New Guy. Victoria, B.C.
 

Well I can't sleep 'cuz I'm so PO'ed from my first post attempt not taking, so let's try again.

Hello out there...
A new guy from Victoria, B.C. here. Also new to the internet forum thing, of any nature, so please bear with me as I stumble along.
A few of you I have met already as my LFS of choice is Safari Pets, Victoria and I met you there. (Read on to find out who!!! Oooo the suspense!)

Kept a 60 gal. FW tank as a teenager in that 70's decade. (Also tried SW, very briefly, in a 20 gal. tank). Started partying. Graduated HS. Partied some more. Lost interest in aquariums. Sold tanks. Partied.
Worked various jobs until finding work with current employer in '84. My job is relevant because it takes me away from home on a 4 week rotation. (Gone for 4 weeks, then 4 weeks off.) I had regained interest in aquariums, from time to time, but had always assumed that what with going away all the time that it was not possible. (No "significant other" to tend to things while away. The tank would be on its own for 4 weeks.)

Then, in '94 I thought, "heck!, they got autofeeders available now. Why don't I give it a shot?" So I went out and bought a 90 gal. and set it up for SA Cichlids. It was an expensive gamble, but I figured if it didn't work it wouldn't be the end of the world and I could always resell everything. My only concerns, really, were feeding and evaporation. The feeding didn't go so good the first time away. I used flake food and the autofeeder was a cheapo Penn-Plax thing. It had basically jammed and it looked like it had done so very shortly after I had left. (All the fish lived but they were pretty thin!) As for the evaporation...not a problem. After 4 weeks, evaporation amounts to about 3" water loss at the most. The filters I had bought I made sure had nice long lift tubes that would extend well into the tank. So it was just a matter of solving the feeding issue. I bought two new autofeeders. A Hagen Nutramatic and a cool Japanese autofeeder, that I found at Main Aquaria in Vancouver, that still works like a charm. The next time I went with pellet food and I did a substantial test run also, before going away again. When I came back home the second time everthing looked fine. The feeders were empty. The filters were still running. And the fish were happy. So, I figured , "Hey. This is gonna work".

So I've been back in the hobby for 11 years now with nary a major problem, (touch wood), and have actually expanded to 5 tanks total. 2 x 135 gal. tanks; 90 gal. Discus tank; 70 gal. African Cichlids tank; and a 45 gal. tank. :redface: I know. That's alot of tanks.
But in those 11 years I've kept only FW and never even considered SW based on the assumption that the evaporation occuring while I'm away at work would be enough to adversely affect the specific gravity of the SW.
Then, last November, I met Rob, at Safari Pets, and we got to talkin' about what all we both had runnin'. (I think he said he has 7 tanks so he's got me beat there.) I told him that I had 5 tanks but that they were all FW and I had concerns with SW because of the evaporation and potential SG fluctuations. To that he said...well maybe keeping a reef tank wouldn't be possible, but a fish only tank was probable because most SW fish are quite tolerable of a fairly wide range of changes in SG. Really? You mean I can get into Marine? :smile: Well that was all I needed to hear, daddio!!! The gears started turnin' then!!! I bought "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael Palletta and started reading up on it and planning it. I wasn't going to buy a new tank, but rather, I was going to convert one of the 135's. But still, it was going to cost a fortune and I needed to wait for a collective bargaining agreement retro paycheque to help make this a reality. (Those kind of cheques come only about once every 4 years so it was relatively good timing in that respect).

So, in the meantime, I read up on it, planned it, and talked to Japarto at Safari Pets about it. Japarto suggested that I could probably even get involved in some reefkeeping aspects such as some easy soft corals and maybe even some LPS's. Really? Ya think so? :biggrin: Well by this time, I can hardly wait...but wait I do and the $$$ finally comes in late January. So I did the conversion in the first week of February. (I actually had holidays during this time, too, so I had longer than 4 weeks to play with it. Everything just kinda fell into place nicely.)

