Volume 1, Issue 4 - Boston Reefers Society

July
2003
Getting Started - a reefing primer
Part 2 in a Continuing Series by Moe Kirby (BRS President)
Last month I discussed how to find good
information on setting up a tank, and recommended a starting tank size.
This month I’ll continue the discussion of
setting up an example 75 gallon reef
tank, using Dave Balch’s newbie questions to guide the discussion.
Q: Do I need a sump? What is a
sump?
A: One of the first things to decide is
whether or not to make use of a sump. A
sump is simply a place to which water
flows from the main tank and then is
pumped back to the main tank. Now
you’re probably asking “Why?” Well, a
sump is a convenient place to hold equipment like a protein skimmer, pH probes,
and heaters (I’ll describe equipment in a
future article). It is also a great place to
add supplements, calcium reactor effluent
and occasionally place a bag of activated
carbon or phosphate remover (for those
who are into that sort of thing). No need
to mess up the look of the show tank;
hide all that stuff in the cabinet under the
reef.
Another added benefit of a sump is that
the overall volume of water in the system
is increased. More water frequently
means greater stability and a greater
margin for error. Sumps also can make
water changes easier.
Moe’s “Acrolog” – gift of Mike Accardi
So how does that work with a reef tank?
Those who use sumps frequently use an
extra (often smaller) aquarium as a
sump. The main tank – or “show tank” –
sits atop the aquarium stand as usual.
Beneath the show tank, a smaller aquarium is placed to receive water from the
show tank via either an overflow or pump.
A pump is then generally used to return
water back up to the show tank. A nice
little water circuit is established. There
are numerous schematics available at the
online discussion boards that show how
sumps fit into the overall setup of a reef
system. John Tullock also has some great
diagrams and some excellent suggestions
in his book, Natural Reef Aquariums.
There are, however, some problems associated with sumps. Most leaks and floods
in this hobby are associated with a sump
or the plumbing involved in the water circuit. There are many opportunities for
disaster with use of a sump, so careful
planning, design, and testing is required.
One must be sure to plan for all potential
pump and siphon failures when determining the levels in the sump and the main
tank.
Is a sump necessary? Not at all. In fact, I
don’t use a sump on my 55-gallon reef
tank. I have no room, and since I live in
an apartment, it’s not the best idea for
me – too great a chance of disaster for
my liking. Many folks love using a sump,
though and from what I’ve read on the
various internet bulletin boards, most
folks do use one. If you plan properly and
once the kinks are worked out, sumps
really do seem convenient.
Q:
I’ve heard peoples tanks have
drained into their sump during
power loss, how do I prevent
this?
A: Well, lots of bad things can happen in
a power outage. I, like you, have heard of
people’s tanks overflowing after a temporary loss of power. I do not use a sump
myself but here are a few tips I have collected from people who do.
The most common mistake is probably
lack of planning. There are a great number of technically minded BRS members,
along with a wealth of information available on the web regarding tank capacities
and how to calculate how much water will
continue to flow during a power outage or
loss of siphon for those using external
overflows. It is important to calculate
how much water will drain from your main
tank to your sump when the pumps fail.
Obviously enough space should be left in
your sump to accommodate this water.
Similarly you should calculate how much
water would continue to flow into your
Volume 1
Issue 4
Calendar of Events
June
28th
BOSTON REEFERS
JUNE MEETING :
MACNA 2004 RALLY
WAKEFIELD LIBRARY
July
Potential Joint Meeting
of BRS/CARS/Upstate
August
23rd
BRS August Meeting
Guest Speaker Sanjay Joshi
Sept. 5-7 MACNA XV
Louisville, KY
BOSTON REEFERS
to host MACNA XVI
Thanks to the efforts of Marvin
Parramore with help from Ron Wishna, the
BRS Officers and Board of Directors, the
Boston Reefers Society will be the proud
hosts of MACNA XVI next September.
Marvin, Ron, the Officers and the Board
along with a number of eager volunteers have already begun making
preparations for the event. The Hyatt
Harborside Hotel has already been secured as the venue and a significant
number of speakers have already given
us an unofficial nod expressing their interest.
Even though the MACNA Committee
members have already started their
work, we will need everyone’s help to
make this MACNA an event to remember.
