tips and tricks for newbies.... (and some for the pros)

[gajeep94yj]

I've had my tank up and running since August and still pretty much clueless on most things. I have been talking to two pros and have learned some valuable lessons. but it has dawned on me that, so far, I haven't found a single post anywhere on there interweb of just some tips and tricks to make this easier.

so if you have some tips and tricks that you couldn't live with out would you please mind sharing them with me.

for example. what changes. how can I make these not be so tedious? I have a RODI filling a Brute that I mix the salt water in. I had, what I consider a genius idea, to put a power head in there to keep it mixed up. I then take a 1 gallon bucket, fill a 6 gallon bucket, drag that upstairs, and very slowly and carefully fill the DT with the 1 gallon bucket. there has to be a better way....

I'll start it off. I learned one this week that seems so obvious but I would have never thought about it. using news papers to polish the glass on the outside of the tank. simple right? sure it, but until it was pointed out to me I would have never thought about it.:fish:

 

[rdnelson]

Best trick.....don't let your wife see what you spend on your tank. LOL

But in all seriousness, the best tip....(so obvious) take part! I mean it. Get involved in the club even if it is just posting often. You will be amazed at what you learn and how old hands step up to take care of you.

 

[scramer74]

Great idea on the newspapers. I forgot about that great tip!

I'm very new too so I've def learned some stuff. Some stuff I've learned: get a baster, great to suck up stuff. Don't over feed. Feed at same times. Tape a bunch of straws together, makes a cheap spot feeder.

 

[jimmystephens]

Don't get caught up chasing numbers. Like pH.

 

[project1004]

GaJeep94YJ;1030773 wrote:
for example. what changes. how can I make these not be so tedious? I have a RODI filling a Brute that I mix the salt water in. I had, what I consider a genius idea, to put a power head in there to keep it mixed up. I then take a 1 gallon bucket, fill a 6 gallon bucket, drag that upstairs, and very slowly and carefully fill the DT with the 1 gallon bucket. there has to be a better way....

I would use maxijet with long hose attached to pump the water in and out of display. I am currently using the maxijet to mix and pump. just add hose to it. And i would also add a heater in the mixing bucket.

 

[gajeep94yj]

A small pump would be great to put it back in, but don't you vacuum your sand?

 

[project1004]

I do vacuum once in a while when I think it will be good but I usely use wet-vac from home depot and suck up what gets traped in the sump area. And i use the maxijet to pump 15 gallon back into sump and return pump mixes new water with old water kinda.

I think your water valume will play a big part as to how often you will want to vacuum the sand. And of course there are other things like feeding and ect. But I dont think its a must each water change. I do 15 gallon every two week or sometimes more often using redsea coral plus for 120 dt and 30gal refugium and i think my sump holds around 25 to 30 gallon.

 

[nancymatthews]

rdnelson99;1030780 wrote: Best trick.....don't let your wife see what you spend on your tank. LOL.

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

I'm new too. Been reefing for 2 years and still learning.

The only tip I can give is, if you have toddlers who are getting into things, make sure you keep all the stuff to maintain your tank and food out of reach.

My 3-year-old has dumped an entire jar of food into the tank. She was helping feed them. So sweet.

 

[snowmansnow]

Tips? Hmmm....
STABILITY is your best friend. Get things set, figure out how to keep it that way, and let nature do its thing (for growing corals)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gajeep94yj]

Ha! Snowmageddon was such a let down for me! I was ready....and got to use nothing. I even bought a third propane tank, added an extra 20 gallons of gas for the generator, and split some more wood.

Power didn't even flicker.....

 

[picoreefguy]

JimmyStephens;1030807 wrote: Don't get caught up chasing numbers. Like pH.

^THIS. for anyone that is fairly new to the hobby, you will see tons of different things that you need to keep in check. things like your temp, salinity, ph, calcium, alkalinity and so on. for each of those there is usually a number that you will see and everyone will tell you that you NEED to keep it at that number. this is far from true, yes you need to keep these things up to a certain degree you dont have to chase that number, it is way more important to keep the number you have from changing too much and too often. if what you have is a few points off from the "ideal" don't worry about it.

 

[crew]

project1004;1030896 wrote: I do vacuum once in a while when I think it will be good but I usely use wet-vac from home depot and suck up what gets traped in the sump area. And i use the maxijet to pump 15 gallon back into sump and return pump mixes new water with old water kinda.

I love the wet-vac trick. I use the Home Depot Bucket Head (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bucket-Head-5-gal-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-BH0100/202017218">http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bucket-Head-5-gal-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-BH0100/202017218</a>)

It's pretty cheap and I use it for nearly every water change. I do 20 gallon water changes every other weekend and vacuum out the sump with this guy to remove anything that could have settled. I don't really vacuum my sand in my display tank, but I have a sand sifting goby and a small army (20) of nassarius snails, so I think my sand gets plenty of action on its own.

If you do decide to get the buckethead, you can only remove about 3.5-4 gallons at a time as the pump turns itself off before the bucket overflows. You want to listen to a change in the sound of the vacuum and you will know when it's full. For me, I fill 4, 5 gallon containers so I can tell when I've removed 20 gallons and then pump in a fresh 20 gallons from a brute trash can. Whole water change takes about 15 minutes and is super easy.

 

[gajeep94yj]

Looks like I need to get a small pump....

 

[bcavalli]

Like others said stability is the key! Polishing the glass with the local newspaper is about all its good for these days. Lol.

 

[project1004]

I will also suggest having two container at least. One for fresh RODI water and one for mixing new saltwater. I usely mix it week prior to water change.

ALSO have a way to stop the RODI water from overflowing onto the carpet or hardwood floor. ( i had to learn it hardway.) You could use float switch or drill a hole at the top of container and have it go into drainline. Although it is wasting good water but you dont have to worry about overflowing. I wish I had wet-vac when it flooded my entire livingroom at 4 am. I had to use a little coffee cup to scoop-up the water. Now I have 4 leak detector via Apex in case.

 

[project1004]

Does using a news paper make the glass more clear than using regular cotton towel or paaper towel?

Grab that new tunze glass cleaner. It is awesome. Try not to use the mag-float ect. It will grab any and all the sand where magnet touches it. And it will leave many scars to you and your tank.

 

[rdnelson]

Bcavalli;1030929 wrote: Like others said stability is the key! Polishing the glass with the local newspaper is about all its good for these days. Lol.

I can think of one other use. Coincidentally it shares three letters with glass and also involves a wiping motion.

 

[scramer74]

Newspaper doesn't smear or leave streaks like a towel. Try it once you'll be amazed. Great for mirrors in the house too.

 

[lsu_fishfan]

rdnelson99;1031064 wrote: I can think of one other use. Coincidentally it shares three letters with glass and also involves a wiping motion.

Lol

 

[project1004]

wow, i will have to try out for both. wipping &*( and cleaning glasses. Maybe at the same time. That will teach the kid something something. lol