Bubble Walls in salt water tank?

sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by trouble93
http:///forum/post/3081453
Maybe everybody doesn't see things the way I do...Take a look at all the pics you have seen of other tank. Basically everything is the same. One thing I have found in this hooby is there is a lot of ways to achieve the same golds. I have 4 tanks and I services 6 more and after awhile they all look the same. So I look to add a twist. So if I have to do a little more cleaning and maintenance I'm O.K. with that.
Alright, well you had your mind made up before you posted then because most people on here have told you not to do it. If you are going to do it anyway then please be sure to have a quarantine tank cycled. If your fish get pop eye and gill infections the only treatment, that is actually effective, is Maracyn 2 for SW tanks. This medication cannot be use in the display and must be used in a fully cycled quarantine tank. You will not be able to just add saltwater into something and be able to treat. Just so that you are aware...
 
trouble93

trouble93

Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/3081808
Alright, well you had your mind made up before you posted then because most people on here have told you not to do it. If you are going to do it anyway then please be sure to have a quarantine tank cycled. If your fish get pop eye and gill infections the only treatment, that is actually effective, is Maracyn 2 for SW tanks. This medication cannot be use in the display and must be used in a fully cycled quarantine tank. You will not be able to just add saltwater into something and be able to treat. Just so that you are aware...
I didn't have my mind made up that's why I posted it. I do have a cycled hospital tank and a bottle maracyn plus on hand if anything was to go wrong. There are two fish in the tank a clown grouper and a harlequin tusk some rock work and a bear bottom. The tank is screaming for something different. I do want to hear what other hobbyists have to say. And I wouldn't have wasted my time or yours if my mind was made up, but I have to be objective and take it all in. Some say it shouldn't be done, but what about those that say it can be done? They don't count?
 
trouble93

trouble93

Member
Originally Posted by zippgirl
http:///forum/post/3081624
Just want to share my experience, I also think that bubble wands look pretty even though a lot of people don't. I can not speak for the technical side of the affect on the fish, but when I first started (and this was with a glass canopy) I did the bubble wand (very pretty) but OMG the salt creep was far worse than I ever could have imagined, it had to go, it was a nightmare. I am not saying don't do it, but may experience was terrible salt creep. Good luck, it does look pretty to me.
Thanks for your input.
 
snaredrum

snaredrum

Member
Originally Posted by zippgirl
http:///forum/post/3081624
Just want to share my experience, I also think that bubble wands look pretty even though a lot of people don't. I can not speak for the technical side of the affect on the fish, but when I first started (and this was with a glass canopy) I did the bubble wand (very pretty) but OMG the salt creep was far worse than I ever could have imagined, it had to go, it was a nightmare. I am not saying don't do it, but may experience was terrible salt creep. Good luck, it does look pretty to me.
LOL. Figure its like having a skimmer with no cup! Bubbles going up and bursting and the mist going everywhere. Take your skimmer cup out for cleaning with it running and look at how much mist is coming off the top. Its amazing
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
I had one of those long black tube bubble wall thingies. That was back when I also had plastic plants. Had it there for 2-3 years I guess. I had no issues with it in my softie/LPS/fish tank.
One problem that would occur in my shrimp bins when I used an airstone, if there were a lot of organics in the bin it would act like a skimmer and create a horrendous thick bubble scum across the water surface. This would impede gas exchange and all the inhabitants would die if I didn't remove it daily.
 
rbcjoker

rbcjoker

Member
Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3081898
all the inhabitants would die if I didn't remove it daily.
That alone would put me off. I want to be able to sit back and enjoy looking at my tanks, not have to clean the scum off the top all time.
 
fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
I have to disagree with the "pretty look" to it. If we are trying to replicate the ocean having a air wall won't help. Plus it doesn't look like it belongs. Good luck.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by fishkid13
http:///forum/post/3082057
I have to disagree with the "pretty look" to it. If we are trying to replicate the ocean having a air wall won't help. Plus it doesn't look like it belongs. Good luck.

