HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: frazier@kona.cs.ucla.edu (Gregory Frazier)
Subject: Re: tank cycling
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 92 16:19:45 GMT

Ross Livingston (livings@unislc.uucp) wrote:
: 
: I've had my 55 [F] running for 3 days now.  I started with just tap water
: and let that run for about 24 hours.  Next, I added 4 gal. of Bio Pak to my
: wet/dry, put in the recommended dosage of NovAqua (water conditioner), and
: 5 Large Danios.  All was fine for about another 24 hours, then, for some
: reason, the water became cloudy.  I wonder if it was the NovAqua doing what
: it does (sliming?), or what?  I planned on adding some Bacter Plus (bacterial
: cycling aid) after giving the danios time to put out some amonia.  I've added
: some of this, but not much.  What could be causing the clouding?  It's actually
: not very bad, but I just didn't expect it to cloud like that so fast.
: 
: Now, as the tank cycles, what H2O tests do I need to do, and how often?  I've
: checked the pH which has stayed between 8.0 and 8.3 or so.  I also checked for
: ammonia which turned up 0 as I expected.  How long should I have to wait before
: I can even detect any ammonia?  Also, am I correct in assuming I won't need to
: check for nitrates and nitrites until after I first find ammonia?
: 
: One more thing, do I need more fish to cycle the tank?  About how long should
: it take with my current load?  Is 80 F an ok temp for growing the nitrobactors
: and other goodies I need?

You need very few fish to cycle a tank.  In fact, the fewer, the
better, as then the fish will be more likely to live.  As long
as there is *some* ammonia being generated, your cultures will
get started.  Unless you seed your filter with bacteria, it
will take 3-5 weeks for the nitrobacter (nitrite->nitrate)
bacteria to colonize (this happens after the ammonia->nitrite
get going, for obvious reasons).

Cloudy water is a typical new-tank syndrome.  It can be caused
by either algae or bacteria blooms (no, these aren't the "good"
bacteria, but they're not necessarily bad, either).  Cloudy water
can also be caused by having dusty gravel or unbuiried laterite
balls, but I assume you have neither of those problems.  Don't
do anything about the cloudiness, just wait it out.

There is no reason for your pH to swing, so I wouldn't even bother to
measure it.  If you are in a real hurry for your tank to cycle, then
test it 2x/week.  You should see the ammonia rise, then drop while
the nitrite level goes up.  Then, you should see the nitrite level
drop, at which point you are cycled.  80^ is fine - after all, that
is what you are going to be running your tank at, isn't it?


--
"They thought to use and shame me but I win out by nature, because a true
freak cannot be made.  A true freak must be born." - Geek Love

Greg Frazier	frazier@CS.UCLA.EDU	!{ucbvax,rutgers}!ucla-cs!frazier
From: U37460@uicvm.uic.edu
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: [M] Need opinions on mail order
Date: 2 Oct 92 15:48:38 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago

I recently order some saltwater fish from a place in New York.
3 out of 4 have died... here's the situation:
I ordered them Saturday to be shipped out Monday to arrive Tuesday
by (I was told) 10am.  They arrived at 10:40, the UPS guy said they
were supposed to arrive by 10:30.  When I measured the salinity, it
was 1.017 which I believe to be very low.  My tank is at 1.023.
Needless to say, it took hours to acclimate them properly.
1 died within 2 hours, 2 more died within 24 hours, I have one left that
looks as if it will die within 24 hours.
What I want to know is if I should get a full refund.
The place I order from is offering me 1/2 credit, not refund for each
dead fish.
Also, I ordered 3 and they sent 4 which overshot my budget by $30.
So as it stands, I've spent $108 and I expect to have nothing to show
for it.
Let me know what you think.

Ethan Haslett
U37460@uicvm.uic.edu

P.S. If this gets me any sympathy, I am a college student.
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: chris@kentek.com (Chris Kostanick 806 1044)
Subject: cycling a tank with live rock
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 19:56:28 GMT
Organization: Kentek Information Systems

I'm getting interested in having a reef tank. Looking through Moe,
he advises cycling the tank for 40 to 60 days before introducing 
much in the way of living contents. Would it be adviseable to
put in a piece of live rock at the start and then add the rest after 
the nitrates drop, or wait 'till they drop to put anything in.

