Newbies

I want to set up a saltwater tank!

melev — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 06:19:55 +0000

I want to set up a saltwater tank! melev Fri, 04/02/2021 - 09:19

You're ready to take the plunge into saltwater at last. No doubt you've already heard a number of opinions by now, but have decided to forge ahead and do this. Good, this is a wonderful hobby and the experience of watching your hard work turn into something stunning is what this is all about. Let me be honest though, there are times when your frustration level may peak, which is the exact opposite of the 'relaxing hobby' you were hoping for. That's just part of the experience, and remember that period is temporary.

If you haven't read these articles yet, please do:

The Basics: https://melevsreef.com/articles/new-hobby-here-are-basics
How to Cycle your tank: https://melevsreef.com/articles/how-cycle-aquarium
The very important Clean Up Crew: https://melevsreef.com/articles/get-clean-crew-cuc-your-reef
What is that thing? My Critter ID page helps: https://melevsreef.com/creatures

Equipment matters

You can start your system up using all new gear or you can save a bundle and buy it used. New usually means scratch-free, quality gear with a warranty while used stuff may need to be cleaned up, repaired, or constantly tinkered with. I've purchased used tanks several times, but obviously my preference is everything brand new, shiny and typically higher-end merchandise. I like the pricy stuff because it tends to last longer, has a better warranty where you actually get help when an issue arises, and it looks to be better made. Cheap pumps are cheap for a reason, and if you go that route, just buy extras and throw them in the closet so you have a backup or two when it conks out. People that defend cheaper pumps to me, or that tell me I'm overspending... well, I can use the same pumps for nearly a decade, replacing small bits if they wear out, while the bargain pumps often are going to be disposible -- and keep an eye out that you don't get zapped by bad wiring (yes, it happens). This is why I prefer better quality products, and look for the UL listing on the power cords. I don't want this article to turn into a cheap versus expensive rant, so I will leave that up to you. My biggest piece of advice is to save up for the thing you actually want, rather than buying something now just to get by. Those that do end up rebuying more gear within the first year, which costs more money. Buy once by buying wisely.

Regarding lighting, I have a youtube video on this topic. The main point is how long the lights should run daily. No matter what type of lighting you choose to use, be it LEDs, T5 HO bulbs, Metal Halides, or a combination thereof, you will have to watch the livestock closely to determine the proper intensity. Many people ask for examples of other people's schedules, intensity levels, and color choices. Even when you have all that information, it's still going to take some effort on your part to find the sweet spot and this make take you weeks to zero in upon. Watching the livestock is a good indicator, but corals can bleach from a lack of light as well as by too much light. If you measure the lighting with a PAR meter, you can eliminate some of the guesswork. 100-200 PAR is to be expected on the sandbed, 300-400 PAR midway, and I'd suggest nothing higher than 600 PAR just beneath the surface -- and any corals that are in that hot spot are likely used to it and have adapted. You can't take a new coral and put it in a nuclear zone and expect it to thrive. Every new coral I get goes on the sand after it has been dipped for pests, and left there for a week or more. Then I'll move it up to a new spot higher in the tank for another couple of weeks, and finally after a month it may go in the prime spot if the coral seems to be doing well. Here are some links about lighting for you to review:

How long should you run your lights? Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ebxZqaayTU
How to measure PAR: https://melevsreef.com/articles/par-measuring-lighting-intensity-meter
My Radion lighting schedule explained: https://melevsreef.com/my-tanks/my-radion-schedule-programming

Know your water quality

The only way to keep your livestock healthy is to test the parameters, and there are about eight that you want to track. Test them weekly, keep a detailed log, and observe how everything trends over time. One point that needs to be clear: the more stable the parameters, the better. Alkalinity, for example, should be somewhere between 8 and 11 dKH. That does NOT mean it can waver from 8 to 11 week after week. Pick a spot within those digits, and keep it there. If it's 9 dKH, then week after week it should measure 9. If it creeps up to 9.5, dose a little less alkalinity daily; if it is 8.5 then you need to increase the dosage. As corals grow in and the reef starts to fill in, weekly testing will help you determine how much you need to increase the daily dosage to keep up with the demand. When purchasing fish, it may say the fish has been found in water temperatures between 76° and 82° F. If you keep your aquarium at 78.5°, that fish should do well. Most experienced hobbyists will work hard to keep numbers as tight as possible, avoiding any large swings whatsoever. Salinity, temperature, alkalinity - these three are really imporant. But you absolutely can't ignore Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphate, Nitrate, and keep a cursory eye on pH, ORP, and possibly Ammonia (especially if something dies in your aquarium). Water quality is essential to success, so don't be lazy. Oh, and one mistake I see often is people adding pH buffer all the time trying to bring that up. Read that second article for sure after you read the first one:

Maintaining Water Quality: https://melevsreef.com/articles/maintaining-good-water-quality
Don't chase pH!! https://melevsreef.com/articles/dont-chase-ph
How do do water changes properly: https://melevsreef.com/articles/how-mix-change-saltwater-correctly
Never hook up a RO/DI directly to your sump: https://melevsreef.com/articles/never-plumb-ro-unit-your-sump

A living biotope

Years ago, everyone set up their aquariums with live rock. We wanted rocks covered in colorful sponges, hitchhiker clams, worms, starfish, crabs, and featherdusters. We used live sand to make sure the substrate was healthy, ready to deal with detritus and excess food. These days, people are more prone to buying dry sand, dry rock, fearing anything and everything will invade the aquarium and kill their stuff. This is an over-reaction that has cheated hobbyists out of the enjoyment of discovering cool critters that usually surface after lights out. This is an active ecosystem. It will make some noise, it will do things you don't expect, and it does not resemble a stagnant lifeless display in a museum. Just like a beautiful home transforms into a lived-in space as a family grows, your reef is filled with life, seen and unseen. Bacteria abounds, invertebrates and pods creep about the rockwork, and waste is consumed and processed, helping the system stay clean. The lack of necessary creatures creates an imbalance which leads to problems later. It's understandable to save money using dry rock, and it may even be eco-friendly by not taking rock from the ocean, but there is plenty of live rock being aqua-cultured specifically for our hobby, curing quietly in the ocean for months. Don't fear it. Some vendors have even pressure-washed the rock clean just because people's concerns with hithhikers. Such a shame. Ironically, those same people see neat things at the fish store like sponges, tiny anemones, filter feeders and commensal crabs and want them, when they could have come in on the rock in the first place. Every tank I've set up since 1998 was set up with live rock, and yes I've had to deal with a variety of pests. When you purchase snails, hermits and shrimp, you don't quarantine those... and yet it is actually possible something could sneak in on those, albight rare. If you end up with some pest in your tank, there are solutions. Never overreact; just find out what needs to be done, make sure it's a reasonable method you can live with, and work the problem until it is resolved. One last point about dry rock, if that is the direction you have decided upon: you will see it go through several algae phases over the first six months, and it will take nine months or longer to get to the point of becoming "live" with the ability to help with denitrification. All it is at first is a structure to place things upon, nothing more. Be sure you get a serious clean up crew so you don't look at your tank in despair, and add livestock g r a d u a l l y so you don't overtax the system.

