THE OFFICIAL ASK ALBERT THIEL THREAD

[albertthiel]

Raising daphnia again this summer as the fish really seem to enjoy them. So simple to cultivate and you will have a supply of fresh live food all summer.

.

 

Good plan indeed Les ... I think you did this last year too on the windowsill if I remember correctly ...

 

Albert

[Jorgieee]

Thanks Albert, I have another question would I need a filtration system or stump and a protein skimmer what are your suggestions ?

[albertthiel]

Thanks Albert, I have another question would I need a filtration system or stump and a protein skimmer what are your suggestions ?

 

Thanks Albert, I have another question would I need a filtration system or stump and a protein skimmer what are your suggestions ?

 

On that size thank you would need to run filtration indeed and a skimmer would certainly be highly recommended

 

You would need biological using rock or live rock, mechanical (using some sort of floss of sponge material that will need regular cleaning) and chemical filtration (activated carbon, a phosphate removing compound, or a compound that has several different types of chemical filtration media in it) and all of this is described at great length with all your options in my Nano Reef Aquariums book (see sig)

 

A sump would be nice to have on that size tank but it is not a must per se, it is just one more option you have, similar to having a refugium.

 

All of these options are described in over 110 pages in my book (total pages 448) .... of which only the electronic version is still available.

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

How does one look after eye surgery with protective eyewear since the eye is sooooo dilated

 

[Jorgieee]

And do you have powerheads in that book because I'm thinking I would need to run two of them but I'm not sure thanks again

[albertthiel]

And do you have powerheads in that book because I'm thinking I would need to run two of them but I'm not sure thanks again

 

Yes indeed in that size tank to create non laminar flow (not uni-directional) you would need 2 strong powerbeads to really get some good strong flow in that aquarium.

 

The newer types which have several "modes" would be ideal in this case ...

 

Abert

[rick12]

How does one look after eye surgery with protective eyewear since the eye is sooooo dilated

 

cool Dude!

[albertthiel]

cool Dude!

 

Yes looks pretty Blues Boys right ...

 

But with the eye very dilated too strong light is not good so I have to wear them for a few more days..

 

Albert

[atoll]

I did raise daphnia last year but not on my windows sill Albert that is where I do phyto. daphina I always do outdoors around this time of year.

Good plan indeed Les ... I think you did this last year too on the windowsill if I remember correctly ...

 

Albert

I think I saw that pic on a wanted poster dead or alive.

How does one look after eye surgery with protective eyewear since the eye is sooooo dilated

 

[atoll]

What about an Evergrow IT2080?

 

Hey Albert, I'm new to nano reef and salt water aquriums, I'm planning on doing a 65 gallon build the dimensions are 36.5"x 20.5"x 21" , I really want to the led route, I have no idea what fixtures to use? I plan on spending 500 or so thanks

 

Sounds all very very simple indeed Paul .... just a little time consuming maybe to do it all though but if it works for you that is the most important thing.

 

There are so many ways to accomplish what we have to accomplish that there is not just 1 way to do it and yours is certainly a very interesting one as you describe it all in detail above

 

Albert

 

 

 

Take a look at the new Jebao range 2x WP-10s or even 25s would do you

 

 

And do you have powerheads in that book because I'm thinking I would need to run two of them but I'm not sure thanks again

[albertthiel]

I did raise daphnia last year but not on my windows sill Albert that is where I do phyto. daphina I always do outdoors around this time of year.

 

I think I saw that pic on a wanted poster dead or alive.

 

Thanks for clarifying that Les ... Guess my memory was not all that good then

 

And on the pic .. yes it does look like the kind of plc on one of those posters indeed

 

Albert

[Jorgieee]

Thanks for clarifying that Les ... Guess my memory was not all that good then

 

And on the pic .. yes it does look like the kind of plc on one of those posters indeed

 

Albert

 

 

 

 

what do you think about these several people recommended me to check these out

[atoll]

Yes I have something very similar in my Fluval 46L nano.

 

 

 

what do you think about these several people recommended me to check these out

[albertthiel]

 

 

 

what do you think about these several people recommended me to check these out

 

Those sound good to me and get the ones that give the most flow for your size tank is my suggestion

 

Albert

[atoll]

I did a quick video of how I cultivate daphnia which I feed to my tank a couple of times a week. I did some research and found only good things about feeding them to marine fish and even corals along with mosquito lava. Please excuse the USAF fly past on the sound on their way to bomb Iraq again.

 

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[albertthiel]

I did a quick video of how I cultivate daphnia which I feed to my tank a couple of times a week. I did some research and found only good things about feeding them to marine fish and even corals along with mosquito lava. Please excuse the USAF fly past on the sound on their way to bomb Iraq again.

 

.

 

Very nice Les and thanks ... and I do not think that those are USAF planes as you state .... US is not sending any out there right now

 

Nice cultures indeed you have there

 

Albert

[atoll]

Definatley USAF planes Albert all the pilots were chewing gum wearing those pilot sunglass and singing the national anthem as they waved and shouted nice tank hope its not an Iraqi one.

[albertthiel]

Definatley USAF planes Albert all the pilots were chewing gum wearing those pilot sunglass and singing the national anthem as they waved and shouted nice tank hope its not an Iraqi one.

 

:)

 

Well you are the one who saw them but they were not en route for Iraq for sure .. maybe en route to Brazil to watch the World Cup when the US plays ...

 

Albert

[bucfan]

I just poured Chemi Clean into my tank. I know the skimmer would go crazy but did not realize this much. I can't adjust it to skim down at all. No matter where I turn the lever it skims wet and foam goes over the lip. It's a Bubble Magus skimmer. What must I do?

