The limitless newbie questions thread

[atxchris1234]

Okay, so I have a ton of questions... and everyday they just keep piling up, so I figured anytime I have a newbie question I can just post it here instead of mucking up your board. Maybe some other newbies will come along and join in, or maybe they can use my lack of knowledge to boost their confidence make them feel better about themselves.:bigsmile: I assume this will be an ongoing thread, so feel free to check back if you aren't driven mad by my newbieness as im sure the stupid questions will continue.

:bigsmile::bigsmile:

1.) I was told that coraline algae growth is usually a good indicator that your tank is "stable" and after six months (THATS HALF A YEAR BILL!) if im seeing good coraline algae growth then its a good indicator that my tank is stable and its okay to add the more difficult species. Is this true, and more importantly what does coraline algae look like?

2.) I understand how to test for ph, kh, s gravity, nitrite and ammonia (way to go newbie!) But I would like to further understand how these different factors are dependant upon each other and why. Why is kh effected by ph? Does temp play a factor? etc. etc. Maybe there has been an article written on this.....


Many more questions to follow.

Thanks guys!

[ErikH]

google it.

[klondike4001]

Coraline is usually a good indicator that your tank is progressing well, I still wouldn't recommend a clam until the 8 month mark. Coraline algae comes in a variety of colors, some being pink, purple, orange, green and usually a couple more variations on those. It is usually flat and begins growing (more noticably) on the back wall and the overflows, it's usually semi-circular and rough to the touch.

It's good that you can test all those parameters by yourself, I know some advanced reef keepers who take their water to get tested because they are too lazy to learn it themselves. The kh usually is one of the factors that can cause your pH to fluctuate it it becomes too high or too low. pH can also be effected by the water temperature.

[RayAllen]

There is also a Search feature on Maast that people either dont know is there or do not know how to use it. It comes in handy when ever you want a quick answer to something you do not know. Asking question is great, but if you can find multiple threads by using the search feature you can get a lot of info that way.

[erebus]

I really wouldn't base your tank being ready by how much Coraline you have growing. Corlaine can grow while some of your parameters might be off. As Johathan said it's a good indicator that your tank is progressing well, but not that it's ready or not. I would depend on tests more then Coraline.

[atxchris1234]

google it.

I get better info from the people on this board, google pulls conflicting data, and for a guy who doesn't own a home computer (only a work computer) a quick post on maast is always more informative and much quicker.

Plus, I've payed my dues, have you?:angel::bigsmile:

Klondike,

I have purple, yellow and green colorations forming on my all of my rocks. This is largely due to the fact that 80% of my rocks came out of a 6 yr old established tank. However, I've given up on the clam... Better to wait.

I understand that kh causes ph to fluctuate, but why?

The search feature works great! However, it typically pulls threads ranging all the way up to 20 pages long! I just figured it might be easier for the passing newbie to just read through a thread specifically designed for newbies, and post their questions accordingly.

[Texreefer]

These are all excellent articles that will address your questionshttp://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/index.php
http://web.archive.org/web/20021127040526/http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.htm
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rhf/index.htm

[hobogato]

low alkalinity (kH) allows pH to swing. normal alkalinity keeps it more stable.

ammonia and nitrite are very toxic to living organisms and should be zero.

nitrate is also toxic, and should be as low as possible.

phosphate and nitrate are also referred to as "nutrients" in the water - translation: too much of either or both can inhibit coral and macroalgae growth, cause sps to brown, and cause algal blooms.

calcium is used by reefbuilding corals to make their skeleton - if it is low, corals wont grow.

temperature should be kept around NSW (natural sea water) range. too low and coral growth will be slow and fish can be more prone to ich. too high and corals will eject their zoxanthellae (algae they host) also know as bleaching - if severe enough the coral can starve and die. also if too high, oxygen concentration in the water decreases which can stress/kill fish.

specific gravity - relates to salinity. too high or too low and coral/fish get stressed. fish can tolerate low salinity and it is used to treat ich in qt. changes in salinity can really cause problems, so if your salinity is too low/high, adjust it slowly.