Since I got it up and running I have basically been following Japarto's advice, the key of which is PATIENCE! Attention Safari Pets patrons!!! Listen to this man when he offers you advice!!! He pretty much knows what he's doing, IMHO. In the 4 months that my reef tank has been running everything has been going smoothly. I started out with a measly 34 lbs. of Live Rock and 6 Green Chromis. The ammonia, nitrite and nitrates never spiked because just that 34 lbs of Live Rock was enough to provide all the nitrates the tank needed at that time. The tank had basically cycled immediately! Slowly, over the next two months, I added more live rock. The final batch was 57 lbs of which I scored from Brad (aka Reef_Raf?) in late March whom I had just met by chance at Safari Pets. Great rock, Brad, if your reading this. Thanx so much. Lots of stuff on it and quite a few sponges popping up. It had Aiptasia (I think) but hey, that was good cuz I got to learn about Aiptasia and Joe's Juice and how to deal with it. That Joe's Juice is great. Also got some Peppermints later to keep it in check.

So the Live Rock was complete and the Green Chromis were down to 5 as one had died in mid February. Ya, I got brown algae. But it went away, just like any new tank. Ya, I got ugly filamentous green algae also. But it went away too. Just like Japarto said it would. Because all I had in there was the Live Rock and 5 Chromis. A low bio-load to start off with! Even what I thought might have been a small bit of Cyano vanished. I cringe at the thought of the way things might have gone had it not been for Japarto's advice.

Anyhoo, come April and it was time for me to go to away to work. So this would be interesting. I was very much anticipating how much the evaporation would change the SG. This was still a very big :question: in my own mind. After 4 weeks away the evaporation amounted to 13% and that changed the SG a mere 0.0015. (1.022 to 1.0235). This was very good news. I was expecting more. Like 0.004. I had wanted to get the SG down to 1.020 before leaving so that it would not go above 1.024 on return home.

So now, in May here, I have been having a blast getting some new fish and corals and mobile inverts and generally getting the tank slowly on its way to a wonderful new addition to my aquarium hobby. Marine is so much more interesting than FW and I am very much looking forward to future discussions through this forum to learn more.

I just want to say thanx to Rob, if your reading this. Without your suggestion that it is possible (re: around the work sched), well I simply wouldn't have done it! Hallelujah! I am converted!! I have seen the promised land, er sea, er whatever! :lol: Sorry, bad joke.

Anyhoo, I don't have a digital camera, yet, (next month), so no pics, but I can tell you...
135 gal. tank. 6L x 2H x 1 1/2W
185 lbs. Live Rock. (128 Bali; 57 Fiji)
120 lbs sugar Aragonite.
40 lbs. coarse Aragonite.
1-SeaStar lightstrip. (4x30W PowerGlo's)
1-Coralife Lunar Aqualight. (2x96W whites; 2x96W actinics; 6x3/4W
lunars)
2-Fluval 403 canister filters. (Yes, the old ones!)
1-Prizm Pro Deluxe skimmer.
1-Rainbow Lifegard 600 Fluidized Bed.
4-MaxiJet 1200 powerheads.
2-200W Rena heaters.
No sump. No R/O. No D/I. No Ca reactor. No 'fuge.
Fish:
5-Green Chromis.
1-Yellow Tang.
1-Powder Blue Surgeonfish.
1-Flame Angel. (In quarantine)
2-Ocellaris Clowns. (In quarantine)
1-Lawnmower Blenny. (In quarantine)
Mobile Inverts:
4?-Peppermint Shrimp. (L. wurdemanni)
1-Cleaner Shrimp. (L. amboinensis)
1-Boxing Shrimp. (S. hispidus)
2-Sand Sifting Starfish. (Archaster typicus)
6-Blue Legged Hermit Crabs.
2-Conch.
1-Blue Tuxedo Urchin.
1-Cowrie.
Sessile Inverts:
1-Featherduster.
3-Zoanthids. (1 Yellow Polyp Zoo)
2-Hairy Mushrooms.
1-Open Brain.
1-Lobed Brain.
1-Branching Hammer.
1-Bubble.
1-Green Star Polyp.

Cheers.

Welcome! (No [welcome] tag? :()

Sounds like you've got everything pretty under control! If you're looking for more corals, I'd really recommend more green Euphyllia corals (You have a hammer already, but the torch and frogspawn look awesome in green) - they're pretty forgiving of water conditions and look great.
If you want a few titles of great reference books let me know - I've made a point to collect all the books that get good reviews and read them.. Some of the "fatter" books are about as cutting edge as they come, and when you just want to know stuff without knowing that you wanted to know it (still with me?) they'll beat the 'net any time.

