Biggest Reef Myths

[Mr. Fosi]

if anything, i've learned that fosi and lg are probably top 2.

 

Are you calling me a prick?

 

You know, this thread looked interesting from the forum index. I made it to page 7 by skimming, then I just jumped to 15 to see if there were any on-topic posts... Oh well.

 

Does this count as a myth: "There is no X in my water because my test kist says so."

 

As a corollary: "Zero detectable nitrate & ammonia approximates the natural environment of all my marine aquarium livestock."

 

edited for late-night retardedness

[mybuickskill6979]

mr. fosi my half drunken mind is now perplexed lol!!

[Tangman1218]

As a corollary: "Zero detectable nitrate & ammonia approximates the natural environment of all SW my aquarium livestock."

 

Fosi is the man

 

BTW, you dont look anything like your avatar. Did you have gastric bypass??

 

Gawd I couldnt resist

[Nuhtty]

gatric bypass...hehehehaha

[mybuickskill6979]

i want to know did nuhtty do your GB? lol he does unit enlargements w/ a new procedure lol!!

[Nuhtty]

what?

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=2&t=106966

[Clownfishcrazy1117]

just stoking the fire, me and my buddy are pretty amused by this.

Not to be rude, but you sound like a stupid teenager. And when people use constructive critisism, usually they won't be rude unless you take it the wrong way and start shooting off your mouth.

[Tyrsdottir]

Myth: there are women on the internet.

 

 

It's not a myth, you just shouldn't look for one there.

 

[The JD Show]

- Sand Sifting Stars will clean your substrate

- Your LFS knows all

- "Cured LR for sale!"

- clarkii's are the coolest clownfish.... ok maybe that ones true =P

[Boxermom]

I can't believe I just read through this entire thread.

 

Myth: there are women on the internet.

 

 

Ok, how about I list some things I've been told while researching setting up my first nano tank and you tell me if its myth or not. I'm setting up an 8g BioCube in my office.

 

1. Load the back with LR rubble after removing all of the filter cartridges, sponges, and bio balls.

 

2. You must use RO water even though you have a mid-brackish tank using tap water without any problems.

 

3. The only supplement(s) you need are B-Ionic (alternatively, I've been told I need a dozen individual additives).

 

4. You need Salifert test kits, as API isn't good enough.

 

5. You must lay the LR directly on the glass and pour sand around it. Never put the sand in first and then the LR.

 

6. You cannot have a wartskin angler in a nano tank.

 

7. You must drip acclimate everything for at least a couple of hours before it goes into your tank.

 

Just a little background about me. I've been keeping FW tanks for quite some time. I have a peaceful community tank, a semi-aggressive community tank, and a lot of puffer tanks, a low end brackish tank and a mid-brackish tank that will be high end brackish eventually.

[The JD Show]

I can't believe I just read through this entire thread.

 

Ok, how about I list some things I've been told while researching setting up my first nano tank and you tell me if its myth or not. I'm setting up an 8g BioCube in my office.

 

1. Load the back with LR rubble after removing all of the filter cartridges, sponges, and bio balls.

 

2. You must use RO water even though you have a mid-brackish tank using tap water without any problems.

 

3. The only supplement(s) you need are B-Ionic (alternatively, I've been told I need a dozen individual additives).

 

4. You need Salifert test kits, as API isn't good enough.

 

5. You must lay the LR directly on the glass and pour sand around it. Never put the sand in first and then the LR.

 

6. You cannot have a wartskin angler in a nano tank.

 

7. You must drip acclimate everything for at least a couple of hours before it goes into your tank.

 

Just a little background about me. I've been keeping FW tanks for quite some time. I have a peaceful community tank, a semi-aggressive community tank, and a lot of puffer tanks, a low end brackish tank and a mid-brackish tank that will be high end brackish eventually.

I will tell you some of my opinions (not saying they are right wrong or indifferent)

- LR rubble is more pourus and is more benificial than bio balls

- Depending on your tap water RO water may not be essential, but IMHO is a good idea and tend to have less problems (many people have just as much success using their tap water)

- I stacked my LR on my sand, I think people just want you to make sure your aquascape is not going to colapse if your LR shifts because of sand settling underneath your LR

- Drip acclimation is never a bad idea. I have found patience to be one of the most important things in this hobby

[Perpetual98]

MYTH: I will get back the time that I wasted reading this thread.

[tinyreef]

It's not a myth, you just shouldn't look for one there.

it's my google, i swear! it has a mind of its own.

[Boxermom]

Anyone else have any input on my previous post here?

[tinyreef]

Anyone else have any input on my previous post here?

1. suggestion rather than myth per se, but i'd tend to agree that in the long run bioballs and other inert matter is not as good as LR. sponges can be used (as particulate filters) as long as they're regularly cleaned imo.

 

2. "must use" is something i avoid saying about anything in the hobby. there are almost always "more ways to skin the cat". RO, RO/DI, and distilled are better options usually. some people have good tapwater and others have poisonous (to reefs) tapwater. every water supply is different so ymmv.

