The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread

[4WheelVFR]

Dave, aquariums can be very relaxing when they're done right. Doing your research beforehand can help prevent most problems you can run into with fishkeeping, but there is still maintenance and care involved that some wouldn't call relaxing. Saltwater setups can be very simple, but being new, I would start with a moderate sized freshwater community tank and go from there. 40-75 gallons, peacefull, easy to keep fish, and basic equipment are all you need for a relaxing set up. There are a handul of very good aquarium forums out there. Fishgeeks and monsterfishkeepers are two that I can recommend offhand, and of course any questions you ask here can probably be handled as well.

[OLS]

I think given the discussion so far I should remind any casual readers to keep in mind one major thing.
FOR DECADES, I could never BE anywhere but here for more than about three-four days. If I went out of
town for Christmas, I had to be quick about it. You CAN BUY 'automation' but you can't force it to work
the way it is supposed to by sheer will. There remains a very expensive element of LUCK that goes into it,
and that is important to stress. You have to fill up your tanks and sumps and hope evaporation is
slow. Even then, the drastic evaporation levels can affect animal health if they go too far. Some people trust
others to enter their homes and handle it for them, but that is also a crap shoot and open only to those who
can really trust these surrogates. it is a great hobby with a ton of rewards, but it is not for everyone.
if you are gone a lot, fresh might better, and that is also a bit of a ball and chain.

[4WheelVFR]

I'll second Brad's opinion. If you are away from home a lot, it may not be the right hobby for you. I'm lucky to have a friend that is very knowledgable when it comes to fishkeeping, so when I'm away I can count on everything being taken care of. Being away for more than a week does require some planning when it comes to tanks, both fresh and salt. We're not trying to scare you away from the hobby, as it is pretty easy going as hobbies go. Knowing what to expect and what can happen is very helpful though.

[ColdCuts]

Thank you, fellas. I appreciate all of the honest feedback. I don't think anyone is trying to scare me away. I think everyone is just trying to give it to me straight, which I appreciate.

Well, I just downloaded a trial version of a nifty aquarium screensaver called Dream Aquarium. It's freshwater, but it's more realistic than the saltwater ones I found. If it works like it should, I'll download the full version, and that'll have to be it, for the time being anyway.

I haven't given up on the aquarium idea, but it's a lot to consider. We're not away from home much at all, but the wife is concerned that if we get a tank we won't be able to vacation as we otherwise might. It's a realistic concern, I suppose. I mean, we don't have any week-long vacations penciled in on the calendar, but I don't want to be shortsighted. We probably will want to go somewhere someday. We currently have a cat. It's easy enough to have someone come in, water and feed the cat, scoop the litter box, done. I don't know anyone in the fishkeeping hobby, so going away for more than a couple days would be a problem, as Brad and Ray have pointed out. I gotta say though, I have a tough time believing that aquarium people never take a vacation. Really? Never?

For me, I'm mainly concerned about two things. First thing is, we're currently renting an apartment. So we'd have to move the tank in the not-so-distant future. Second thing is, my biggest concern, would be how to safeguard my tank against power outages. Last October I lost just about everything I own to Hurricane Sandy (I saved the cigars). I was without power for weeks. It could happen again. I don't know how I'd power my aquarium during an extended power outage. I'd need a dedicated generator, like Blueface. I'll be honest, I don't know the first thing about that kind of stuff. Is that something you can even have in an apartment in Brooklyn? I don't even know.

Add to these concerns, that my wife doesn't really care one way or the other about aquarium fish, so while she's not opposed, there's no real interest on her part. Which means, should I choose to do it, it'll be my project and my project only. And she won't want to be bothered or inconvenienced by it.

What do you guys say now?

OK, I gotta run. This might make you fellas laugh, but I'm actually on my way out the door to visit ... a couple of highly regarded aquarium supply shops in Manhattan. I know. I know. I just want to poke around. Maybe ask some questions. I get an idea in my head, I get obsessed sometimes. Takes awhile for me to let go.