Sign-up sheets have already
started circulating for the various committees. If you haven’t had a chance to
hear about our plans or aren’t sure what
committee you’d like to work with, contact Marvin (tstone) or Ron
(mantishunter) on Reef Central or drop
an email to the BRS officers at
info@bostonreefers.org.
Page 1
THE NETTING MATERIAL FUND LFS Q&A
The Boston Reefers Society is a
strong supporter of responsible, ethical, environmentally conscious
specimen collection methods. At last
months meeting we collected donations for the Netting Material Fund
which promotes net caught fish as
opposed to other less desirable
methods. The BRS’ donation along
with funds from a great many others
has allowed the Netting Material
Fund to exceed it’s goal of $3,000 to
provide nets for Philippine collectors.
Exceeding this goal has prompted
expansion of the project to buy nets
and train collectors in Indonesia.
Donations are still being accepted so
please visit
www.reefsource.com/netting_material_fund.htm
Information about the Netting Fund
(edited and reprinted with permission of course)
Marine Specialties International, Inc. is
pleased to be working in conjunction with
Ferdinand Cruz and Reef Central to provide a way for hobbyists and retail store
owners to be directly involved in getting
netting material to collectors in the Philippines and Indonesia.
WHY ARE NETS NEEDED?:
Many collectors in the Philippines are eager to stop using cyanide and start using
nets to catch the fish for this industry.
However, the collectors are not rich people, and they are unable to purchase the
material themselves. Most export companies and non-profit organizations have
provided little if any netting to the collectors.
Trainings are taking place, and
many collectors are being converted. But
what good is training if there are no nets
Training In the Phillipines
Volume 1, Issue 4
to leave with the collectors? If we want to
stop cyanide fishing, we have to stop
talking about it and start doing something. That is what this fund is all about.
WHAT WILL THE MONEY BE USED
FOR?: All monies collected will go towards purchasing the netting material,
paying for shipping to Los Angeles and
then on to the Philippines or Indonesia,
and paying for any sales/export/import
taxes, custom charges, etc.. involved. Our
first goal is to raise $3000 to cover all
expenses for shipping 15 100-meter bundles of netting to the Philippines. As I
have not shipped such items overseas
before, this is an estimate. If we go over
the goal, the additional money will be
used to fund the same project for Indonesia.
WHERE WILL THE NETTING GO?:
The netting material will be shipped to
Ferdinand Cruz. This is one of the few
people that I sincerely trust in this industry. He has devoted his life to net trainings and is in the field everyday. He formerly conducted the trainings for the International Marinelife Alliance and the Marine Aquarium Council until his resignation
late last year. I know that he will get the
netting to the people who need and deserve it the most. More info about Ferdinand and his dedication to responsible
specimen collection can be found at the
netting Material Fund website.
WHY ISN'T THE MONEY GOING TO A
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION?:
Netting material is cheap. Dirt cheap.
Some of the organizations "dealing" with
cyanide use receive millions of dollars in
grants. One would think that the Philippines would be so inundated by netting
material that they wouldn't know what to
do with it all!! However, that is not the
case. The shortage of material is truly
disgusting. It is the most important tangible item to create change, yet no one
seems to want to spend a few thousand
dollars to provide it. As soon as I found
out how cheap the netting was, I got extremely angry thinking about all the
money that has been spent by organizations and the collectors still don't have
what they need. By handling the situation
myself I know exactly where the money is
going and that it is being used solely for
its intended purpose.
by Steve Shannon
This month we asked six Local Fish
Stores (LFS) :
At what salinity level do you
keep your livestock?
Coral Reef Aquarium
Seekonk, MA
Jeremy
1.025 to emulate nature close as possible.
Lovely Pets
Quincy MA
Steve Richmond, Owner
We acclimate higher 1.022 and slowly
bring it down over the course of the
week - lower to 1.018 ward off infection.
