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Michael's 35 gallon aio

A few big Turbo snails and a couple urchins and the tank looks great!


Before
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After!
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I was always afraid of adding urchins to an acrylic tank, did you remove them once they finished with the initial cleanup, or are they permanently on staff now?
 
I was always afraid of adding urchins to an acrylic tank, did you remove them once they finished with the initial cleanup, or are they permanently on staff now?
Thank you for bringing this up, I hadn't really considered it. The tank is in my office and I see it every day, so if I see scratching of the tank I will do something about it asap. Until then, everything seems happy.

With the amount of algae on the rocks I haven't seen them on the display surface much, so that might be playing a factor here.
 
I found an old credit card works really well for this and is pretty quick, you just need to be able to get your hand in between the acrylic and rock work.
Scotch Brite Dobie pads work really well on both coralline and "sticky" brown film algae that even the snails don't get. Another option if you clean more than 1x per week and are removing just film algae are Mr. Clean magic erasers. Just let the pad do the work and don't run it over sharp edges or dig your fingernails into it. They last a lot longer that way.
 
Scotch Brite Dobie pads work really well on both coralline and "sticky" brown film algae that even the snails don't get. Another option if you clean more than 1x per week and are removing just film algae are Mr. Clean magic erasers. Just let the pad do the work and don't run it over sharp edges or dig your fingernails into it. They last a lot longer that way.
Magic Eraser = formaldehyde-melamine-sodium bisulfate copolymer
Melamine is high in nitrogen
 
I mean they use it at the Academy and I have too for over 10 years. So I'm not concerned. Article says it's chemically inert in seawater. https://www.scribd.com/document/123232749/feeding-and-cleaning#fullscreen&from_embed

LOL Comparing your tank to that of those at the Academy like comparing apples to oranges ;) I'm surprised you didn't go as far to say even Jake Adams uses, and link his article from 2009.

PAYWALL... good thing I have that issue. That isn't a publication geared towards hobbyist volumes, not in the least bit. Rich and Matt also aren't really chemists, melamine does in fact breakdown into nitrogen. Rather then introduce ANY extra nutrients, I have always used credit cards and fresh SS razor blades.

Mal
There is Sodium in Sodium Chloride too. Keep that shit out of the tank!

proving your mad chemistry skills I see lol
 
proving your mad chemistry skills I see lol
"Sodium is highly explosive in water and a poison combined and uncombined with many other elements"

Just stating that the chemical in Magic Eraser is more than its parts. It is a new compound completely and it would need to break back down to its parts for those parts to become a concern. Just remembering the MagicEraser scare from 5 years ago with people calling FDA requesting it be banned because of the confusion.

@Darkxerox was referencing a totally different product that doesn't contain that chemical anyways, kinda making the argument mute. I use a magic eraser on the outside of my tank, but I have never used it inside because I don't know what the magic white foam it makes is and they do fall apart with use so you are right that it probably not a good product for inside the tank. I have used the Scotch Brite pads for years though and am pretty sure they are just your avg. sponge pad wrapped in a nylon mesh with no added magic.
 
Everything looks like its just thriving. Stunning Anemone. I'll have some questions in the future. Love the coral bottom. Very interesting. Do you ever worry about pockets of gas they create? Can't argue with your success.
 
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I'm getting ready to shut this tank down. I flew the two cardinal fish out to Vegas along with most of the coral I want out of this tank.

Does anyone want the last of my zoas?
 
I restarted the tank with old rock and crushed coral again. I was housing a lot of the fish that went in the 300 in there for a while, but now just have a small algae blenny and a target mandarin. There is also a pincushion urchin, 2 bubble tip anemones from BAR, and some softies. I added a black ATO to my order from Advanced Acrylics when I got my sump that fits on the side of the same bench I had in my office before.

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