[Blueface]

Generator is a nice luxury and tough to figure out how to run out of an apartment given fumes it exudes.
There are other ways to skin a cat.
Main thing that crashes your tank when no power is lack of oxygen.
You can fix that with $10 pumps that sense when power fails and turn on automatically.
I kept my tank alive with $15K worth of fish for 10 days by simply using air and doing minor regular water changes.
I also manually fed the bacteria in the filter by running used tank water through it that had air and waste to be consumed by the beneficial bacteria.

Moving is trickier but can be done and is done all the time.
Leave it for last. Lots of buckets with lids with the same air pumps dedicated to each bucket. They will do just fine. I have moved many a tank in my life in the acquarium maintenance business.

All that said, that screensaver idea will be easier to feed, clean, move, etc.

[ColdCuts]

Well, after visiting Manhattan Aquariums I now feel more determined to make an aquarium work. I'll just take my time, read a ton, be sure to invest in some battery operated pumps (thanks for the advice, Blueface), and hopefully do it right the first time. If I discover along the way that it's just too advanced and/or expensive for me, perhaps I'll scale it back and go freshwater, as Ray has suggested.

Ray - I entered into this thing thinking freshwater. Everybody says start with fresh. But when I walk into a place that stocks both, it's really tough for me to keep my eyes on the freshwater tanks. Know what I mean? I don't want to bite off more than I can chew, of course. It's just that now I keep hearing that if I really like salt, it doesn't have to be as complicated as it sometimes seems. Which brings me to today.

There was a nice gal at MA who recommended a forum to me called Manhattan Reefs. It's all New York state folks so that's nice for me. They seem like a friendly bunch. We'll see. They get together, exchange coral frags and whatnot. Maybe I could introduce a 'fiver for a frag' type trade. Get those guys into cigars.

Here's a couple questions for you CA reefers:
From what I gather online, seams on glass tanks eventually fail. I know acrylic scratches easier than glass, and I'd really hate to have any scratches, but I'd prefer that to having to replace a glass tank every handful of years. Anybody have an opinion on this?

Also, for your enjoyment, regarding total cost on a saltwater set up, I found this article. <== You may or may not want to click on that, or at least wait until your spouse is outta the room. If you look at those numbers (for 2010), does that more or less sync with your experience? Being budget-minded -- I can't believe I think I can afford a saltwater aquarium hobby on top of my cigar hobby -- I'm going to try to cut these costs by buying used equipment wherever I can. Perhaps I can find a bunch of quality used gear on the Manhattan Reefs forum. Any thoughts?

Aaand here we go.

[Blueface]

YIKES!!!!!!!

http://blog.aquanerd.com/2014/03/fis...wn-disney.html

[4WheelVFR]

If you're leaning towards reef tanks start it out as a FOWLR and if you watch your fish selection, you can add some easy corals here and there. As far as the type of tank, I would do glass unless you get a pretty big tank. Acrylic tanks are nice because it doesn't take 6 guys to carry them lol, but otherwise glass is perfectly fine and will last many years. If you hate scratches, don't do acrylic, because you WILL have scratches lol.

I've heard good things about Manhattan Reefs, and you may also want to check out reefcentral.com, which is also a great forum.

If cost is a concern at first, you can make impressive set ups work with a very simple equipment list, as I have done in the past. Plenty of live rock (which is also not cheap) for natural filtration and good water movement alone can support a lightly stocked tank very easily. I've had a 29 gallon tank and a 340 gallon tank with nothing but live rock, powerheads, and a power filter for mechanical filtration. Both worked very well. I had lots of liverock, a light stock list, and kept up on water changes. I had corals in those setups that thrived as well. It's a viable option until you can afford to go hog wild on equipment, which you will want to do eventually lol. If I do a salt tank again, that's the way I will go.

