Running a fishtank without any arms or legs

[PODPIMP]

Dexter, there a countless combination's of filtration that will leave you with your head spinning. Take a close look at the filtration for the past and current tank of the month's (or any other tank you admire). These tanks would be an obvious success. By mimicking aspects of these setups you can achieve the same goals.

[reefer123]

i am in agreement with PODPIMP, just keep everything simple so that you understand it all, thats wut i do. a skimmer, and some live rock is all you need for a healthy tank. forms of activated carbon and purigen can be used to polish up you water whenever you want.

[dexter1080]

As much as I love talking about reef tanks for hours and hours, I do want to take a quick moment to spread the good word and show my support to someone that is going to make a very much needed "CHANGE" to our government.

 

The challenges that I face day in and day out in my battle with healthcare is one of the hardest struggles I've ever faced. It is so hard for me. This president will be able to turn my life around and make quality of life for me so much better. I pray every day and will continue until election day for Obama to win.

 

Watch this music video. It gives me chills every time I hear it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please vote this November 4th. It is the most important election our country has ever seen.

 

[aparnold]

As much as I love talking about reef tanks for hours and hours, I do want to take a quick moment to spread the good word and show my support to someone that is going to make a very much needed "CHANGE" to our government.

 

I hear ya brother. I can't wait. I am so excited to see this country finally move forward.

[reefer123]

ugh politics i cant vote yet anyways so dont flame me! so i got 3 new chromis and i must say, dexter you should definitley git yaself some they are like neon green/blue torpedoes! so entertaining, i wanted 3 but one was left over so my lfs friend gave me a fourth free because they dont do well solo and i had to have that infamous "one more fish".

[brian92]

so i got 3 new chromis and i must say, dexter you should definitley git yaself some they are like neon green/blue torpedoes! so entertaining, i wanted 3 but one was left over so my lfs friend gave me a fourth free because they dont do well solo and i had to have that infamous "one more fish".

Its generally not recomended that you keep chromis in a nano. They can and do get bigger and starting picking eachother off until there's one left. Not saying it can't be done.

[Brian Crook]

I've kept ONE chromis in my tank for a solid year and a half, no problems.

 

More than one, however, and you can run into some trouble!

[dexter1080]

ugh politics i cant vote yet anyways so dont flame me! so i got 3 new chromis and i must say, dexter you should definitley git yaself some they are like neon green/blue torpedoes! so entertaining, i wanted 3 but one was left over so my lfs friend gave me a fourth free because they dont do well solo and i had to have that infamous "one more fish".

 

 

Chromis, I looked up a couple of pictures and those are very cool looking. Sounds like a good idea to me. Thanks I will definitely look into that.

[lakshwadeep]

Its generally not recomended that you keep chromis in a nano. They can and do get bigger and starting picking eachother off until there's one left. Not saying it can't be done.

 

+1. It seems that there is two factors to keeping chromis: space and number. You either need to keep one, have a large group, or have a group in a large tank. If you have a small group in a nano, the main fish's aggression isn't spread out, and the subordinates have no place to hide.

[reefer123]

ya i kinda noticed the biggest one kinda harasses this one that has splotches on its body and hides alot. should i get a 5th and just have a chromis dedicated tank? i have read that they school and are peaceful, guess they hav a damsel streak in them still. i like them alot. its a 45 gal system 30 display. sorry to kinda hijack the thread but this could be useful for dexter to find out.

[Sexy Shrimp]

Good luck to you. You have made a good start (if a few mistakes along the way) but you have had some good advice so hopefully you should be OK.

 

I have to second the comment earlier about the clowns. One is a moroon and one a common - the maroon is likely to get 3x the size of the other and they are very aggressive. The minimum tank size recommended it 30g for one...You may want to take this back as the death of the common clown in a great possibility.

 

The anemone is also a bad idea. Please do not trust your LFS on this. They need ery stable water parameters to survive and they move about. If you do not have all your powerheads covered then it may get shredded. It isn't just stability that is an issue - it is space too. Have you seen a BTA fully grown. They do not take long to get 10-12 inches across - at this size it is difficult to stop them stinginbg everything else in the tank and also difficult to keep them away from danger. Please take it back as it will die.

 

Hope you continue with the hobby and don't get dishartened if things go wrong. Keep up with your maintanence and keep it slow and you will have a beautiful tank in 6 months.

