Odds & Ends

[MOsborne05]

I'm getting ready to place an order with DFS for all the little odds & ends that I am going to need for my tank. I'm going to get a Visi-Therm Stealth heater because they are on sale right now, and two Hydor Koralia 2 powerheads. They also have a refractometer on sale. Also, I plan on getting the Seachem Marine Basic Kit, which tests for pH, alkalinity, ammonia, nitrite & nitrates. They are also having a big sale on Coral Supplements right now, so I was wondering if I should pick up any. I'm planning on having a wide range of corals in the future, and if I get the stuff now I will only have to pay for shipping once.

BTW, I talked to Choice Aquariums in Michigan today about getting my tank drilled. I'm going to drop it off in a couple weeks, and then pick it up. I took a few days off of work in February to get the tank going

 

[tom91970]

Speaking of odds & ends, I got a pair of the Aqua Gloves from DFS yesterday. They were on sale (about $4 off), so I went ahead and got a pair. My hands have been so chapped lately that the tips of my fingers ache. Anyway, I used them today while doing water changes and you can sure tell the difference.

 

[Lorna]

I wouldn't go out and buy any coral supplements at this time. Depending on the size of your tank (I can't remember) you would probably meet the calcium requirements by doing regular waterchanges with a premium reef salt such as reef crystals or even instant ocean. Once your tank matures and you start testing ca regularily and can determine the amount of usage by your corals etc then you can assess the different supplements to get the one that is right for you.

 

[TRe]

i agree with lorna seeing as how i have a 125g reef tank that i dont supplement with anything

 

[MOsborne05]

Ok thanks. I wasn't sure if I would need any of that or not but I figured I'd check before I placed the order.

Is a 5.5 gallon big enough for a quarantine tank? I've got an extra 10 gallon and 5.5 gallon laying around, so I'm trying to make use of them. I might use the 10 gallon for the sump/fuge, so that would leave me with the 5 gallon for quarantine. Although, I might just go buy a 20 gallon long for the sump/fuge and keep the other two for quarantines.

Also, what do you normally keep in your quarantine tanks? I'm assuming I just need some live rock, a powerhead and a heater. Do you keep it bare bottomed or sand?

Oh, also, is there any medications that I should keep on hand for a reef tank in case of emergency? I have Pimafix and Melafix already, but I want to make sure I have all my bases covered.

 

[Lorna]

Well I have never medicated any of my fish......I did have an outbreak of ich in the very beginning which I treated the fish with hyposalinity.....a quaranting really only needs a couple pieces of pvc pipe for the fish to hide in no substrate and no live rock. A hob filter is probably fine and regular waterchanges to keep the parameters in line. Some keep it going constantly but I haven't added any new fish for a long time and egads....I don't qt my corals....though I know better and I should.

 

[Lotus]

I agree with Lorna on the QT. I used live rock to seed mine first time around. I took it out before I added any fish. Once your main tank is established, you can keep a filter sponge in the sump, that way, you can set up your QT whenever you need it. Keep it barebottom with a couple of PVC pipe parts (for fish to hide in). I recently treated my QT with CopperSafe when hyposalinity wasn't working, but if you have that available locally, there's no need to keep it for emergencies.

I'd say get a 20g for your sump and use the 10g for QT.

A couple of things I found useful for my QT: an ammonia alert badge and some Amquel. I did have a small ammonia spike in my quarantine, and the ammonia alert badge was useful in helping to monitor that.

 

[MOsborne05]

Ok thanks

We measured the stand last night, and unfortunately a 20 gallon is not going to fit. Our only options are the 10 gallon, or a 15 gallon high. Would the extra height make much difference?

When and if we decide to upgrade, we will definitely be getting something longer & wider. The lack of space in the tank & stand is a real pain!

 

[Lotus]

A 15g high would be better if there's enough clearance between the top of the sump and the top of the stand so you can get equipment in and out easily. You'll need to be able to remove things like pumps, heaters, skimmers, etc. You'll also need to get in there to trim macroalgae (assuming you're doing a refugium in there).

There never seems to be enough room in stands for all the equipment you'd like to put in there

 

[MOsborne05]

We would be able to get everything in it and situated, but moving things around and trimming might be a problem. We put in a shelf awhile back that I would like to keep in there to put fish food on, but the tank is going to take up pretty much the whole stand. I might just have to take out the shelf and put the fish food wherever I can fit it

I'm trying to find a smallish skimmer to sit in the sump, and I'm overwhelmed at all the different choices. I think I've narrowed it down to these three:
ASM Mini-G w/PC-1000 Needle Wheel Pump - $119.99
Coralife Super Skimmer w/needle wheel - $87.99
CPR-SR2 Protein Skimmer - $109.99

Any recommendations? Or, if you think it is worth it, I will get the Tunze Nano DOC for $160.00. Any experience with these?

 

[spllouder]

What about a 20 G High ? Can you fit a 24" long aquarium in there or only a 20" ?

second Good Luck Finding a 15 gallon High Aquarium Locally or cheap I gave up already .

If i could do it all again i would buy a Aqua c urchin . In sump design . But i made my Remora work in my 10 gallon sump/refuge