Good luck with your tank!

Welcome to the board :smilecol:

I'd be PO'd too if I had to re type that book you wrote above :biggrin:

Rob

Thanx for the welcome.

I've already been continuing the reading with "Aquarium Corals" by Borneman; "Natural Reef Aquariums" by Tullock; and am currently reading "Reef Invertebrates" by Calfo & Fenner. I've also got "Marine Fishes Pocket Expert" by Michael and Baensch Marine Atlases Vol. 1-3, although the latter was a waste of money IMO. You have to be a scientist to understand alot of what they say and also they are incomplete in regards to specimen reference. Where are all the fish!
Other titles I plan on getting in the future are Calfo & Fenner's Vol. 2 Reef Fishes and Vol. 3 Cnidarians.
Any other books you can recommend would be greatly appreciated.
What about Delbeek & Sprung's books? Are you familiar with those? Any good?
I hear ya about books versus 'net. Being middle aged, (I guess), I'm somewhat technologically challenged. Plus, I'd just rather have something in my hands that I can flip thru. With the net if you don't print it it's kinda like..."where did I see that again?" sometimes.
Thanx for the coral suggestions. I'll research those.
BTW...I grew up in North Van. (Lynn Valley).
Cheers.

welcome
 

Welcome Johnny,
Sounds like you need a float valve and a 4 weeks worth RO tank :smile:
Good reefing!

Welcome Mark. I read the whole story with great interest. This is the second long story to come out of Victoria, are there anymore? I just recently, actually last week put away the christmas decoration in the crawlspace. I came upon a saltwater book still in good shape dated 1965. Imagine me in the crawlspace with a flashlight skimming through a 1965 saltwater book with black and white pictures drawing of fish. A far cry from suggesting use of a air pump and airstone to todays standard. Regards Ken

Welcome to CanReef!! I'm glad reefing is working out for you. I also just recently started a reef tank (this being my first SW aquarium). Look forward to seeing pictures and updates of your 135!

AG

Hi Johnny and welcome. But damn now you have me designing a DIY frozen food feeder. God, could I be more lazy??

New Guy, Victoria B.C.
 

Hey! Good to meet you...I am also new at this but have help from a really good SW couple here in Campbell River; Ken and Linny...K if anyone wants to see a tank....whooooo their's is to die for...500 gallons of bliss! And the help they give you is absolutely AMAZING! Their stock is fantastic and they are just plain nice people. I have also gotten advice from Japarto who is also absolutely fantastic...and even checks up on your tank from time to time if he hasn't heard from you and knows the troubles you have had. ( and boy have we had troubles! ) Just tough with him so far away! So any newbies closer to C.R. this is a couple to meet! And I as well have learned from Japarto, Ken and Linny that PATIENCE is absolutely, positively the key to the hobby.

Hi Mark;

:mrgreen: Welcome to Canreef :mrgreen:

Sounds like you need some form of auto top-off. Better yet, someone to watch over your tank while your away. :biggrin:

Heck, some of are afraid to go away for a weekend. :lol:

I'm afraid to go overnight :rolleyes: :redface:

Hey, thanx much everyone for the welcomes.

IslandReefer & Doug: My tank is getting too warm during this hot weather which has got me thinkin' chiller. Which has got me thinkin' sump, (to filter the water before entering the chiller). Which has got me thinkin' "heck. If I run a sump...may as well run a top off system". So I'm planning for that. Thanx for the suggestion. BTW any opinion on what THE BEST float valve there is available?

Ken: Liked your book encounter story. I've been hangin' on to a Marine Aquarium book since 1977 (copyright '73) even though I never kept marine until now. It's pretty much useless now, what with modern advancements in methodology. It has sentimental value, though.

AG: See you at "The Store".

Geee thanks Chaloupa for the geat compliments. You're making my head swell, I think I'm gonna soak it in one of the tanks. Hmmmm maybe the trigger tank. All the tanks are running at 80 to 83 dgr . Except the 500 gal is at 87 dgr, all looks well though. Hey Mark, another great book in my library is Ultimate Marine Aquariums by Michael Paletta. This book is full of inspiration from all types of aquarist and how there systems are setup. A definite must have book, easy to understand and you will realize that there are not any right way to setup a marine tank and that they can all function in the end results. Patience and time. Regards Ken

Ken, does this trigger tank have a niger that Lee gave you? If so, it used to be mine, would love to see a pic.