Quarantine and Dips: https://melevsreef.com/articles/quarantine-dips
Keep your tank algae-free with a Clean Up Crew: https://melevsreef.com/articles/get-clean-crew-cuc-your-reef
DIY project: Support your aquascape with acrylic: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/393-Avoid-a-rockslide-with-an-acrylic-support-system

Feeding many mouths

Feeding fish is obvious, but there are lots of choices. Frozen, dry sheet algae, pellet, flake, and even chilled liquids are available. If you like to feed often, feed smaller portions. If you only have a couple of fish in your new aquarium, you can cut a frozen cube of fishfood in half, and save the other half for later or the next day. My aquarium gets food three times a day; when people tell me they only feed their aquarium every other day or even longer, I just want to ask them how often do *they* eat each day?! Corals have mouths too. LPS corals can be target fed, turning off the pumps for a 10 minute period so the tentacles can capture and draw the food in. Corals will also eat the fish waste that is broadcast into the aquarium. Many corals open up after lights out while the fish sleep, tiny polyps trapping particulates during those dark hours.

Feeding your reef Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyC8_ZFbhcs
Proper feeding methods: https://melevsreef.com/articles/proper-feeding-methods

Effort versus results

If you've set up your system properly with reliable equipment and you stay observant, odds are you can maintain a healthy reef working about two hours a week. Daily you may need to make tiny tweaks to assure all is well, and check on the protein skimmer, draining the cup as needed. Each weekend you'll spend some time doing water tests, cleaning the glass and surrounding area. Once or twice a month you'll perform a water change and clean the circulation pumps. The rest of the time, you'll be transfixed with your system, comparing it to others you've found online, visiting fish stores, thinking about what you'd like to get next, and deciding what you can afford. Avoid the tendency to neglect your tank, because the longer you ignore it, the more time you'll need to restore it. By keeping up with the smallest issues, you'll avoid the big hurdles. Also, try to plan ahead, thinking about what can and will go wrong, and prepare for that. Do you have spare parts on hand, plenty of salt for water changes, dips to treat new corals, batteries in case the power goes out? Do you have a friend you can call if things get dicey, or that can watch your aquarium when you travel for work or a vacation? An aquarium is a pet like a dog or cat, and it needs daily attention. Most of the time is for enjoyment, while part of the time is work to make it something worth sharing with others.

No matter what size you choose, try to give it your full attention. The more tanks you add, the more work you'll create for yourself. The bigger the system, the bigger the commitment in time and money. I really enjoyed my 29g reef, and I maintained that aquarium for 7 years. I had a 3g pico reef for 6 months. The angled tank was a popular one to many that followed my website, and it ran for about three years. My 280g reef was my favorite, and it lasted six years before the silicone let go. My 400g is my pride and joy, and the 60g Anemone Cube was included in that build because I love clownfish. This is a hobby about patience and watching things grow. Some corals may burst with growth, while others may seem to be in idle-mode. The fish you select will be in your care for many years. Clownfish can live to be 25 years or more. Tangs can live to be 30-40 years. Spock, the naso tang in this next picture, has been with me since 2004, as has 'Crown Royal' the purple tang.

There is still so much more to tell you, but this seems like a good stopping point. Melev's Reef has many articles which can be accessed from the main navigation bar, via site map, or the search button. When you have a question, type it in google and add melev to the query, and you'll quickly find my answers here, on ReefAddicts.com, other forums, youtube, or possibly social media. I've been sharing my knowledge with everyone for a long time, and odds are I've documented it at some point. Read my blogs, and be sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel.

Also, remember when you google stuff, add melev to your query for anything I may have answered in the past:

Happy reefing! You're gonna love it.

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How to rinse out an older sand bed, and why...

melev — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 01:26:19 +0000

How to rinse out an older sand bed, and why... melev Tue, 06/30/2020 - 04:26

If it is time to move from one tank to another one, or you are simply moving the tank from one location to another, the big question that comes up often is "how do I transfer the sandbed?" The reason this is a concern is because the sand bed traps all kinds of detritus and this builds up to toxic levels. While scooping it out of the tank for the move or the upgrade to a larger tank, these toxic zones can cause a major catastrophe when setting up the tank anew. And a sandbed loaded with detritus will surely feed nuisance algae. Yet another reason to do this.

The DSB in this tank is over two years old, and must be washed out if it is to be used in a new tank.

If the sand bed is less than six months old, it is usually safe to remove and add to the next tank. However, after six months you would be wise to pull it out, wash it out thoroughly, thus starting fresh in your next setup. This pertains even moreso to a DSB (Deep Sand Bed), with layers that purposefully trap and process waste with anoxic (oxygen-free) zones.

Removing the detritus and toxic waste will avoid a cycle, reduce both nitrates and phosphates in the new tank, and the sandbed will be clean and fresh from day one.

Carefully scoop up two or three cups of sand from the top surface of the current sandbed, and save it in a ziplock bag. Place it somewhere stable, where it will stay room temperature and not get too cold nor baked in the sunlight.

Next, all the live rock in the old tank should be removed and placed in a clean trashcan (or other plastic container) and filled up with tank water to keep the rock fully submerged. This prevents the rock from starting a "cycle", caused by the die-off of lifeforms, especially sponges. You may need to place a heater in the water and some powerheads for circulation if the transition to the new system will take some time to accomplish.

