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Hi guys, nice to see a few familiar faces, and hi to all the new ones :)   Not sure what to go for yet. Back in the day I had cardinal tetra, leopard cories, guppies and a male dwarf gourami, plus a clean up crew. As time went on I lost the dwarf gourami and got a shoal of honey gourami as I had...

Hi everyone!   I don't expect anyone to remember me since it's been a long time, but I'm back.   A bit of background about myself:   A few years ago, I started off with a 60L tropical tank. I was completely hooked, and a few months later I upgraded to a 155L Fluval Osaka. Time went on and still...

I've got a cover on most of my 155L tank, and I get about 8-10L of evaporation a week, this being winter at the moment. If it were open top I would expect it to be more. The problem with plug and play tanks are exactly the same as in the freshwater world. Expect them to charge you a lot for...

I disagree that FOWLR is boring colour-wise. My tank started off fully intended to be be just a FOWLR and I have some lovely purple coralline algae on my rocks, plus you can add things like barnacle shells etc. There are also inverts like feather dusters that come in a few colours which can add...

This probably isn't the problem, but I don't think it's been mentioned so I'll bring it up. You say you don't have much success with inverts - is there any chance copper could be in your tank? That'll kill most inverts.

As a beginner, it can be comforting to get a plug in and play setup, but it suffers exactly the same pitfalls you get with a plug in and play freshwater setup. The stuff that comes with it tends to be only just powerful enough for the tank it's designed for, and, speaking from experience, you'll...

I realise it's been a while since this thread was posted, but thought it was worth mentioning getting an automatic top up unit. They're a little expensive and normally wouldn't be worth it for a tank of your size, but if you're gone for three weeks then that will make a big difference. Do you...

What lights are you running? If it's not LEDs, perhaps the bulbs need changing?

Hi everyone, I've got a 155L 2ft tank that I am looking for stocking ideas on. I currently have 2 ocellaris clowns, 1 red firefish, 1 yellow clown goby and 1 banggai cardinal. I also have two cleaner shrimp, 1 trochus snail and 7 hermit crabs. I will be getting some soft corals in the near...

That is absolutely gorgeous. Do you have stabilising rods inside those tall columns of rock?

When you say you can only fit the 19L sump tank, is this due to cabinet space? I found with mine that I had a very limited space, and it was beneficial to get one custom made which was taller than a standard tank that you'd get off the shelf. Make sure you plan it out beforehand though, as you...

No, I would say it was better to make sure that it is male. If you end up with two males, one of them will become female (probably your existing clown, as he would be the dominant male who then moves up the heirarchy to become the dominant female). I don't know how long it takes for the male to...

The bacteria should, in theory, spread themselves evenly between the available filters. If you were to remove one of your filters now, you'd be removing half the bacteria, and half the ammonia processing capability. The good news is that in a mature filter the bacteria should be able to...

The EU have banned apple snails due to those which have been released in Spain wiping out native species, despite the fact that there are many countries in the EU, including the UK, which are just too cold for apple snails to be able to survive

Ideally, you should remove all of the media from the two you currently have, and stuff it into the G3 if possible. Then you can stop running your first two immediately. It's the media that's cycled, not the actual filter itself.

I was told that ideal phosphate levels for SW are less than 0.03ppm. Most folk recommend the D-D phosphate test kit, as it is much more sensitive than others on the market. Running a phosphate reactor would of course help get your phosphate down, and might help with your algae problem. It might...

I got my RODI unit from Vyair. They have great service, their products are great too. I would definitely recommend them. I run a Bubble Magus 3.5 on my 155L tank and it runs great.

Hey guys, thanks for the advice so far. It is appreciated. I just made a post on my tank journal over on the other marine forums I'm signed up to, and thought I'd just let you guys be in the know as well. Some people will disagree with what I wrote, but I am confident I am making the right...

You should have your filter so that it is rippling the surface of the water. As long as you're doing that, an air pump is just an optional (and entirely unnecessary) extra.

