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Hello. Some tips. Adieu.

Hello:
It all began when I was 8 and won a goldfish at a carnival.
Did guppies, angels, mbunas, salt and almost bought a fish store.
Retired now and just have coral. I thought I could sell some stuff on this site. But no.
So I'll pass on some aquatic wisdom and say adieu.
Red Algae cures hole in the head disease.
Chinese grocery stores sell algae/seaweed in bulk.
Tiger cowries eat sponge. Arrow crabs eat cowries.
There is no such thing as a red male red zebra. The males are a drab dark blue. That was an expensive lesson for a kid with a paper route.
The green 55 gallon garbage cans they use on garbage trucks are toxic.
When the basement flooded during hurricane Irene I moved half my stuff to the 1st floor in one of those cans. Everything died. Including an 8"hippo raised from a dime, 5" female tomato and her mate, a truly lemon yellow sarcophyton elegans, and 5 Christmas Island Rose Bubble-tips.
If you are ever in a similar situation know that if you drain a reef tank down about a third it will float. You just have to be there when the water goes down so you can position the tank back on the stand.
Take 2 - 2.5 feet of 1" PVC pipe, cut a diagonal slice in one end with a coping saw and it will securely hold a single edge razor blade. Makes a perfect algae scrapper. You can buy a box of 100 single edged blades at a paint store for under $10.
Quarter inch glass with sanded edges makes a great tank cover. 3/16 is too fragile. Custom cut and reasonable at Gorkin glass in Plainfield off Park Ave.
If you find a dry dead-looking fish on the floor, open it's mouth, hold it in a current and move it around for 10 minutes. Fish CPR can work.
A giant leather can kill SPS. I am assuming I had a male and it spawned. Tank was cloudy white. Lost some beautiful purple monster acro (plate form) and a perfect purple pocillopora.
I have tried everything: sump, protein skimmer, UV sterilizer, refugium, gravel, no gravel, raised grate, iodine, water changes, no water changes. Nothing made a difference. I even added MiracleGro to a tank. And nothing.
What does make a difference is light. 330 watts of VHO fluorescent on a 75 is great. But expensive. LEDs are hit-or-miss. I've had great results with HM Electronics Aquaticlife Programable Edge Reef LED on a 75. Good color. Good expansion. Good growth.
Which brings me back to the things I want to get rid of.
And adieu.
 
Last edited:

DYIguy

NJRC Member
Some great tips. If you become a paid member, you can sell stuff- either way if you stick around, maybe you can make some new friends and share more tidbits
 

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
Hi Ed, Hope you stick around and become a paid member. The PVC / razor blade tip is great as I have tried everything else to keep my arm out of the tank, Thanks
 
Hello:
It all began when I was 8 and won a goldfish at a carnival.
Did guppies, angels, mbunas, salt and almost bought a fish store.
Retired now and just have coral. I thought I could sell some stuff on this site. But no.
So I'll pass on some aquatic wisdom and say adieu.
Red Algae cures hole in the head disease.
Chinese grocery stores sell algae/seaweed in bulk.
Tiger cowries eat sponge. Arrow crabs eat cowries.
There is no such thing as a red male red zebra. The males are a drab dark blue. That was an expensive lesson for a kid with a paper route.
The green 55 gallon garbage cans they use on garbage trucks are toxic.
When the basement flooded during hurricane Irene I moved half my stuff to the 1st floor in one of those cans. Everything died. Including an 8"hippo raised from a dime, 5" female tomato and her mate, a truly lemon yellow sarcophyton elegans, and 5 Christmas Island Rose Bubble-tips.
If you are ever in a similar situation know that if you drain a reef tank down about a third it will float. You just have to be there when the water goes down so you can position the tank back on the stand.
Take 2 - 2.5 feet of 1" PVC pipe, cut a diagonal slice in one end with a coping saw and it will securely hold a single edge razor blade. Makes a perfect algae scrapper. You can buy a box of 100 single edged blades at a paint store for under $10.
Quarter inch glass with sanded edges makes a great tank cover. 3/16 is too fragile. Custom cut and reasonable at Gorkin glass in Plainfield off Park Ave.
If you find a dry dead-looking fish on the floor, open it's mouth, hold it in a current and move it around for 10 minutes. Fish CPR can work.
A giant leather can kill SPS. I am assuming I had a male and it spawned. Tank was cloudy white. Lost some beautiful purple monster acro (plate form) and a perfect purple pocillopora.
I have tried everything: sump, protein skimmer, UV sterilizer, refugium, gravel, no gravel, raised grate, iodine, water changes, no water changes. Nothing made a difference. I even added MiracleGro to a tank. And nothing.
What does make a difference is light. 330 watts of VHO fluorescent on a 75 is great. But expensive. LEDs are hit-or-miss. I've had great results with HM Electronics Aquaticlife Programable Edge Reef LED on a 75. Good color. Good expansion. Good growth.
Which brings me back to the things I want to get rid of.
And adieu.
Welcome to the club Ed and thanks for the tips.
 

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
They sure are. Won so many over the years even my kids that we had to stop playing that game.
 
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