Had it with my reef tank

Salt water is a pain and expensive. All I do is water changes every weekend
and still I battle with Hair algae and cyano. And everyone I have talked to
on the internet all have a different solution for which I have tried. Unless
you are willing to sink some major money in an aquarium, I would do a lot of
reading and really make sure I was serious about doing a marine tank. As far
as what we call a Live Rock Fish Only tank, that is my problem (the rock), I
have even gone Bare bottom trying to resolve my Hair algae problem and I am
tired of fighting. I just have a few corals because I don't want to waste my
money and let them be covered up with algae. I want a tank that I can enjoy
instead of a being a slave to. And where I live there are no clubs or people
locally that are willing to help unless it is the LFS that wants to take
your money. So that is the main reason I am considering getting out of the
marine hobby. Unless I just sell everything at a major loss and give up
having a tank all together.

Sorry for the rant but my aching back is talking to me.
Thanks for replying,
Paulette


"BillT" wrote in message
a.net...




In article ,
says...
Hello all,
I am new here and as you can see from the title of my post I am ill with
my
reef tank. I have a 75 gal reef set up that I could never get the handle
on
and set up right. This has been going on for about 3 years. Before then
I
had always been in freshwater (7 years). Thinking of coming back and
throwing up my hands with my reef which means I will be getting rid of a
lot
of stuff. I plan to start a planted tank for which I enjoyed very much
before and was definitely less maintenance than my reef set up. My
questions
a

1) Can I use my wet/dry trickle filter plus a magnum 350 canister filter
and
that's all? Before I used a undergravel filter as well.


Yes, but trickle filter will remove co2 which plants like. I
don't use canister, they are hard to clean and have too many
tubes sticking out. I use a small filter that hangs outside
and that removes some of the debris and circulate my water.
Small because I only want to move water slowly, I don't want
water moving too fast in there.

2) I still have my gravel left over from years ago. If I rinse it well
can I
still use it. It is natural pea gravel. and how thick should I make the
layer in a 75? I had a 55 gal before.


Yes, 1.5" thick, I like to leave it a little dirty and put some
potting soil under it 1.5" thick.

3) I have a power compact unit for lighting. Will that do for plants or
will
I need to supplement it with an additional light?


Don't know about salt light and fresh light. But full spectrum
should be ok.

4) It has been so long, How long will it take to cycle a 75? Can I cycle
with plants or do I need to add them gradually?


Yes. I think same time to cycle a 1 gallon as 100 gallon. I
put in all the plants at once. But some plants seem to do
better if they are put into an established (dirtier) tank. I
would guess they like dirtier tank better because of the
fertilizing benefits.

5) I have 4 powerheads. Are they useful in a planted tank? I can hook
air to
them to aerate the water.


Just 1 to circulate water is ok. Air will fizz the co2 out of
your water, if you inject co2.

6) I have had cichlids in the past and angels. What would be the limit
number or inch of fish in a 75? Or does it determine on how many plants
you
have?


Get some peaceful fish, like tetras, white clouds, etc. They
will have many babies and the population limit will be reached
and it'll stay that way. Same with plants. Cichlids will dig
up the gravel and tear up the plants, angels will eat small
fish.

7) Sorry, this may be a stupid question because it has been so long
since
freshwater. Do I siphon the gravel with a planted tank or leave it alone
when I do water changes.

I leave it alone, plants grow better with dirty gravel. The
excess crap goes into the side filter and I hose that material
off and put it back in. I have a Penguin with a refillable
cartridge cage, I also have an Aquaclear with a sponge. I take
the sponge out back and hose it and step on it and all the crap
is squeezed out. Wash the bottom of your shoes before going
back in the house.

8) I have a RO/DI unit for filtering water. Will it be useful for
freshwater?


Maybe DI is too clean, no trace minerals at all. But the RO to
make it softer might benefit plants.

I am sorry this is so many questions and I am sure there will be more.
Just
trying to determine if I want to make the switch or not. I even thought
of
getting brackish fish but not sure what plants would tolerate salt of
course
in low concentrations, not at a marine level.

Hope someone can help me or at least point me in the right direction.
Maybe
someone else has gone through the same thing that I am thinking of
doing.

I am sure many changes and techniques have changed since I was in
freshwater.

Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.


I was thinking of the opposite. Getting into a small simple
sal****er setup with easy fish like damsels, and easy
invertebrates like snails or something. Is salt easy? Should
I try? I know nothing about salt.

Mermaid wrote:
Salt water is a pain and expensive. All I do is water changes every weekend
and still I battle with Hair algae and cyano. And everyone I have talked to
on the internet all have a different solution for which I have tried. Unless
you are willing to sink some major money in an aquarium, I would do a lot of
reading and really make sure I was serious about doing a marine tank. As far
as what we call a Live Rock Fish Only tank, that is my problem (the rock), I
have even gone Bare bottom trying to resolve my Hair algae problem and I am
tired of fighting. I just have a few corals because I don't want to waste my
money and let them be covered up with algae. I want a tank that I can enjoy
instead of a being a slave to. And where I live there are no clubs or people
locally that are willing to help unless it is the LFS that wants to take
your money. So that is the main reason I am considering getting out of the
marine hobby. Unless I just sell everything at a major loss and give up
having a tank all together.

Sorry for the rant but my aching back is talking to me.
Thanks for replying,
Paulette

Hmm...I ran a nanoreef on pure Berlin method and never had a lick of
trouble beyond the first, typical red slime bloom. It seemed magical,
how well it worked and I would never run a salt tank any other way. I
eventually had pink coralline algae over everything, including my
heater, liverock, tank backdrop, and substrate. Polyps and mushrooms
thrived and a clownfish took up residence in a long-tentacled anemone
that took up half the tank. I bet your sal****er tank is salvageable by
selling some fish, doubling the live rock, converting the trickle filter
(aka nitrate factory) into a sump, removing the magnum (another nitrate
factory), sealing off the UGF to serve as a plenum, and adding the best
skimmer you can possibly afford.

Anyway, you're going to be fighting algae in a planted tank as well,
although you've done FW before so you know what you're getting into.

I'll answer your plant tank questions too. Just wanted to share what a
small miracle Berlin method was for me in a SW reef tank.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

In article ,
says...
Salt water is a pain and expensive. All I do is water changes every weekend
and still I battle with Hair algae and cyano. And everyone I have talked to
on the internet all have a different solution for which I have tried. Unless
you are willing to sink some major money in an aquarium, I would do a lot of
reading and really make sure I was serious about doing a marine tank. As far
as what we call a Live Rock Fish Only tank, that is my problem (the rock), I
have even gone Bare bottom trying to resolve my Hair algae problem and I am
tired of fighting. I just have a few corals because I don't want to waste my
money and let them be covered up with algae. I want a tank that I can enjoy
instead of a being a slave to. And where I live there are no clubs or people
locally that are willing to help unless it is the LFS that wants to take
your money. So that is the main reason I am considering getting out of the
marine hobby. Unless I just sell everything at a major loss and give up
having a tank all together.

Sorry for the rant but my aching back is talking to me.
Thanks for replying,
Paulette


Thanks. Can't you just get something to eat the algae? We
have ramshorn snails, ottocinclus, etc. for that in fresh.