reef

MARK ELLIS (aka PIES) If i had to link in all the information that you give that is incorrect , i would fill this whole forum. So please used you brain before typing. I was trying to help. And for your information , Ph George at Anthony Preston and he will also tell you that DI is better that RO. But there are reason why RO is used on Town water supply. Take a cure for your whitespot and spare us the Dribble

Info from the net De-ionization (DI) units come in two basic varieties: mixed bed and separate bed. Two chambers are used in separate bed units, one for anion resins (to filter negatively charged ions), the other for cation resins (to filter positively charged ions). Mixed bed units use a single chamber with a mix of anion and cation resins. DI units are 100% water efficient with no waste water. They are typically rated in terms of grains of capacity (a grain is 0.065 grams). Once the capacity of the unit is reached it either needs to be replaced or recharged (using strong acids and bases). Recharging is normally only an option for separate bed units. A quick check of the local water quality reports (normally available free from the water supply company) will reveal the water purification capacity of a given DI unit. For example, if a unit rated at 1000 grains is purchased and the local water supply has a hardness of 123 mg/l (Missouri River, USA), then the unit capacity is (1000*0.065)/0.123 = 528 liters = 139.5 gallons of purified water. Water production rates for DI units varies, but is typically around 10-15 gallons/hour. Note that some contaminants captured by a DI unit may "break through" long before the unit indicates its capacity has been reached. Silica is a classic example. What happens is that silica is loosely bound to the resins initially, but is replaced by stronger binding materials like carbonates as the resins become exhausted. The use of two DI units in tandem, as mentioned elsewhere in this FAQ, helps to eliminate this problem. 1.1.3 RO Filters Reverse osmosis (RO) units are normally based upon one of two membrane technologies: cellulose triacetate (CTA) and thin film composite (TFC). CTA based systems are typically cheaper and do not filter as well (90-95% rejection rates). TFC based systems cost more but have higher pollutant rejection rates (95%-98%). CTA membranes break down over time due to bacterial attack whereas TFC membranes are more or less impervious to this. CTA units are not recommended for reef tank purposes. TFC membranes are very sensitive chemically to the chlorine found in most water supplies. It is therefore very important to regularly replace the carbon block pre-filter associated with all better-grade TFC systems. TFC membranes are damaged by chlorine so a properly functioning GAC prefilter is mandatory. RO filters work by forcing water under pressure against the membrane. The membrane allows the small water molecules to pass through while rejecting most of the larger contaminants. RO units waste a lot of water. The membrane usually has 4-6 times as much water passing by it as it allows though. Unfortunately, the more water wasted, the better the membrane usually is at rejecting pollutants. Also, higher waste water flows are usually associated with longer membrane life. What this means in practice is that 300 gallons of total water may be required to produce 50 gallons of purified water. Like any filter, RO membranes will eventually clog and need to be replaced. Replacement membranes cost around $50-$100. Prefilters are often placed in front of the membrane to help lengthen the lifetime. These filters commonly consist of a micron sediment filter and a carbon block filter. The micron filter removes large particles and the carbon filter removes chlorine, large organic molecules and some heavy metals. Of course, the use of prefilters makes initial unit cost more expensive but they should pay for themselves in longer membrane life. RO units are rated in terms of gallons per day of output with 10-50 gallon/day units typically available. Note that the waste water produced by a RO unit is fine for hard water loving freshwater fish such as Rift Lake cichlids. Some route the reject water to the family garden. The ultimate in home water purification comes from combining the two technologies and processing the water from an RO unit though a DI unit. If a very high grade DI unit is used, water equivalent to triple distillation purification levels can be achieved. Since the water entering the DI unit can be 50 times purer than tapwater, the DI unit can process 50 times as much before the resins are exhausted. This significantly reduces the replacement or recharging cost of the DI unit. Using two DI units in tandem, moving the 2nd in as a replacement for an exhausted 1st unit, and replacing the 2nd unit with a new unit will insure that no undesirable elements "break through" the exhausted 1st unit and enter your supply. If only one filter can be afforded, and waste water is not a concern, then it is recommended that a TFC RO unit with pre-filters be purchased. If waste water is a concern, or if only a small quantity of make-up water will be required (say, for a single 20 gallon tank), then a DI unit would be the preferred choice. City water is unstable. Many cities modify their treatment process several times a year, dramatically changing its suitability for reef usage.

