First saltwater tank, 40 breeder

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KleineVampir

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The powerhead stopped working. I shook some hair algae loose and it got caught in the impeller. I suspect that's why it stopped working. I considered just going without it but I noticed the fishies hanging out near the top which seems to indicate low oxygen. Having the powerhead aimed upwards really seems to oxygenate the water...so really it's an oxygenation thing. Otherwise I'm not convinced that flow serves any real purpose.
 

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reef tanks certainly need flow.

There is quite a lot of it in the ocean, where all those creatures evolved for millions of years :)

you can have very strong lights in 0 water change tanks. That is a matter of maintaining levels, not light intensity.
 
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KleineVampir

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Well I got 2 firefish and a green star polyp coral. I think I'll wait on the photo op since the GSP is still partially retracted and the firefish are still a bit shy! I have reef chili for them from BRS...hopefully that is good enough for them.
 
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KleineVampir

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reef tanks certainly need flow.

There is quite a lot of it in the ocean, where all those creatures evolved for millions of years :)

you can have very strong lights in 0 water change tanks. That is a matter of maintaining levels, not light intensity.
There definitely has to be SOME flow...that's a given. The question is how much. Also the way we go about getting flow does not exactly emulate the ocean...In the ocean, there are waves, which is not flow. Sure there are currents in the ocean but that is fairly slow. I don't think anything in the tank should be directly in the path of a powerhead. No such flow would ever happen in the ocean. Certain filter feeders would probably like it though.

Speaking of filter feeders, they have a clam at the fish store for 140 bucks... Last time I got a freshwater clam and it died in two weeks. Is there any particular reason why clams do better in saltwater?
 
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KleineVampir

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I think it is clear you have never been in the ocean before. The currents and flow are much stronger.

Your tank is not ready for a clam
Nope. I've been in every ocean surrounding the US. Ok I dunno if I actually was IN the Bering Sea, but at least I did see it a few times! It's just like...how does a powerhead compare to ocean waves? Like I said, I don't think it really does. There's no little propeller spinning around in the oceans blowing everything. It's a different kind of movement. Sure it feels strong to get hit by a wave...but there's a difference between that and blowing a little water-fan on stuff directly. Anyways here are some pictures that I took earlier today.

One of the pictures has all the inhabitants in it! The other one is just my tubs of minerals and so forth, with a sneak peek at my handwriting.

20190611_162419.jpg


20190528_184601.jpg
 
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KleineVampir

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Well Krunk, you'll be pleased to know that I got the powerhead back up and running! I had to tweeze out some hair algae and change the outlet. I think the outlet I was using was part of the problem...I know that's weird but it seemed to make all the difference when I changed outlets. It's not really a heavy duty powerstrip so it probably can't run very many things at once. I might need to get another powerstrip in that case.. don't need another one with a timer though!
 

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There definitely has to be SOME flow...that's a given. The question is how much. Also the way we go about getting flow does not exactly emulate the ocean...In the ocean, there are waves, which is not flow. Sure there are currents in the ocean but that is fairly slow. I don't think anything in the tank should be directly in the path of a powerhead. No such flow would ever happen in the ocean. Certain filter feeders would probably like it though.

Speaking of filter feeders, they have a clam at the fish store for 140 bucks... Last time I got a freshwater clam and it died in two weeks. Is there any particular reason why clams do better in saltwater?
Dude if you can spare the 140$ get a few more fish n get them fat n poopin :)
 

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Who said I could spare the $140? xD

What fish did you have in mind? Know anything small that can breed?
You made the comment of a clam for 140$ sorry I took it the wrong way... not sure on breeding may I ask why your looking to breed?
 

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All fish spawn even small fish so take your bet at anything you'd like! :) keep us updated happy reefing
 
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Well I have 2 clownfish and 2 firefish. I think there's a decent chance the clownfish spawn but nobody knows anything about how firefish breed apparently.

The real question is, the crab keeps messing with the montipora. Should I super glue it? It's on a plug. What I did is actually stuck the plug into the sand close to a rock. That way it should be able to go from plug to rock. Looks like it's just plug for now though it does seem to be growing.
 

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Sorry for yer loss.... I'd glue it on to your rock possibly higher in the reef for better light output.
 
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KleineVampir

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Yeah, kinda sucks. The question is: How much of a freak occurrence was that?

The reservation I have with gluing is that it is on a plug. Should I glue the plug to the rock? Exactly what am I gluing to what? xD
 
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KleineVampir

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I tried to glue it...mission failure, I had to abort! With normal coral it'd be easier but with the monti it's a bit trickier. It is growing though, since my magnesium dosing is nearly done. The last dose should be tomorrow. Then I'll test it again because heck, I bought the test kit didn't I? Also might be good to know where I ended up. Within acceptable parameters surely. I noticed the monti growing far before I was even done. The growth looks so good at this point I considered stopping the magnesium increase! In a zero water change tank...is that magnesium ever going to leave?
 
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KleineVampir

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Do you guys have any thoughts on blacklights? Do I need them to make certain corals look cool? I think I might be into that idea...I mean the GSP I got looks better in blacklight. If it negatively affects the fish then of course I won't do it. I'll have to research it.
 
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KleineVampir

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One more thing: Do you guys remember that rock on the right of my tank? Well it's really steep. Any particularly good corals for going onto something like that? Also it's highly irregular.
 

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One more thing: Do you guys remember that rock on the right of my tank? Well it's really steep. Any particularly good corals for going onto something like that? Also it's highly irregular.
Maybe a Montipora spongodes? They can both branch and plate. May be interesting off of that piece.

 

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