Search results

Just an FYI... The white caribbean sand I found at a local Walmart was called Gulfcoast. However, it's not aragonite sand like Southdown, it's regular silica sand. If in doubt, you can take a small container with vinegar and put a sample of the sand into the vinegar. If it fizzes, it is...

I don't think that changing the substrate will cause a new cycle. The new southdown sand is basically inert so that wouldn't cause it. The live sand being added will likely only contain bacteria and also shouldn't contribute to a cycle. I've seen where others have moved the contents of the...

I agree, remove the CC. The reason is 2 part. First, the CC will eventually rise through the sand and rest on top. The second is that now the CC will be the same old nitrate trap it was before. I went through the same discussion a few weeks ago. I couldn't get my tank to cycle properly with...

Mostly brace yourself for cloudy water. I've read where some have used a length of 2 or 3 inch pvc pipe to 'feed' the sand into the tank. It is supposed to help with the cloudy water syndrome. I recently did sand in a full tank and it took about a week or so to clear up. Then another week to...

Still new to the hobby myself, but I'll pass along my experience and what advice I can. This is my experience and I'm sure it will vary from other's advice. Take it with a grain of salt. 1. Give serious consideration to a deep sand bed while this early into the process. It made a world of...

I used the Home Depot cut method myself, but ended up with trim cuts at home anyway. I did frame the inside with 1x2 's for structural support. Then I bought some solid wood corner trim pieces to dress the exterior. The front doors are solid pine that have been cut and finished to cover the...

Go with your gut instinct. I recently built mine at 6' x 18" x 18". I'm glad I did. Plenty of room for the 250W MH's and working room inside. Feel free to look at some pics here: Rob's Fish Pics Work in progress, but I'm loving it! If you want specifics, email me here: Rob

In-car kit, actually. I got it from ---- where it was listed as Blue Light Bar. The url for the shop is: Terrrrrshop Didn't see it in their normal page listing, but you might email the seller at Terry Chan . He's a saltwater fish guy himself, so I'm sure he'd be willing to sell to however...

As requested... The 3rd one shows very dark, but is much brighter in the tank.

Light bar finally arrived today! Super simple conversion and installation and Viola! Moonlight effect! I had on old 12V adapter (300mA) laying around. I simply cut off the cigarette lighter adapter from the light bar and put the AC adapter in it's place. The lights are surprisingly bright...

Thanks for responding Beth! No, I'm not planning to add any livestock to the tank in the near future. The question about adding in Hypo was more of a consideration to making the QT tank a hypo environment. It is a FO tank and I like the appearance of the tank with a MH running. Good info on...

Well, last night provided my top 2 highlights with my new tank. I currently have my main tank in hypo and have moved 5 out of 6 of my hermits to a 10 gallon side tank. Whilie inspecting the tank last night, I noticed a small "ball" in the corner. After retrieving it and inspecting, it was one...

Well, I still have some signs of ICK and I continue to slowly lower the salinity in the tank. As of this morning, I'm at 1.016. My tangs are becoming more comfortable in the tank and as such, don't flee to the rocks when I come near. This gave me an opportunity to get a decent look up close...

Well, still in the process of lowering the salinity, but as of last night, the signs of Ick appear to be diminished greatly. The SG at this point is 1.018 and I plan to do another water change tonight to move toward the target of 1.009. I just found it curious that the the spots went away that...

A pic and a video. Something I didn't expect was to see one of my Blue Devils picking the white spots off the Tangs. The Tangs seem in favor of this and actually look like they come to the Damsel for the service? This normal behavior? Here is a pic of one of the Tangs. It isn't terribly...

Well, the light dusting has turned into the well described salt grain look. Apparently, it is indeed Ick. I've moved the crabs to a 10 gallon tank and I'm in the process of lowering the salinity of the display tank, changing out tank water for RO water about every 8 hours or so. With this...

I'm just over a month into cycle on my 135 FO (slow start) with the following water parameters: SG 1.024 PH 8.1 Amm 0 Nitrite 5 Nitrate 20 The tank contains 3 Yellow Tangs, 4 Damsels, 2 Mollies and 6 very small hermit crabs. All critters are eating very well and move around...

I've read a number of posts about folks purchasing Moonlights or various arrays of blue lighting to simulate moonshine in the water. It struck me that the condensed and bright LED packages are as pricey as they are. I suppose that the technology is still new (moonlighting for aquaria, not...

Outside of the algae, won't the hermits and such eat the 'debris' in the tank such as some fish waste and leftover food? I'm going to add a couple of crabs today and see how things go.

Looking for a hang on type. I did get an offer of an Excaliber hang on from a LFS I trust that was sized for the tank in the price range, but I wanted to see what folks had to say. That auction I listed is for a $90 skimmer, but $90 on a crappy skimmer is $90 down the tubes.