That sohal is a beauty.

If you are on rainwater then DI is the best option, RO will waste too much water about 4 to 1. DI filters water better than RO, But RO is used on town water supply as it last much longer than DI. I would get a carbon filter and two di canisters in a row.

How do you get a bad batch of lemon peels???? Like all livestock it is not 100% that they will live in a aquarium. It hard to workout sometimes why they dont make it.

Looks like lack of water movement.

FAy. do you feed your anemone Splitting Don’t have too much to offer on splitting except that a well fed BTA seems to split sooner or later. Splitting seems to come in batchs. A BTA may get very large then suddenly split several times. As with most asexual reproduction of Cnidarians, feeding aggressively seems to encourage splitting. This isn’t necessarily a good thing if you don’t have a tank with lots of room for things that move a lot and pack a good sting.

Easier to keep anemones Stichodactyla haddoni, Saddle Carpet, saddleback anemone, Haddoni anemone This anemone is often not distinguished from other carpets in the dealers tanks. The tentacles are short and knobby and usually densely packed. There is usually a reddish to pinkish ring around the mouth that isn't present on other carpets. Groups of tentacles on the same anemone may be of different colors forming a striped pattern on the anemone. If not striped they are usually a greyish-green, although bright greens, yellows and even blues are sometimes seen. Good Points- This may be the easiest anemone to keep for long periods of time. Light suitable for soft corals and commonly kept hard corals is enough. I have had one growing slowly for over 7 years in the bottom of a 30 gal. tall aquarium with only 60 watts of fluorescent light. Reasonable nitrate levels for fish seem to be OK for this anemone. For its first 3 years my anemone lived in water that measured 30 ppm of nitrate on a Seatest Kit and showed no ill effects. They will grow faster however given better conditions. Bad Points- This anemone will eat your fish! (not your clownfish) Dwarf angels, small tangs, blennies and small shrimp seem to be prone to getting eaten. Pseudochromis, hawkfish and some others don't seem to have a problem. The clownfish that accept this anemone also seem to be limited. They are accepted by saddleback clowns, true sebae clowns, Clarki clowns and usually tomato clowns. Entacmaea quadricolor, Bulb, bubble, bubble-tipped, maroon anemone Recently obtained individuals will usually have unmistakable swollen ends on the tips of their tentacles. Specimens in captivity will often lose their bubble-tips for periods of time and just have long straight tentacles. The tentacles usually have a green color especially when exposed to only actinic light. The tentacles may also have a frosty white ring around the tip. The base is often rusty-red but may also be purple or just tan. The Rose anemone is a color variation of this anemone. Good Points- Normal reef lighting is enough (above 4 watts per gal.) for this type of anemone and may be more than enough. Nitrate levels below 20 ppm are preferred. Small ones may reproduce asexually in your aquarium by dividing into two smaller anemones. Their sting is rather weak and won't harm your other fish. They are accepted by Clarki-type clowns, all the different tomato-type clowns, maroon clowns and sometimes, although very rarely, percula and ocellaris clowns. Bad Points- These anemones tend to wander around the tank more than others, sometimes causing their own deaths from lack of light or being sucked through a powerhead. They like to have their foot shaded inside a crevice in the rock or coral with their tentacles in the light. This preference might be met by placing a short piece of PVC pipe, sized to the anemone, where you want the anemone to stay and putting its base into the pipe. They seem to be sensitive to being shipped. Make sure the one you pick out has a tight mouth and is firmly attached to something in the dealers tank. Any anemone that is not attached to something in the dealers tank is probably not healthy. In addition, when the dealer tries to remove the anemone from the tank the anemone should show some type of reaction, usually they contract. Macrodactyla doreensis, Long-tentacled anemone These anemones have very long (up to 5-6 in.), smooth, thick tentacles sometimes with longitudinal stripes extending into the oral disk. The tentacles originate from a round flat oral disk, distinguishing it from the condylactis anemone. The foot of the base is almost always bright red or orange. Good Points- They are hardy if kept under Metal Halide lights. Under lower light levels they seem to slowly waste away. They come in a variety of patterns and colors including purple. Accepted by Clarki clowns, tomato-type clowns and pink skunk clowns. Bad Points- They must have bright lighting. They normally live with their base buried deep in the sand and sometimes have a difficult time finding an attachment spot in a reef-type tank. Difficult to keep anemones Heteractis