What is a Helpful Tip YOU Know About the Hobby That a Lot of People Might not Know About

[Gumbies R Us]

One of my favorite things about any hobby is seeing people share knowledge that someone might not know about with each other that way they can improve in the hobby. My question for everyone is, is there some information or interesting fact that you don't think a lot of people know about?

 

[14 foot reef]

Large angels in a reef tank is the absolute best defense against aptasia. I beat aptasia in so many reefs with Large Angels being added. I had a huge outbreak in my 850 gallon 3 way divided tank. I moved my angels from tank to tank until all three were completley rid of the investation of aptasia. I tried every other trick in the hobby, large angels were the only thing that beat them back.

 

[Ron Reefman]

How about drilling holes in your rock so frag plugs fit and can be moved. And holes that don't get used become almost invisible in a short time.

 

[JZ199]

Never underestimate the power and importance of a good CUC!

Wish I would have took this seriously earlier and stocked up on an actual sufficient cuc, instead of getting a few things here and there.

 

[ReefGeezer]

For people starting tanks... Live rock & Sand are the secret to success. Worth every penny.

 

[Ron Reefman]

How about putting rock flower anemones and maxi-mini anemones in pvc end caps and placing them in the sand. They can be pushed deep enough so the end cap disappears and the nems stay happy and don't move.

 

[bradreef]

Super glue and baking soda are great when building rock structures.


Piggyback on above, live rock and live sand are great for starting a tank and seeding. You dont need much, but a little adds so much biodiversity.

 

[exnisstech]

Listen when experienced reefers offer advise even if it isn't what you want to hear.

 

[Slocke]

Add copepods early and always get either live rock or dark cycled rock to start a tank.

I'll add dark cycled rock as its far cheaper than live but has many of the same benefits. Also most LFS's have it while big online stores don't so its a good way to support your LFS.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Great input so far let's keep the suggestions going!

 

[bushdoc]

Reading Reef2Reef forums once or twice a day keeps all the trouble away!

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

The single most important measurable variable in an SPS tank is PH...

 

[pledosophy]

Simpler but the easiest way to rinse your carbon, is to fill the reactor and reattach it to the tank. Take the out line, and fill a 5g bucket. Then replace the water from the tank with 5g of new salt water. Most people change their carbon out during a water change. This is by far the easiest way.

 

[pledosophy]

Citric acid is better at cleaning pumps then white vinegar. Citric acid is also safe to touch and is used in foods, drinks, laundry etc. It is also cheaper then vinegar.

Some people get put off by the word acid and are scared to use it, but it really is the most effective and efficient way to clean aquarium equipment I have found.

 

[pledosophy]

Trochus snails right themselves. They are more expensive then astrea snails, but they will last longer and do a great job.

Also if you are looking for new snails, dwarf Planaxis snails are not to be overlooked. They sift the sand under your rock and are small enough not to topple the rocks.

 

[pledosophy]

The single most important measurable variable in an SPS tank is PH...

Never trust anyone's advice on pH that writes is as PH.

Just teasing you a bit. All in good fun.

 

[o2manyfish]

I second the above comment regarding using Citric Acid. Great Great Solution for cleaning equipment just give it a soak and then I hit the pump or whatever with a pressure washer - and it looks great again.

I even used Citric acid to 'clean' 800lbs of live rock that had been removed while covered with mushrooms, xenia, clavularia and zoas and let sit for 6 months - It did an awesome job of turning the rock in to clean and new dry rock.

My tip to add - especially for those with big tanks and especially fish rooms is Audible GFCI. These are GFCI outlets that when they trip start beeping.

I have over a dozen of them for my circuits. Its easy to walk by the tank and not notice that just one circuit is off, especiall with tanks outside and on a side yard. With the audible GFCI when they trip I immediately know they have gone off and quickly identify which circuit has been tripped.

Dave B

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Simpler but the easiest way to rinse your carbon, is to fill the reactor and reattach it to the tank. Take the out line, and fill a 5g bucket. Then replace the water from the tank with 5g of new salt water. Most people change their carbon out during a water change. This is by far the easiest way.

View attachment 2934269

I like the bucket idea, seems like it streamlines the process a lot more!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Trochus snails right themselves. They are more expensive then astrea snails, but they will last longer and do a great job.

Also if you are looking for new snails, dwarf Planaxis snails are not to be overlooked. They sift the sand under your rock and are small enough not to topple the rocks.

I'll have to look into these snails whenever I get around to buying some!!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Going to bump this one up!