Having a helper with this project is a great idea. Sand is heavy. Take a 5 gallon plastic bucket and fill it 1/3 with sand. Now grab the garden hose and turn it on full blast and fill the bucket up with water, stirring it around and around. Leave the water running during this rinse period. Pour off excess water and look for the lighter detritus to collect on the surface of the sand as you swirl it around while pouring it out. You want all of the waste out of the bucket. Once the sand looks clean, pour that into the tank. Fill the bucket with more of the dirty or used sand, and repeat. Do this until all the sand has been rinsed out.

To refill the tank with saltwater, cover the sand with a black trash bag liner, and place a heavy serving platter on the plastic. Then place a glass or plastic pitcher on top of the platter.

Add saltwater (from the old tank as well as any newly mixed water) to the tank, pouring or pumping it into the pitcher, which will then overflow onto the platter and then the plastic liner. Do this until the tank is half full. At this point you can remove the plastic, the platter and pitcher. Carefully add the LR (live rock) to your tank, keeping it submerged as much as possible. Finally add the rest of the water needed to fill the tank.

Take your three cups of sand, and gently release it in three little mounds on the substrate in the tank. Don't spread it around nor try to mix it in. Just pour it in little hills. The microscopic critters will work their way into the rest of the sandbed, rather than floating around in the water column. The bacteria will replenish the DSB; this is referred to as re-seeding the sandbed.

Turn on the pumps. You're done!

If possible, try to get another cup or two from a local hobbyist or from an existing tank at your LFS (local fish store). This will add some new biodiversity to your sandbed, and should be done every six months.

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...I'd like to buy a Mandarin!

melev — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 01:21:17 +0000

...I'd like to buy a Mandarin! melev Tue, 06/30/2020 - 04:21

Mandarin fish are probably one of the most beautiful reef-safe fish that are available for hobbyists today. With their graceful meanderings, their colorful markings and gossamer fins, people quickly fall in love with these gentle creatures. Surprisingly, they aren't that expensive, giving the reef keeper even more motivation to acquire one.

There are various types of Mandarins, such as the large blue, red or green Synchiropus splendidus, and the smaller Target or Spotted Synchiropus picturatus. These fish hunt for food all day long, picking at the rockwork for bugs smaller than we can see. At night, they rest. While they rest, their colors fade substantially, so don't worry.

To successfully keep one of these fish, it is best to have everything ready before you buy.

Your reef tank should have already been established for at least six months to one year.
You need to have a minimum of 75 lbs of Live Rock.
I strongly recommend having a working refugium incorporated and teaming with 'pods' of all kinds.

If you have any other pod-eating fish in your tank, such as a Six Line Wrasse, it is possible to starve a Mandarin. They move slowly seeking live food, so faster fish will consume its prey! You may get lucky and buy a Mandarin that eats prepared foods, but many don't and thus your tank will have to provide all of its food naturally.

A few ways are available to improve your success, such as building 'pod piles' or hatching baby brine shrimp. A pod pile is a small collection of rock carefully stacked together so that fish can't get in between them. Some hobbyists will take a strawberry basket from the supermarket and fill it with small bits of live rock, and invert this onto the floor of their tank. The fish can't enter the basket so the pods can propagate safely. As they emerge from the basket, the mandarin can eat. If you don't like the look of a basket, you can pile up bits of rock in the corners, but you may have to re stack them again later as crabs and fish flip them over.

While I don't recommend this as the only food source, hatching brine shrimp is easy and can be done on a rotating basis where you have one new batch each day, providing a constant supply of food. Feeding newly hatched brine is more nutritious because the yolk-sac is still attached. So if you want to generate the potential food source with this method, it will work as long as you keep up with your hatcheries. Having a refugium tied into your system is the best or preferred method, as you'll always be creating new bugs for your fish to eat, where they breed safely and can't be devoured (until they enter the display tank). You will have to feed phytoplankton to your tank and refugium, because the copepods, amphipods and other tiny crustaceans need to eat as well.

So, if you feed your little bugs, they will breed and make more. And this in turn will provide the food necessary to keep a beautiful Mandarin fat and happy. And that is no joke, as a fat mandarin is a happy one.

A few more thoughts.....

These fish don't get Ich as they secrete an oily substance on their bodies. Their skin type and the oils secreted make them extremely sensitive to many medications. What may heal one species will more than likely kill a mandarin. So if your other fish develop ich, the mandarin is not to be put in to quarantine. Which is fortunate because it would starve to death if you did, assuming the medication didn't kill it first.

You can recognize a male from a female because the male has a sharp spike on his dorsal fin. If you decide you want a pair of mandarins, make sure you have plenty of LR to support their food source, and that you have one male and one female. Putting a pair of mandarins in a tank smaller than 125g would probably be a mistake, unless they ate prepared foods. I've watched mine eat Formula One or Formula Two small pellet food, mysis, baby brine shrimp, cyclop-eeze and more, but others have stated their fish accepted nothing but live prey.

1/06/05 - Reefkeeping Online presents a beautiful Mandarin slide show, along with some good comments about these delicate fish. Take a moment to read the text and enjoy the show. January 2005 ReefSlides

1/15/05 - Check out the Mandarin Diner.

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How to mix & change saltwater correctly

melev — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 01:16:35 +0000

How to mix & change saltwater correctly melev Tue, 06/30/2020 - 04:16

Water changes are a task we rarely relish. Some swear by them, and others do them sporadically throughout the year. While water changing philosophies vary from hobbyist to hobbyist, the bottom line is that water changes can benefit your livestock. They are the easiest way to improve water quality and also are one of the most inexpensive solutions when trying to solve a chemistry problem in the system. Before I continue, I do have to admit that, years ago, I was one of those guys who swore that water changes were unnecessary because water parameters were testing perfectly on a weekly basis. What changed my opinion were two things: 1) there are things you can't test for, and 2) the livestock's positive response to an influx of fresh saltwater.

I strongly recommend using RO/DI water for your tank, rather than tap or well water. The best way to avoid nuisance algae is to use the purest water you can obtain, which is why I use a 100gpd RO/DI system. You may not need 100 gallons of water per day, but if you need 15 gallons, how long do you want to wait for it to be produced? My filter produces about 5-gallons per hour, and I change 55-gallons of water per session. Thus, in approximately 11 hours* I have enough water collected in my mixing barrel to make a new batch of saltwater.