What I'm thinking about is a 55 gallon tank with a wet/dry filter
and protein skimmer in the tank stand. I figure on starting with
some live rock and then adding some coral after I get water quality
under good control. 

This is all Steve Tyree's fault, as it was his posts that got
me interested in having a tank again. :-)

I am going to buy and read some more books before I set anything
up as I don't want to kill stuff unnecessarily.

Chris Kostanick

P.S. Would a sea horse be a good reef friendly critter to have in the
tank too? Would all the brine shrimp (to feed the sea horse) get sucked
up by the filter too fast?
From: steve@celia.UUCP (Steve Tyree)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: cycling a tank with live rock
Date: 1 Oct 92 22:26:39 GMT
Reply-To: celia!steve@usc.edu (Steve Tyree)
Organization: Rhythm & Hues, Inc., Hollywood

In article <1992Sep30.195628.10099@kbsw1> chris@kentek.com (Chris Kostanick 806 1044) writes:
->I'm getting interested in having a reef tank. Looking through Moe,
->he advises cycling the tank for 40 to 60 days before introducing 
->much in the way of living contents. Would it be adviseable to
->put in a piece of live rock at the start and then add the rest after 
->the nitrates drop, or wait 'till they drop to put anything in.

 Some really good articles have been written recently about cycling reef
tanks. Check back issues of FAMA, MFM, TFH and AFM within the last year. 
 Also, the nitrate cycle length will be related to how much dead or dying
animal material is on the particular rocks you use. 40-60 days seems a bit
long for just the usual startup cycle. You should also worry about what I
call the "coralline" cycle. This is how long it takes for your live rocks 
to become encrusted with coralline algaes. Depending on the quality of 
your live rocks it can take no time (Marshall Island Rocks) to a year or
longer (cheap base rock). These algaes help keep the microalgaes in check
and might be very important for coral planulae settling. 
 The initial live rocks I used in my reef have been removed and replaced
by very high quality, all coralline rock. Unfortunately, its very expensive
to. However, my reef is doing fantastic with this rock. 

->What I'm thinking about is a 55 gallon tank with a wet/dry filter
->and protein skimmer in the tank stand. I figure on starting with
->some live rock and then adding some coral after I get water quality
->under good control. 

 Thats a good plan. You might want to purchase very high quality live rock
and build it up over a period of time. A recent article on Dutch tanks 
mentioned that adding a couple of pieces of fresh live rock every 6 months
or so has proven very benificial to reef inhabitants. Possibly introduces
a greater diversity of organisms which will prevent specific species blooms.

->This is all Steve Tyree's fault, as it was his posts that got
->me interested in having a tank again. :-)

 My intent is to inform and exchange information only. I do NOT profit in
any way (at least as of now) from research or informational postings. My
main idea was to convince current reef owners to look into possibly do-
ing breeding research with their existing reef systems. Also, getting these
manificient creatures to spawn and propagate is extremelly fascinating in
my book. Coral reefs are the peak of the evolutionary diversity tree.

 Steve Tyree - Reef Breeder
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Metal Halide Lights
From: mark@trident.datasys.swri.edu (Mark D. Collier)
Date: 6 Oct 92 18:10:53 GMT
Organization: Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas

I am considering alternatives for a high performance lighting system
for my reef-tank-to-be. I am trying to decide how much light is really
necessary for a 160 gallon reef tank and which approach is the best.
I would like to buy metal halide pendant lights, but they are awfully
expensive. I am also considering construction of a custom hood with
florescent/actinic lights, but really do not know the required wattage.

Anyone care to share how they provide light for their reef tanks? Any
one know of any reasonable sources of metal halide lights? I will
summarize if I get enough responses.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark D. Collier                      Southwest Research Institute
Senior Research Analyst              Automation and Data Systems Division
Voice: (512) 522-3437                Data Systems Department
FAX:   (512) 522-5499                Software Engineering Section
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: marka@SSD.CSD.HARRIS.COM (Mark Ashley)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: fish article
Date: 29 Sep 1992 12:17:11 GMT
Organization: Harris Computers Systems Division, Fort Lauderdale,FL
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: hcx1.ssd.csd.harris.com

Some fish trivia from an article in a local paper:

