Tips and Tricks 101

[niloc16]

one tip i thought of for laying out rock work. this mostly applies to new tank setups but cut a piece of cardboard the exact dimension of the inside of your tank, you can then ,depending on the size, take it to the fish store with you to help in buying pieces of rock and laying it out on the cardboard, i'm going to use this idea for the new tank in doing up my pvc structure rather than leaning in the tank to do it i'll just lay it out on the cardboard. i used it for my other tanks and it worked great

[Jaws]

Great tips guys. One tip I like is to try and minimize the amount of flow going through the sump. The faster the water is travelling through your sump because of a large return pump the less time your equipment has to clean the water. Also with things like my skimmer, Phosban reactors, ozone reactors, fluvals, etc. try to push the water from the return or middle chamber in your sump and return it to the overflow chamber. This way you're able to recirculate the water and your polishing already polished water even moreso.

[kwirky]

Here's a tip I've just figured out today:

you're supposed to keep your hands out of the tank if you have a skimmer, but there's some cases where you can't help it.

you can get arm length gloves, or I found just now, that you can rinse your arms real well with real hot water before putting them in the tank. It takes most of the oils off your skin, so it doesn't drive the skimmer crazy.

edit:
oh! and don't epoxy a coral that you're planning to grow big on a tiny rock. I still don't know what I'm going to do about this one toadstool glued on the rock tighter than a... um... never mind lol.

[niloc16]

in order to reduce stress on new arrivals in the tank and to keep the others busy from attacking it, tape a mirror on the side of the tank, the fish will attack the mirror thinking it is one of their own and leave the new arrival alone. works well with really aggressive tank mates and after a few days when you remove the mirror the fish dont even really clue in on the new arrival because now their 'mortal enemies' have vanished.

[Chin_Lee]

thats actually sounds like it would work very well. good idea

Originally Posted by niloc16

in order to reduce stress on new arrivals in the tank and to keep the others busy from attacking it, tape a mirror on the side of the tank, the fish will attack the mirror thinking it is one of their own and leave the new arrival alone. works well with really aggressive tank mates and after a few days when you remove the mirror the fish dont even really clue in on the new arrival because now their 'mortal enemies' have vanished.

[Dale]

If you know you want to catch a fish ahead of time begin placing the food in a net at feeding time. I flush my frozen mysis in a small net and out of laziness began just putting the net in the tank (bent the handle so it hangs on the centre brace) Now my fish JUMP into the net each day


and always, always, always invest the $17.99 installing a G.F.C.I. One of my clients just dropped a light in the tank while she was moving some corals and she's glad I did.

[niloc16]

draggin up an old one, but a good one. anyone with new tricks or tips (or old tips or tricks)?