Ask Nano Questions and Find Information (Nano Expert Albert Thiel)

[alberthiel]

Crystal clear Sir. Wow is it nice having an in house expert! Thanks for the speedy responses too by the way.
I am not changing the return size off the pump so I will be able to use what the pump says.
Thanks again Albert!

Thanks for the kind words and I am glad to help anytime I can .. that is also why I wrote the new book on Nano Reefs so that all the information that a Hobbyist needs can be found in one place.

Correct, if you are not changing the output size connection then what the manufacturer lists as GPH for a certain height would indeed be what you can use.

 

[alberthiel]

Cymothoa exigua : The fish parasite that eats the fishes tongue and then lets the fish use itself as a Pseudo-Tongue One of the strangest parasitic behaviors indeed

Parasite of the Day: January 26 - Cymothoa exigua

 

[alberthiel]

The Difference Between A Nassarius Snail and a Whelk

Melev's Reef - What is a whelk?

 

[alberthiel]

Do You need to Identify a Coral and cannot find a picture of what you have: You will more than likely on this Site - LPS Corals

Melev's Reef - Visual Identification

 

[alberthiel]

Identification Site for SPS Corals (similar to the one above but this one is for SPS ones)

Melev's Reef - Visual Identification

 

[alberthiel]

The Story Behind "Tanked" the Aquarium Reality Show

Tanked: An Aquarium Reality TV Show (Full Article) | Details | Articles | TFH Magazine®

 

[alberthiel]

Do Marine Betta Fish Eat Small Fish that are in the Same Tank ... You Bet They Do ... Watch the Video :

marine betta eats live fish.mp4 - YouTube

 

[alberthiel]

The Top Ten Favored Aquarium Fish and more by Petsfoto and they are truly part of the top 10 of many Hobbyists as well. Besides Mandarin Fish and Clown Triggers there are some other super looking ones indeed

Top 10 most Beautiful and Colorful Fish | Pets - Exotic, Animals, Stories

 

[alberthiel]

So-called Dirty Jobs: Eliminating and Controlling the Invasive Sea Lamprey Fish ... more than just a "pest"

Video with images of the damage it does.

 

[alberthiel]

The Yellow Sulphur Leather from Fiji : Sarcophyton Species

Species Profile – Sarcophyton elegans, Yellow/Sulphur Fiji Leather Coral | Marine Habitat Magazine | Marine Fish Keeping Magazine

 

[alberthiel]

Acropora Coral Info by Marine Habitat ... one of many sources of course

Species Profile – Acropora | Marine Habitat Magazine | Marine Fish Keeping Magazine

 

[alberthiel]

Maybe a few too many Coralline Algae? ... Video

Coralline Algae Growth - YouTube

 

[T.W.]

Maybe a few too many Coralline Algae? ... Video

Coralline Algae Growth - YouTube

Is this good/bad or neither? What is "normal" and what should be done, if anything, if this bloom in coraline happens? I know, I know its always why why why with me!:wink:

 

[alberthiel]

Is this good/bad or neither? What is "normal" and what should be done, if anything, if this bloom in coraline happens? I know, I know its always why why why with me!:wink:

Well IMHO too many of them is not all that good as the more of the rocks are covered with coralline algae the less porosity there is going to be for the bacteria we need, to grow as the coralline overgrow the pores and basically close them up. So a good balance is best. Their growth is a sign that most levels in the tank are fine and that calcium and alkalinity and magnesium are more than likely in the ranges they should be, but if the growth of corallines get like in that video then there is too many of them and a way to overcome that would be to sell/trade the coralline laden rock with other hobbyists, and put new rock in (maybe dead rock) to offer more space again for bacteria to grow.

A good balance IMO is about 50% coverage but one also needs to remember that often what you see on the front of the rock is not necessarily the same as what is colonizing the back and sides of the rock so there may still be plenty of space left for bacterial growth.

If too many ares present one can add a small Urchin as they often will eat coralline algae as well in addition to other ones. Some Chitons do too. In both cases however one needs to be aware of what else both of those can do ... e.g. Urchins can act like bulldozers and knock over rock that is not well held in place. Chitons eat algae but crawl over a lot of other life forms and can as a result irritate them and get them to stay closed or can even scratch and harm them as they crawl on and over them.

The key is therefore to find a good balance ... they are a sign of a tank that has become stable but when there are too many of them they need to be brought under control.

Some think that light and the right elements in the water make them grow faster but IME light determines more what the color will be than how many will grow although of course there needs to be enough light for all other life forms.

Hopefully this helps but if you have more questions do not hesitate to post them here on this thread

 

[alberthiel]

When it comes to GAC getting the best one possible is IME the only way to go. And make sure it is intended for filtering Water ...

Activated Carbon in the Marine Tank

 

[alberthiel]

The Blue Spot Jawfish • Opistognathus rosenblatti • Species Info and More

Aquarium of the Pacific | Online Learning Center | Bluespotted Jawfish

 

[alberthiel]

A member's Question : I have an aquarium that I used for FW that I now want to use for SW but when I ran it as FW I did have to treat with copper a few times. Can I use it now and what do I need to do to make it safe for a SW reef

Answer : Unfortunately IMO once copper has been used in a tank it is very hard to get it out of a tank as it gets into the silicone and when you put saltwater in the tank the copper that is in the silicone will slowly leach out. The only suggestion I can make it that you need to fill the tank with water and acidify it by adding some acidic solution to bring the pH down to about 6.0 and let it sit for a day or two, then empty it and rinse it, and do the same: fill, acidify and let sit for a day or two.

Do that three or four times in a row, then fill it with saltwater and let it sit for about a week and then use a saltwater low range copper test and determine whether there is any present. If not let it sit for a few more days and test again.

If after about two weeks you cannot detect any copper than you can start it up as a SW tank but you will need to put just 1 coral in after it has cycled and see how it reacts as most corals are sensitive to even the slightest amounts of copper of it that coral reacts negatively then unfortunately you will not be able to use that that tank for a reef tank but you could use it as a FOWLR

 

[alberthiel]

From another thread an interesting question : A hobbyist was reading an article about a shell that he had found and after some research he identified it but in the article there was a reference in the text that stated that they were extinct and had been around 465 mya ... he could not find a meaning for the mya ...

I looked at the article that he gave me a reference to, and based on the context of what was being described the meaning is: millions years ago (mya)

 

[Rikerbear]

Found a couple dozen microscopic starfish on the front and side glass of the reef tank tonight. They must have hatched out from the rubble my new zoas came on. Will have to watch them and see what they grow into......
I couldn't get a good pic, but I did find this on the web, and it looks exactly like what I have.

 

[alberthiel]

Found a couple dozen microscopic starfish on the front and side glass of the reef tank tonight. They must have hatched out from the rubble my new zoas came on. Will have to watch them and see what they grow into......
I couldn't get a good pic, but I did find this on the web, and it looks exactly like what I have.

They are more than likely Asterina stars and nothing to worry about as they seem to come and go. You will get some more and somehow they diminish after a while as they get eaten and then re-appear and then vanish again. They normally have 5 legs but some will have 6 or 4. If you google Asterina Star you will find a lot more info about them.

I have them in my tank too Rikerbear