[OLS]

VICTORY OVER the mantis shrimp!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chupatelpie/4435336541/

[ColdCuts]

Originally Posted by OLS

VICTORY OVER the mantis shrimp!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chupatelpie/4435336541/

Were they delicious?

[shilala]

LOL!!!
That looks super familiar.
I'm still hoping to get rid of all my salt water crap. I want to change to fresh water and grow real fish that I catch out in the wild. I really enjoyed that in the past and I think it'll get me back in the swing.

[shilala]

I just posted all my saltwater stuff up on C-SEA. It's the local enthusiast's site.
Hopefully somebody will come by and take it all away!!!

[dijit]

Originally Posted by shilala

I just posted all my saltwater stuff up on C-SEA. It's the local enthusiast's site.
Hopefully somebody will come by and take it all away!!!

Wish I was closer I am really wanting to set a reef tank again.

[shilala]

Dude, you're only in Indiana. I've got 90 gallons worth of stuff. Only about a gazillion aiptasia. But I also have an aptasia zapper, so you could have crazy fun frying them!!!

[dijit]

Never heard of a zapper for them. My last reef tank was a 150 tall tank used elegance coral and pepppermint shrimp to control them. I want to move into a 300 to 400 gallon acrylic tank next. Wife says when the kids are grown.

[shilala]

Michael, if you go back around page 43 we posted a bunch of stuff about the zappers. Axeman even made one. I just bought one of these.

[OLS]

Scott is dropping out, I tried twice and was TOO much of a compromiser to pull it off.
Reefs are about numbers, both chemically and how much numbers you gots in da bank.
If you are not ready in time and money to obsess overnumbers, its best to leave the
salt alone. EVERYONE starts out thinking they are going to really be on it, not to let
anything slip. But almost everyone does slip, and it is the fish and coral that suffer.
SO I had to just give that crap up.

And Cold Cuts, I have been messing with aquaria for 25 years and never had a tank burst
on me once. Not saying it doesn't happen, but that is a hell of a lead-off comment in terms
of what give you pause. if your tank is level and properly supported, I doubt you will ever
have a tank burst a seam. Make yourself a nice planted fresh water tank and enjoy near worry-
free entertainment. If I had all the money back that i wasted on salt water aquaria, I would
own a house now. MONEY PIT. A beautiful money pit, but a money pit.

[shilala]

A couple weeks ago I cleaned all my saltwater stuff up, gave the tank, stand, and everything else to my brother that he'd need for freshwater.
19 or 20 years I spent nursing that livestock across 4 tanks.

I have to say that it was insanely fun at times. Like feeding starfish to clown shrimp and watching the male feed his mate first. So, so many insanely cool things along the way.
It's time to be done was about 5 years ago. I just lost desire to deal with it after I had a freeze and a couple tank-split floods and a couple crashes.
It took the spirit out of me.

I waffled on starting a new freshwater tank for about 6 months, and decided that it's time for me to take a break. I've been caring for a fish tank for at least 30 years. I'd say that's a reasonable run.

Still, to this day, the most fulfilling fish I ever kept were indigenous species.
A pair of Crappie, one white and one black were the prettiest fish I've ever kept, hands down. Absolutely stunning under the lights floating in crystal clear water.

Brad mentioned the money. I shudder to think. But it's a hobby. An expensive one as hobbies go, but way cheaper than sitting on a barstool, and far less expensive than any of the women I've dragged home over the years.

They have those little biocubes now. They work well with minimal intervention.
If it trips a guy's trigger, then he can pick up and learn from there and go bigger.
That kind of thing wasn't available back when I started. You went big or went home, and it cost an arm and a leg just to start. And it took 6 months before you could put a fish in the tank.
I'd suggest to anyone to give the hobby a try. The sky is the limit and it's easy now.
Personally, I'll just put the savings into more reef dives.

[The camaro show]

Let’s give this one fat bump lol

[icehog3]

Originally Posted by The camaro show

Let’s give this one fat bump lol

How about bumping it with some content or pics since you're the new reef guy, Chayse?