Pet Club
West Roxbury, MA
Fish Dept. Manager
Lenny Karwowski,
Reef: 1.025
Fish 1.017
Skipton's Discount Pet
Boston, MA
Fish Dept. Manager
Leo Labonte
1.025
Fintastic Fish
508-699-0722
13 Messenger Street
Plainville, MA 02762
Barry
Reef: 1.023-1.024
AquaDreams
Fish: 1.019
Feeding Hills, MA
Chris Lucia, Owner
Fish 1.018-1020. Most fish are really
happy at this salinity while parasites are
not. Inverts/Corals 1.0123-1.025, industry standard, less shock to animals coming
in and going out to customers' tanks.
Printing provided by a considerate
donation from Staples
Page 2
Getting Started - Part 2
(continued)
Netting Fund (continued)
JUNE 16 UPDATE
We purchased the netting on June 16! Two
types of netting were purchased- a 1/4"
mesh and a 1/6" mesh. We will be sending
over 2.5 miles of netting that is 7 feet
wide!!! This will then be cut into hand nets
to supply hundreds of hand nets to collectors in both the Philippines and Indonesia.
tank if the overflows failed but the pumps
continued pumping.
Another common mistake is failure to account for all of your system components,
not just the tank and the sump. Skimmers, reactors and the like can hold significant amounts of water.
Moe’s Hydnophora – gift of Joe Venuti
Moe’s Pink-tipped Acropora from Greg
The final mistake would be not realizing
that when most return pumps fail, a siphon will be created in the reverse direction and the water will flow out of your
tank into the sump until the end of the
hose sucks in air and the siphon breaks.
Check valves or anti-siphon valves can be
used but a few strategically placed holes
in the return line just under the water will
do the trick just fine.
The most important thing you can do
though is, once you have set the system
up according to your calculations, TEST
IT! Better to test the possible failures
while you are there than to have them
tested for you when you’re not. Having
an experienced hobbyist take a look at
your system is also a wise plan. It is likely
that newbies can learn from veterans’
mistakes.
Q: Do I need a Refugium? What is a
refugium?
A: A refugium is typically another (yes
another) smallish tank added to the
plumbing system. The refugium is generally lit by an inexpensive system – just
something sufficient to support algae
growth. The basic idea is to have a small
tank growing macro-algae grow where
the fish in the reef tank cannot get to eat
it. Macroalgae is just a fancy way of saying “big algae” an example would be the
species Caulerpa. The macro-algae soaks
up nutrients (like phosphate and nitrate)
to help keep those levels as close to zero
as possible.
Volume 1, Issue 4
There are numerous species of macroalgae currently used in the reef hobby.
Some of the more popular ones are Caulerpa, Grassilaria, and Chaetomorpha.
Caulerpa seems to be the most prevalent
species in widespread circulation however, recently we learned from Anthony
Calfo that there are better choices of algae to use. Caulerpa has a nasty habit of
spawning in unsuspecting hobbyists’
tanks. The upshot is fish and corals can’t
take the nutrient spike and may suffer.
Even without spawning (or “going sexual”
as often described) Caulerpa presents
some problems. It may turn the water a
bit greenish, and it is suggested that
many of the substances that Caulerpa
constantly leaches may be designed to
inhibit coral growth.
Anthony offered some better alternatives,
notably Chaetomorpha and Grassilaria.
Many hobbyists here in the Boston area
are already growing and harvesting these
two macro-algae and it is common for
folks to give the stuff away at our meetings. Chaetomorpha and Grassilaria don’t
require too much in the way of lights –
most people keep them under normal
output fluorescent bulbs. Macro-algae are
low maintenance. Just drop it in the refugium, provide it light, and watch it grow.
In addition to macroalgae, some people
will place small shrimp and other invertebrates in the refugium. These creatures,
which are of great benefit to overall system health and water quality, may get
eaten in the show tank, but a refugium
can act as an isolation ward where they
can grow and prosper. Of course an occasional invert or one of their offspring may
get sucked into the return pump and sent
into the show tank. That’s just fine, as the
moment provides good fresh food for your
fish.
(continued on pg. 5)
TOTALS AS OF JUNE 19th . .
Confirmed Site Donations: $3155.21
Checks sent to MSI: $1021.10
TOTAL DONATIONS: $4176.31
NET MATERIAL PURCHASE : $3229.00
TOTAL REMAINING :$947.31
(for shipping/customs )
T-SHIRTS RECEIVED: 22
The Netting Material Fund would like to get
at least 50 T-shirts with aquarium club or
discussion board logos to send over to the
collectors.
