Guys, I should have a new thread started by the end of this week about all the aquarium inventory for sale. I have the inventory list but now I need all the vids and pics. Sorry for the delay.

 

explain plz

 

+1

 

50 gallon with 2 red eared slider turtles

100 gallon salt that I don't take care of. Survival of the fittest experiment. Still have a large black starfish, tomato clown, zebra damsel, fully matured blue damsel, and a wrasse kicking it for over 2 years. Every once in a while I throw in some snails from the 99 ranch market which keeps the star fish happy and actually cleans my tank. A couple pinches of fish food each WEEK for the rest. tons of nematodes (sp?) in the sand.


It's got a pretty good bio-system. Not much in the way of corals as my ballasts died and I spend my play money on my G.

Here's a pic of the undergravel plenum that I built for it that is the secret to my set and forget method of aquarium management.

 

in a salt water aquarium there is a HUGE eco system at play... the sand bed is used to trap 90% of the harmful gases produced from organic fish waste and/or decomposing food. nitrate and nitrate need to be removed using the most natural processes available either by using a deep sand bed or macro algae in your refugium (cheto, ogo, grape caulerpa etc...) using a under gravel filter will prevent the sand from performing its very necessary function. the skimmer is also most important because it is used to remove all of the dissolved organics in the water using micro bubbles... without a good skimmer your tank is just waiting to die. its not a matter of IF, its more a matter of WHEN....

my tank has been up and established now for 3 years. i am getting ready to transfer to a 450 gallon display tank SOON.... in the 3 years that i have had the tank up i do my BEST to not move the sand AT ALL. doing so can and will jeopardize the eco system and crash the tank by creating a HUGE cycle killing not only fish and corals but also extremely beneficial bacteria that play the LARGEST part in the eco system!

a stupid mistake i made when i started with SW tanks... i thought that it was the same as a FW tank... 9 weeks into the life of the tank i wanted to "clean the sand" during a water change.... i used a power head and blew the sand around (which ended up releasing harmful gases into the water) and changed the water... next morning $480 worth of livestock was either dead or dead within 2 days... after testing the water there were huge traces of Nitrates, Nitrites, and most deadly Ammonia. and all this happened from disturbing the sand... DO NOT CLEAN THE SAND! DO NOT OVErLY STIR THE SAND! this can cause huge issues.

fresh water tanks are pretty much used JUST to sustain life, nothing more... salt water tanks are a complete mini ocean... complete eco system... the more you can give the environment exactly what it needs the closer to success you will become. In a salt water tank that is properly managed, life will not only be sustained but it will THRIVE!

tonyrd1 you have my number... call me... i will help walk you through the process with pleasure no worries... mostly everything that you have wont really be beneficial... you spent so much cash on most of that stuff that isnt really even for a salt water tank... the good thing is that you can just ebay what you dont need personally i would beg to return it, tell them your land lord said no fish or something....i can help you piece together a very decent tank for about 1/2 of what you spent!

the canister filters are just OK... mostly just used to help with water CLARITY not really for water QUALITY. but they are good to have for trapping larger waste especially if you have larger waste producing fish (tangs, groupers, eels etc.) your hang on back (HOB) filter is beyond worthless for a salt water tank... the best thing you can have for your tank is the proper amount of live rock (which is also very very important for more then a few reasons) and about 3 inches of live sand along with a sump and a AWESOME skimmer and that is all you need! the lights in your tank are purely personal preference unless you plan on keeping coral.

if it almost sounds like i went to school to major in marine biology its because i did

hope this helps
uhh... did i answer the question about the under gravel filter? LOL... went on a rampage there... sorry

 

Underground filters tend to trap A LOT of waste causing ammonia to build up. There is no way to remove the waste once it gets trapped under the filter unless you removed the filter which would be nearly impossible once the tank is setup. Underground filters are CRAP! The best setup is to have a predrilled tank with a fuge. Check out reefcentral.com for more info. Depending on what you are wanting in your sw tank you can probably get away with a nice hang on skimmer(invest in a good one as this is important) and a hang on filter. This could get you started for a simple setup, but I suggest you visit a forum like the one I listed as you can get a lot of good info there.

 

Underground filters are CRAP!
+9

reefcentral.com
join the forum, they will also help educate you and guide your way.

 

thanks bro that fish chart is a huge help... really trippy too bro

damn i gotta venture down to your pad one of these days and check out that tank, its pretty pimp

 

um this is were things are getting confusing, doesnt the bacteria need water to perform the fuction it plays in the nirtrogen cycle? So how does using a power head pulling water down through the gravel/sand harm this cycle, (i've had mine going since day one, and all my levels read 0). Since it needs O2 to work? Or does it not?

Second, i know moving the sturring all the sand around will harm the tank, that does the same thing in freshwater, if releases all the traped bacteria into the water, and all the waste..very bad.

I'm not saying your wrong..far from it, i just wonder why this is.

I have a canister filter, a good skimmer, and a phos reactor with phos/carbon in it now, and everything seems to be fine

edit, i have however, defered to your greater knowledge and removed the powerhead and up-pipe, but i think ripping the undergravel part out would be very very bad and waste my tank, since all my sand and live rock is sitting on it, i do have a lot of CURED live rock and some now curing live rock, i also am working on a sump with more live rock, but i'm still trying to work out how to do it with drilling (tempered tank), and how the overflow system is set up, i got the basics down for the sump design..i plan to fill it with bioballs......just kidding, it'll be live rock and sand

 

Cockatiels that eat fish, actually!

 

bio ***** are NOT bad, its a very common misconception that they are bad for a tank.... they just need to be rinsed or they too can become a nitrate factory but they can add a ton of benefit to the tank. i have done 3+ years worth of volunteer work at a very large aquarium (no need to release the name, thats not important and the work i have done does not in any fashion mean that i am correct or just in any of my statements or opinions)

but to get back to the topic of 'should under gravel filters be used' i know for fact that none of the tanks at the aquarium use any under gravel filter "technology"

but in the case of the Bacteria causing the issue... its not the bacteria that is trapped that is harmful... its the GAS's ... the bacteria plays its own part in helping to neutralize the gas's

 

mantis shrimp?

 

you are welcome to come... going to be searching for a new octo down at the tide pools in front of my house soon, the girl friend wants another one for her birthday you are welcome to join. i just sold my shark to another member on this forum (no permission to release name) as well so i gotta get another one soon its ok tho, he is in a much larger tank and the price i got for him i couldn't turn down ($800 ) so the girl friend wants ANOTHER shark and Octopus for her birthday coming up soon... i gotta get on that

 

thats pretty nuts how you have an eco system up in your pad..

i can wait to get the hell out of school and work so i can buy things like car parts and fish... aside from bills :\

 

lolz... i have no money for either one actually, i just kinna make due and hope for the best

 

i have a 12 gallon aquapod/nano pod for sale if anyone wants shoot me an offer. used for 2 months only!

 

bump for old times sake

 

man my girl bought a ton of new fish for the tank!

 

recorded tonight...
here is a friendly bump to show the progress of my tank!
hope everyone's tanks are doing well!
enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTTUhucEaMU

 

dood too sick bro how have u been dood


damn how many sharks is that


i nominate you best aquarium on this forum