95% of the tropical fish sold in the US are produced in
Florida ... There are 193 growers in Palm Beach, Dade,
Hillsborough and Polk counties.
...
Aqualife Research Corp in Fort Lauderdale ...
produces eight species of clownfish at its fish
farm at Walker's Cay in Abaco, Bahamas.
...
A box of 100 clownfish from Aqualife sells for $165.
One clownfish can cost anywhere from $4 to $20 in
pet stores.
...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Ashley                        |DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed
marka@gcx1.ssd.csd.harris.com      |here are my own; they do not
..!uunet!gcx1!marka               |reflect the opinion or policies
                                   |of Harris Corporation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: dsavard@col.hp.com (Don Savard)
Subject: (F) Maintaining Bio-Filtration With Whisper
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 23:11:15 GMT
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division



I've recently started up my 10 gal. FW tank again.
It's been cycling for about 4 weeks with 3 white cloud
minnows. PH is about 6.8, ammonia level is low. I've
changed the water every two weeks (20 %). My question
is: can I take the old filter media and place it inside
the new filter when I change it thereby keeping the 
bacteria colony in place. Should I then toss out this
filter and place the ouside filter in the new filter the
next time I change it, and so on? Or is there another way
to maintain the bacteria colony (without using one of those
big ugly sponge filters, my tank is too small).

Thanks for your help.

Don  (dsavard@cs.itc.hp.com)


Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: mhatz@nyx.cs.du.edu (Mike Hatz)
Subject: Ram Cichlids....
X-Disclaimer: Nyx is a public access Unix system run by the University
	of Denver for the Denver community.  The University has neither
	control over nor responsibility for the opinions of users.
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 92 13:41:50 GMT

I the group's collective advice and got 4 Ram cichlids for my little 10 gallon
this weekend.  I do have 2 questions though:

1)  What is the most accurate way to sex them?  I am looking at their little
"punk" hairdos and the eye bars.

2)  Any tips to get them to breed?

Thanks!

Mike

Newsgroups: rec.aquaria,alt.aquaria
From: krogers@javelin.sim.es.com (K. Rogers)
Subject: Re: [M][R] Coral spawning report
Reply-To: krogers@javelin.sim.es.com
Organization: Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp., Salt Lake City, Utah
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 21:58:09 GMT

steve@celia.UUCP (Steve Tyree) writes:
>>What?, and pass up my only chance for fame and fortune, plus get on
>>Eliot Porter's, Mark Derr's, et al, hit list?  Not on your life.  :-()
>
> I heard that pelagic collection impossibility claims have been retracted.
>Apparently not enough ACTUAL research had been performed.

Nothing like a real experiment to ruin a perfectly good theory or
gedanken experiment, eh?  At least that's what I used to tell the
theorists while a physics grad student (bet you can't guess I was an
experimentalist...)

-- 
Keith Rogers
krogers@javelin.sim.es.com
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: tom@dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu (Tom McCain)
Subject: Re: [M] Wet/Dry vs. Skimmers
Organization: Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Date:  6 Oct 92 00:41:02 GMT


penfold@bnr.ca (Harvey Schwartz) writes:

:    If skimmers only are used, then is one humongous skimmer better than
: several smaller ones?

Well I'll tell you.  I have a Amiracle PS-2 skimmer on my 16 gallon
reef tank.  I'd say in regard to my tank, the skimmer is huge!  The
PS-2 is rated for a 90 gallon tank.  My water quality is great with
just the skimmer, and I also have two powerheads (201's) circulating
water through the tank one is connected to a small PVC matrix.

The only drawback to a skimmer only is the lack of a sump for such
things as a heater, skimmer, biobeads, etc.  But overall I'd recommend
a skimmer only for your tank.
--

Tom McCain 
tom@ecn.purdue.edu
From: marka@SSD.CSD.HARRIS.COM (Mark Ashley)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: misc products
Date: 28 Sep 92 14:25:17 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Harris Computers Systems Division, Fort Lauderdale,FL
NNTP-Posting-Host: hcx1.ssd.csd.harris.com


Has anybody used any of the following ?

