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Forget the marble chips. Substrate carries out two functions - it serves as a residence for bacteria that lower the nutrient level of the water, and buffers the water to the proper pH (not alone, but it is part of the buffer system). Marble chips, round marbles, glass beads, etc. won't do...

newtofish1994: I'm going to return this thread to its purpose - getting your tank going. The web site you gave as a source for your fish-iin cycling is way off base, IMHO. First of all, it is a freshwater site, not marine, and the systems are different, and rely on different kinds of...

Please DO NOT cycle with live fish. It is an unnecessary cruelty to living animals. Instead, use a piece of cocktail shrimp in a nylon stocking as your source of ammonium. If that last sentence makes no sense to you run, don't walk to Amazon and get "Saltwater Fish For Dummies", read and follow...

You may be able to find less expensive (not cheap, that doesn't exist) lr on craigslist or at a local aquarium society. Otherwise, invest in a few pounds of good live rock, and get base rock for the remainder. Then, set up your aquascape using both types of rock and the base rock will become...

I think a six-line would be a little small (3 inches as a mature adult) for your system. Perhaps a red velvet fairy wrasse - 4-5 inches as an adult and a very "out front" fish, while my experience with 6 line wrasses is that they tend to stay in the rockwork.

zoid: trigger40 doesn't want to breed fish. He is considering a breeder tank because its footprint is very different from a conventional display tank - breeder tanks aren't as high, but their front to back dimension is larger. This produces more surface area for gas exchange and the greater...

Holding a religious discussion with someone who absolutely believes is akin to hiring a blind person to referee a baseball game. Pointless. This is a discussion that always ends the same way, with the believers believing they are right, and nonbelievers believing they are right. No minds are...

Since you seem to like angel fish, consider a Caribbean queen angel. They are very hardy once established, gorgeous and very personable. Get one in the 3 inch range and watch it change its coloration over the years. Feed it angel mix and lots of greens.

Algae wafers should be fine for now, but aren't a long term solution since large angels need some sponge in their diet. Add some angel-specific frozen food (I use Ocean Nutrition Angel Mix) since these have some sponge in them. Then sit back and enjoy a truly gorgeous fish for many years.

Those tiny blue hippos have a terrible survival record. Never get one smaller than 3-4 inches.

Even when buying a mandarin, my first rule is that if it doesn't eat, it stays at the lfs. Fortunately, the owner of my favorite lfs is an outstanding aquariast, and he is quite good at getting his mandarins to eat. But, I always stay with the rule.

Quote: Originally Posted by Phixer Yes, providing the newborn animals are strong enough to survive to begin with. The runts and the weak are normally eaten. Sounds pretty barbaric I know but once the concept is understood it really makes sense, no burden on the herd and the species...

Quote: Originally Posted by sweatervest13 Yup. I would for sure go external pump. No doubt about that. One of my objectives is to minimize the number of submerged pumps so that, with any luck, I can eliminate the chiller and save a bundle of $$$.

Bang guy is right - algae scrubbers are great for lowering nitrates and phosphates. There are DIY plans and several well made units available online. I use units from turbo's aquatics, and they have been great.

It isn't "the size you get" that is important, but the size it will become. I purchased an imperator angel 15 years ago as a 3 inch juvenile. When hurricane sandy killed it last year it was about 10-11 inches long. Once an angel adapts to captivity you may have it for a very long time, so be...

Quote: Originally Posted by Phixer Im a mean cold heart person because I believe in the natural order of things. No, you simply don't know what the "natural order of things" actually is. What sets us apart from the other mammals is our use of social groupings to provide what we like to...

I second jay0705's suggestion. I feed my mandie Nutramar prawn roe by using a pipette to deliver a small mound of it to the bottom of the tank, and the mandie buries her head in it and gorges. Lately she will even come up to the tip of the pipette and eat right from the source. She is fat and...

Sorry - the first sentence above should read: You may already know this, but a 10 gallon tank is the most difficult tank to run in the entire hobby (except for, perhaps, a 5 gallon system).

You may already know this, but a tank is the most difficult tank to run in the entire hobby (except for, perhaps, a 5 gallon system). Such small systems are inherently unstable, and when there is a problem, it becomes a major problem quickly, so you will need to stay on top of the tank's...

Then you can get rid of the bio balls. Do it gradually over a couple of weeks.