 

A tip - follow the advice of the people who's tanks look sucessful. Some people with little experience will give advice - the best way to tell who these people are is to look at their tanks

 

PS we need more pictures

 

Oh and this is my Dexter Cool name

 

[dexter1080]

PS we need more pictures

 

Oh and this is my Dexter Cool name

 

 

I love the name man. I keep on trying to get my friends to name their dogs and their kids Dexter and nobody will do it. At least you've got some good taste. Lol.

 

Oh... and more pictures will be coming soon. I've got a funky camera that doesn't seem to be taking very good ones at all. Everything comes out blurry. Any ideas on a good camera or am I doing something wrong?

[Prowland]

I am horrible at taking pics but I have heard that it works better if you dont have anyother lights in the room on and if you turn your pumps off.

[lakshwadeep]

There is a helpful thread in the photography forum with tips on taking sharper photos.

[NanoFaiery]

NEVER TRUST YOUR LFS!

 

 

Welcome to the addiction! This ^ is some excellent advice. You need to take the advice of the LFS with a grain of salt. Meaning they will tell you exactly what you want to hear. They are in it to make MONEY. My LFS horror story is I went to one that had decent tanks, where I talked with someone that I assumed was an employee. They told me that they were not specifically feeding some of their fish "because they eat the algae off the rocks". That fish was not an herbivore or even an omnivore, it is a carnivore. I bought him because I wanted to save him (my mistake I know) and I took him home. Once he got settled (yes I acclimated him, and my params were good) I tried to get him to eat and he went after the food like he was starved (he was super skinny). Well the fish lived a few days (3 total) then died , I went back to the shop with the body and a sample of my water (as required for an exchange/refund). I talked with a different employee that time, and was told that I would not be allowed to used the exchange policy because the owner "warned them" about me. I had been talking to the owner of the store the first time around! Apparently I asked "too many questions" concerning their fish, feeding, params, etc. When I informed the employee about what the "owner" had said, I was told that was impossible because they feed their fish. I asked what and was answered with "food" so I asked what they specifically fed the tank that I got my fish out of and all I got was "uh I donn't know". Fish don't become emaciated in 3 days it takes a long time. Needless to say I don't do business with them anymore. Please don't take everything the LFS tells you at face value. According to them the fish I purchased ate algea and would have done well in my tank (decent amount of algae) with NO additional supplements. It didn't even touch algae because it was strictly a carnivore. Good luck, and I wish you all the best. Please keep us updated.

[Sexy Shrimp]

Good example there. It unfortunately is quite common

It didn't even touch algae because it was strictly a carnivore.

So what did you buy and what did they think it was?

[dexter1080]

Welcome to the addiction! This ^ is some excellent advice. You need to take the advice of the LFS with a grain of salt. Meaning they will tell you exactly what you want to hear. They are in it to make MONEY. My LFS horror story is I went to one that had decent tanks, where I talked with someone that I assumed was an employee. They told me that they were not specifically feeding some of their fish "because they eat the algae off the rocks". That fish was not an herbivore or even an omnivore, it is a carnivore. I bought him because I wanted to save him (my mistake I know) and I took him home. Once he got settled (yes I acclimated him, and my params were good) I tried to get him to eat and he went after the food like he was starved (he was super skinny). Well the fish lived a few days (3 total) then died , I went back to the shop with the body and a sample of my water (as required for an exchange/refund). I talked with a different employee that time, and was told that I would not be allowed to used the exchange policy because the owner "warned them" about me. I had been talking to the owner of the store the first time around! Apparently I asked "too many questions" concerning their fish, feeding, params, etc. When I informed the employee about what the "owner" had said, I was told that was impossible because they feed their fish. I asked what and was answered with "food" so I asked what they specifically fed the tank that I got my fish out of and all I got was "uh I donn't know". Fish don't become emaciated in 3 days it takes a long time. Needless to say I don't do business with them anymore. Please don't take everything the LFS tells you at face value. According to them the fish I purchased ate algea and would have done well in my tank (decent amount of algae) with NO additional supplements. It didn't even touch algae because it was strictly a carnivore. Good luck, and I wish you all the best. Please keep us updated.

 

Wow. That is quite a story. Thanks for the heads up. Just out of curiosity... what kind of fish did you bring home from the store?