What salt you choose to use is up to you. I've preferred four different kinds in the past 15 years. Kent Sea Salt, Red Sea Coral Pro salt, Sybon Reef salt, and currently Fritz salt. Pick a salt based on the experiences of others who are keeping reef tanks successfully. If you don't like how their tank looks, you might opt for a different brand of salt, assuming, of course, that their husbandry skills aren't lacking. Let’s face it, some brands of salt aren't really all that great.

The general rule of thumb I use for water changes is to change 25% of the water volume once each month. Some choose to change their water weekly, others biweekly. One article I read even measured how effective daily water changes might be, compared to monthly. If your tank has a high bioload, changing water more often than monthly might be wise. Water quality declines over time based on the following factors:

the livestock's biomass
amount of food added daily
the amount of waste that builds up in the system
whether the tank is skimmerless
whether carbon is run actively rather than passively
whether a refugium is employed
the total volume of water in the system

You probably can come up with even more factors. Corals exude chemicals defensively to defend and acquire space around them, and some shed mucous. Considering all of this, each hobbyist needs to determine a routine that fits his particular situation.

When mixing saltwater, the rule is to add the salt to the full volume of water. If you pour water onto a pile of salt, the water turns milky white and never clears. This is because a lot of salt and a little water create hyper-salinity. The water is much too salty, which often results in precipitation. The alkalinity and calcium levels are much too high, and this causes flakes or snow that won't dissolve. So remember, water first, then salt. Use a powerhead or large pump to mix the water and salt (and a heater in the months when the water is colder).

A few tools you should have are: a refractometer or hydrometer to measure salinity, a thermometer to measure temperature, a pH meter to measure pH and a TDS meter to measure RO/DI water quality. Additionally, it is good to have ammonia, chlorine and alkalinity test kits. You also will need a pump, a heater and a mixing vessel of some kind.

To make sure the RO/DI water is safe to use, test it for TDS (Total Dissolved Solids). The ideal reading is zero, but anything under 10 is considered acceptable. Testing for ammonia is a precaution, because city water may contain elevated levels due to recent plumbing construction or flooding in your area. If the ammonia level is very high going into the RO/DI system, there may be more than the filters can remove. Obviously, adding ammonia to your aquarium is detrimental to the livestock because of its toxicity. Testing for chlorine with a simple pool test kit will verify that the carbon filters in the RO/DI system are still functioning properly. If the test finds anything greater than zero, the carbon is fully saturated and the membrane may be damaged by chlorine. Changing filters regularly avoids such problems, and regular testing helps eliminate serious mistakes.

The mixing container can be whatever suits your needs. A bucket, vat, trashcan or plastic barrel will work. The container should be made of a food-grade material, so check to see if it is stamped with HDPE (High-density polyethylene) on its base. If you are unsure, get something else to mix water in to avoid the risk of plastic contamination. Make sure the container is clean and free of dust and debris. A quick rinse couldn't hurt. Between uses it should be rinsed, inverted and allowed to air dry. Keeping it clean and dry prevents bacterial growth and avoids contaminating the new saltwater.

When I kept a small tank I needed just one or two small buckets to mix up saltwater. Using my hand, I'd stir it around and around as the salt dissolved in the water. That worked, but got old quickly. Soon I was looking for a 10-gallon container and a powerhead to mix the saltwater so I wouldn't have to mix it manually. Later, as I upgraded to a larger tank, I needed larger mixing containers, too.

Before changing any water, you first need to match three measurements - salinity, temperature and pH. The new saltwater and the tank’s water need to be matched as closely as possible to avoid stressing your fish and corals. It's best to mix new saltwater near the aquarium if you have the space, to avoid pH changes that can arise from the different environmental conditions in different rooms. Using the same thermometer, measure the tank's water and then the mixing container's water. By using the same thermometer, you'll know for sure what the variance is, instead of using two separate thermometers, which may not be calibrated accurately to give correct readings. I always move the temperature probe from the container to the tank to see if the temperature matches. If the new water is within one degree of the tank's water, it can be used. During winter months, a heater in the mixing barrel brings up the temperature during the 24 hours the salt and water is mixing.

Mixing saltwater for 24 hours or longer is called "aging" saltwater. This is a good practice because it allows the salt to fully dissolve and the water to stabilize. At times we are in a hurry, and in those cases if the new saltwater is clear (not cloudy), and matches temperature, salinity and pH, it is ready to use. Letting it age, however, is best whenever possible. Keeping the container covered with a loose fitting lid will prevent anything from accidentally contaminating the water, such as in-home aerosols, dust or, worse yet, items being carried a little too closely to the mixing container. Mixed saltwater will last for several months as long as it remains circulating (with the salt brands I've used).

Any time a new bag or bucket of salt is opened, I strongly recommend testing for calcium, alkalinity and magnesium. It wouldn't hurt to further test it with any other kits as well, such as ammonia, nitrate and phosphate. When buying salt by the bag or bucket, know these values until each particular batch is depleted. Take a few minutes to make sure everything meets your standards, not only for peace of mind but also to make any adjustments necessary to maintain good water quality in your aquarium with each water change. Testing the water after the water has mixed for 24 hours yields more accurate results than testing newly mixed water.

One of my biggest complaints when performing water changes was lifting water buckets up to the tank’s edge to refill it after the water had drained out. What works great for this purpose is a good quality pump that can push water at least 5' high using 10' of flexible tubing. I use a Mag pump and 1" ID clear tubing instead of possibly hurting my back. Enough words, it's high time for some pictures!

This is my 55 gallon mixing barrel. I made a roller for it so I can move it from the utility area where the RO/DI system is to the fishroom at the other end of the kitchen. A 6-way power strip is visible in the picture, which is used to plug in a Tunze 6060 Stream pump and a 200-watt heater. Those two mix and heat the water for 24 hours, after which time it is ready to use.

I use a Rubbermaid storage container to measure the amount of salt needed (next photo). If I fill it within 1" of the top of the container twice, that is the perfect amount of salt to mix the water to a specific gravity of 1.026 (35 ppt). That is much easier than trying to remember how many cups I've added, and I don't have to try to keep count.

Later, I added a GFCI protected outlet and switch (see photo below). Because I use a pump to move water from one spot to another, my hands usually end up being wet. Trying to pull a plug out of a power strip, or even toggling off that small switch can be risky, especially when you have to keep your other hand on the tubing, through which water is still being pumped. Now I plug in the pump and, once everything is ready, I flip on the switch. Water pumps out of my sump into a 55-gallon barrel nearby.