I won't do a bubble wall personally because of all the warnings.
However a bubble wall is beautiful. On that I say hands down on any type of a background. It looks like a water fall and is breathtaking if done right. A well done rock wall background is another real beautiful thing to behold.
So I totally understand why the OP wants one so bad. It frankly is the only thing I missed when I switched from freshwater to saltwater. In the end corals more than made up for that small loss of beauty.
 
trouble93

trouble93

Member
Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3081898
I had one of those long black tube bubble wall thingies. That was back when I also had plastic plants. Had it there for 2-3 years I guess. I had no issues with it in my softie/LPS/fish tank.
One problem that would occur in my shrimp bins when I used an airstone, if there were a lot of organics in the bin it would act like a skimmer and create a horrendous thick bubble scum across the water surface. This would impede gas exchange and all the inhabitants would die if I didn't remove it daily.
Good point... but there are no inverts in the tank. I have to do a lot of cleaning anyway so what's a little salt creep.
 
trouble93

trouble93

Member
Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/3081973
im just sayin that after about 2 days you'll get rid of it because of salt creep
Wouldn't about a 6 or maybe 8in. wide piece of plexiglass cut in two section and layed on the inside rim of the back of the tank catch most of the salt creep? my water level stays right about the bottom of the trim so I will still have room for the bubbles to break. Then every few days or so take the strips out and wipe them down.
 
trouble93

trouble93

Member
Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/3082346
in my experience the more closed up the top of your tank is the worse the creep

I don't mean to beat a dead horse,but clearly now it's not can I but how to do this. And believe me I understand what you mean about the creep. I remember when I had my first tank with pc lights and two hob filters the splash would cover the visor and I had to be cleaned every two weeks or so. And this will be closer. So what I'm thinking is the plexiglass on the back. And leave space on the front for some egg create. Come time to clean just pop the plexiglass out and clean it.
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
Have you considered what all that creep is going to to do your salinity levels? Salinity is traditionally one of the most stable things in a tank. You can't really toss this salt creep back into the tank, so you are going to be fidding with salinity levels all the time trying to keep it stable, because you're going to be dealing with more salt creep in a week than most people have in a year...
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3082813
Have you considered what all that creep is going to to do your salinity levels? Salinity is traditionally one of the most stable things in a tank. You can't really toss this salt creep back into the tank, so you are going to be fidding with salinity levels all the time trying to keep it stable, because you're going to be dealing with more salt creep in a week than most people have in a year...

I have knocked the salt creep back into the tank...I didn't know that was a bad thing, can you elaborate?
 
scsinet

scsinet

Active Member
If salt creep falls on sessile invertebrates, it can seriously damage their tissues or even kill them.
Also, since salt is a dessicant, it wicks moisture out of the environment, which is why salt creep always feels wet, even when its away from the tank. That dampness causes dirt and crud in the air to stick and accumulate, and when you knock it back in you are dumping all that crud that's accumulated with it back into the water.
I've knocked bits off parts of my sump with no ill effects, but I wouldn't recommend knocking salt creep into a DT and certainly not in the quantities a bubble wand will produce.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3082828
If salt creep falls on sessile invertebrates, it can seriously damage their tissues or even kill them.
Also, since salt is a dessicant, it wicks moisture out of the environment, which is why salt creep always feels wet, even when its away from the tank. That dampness causes dirt and crud in the air to stick and accumulate, and when you knock it back in you are dumping all that crud that's accumulated with it back into the water.
I've knocked bits off parts of my sump with no ill effects, but I wouldn't recommend knocking salt creep into a DT and certainly not in the quantities a bubble wand will produce.
Makes sense to me. I admit the stuff I knock in is just the tiny crumbs around the simmer tube...a wand would create much more.
 
trouble93

trouble93

Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3082828
If salt creep falls on sessile invertebrates, it can seriously damage their tissues or even kill them.
Also, since salt is a dessicant, it wicks moisture out of the environment, which is why salt creep always feels wet, even when its away from the tank. That dampness causes dirt and crud in the air to stick and accumulate, and when you knock it back in you are dumping all that crud that's accumulated with it back into the water.
I've knocked bits off parts of my sump with no ill effects, but I wouldn't recommend knocking salt creep into a DT and certainly not in the quantities a bubble wand will produce.
There are no invertebrater in the tank, but I agree with not adding salt creep back into the DP.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by trouble93
http:///forum/post/3082883
There are no invertebrater in the tank, but I agree with not adding salt creep back into the DP.

I m not trying to nag or anything...but
I don't think you were understanding the warning, so I am jumping in...If the salt is taken OUT of the water by salt creep your SG level is not going to be stable. The invert warning was not as dangerous as the salt level warning.
What everyone, including me is trying very hard to tell you is that a bubble wand has no place in a saltwater tank. They are giving you all the reasons why not which should outweigh the ..it looks so cool...mentality.
In the end you can and will do what you want...keep us posted. This should be interesting.
 
trouble93

trouble93

Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3082813
Have you considered what all that creep is going to to do your salinity levels? Salinity is traditionally one of the most stable things in a tank. You can't really toss this salt creep back into the tank, so you are going to be fidding with salinity levels all the time trying to keep it stable, because you're going to be dealing with more salt creep in a week than most people have in a year...
Auto top off with salt mix insted of fresh water. That would keep the salinity levels in check.
 
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