[NanoFaiery]

To answer L34NN3and your question Dexter I bought a Red Scooter Dragonet. They can do well in a nano, however they need to be trained to eat frozen food. They are not for the beginner cuz they are a little more labor intensive, then your typical fish. We'd had them in the past with great results , our dragonet before this one we had for over a year before we sold him (we were going to move and figured the three day trip would be too stressful on our live stock) . The new guy I got had the tell tale signs of starvation (sunken sides), it was just too late for the little guy. I don't know what type they thought they had, maybe an algae blenny (but they look nothing alike).

 

Dexter the people on here have some good advice to give. I'm sorry if they come across as being hash, they are simply looking out for your tank inhabitants.

 

I don't know (can't remember) if anyone has already said this but, you should check out the "Local Aquarium Clubs" under the "Information" tab. There might be some local reefers near you that you could get some good corals, polyps, etc. from.

[StevieT]

Hey Dexter! Thanks for maintaining such a great thread on N-R, it was a great read. I do like how you bold all of your posts, they just POP, makes finding questions that need answering much easier!

 

Say, I am releasing a media rack and rack for a fuge soon for the BC29. I would love for you to test it out for me. It basically will organize your filtration is your second chamber, forcing water all the way through media. I like to test them out on real tanks first, I only have a BC full of water and it really needs to be in a working reef.

 

Let me know what you think, no charge of course.

 

Time to listen to some Morgan Page

[dexter1080]

Hey Dexter! Thanks for maintaining such a great thread on N-R, it was a great read. I do like how you bold all of your posts, they just POP, makes finding questions that need answering much easier!

 

Say, I am releasing a media rack and rack for a fuge soon for the BC29. I would love for you to test it out for me. It basically will organize your filtration is your second chamber, forcing water all the way through media. I like to test them out on real tanks first, I only have a BC full of water and it really needs to be in a working reef.

 

Let me know what you think, no charge of course.

 

Time to listen to some Morgan Page

 

Thanks for the offer. I would love to take you up on it. I really appreciate it. You are very kind.

 

So just to let everybody else know... I found this guy's the video on you tube and it had this song I was listening to over and over again. I wanted to find out what it was so much so I e-mailed him. And what you know, he sent me an e-mail right back and even attached the song. I've been listening to it over and over again. Thanks my new friend.

 

[JourneyReef]

I have a cherub angel and do love him HOWEVER, be careful with them if you want LPS. They nip. He helped to kill my expensive brain coral and he is a bit of a control freak with new inhabitants. He does "kiss" the algae off the glass ALL DAY LONG though!

 

SORRY, REALIZED AFTER POSTING THAT I'M JOINING THE CONVERSATION LATE.

 

Welcome to the hobby!!

 

the best suggestion that i can give anyone in this hobby is that this is one of those things that takes some patience. the best way to fail is to rush into things.

 

Another great tip is, plan that your fish will be a major part of your tanks clean up crew. If the fish eat the algea you dont have to clean it off of the glass. If i were you i would look into getting a cherub dwarf angel. they stay very small are very active and eat algae all day long.

 

another important tip is to make sure you buy quality equipment. if you buy cheap crap, you will end up replacing it later with the better model and spending more money...

 

it can be quality USED equipment if you prefer to keep things less expensive.

 

when you're planning your tank think about making a complete ecosystem. this means few fish, a big skimmer lots of water flow, lots of snails worms crabs shrimp starfish etc...people overstock 30 gallon tanks and then wonder why they have algae.

 

another good tip (and secret for some reason) is that giant clams pull out tons of dissolved nutrients. if your clam cleans the water, you don't need to as often. (before you get a giant clam, make sure you have the lights for it!!! in a biocube you may pick one of the lower light clams depending on how you have things set up(ie not t. crocea))

 

Good luck and feel free to send me a mssg on here if you run into any roadblocks!!

 

Cheers!

c

[dexter1080]

Sorry I haven't been keeping pictures up very well. I'm going to try and do it little more often. The one problem I have is I can't seem to get good photos. We tried a ton of different ways to take them but I can't seem to get any good and clear ones yet.

 

Maybe I will get a good camera down the road.

[itzclayyo]

lookin good

[matt165]

Surely the maroon clown will annihalate the false perc as soon as it grows up a little?

[Sexy Shrimp]

That BTA is stretching for the light. You don't have sufficient lighting for a nem plus you system isn't stable enough yet. It would be best to take it back and get something more suitable for your tank...

 

Don't mean to sound negative but it almost always ends in the death of the nem