Because I prefer to pump the water out of the sump rather than out of the display tank, I turn off the return pump and the skimmer when doing water changes. Doing so ensures that the sump contains more than the 55 gallons I'm going to pump out as wastewater. I also turn off the auto top-off system until the water change is done. If your heaters are going to be exposed to air during a water change, be sure to unplug them first. Heaters can quickly overheat when not submerged as recommended, causing the glass to break and thereby putting you at risk of electrocution. Remember to plug them back in once the water change has been completed.

The water is pumped from the sump into an empty barrel. After the skimmer section is virtually empty, I move the Mag pump to the return section to pump that water out next. When doing water changes, this is an excellent time to siphon out detritus that has accumulated in the sump. If you add some tubing to the intake side of the pump, you can use it to suck up any waste and pump it out with the old water.

When the water level in this barrel matches the water level in the "now aged" saltwater barrel, I turn off the pump and remove it from the sump. The pump is then placed into the new barrel of saltwater, and the tubing is pointed into the sump. It is important to make sure the tubing stays in place and doesn't flop out while the pump is running!

This picture shows the saltwater in the barrel (foreground) being pumped into the sump. The barrel of used saltwater is still full for now. As soon as all the new saltwater is pumped into the sump, the return pump, protein skimmer and auto top off are turned back on. Once I know there is enough water in the system, I pump the old water from the barrel into the kitchen sink's drain. This entire process takes about 10 to 15 minutes to accomplish. The empty barrels are taken outside, rinsed and left inverted until needed again.

I wanted to take a moment to explain how testing pH can be of value. Back in January 2006, after mixing some new saltwater for 24 hours, its pH was around 6.0 instead of the normal 8.0 to 8.2. At the time it was winter in Texas and I just assumed that the CO₂ level in my home must be pretty high, because I kept the house sealed up tightly. Using baked Baking Soda mixed in a cup of RO water, I raised the pH to 8.2 and then used the saltwater as planned. Baked baking soda raises both pH and alkalinity and, in my case, it saved my reef from serious harm. It turns out that I had a bad batch of salt (Kent Sea Salt) that lacked the alkalinity ingredient! For a few water changes, I kept getting low readings and buffered the water as necessary, not realizing that this was a nationwide problem. After getting a phone call from an unhappy reefkeeper in Arkansas, I checked out a lengthy thread on Reef Central discussing how many hobbyists were discovering their salt was mixing badly. One after another, they reported that their saltwater had an alkalinity reading of <1.0 dKH, when it should have mixed up at 8 dKH. After calling the 800 number on the bucket, I learned that Kent arranged to test salt samples from any of their customers, and replace the bad salt. I had six buckets shipped to my door. Fortunately for me and my reef, my system never was affected by the bad batch of salt because I always test the pH before using newly mixed saltwater. I strongly recommend that every hobbyist own a Pinpoint pH meter. This tool is well worth the money!

If you are changing water from your display tank, rather than from the sump, you can use a powerhead or pump to push the water out quickly into a nearby container. Turn off any powerheads and lights to avoid cooking livestock exposed to air, then pump the water out. When pumping new saltwater into my display tank, I would hold a large cup or pitcher inside the tank and point the tubing into it. That way as the water gushes into the reef, it doesn't hammer the corals or blow the sand everywhere. Instead, it gently overflows the cup and refills the tank. Using this method, a water change can be done in under 10 minutes.

Now you know how to change water safely. No more excuses - get it done.

Happy reefing!

*Time will vary based upon water temperature and water pressure. Colder source water takes longer to produce RO/DI water than warmer water in the summer.

Additional Reading:

Fritz Salt (March 2014) - http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/29073-How-I-make-250g-of-saltwater

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Get a Clean Up Crew (CUC) for your reef

melev — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 01:11:59 +0000

Get a Clean Up Crew (CUC) for your reef melev Tue, 06/30/2020 - 04:11

When you set up a saltwater system, within mere months you will encounter nuisance algae. What is that? It's stuff that grows and annoys you to no end. While a few people may like seeing green hair algae swaying back and forth displaying movement, the majority of hobbyists abhor it. The main reason we don't want algae in our aquariums is because it grows so quickly and will choke out our precious corals. Assuming you don't want an algae tank, this article will feature why a clean up crew is critical to success. If your tank has been running for a few months, it needs a clean up crew by now.

Blue Leg Hermit on a Montipora setosa coral

The walls of your aquarium, made of glass or acrylic, need to be kept clean to enjoy the viewing experience. As green film algae accrues, it becomes harder to see the life within. A cleaning magnet can be used to swipe or erase this film off the glass. There may be times of year where you have to keep cleaning the glass daily or even twice a day, but usually this task is only required every two to three days. The more you feed and the longer you run the lights per day, the more abundantly this algae will grow. Snails can help keep the glass cleaner, but they won't get it all. They work tirelessly, especially at night when the tank is dark. Astreas, Trochus and Cowries are good grazers, as are Ceriths, Strombus, Collonistas and Stomatella snails.

Astrea snails

The rockwork also needs to be tended to, and while snails will work on some areas, hermit crabs are a good choice as well. They help reduce algae, ripping it right off the rock. Blue leg hermits, red leg hermits, and scarlet hermits all pick at the rock, snail and clam shells, and even stuff in the substrate. They will clean off the ceramic plugs at the base of your frags if algae is present. (You can carefully dip frag plugs in 3% peroxide, avoiding getting any peroxide on the coral fragment itself. After a couple of minutes, place the coral in your tank. The algae will die off over the next couple of days, which your clean up crew will proceed to remove.)

Astrea and red leg hermit

One algae called Valonia (green bubble algae) is usually removed by Emerald crabs. Some fish (Naso tangs, for example) love valonia. If your tank is smaller though, stick with Emerald crabs. Note the flattened tips of the claws that are used to rip algae off rock. I've observed Emerald crabs plucking off caulerpa in one of my past aquariums, for which I was very grateful.

Emerald crab

For the sandy substrate to stay clean, three different creatures will be useful: nassarius snails, small conchs, and certain cucumbers. Specifically, Fighting Conchs and Tigertail cucumbers are what I use. One fighting conch per two square feet of sand is usually best. They will sift through the sand looking for things to eat, keeping the surface stirred. The cucumber mops the sand, injesting it and pooping out clean sand from its opposing end. Nassarius snails tend to hide in the substrate, emerging only when they smell food in the water. As hermit crabs travel across the sand, they too stir the surface and this helps keep the sand clean too.

