THE OFFICIAL ASK ALBERT THIEL THREAD

[albertthiel]

Dissolved Gasses in the Aquarium

 

 

http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/dissolved-gases-marine-aquaria-saturation-problems-solutions-6496/

 

 

Albert

[tarunteam]

Hey Albert,

 

What is your view on using high tech equipment? Do you feel reefers should try to mimic and stay close to nature as much as possible or replace nature with technology (I.e. using skimmer instead of refugium, chemicals instead of biological methods to deal with pest). Also if we were going to try to go the natural route what would ou suggest for a nano tank?

[atoll]

Hey Albert,

 

What is your view on using high tech equipment? Do you feel reefers should try to mimic and stay close to nature as much as possible or replace nature with technology (I.e. using skimmer instead of refugium, chemicals instead of biological methods to deal with pest). Also if we were going to try to go the natural route what would ou suggest for a nano tank?

Sorry to butt in and I am sure Albert will reply to you soon, Just to say I have posted on that very subject just a day ago on here if you have not read it. However I would still employ a skimmer ( the oceans do have their own version of a protein skimmer as seen in foaming of the waves etc on the beaches) and carbon. I also use Siporax to aid biological filtration along with an Algae scrubber which I consider more natural as the algae remove much of the residue of filtration and pollution from feeding. I believe in a closed system this gives me the best of both worlds.

[tarunteam]

How are your params since then? I don't know if i'd consider foaming as skimming because, unlike skimmers, the foam dissolves back into the sea. Unless i'm getting foaming wrong? Since adding your Algae scrubber would you say the overall health has increased or decreased?

[atoll]

How are your params since then? I don't know if i'd consider foaming as skimming because, unlike skimmers, the foam dissolves back into the sea. Unless i'm getting foaming wrong? Since adding your Algae scrubber would you say the overall health has increased or decreased?

Nitrate and phosphate are all but undetectable on various test kits since my ATS matured and has been running for a few months,

The health of my corals have shown increased growth and colour. I did have some GHA issues and a low growing Caulerpa which have now disappeared, My ATS uses up the nutrients responsible for the growth of the likes of GHA, BTW I feed 3 or 4 times a day and quite heavily.

[tarunteam]

I'll have to add one to my tank to. But they just look so ugly

[atoll]

I'll have to add one to my tank to. But they just look so ugly

 

My new ATS (just a larger version of my smaller one I currently have on my tank) for my new tank is located in my sump.

 

[albertthiel]

Hey Albert,

 

What is your view on using high tech equipment? Do you feel reefers should try to mimic and stay close to nature as much as possible or replace nature with technology (I.e. using skimmer instead of refugium, chemicals instead of biological methods to deal with pest). Also if we were going to try to go the natural route what would ou suggest for a nano tank?

 

You have read several answers already I gather .... and to be honest that is a very difficult question to answer

 

We would all "like" to run our systems as naturally as possible without an undue amount of equipment but sometimes practicality leads us to start adding more and more devices although we would prefer not to.

 

Also it is often a matter of preference ... and ease of maintenance of the system and the amount of labor we have to put into maintaining our reefs... so,me opt for a more natural method and some opt for a more device intensive one

 

Personally nowadays I prefer the natural method but I used to be a strong advocate of running systems with lots of devices as you may have gathered from the books I wrote in the 80's and 90's

 

So my answer is basically that "it depends" ...

