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I just bought a cheap coral today to see if I could keep one alive. The LFS said that it is a ricordia mushroom polyp and since I know they are fairly easy to maintain I went ahead and grabbed a single polyp. My question is this: do all mushrooms have a bulbous part? Aside from the actual...

Diatoms will usually go away on their own provided their food source is exhausted. If you are using tap water the problem may never go away. Aside from using a scrubber on the glass you can try Mexican Turbo Snails if your cycle is finished (and diatoms can be a hint that it is or coming to a...

There are many different questions to consider when choosing lighting options: What do you want to keep? How deep is your tank? What is your budget? among others. In general it is my opinion that power compacts will enable you to keep most of what you will want as a beginner. You can keep most...

I hate myself sometimes. I swore that I would be very patient with my saltwater tank, adding a few things at a time. Did this happen? Nope. On the plus side I have a fish in my tank finally. I'm not sure of its --- but it is a small tomato clownfish. I love the guy (figuratively) already! Within...

Very informative and helpful; although I have already gone through the process of obtaining my live rock I can easily see where this FAQ will be more than helpful to the new hobbyist or veteran with no LR experience. Seeing how visuals play an important part in choosing live rock, perhaps you...

Very informative and helpful; although I have already gone through the process of obtaining my live rock I can easily see where this FAQ will be more than helpful to the new hobbyist or veteran with no LR experience. Seeing how visuals play an important part in choosing live rock, perhaps you...

Would it not be better to put the bulbs parallel to the width of the tank rather than the length of it? I would think this would give more light coverage, but I'm no expert.

I think that sounds like a bobbit worm. Does the head have 2 bigger antennae on the top of its head and 3-4 more, smaller ones surrounding its head? That, plus a reddish-brown color, makes me think it is a bobbit. In general they are harmless scavengers. These guys can get big (6 feet!) and...

This site says that Nassarius Snails and Scarlet Hermits will remove detritus and other wastes from the bottom of tanks, in addition to algae... I suppose I can see if I can purchase some bristle worms as well.

It's at a 50/50 mix, I'd say. The way the powerheads are they arranged my sand so some of it is 4-5 inches and other parts are 2-3 inches. I am trying to have optimal flow while not making the tank look bad with powerheads right in the open and being all ugly and stuff. Sometime this week I will...

You could probably use a sprayer filled with saltwater to really moisten the rock and put damp paper towels on it if you absolutely have to wait until Friday to put the rock in a tank. Like others I say that you should put the rock in as soon as you get it; this lessens the die-off considerably...

Originally posted by SWNewb Using uncured LR will cause you to have high ammonia for a while, probably a couple weeks atleast. Good way to cycle your tank, but not a fast way. It's all good in the end though and I would not do it any other way. I'm disagreeing here; I used uncured LR in my...

My tank has been fully cycled and has about 1250 gph of flow (roughly 22x). I don't have the money until Friday to really get any livestock but I was having a bit of a diatom problem. I went ahead and got 4 Mexican turbo snails and they are tearing that stuff up, thankfully. As snails have to...

For an amount that large of live rock my best suggestion is to get some base rock as well. Base rock is much, much cheaper than live rock and can have just as interesting shapes as the live stuff. Also, because corraline algae needs light to survive, some of the live rock will lose its color...

You must have been told incorrectly. Aside from "just created" water, the is no such thing as pure H2O. Water by its very nature seperates into hydroxide and hydronium at various points in its existance. A pure, water-like substance is pretty much always composed of H2O, OH, and H3O. The OH is...

In my opinion that is a great deal of lighting. Heat can be an issue with metal halide lighting but it is my understanding that a 55g tank shouldn't have much of a problem as long as you have fans running on the lights (or in the hood if you have one). My only concern is that having those...

You should be able to keep a good variety of corals. Try mostly softies (shrooms, etc.) for a while; if you don't upgrade lighting you can probably keep a few of the lower-end higher light coral if you water quality is really good. In my opinion you should be able to keep an anenome with that...

When you add LR to an established tank you are supposed to cure it first. Even if it is advertised as "cured" you should cure it yourself just to be certain. What it sounds like happened was there was some die-off from the rock and it put your tank through a mini-cycle. Next time put the LR in a...

...and my cycle is pretty much completed! Todays readings: ammonia: 0 nitrites: 0 nitrates: 12-15 pH: 8.2 temperature: 80 C salinity: 1.025 Nitrites hit zero just today. My temperature has been very steady at 80 degrees C ever since my heater got started. Salinity changes from 1.024 to 1.025; I...

Ugly suckers, aren't they? I had one come with my live rock order a week ago and did some research on them. They are generally harmless, considered scavengers, unless they get large. The largest recorded bobbit worm was something like 6 feet long and 3/4 an inch wide. Aside from the...