BTA help
- Thread starter ctxx24
- Start date
promisetbg
Active Member
His mouth is gaping. Post all parameters including temp, NO3, PH,Alk & PO4. What type of lighting & what size tank? Are you using RO/DI water? Topping off daily? What is the SG.?
spanko
Active Member
lfs---local fish store
params. ---Parameters, as in water params. S/b something like: 8.3-9.3 alk, ph 7.9-8.3, cal 400-420, sal 1.025, temp 80. For a fish-only tank you don't need to fuss with cal too much.
alk---alkalinity.
cal---calcium [corals use this to build skeletons].
salinity, sometimes sg [specific gravity] salt level.
temp---temperature.
dose---adding certain things like dkh buffer or calcium. Dosing pump, a pump specialized in shooting small squirts into tank.
topoff, autotopoff---if you don't continually add fresh water to your tank it will get saltier and saltier with evaporation. An autotopoff pump is a system that delivers fresh ro/di water to your tank as evaporation happens.
carpet surfing---a fish jumping out: some fish are bad about this. Gutter Guard and lighting grid are good preventatives. You dont' want a closed canopy or lid on your tank: too much heat buildup; but fish jump. This is a serious problem.
ro/di---reverse osmosis/something-or-other---an extreme water filter that produces absolutely pure, 0 tds [total dissolved solids] water...so that when mixed with your ocean salt---it produces nothing but good ocean water, not some hybrid of city wellwater or worse. You can get ro/di at Walmart, from the machines. Or at your lfs. Nice if you can have your own ro/di unit and make ro/di at any hour or on holidays, in case of emergency.
display tank---your aquarium
refugium---a tank or area of your sump dedicated to weed and rock and sand---helps water quality, grows copepods.
copepod---small crustacean, sole food source for dragonets, candy for many fishes.
softies---as opposed to stonies: any coral without a skeleton: mushrooms, zoas, leathers, etc.
stonies---corals with a skeleton: includes both lps and sps. Large Polyp Stonies and Small Polyp Stonies. The sps are fussier about lighting and many of them need very intense light.
mh light---metal halide lighting; pricey, specialist stuff, and too bright to look at; good for crocea clams and some sps. If you see somebody saying he has 14000k 250 w Reeflux mh /w 2 actinic, that means he has a single metal halide bulb at 250 watts, burning at 14000 kelvin, and its brand name is Reeflux; it has 2 actinic bulbs for color correction and twilight.
T5 lighting---a little less pricey and good strong light. Visit the lighting and filtration forum before you buy lights: this is a big decision, costs a huge amount of your budget, and determines what kind of creature you can keep successfully.
FOWLR---fish-only-with-live-rock: a filterless [often] tank with marine fish, no corals.
reef---a tank that has a coral in it. It may also have fish.
LR/LS---live rock/live sand---having bacteria that breaks down fish waste and acts as a filter.
acclimation---drip acclimation: in a marine tank you don't EVER let water from the store get into your tank. You open your bag and drip water from your tank slowly into it until you've at least doubled the volume. Then you hand-carry your specimen [if not venomous] to the tank.
quarantine---keeping new fish in isolation tank [bare, plain filter, no rock or sand] for 4 weeks before introducing him to your display tank is good for your fish [who gets a chance to calm down and feed] and especially for your tank. Fish come in with parasites you really, really don't want loose in your tank. Observe a 4 week quarantine even on your first fish and you won't have mysterious fish deaths or all your fish broken out in spots. If they're going to break out, they will, in that 4 week isolation. Hint: do it while your 'cleaning crew' is getting to work: when they're through, your fish will be ready to go!
qt---quarantine.
'cleaning crew'---hermits and snails that will eat the algae that will start up as your cycle ends.
cycle---the period during which your pristine and totally dead tank turns green and skungy with life, including rock/sand-dwelling bacteria that can 'cycle' waste. Usually takes 2-4 weeks, longer if you have a lot of base rock as well as live rock.
coralline algae---the pink/purple stuff that coats rocks. A good thing. On your glass, it's a pita. A real good reason for liking glass tanks---at least it will come off glass. Never use a razor blade on an acrylic tank.