crispa or H. malu, Sebae anemone, Singapore anemone, pink-tipped (but not condylactis) anemone Tentacles range from long and thin to short and fat depending on the condition of the anemone (short and fat usually means it is starting to waste away). Tentacles usually have magenta colored tips although yellowish-green tips are not uncommon. Colors can be dyed yellow, dyed pink, natural pink/purple, natural yellow, tan, but by far the most common is pure white. The oral disk may also have a green sheen under actinic light. Good Points-They are very common in stores and are usually the least expensive of the host anemones. They are accepted by virtually all clownfish whether they occur together in nature or not. Some not so white specimens can regenerate their symbiotic algae thus becoming a brown color. If you can obtain a tan specimen with long thin tentacles they should do well under conditions similar to that required for bulb anemones. Bad Points- No one I have spoken with, not even the public aquariums, can keep the white or yellow ones alive for more than 6-8 months. Out of the over 20 responses I received regarding sebaes only 2 anemones had stayed alive for over one year. Both of the anemones were tan in color either when purchased or had turned tan shortly there after. One thought is that sebae anemones may expel their symbiotic algae shortly after capture and when it is completely gone it is not easily replaced. Frank Greco of the New York Aquarium says that he has been successful in getting otherwise healthy sebaes to "color up" by feeding once a week with fresh fish, clam, shrimp or gelatin. They also get live brine shrimp, adult and baby, and a yeast based diet of his own design. In addition to the frequent feedings the anemones are exposed to very bright light, three 400 watt metal halide bulbs over the six foot by six foot, four foot tall anemone tank. If the anemone is not able to replace its zooxanthellae it is doomed to a very slow starvation once in the tank. There are cream colored sebae anemones found in shallow water in the wild, but they are not the transparent white color found in the dealers tanks. These don't seem to be a good beginner's anemone despite articles I have read that say they are. Heteractis magnifica, Ritteri, African, yellow-tipped anemone This anemone is usually rather large. Their tentacles are long with very blunt tips that are lighter in color than the shafts. The base may be red or purple but brown is more common. Good Points- They are relatively common in the market. They are accepted by almost every variety of clownfish. Bad Points- They tend to move to the highest point in the tank, often up the sides of the glass very near the water return pipe. In nature they tend to be found at the highest parts of the reef exposed to strong light and currents. In the aquarium they will need very strong lighting (metal halide) and very strong alternating (wave) currents to do well. They also have a reputation for being able to catch and eat medium sized non-clownfish. Stichodactyla gigantea, Giant carpet, colored carpet These anemones have short pointed tentacles that seem to constantly vibrate. The tentacles are usually not very densely packed except near the edges of the disk. Specimens with blue, bright green, yellow, or white tipped tentacles can be found and at some times of the year are even common, but light brown is still the most common color. The oral disk often lies in a wave pattern if the anemone is on a flat surface. Good Points-The colored ones are very pretty! A pink specimen is featured on the cover of Martin Moe's "Beginner to Breeder " book. They are accepted by most clownfish. Bad Points- They can sting non-clownfish and may even eat other anemones. Giant carpets unlike their relative the saddle carpet seem to be very difficult to keep in captivity. The only report I had of a success died in a move after living for 10 years and the aquarist was unable to have any success with any giant carpets after that. It is possible that the first anemone may have been a saddle carpet rather than a giant carpet, but I haven't been able to find out for sure. One of the reasons for the difficulty in keeping the giant carpets may stem from the fact that most are collected from very shallow water, sometimes less than 3 feet deep. This leads me to believe that it may be difficult for the aquarist to give the anemone all the light that it is accustomed to in nature. There are a couple other natural clownfish host anemones that will sometimes appear in your dealers tanks, but I wasn't able to gather enough information on them to include an accurate description. These are the Sand, corn or aurora anemone (Heteractis aurora) and the Mertin's carpet (S. mertinii). Some clownfish will also accept non-natural hosts such as purple mat anemones, reef anemones, condylactis anemones, gonipora corals and other long tentacled corals. There have been reports, however, that clownfish that associate with condylactis anemones and corals may be more prone to skin infections than normal.