 

If you have not read the answers posted by others I suggest you do so

 

Albert

[Paul.b]

^{That little orange pygmy hawkfish comes out "near" the front now. I am not sure why he is getting over his fear of other company as he is not bad looking. My male bluestripe disappears for a week at a time and I always think I lost him, but again, today he came out in the front, smiling and pregnant as always. For a few days I couldn't find one of my bangai cardinals or my clingfish. I really don't know where these fish go and why they go there. But today after a nice meal of clams and blackworms, they all showed up. It looks like my bangai has a mouth full of eggs which is why he can stay hidden as he doesn't have to eat. My tank is not that big but it is 6' long and built into a wall under a staircase so about 3/4s of the back of the tank I don't have access to and never know what goes on back there. They may be having a Hoedown or flea market but whatever they do, they stay there for a week at a time. There is food everywhere in my tank because I don't believe in sterility. I am also not one to worry if I dump things in from the sea as I don't have to quarantine because I keep my fish immune. (Yes I realize many people think I am lucky, it is what it is) But having a little mulm and algae in some places in the tank goes a long way in keeping fish healthy. Especially if you want to keep mandarins, bleenies and pipefish. That stuff you buy commercially to feed them once a day is often not enough so it is nice to have someplace for them to hunt and maybe find a snack. I also realize many of us worry about nitrates and such. I think we should get over that if we want healthy fish. Deal with nitrates separately if you care about that, but don't starve your fish as most fish in captivity are starving. Like I always say, healthy fish are spawning fish as fish in the sea "always" spawn. I mean constantly. And if they are not in spawning condition, they are not very healthy as that is a totally un natural condition for any fish to be in. Unless of course it is a male. Then he should be chasing girls.}

[albertthiel]

Very well said Paul ... and yes feeding is SO important and often overlooked by a number of Hobbyists ... unfortunately

 

 

Albert

[SunWyrm]

He'll turn into an attention hog soon enough Paul. Mine sits still for pics better than my corals.

[atoll]

Big day today for my new tank. The big fill will start this afternoon. Fingers crossed all goes well. It's always a bit of a worry when it comes to filling your new tank. Am not sure why that should be as I have never had a problem with any of the tanks I have filled before.

[albertthiel]

He'll turn into an attention hog soon enough Paul. Mine sits still for pics better than my corals.

 

 

Nice shot ....

[albertthiel]

Big day today for my new tank. The big fill will start this afternoon. Fingers crossed all goes well. It's always a bit of a worry when it comes to filling your new tank. Am not sure why that should be as I have never had a problem with any of the tanks I have filled before.

 

Good luck with all the work you have to do Les ... I am sure you will make it happen the right way !!

 

Albert

[StinkyBunny]

Every tank is different, it's that simple. Water flow, rock placement and the type of rock used all affects these tiny ecosystems we manage. In our house we have 8 tanks and every one has its on personality, even the quarantine system with 2 tanks, each is different. The 57 rimless I use to hold leather corals for sale has a turf scrubber on it and I never installed one. The weir has become one on its own. I harvest algae off it once a week and that tank stays spotless. I do run Phosguard on everything, algae don't use phosphates as fast as they do nitrates.

[Paul.b]

My Bangai cardinals are full size. Actually a little larger than what their adult size of 3" is supposed to be according to Wikipedia encyclopedia. His dorsal streamer that goes off the picture is about 3" long. These fish are about as healthy as they can be in a tank. I can determine that by the fact that they are spawning, they are immune and they are old. These fish do look a lot better when they are young because their fins are longer. As they grow, their bodies grow faster than their fins. They are a very nice fish and about as peaceful a fish as you can get. I wish they would breed more of them commercially because they are so easy to breed and even the babies are very easy to grow. Probably the easiest fish to propagate sort of like guppies.
They do require a lot of meaty food and it is hard to feed them correctly in a tank with coral because of this fact. Their huge mouth can fit large pieces of clam which is what I normally feed them but they will eat anything meaty. They are a very slow fish and you really should put their food right near their face. I also think this one may be getting cataracts or the fish equivalent. This happens to a lot of fish with big eyes in a tank. Squirrelfish and puffers are susceptible as they age too because in the sea they spend most of their time under overhangs. (Squirrelfish are almost always under something) If you keep them in a dimmer tank for a while it seems to clear up. I Don't think it is severe and I can't catch these fish so I will just let them live out their life as they are. I am not sure how long they live but I would imagine (and this is just a very wild guess) 8 or 9 years for a cardinal this size. If someone has them for a long time I would like to know as I can't find that out. have had these types of cardinals since they were discovered but I don't keep records and the fishes memory is probably better than mine.

