03-16-2007, 09:56 AM
been a while since i updated, figured some people might be entertained by the ongoing saga and/or bored at work.
a few months back i saw a tank with the rockwork arranged where the whole back of the tank looked like a rock wall/cliff and decided that's what i wanted. i tried the arrangement for a while but it failed pretty bad.
* the weird thing about reefs is that they require huge amounts of water movement. the rockwork in my tank was too congested and created stagnant spots. next thing i knew, another algae outbreak! it was feeding on the waste that had settled in these spots instead of flowing to the filtration tank. *
so i tore it down and figured i need to downsize anyway. alot of my rock would make great peices of a larger formation but look lousy alone. so i put up a FS/FT add on a local board and within minutes found a guy close by that would trade some corals for my rock. best trade ever! i'll put up some pics later.
so, as it stands my tank is mostly bare except for a bunch of small coral and a new percula clownfish (the "nemo" kind). i'm going to hit up the local fish store on saturday and find a couple really awesome, small rock peices that compliment the tank instead of making it look like a rock pile in a water box.
i have also been battling bad water chemistry. i've always been lazy about it and never bothered to put money into test kits -- it's always been "well the stuff is alive, i'd rather spend money on more _____" well i found out my calcium levels are marginal and my pH is verging on deadly low. i feel like such a tard, i should know better. it's like boosting your engine and not buying a wideband, then asking why you melted your plugs.
because of my low pH, the aragonite (calcium rich mineral sand) sand was literally "melting" as the water is more acidic, and as it melts it reacts with the carbonate in the water and begins clumping into chunks. that is bad, bad, bad. when that happens, oxygen doesn't dissipate through the sand....which in turn kills off the bacteria in it that consumes waste, and in turn when the bacteria dies it releases hydrogen peroxide and nukes the whole tank! so kids, even if you hate chemistry like me, don't forget to check your water. almost killed my whole tank.
ah....if only i knew then what i know now. i could have started a tank nowadays for a quarter of what i have in it now, with better results. such is life.
a few months back i saw a tank with the rockwork arranged where the whole back of the tank looked like a rock wall/cliff and decided that's what i wanted. i tried the arrangement for a while but it failed pretty bad.
* the weird thing about reefs is that they require huge amounts of water movement. the rockwork in my tank was too congested and created stagnant spots. next thing i knew, another algae outbreak! it was feeding on the waste that had settled in these spots instead of flowing to the filtration tank. *
so i tore it down and figured i need to downsize anyway. alot of my rock would make great peices of a larger formation but look lousy alone. so i put up a FS/FT add on a local board and within minutes found a guy close by that would trade some corals for my rock. best trade ever! i'll put up some pics later.
so, as it stands my tank is mostly bare except for a bunch of small coral and a new percula clownfish (the "nemo" kind). i'm going to hit up the local fish store on saturday and find a couple really awesome, small rock peices that compliment the tank instead of making it look like a rock pile in a water box.
i have also been battling bad water chemistry. i've always been lazy about it and never bothered to put money into test kits -- it's always been "well the stuff is alive, i'd rather spend money on more _____" well i found out my calcium levels are marginal and my pH is verging on deadly low. i feel like such a tard, i should know better. it's like boosting your engine and not buying a wideband, then asking why you melted your plugs.
because of my low pH, the aragonite (calcium rich mineral sand) sand was literally "melting" as the water is more acidic, and as it melts it reacts with the carbonate in the water and begins clumping into chunks. that is bad, bad, bad. when that happens, oxygen doesn't dissipate through the sand....which in turn kills off the bacteria in it that consumes waste, and in turn when the bacteria dies it releases hydrogen peroxide and nukes the whole tank! so kids, even if you hate chemistry like me, don't forget to check your water. almost killed my whole tank.
ah....if only i knew then what i know now. i could have started a tank nowadays for a quarter of what i have in it now, with better results. such is life.
2010 Civic Si
2019 4Runner TRD Off-Road
--------------------------
Past: 03 Xterra SE 4x4 | 05 Impreza 2.5RS | 99.5 A4 Quattro 1.8T | 01 Accord EX | 90 Maxima GXE | 96 Explorer XLT
2019 4Runner TRD Off-Road
--------------------------
Past: 03 Xterra SE 4x4 | 05 Impreza 2.5RS | 99.5 A4 Quattro 1.8T | 01 Accord EX | 90 Maxima GXE | 96 Explorer XLT