Maintenance routines
- Thread starter Saltyskimmer
- Start date
mandy111
Active Member
Yup I do have a Lot. And I actually like to keep it that way. Lol. I've often wondered, corals sting each other to defend territory , the eat & some move around. I wonder if it hurts them when the get eaten ? Do the actually feel things.? I am not saying intelligent as such but would death be yukky for them ???
Saltyskimmer
New Member
Mandy, now your bringing up something else I read about having crap float all over. I read somewhere that you should stir up your sand bed. To me that makes sense (especially considering the crap I see in the sand). Is this something you do as well?
Saltyskimmer
mandy111
Active Member
If u have a deep sand bed be very very careful, only rake or turkey baste the top 1cm as it may release some harmful gasses & pockets that could be dangerous to the tank. If it's a new sand bed then its ok to do. I only have a shallow sand bed so I do rake completely over once a week. We actually vacumm it every few months too. But we have done this from set up so no dangerous pockets have been able to form
Saltyskimmer
New Member
Wow! Really? OK thanks for the advice.
snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
1 inch = 2.54cm, just FYI.
mandy111
Active Member
I don't know much about them personally, but don't they make a complete mess with sand and some times manage to bring down whole scapes rocks and all ?
pegasus
Well-Known Member
Yes, they create a new landscape nearly every day... lol! They can wreck your rock scapes unless you have the rocks completely on the bottom of the tank. That's one of the reasons most will recommend putting the rocks into the tank first, and then adding sand. Don't build your house on shifting sand kind of thing...
Saltyskimmer
New Member
What exactly are engineers?
MegIsAwesome06
New Member
Wow. I'm overwhelmed by all the maintenance. Not in the sense that I do t want to do it, I guess I just don't know where to start. I test the ph daily. I guess it's time for my first water change. Any tips? Also, how does one blow the rocks. I've heard that a few times and it's probably something I need to be doing.
lmforbis
Well-Known Member
I use my power head to blow off the rocks. I didn't do it very often in the past lately I have been doing it pretty much every time I do water changes.
I test my tank the day after I do a water change and dose as needed. Mine is fairly stable so I don't have to, initially I did a lot more testing.
I change 10 gallons of water every week (my tank is 125 gallons) approx. 10% of the volume.
I have a sump so the first time I did a water change I turned off the return pump and let the water drain back into the sump then used a permanent marker and marked the level on the glass. I Siphon off ~10 gallons of water and marked that level. Now every time I siphon to the same mark and stop filling at the first mark. Takes the guess work out of it. Once the water change is done I mix up the water for the next one. That way it is ready to go. I spend maybe a half hour every week on water changes. Other wise a few minutes every day on little things.
I have a gravity fed auto top off so I don't have to top off the tank every day.
I scrape off the glass as needed every other day or so.
Every two weeks I change the carbon and every 4 weeks I change the granular ferric oxide (GFO).
I do keep a log book. Just a small bound note book that I write everything I do in it. All test results and all maintenance I do. If I dose anything and how much. This helps me see trends and just remember what needs to be done.
My maintenance routine is not that bad.
I test my tank the day after I do a water change and dose as needed. Mine is fairly stable so I don't have to, initially I did a lot more testing.
I change 10 gallons of water every week (my tank is 125 gallons) approx. 10% of the volume.
I have a sump so the first time I did a water change I turned off the return pump and let the water drain back into the sump then used a permanent marker and marked the level on the glass. I Siphon off ~10 gallons of water and marked that level. Now every time I siphon to the same mark and stop filling at the first mark. Takes the guess work out of it. Once the water change is done I mix up the water for the next one. That way it is ready to go. I spend maybe a half hour every week on water changes. Other wise a few minutes every day on little things.
I have a gravity fed auto top off so I don't have to top off the tank every day.
I scrape off the glass as needed every other day or so.
Every two weeks I change the carbon and every 4 weeks I change the granular ferric oxide (GFO).
I do keep a log book. Just a small bound note book that I write everything I do in it. All test results and all maintenance I do. If I dose anything and how much. This helps me see trends and just remember what needs to be done.
My maintenance routine is not that bad.
MegIsAwesome06
New Member
I love the idea of a log! Man this community is awesome! I'm learning so much!
pegasus
Well-Known Member
If you don't have a power head that you can move around the tank (it happens), you can use a turkey baster to blast the rocks. 
Yes, a log book comes in handy, even if you aren't dosing supplements. I once tried logging all this stuff in my head... it didn't work out too good. I succeeded in getting a really bad headache, and dirty water.
Yes, a log book comes in handy, even if you aren't dosing supplements. I once tried logging all this stuff in my head... it didn't work out too good. I succeeded in getting a really bad headache, and dirty water.
MegIsAwesome06
New Member
I would think the power head would blow the sand everywhere. I mean, everywhere you don't want it. I have a turkey baster and I know how to use it!