Checks or T-shirts can be mailed to:
MSI
c/o NET FUND
417 Hueneme Rd #135
Port Hueneme, CA 93041
Or visit the donation website at:
http://www.fundafriend.com/needs5.asp?id=65
DID YOU KNOW
that the Boston
Reefers Society
h a s
a
discussion
forum at Reef
Central?
Just go to www.reefcentral.com
and sign-up.
Talk to your friends, make new ones,
get tips, trade frags!
Page 3
A Tale of Two Drippers by Rob Tess & Ron Wishna
Thanks to a group purchase of Calcium
Oxide powder, Ron Wishna (mantishunter)
and I (RobboT) recently joined the ranks
of those who drip kalkwasser. Not having
the space required for barrels of RO/DI
with auto top-off devices, float switches,
and Nielsen Reactors; we each came up
with our own D.I.Y. Kalkwasser drippers
and thought it might be of interest to the
rest of the BRS.
the always familiar gurgle of air being
drawn into the bottle provides periodic
mixing of the kalkwasser solution. Although this does re-suspend some solids
there is no negative impact to the tank
since addition occurs in the sump.
MASNA NEWS
MACNA XV will be
held in Louisville this
September and will be
hosted by the Louisville Marine Aquarium Society. For more
info
on
LMAS
or
MACNA XV visit:
www.lmas.org or www.masna.org
MASNA
Auctions!
The Spigot of Ron’s Dripper
For those of you who don’t already know,
MASNA has an auction site. The site was
primarily established to assist with MASNA
fundraising efforts. However the folks at
MASNA “hope it will eventually become a
central marketplace for hobbyists and vendors alike to list the items they're looking
for or possibly putting up for auction some
of those items in the closet you no longer
have use for.” Please check it out at :
www.masna.org/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi
Ron’s Dripper
Ron’s Dripper
The drinking water spigot is attached to a
length of 1/4-inch tubing which runs under the tank stand. There it is reduced to
1/8-inch and goes into a small pump
which provides consistent flow.
Ron’s dripper as the pictures show was a
great adaptation of household furniture to
reef-keeping equipment. Since Ron’s 75g
tank is in his living room and since the
area under his tank is occupied by a
sump, it was necessary to develop a system that could stand out in plain view.
Using a common bottled water dispenser
Ron made a dripper that was both functional and relatively unobtrusive.
In Ron’s system Kalkwasser is mixed in 5gallon batches in a standard water bottle
and placed into the dispenser as one
would normally do for drinking water.
Due to the fact that the spigot is slightly
elevated above the bottom of the dispenser base, there is very little solids
carry-over to the sump once the kalkwasser mixture settles down. As kalkwasser is drawn out of the water bottle
Volume 1, Issue 4
MASNA invites everyone with an interest in the marine aquarium hobby
to participate.
It's Free!
Clubs, can use the site to assist with
fundraising efforts
Vendors, can auction off those
discontinued or returned items
Hobbyists, can clean out their closets
Vendors...don't forget to check
the Wanted Ads
Pump on Ron’s Dripper
The pump’s 1/8-inch discharge line hangs
in the sump. Flow is regulated by a standard airline tubing valve. The flow rate is
adjusted to mimic the evaporation rate of
water from the tank as closely as possible.
You' may also be able to win
MASNA's items at 50% off retail,
if you're lucky!
DISCLAIMER: MASNA is not responsible
for any fraudulent transactions resulting
from the use of this site.
The above information was taken from the
MASNA website with their permission.
Page 4
A Tale of Two Drippers (continued)
Rob’s Dripper
the tank as closely as possible.
My dripper is far less attractive but given
it’s location this is perfectly acceptable to
those in my family who would normally be
concerned about such things. This design
comes from a number of similar drippers I
have seen at websites. The mixing container is a 5-gallon Kerosene container
like you would find at most hardware
stores (I got mine at Home Depot). Two
holes were drilled in the container: one in
the side about 2 inches from the bottom,
and one in the top. The diameter of the
holes is slightly smaller than the outer
Kalkwasser is mixed by adding the powder to the container through the cap in
the top, filling with water, and swirling
the mixture around. The dripper valve is
closed for about 1-hour while this happens, then I purge the line to make sure
no solids are present that could clog the
valve.
