Recent content by jim672

Pet fish altered with glowing results SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The nation's first genetically altered household pet — a fish that glows in the dark — is set to begin appearing in stores next month, everywhere except perhaps California, the only state with a ban on lab-engineered species. The...

dlc, Welcome to the Board. You've certainly received an interesting indoctrination! If by "airation" you mean adding air bubbles to your tank by way of an air-stone or other artificial device, the answer is DON'T. Air bubbles rie to the surface and pop. The water that leaves the tank...

I don't know of anyone who leaves their daytime lights on at night. To the contrary, fish and coral are used to light schedule of sunrise to sunset and do require some non-light time to "rest". For those who want to be able to look around after normal lights out time there are "moon light"...

Flamehawk is a great looking little fish, fun to watch and reef safe. Jim

Although keeping multiple tangs can be hit-or-miss, your chances of success will improve if you avoid keeping multiple tangs with the same body shape. In your case, at least until you do upgrade to the 650, I wouldn't add the naso. You'll have a better chance with the sailfin, since it's shape...

Mike, Why not put the live rock into your 55 with the fluval 404 and let the die-off from the lr start your cycle? Track your cycle's progress by testing daily or every other day. Don't do any water changes until the cycle has completed......usually 4 to 6 weeks. No lighting is required...

Marine Bettas can grow to 8" or more and are not recommended for reef systems. They're nocturnal and require lots of places to hide from bright lights. Suggested for fish only systems. Jim

Hey jon, I'm running a 175w 10K Ushio and a pair of 96w VHO's. I'm not thrilled by the brightness or color of my MH. What is the XM bulb? I paid about $79 for the Ushio and was pleased with that price but if I can get a brighter bulb for less money.......I'm there. Thanks. Jim

G13, The only coral I'd recommend would be low-light corals like mushrooms. For most corals,96 watts over a 45 gallon tank isn't much. I have a 45 gallon also and have 370 watts of MH and VHO and I won't even try SPS corals. I've also had only short-term sucess with clams. Jim

Chromis are pretty and although one would look nice they do like to school. Three or more in a tank is suggested but htree more fish in your tank eould really be pushing the max bio-load. The royal gramma is a beautiful little fish. They can get a little territorial but shouldn't bother...

jb1 has you on the right track. I switched my tank from cc to live sand a couple years ago. I just used one of the substrait "vacuums" to pick up all the cc. I did clean it real well first to get rid of as much detritus as I could so my water wouldn't be a total mess. While I had cc, I used...

You've probably heard the old saying,"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink"? Well, substitute clown for horse and carpet anemone for water and you have your answer.;) Seriously, there doesn't seem to be any way to tell what, or if, a clown will adopt an anenome or coral...

Where are you getting your water that you use for top-offs and water changes? Have you tested your tank water for phosphates and silicates? If you're using tap water (or even some bottled water) you probably have elevated levels of phosphate/silicate which is probably causing your algea...

NM, I love the juvenile hippo tang. When did you get it? ( I still miss mine. Bought him small but he grew quickly. I didn't know enough to realize my 45 was too small for him....he got ich and, well, you know the end to that story....) Jim

Forgot to mention......if you really want a gold just wait a few days. SWF.com does restock constantly. It probably won't be long until they have some available. I was looking at ordering a flame hawkfish and as I got ready to order.....it was out of stock. A week or so later and they had...