Nassarius snail on the left, blue leg hermit on the right

Fighting Conch

A couple of other additions would be serpent starfish and perhaps a Tuxedo or Diadema urchin. Serpent starfish tend to hide in the rockwork, but constantly hunt for morsels of food while remaining reef safe to your fish population. Brittle starfish may eat fish, so make sure you are getting a serpent starfish. Tuxedo urchins travel throughout the system, picking up anything to adorn themselves as they seek out food, while Diadema (longspine) urchins are known to eat hair algae. Also, you may get poked when working in your tank if you have a Diadema, so try to watch out for it since it will sting. Urchins won't damage glass aquariums nor the silicone, but they may leave teeth marks on acrylic tanks. Sand Sifting Starfish are usually not recommended in a reef tank because they will devour all the life out of the sandbed, which will actually cause the sand to grow algae. Avoid that starfish unless you have a fish-only or predator tank.

Tuxedo urchin

How many creatures does your tank need? I recommend one critter per gallon. A 100-gallon reef needs 100 items, for example. If that sounds like a lot of creatures, here's how I would break it down. Let's say the 100g tank is 48" long x 24" deep x 20" tall, made of glass. I would add:

20 Astrea snails - these are workers that you can rely upon. If they fall onto the sand, you will have to flip them over. A small downside, perhaps.
12 Trochus snails - these snails are smarter than Astreas and can right themselves on their own.
15 Cerith snails - these clean the glass and often will focus on the area right above the sandbed, devouring that green stuff hard to reach.
15 Red leg hermits - good workers, and less aggressive toward snails.
5 Scarlet hermits - very active, and gorgeous to look at. They cost more, so I only get a few.
10 Blue leg hermits - very active, can be quite aggressive. If you can buy tiny ones, that's usually best.
15 Nassarius snails - these living in the sandbed and move about like tiny submarines emerging when food is added to the tank.
3 Emerald crabs - works on macro algae like bubble algae and some species of caulerpa.
2 Fighing Conchs - stirs the sandbed, keeping it clean.
1 Tigertail cucumber - works from the rockwork reaching out to clean the sand in its area. They travel, and reproduce. I have 12 in my 400g reef.
1 Serpent starfish - good detritus cleaner, works its way through the rockwork looking for anything that needs to be consumed.
1 Tuxedo urchin - nice looking, eats algae on rock or the walls of your aquarium.

This mixture of critters makes up a good clean up crew. Each one has its own area of concern but together they are an important part of your ecosystem. In nature, tons of little creatures clean up our oceans' reefs, coming out of the rockwork after dark, picking algae out of corals, off clams, and off the rock structure. Running a reef tank requires the same type of busy creatures to help keep your system algae-free. If your tank is overrun with algae now, you will have to manually remove the bulk of the algae by hand, and add a clean up crew to remove what remains.

Think of your snails and hermits as cows, one speaker suggested in a presentation I attended many years ago. Cows are known to graze on fields all day long, keeping it mowed down. "The more cows you have, the better" was his advice. You want to have enough "cows" that algae never outpaces their hungry mouths. Of course too many cows could lead to starvation and die off, which would elevate phosphate levels in the aquarium. My one critter per gallon rule has worked great for all my tanks, and you rarely see any sort of algae issue in any of my systems.

Hermits can be opportunistic and attack other snails (or hermits) to get their shells, so some losses are completely natural. If you have fish that eat snails, this too can be problematic to maintining a decent snail population. Some wrasses will hunt for unwary snails, and pow! that snail is dinner. From time to time, you may see the need to remove empty shells from the aquarium. Replenishing the clean up crew should be part of your hobby, perhaps once or twice a year depending on how your reef holds up. Usually when people ask for help with algae issues, they are quick to mention they've been meaning to buy more snails. When asked what do they have at the moment, they usually answer with a number that is less than 10. Part of a healthy reef is a healthy clean up crew, and replacing what has been lost over time is a necessity for longterm success.

Finally, be reasonable with stocking critters. If your tank is barren, overloading it with snails and hermits could result in more losses. Understocking the clean up crew yields a mess on your hands because you didn't get enough. Ascertain your situation and assemble the proper sized army of cows to keep everything looking nice so you can enjoy your reef. And remember to watch your little creatures, as they can be very entertaining as well. Look at these guys!

Astreas stacked up with a hermit joining in the fun

Where to get a clean up crew? Your Local Fish Store (LFS for short) should have plenty to choose from. If you prefer to purchase them online, here are a few suggestions:

LiveAquaria.com
ReefCleaners.org
Reeftopia.com
Saltwaterfish.com
kpaquatics.com
BillysReefConnection.com

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Why should you use RO/DI water?

melev — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 00:59:44 +0000

Why should you use RO/DI water? melev Tue, 06/30/2020 - 03:59

When getting into the hobby of marine tanks, the basic consideration is water. Without it, nothing in your tank would live for long. Compared to freshwater tanks, marine tanks need excellent water quality to maintain success. So what water is available to the average person?

Tap Water - anything can be in your tap water, and most are undesirable for your tank.
Well Water - similar to above, with the risk of metals and high alkalinity
Distilled Water - available in many food stores, supposedly pure.
Reverse Osmosis &/or De-Ionized water - available as above, as well as at your LFS

One of the things about water is you simply don't know what is in it until you test it yourself. Fluoride, Chlorine, Chloramines, Nitrates, Phosphates, and even metals.... none of which can be added to your marine tank safely. Many of these compounds will create nuisance algae and may even lead to premature death of various livestock. Buying water from stores that promise it is filtered may be safe, but you don't really know when they changed their filters, do you? The water at the LFS may be safe to use, if they are keeping up with the schedule of changing their filters. Look in the LFS display tanks. Are they algae free, or is there an outbreak in many tanks? If you see a lot of algae, their water might not be the best choice to use.

If you opt to use tap water because it saves you money, you'll need to add some type of dechlorinator to protect your livestock from chlorine. Seachem's Prime is excellent, and I used it for years. But how much does that cost over time? And how much is your time worth, when you have to spend hours and hours battling green hair algae or worse?

