Useful Tips form over the years

I'm putting this up in hope Tangster, Otty, Cuttingrass and all you other active members will join in with your knowledge, or just a link to where you already told it to someone.

I got a ton of karma and responses when I explained how to condition just about any fish to help eat algae. So in hopes of getting these helpful types of advice here I am starting this off

Cuttingrass makes me think about this everyday when I do not hear my tank running and already I've lost the link to her helpful "gurgle buster." Tangster has plenty of help scattered all over this site and is denitrator has helped me out. Otty I still can't past the chaps but of well he still knows a lot!

First thing I'll contribute is what to do with the left over food we all get at the bottom of the jars, who wants to pollute our tank with that? So, keep one jar that screws on and as you use up your food empty the various leftovers in here, flakes, pellets, freeze dried just nothing that is frozen ;D. Once you have about a cup of this you can now make your own pellets.

You'll need a few things that you should have lying around; wax paper or parchment paper, an old cottage cheese container or something to mix in (don't use kitchen utensils unless your single...wife will freak if she smells it). Also have anything that you'd like to add like vitamins, medications, garlic oil (has to be the fat free organic kind but most prepared foods have this now). I use some vitamins (pills C and K dunno why) that I pulverize with 2 spoons and some old medication that I don't know if it is still good (it's called Immune Boost).

Add whatever dry goods you are adding and mix it in the plastic container. Now you need to add some liquid to it. I used to use just the garlic oil and water, which worked. Now I use vita-chem and a bit of water. Mix into a smooth paste so that you can spread it onto the wax paper. Once this is done it just needs to be dried out, I usually put it on top of my tank under the lights on the brace for the tank. The lights cook it nicely; if you used parchment paper you could probably put it in the oven.

Now all you have to do is wait for it to dry and break it into the right size pieces for your fish. You can also prepare medicated foods in advance this way; there may be some things that break down over time so not to far in advance.

Hope someone uses this and I'd love to hear more about what other things you all have come up with.

 

Bumping this up so that it doesn't get buried.

 

Buying fish from LFS

This one has taken me years to accept and put in pratice but it pays off big, I loose very few fish.

First point is I buy as much as I can via the internet from two sites that I have used for years. Still when I decide I want a fish it is hard to justify shipping for a single fish, unless I need some crabs and snails. So with that in mind here is how I go about this.

• Know the fish you want as well as online pricing. Remember these shops will negotiate price
• Know the dates that the shop recieves the shipents. I have one shop that will actually sell me the fish in the bag and give me 14 days as a guarantee. Not all will do this but it is an option and the rest of this is not needed then.
• Find the fish and make sure it looks healthy and disease free.
• Make sure the fish is eating in the current tank.
• Have them hold it for 48hrs so you can see it eat in the next two days. This not only lets you see it eat but let it acclimate to the new tank before you rip it out and do it again. Sometimes shops will want a good faith deposit just make sure it is refundable. Make sure you stop in and see it eat as well as checking on it health. Is it darting, scratching on rocks, heavy breathing, restricted gills....anything that looks off and also ICH.
• Find out if they dose with copper in the tanks. (really just good to know)
• Get some of the food so you can continue to mix it into your feeding regiment. You need 3 or 4 days worth. Most places will throw it without much fight so you won't need to buy a new can or package.

The third day if all is well you have a new tank mate that should be healthy and hardy. Be sure to acclimate the fish either with the drip message or floating the bag with water changes. Once you get the fish in your tanks be sure at feedings to use the food you have seen it eat. Also feed your regular food mixed in and by the third or fourth day it will be eating your food as well.

Hope this helps some of you, I'm sure a lot of you already practice this and I'm not sure how this would translate to corals.

 

Thanks Jakerupe! I'm glad you like the standpipes! they are sweet! here's the link for ya-
Hofer Gurgle Buster Construction

Some things I've learned since my 1st fowlr in 2001:
Acclimate, don't just drop it in the tank!
Get your Magnesium up and your Calcium will be easier to raise/lower.
What works for me might not work for you, each tank is different.
Gurgle Buster are VERY quiet, but don't move them from the level they are when you get growth on them, they'll never go back to the original position.:-/
Buy the best eq you can now, cause you'll end up buying it later and spending twice as much or more by buying junk the first ten times.....
Go with what the experienced people tell you(well 3 out of 5 times)
Get a mentor & don't p.o. them off
Heard this somewhere years ago, "The solution to the pollution is dilution" This holds very true to pretty much everything!
You can turn the back of a toyota rav 4 into a 55 gallon tank and move 8-9 hours away
Maroon Clowns don't play well with others, especially other clowns.
You already found 3reef, so I can't tell you to go there....
If it smells dead, it is dead.

If I think of anything other "words of wisdom", I'll post them.:;D

 

Thanks Jakerupe! I'm glad you like the standpipes! they are sweet! here's the link for ya-
Hofer Gurgle Buster Construction

Some things I've learned since my 1st fowlr in 2001:
Acclimate, don't just drop it in the tank!
Get your Magnesium up and your Calcium will be easier to raise/lower.
What works for me might not work for you, each tank is different.
The Hofer Gurgle Busters are VERY quiet, but don't move them from the level they are when you get growth on them, they'll never go back to the original position.:-/
Buy the best eq you can now, cause you'll end up buying it later and spending twice as much or more by buying junk the first ten times.....
Go with what the experienced people tell you(well 3 out of 5 times)
Get a mentor & don't p.o. them off
Heard this somewhere years ago, "The solution to the pollution is dilution" This holds very true to pretty much everything!
You can turn the back of a toyota rav 4 into a 55 gallon tank and move 8-9 hours away
Maroon Clowns don't play well with others, especially other clowns.
You already found 3reef, so I can't tell you to go there....
If it smells dead, it is dead.

If I think of anything other "words of wisdom", I'll post them.:;D

 

Here is a couple

-Get to know fellow reefers in your area. They can save you in an emergency or be a great source of coral trades and information
- Use a water bottle with RO in it to melt the salt creep off the centre brace and other equipment
-rinse your frozen food with RO water to get ride of the crap
-If something is inexpensive make sure it's not cheep


J

 

A couple more:

Don't skimp on lights because about six months down the road you won't be happy with them and have to spend more money on new ones.that can get very expensive and frustrating quick.

Don't skimp on a skimmer - get a good one the first time or you will have allot of headaches later on when you realize the one you have doesn't work.(hint look at my sig..lol)

 

I was wondering about salt creep, is there anyway to prevent it? I vacuumed up about a pound of it from under my tank. It was about a years worth and it has never been that bad. Your bottle...is that a spray bottle?

 

There she is! Thanks for the link, it is going in my aquarium bible.

I was also wondering about cleaning mine and whether or not I'd get it back to the right place. I never glued mine down and wasn't actually sure why I didn't.

 

if you have a small bottle brush you can put that into the top, but no further. like I said, when they get coralline and other algae on them, they are hard to go up and down. I guess that's good in a way, so they don't drop down on you when you don't want them to. the small one in this pic is like the one I used.