy one item and come out carrying 3 or 4?
When you put a RO/DI unit in your house, you remove temptation and retain money.
3. You get to maintain control
When you own your own RO/DI unit, you’ll know exactly how long ago the filters were changed and how clean the water coming out of it really is. No more counting on someone else to keep up their system, you’ll know when its time to change the filters and how clean the water is coming out of the system.
Even if you are a tank dabbler, you can pickup a 35 gallon/day unit that doesn’t take up a lot of room and will keep you from spending a lot of time dealing with your tank.
A good RO/DI unit, isn’t cheap, but they more than pay for themselves in less tank headaches and having everything you need on hand in an emergency.
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March 5, 2010
I’ve been running into a lot of saltwater tank owners recently who are having phosphate and nuissance algae issues. When I ask them what they are dosing their tank with, I usually get a laundry list of additives and supplements all that are supposed to be benefitting their tank.
My advice to them is simple – STOP!
I’m a strong believer that less is more and this especially holds true in the salt water tank world. Your tanks is not the ocean, so whatever you put in your tank can’t get it out unless you do a water change. So as you add more and more additives and supplements to your tank, they have no where to go so they end up feeding nuissance algae and fueling phosphates.
The simple solution is to stop dosing your tank. Other than kalk, calcium, magnesium, alkanity and iodine, our tanks will survive fine without turning them into a cauldron of supplements.
And you won’t have to spend your spare time fighting nuisance algae and wondering why your corals aren’t happy.
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March 3, 2010
Protein skimmers are your tanks’ best friend. They pull out fish waste (poo) and dissolve oxygen into your tank water so that your fish can breathe.
They are also prone to overflowing when they aren’t looked after regularly.
Here are 2 things that you can do to make sure your skimmer stays happy:
1. Clean the collection cup and neck regularly. Many people think that until the cup is full, they don’t need to clean it. Sorry, bad idea. Skimmers lose their skimming efficiently quickly when the neck to the collection cup gets dirty. By the time the cup is full, the neck will most certainly be dirty and your skimmer won’t be running at full capacity. That means excess waste will build in your tank.
Cleaning the cup every 4-5 days is enough to keep your skimmer happy so make a habit of cleaning it regularly.
2. Clean the venturi. The what..? The venturi is a plastic piece that snaps onto the front of the skimmer’s pump and sucks air from the outside world into your skimmer so it can skim.
Often the venturi gets clogged with dried salt and minerals from your tank water, restricting airflow which can eventually cause your skimmer to fill up with water and overflow. (It always happens to me in the middle of the night)
Clogged Venturi
An easy way to know if your venturi is getting dirty is if you are having to close down the outlet pipe more than normal to get the skimmer to skim.
Cleaning the venturi is easy. Remove it from the pump, remove the airline going to it and soak it in hot RO/DI water to dissolve the minerals and salt that are clogging it.
Once its clean, pop it back on your skimmer, hook up the airline, then turn on your skimmer. I then place the airline in glass of RO/DI to clean out any saltwater that entered the venturi when you were re-installing it. You’ll be amazed how much better your skimmer works after your done cleaning the venturi.
Skimmers are necessary part of successful reefkeeping and by following these 3 steps, you’ll be ensuring your reef is happy and headache free.
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March 2, 2010
A while ago I talked about how using a CO2 scrubber can raise your pH inexpensively.
Well, I’ve found something that works better, is cheaper and has fringe benefits as well. It’s called Kalkwasser.
Kalkwasser, or “Kalk” for short, is a white powdery substance (its actually calcium hydroxide if you were wondering) that used correctly, can raise the pH of your tank and keep it high. What does that mean for you? It means happier corals and therefore a happier, more beautiful tank.
To use kalk, dissolve up to 2 teaspoons per gallon into your top off water. NOTE: DO NOT dissolve it directly into your tank! Dissolve the kalk into your top off reservoir which should be filled up with pure RO/DI water.
Dosing kalk into your top off water, raises the pH of your top off water to around 12 so when you tank tops itself off, the tank’s pH gets raised as well. Before using Kalk my tank’s pH went from 7.75 at night to 8.05 during the day. Now I don’t drop below 8.0…and I’m sleeping at night b/c my hard corals are no longer bleaching out and dying. $12.50 for a pound of Kalk that will last several months…its hard to beat that.
Here’s the best part, since kalk is calcium hydroxide, you’ll be dosing calcium into your tank! This means less dosing of calcium so less work for you.
