got ethical husbandry?

My 90 gallon tank: video update! (with narration this time!)

Is there anything wrong with wanting a Opeatostoma pseudodon, or a red fighting conch? Denzil really likes it, and so do I, and it says "peaceful" but I wanted to ask for other opinions before I really considered getting it. =)
 
Finally seeing coraline algae growth on the base rock! Skimmer from lattehiatus is working wonderfully. Got some equipment coming in tomorrow to get the aquacontroller dialed in, got the K2R owner manual from Bula (thank you so so much!) now I just need to find about about the GFO.

Planning on getting a stunner strip, solenoid and the two probes (pH and ORP) sometime at the end of next month. So far, things are getting better in the tank department. We will be up and running for ~5 months at the end of September! My how time flies. =D

Also coming up in September; anthias and wrasse!! =D September is going to be a gosh darn good month.
 
Coral reefer said:
Orp probe? Wow, advanced!


LoL Denzil suggested that I get it, so I did. I was actually able to get stuff earlier, so all that stuff will be here next week. Now I just gotta wait until I can get the anthias!

Can't wait until the frag swap guys ^.^
 
Just set up Brandie's AquaController III so that it's accessible anywhere there's internet access. Also, got the app installed on her Android phone. Pretty cool what you can do with technology! ^_^
 
Hey guys,

Is there a reason why the water that I mix for my water changes is still cloudy 24 hours later? Lots of bubbles on the side, and nothing sitting on the bottom, so I know it mixed. Also, if I pull the heaters and koralias out that I used, they are all covered in a white film. This has happened the last two times that I have mixed water, and it is RODI water. Any suggestions?

Thanks! :)
 
Don't use a heater when mixing the salinity salt...it won't mix properly. The white film is the salt precipitation. Add the heater after the salt has mixed thoroughly and clear.
 
gimmito said:
Don't use a heater when mixing the salinity salt...it won't mix properly. The white film is the salt precipitation. Add the heater after the salt has mixed thoroughly and clear.


Ah ok, good to know. Thank you very much =) so heating it after mixing should make the precipitation stop? Should I turn off the heater for a few hours and let it mix more before adding it to the tank?
 
Precipitation happens when the salt mixes inproperly (adding too much salt to the water, insufficient flow, etc). Let the salinity salt mix for a few hours to play it safe and water is clear...then add the heater.
 
gimmito said:
Precipitation happens when the salt mixes inproperly (adding too much salt to the water, insufficient flow, etc). Let the salinity salt mix for a few hours to play it safe and water is clear...then add the heater.


hmm, been mixing all this time (even added a stronger pump) and it's still cloudy. Heater is off. Should I wait until tomorrow?


**Edit: I figured out what it is. The water is clear, but the bin is not. LOL. Going to change the water right now.
 
Time for an Update!

Sorry guys, I have not been posting as much as I should: 30 hours a week at work plus 15 units at SJSU has a monopoly on my time. We did have a nice relaxing weekend though, and I had some time to work on the tank with Denzil's help.

I have come to the conclusion that the filter socks on my sump have been part of my nitrate problem; I did not know how much upkeep they required until looking into it a bit more and talking with some of the guys at the Swap. So, I decided that I would order 25lbs of 'fuge rubble off of Liveaquaria and put them in the sock spot. I also have not seen any pods in my tank at all, so after searching ebay (Jim, I couldn't find the woman you mentioned) I broke down and got the tisbe pods off LA also. It was nice because I had some credit from a DOA, so I didn't have to pay much at all. Any-who, last Thursday, after curing the rock, I put the rock in the sock part of the 'fuge, and some in the sand bed and waited a bit. Also was able to dump the pods in the tank. In order to help with flow, I got a nano koralia in the 'fuge itself, and another one providing additional flow where all the rock is. After checking today, I see pods EVERYWHERE! It's a relief. Now I am one step closer to getting to getting my mandarins.

Denzil and I also noticed the little male clown "shivering" tonight. I have seen him do it before, but never as much as he was doing it tonight. I have also seen the female get very territorial all of the sudden:chasing fish that last week, she never bothered. Then I saw both clowns nipping and rubbing on a particular spot on the rock. After flipping out a bit, worrying about ich, I did a quick search and was relieved to see that others have experienced this as well, and it was a precursor to spawning behavior. I hope that means that they are comfortable in the tank enough to start spawning. They are eating every time food is put in there and very personable to boot.

Well, hope this update finds you all well. I am definitely looking forward to the next meeting! It's little things like that that get me through the week LoL. Quick question on the zoas we got from the swap: every time I google the names of the ones we got, they are colorful and pretty to look at, but after a while, mine are showing some color, but are still mostly brown in color. Is this normal? Is there anything that I can do to bring some color back to them? Thanks!
 
Ok. I am terrible at this tank journal. Fail. Sorry guys. Here is a video of the tank. Hope you can see it, if not, please let me know :)

[youtube]rzKQ_bTJzGM[/youtube]

And no, I didn't narrate! Props to Jim who does that on a regular basis. LoL
 
gimmito said:
Very nice Brandie...some narration for the next video please. :p


LoL, ooh kay. I'll make sure that next time, I am recording when the auto feeder goes off xD everyone goes crazy, haha. I'll work on the video quality too, now that I can upload directly to YT...
 
Looking good. You've got LOTS of fish!

+1 on narration. It'd be nice if you could loose the hockey game in the background! Maybe you could talk Jim into a guest voiceover! ;)

What camera did you use?
 
30 gallon weekly water changes enough KR? LoL. Lots of fish, good size CUC, lots of activity. Start mixing water on Wednesday for water changes on Saturday. I almost have the water changing steps down as well, and skimmer cup is almost never left full. I can smell it if it is, so I try to keep it empty.

LoL I know, the hockey game was on. I actually used my phone. I plan on trying out the camera next time since Denzil got a great tripod for it. I'll narrate next time. I'll try to do it when Denzil isn't home so no hockey is going on in the background ;)
 
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