Getting an RO/DI unit of your own is the best decision you will ever make. The up front cost of a unit can vary depending on where you buy it. There are many styles with a variety of options, and they can range from about $100 to $300 or more. Many choose to buy units from vendors on Ebay, and others shop the various online stores. When shopping, here are a few things to consider:

Gallons Per Day - How quickly do you want to make water? A 100gpd unit will produce a little over 4 gallons an hour under ideal conditions. When you need water in a hurry, you don't want to be waiting for a 25 or 50gpd unit to produce water!

Filter Sizes - The common filter size is 10", and if you buy a unit with that standard size, you'll be able to shop around for refill cartridges from many vendors. If the filter sizes are unique, you will have to continue to buy them from the original vendor and pray he stays in business or at least provide you with another resource if he doesn't continue selling them.

Clear Canisters - If you get a unit with solid white 'sumps', you can't tell what is going on. Clear acrylic sumps allow you to see if water is in each section, and you can visually inspect the unit to see when something needs changing.

The benefit of having a unit in your home is that you can make pure water as you need it. Installation takes about 10 minutes. You won't have to carry heavy containers of water (5 or more gallons weighs a lot!) out of the store, load it into your vehicle, then unload it at your house and carry it to your tank. Another benefit is you know exactly when your filters were changed last. You can even test your unit to make sure your water is safe. A TDS meter will measure the water quality -- zero is the goal. A cheap Chlorine test will tell you if your carbon filters need replacing. The DI cartridge changes colors from black to brown indicating when it has been consumed. Finally, if the output is remarkably slower than when you first installed it, it is time to replace filters or possibly the membrane.

An additional benefit with some units is the ability to make your own drinking water, by collecting water from the RO section (before the DI can process it). Clean drinking water is a must in most homes, and a RO/DI unit can provide that 24 hours a day.

Maintenance is easy. Change the filters (sediment and carbon) every 6 months and the DI once a year. The RO membrane should be good for 3 to 5 years. There is very little that can go wrong with a unit, but if you do run into a problem, the vendor or local club members can quickly help you get that resolved.

If you add up the cost of the water you are purchasing (or the chemicals you buy to dechlorinate your tap water), you can see that in very little time an RO/DI unit will pay for itself. And your marine tank will look the better for it!

Ready to make your own pure water? Purchase one from Melev's Reef!

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New to the hobby? Here are the Basics

melev — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 00:54:53 +0000

New to the hobby? Here are the Basics melev Tue, 06/30/2020 - 03:54

Thinking about setting up a saltwater aquarium?

Family members now yearn for their very own Clownfish or Tang, especially after Finding Nemo came out. With a little information, your family can have beautiful marine fish that will live for years to come. However, marine fish are more complicated than buying a kitten, a hamster, or a gold fish. Hopefully this small list will help you in your endeavors:

False Percula (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Photo by Greg Taylor

Hippo Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
Photo by Greg Taylor

Tank size does matter. Even though you may have found a small fish, it needs room to grow and to roam about. A clownfish can be happy in a 10 gallon tank, but a 20 or 29 gallon tank will allow you to add more creatures in the future, giving you a beautiful piece of the ocean in your home. Tangs are herbivores, and need a lot of room to swim. Bare minimum for this fish, when a juvenile, is a 55 gallon aquarium. Some need a 75 gallon, or even a 125 gallon! Tangs love to swim long distances quickly, and to put them in a smaller environment will cause them stress and they can die from stress-related illnesses (such as “Ich”).

Type of Water. To avoid nuisance algaes growing in your tank, it is recommended to get Reverse Osmosis De-ionized water. You can often times buy this kind of water at the fish store where you found your saltwater pet. You can also buy RO water at your supermarket, as well as distilled water. What you don’t want to use is tap water from the sink. It contains elements that are detrimental to your saltwater tank. Chlorine, Phosphate, Nitrate, Fluoride and more are readily detectable in tap water, but your saltwater tank needs pure water to keep your fish healthy.

Salt. Marine salt is readily available at most pet supplies, and Instant Ocean is very popular and easy to find. When you are setting up your tank, or when you do water changes, you always mix the salt in your water before you add it to your tank. You’ll need a hydrometer, which gives you a “salinity reading” to mix the salt to the correct level. To gauge your mixing, use ½ cup of salt per gallon of water, but test it with the hydrometer. You want your salt level at 1.026 sg (specific gravity), and your water’s temperature at that reading should be 78 degrees. As water evaporates from your tank, you only need to add new RO or distilled water, because only water is evaporating from your tank. The salt is still there. Adding saltwater would only increase the salinity of your tank and cause problems for your fish.

Heater. Your tank needs to have a stable temperature. 76° F to 84°F is your allowable tolerance. Keeping it between 78-82°F is the ideal. A small reliable heater will keep the tank from cooling too much at night (especially this winter). A small fan blowing across the top of your tank will avoid overheating during the summer months.

Food. Many marine fish will eat Flake food, which you’ll be able to find at the fish store. Tetra is popular. You can also purchase frozen foods at the fish store to feed your fish. Remember, Tangs are herbivores, so they will not want meaty foods, but rather algae based foods. Frozen Spirulina Enriched Brine Shrimp, Frozen Mysis, Frozen Blood Worms, Frozen Plankton are all good choices, and you can rotate through these over the period of a week, mixing their diet nicely. These foods come in trays, frozen in cubes. One thawed cube is sufficient for a few fish, so avoid overfeeding. You should see all the food consumed in 5 minutes. If you see food after that, you’ve fed too much. Feeding once a day is enough, unless you have a Tang. Then feeding twice a day
is better, as these fish graze all day long in the wild. A good choice for feeding tangs is “Nori,” which are sheets of dried seaweed that you can clip to your tank and the Tang will rip off pieces and eat them.

Lighting. Most tanks come with a single "Normal Output" fluorescent bulb, which is sufficient for fish. If you desire greater variety of items, such as corals or anemones, you’ll need far more lighting to allow them to thrive, let alone survive. When you get to that point, then your options will be VHO (Very High Output), PC (Power Compacts), or MH (Metal Halide). These will be very costly, but your inhabitants will respond with healthy growth. These lights are not necessary for tanks with a few fish, however. Buy a simple 24 hour timer to plug in your lights, so they run about 10-12 hours a day.

