wasp

You want wind, the stronger the better, blowing off shore. Takes all the crud and scum in the surface layer away, and brings in the higher quality, deeper stuff. No wind at all, not as bad as on shore, but the water will not be the best. Unless caught out unexpectedly, I only collect every few months, when conditions are just right & water crystal clear.

Ideal time to collect is the last two hours prior to high tide. But weather conditions are even more important. If the wind is blowing on shore, forget it, the sea will be rough and water dirty. Wind must be blowing off shore, and sea should be dead flat. It's best when conditions have been like this for a few days to let the crud settle out of the water. IMO correct collection is what is important. What you do afterwards, in terms of heating, aerating, storing in the dark or whatever does not matter provided you started with good water. But that is just my opinion.

You are supposed to heat it, but I don't bother. Let's say your tank is 25 degrees, and you do a 20% water change with water at only 15 degrees, in other words 10 degrees lower. That's only going to drop your average temp by 2 degrees. My chiller will do that and seems to have no negative effect. Heating up water can be a lot of jerking around, and IMO, each job should be as easy as possible, that way you are more likely to actually do it. Also, my corals seem to like it when I dump in a heap of water at a different temperature, a few minutes later they expand right up, they think it is a new current coming in from somewhere. And about the possible bugs in the water, the general consensus seems to be that provided you collect water from a good clean source, you are unlikely to infect your tank with any nasties.

Two suggestions. Firstly, would brine shrimp be any use? At least they would stay alive until eaten. Secondly, a trip to a sandy bottomed rock pool with a net can yeild all sorts of little critters, just swoosh the net around and see what you get.

I'll agree with Layton here. (Yes, there is a first time for everything!) Recently had the priveledge of going in that glass bottomed boat at Goat Island. One thing was quite noticeable when we went over areas of flexible type growth, was the wave action. Even in 20 or 30 feet of water, you would see them all get pushed one way by a powerful but gentle current for maybe 15 seconds or so, then it would stop and then they would all get pushed some other way for a similar period of time. You're just not going to get that same effect with a system that pulse at resonance in a 4 foot tank. But IMHO, with streams, you could mimick it quite well.

I think the ones we have in NZ tend to be the harmless ones. Most people i know seem to have had them at some stage but have not reported problems. Maybe your ones dissapeared Skuzza. Mine just vanished also.

According to a thing I read by Shinek, there are several of these starfish, some coral eating, some not. He had a photo of the coral eating ones, they have some legs shorter, and on the other side longer. But there is another similar one that is harmless, hence the confusion. I'd say remove if possible, but if not, observe, and if no harmful effects don't sweat it.

Pretty cool Brian! Collect it yourself?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

RnB I thought you had used a phosphate remover also?

Duke I'm not totally sure where you are, however the water out of a country tank can contain, among other things, bird crap off the roof, fertilisers, and spray drift. You should test the water for phosphate, and also it would pay to at least run it through a carbon filter prior to use. Don't think that just because you drink it, it must be fine for the tank. Our bodies are capable of dealing with much more polluted water than we can put in our tank. Not trying to scare you, but whatever is in the water may slowly accumulate in the tank and cause problems in time. Just be aware and take the right precautions and you'll be fine.

Perky, Don't be too quick to leap in & get the big fish. You will not get many in your tank, and possibly more issues with aggression also. Go small.

Maybe we should let new members post when they are ready... I wouldn't want to be put on the spot as soon as I joined.

I see So, just what does he mean by "tank" :lol: :lol:

Mine get mussel. Boiled just enough to open, chopped into small pieces, frozen, and then fed as required.

The slime will not be harmful. What it does show though, is that somehow there are nutrients in your water, enough to make the slime grow. However, the slime is in fact using these nutrients, so when you put the water in your tank, leave the slime behind, it will have absorbed some unwanted nutrients.

But I love Layton ( for breakfast) Nah just kidding. I think if we met we would get on.

Actually the best thing you could do Magnus will be drop a PM to some reefers in your area and see if you can go and look at their tank with them. Reading is essential, however there is so much information, much of it conflicting, it will save you money long term to go check out some peoples tanks, choose a method that looks successful, then do heaps of reading on that & go with it. Squabling bunch on the net that we are, I have yet to meet a reefer in person who did not turn out to be a pretty cool person. You will get a warm reception at anyones house when you go to "talk reefing".

Well hey this is all too confusing. How's a guy meant to know if he's arguing about rubber, hidden agendas, iron, or PVC? :lol: :lol:

What may at a simple glance seem obvious, may under proper research turn out not to be so. Was this "nutrient" you were refering to iron? SFK and other iron based phosphate removers, will in fact deplete iron from the water, along with some other metals.

But Layton I did not say the paper does not exist, it may exist, I was kind of hoping you still had it. I actually sympathise I've been caught unable to reference stuff myself. I don't automatically disbelieve everything you say, just seeing the paper would have cleared it up for me. If you come across it I'll be happy to see it.

I'm very tempted to ask you to name this mysterious nutrient that you claim gets added. But no, I must resist. I refer you to my earlier statement :-

Oh well if a properly done paper says so, then I will concede you are correct. Once you have shown me the paper of course, otherwise I would have to regard it as second hand hearsay. I don't know what you may have or may not have read.

It is probably called a phosphate remover because it removes them, not adds them. Also, if you look at the label on a bottle of Salifert Phosphate Killer, you will see stated that it also reduces many types of organics, and also heavy metals. I guess in the end it will come down to wether or not you are going to believe the label. But I do, no worries. And to say a phosphate remover will increase nutrients is ludicrous. I hope that clears it up for you, but if not, I will say now that the evidence is clear and I am not going to be drawn into a silly argument over it.

While PVC contains phosphate, it has only been theorised, but never prooved, that the phosphate will leach into a tank. IMO PVC is quite stable and can be used safely, but I would personally not use it in a situation where it is exposed to strong light. That's just my own opinion, based from the way old PVC may show deterioration where it has been in the sun for many years. But dig some old PVC out of the ground where it has been in the dark, it will still be good shape, even after many years.