RTN is normally a problem with Acropora, I have not have much success saving acropora that have it., the best advice is, if your acropora has it, throw it out. You will do you tank a favour.

But seriously Layton, I like the way you provide factual information. This is the man if you require valuable information on reef keeping.

ITs saltwater 2 and freshwater 10. we are getting whipped.

This is a good site for information http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup/

I noticed that you are pumping out the information out today, what are you on.. Purigen

Well, it does say that it removes ammonia, which means low nitrates.

what you think of this layton http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i3/zeovit/Zeolite_Filters/Zeolite_Filters.htm

more tank pics

where are all the reef tanks????? I thought we had hundreds of marine hobbyist????? Get you tank up

..

Layton, does the purigen look like zeolite

calcium hydroxide Ca(OH) 2 , colorless crystal or white powder. It is prepared by reacting calcium oxide (lime) with water, a process called slaking, and is also known as hydrated lime or slaked lime. When heated above 580°C it dehydrates, forming the oxide. Like the oxide, it has many uses, e.g., in liming soil, in sugar refining, and in preparing other compounds. It is a strong base and is widely used as an inexpensive alkali, often as a suspension in water (milk of lime); it is used in leather tanning to remove hair from hides. It is used in whitewash , mortar , and plaster. It is only slightly soluble in water, about 0.2 grams per 100 cubic centimeters, so its solutions are weakly basic. Limewater is a clear, saturated water solution of calcium hydroxide. It is used in medicine to treat acid burns and as an antacid. Because calcium hydroxide readily reacts with carbon dioxide, CO 2 , to form calcium carbonate, a mixture of gases can be tested for the presence of CO 2 by shaking it with limewater in a clear container; if CO 2 is present, a cloudy calcium carbonate precipitate will form. (Calcium Hydroxide) TYPICAL MATERIAL SPECIFICATION Chemical Analysis Percent CaO 73.00 Ca(OH)2 94.50 CaCO3 1.70 MgO 1.10 SiO2 1.10 Al2O3 0.60 Fe2O3 0.20 S 0.028 LOI 23.00 Available CaO 71.50

should be good to see them, Not like a stream as they cant pulse on and off, the streams have electronic motors, which increases the cost by quite a lot.

Very interesting, did not know that, were can i find info on this?? What i have read, is most fish will handle 60ppm no problems. how does a nitrate level of say 10ppm reduce the lifespan of fish. Leathers might come from the same ocean, however still dont see what the the benefits are of having high calicum/kh on a leather tank??? What i have observed is that leathers grow much quicker in a tank that has 10ppm nitrates vs a tank with zero nitrates. I can understand that low nitrate will help colour up acropora, but how does low nitrate colour up leathers/mushrooms??

If you have mainly soft corals, what is the benefit of having calciums & kh levels so high??? like 450ppm. will the leathers grow faster?? i thought soft coral utilise nutrients to grow?? can anyone explain?? why is it important to have nitrates below 10ppm in a soft coral tank?? sorry about all the questions

Calcium of 400-420ppm is fine and a kh of about 8-9kh the lower the salinity the lower the levels , say NSW was 1.025, then calcium of 420ppm would be ideal, however if salinity is say 1.023, then 380ppm would be ok.

the alk seems very high, anything around 8kh is ok. what is your salinity??