Search results

For a tank your size it is very important that you add fish based on their adult size, not the size when you see them in your lfs. Years ago, before I knew better, I bought a 1.5 inch panther grouper because it had plenty of personality, and looked good in my 55 gallon tank. When it got to be 8...

I usually assume that cycling a tank from scratch (w/o live rock) will take 4-6 weeks. If live rock or sand is present it can take from 0 to 3 weeks. Be patient.

Disregard the verbiage, what we originally stood for was freedom to rich white males, slavery to blacks,,and devil take the hindmost. The true story of America is a 200+ year process of extending the promise of the constitution to all citizens in both law and practice.

I don't know shy folks apologize when they name their fish. I have been keeping marine fish for over 40 years, and have named every organism that ever lived in my tanks. The best name I ever came up with was "Ini", for a flame scallop. Thus,he was...wait for it...scallopini:D

I didn't check my float valve for months, and only saved my marriage because I had a water sensor on the floor beside the tank that sounded a flood alarm.

You should use RODI for water changes and top-off as well. Tap water has so many impurities, such as silicates that support diatom growth, phosphates that algae love, and nitrogen compounds that are toxic, that it is a big mistake to use it unless you have unusually good water coming from your tap.

I have never used filter floss in a marine tank, but whatever your filtration medium is, never remove all of it. Since you are still cycling, I would not remove any of it until the tank is cycled and the floss begins to accumulate dirt. Then change a portion with each water change.

Cyanobacteria are an extremely primitive form, and can be a pain in the you know where. Good flow, low nutrient in the water, competition from macro algae, reduced lighting and erythromycin are all effective, some faster than others. I prefer to go the slower tank-management route by directing...

It is a bit more trouble, but converting your submerged pumps into inline will solve your problem. This usually requires drilling and plumbing, but it works. I have been running a chiller on my 220 for 2 years, but am in the process of setting up a sump in the basement with an inline return to...

No, you have plenty of ammonia. Keep testing until it falls to undetectable levels, then test for nitrites (which are also toxic). When the nitrite levels have fallen the tank is ready for its first living organism.

This light has been around for a while, so it doesn't represent "state-of-the-art" technology, but softies and lps should do fine towards the top of the water column, Deeper, not so much. It uses surface mounted emitters, so the dispersion of light is not very wide, so you may find that you...

There is only one guarantee with anemones - they will choose a place that you would never choose for it: generally hidden from view:(

The blue part of the spectrum is the only region used by corals for photosynthesis. White light contains the frequencies that support algae - nuff said about that!

Seems like a lot of trouble to feed fish that should eat anything. Tangs are just as happy and healthy eating nori, or dried seaweed. You will need lots of copepods to feed the others. Just sayin....

Overnight shipping will result in some die-off. Put the rock in the tank and measure ammonia and nitrite until they rise, then fall. If they don't rise then you had enough bacteria to handle the die-off. You can simultaneously ghost feed the tank. AS for the lights, 89 watts full blast is quite...

Maxi-Jet says their 1200 can be a return pump, but it is really for water circulation, IMHO. The litermeter is a dosing pump, used to add small volumes of supplements continually. PFO lighting is out of business. You should post the particulars of the fixture in the "Lighting" forum and the...

If your rock is coming by shipment (from an online source, for example) then you can expect sufficient die-off to produce a fine cycle. OTOH, if you are getting mature live rock from a nearby lfs there won't be much die-off, and a little extra ammonium wouldn't hurt, but wouldn't be critical...

I agree. In fact. the wavelengths that you perceive as "bright" are among the wavelengths that support photosynthesis in algae, but not in corals. Hence, you will need to watch out for an explosion of hair algae.

For sheer beauty take a look at the reef-safe wrasses. My favorite is the male red velvet fairy wrasse. Gorgeous, outgoing and hearty! Here is a picture of mine.

I have found that having some form of particulate filter helps keep the water crystal clear. I use polyester socks at the entrance to my sump, and change them weekly. Other than that, you don't really need any additional filtration on a FOWLR.