Search results

Hello all, I'm planning a low-tech (no CO2, 2x3824 lm LED tubes) riparium with aquarium and pond plants. The aerial part is pretty much done, and mosses are slowly growing onto it, and now I'm moving my attention to the underwater part (about 100 lt). Time ago I read somewhere (this forum?)...

Lots of thanks, Byron, will PM Michael.

Byron, thanks a lot for the good advise, and the time it must have taken to write all of it. And a big WOW for your tanks, I can't believe that stuff is low-tech!!! They're a beauty! To complete the picture, the tank depth is 50 cm, and water depth will be only 20 cm, so a pretty short travel...

Thanks a lot Byron. As usual, it's more complicated than it seems at first. Well, my previous (and only) experience with aquaria (you can see the details below) used plain sand, and fertilizer tablets (Tetra Crypto), same lights mentioned above, and no CO2. Pretty bad results, but surely...

Thanks! Yep, forgot to mention the KH, which is at 9 dH. So, I guess I do have some buffer. Yet, to play safe, can you recommend any substrate which does not contain peat? I just checked the latest measurements from the municipality. Surprising how low the pH was recently (7,2). Cheers Maurizio

In a 240 l tank, I'm building a paludarium, thus reducing the water volume to about (probably less than) 100 l. Two HO 6500 K fluorescent tubes, no CO2. Tap water is rich in NO3 (40 mg/l), and pretty hard (total hardness 13 dH). Am I right that all plant growth substrates contain peat, and...

Most estuarine fishes are able to cope with marked variations of salinity, both ways. Each species may then prefer one or the other end of the spectrum.   Archerfishes, depending on the species, can live in slightly different levels of salinity. I have direct experience with Toxotes Microlepis...

I'm also also deep into my own learning curve, and thanks to the great inter-library service of Denmark, I have access to loads of books.   So far I truly loved Bob Fenner's The conscientious marine aquarist : a commonsense handbook for successful saltwater hobbyists.   Also really good the...

Hi Jason, from what I read on mudskippers, P. barbarus is a real psychopath. Unless you can provide a really ample beach with visual separations, I wouldn't put more than one of them in a tank. Also, as Neale Monks often emphasized in these pages, anything small enough in a mudskipper tank will...

Hello all, any idea of websites selling/shipping macroalgae in Europe? I spent quite some time on the web, but only US shops pop up.   To shorten distances, it should be between GB, DE and CZ (I'm in DK).   Thanks!

RR, thanks.   I've been investigating a bit about rubble vs. DSB in the sump, and I see your point. I only remain with the doubt that, since denitrifiers are essentially anaerobic, rubble won't help me with nitrates, whereas a DSB might.   Cheers   Maurizio

RR, much obliged! And surely I didn't want to put any rush on you, I apologize. I probably got spoiled from the many answers received in the brackish/freshwater forum. This one is definitely quieter!   Can you please explain me why are those microbubbles so feared? I read around that their...

  Anyone? RR?

I'm back!   Sitting on my sofa, I have, let's see... 8 books on marine aquariums surrounding me. And it's like this since a couple of months. So, question time again. Hopefully you folks will help again.   From what I learned, I'm dreaming of this: FOWLR and lots of (beautiful) macroalgae in the...

Thanks a lot RR, back to books for now!

Hmm, maybe I got it...: if the return pump fails, the external filter will keep pouring the whole aquarium water into the sump. I.e. the apartment.   Unless its intake is close to the surface....

Wow, that's a GREAT idea!   I've been always wondering why people don't use (macro-)algae to their benefit, putting them in the main tank... So, it CAN be done! That is definitely the way to go for me. That little sump of mine, with whatever I can squeeze in (perhaps a deep sand bed? A skimmer...

Thanks RR, I have the same fear about the size of the sump I could have vs. macroalgae housing. And that's exactly my problem: I have to be sure that, given the space I have, it makes any sense at all to have a sump with algae: if the room available is not enough to guarantee a decent/good...