Another new guy......................
 

Hi Guys, Been meaning to post for some time as I have been a regular reader for a few months and have found a mountain of useful information and an excellent camaraderie amongst the salt water fraternity.
I could not resist joining in after reading Ken and Marks comments about old saltwater aquarium books . I have in front of me a pristine copy of a 1976 edition of 'The salt water aquarium in the home by Robert P L Straughn '...................
I tried to keep a saltwater aquarium in the mid sixties, in the U.K. with limited success ( skimmers were very new, no live rock not too much in the way of foods and certainly no internet :sad: :sad: )
I have always kept freshwater tanks and for a few years bred a variety of angels in commercial quantities ( 90 tanks )
I intend to get back into saltwater after the summer with a 65 gallon reef so will be looking for advice and help about September.
Till then I will keep logging in and soaking up the info.
Thanks to you all for a great site.

Dave.

Hey Dave,

Well I guess it's my turn, now, to say "Welcome to the board".
Seems we have much in common. One old SW book. Kept FW exclusively. And new to reefing. (Or soon to be).
Good luck when you get going on it. I recommend Safari Pets in Victoria. That and patience. Lots of patience at the start.
Looking forward to hearing how it goes.

Cheers.

[quote="Ken"]Except the 500 gal is at 87 dgr, all looks well though.

87 dgr and all looks well? :confused: My tank got to 86F in the morning on Friday and now I'm going nuts thinkin' chiller and sump and auto top off and new lights so I can remove the glass tops. Am I maybe worryin' a bit too much? I don't know. I liked to deal with it for peace of mind.

Thanks for the book recommendation. It's on my "To Buy" list.

How many tanks do you have running? and how big is your trigger tank? and what do you have in that tank?

I've always wanted to have a trigger. But that would mean doing another conversion and I'm not about to do that. Maybe I could get a Niger for the current system. I like the looks of a Crosshatch also, (Xanthichthys mento) and they sound relatively peaceful.

Cheers.

Mark, although I don't recommend it, my tank went from 80 to 90 degrees every day for an entire month or more 2 summers ago, only thing stressed was me. I would certainly try to maintain stability with temp, but if it hits 86 once in a while, you're probably fine. The glass will lock some heat in though, so that is where I would start. And a fan.

Hi Brad, sorry it is not your Niger trigger. This one has been with me since probably 96 or 97. Approx 5" with a beautiful lyretail. Couldnot sell him because some people didn't think it was colorful like a sw fish should be. I think it is beautiful with its dark purple body and his waving fins. The Niger lives in a 77 gal reef tank with mainly LPS corals frogspawn, hammer, torch and a few monitporas. Until one day, just about 2 month ago, a sixline wrasse decided to jump from the other tank and join him. I was horrified, thinking the wife has transfer the sixline in there but all is peaceful . Hi Dave, sounds like you were in the UK before. Here is one for you another softcover book The Marine Aquarium for the home aquarist by R.F.O'Connell . 1969 The aquarium Press reprinted 1973 reprinted 1974. Published by John Gifford Ltd. 125 Charing cross Rd London. Printed in Great Britain . Hi Mark this morning temp drop to 84 dgr. These tanks are acrylics. Insulates better. The portable Ac can keep up. Room temp is 75. I have 10 aquariums size from 4 feet and up. Mostly to house fish before putting them in clients tanks.

Hi Mark ,Ken thanks for the welcome ,great to see so many guys getting back into the salt water scene. We probably have quite a collection of older literature between us :smile:
The book you mentioned ,Ken, by R.F. O'Connell sure rings a bell. I used to read those books cover to cover ....................
My earliest is from the sixties " The New Seaquarium System" by Graham Cox who was one of the earliest importers of marine animals in the U.K.
I had what we called a clinical system with bleached coral for decoration ,crushed coral for substrate and a high turnover u/g filter for bio. filtration .....................
Cant wait to get cracking ,called into Jand L last week whilst over in Vancouver for a wedding they had a gorgeous display of corals and fish and seem extremely helpful. As you say Mark ,Safari has well kept tanks and helpful staff. The countertop tank looks terific ,thats what I have in mind for my 65 gall tank.
I have plenty of patience , just want to get it right.