Water Tests. Most important of all, saltwater tanks must be tested weekly to make sure your water is healthy so your fish will remain healthy. For a simple fish only tank, you’ll want to test pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. Your pH should test around 8.0 to 8.3. Ammonia should read 0 before adding any fish, and so should your Nitrite. Nitrate should be 20 ppm or less, and the best way to keep these down is regular water changes. Another important test is Alkalinity, which tests your water hardness. This should be between 8 and 11 dKH. Also, be sure to double check your salinity weekly to make sure it has remained stable at 1.026ppm.

Filtration. This can vary quite a bit, but many like to use "hang on tank" filters. Just make sure the filter you buy will match the tank size you’ve chosen. You don’t want a tiny filter on a 55 gallon aquarium. Many people in the saltwater hobby prefer natural methods of filtration, which involves the use of “live sand” and "live rock." Putting 4" of aragonite-based sand in your aquarium will create a great natural way of DE-nitrifying your tank, which keeps the nitrates down. Buying curedlive rock is also extremely valuable, but costs are high. 1 to 1.5 lbs per gallon is recommended, and cured live rock will cost between $6 and $8 a pound! However, the live rock will be filled with tiny creatures, featherdusters, worms and more that all help eat the waste that occurs in your tank, keeping your system clean and healthy.

Protein Skimming. This is a fail-safe way of keeping your water clean and pure. There are many types of protein skimmers on the market, and some are great and some are worthless. The two highly regarded ones are made by Aqua C and EuroReef. For a small aquarium, the Aqua C Remora will do a good job of pulling out waste before it can decay into ammonia and nitrites, which are both toxic to your fish. For a larger tank, like a 55 gallon for a Tang, you could get the Aqua C Remora Pro. What the skimmer does is inject air into a column of water in the unit, which creates tiny micro bubbles that carry Disolved Organic Compounds (DOCS) out of your tank and into a collection cup that you can pour out and rinse quite easily. An added benefit of this device is it adds oxygen to your tank. Unlike a freshwater tank, saltwater tanks don’t need an airstone pumping bubbles into your tank. A good skimmer will cost you between $150 and $200.

Circulation. Using a few power heads in your tank will move water throughout the tank. If you can avoid “dead” zones in your tank, nuisance algae will be less likely to grow. Cyanobacteria, for example, grows in areas that are stagnant. Pointing the output of a powerhead toward the surface of your tank to cause the water to ripple will help with gas exchange. This means oxygen will get into the water, and carbon dioxide will get out. This also keeps your surface nice and clean, and avoids stagnant or oil-like scum from accumulating on the surface of your water.

Cycling the tank. Unlike a freshwater tank, it takes time for a saltwater tank to be ready for a new fish or other creature. Once your tank has been set up, you’ve added your sand, filled it with saltwater, turned on the heater, started the filters, now you can add your live rock. What your tank needs is bacteria, and you need to breed it before your new pets are added. A very easy way to do this is to buy one or two uncooked cocktail shrimp from the deli at the supermarket. Just throw them in the tank and let them rot. As they do, bacteria will grow as a result. Ammonia levels will rise in the tank over the period of a week or 10 days, then it will suddenly drop (you’ll observe this with your Ammonia test kit), and Nitrites will rise quickly over a period of another few days. Finally, the Nitrites will drop off completely (reading 0 with your Nitrites test), and Nitrates will begin to register on your Nitrates test kit. As soon as your Ammonia and Nitrites tests both read 0 on the matching test kits, it is safe to add the new fish.

Patience. As you add fish to your tank, you increase the biological load in your tank. It can only accept so much at one time, so it is far better to add new things very slowly to your tank, rather than all at once. That way the beneficial bacteria in your tank can increase to handle the new load and not create a sudden Ammonia spike in your tank. By adding things slowly, the tank, the water, and the natural filtration will adjust for the new load. Remember, a new pet will require you to feed a little more, and that fish will add waste for your tank to absorb, so you need your natural filtration to keep up.

Janitors. Adding a few snails and small hermit crabs will help keep your tank clean. The snails will eat algae that grows on the glass or rocks, as well as the hermits. They also will consume excess food and waste the accumulates in your tank, helping keep things clean. You can not add these janitors until your tank has fully cycled. If you see a snail that is upside down on the floor (or substrate) of your tank, take the time to flip it back over, or a hermit crab will eat it and take the shell as its new home.

Caution when handling. Make sure your hands and your equipment are clean. Never put your hands in your tank if they have soap or hand lotion on them. Never clean any equipment with soap. Buy a new sponge that does not have “anti-mildew” additives, and keep it with your saltwater stuff, where it never will be used with soap accidentally. You can often times clean things with a mixture of common white vinegar and hot water, to remove calcium deposits.

There is much more to learn as you become more familiar with your aquarium and its needs. This is just a brief overview to help you quickly see what is involved, and online forums are designed to help any that want to have marine tanks in their homes. Ask questions, use the search often, and read as much as you can, and you too can be successful. Which in turn will make your family happy with their own piece of the ocean.

Additional Reading:

What does it cost to set up a reef tank: http://www.reefaddicts.com/content.php/167-What-does-it-cost-to-set-up-a-saltwater-reef-tank

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How does your substrate look?

melev — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 00:49:17 +0000

How does your substrate look? melev Tue, 06/30/2020 - 03:49

In case you haven't been told, newer aquariums go through a series of algae phases, which include things like diatoms (good, normal, food for bacteria), cyanobacteria (normal, undesirable, can be frustrating to remove), detritus (normal, made up of fish waste or decaying food), or lastly dinoflagellates (awful, something you'll never want to deal with).

If you have good flow in your aquarium and a healthy clean up crew to keep the sand stirred, your substrate should look relatively clean. Nassarius snails are good critters that move through the sand, sand-sifting gobies filter sand through their mouths/gills keeping it loose (and in piles that may even cover up corals you care about), serpent starfish are good while sand-sifting starfish are not good in a reef tank, and kole tangs will snack on things off the sand.

A healthy sandbed should have all sorts of cool critters living in the substrate, some of which is food for pod-eaters like mandarins, others that will eat decaying matter. You may observe a variety of different worms: bristleworms, spaghetti worms, polychaetes and spionid worms. You may even note some tiny brittle starfish in the sand, if the wrasses haven't noticed them first!

Additional reading: Clean Up Crew critters

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