Getting Started
(continued)
One last point about refugiums: they can
also assist in adding pH stability to a reef
tank. With the refugium light cycle timed
opposite to that of the show tank the result of the photosynthesis in the refugium
will help to abate the dip in pH that you
may see in the show tank after the lights
go out. That’s another nice feature of refugiums. In short, I highly recommend
them.
Q: What is a Reef Ready tank?
A: A “Reef Ready” tank is one that has
built-in overflows. Now that will take some
explaining. I explained above what a sump
is, and why folks use them. To make
Dripper Lines in Rob’s Sump
So there you have it.
Two different
tanks; two different DIY Kalkwasser Drippers. In both cases it is important to note
that the container is a sturdy one. This is
necessary since as the kalk leaves the
container a slight vacuum is created. If a
sturdy container isn't used, the container
will collapse. In the case of Rob’s dripper
this defeats the purpose of the fail-safe
mechanism. As always, feel free to get a
hold of either Ron or Rob to ask any
questions.
Rob’s Dripper
diameter of standard airline tubing. This
ensures a snug fit. Airline tubing passes
through each of the holes and is sealed
using aquarium silicone.
The tubing that comes from the top of the
container is a fail-safe mechanism. The
end of this tube is placed in the sump at a
level somewhat below the top of the
sump container. If the water level should
reach this tube no air will be able to reach
the kalkwasser container thus stopping
the flow of kalkwasser to the sump.
The tube that comes from the side of the
container is runs to the sump and is the
dripping line. Flow is regulated using an
airline valve. The flow rate is adjusted to
mimic the evaporation rate of water from
Volume 1, Issue 4
Neatly Tucked Away Out of Sight
Moe’s Assorted Mushrooms – from Flying Fish Express
plumbing a sump easy, some tanks come
with holes already drilled in the bottom,
and with a bulkhead built in. All one needs
do is hook up piping from the bulkhead to
the sump, the pump, and then hook the
return line back to the show tank.
To prevent all the water from going right
down the pre-drilled hole, Reef-Ready
tanks have a wall built which sections off
the drain. No water can get around this
wall. The water is forced to go over the
wall. That way, one can select the height
of the tank’s water by modifying the
height of the wall, right? If one keeps the
height of the wall lower than the height of
the tank, then before the tank can overflow, all the excess water will go over the
wall and down the bulkhead.
As an added benefit, this built in overflow
will skim off the surface of the tank water.
Down the drain it goes into the cleaning
apparatus below. Then the pump returns
nice clean water. “Reef-Ready” tanks cost
a bit more money, but if you can afford it,
go for it!
Next month more of Dave Balch’s questions and my answers. Happy Reefing.
Page 5
Tank of the Month
I started this tank almost 4 years ago.
I had had fresh water tanks when my
children were young but had always
wanted a saltwater tank. I knew that it
would cost more money and time than I
had back then, but it was always in the
back of my mind. When the opportunity came up to start one, I read a few
Paula Obuchon (Sea Serpent)
books and went to a LFS and bought the
whole shebang. Of course, it was all
the wrong stuff!
Since that original setup, with the exception of the tank and stand, there is
NOT ONE original fitting or piece of
equipment. The best thing that the LFS
recommended was a good RO/DI setup!