[albertthiel]

My Bangai cardinals are full size. Actually a little larger than what their adult size of 3" is supposed to be according to Wikipedia encyclopedia. His dorsal streamer that goes off the picture is about 3" long. These fish are about as healthy as they can be in a tank. I can determine that by the fact that they are spawning, they are immune and they are old. These fish do look a lot better when they are young because their fins are longer. As they grow, their bodies grow faster than their fins. They are a very nice fish and about as peaceful a fish as you can get. I wish they would breed more of them commercially because they are so easy to breed and even the babies are very easy to grow. Probably the easiest fish to propagate sort of like guppies.

They do require a lot of meaty food and it is hard to feed them correctly in a tank with coral because of this fact. Their huge mouth can fit large pieces of clam which is what I normally feed them but they will eat anything meaty. They are a very slow fish and you really should put their food right near their face. I also think this one may be getting cataracts or the fish equivalent. This happens to a lot of fish with big eyes in a tank. Squirrelfish and puffers are susceptible as they age too because in the sea they spend most of their time under overhangs. (Squirrelfish are almost always under something) If you keep them in a dimmer tank for a while it seems to clear up. I Don't think it is severe and I can't catch these fish so I will just let them live out their life as they are. I am not sure how long they live but I would imagine (and this is just a very wild guess) 8 or 9 years for a cardinal this size. If someone has them for a long time I would like to know as I can't find that out. have had these types of cardinals since they were discovered but I don't keep records and the fishes memory is probably better than mine.

 

Looking great

 

Albert

Every tank is different, it's that simple. Water flow, rock placement and the type of rock used all affects these tiny ecosystems we manage. In our house we have 8 tanks and every one has its on personality, even the quarantine system with 2 tanks, each is different. The 57 rimless I use to hold leather corals for sale has a turf scrubber on it and I never installed one. The weir has become one on its own. I harvest algae off it once a week and that tank stays spotless. I do run Phosguard on everything, algae don't use phosphates as fast as they do nitrates.

 

They are all different indeed and have their own personality and appeal

 

Albert

[StinkyBunny]

They're breeding them quite a bit in Indonesia Paul. Right now on my availability lists there are over 1000 available and cheaper than their wild caught brethren. They have been moved to the endangered list so they're going to become harder to get out of the wild.

[Paul.b]

I went to Indonesia for breakfast. I am surprised I didn't see any

[albertthiel]

I went to Indonesia for breakfast. I am surprised I didn't see any

???

[albertthiel]

A vid on Razor fish ... Paul you will like this I think

 

 

 

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

The Biggest Dam removal Project in History ...............

 

 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160411-klamath-glen-canyon-dam-removal-video-anniversary/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_twngm20160412klamath-dams&utm_campaign=Content&sf24192786=1

 

 

 

Albert

[atoll]

My tank is now as full as I want it to be about 1/2" off the overflow. Once my rock work and corals are in (set for thursday) the displacement will send water down to the sump. I already have water in the sump. I will put the heaters in tomorrow to get the temperature up to match my existing tank and as I have used a lot of water frometer that tank and put into my new one I am hoping I will have the water chemistry matched as much as possible as I will have to simply lift them from my old tank straight into the new.

[albertthiel]

My tank is now as full as I want it to be about 1/2" off the overflow. Once my rock work and corals are in (set for thursday) the displacement will send water down to the sump. I already have water in the sump. I will put the heaters in tomorrow to get the temperature up to match my existing tank and as I have used a lot of water frometer that tank and put into my new one I am hoping I will have the water chemistry matched as much as possible as I will have to simply lift them from my old tank straight into the new.

 

Yes I noticed in your other post .... getting closer and closer to completing the transfer

 

 

Albert

[Paul.b]

My arrow crab has a little nose cyano problem.