wasp

What low down slime.

Another thing that should have been said, softies don't need much calcium, if it's softies only just regular monthly water changes is all you need. If you get some lps you may or may not need to dose, just see how it goes. If you get some sps, you will have to dose, if you want them to be at their full potential.

Yes, the last part of your post is correct. However, you gave jibes, so you got jibes back. No surprise there.

Also Layton, on the positive side, how is that peristaltic pump coming along? Just wondered what will be the literage, is it adjustable and if so what is the minimum and maximum, and what is the head pressure? What is your primary envisaged application for it? With all these budding young 2 part dosers coming along :lol: , there could be a market for it. Also, a peristaltic pump has been a huge asset to my calcium reactor I am trying to talk everyone else into getting one. (peristaltic pump that is! :lol: )

Any progress Yarimochi?

I don't think anyone who was there at the time is going to buy that one . When it comes to winding people up, you are King :lol: . Also you claim all those jibes were nessecary because someone at the time was saying that most of the nice sps tanks use calcium reactors. Is that not the case? I believe that is in fact correct.

Well it is difficult, the baking soda is the hardest one. Assuming you have the correct amount of baking soda to the correct amount of water, you will get there in the end. Try working it with your fingers, that was the easiest way when I was doing it. Otherwise heat and stir the crap out of it, but the finger way worked best for me. If you just cannot do it, perhaps double the amount of water, bearing in mind to do the same for the calcium part to make it easy to dose in balance. It was this very job, or the dread of it, that eventually drove me to a calcium reactor.

Precisely what I referred to as hassling around mixing those additives! :lol: We all get sick of it, some take a couple of years to realise though! Easy way, tip the baking soda into a bucket of water. Put your hand in & dissolve the lumpy bits with your fingers. Let's know how it goes.

No. Not for me it wasn't, anyway. I didn't use any complex mathematical formulae, simply adjusted the reactor till it held the tank where I wanted it. Simple really. You could refer to this as "guesswork", I say so what. It worked, and it was easy. AGAIN, not an attack. Just putting in some balance, and some honesty. Also I'm not trying to encourage anyone to go reactor rather than 2 part. 2 part is probably best for people starting as it is cheaper for the initial set up, plus helps people learn how it works & why they do what they are doing. But just cos a person uses one system does not mean they have to bash the other.

No, that is not the case. Think back. Whenever a picture was posted of a nice tank that did not have a calcium reactor, you had a nasty habit of making a wind up post aimed at calcium reactor users, that said something like "another nice tank without a calcium reactor :lol: " There has also been a lot of other rather silly calcium reactor bashing, not included in your last thread. This plus other deliberate wind ups you took enjoyment in, went on for months if not years. Also these jibes were not very "logical", for someone who says that other people are not "logical". Then you wonder why people have a negative reaction to your posts on the subject, it's cos you've already been winding them up for years. THAT is the history I'm referring to, not just one thread which you claim to be pretty much the entire history. But, once again, not an attack. Just you seem to be mystified at why people don't see everything your way, the FULL history may help explain it.

That stuff was not all you said. The reactor / 2 part argument has a long history .

2 part will be cheaper, in fact you can set up a basic system for less than 50 bucks. A 25 kg sack of calcium chloride from the swimming pool shop, and some baking soda from Gilmores. For Magnesium, a 25 kg sack from Rd1. You can spend ever increasing amounts of money if you wish, to make the system less time consuming, ie, use a dosing pump, and to get higher grade chemicals.

I have no problem with either system, used both for years. However, I do feel that in this thread and other linked threads, the 2 part system has been made to sound much easier than it is, and reactors have been made to sound much more complicated than they are. A person with no experience reading this material, would be led to the conclusion that reactors are reliant on "guesswork" and are so complex as to be virtually impossible to use. Whereas the 2 part system has been described as a system that you test your water, test again 24 hours later, do some calculations to set your dose, and that's it. :roll: . Don't even have to worry about mixing chemicals because you simply mix enough in one hit to last "years". A newbie believing that is going to be badly dissapointed. After he does his test, then another one 24 hours later, and on the basis of that sets his dose, he will VERY soon find he has to fiddle with his dosing rate, just "like a calcium reactor" I am not saying you have been deliberately dishonest Layton, however there has been a lack of balance. Which has reflected your own personal prejudices. It is this has rubbed people up the wrong way, and when they say something you immediately shoot them down claiming "logic". In reality you have been no more logical than anyone else. Think about it. Also, it is no use rubbishing something on paper, or in theory, when the practise does not bear it out. In the end what is important is what works. The 2 part system works, and I used it for years. Calcium reactors work, and that is the system I now use because in the real world it is easier and less time consuming. That's my experience, but may be different for someone else, that's fine with me, no problem. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and as they say, one mans meat is another mans poison. As this thread bears out :lol: . Please take these comments in the way they are intended, they are not an attack, I am just trying to inject some balance, and I'm almost afraid to say, logic .

