"Pszemol" wrote in message
...
"swarvegorilla" wrote in message
...
Even the barrier reef is mainly algae species, coral is a distant second.

It is very hard to compare real ocean to our fish tanks...
mate I work with simulations not replications.
I know how the rules are different.
i.e. size = dilution


The only point I wanted to make is that with the proper dedication and
research there is no reason a coupla cycled air sponge filters could not
support a nice tank of damsels, pair clowns, dottyback, maybe a bicolour
angel and lawn mower blenny.

I would always like such statements backed up with a nice pictures
showing beautiful tanks with no problematic algae running this way :-)
How are you progressing in making such photos of your tanks ?


Not at all
My sponge filtered tanks are chockers with fish.
I'm hardly about to go riding around taking photo's of peoples tanks to
satify one crazy usenet freek with a million questions and demands.
no disrespect intended as I'm one as well but I'm a busy man eh.


What are the levels of nitrates and phosphates in your tanks ?
WTF would you care?
Come on dude


What is your maintenance schedule ?

I water change 25% EVERY sunday
I live beside the unspoilt pacific yea and pump it into big plastic drums on
a truck at a boat ramp


How often do you play with
the tanks ?

every day or once a month
depends on the tank and it's need for sparkle fresh appearance



How big is the tank from the above mentioned example ?

get a life mate
if you really need to know so much about the tanks come read the bloody
journals for them yourself hey



If it's going to be a full reef then you need to get serious on your
equipment level.
chillers and lights need to be bought
suppliments to promote coral growth over algae
all sorts crap.

What supplements would you add ?
How do they work in supporting corals to outcompete algae in our tanks?

They come in bottles and are called things like 'live rock food', I also mix
my own kalk and culture greenwater for me filter feeders when I can be
bothered.
Remember I work in the industry mate, little widdle fings in your tank like
coraline algae and stuff suck minerals outta the water to build body
structures yea? Once they are gone the algae that doesn't need them surges
ahead.
Do your own bloody research. I do not at all see why ya need the details
when you supposedly know them dude?
If I need a suppliment I ask 4 different reps their opinion, then I ask me
fellow lfs brotherhood, then I check my books, then the net and if all else
fails or I feel no$taljik usenet
but usually a handful of epsomsalt or calc carb powder can do any job a
fancy bottle can do
yes I can do the science to a .ppm but when you face a problem the 2nd time,
you already have an idea of the solution.



'Display' is a sense of mind. Yes maybe a tank in a hotel is going to
have to be 'a slice of the ocean' with no visable filters and exotic
corals.
but a tank in the living room, stocked with conscienscously chosen fish
that do well in captivity, and a bit of maintenence is also what I call a
display.

What I say by "display" is the tank which has PRIMARY concern: aesthetics.
It simply has to LOOK nice.

All my tanks look nice
even my feeder fish tanks are decorated
my goldfish have castles and stuff
live plants and stacked rocks
getting nicer everyday but looking good hey, sponge filter or no!


The different story is for example in breeding tanks or grow up tanks...
In such tanks you do not care much about how do they look - what you
care for is that you can cram a lot of fish in smalles possible tank
without sacrificing their health and well being... So if you have to
add big and ugly filter in the center of the tank - do it... Again, you
do not care about aesthetics in a grow-up tanks. It can be ugly but
it has to work. Opposite to your show tank in living room - it cannot be
an eyesore with visible plumbing or a lot of hair algae covering rocks.

That said bring on the requirements as you see them for a 'display' tank
Don't forget the UVC and kalk dosers.


UVC is a no-no for a reef tank.
You want to encourage the plankton growth in the water
instead of killing it with UVC lamp...
You filter feeding animals like clams, scallops, feather dusters,
sponges will feed on unicellular algae in the water preventing the
green water problems you might want to fight withUVC lamp in FO tanks.


Was kiddin mate
look fair enuf you are curious
and thats cool but really I ain't about to go to huge trouble to 'prove'
myself to you
tomorrow I drain a cichlid tank and begin to setup another 6x2x2 foot marine
display.
It will take me a while as kinda moved it ahead a few weeks.
still start as early as ya can!
I will take a lot of pictures, but be patient mate.
Things move slow with these things.
If you are curious I will be adding some very boring liverock, substrate,
water,and filter media from an established marine tank.
My lights won't be ready for a bit but planning on hanging a coupla MH from
the roof.
The tank is in a new position so going to be interesting to see the chiller
power I am going to need to keep this girl happy.
Aussie summers hey, already getting record highs for Oct.
For filtration I am going with an Otto 450G cannister filter and a few
powerheads for water movement.
I will upgrade as needed.
Yep no sponge air filter!
But this tank will be surrounded by others with them!

With water changes anyone can keep stuff alive.... although big lights are
certainly going to help.


So sponge filters- ugly, cheap, basic and give ya the additional challenge
of solving alt creep problems, frequent cleanings in aquarium water and
hiding them behind something :-)
so what I say, they work if you can get past that
Now if you still feel the need to educate me, go ahead.
It's what I'm here for, but realise I am not your average n00b.
and I have dickheads feeling me out all day at work trying to figure out if
I know my ****
so it may be hard for me to be polite when it happens from a stranger on the
net.
brown rice 'n all eh