PAULA’S TANK : THEN & NOW
Then (before BRS)
•
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Fitted Glass top with hinge
•
2 110 w PC strips
•
Red Sea Berlin Skimmer
•
Amiracle Wet/Dry w/Bio balls
•
Eheim Canister Filter
•
Rio 2100 Return pump
•
1 Rio powerhead
•
Many chemicals
•
Kent 50 GPD RO/DI
•
Many test kits
•
2 Books (Aquarium for Dummies) •
2 inch Crushed Coral Substrate
•
150 pounds of live Rock
•
Mostly Soft Corals
•
Too many fish
•
Only one LFS to buy from
•
Nobody to talk “FISH” with
•
Now
72 Bowfront All-Glass Tank
72 Bowfront All-Glass Tank
Pine Cabinet
Pine Cabinet
Volume 1, Issue 4
Open top
2 250 MH (10K AB) w/ 2 110 VHO Actinics
AquaC EV90–Now TurboFloater 1000 Multi
13 gallon Rubbermaid Sump
CPR hang on refugium
Mag 9.5 stepped down to “7” via valve
5 MaxiJets of varying gph on wavemaker
Precision Marine Ca Reactor w/ 5lb CO2
Kent 60 x2 (Piggyback) = 120 gpd
PH monitor / digital thermometer
a whole shelf full – Modern Coral Reef
6 inch Deep Sand Bed (Southdown)
75 pounds of live rock
Mostly SPS
Not very many fish
Plenty on-line and a handful of GOOD LFS
A whole group of GREAT people to trade
frags with
Page 6
Tank of the Month
A partial listing of my current “guests” :
(I say guests because they didn’t volunteer to be in
my living room!)
Fish :
• Canary “fang” blenny (Meiacanthus ovalaunensis)
• Neon Goby (Gobiosoma oceanops)
• 2 Green Clown Gobies – Mated pair (Gobiodon
sp.)
• Lawnmower Blenny (Salarias fasciatus)
Inverts:
1 CoCo worm
•
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1 Crocea Clam
3 Hawiian & 2 Pink feather dusters
2 acro crabs (living in pocillopora)
Cleaner shrimp, Fire shrimp, large green serpent
star, 2 queen conch, many nassarius snails
Soft Corals:
• Red, Blue, Green, Ricordia Mushrooms
(Discosoma)
• Sea Pen (Cavernulia)
• Purple, Silver, Branching and creeping Gorgonian
Anemone:
• Purple, Orange and Lavender Tube Anemone
LPS:
• Green Fox Coral (Nemenzophyllia turbida);
• Green Trumpet (Caulastrea)
SPS:
Green Maze Coral (Platygyra lamellia);
•
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Golden Birds Nest (Seriatopora hystrix);
Purple, pink and orange Monitpora Digita;
Green and orange Montipora capricornis;
Yellow Porites cylindricala;
Blue-tip, Teal, Green, Purple-tip Acropora formosa;
Green “slimer” Acropora youngei;
Pink, Green Pocillopora damicornis;
Pink cats paw (Styolophora pistillata ),
Yellow/Green Millepora;
Green Hydnophora;
green cup (Turbinaria peltata);
Green unidentified Acropora sp.
I love this hobby and all that it entails. The research has been interesting and the results have
been rewarding. The money, of course, has been
substantial – but worth it. My friends and family
think I am absolutely crazy – but so what? I have
met some wonderful people whose paths would
never have crossed had it not been for our REEFS.
Volume 1, Issue 4
Page 7
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
South Boston, MA 02127-1339
274 West 3rd Street #3
Boston Reefers Society, Inc.
Boston Reefers is an organization for reef aquarium
keepers in the Boston area. We meet every month at
various locations. Come join us, trade frags, fish & inverts
and pick up helpful hints from our expert reef hobbyists.
Helping to save the reefs through education,
conservation & propagation
Visit us online at www.bostonreefers.org for more information
Support Our Sponsors
• Aquadreams
•
•
•
•
Agawam, MA
413-786-1000
www.aqua-dreams.com
Boston Tropical Fish & Reptile
Cambridge, MA
617-623-4244
www.seadreamsboston.com
Coral Reef Aquarium
Seekonk, MA
508-336-0904
www.inverts.com
Fintastic Fish
Plainville, MA
508-699-0722
www.fintasticfish.com
Florida Pets
Cocoa, FL
www.floridapets.com
• Inland Reef
Nashua, NH
508-699-0722
www.inlandreef.com
• Lovely Pets
Quincy, MA
617-786-1898
www. lovely-pets.com
• Pet Club
West Roxbury, MA
617-327-0444
• Skipton’s Discount Pet
Boston, MA
617-541-0520
www.1800petmenu.com
• Tropic Isle Aquarium
Framingham, MA
508-875-5303
www.tropicisleaquarium.com
• Uncle Ned’s Fish Factory
Millis, MA
508-533-5969
www.unclenedsfishfactory.com