Just a Quick Rememberence to the OLD DAYS

[thakid2u]

Not to stir things up among the SW world. Just to let everyone know, mostly the Newbs, That you dont need to spend a fortune to own a Treasure. Meaning.......I have read alot of posts on here and agree with most of them. Some I will not even try to get into. I started my SW adventure when you had to do some work. Water Changes like every other week and so on.....You know the good ol' days of Drip filters minus the Bio-wheels. I think new people should understand that you dont NEED to have all things, powerheads, UV Ster, Skimmers, Wet/Dry and so on, to have a sucessful Tank. These will help. I personally dont use a skimmer, UV ster, Wet/dry so on, I have just a AquaClear 200, about 70#s of LR, 2 air stones, a Maxi-jet 1200 PH, and a 96 watt Smart light. This is running my 55-gal with no Probs. Of course I have Fish only, (never really been to fond of Coral). I have a EMP. Angel, a True Perc, a Pacific Blue and your ordinary Zebra and blue leg Crab, Bout forgot my Horshoe also. I use Florida C.C. as a Sub about an inch thick. All is well hear, Fish are happy, everybody is happy, I tried changing Filters about a month ago, only to battle HLLE. We all know how fun that is. But switched back to the 200 and some time in the HT. Everybody is fine. I am not posting this to put down anything that was said by others, Just to let the newbs that there once was a time when There wasnt all this new stuff..............

 

[raiderfan]

i'm so glad to hear that someone is having succes with this kind of set up. not all of us have the kind of money to put into the hobby. when i got on here i was pretty much discouraged with the advise which i am sure is the best advice but i went ahead with what i had and putting some of the advice from here with my limited budget i have a nice 26 gallon tank with no problems
to see pics go to www.msnusers.com/saltwaterfishtanks
click on photos and then click on each album to see pics then click on each pic to see close up not the greatest pics but quite an accomplishment for me considering that the messages i received and the ones i read kinda made me feel like this wasn't a good idea

 

[thakid2u]

Congrats on the success. Dont ever get discouraged because of what someone tells you. UNLESS it's really really crappy news.
I have been doing SW for goin on about 7 years, and FW about 10 years. I am no way a guru, but I know some people will read some posts and think man I cant afford that. I just wanted to remind them that YOU DONT HAVE TO.

 

[raiderfan]

not to diss the board but i think this is almost the best advice i have read yet
again i don't want ya'll to get the wrong idea i am not in any way trying to say thay ya'll have been anything but helpful.
its just that a well cared for tank can thrive with less then perfect equipment
just alot more work and for those true fish lovers out there the result is well worth the effort

 

[thakid2u]

Thanx for the nice post, As far as alot more work. YES but I think I have learned alot more from this.....

 

[broomer5]

In my opinion, most all the high tech equipment available is never a replacement for a properly stocked/fed tank, with sufficient filtration and a hobbyist's caring watchful eye.

 

[iechy]

I agree that the most important thing in the hobby is common sense and attention to your tank. If you watch your tank every day you can make adjustments when needed and not have to rely on equipment to stop it from happening. That being said, I'm all for technology making my life easier whenever my budget permits. As was stated you don't need alot of these things but many can be beneficial and make life easier and help protect your tank when you are slacking.

 

[broomer5]

heck yeah Iechy !
Half the fun of this hobby for me is playing around with all the cool gadgets and higher tech stuff.
Is is necessary to be successful - not really -depends on the livestock you keep.
Can it help - sure can.
Is it fun, and does it add to my enjoyment of the hobby - you betcha

 

[beth]

The only intank equiptment I use is powerheads and a HOT skimmer. Do water changes whenever I feel like it...its never really an obvious necessity.
Of course, I have a natural system, and paid a good deal of money to set that up, but its worth it IMO, not to be constantly cleaning things or doing water changes. I have saved a lot of money just on water and salt, not to mention my valuable time.

 

[richard rendos]

Raiderfan - those are some cool backgrounds. Are they inside or outside of the tanks? Did you make them or buy them? Salt tank looks like crushed coral glued to the back glass, and fresh water looks like lava rock or something attached to back glass. Very cool!

 

[raiderfan]

the tank backing was put on by my lfs. he is not american and speaks broken english. the best he could describe it was he puts liquid fiberglass on the back of tank when it is lying on its side. he makes sure it is covering the intire back then he pours the crushed coral on it and lets it dry. it has worked well i was a little hesitant that it might poison my fish but all is well' he gave me a deal on the tank. its a 26 flatback that has a overflow built in running on a powerhead. the only problem so far has been the smaller hermits scaling the wall and falling down into the back of tank. the holes are i guess what is considered egg crate but i'm not sure. the little hermits are brought back up weekly but seem to enjoy it there since they continue to go back. it sucks though because the cc backing is not on that sidr too so they can't get back up without help. the small snails go back and forth since they can climb not only the cc backing but also the glass on the other side. so i got some bigger hermits and snails to make sure not everythings stays down there. as far as the system goes the guy also puts the same thing in freshwater tanks. if you go back to my site and click on my freshwater album you can see the one he did for me using lava rock instead of c.c.
i am looking forward to learning more about the saltwater hobby and get a bigger tank. the guy at the store has a 150 gallon set up the same way although he also has the high tech stuff too on the big tank. the smaller tanks he runs just like i have it and i have seen the same fish in ther for a couple of years at least
glad you enjoyed the pics i will keep updating them every week so i can keep track of how things are going
take care
steve

 

[david s]

nice looking tank raider but that teddy bear in the 2rd pic is scary staring back at you lol I like the back of the tank also cool tank physyco teddy

 

[raiderfan]

which teddy bear staring back?

 

[david s]

http://www.msnusers.com/saltwaterfis...oto&PhotoID=71 this one lol

 

[raiderfan]

i was looking at 2nd pic on first page now i see the one your talking about tjhats my oakland raider bear his place is usualy on top of the tank but every now and then he goes for a closer look if i end up missing fish i know who to blame