Corals are not a problem to transfer to different water they don't mind, provided the water is liveable, obviously. For fish the main thing is getting the salinity fairly close. Other parameters are less important (as far as introducing fish), but typical reeftank parameters are salinity 1.025, calcium 400, and kh 7 - 11. If aerated properly this will result in a pH of 8.0 - 8.3 or so. But I would try to get as much water from the tank as possible, at least 50%, then mix that with your own water, provided the above parameters are similar in both waters you will have no problem. I don't know which tank you are buying but it is possible the water in it has wrong parameters, but the fish are adapted to it. A sudden change to normal water can shock them. That is why use the water from the origional tank for a start. Longer term you should do a monthly water change of around 10 - 25%, depending on bioload. This will gradually bring water parameters in line with the water you are using. There is debate about which is best, real sea water (collected at the beach), or artificial salt mix you buy at the pet shop. I have used both with equal success but some people have strong opinions one way or the other.

One way to do it would be, if you can get a large plastic bin, at least 200 litres but preferably more, put this at home right next to where you want to set up the tank. You need to beg, borrow or steal some CLEAN 20 liter containers or similar, and use these to transport water from the tank you are buying to your place & put it in the plastic bin. Take all the rocks and corals from the tank, and put them in a plastic bin or similar for transporting. Don't fill the bin with water, just keep them damp by putting a towel soaked in tank water over the top, long as they stay damp all life will be safe for at least a few hours till you get it home and put the rocks in your bin. Make sure to place corals where they are going to get enough light. Bring the fish home and put them in, do this after all rocks are positioned. This is because the fish will at first tend to hide and can easily be crushed if you are still moving rocks. Put a pump or two from the tank in to make some circulation, and if possible but not essential, the skimmer. Use the light from the tank, set it over the bin. The light is essential, keeping the corals in poor light will be exactly like keeping plants in poor light, they will die. Your livestock is now safe for a few days, if no skimmer, or a few weeks if there is a skimmer, so you can now clean & futz around with the tank & set it up at your leisure. Remember the skimmer is not just for cleaning, it also aerates the water & maintains pH, wouldn't go too long without it even in the bin. If the bin is close to where you set the tank up, it will make it easier to transfer stuff back in to the tank once the time comes.

Well said. In fact, 99% of us are already doing exactly that. The pedantic arguing and "my way is the only right way" mentality is fortunately only confined to the 1%, although it might not seem like that sometimes.

No cos every tank uses it at a different rate, depending on what you have growing that needs it, plus how much precipitation. All you do is test your water, dose for a few days, then test again. If levels have risen, slow the drip rate. If levels have fallen, increase the drip rate. Fiddle until you have it about right & thereafter test weekly. Or if you are a mathematics boffin you test the water, don't dose anything for a few days and test again, see how much got used, then use one of those calculator thingies to calculate what you should be dosing. The main thing is if using Randys recipe to dose equal amounts ca and kh. But if you do get a little out of whack which will happen if you are using gravity, no worries, just increase or decrease one of them slightly to get back in line. If you want a calculator thingie, here is one http://jdieck1.home.comcast.net/chemcalc.html

The wrasse?

Agreed. It is sad to see someone sell something they have spent so much on, for so little. Anyhow, his loss, someone elses gain.

Oops, you said Royal Gramma, I thought I read Royal Dottyback different fish. The Royal Gramma is not as aggressive although it will face off against the clowns, as it is also territorial.

Agree with all the above :lol:

It's probably too much fish for a 30 liter tank in terms of the waste they will make, plus they will probably be incompatable in a tank that size, the dottyback will probably kill the firefish, and maybe the shrimp, plus there will be problems between the clowns and the dottyback as there is not enough room for each to have enough territory. I use the word "probably" several times because it can vary from one fish to another. Any of those fish can live in a tank your size, but not all at the same time. The torch coral and the bubble coral will both sting other corals, and especially the bubble coral has quite a long reach would not be a good idea for a 30 litre tank if you plan to keep other corals. The other corals you mention are OK though. The sun coral needs to be hand fed with tweezers, preferably at night. There are other ways to feed a sun coral but too messy in a small tank.

The reason I suggested doing the 2 at different times is simply to reduce precipitation, which can occur if you drip both at once. It may not, but it may. As to dripping 24/7, you can do that, but I just suggested dripping over a few hours as that is how long it might take to drip in the measured amount. If you are going to drip it 24/7, it will be nearly impossible to get the right amount in as drip rate will vary from one day to the next. But anyway, enough talk . Best way is to get started & you will soon figure it out.

Good points. A book may be good, but you are only getting one persons opinion. In fact there are many ways to skin a cat, all may work. The biggest problem I had as a newbie was sorting it all out, truth from 1/2 truth, sometimes the best plan is to go and actually look at a few peoples tanks, talk and learn from them, long as the tank looks healthy.