 

[albertthiel]

I just poured Chemi Clean into my tank. I know the skimmer would go crazy but did not realize this much. I can't adjust it to skim down at all. No matter where I turn the lever it skims wet and foam goes over the lip. It's a Bubble Magus skimmer. What must I do?

 

Turn the skimmer off. It is not supposed to run while you are treating with ChemiClean .... and make sure the Power Heads in your tank are circulating the water real well and that your pump from your sump (I assume you have one) is running at full strength as well so you have good flow and oxygenation ...

 

Albert

[Paul.b]

Today it was a beautiful day so my wife, I and another friend went out on my boat. We anchored where I usually do right off a tide pool in the Long Island Sound. I took my dinghy to the tide pool to do a little collecting and it is now officially amphipod season. I go here almost every week to collect and this week and maybe 2 more weeks the amphipods must be either spawning or playing soccer or just partying because it is the start of summer. They are all over the place and all I had to do was put my arm in the water and it was covered in amphipods. I collected a few thousand in a couple of minutes. Then, like always I dumped them in my reef but I think it was to much although the fish felt like they died and went to heaven. I probably collected a quarter of a pint, without water. That's a lot of amphipods and they filled my reef. I already still had plenty of them from last year so they can make new friends.

Here are some on a leaf.

 

 

Here is a video of some I took last year, they look the same this year so make believe I just took this today. I collected many more times this today.

 

 

[atoll]

Saw on a UKr forum that Oasis in Manchester had special offers on and in particular for Orchid dottybacks so yesterday I went to see them as I hadn't been there for quite sometime. Oasis was always my fav shop many years ago and was the best around then. It must have been 18 months since I paid them a visit but boy was I glad I did. They had recently revamped their marine section and prices for many fish had dropped it seems EG fireball angels just £25 each. Orchid dottybacks just £20 each. They had quite a few to choose from as well.

 

I picked out 2 orchids that looked as if they could form a true pair. One was larger than the other and had a darker stripe running horizontally through its deep purple body. The other smaller and almost as nice. I also bought 2 small pieces of barnacle shells for cover and hiding places and perhaps in time spawning sites as they do like to build their nest in caves etc. They both quickly settled in and in a matter of a few hours were feeding on frozen foods.

 

So far they have taken no notice of my Possum wrasses in fact the wrasses have shown more interest in them. Not the easiest of fish to get a good pic of bt I hope the ones below will suffice for now.

 

[albertthiel]

Today it was a beautiful day so my wife, I and another friend went out on my boat. We anchored where I usually do right off a tide pool in the Long Island Sound. I took my dinghy to the tide pool to do a little collecting and it is now officially amphipod season. I go here almost every week to collect and this week and maybe 2 more weeks the amphipods must be either spawning or playing soccer or just partying because it is the start of summer. They are all over the place and all I had to do was put my arm in the water and it was covered in amphipods. I collected a few thousand in a couple of minutes. Then, like always I dumped them in my reef but I think it was to much although the fish felt like they died and went to heaven. I probably collected a quarter of a pint, without water. That's a lot of amphipods and they filled my reef. I already still had plenty of them from last year so they can make new friends.

Here are some on a leaf.

 

 

Here is a video of some I took last year, they look the same this year so make believe I just took this today. I collected many more times this today.

 

 

 

 

Wow Paul that's a lot of Pods for sure .... thanks for the post and the pics .. and it looks like with that many in the tank hopefully there is space left for your fish to swim

 

I have seen lots of pods pictures but these outdo them all.

 

I guess your fish are having a banquet meal for quite some time with all those in the tank ..

 

Good for them

 

And on another note ... hope your wife is doing well

 

Mine is in the Hospital since 3 days for heart problems and they are running all kinds of tests and are going to do a heart catheterization on Monday morning to try and figure out what is going on ... I had to take her to the ER a few days ago and they decided to keep her there for observation and then to try to find out what is really causing her problems, so they decided she had to stay.

 

Hopefully what they find tomorrow is not severe and can be taken care of. It may be a blockage and they may put in a stent ...not sure yet

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

Saw on a UKr forum that Oasis in Manchester had special offers on and in particular for Orchid dottybacks so yesterday I went to see them as I hadn't been there for quite sometime. Oasis was always my fav shop many years ago and was the best around then. It must have been 18 months since I paid them a visit but boy was I glad I did. They had recently revamped their marine section and prices for many fish had dropped it seems EG fireball angels just £25 each. Orchid dottybacks just £20 each. They had quite a few to choose from as well.

 

I picked out 2 orchids that looked as if they could form a true pair. One was larger than the other and had a darker stripe running horizontally through its deep purple body. The other smaller and almost as nice. I also bought 2 small pieces of barnacle shells for cover and hiding places and perhaps in time spawning sites as they do like to build their nest in caves etc. They both quickly settled in and in a matter of a few hours were feeding on frozen foods.

 

So far they have taken no notice of my Possum wrasses in fact the wrasses have shown more interest in them. Not the easiest of fish to get a good pic of bt I hope the ones below will suffice for now.

 

 

True they can be hard to take pictures of indeed Les, and you sure got a good price. A quick check here shows them selling for $49.99 for the small sizes so you got a great deal indeed.

 

And on another note I guess it proves that one should not give up on any store that seems to go through some hard times at some point as they can bounce back months and months later as was the case with the one you got your fish from.

 

Thanks for the great shots ... and good for you that you got them and yes hopefully they are a pair !

 

Albert

[Paul.b]

Sorry about your wife Albert. It seems we are both nurses lately. Mine is doing much better and will come out on the boat again today. She can't get into the water yet as she can't make it up the ladder to get back on the boat. But I will go to that tide pool today again to hang out with my friends (hermit crabs, fiddler crabs, horse shoe crabs, eels, shrimp and beer cans.