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February 23, 2010
Reefbuilders had an interesting post today about a user who is adding calcium as part of their RO/DI process.
Basically the idea is that Calcium Carbonate (the stuff that is used to make calcium supplements and in calcium reactors) breaks down below pH 7.8(ish). With RO/DI units kicking water @ pH of 7, adding a calcium stage after your DI unit should add calcium and trace elements into your top off water.
Very interesting. I’ll be following this one closely to see how it turns out as it could be a great way to not have to supplement trace minerals.
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February 19, 2010
Last Sunday I bought 2 ballasts from an individual online. 5 days later, they still haven’t shipped the ballasts citing “I haven’t had time to ship them but they will on today…”
Needless to say, I’m not happy and considering I only saved $20, I wish I had bought it new so that I could have the ballasts by now.
Selling online is a great way to get top dollar for your used equipment if you follow a couple of easy steps, then do what you say you are going to do.
In addition to being in communication with your buyers you MUST, I repeat, you MUST clearly say when you will ship the item. If you don’t, buyers will be left wondering when the item they just bought will show up (that was me) and if you are indeed a human being behind that paypal address (also me).
Then you MUST ship it by the time promised!
Remember people want instant gratification and if you don’t let them know when they can expect to get their item, then they’ll be left to make up their own expectations on when the item should arrive and rest assured they will want it yesterday.
Keep in mind if you say in your for-sale ad when you will ship the item, e.g. “Shipment will go out 3 days within receiving payment” then people can decide if they are willing to buy your item knowing it will take you 3 days to ship it. Obviously the faster ship times are better (most online retailers offer same day shipping
) and you’ve got your own life so set the ship time for what works for you.
Oh..don’t forget to send them tracking number when you let them know you shipped their item.
Remember, selling online is all about trust and the more things you can do to build trust with your buyers, the better.
Posted in Reef Enthusiast, Reef Junkie, Tank Dabbler 2 Comments »
February 18, 2010
Dealing with a sick fish is a pain in the rear. From trying to catch the fish to freshwater dip them or maintaining a whole separate quarantine tank, the whole process is time and labor intensive process and can be avoided with one simple step:
Add garlic extract to your fish food.
By adding garlic extract to your fish food, you are helping your fish build a stronger immune system and to boost their appetite. The result is minimal (if any) outbreak of disease, healthier fish and less stress and labor for you. I’ve been adding garlic to my fish’s diet and I have had no disease out breaks in 2 years.
Best of all, its an easy process to use. Just add a couple of drops to your fish food as it thaws and leave the food soaking in the garlic for a couple of hours before you feed. Your fish then eat the garlic soaked food and you are done.
Garlic extract can be picked up online or from your local grocery.
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February 17, 2010
- Break out the razor blades. I’m not telling you to shave off that goe-y that you’ve been working on for months, but do scrape off the algae on your glass that you can’t get with your mag-float. You’ll be amazed at how much clearer your tank looks.
- Break up your dosing. Instead of dosing your tank with all your supplements at one time, break up your dosing into two smaller dosings. Doing smaller but more frequent amounts will help your tank be more stable and avoid large swings in parameters which means happier, more colorful corals.
- Cut back on your feeding. I assert that 90% of tank dabblers, reef enthusiasts and even reef junkies feed their fish and corals too much. More food means more nutrients that your tank has to process which means increased chances of nitrates and phosphates. Your fish will be fine on less and your tank will thank you.
- Replace your lights if they are over 6 months old. Light bulbs wear out just like tires on cars…a little bit over time so that you don’t notice they are aging. I replaced my actinic lights this week and was amazed at how much brighter my tank was. You’ll also avoid issues with nuisance algae and bleaching corals due to aging bulbs.
- Start 3 days of darkness. Yes, you’ll have to deal with looking at a dark tank for 3 days, but after it is over, you’ll have killed off nearly all nuisance algae in your tank. And your corals will be brighter too. Did I mention you’ll save money on your power bill as well?
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February 3, 2010
I’ve joined forces with Austin Reef Club to offer a weekly newbie roundtable chat! During the chat, you can ask your questions and get real answers from me and other Austin Reef Club staff members!
Note: An username on the Austin Reef Club is required. There is no charge for user names…just register on the forum!
What: Newbie Roundtable Chat with Mr. Saltwater Tank and the Austin Reef Club Staff
When: Every Tuesday night, 7-7:30p
Where: www.austinreefclub.com
Why: Because getting real time answers to your questions is priceless.
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