Copied from --.
params. ---Parameters, as in water params. S/b something like: 8.3-9.3 alk, ph 7.9-8.3, cal 400-420, sal 1.025, temp 80. For a fish-only tank you don't need to fuss with cal too much.
alk---alkalinity.
cal---calcium [corals use this to build skeletons].
salinity, sometimes sg [specific gravity] salt level.
temp---temperature.
dose---adding certain things like dkh buffer or calcium. Dosing pump, a pump specialized in shooting small squirts into tank.
topoff, autotopoff---if you don't continually add fresh water to your tank it will get saltier and saltier with evaporation. An autotopoff pump is a system that delivers fresh ro/di water to your tank as evaporation happens.
carpet surfing---a fish jumping out: some fish are bad about this. Gutter Guard and lighting grid are good preventatives. You dont' want a closed canopy or lid on your tank: too much heat buildup; but fish jump. This is a serious problem.
ro/di---reverse osmosis/something-or-other---an extreme water filter that produces absolutely pure, 0 tds [total dissolved solids] water...so that when mixed with your ocean salt---it produces nothing but good ocean water, not some hybrid of city wellwater or worse. You can get ro/di at Walmart, from the machines. Or at your lfs. Nice if you can have your own ro/di unit and make ro/di at any hour or on holidays, in case of emergency.
display tank---your aquarium
refugium---a tank or area of your sump dedicated to weed and rock and sand---helps water quality, grows copepods.
copepod---small crustacean, sole food source for dragonets, candy for many fishes.
softies---as opposed to stonies: any coral without a skeleton: mushrooms, zoas, leathers, etc.
stonies---corals with a skeleton: includes both lps and sps. Large Polyp Stonies and Small Polyp Stonies. The sps are fussier about lighting and many of them need very intense light.
mh light---metal halide lighting; pricey, specialist stuff, and too bright to look at; good for crocea clams and some sps. If you see somebody saying he has 14000k 250 w Reeflux mh /w 2 actinic, that means he has a single metal halide bulb at 250 watts, burning at 14000 kelvin, and its brand name is Reeflux; it has 2 actinic bulbs for color correction and twilight.
T5 lighting---a little less pricey and good strong light. Visit the lighting and filtration forum before you buy lights: this is a big decision, costs a huge amount of your budget, and determines what kind of creature you can keep successfully.
FOWLR---fish-only-with-live-rock: a filterless [often] tank with marine fish, no corals.
reef---a tank that has a coral in it. It may also have fish.
LR/LS---live rock/live sand---having bacteria that breaks down fish waste and acts as a filter.
acclimation---drip acclimation: in a marine tank you don't EVER let water from the store get into your tank. You open your bag and drip water from your tank slowly into it until you've at least doubled the volume. Then you hand-carry your specimen [if not venomous] to the tank.
quarantine---keeping new fish in isolation tank [bare, plain filter, no rock or sand] for 4 weeks before introducing him to your display tank is good for your fish [who gets a chance to calm down and feed] and especially for your tank. Fish come in with parasites you really, really don't want loose in your tank. Observe a 4 week quarantine even on your first fish and you won't have mysterious fish deaths or all your fish broken out in spots. If they're going to break out, they will, in that 4 week isolation. Hint: do it while your 'cleaning crew' is getting to work: when they're through, your fish will be ready to go!
qt---quarantine.
'cleaning crew'---hermits and snails that will eat the algae that will start up as your cycle ends.
cycle---the period during which your pristine and totally dead tank turns green and skungy with life, including rock/sand-dwelling bacteria that can 'cycle' waste. Usually takes 2-4 weeks, longer if you have a lot of base rock as well as live rock.
coralline algae---the pink/purple stuff that coats rocks. A good thing. On your glass, it's a pita. A real good reason for liking glass tanks---at least it will come off glass. Never use a razor blade on an acrylic tank.
Copied from --.
n_jones
Member
Thank You very much....... I'm gonna copy that and save it. I had figured most of that out in the few days of reading here. I inherited a 55 gal that my daughter was using to house a 12" red slider. My wife decided he needed to go in her backyard pond so I got the tank and decided to try my hand at SW. I just got setup and started the cycle yesterday......... so...... we'll see what happens......