    "Kent" Super Iodine
    "SeaChem" deNitrate
    "BioChem" Stars
    "Tetra" 02 Test

For each one:
    Is it any good ?
    What is the yearly cost for continually using it ?
For Iodine, deNitrate, & Stars:
    Does it have any very significant effect on your tank ?
    Will any of these help in keeping soft corals (1 or 2 only) 
        together with fish ?
For deNitrate & Stars:
    Where do you put it ?
    If you put it in a wet dry, are they in separate bags, 
        or just piled together in one corner of the sump ?

I would appreciate any further tips on other similar products,
in case these are bad choices, and other tips on using these
products in case they are good.

e-mail responses, please. Thanks in advance.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Ashley                        |DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed
marka@gcx1.ssd.csd.harris.com      |here are my own; they do not
..!uunet!gcx1!marka               |reflect the opinion or policies
                                   |of Harris Corporation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: edd@gvlf4-a.gvl.unisys.com (Ed Dougherty)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: High Quality live rock
Date: 2 Oct 92 18:11:58 GMT
Organization: Unisys Defense Systems, Great Valley Labs, Paoli, Pa

In article <1992Oct2.140348.20721@tin.monsanto.com> kncarp@nicsn1.monsanto.com (Kevin N. Carpenter) writes:
>
>Steve - do you have any suggestions for sources of small quantities of very
>high quality live rock?

I'd appreciate some one explaining the grades; that is what
differentiates the Very HQ, HQ, etc. 


Thanks,

Ed Doc
From: twotapek@ndlvax.dec.com (Thomas Wotapek)
Subject: Where are the FAQ files?
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 08:16:12 GMT

-Message-Text-Follows-
Hi,

I'am new to this news, but I have read some articles which deals with FAQ
files. I'am very interested to get these files, but : where are this files?

Thanks for info

Thomas Wotapek    twotapek@ndlvax.dec.com
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: delaney@HQ.Ileaf.COM (Dennis Delaney)
Subject: Wanted:Crickets bulk.
Reply-To: delaney@HQ.Ileaf.COM (Dennis Delaney)
Organization: Interleaf, Inc.
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 15:43:19 GMT

Anyone know of a place where I could buy crickets in bulk vie mailorder?
Let me know.

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|Dennis S. Delaney		Internet:	delaney@hq.ileaf.com  |
|Interleaf, Inc.		UUCP:		uunet!leafusa!delaney |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: oleg@netcom.com (Oleg Kiselev)
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
Subject: Re: Need Help Growing Brine Shrimp
Date: 29 Sep 92 20:13:29 GMT
Article-I.D.: netcom.8x+p=0.oleg
Distribution: usa
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)

In article <1992Sep29.171454.7207@unislc.uucp> chris@unislc.uucp (Chris DelPrete) writes:
>: >avoid more hazardous foods like tubificid worms (blackworms
>: >and tubifex,) which should be used with extreme reluctance, if at all.
>Can someone expand on this?

Tubficids live in and on filth and cary a lot of infections and parasites.
They pollute water in the aquarium.  They are difficult to manage in the
tank.  Feeding too many tubifex worms often leads to fish losses due to the
diseases they cary.  This is a vcommon experience of people who have a lot
of tanks and can tell the difference in health between the side-by-side
tanks where some get tubifex and the others don't.
-- 
Oleg Kiselev at home			...use the header to find the path
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: oleg@netcom.com (Oleg Kiselev)
Subject: Re: Periodic partial water changes
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 10:58:45 GMT

In article <1992Sep25.162830.7809@cs.brown.edu> jle@cfm.brown.edu (Jon Elion) writes:
>My advice -- try it!  Fish will be fine

Not.

When I moved to Palo Alto, CA, the water was not chlorinated for whatever 
reason.   I got in a habit of just pouring the water into the larger tanks
or using the water from the settling bucket without waiting.  And then one
day I practically killed a number of fish because the local water company
decided it was time to start chlorinating again.  Good thing I noticed the
fish gasping at the surface and acting weird, so I dumped in some Amquell
and tested the tap water.  Sure enough, the test showed clorine.

May be if the water change was 10-15% instead of 50%, or if my house was
further away from the treatment station, it would not have been as apparent
or as dangerous.  But the simple fact is that it's a risk.

Chloramine is even worse, since the ammonia in it is more than likely to
overwhelm the biofiltration in the tank and chloramine itself is a likely
way to kill the biofilter.