Thanks a lot RR, indeed some good advice! How big's yours? You've got just 3 fishes? Sump?   Plenty of time for asking here and reading, my present tank is healthy, so I have no hurry to take it apart. So, learning curve, for now.   My plan is to keep things as easy as possible, so stocking will...

Hello folks, for the time being I'm collecting info to answer myself the main question: can I do it?   What I have: - a 240 l Eheim tank running with low-end brackish, 2xT5, Eheim 3 350 professionel filter - a bit more than 3 years experience with the above, my very first tank. Fish are happy -...

Lots of good info here. Pity it's not updated...

I didn't know this one, what a lovely thing, Stiphodon rutilaureus... I can't find anywhere that they would be OK in brackish. Although 1.003 @ 25 C probably doesn't even qualify as brackish yet.

Weird nobody has replied to this yet. Although, it is indeed a huge topic....   Lots of the characters from your list have been in my dream list for a long time, so I have documented myself on many of them. And F8 is very high on my list. From what I read around the only reportedly safe tank...

That's what we're good at, we humans...

If you have no particular experience with photography, ANY camera of decent quality will make it. What you need is a few hints, patience, and a bit of practice. Obviously, an SLR will make things way easier, once you learn how to use it. A good alternative is a compact that allows Manual mode...

Thank you! They were used to low-end brackish, perhaps adding a bit of salt will help keeping infections at bay?   I see you are strong in the Force.

One of my rainbows has lost its scales in two places on one side. I can't figure if it's a bite (he shares the tank with 5 conspecifics and 3 adult archers, which never showed interest in the rainbows so far), an injury or some kind of disease.   Water is fresh since quite some time now, in...

Hello there, I believe iliveinazoo has covered all of it.   In my case I have quite hard tap water (actually one of the reasons I went brackish in the first place: I wanted an easy life, as a beginner), and sand suited perfectly my plans.   Archers are said to go fine with Scats, Monos, Butis...

Hello Mudjunkie, and welcome! That's an interesting way of getting a full tank!!   I strictly answer what I'm able to...   2) In my case, I do the painful to & fro, but my 240 l tank is only at about 150 l. Still, it means two-three travels with a 20 l bucket to + from the bathroom... At the...

Is there a too much for plants?? Archers surely like it dimmed: mines are way more comfortable with the lights off..   A sump/refugium with mangroves is a classic in reef aquariua, from what I read: mangroves become really useful as nutrient exporters only in huge amount, and some people grow...

I got a pack of some vegetable sticks for the crickets, the first time I bought them, but they never really seemed interested, so I simply fed them some fresh veggies.   But I never kept them for long, I usually buy small amounts of them, feed them to the fish within the next few days, and...

How about Monos?

I haven't tried Sagittaria myself, but it sounds like a good option. Which SG are you aiming at? Remember that above ~1.005 @ 25 C even hardy plants will start having trouble.   I tried Ceratophyllum demersum, Java moss, Vallisneria Americana var. Asiatica. None of them succeeded. Now, with...

Hi there, mangroves are S S S S L O W. In my case, with no ferts and 2 standard T5 39 W lamps, after about 1 year most of them were around 30 cm high, most of it consisting of the seedling's body rather than roots (with one exception, >50 cm plant, with 30 cm of ONE single root shoot: she had...

Hello Stish, and welcome to TFF!   I went more or less through many of your questions, since I have pretty much the same tank.   First, it depends a lot on the species of archer you'll find. Read Neale Monks' list of Toxotes. Second, these fish are very well used and equipped to stand variations...

Wow, there ARE beautiful-looking fake plants out there! Who's the producer of yours??

Thanks Puffer_Nat.   And I hope to keep going! I still haven't made any nice video or photo session underwater...

Well, I can tell you what is the season when I found propagulae in huge amounts in southern Brazil; and that's their summer, i.e. our winter. In months like September, I hardly found any.   I haven't yet found a paper indicating that they flower during a specific season. Especially in the...