 

3. B-Ionic's a very good supplement, the best out of the popular two-parter's imo. ca/alk is the most commonly depleted elements/parameters so it can be viewed as the most critical additive/supplement as it's usually depleted the quickest. it all depends on the setup/livestock though, e.g. clams and sps will favor ca/alk, whereas brown/red algae will favor iron/iodine.

 

4. AP test kits are fine ime. are they the most accurate? probably not. are they sufficient for basic parameter teting? probably.

 

5. rock first or rock on top of a support structure is safer/more stable than sand first then rock. some tunnelers/excavating livestock can dig underneath the rock if it's resting on the sand and cause shifting or worst. i usually do rock first and then sand but i may place a support structure (e.g. eggcrate) if i think the bottom glass is too thin or the rock too concentrated in weight in too small a base area.

 

6. have no clue on the angler. sorry. i would assume it depends on its mature size and the filtration capacity you have in-place.

 

7. i prefer to drip acclimate but some people never acclimate and don't have issues. although i can't see the harm in acclimating.

[Boxermom]

Livestock will not include clams or SPS, just a couple of fish, hermits, snails, possible a brittle star, soft corals and polyps.

 

I'm only going to have about 1" of sand. Will the rock still likely be unstable?

 

I don't mind the thought of drip acclimating, but for how long? I'm told it should take several hours.

[tinyreef]

since you're not planning a ca/alk heavy setup it probably won't be a major issue you'll need to deal with, i.e. kalk or calcium reactors, regular calcium additives, etc. you'll probably be able to get aways with regular waterchanges to maintain levels. softies usually won't deprive a system of ca/alk that fast but that depends on the species and their growth rate in that particular system.

 

rock stability depnds on how you lay it out. if you opt for a wide spacing/base you should be fine. if you opt for a more pitched layout, e.g. valley or overhang layering, then i'd be a bit more cautious. you'll have to gauge it by sight and test. i don't like using any bonding agent as they either dissolve or lose strength over time or give out at the worst possible moment. murphy's law is not a myth!

 

i tend to fit my rockwork in a semi-interlocking pattern so that the weight of the rock itself, adds to the stabiity. sorta archway, weight-stabilizing thingy. i'm sure there's a technical term but i dunno it.

 

i tend to drip acclimate depending on the container it's shipped in. so there's really no hardfast rule for me, since every shipper or lfs has different size bags and at different times, e.g. coraldynamics-sponsor used to (previous owner) ship in really small bags then switched to "regular bags later on, great stuff just harder to handle when it was smaller baggies.

 

i float the bags to temperature acclimate, maybe drip a little at the same time. then i pour out half (if the baggie is too full) and drip to capacity. if it looks really beat up i may repeat that. usually, i acclimate around 30-minutes to an hour. the longest i did (on purpose) was two hours. hth

[Boxermom]

Thanks, that helps a lot. For the LR, the main structure piece I'm looking at is a rather largish (for the tank) branchy rock that's kind of squat and low to the ground. Its got a wide base and has the branches coming up out of it. Then a couple of other smaller pieces will go in the front corners but nothing on top of it (other than the frags). I guess I'm just a little leery of laying the rock directly on the glass and scratching it all up.

 

I'm not too worried about the livestock being too beat up, as everything I'm thinking of getting is at the LFS and it'll go straight from them to my office about a half hour away. Rather than bag stuff, I may just have them put them into buckets, easier to drip that way. And they'll QT for me for 2 weeks, which is great IMO.

[tinyreef]

i wouldn't worry about the scratching since it's at the bottom but weight should be a concern if it's one big piece and only resting on a couple of points versus a group of rocks spread out.

 

the display-quality rocks (large/boulder) are amazing-looking and highly sought after. i gave a beachball size one to pos_user (member here) that would've run $100+ easy. d'oh. but i just didn't have the room for it.

 

i'd hand-weigh/gauge it and see how it rests in the tank. if it's on a small pivot/base i'd think about using a portion of eggcrate (light diffusing grating, ceiling section @ home depot) to spread the weight out.

 

that short of a transit (30-minutes) should be fine. i wouldn't worry about it then.

[snostorm]

I think the biggest myth in reefing is that you cant put a Tang in your nano............

[gem4966]

Anyone got a comment on this myth?

 

If you use cured LR, your tank is instantly cycled

[tinyreef]

Anyone got a comment on this myth?

 

If you use cured LR, your tank is instantly cycled

well, it can be if the rock is truly cured and if it was handled/introduced properly.

 

for example, it would be just like setting up another tank next to an existing/well-established one using rock from the already established tank. you wouldn't likely see a cycle if the transfer/startup was handled properly.

 

otoh, if you left the rock being transferred out on the floor for a day and then put it in the tank, i'd expect a cycle.

 

cool, we have our own mythbusting thread now.

[gem4966]

cool, we have our own mythbusting thread now.

 

I think that's what is was "supposed" to be all along. But after reading the entire thread.....let's just say it got WAY off topic.

 

Anyway......Well....we shall see if I get any cycle at all. Still airing (sp?) on the side of caution anyway.

[tinyreef]

I think that's what is was "supposed" to be all along. But after reading the entire thread.....let's just say it got WAY off topic.

welcome to NR! "Non-Relevant topics"

[gem4966]

welcome to NR! "Non-Relevant topics"