-- 
Oleg Kiselev at home			...use the header to find the path
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria,sci.aquaria,alt.aquaria
From: bob@hubcap.clemson.edu (Bob)
Subject: Re: Resealing glass tank
Keywords: tank
Organization: Clemson University
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 21:49:02 GMT

In article <1992Oct3.191312.7754@hubcap.clemson.edu> bob@hubcap.clemson.edu (Bob) writes:
>Hi all!
>
>     I just bought a 75 gallon tank from a friend and intend to set up
>yet another salt water tank (my third). It seems to have bubbles in the
>sealant on all four corners. Since all my other tanks are new and have
>never leaked I need some help on resealing this tank. 
>     If anyone out there has done this before I could use some hints,
>tips, suggestions. Should I do it myself (I am pretty handy just never
>done this before) or should I take it to my local pet shop? 
>     If I do it myself, should I take out all the sealant and redo the
>whole thing or can I just touch it up here and there. The tank looks
>like it has been resealed before and it was a lousey job. I would prefer
>to do the whole thing over.
>
>Please Help!!!!!
>
>Bob Staaf
>bob@hubcap.clemson.edu
> 

     Another question:

     I have  DOW Corning 100% Silicone Sealant. It says
that it is safe for food contact once cured and washed. It has a note on
it that says "Corrodes some metals, not recommended for underwater use.
I am assuming they mean that it should not be used to seal the hull of
your boat. Anyone know if this sealant would be ok for my tank? What
should I get? How is the best way to apply the sealant to get the smooth
and almost invisble seams that I have in my new tanks.


Thnaks again!
Bob

bob@hubcap.clemson.edu
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: bever@csd630a.erim.org (Dave Beverstock)
Subject: Glass or Plexiglass for DIY Hood
Organization: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Date: 28 Sep 92 10:45:21


I neglected to save the discussion about what material is better for
protecting the lights from splash and condensation on a hood.

Is it Glass or Plexiglass?

Reply with email if desired.  

Thanks! dave
--
Dave Beverstock   bever@erim.org
Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM)
P.O. Box 134001  Ann Arbor, MI  48113-4001 313-994-1200 x2239
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: oleg@netcom.com (Oleg Kiselev)
Subject: Re: How to culture Daphnia?
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 09:14:24 GMT

In article <1992Oct3.000108.12209@pacdata.uucp> dave@pacdata.uucp (David Ambrose) writes:
>water).  I have also successfully fed them yeast.  Just take some bread

Yeast will feed them and provide some essential vitamins for the fish (B6,
in particular).  Green algae will provide a somewhat different assortment of
vitamins and, most important for me, will not cause a die-off of the culture
because I had over-fed and the yeast goes out of control.

-- 
Oleg Kiselev at home			...use the header to find the path
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria
From: rivan@bnr.ca (Robert Ivan)
Subject:  re: mail order from canada
Reply-To: rivan@bnr.ca
Organization: Bell Northern Research Ltd.
Date: Tue, 06 Oct 92 18:57:45 GMT

 I routinely order stuff from THAT FISH PLACE.  Up untill a few
months ago anything under $40 cdn had no taxes put on it.
Now its $20.  At this point its not worth it to do a small
order.  Usually I ship by UPS ground to Ottawa and it takes
about 11 days for my order to arrive.  The prices are way cheaper
this way.  If you exceed the $20 ( even by 1 cent) UPS's computer
is very happy to kick in and charge you a brokerage fee ( its
thier own brokorage house) of around $16 and charge the taxes as well.
Sometimes the tax is stupidly small ( like $1.25) but with
the brokorage fee every saving is lost.  So far though I have
found a loop hole.  Send your order as a gift to a friend, or
have him send it too you.  Make sure the mail order place is strickly
informed to put gift on the bill.  The no tax point is $60.  I have
sent $53 us to a friend and paid no taxes so it works.
I even ship salt - 3 bags cost $27 us and with shipping each
bag comes out to about $20cdn.  So I save 50% on the cost of salt.

   But things are so cheap mailorder that even if you pay tax orrder
over $100 dollars woth and you will save a bundel.  Its too
bad no one in CAnada can't set up a business like this.

Rob

------------------------------------------------------------------------

  These opinions are mine only and do not represent my company in any way