[ErikH]

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm

Do me a favor and bookmark www.wetwebmedia.com (http://www.wetwebmedia.com)

[JimD]

"Plus, I've payed my dues, have you?:angel::bigsmile:"

Ouch!! lol

[villjr]

Do me a favor and bookmark www.wetwebmedia.com (http://www.wetwebmedia.com)

There's no need to respond that way. If you don't like atxchris1234 asking questions, then don't respond to the thread. He has every right to ask as many questions as he likes. That's what this site is for to be able to ask questions and learn from more experienced members.

[atxchris1234]

No problems, I bookmark every link that people list.

Even google. :bigsmile:

The fact is, that if you want information quickly and you want the RIGHT information then you should pay your dues and become a member of maast, because the information here is non biased and always accurate.

[ErikH]

Instead of irritating the situation, why not use the PM feature? All I was asking was to not have to do all the research on the frontside. Then, I posted a link to all kinds of good reef chemistry information, which I googled to find. After that, I asked him to bookmark an informative site so maybe his questions would have more point and/or direction.

[hobogato]

alright alright..... sim ma den nah :)

good thread, lets keep it on track :wink_smile:

[bigmoe21]

back on track..whats the best way to reduce excess nutrients?

[villjr]

We're good. ScorpiNO and I discussed it.

[atxchris1234]

back on track..whats the best way to reduce excess nutrients?

Edited due to my own stupidity. LOL

[hobogato]

from page one (pre-drama :lauging:):


phosphate and nitrate are also referred to as "nutrients" in the water - translation: too much of either or both can inhibit coral and macroalgae growth, cause sps to brown, and cause algal blooms.



many ways.

1. do not over feed or over stock.
2. plenty of biofiltration - liverock and sand
3. effective skimmer
4. water changes
5. macro algae and/or mangroves in a fuge

[FAT fishy]

can you put macroalgae directly in a tank or should it only go in a fuge?

[tony]

can you put macroalgae directly in a tank or should it only go in a fuge?


it can absolutely be put in the tank

[Bill S]

As long as your tangs don't eat it all...

You want to export those nutrients, as Ace pointed out, those are several of the ways. No one thing works best, most successful reefers will do many if not all of those.

[labrown]

Awesome thread. Posting so I can come back here and ask some of my silly newbie questions too...
:)

[greenmako]

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm

Do me a favor and bookmark www.wetwebmedia.com (http://www.wetwebmedia.com)


Hey Erik welcome back to MAAST

[ErikH]

:p

[RayAllen]

Didnt take long for them to figure out it was you, LOL. Its funny how someones personality can come out in a computer.

[aquasport24]

welcome back Erik..

[Bill S]

Seriously. WELCOME BACK!

Kind of funny - I thought, "oh, we have another Erik"...

[atxchris1234]

"Do not over feed or overstock your tank"

So, I have a clown and a dwarf angel of some kind, I feed the clown mysis shrimp every other day, feed the dwarf angel one cube of some sort of veggie mix stuff every other day. Is this over feeding for only 2 fish?

[hobogato]

doesnt sound like it.

[ErikH]

The more they eat the better. The last thing you want is for some uneaten food to find a nice little spot to hide from your eyes and from the flow pattern in your tank. Once it decays further, it can and will affect your water quality.

[shara]

My current newbie question: I saw somewhere on here a few days ago that you can replace the fan(s) in the hood of a 29 gal Biocube. My husband is quite geeky (yea!), I think he can just look at it and find comparable pc fans. Has anyone here done this? Will it make a nice difference in cooling? My tank stayed about 80 during the day all summer long and the current fan is really getting loud.

p.s. I LOVE THIS THREAD, it's nice to see people posting questions that I wanted to know too!

[Texreefer]

I re-read the articles I posted for you and It is amazing how much a verteran can forget as far as the causes and reasons,,, I just do what I do because I know it works,, but its good to go back and keep reading even the basic stuff to keep you on your toes.