Dave

R.F. O'CONNELL
 

Hey Ken, Had to tell you ,just found O'Connells book 1969 copy!!! :lol: :lol:

Dave.

Hi Dave, Nice going!!!! Let's see if we can find some more oldies. Sounds like you have an extensive library like I have. Thanks for letting me know. Mine was bought in a used book store many years ago. Not that the information was that spectacular, it was nice having it and reading it. It even has the owners name written inside. Hmmm, wondering if he still in the aquarium hobby. Regards Ken

The one I've have from '77 has a pretty basic title. "Marine Aquarium Guide". Written by a Dutch fellow named Frank de Graaf. Does he sound familiar to either of you, Ken and Dave?
The book was printed in Holland. Published by Pet Library USA. Distributed in Canada by Hartz Mountain.

I think I just might read this again, someday, after I read all the new ones I want to get my hands on! :smile:

Cheers.

Old books etc.
 

Hi Ken ,My Oconnell is a hard cover which I bought new.
I used to belong to The British Marine Aquarist Association , still have the little lapel pin somewhere :lol: :lol:
Have a number of older freshwater hard covers one from 1958 which included a saltwater section.
A beautiful piece of bleached coral from my original sixties tank has travelled with me from England to Vancouver Island , over to Ontario and back again to Mill Bay ,maybe time to put it back in a tank :question: :question:
Mark , Again that name Frank de Graaf has a familiar ring , must put the thinking cap on and try to recall him . I believe he may have written articles for the magazines I used to buy back then !
Meant to say ,I really enjoyed your long post ,I know your frustration when a long bit of two finger typing disappears into the ether :neutral: :neutral:
cheers .............Dave

Thanx for the sympathy, Dave. :cry:
At least I know why that first post didn't take. The site has this time-out feature and logs you off after a certain time period. Not sure what the length of it is, but I know it's less than 3 hours! I should have read the FAQ's more carefully first.
Won't do that again.

Sometimes its easier to type up a long post in another program like Word or Notepad or something. Then you can just cut and paste it into your thread reply. That way you won't have to type it out all over again :wink:

Christy :)

I often stay logged on for the whole day, never been kicked off.

Christy: Thanx for the tip.

Brad: Do you have the "Log me in automatically upon each visit" box checked?

you bet! I'd never remember my password, and that would present some problems getting it reset :razz:

According to FAQ's that's probably why you can stay on for a long time. If you have that box checked it will not automatically time-out log you off. Maybe I'll start using that feature.

Thanx.

Hi Mark, I also have The Marine Tropical Aquarium Guide by Frank de Graaf. A very good hardcover worth reading. Notice the neat summary at the end of each chapters reviewing important highlights during the chapter. I found it very well layout. Hey Dave, you gotta have or remember this one. The book was translated from its original dutch edition. Good pick there Mark! Dave, when you belong to the British Marine Aquarist , how long ago was this? Regards Ken

Hi Ken, would have been latesixties ,earlyseventies..... :smile: Are all your tanks saltwater ?..........................Dave

Hi Dave, yes all the aquariums are saltwater. Mostly 75 gallons, up to 500 gallon. Mostly house fish and corals. I only have 1 33 gallon for freshwater, thats for holding fish and plants for clients. Regards Ken

Dave: Frank de Graaf used to be (I assume he's not anymore) the curator for Artis Aquarium, Amsterdam. Maybe that tidbit will jog your memory some more.

Ken: Check out the Alectis crinitus on page 159. Wouldn't that be something to keep!
BTW... clients? Do you have an LFS up there in CR? Aquarium maintenance biz? Breeder?

Cheers,

Hi Mark. Nice pic on the Alectis crinitus. For all those not fortunate to see page 159 that Mark is referring to of the Marine Tropical Guide by Frank de Graaf, its actually a Threadfin Pompano. I seen a school of them in the Vancouver aquarium many many years ago. Very nice, grows really big and need huge tank. I own a aquarium maintainence & retail business in CR. Regards Ken