[atxchris1234]

Lately I've noticed these small little "snowflake like things" on the inside of my tank. I can only see them when they're on the glass right in front of me, and even then I have to squint to see them. I can scrub them off with one swipe, but after a few minutes they're back. It would be impossible to get a pic of them unless I had a camera with macro, and even then it might be tuff.

Best description - white dots with TINY little legs attaching to the glass. Almost like little bitty spiders or tiny starfish. The legs are so small you can barely see them. Impossible to tell if they're living or not, but I assume they are.


Any ideas what they might be?

Im going to guess that a google search for "tiny little snowflake spider guys on the inside of my tank" will bring me no re****s.

Thanks!

[klondike4001]

micro brittle stars, very common, once your fish figure out what they are, you won't ever see them again.

[MissT]

probably asterina or micro brittle stars

[MissT]

man... beat me to the punch lol

[klondike4001]

Sorry. :)

[ErikH]

My current newbie question: I saw somewhere on here a few days ago that you can replace the fan(s) in the hood of a 29 gal Biocube. My husband is quite geeky (yea!), I think he can just look at it and find comparable pc fans. Has anyone here done this? Will it make a nice difference in cooling? My tank stayed about 80 during the day all summer long and the current fan is really getting loud.

p.s. I LOVE THIS THREAD, it's nice to see people posting questions that I wanted to know too!


http://www.nanotuners.com/index.php?cPath=25

[ErikH]

Chris, some good places for ids are:

www.zoaid.com (http://www.zoaid.com)

www.melevsreef.com (http://www.melevsreef.com)

They both have some good ID pages! :)

[atxchris1234]

Chris, some good places for ids are:

www.zoaid.com (http://www.zoaid.com)

www.melevsreef.com (http://www.melevsreef.com)

They both have some good ID pages! :)

Bookmarked and AWESOME LINKS!

Here is one of my corals as of last week. Some of you may know that it was dipped right after I purchased it due to flatworms. As a result (I assumed) the coral lost a bit of color. The purple skeleton is now less purple and the green polyps are far less green. I have been waiting for the color to come back, but it hasent yet. In reading on one of the links previously listed it states that zoas (for example) will morph depending on what their surroundings offer them. More flow = morph, more light = morph. It seems like the particular polyps on my coral have gotten longer and larger, which in a zoa colony would tell me that they arent getting enough light, however... it also seems like they are losing some of their color which would tell me that they are getting too much light.

So im confused, and naturally am trying to find ways to bring out the color and make sure they are flourishing, not just surviving.

Earlier in this thread you guys mentioned excess nutirents and how to remove them. One of the symptoms you listed was "browning" in the tank. Would this be a good example of browning?

Im going to bring a water sample to rca for the sale tonight, but I test my water at home. My ph is 8.0, temp 80, sal 1.024, my kh however is a low 7, and I've never been able to bring that up. Nit 0, ammonia 0.

Heres a pic of the coral for refrence.
http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/2/5610251757.jpg (http://www.putfile.com/pic/7742822)

thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ErikH]

I would say that they are not getting enough light, especially if the polyps are growing further off the mat. From what I have seen, a common occurance/morph with polyps (zoas) that get more light than they need is that they will develop specks of white on the polyp itself. Last example I can remember of this was Brian's (Greenmako) PPEs that had a speckled morph to them.

[atxchris1234]

Don't suppose it would help to mention that these are NOT zoas would it? I was just listing zoas as an example.

Prob doesn't matter..

[ErikH]

What coral is it?

[tony]

250w over a 30g is more than enough light assuming they arent shaded by something (and they dont look so from the pic)

[atxchris1234]

I tried using the search feature, but didn't find the answer to my question.

My girlfriend bought a brita filter for our faucet in the kitchen, when you turn it on the "filter" feature it pumps out "clean" water for drinking. Will this work? Im assuming it wont... but just wanted to double check and make sure.

Thanks

[Bill S]

Work? Yup. For drinking water...

For fish? Nope. Better than nothing, but not much.