Thanks guys. I had doubted the About.com credibility as there is a fair but of info I know to be bad, but thought I'd mention it. There are a hell of a lot of sites that are those very general info sites, but it's difficult to find much that goes into the kind of detail I'm looking for. I had no...

Thanks guys, it's nice to have someone explain it to me. I don't plan on whacking all my stock in right away, but I do want to make sure that my rock can support my initial plans, which is the CUC and the two ocellaris clowns.<br /><br />So as soon as the ammonia goes down, I'll happily add some...

I've got some brown stuff on my sand. My knowledge of different types of algae is pretty poor, but I've done a Google image search and it looks like it may (or may not) be the beginnings of diatoms, but perhaps someone with more knowledge on the subject would be able to shed some light there...

Thanks, that's the best answer to my question I've received yet. Obviously marine fish are pretty expensive, and as many of them are wild caught I don't like to think that I might add them to my system before it's ready. They are too beautiful and have come too far to see them die an ignoble...

Hello everyone! I'm coming to the end of the process of converting my freshwater tank to marine. It's a 155L tall tank, plus a sump. I was a very active member of these forums when I was freshwater but signed up to a dedicated reef forum when I went marine. I've had some good advice so far, but...

Salifert are a well respected brand (as your API test kits run out, I would personally recommend replacing them with Salifert). The no.2 is a powder rather than a solution (in the API kit, the powder is mixed in a solution and tends to solidify, hence the inaccurate readings) and s very...

I agree. RO water is (or should be) 100% pure water, with absolutely nothing else in it.

Bottle number 2 on the nitrate kit is notorious for solidifying in the bottle, and you need to give it a good hard shake, and even then it's iffy if you trust the results. I'd be more inclined to believe it was 20 rather than 5, as the false results are usually low rather than high.

Is there nowhere local you can get your livestock from? If your LFS doesn't have a good range, they may be able to order in what you want, so it's worth asking. I personally wouldn't be comfortable with adding all my stocking at once.

You should really use a TDS meter for testing your RO water, as it will test how much of anything there is in your water, rather than specific things. Your live rock should have plenty of bacteria in it to house some livestock, as long as you build it up slowly. Putting large amounts of bottled...

Glad to hear it's going well for you. Have you got your test kits yet? You also don't mention a tds Meyer in your list, which is needed to know your RO unit is doing it's job and for you to know when the filters need replacing.

What type of lighting is it? I'm guessing it's either a T5 or T8 bulb, in which case it should be quite easy to replace the bulb(s) with marine ones. You don't need a filter, as has already been said your live rock is your filter. You will need at least one power head, though two is better...

I made my own sump. I got my LFS to custom build me a tank, as my cabinet is a funny size, but if you had a reasonable amount of space you could easily use a premade tank. Then I got some 6mm glass cut for me at a local glass cutters and siliconed them in with marine safe silicone. Incredibly...

What brand do you use? I've only ever seen it in big cubes which are always too big for me.

I can definitely see the appeal of flakes, as they're cheaper and you don't have to go to the freezer every time you need to feed your fish. I'm ordering a return pump tomorrow and the same website sells the Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 stuff, so I'll add it to my order and see how it goes. I'll...

Can I ask how often you guys feed your fish and how often most people do it? I used to feed my freshwater fish once a day but I wanna make sure I'm feeding my marine fish right. I know with freshwater fish it's recommended to feed fo frozen food as a treat rather than a major part of their...

Hi everyone. I'm in the process of converting my tropical tank to marine. It's been a long, difficult journey, but I'm getting my live rock on Tuesday and it's all very exciting! I'm now thinking ahead to getting my fish, and more specifically what I'm going to feed them. I'm planning on...

Yeah but that's only 5.8kg. It took 10kg of sand for me to cover the bottom of my 60x40cm tank. You'd need a fair few of those to cover a tank the size the OP is talking about, especially to a depth to allow for planting.

I use a aquarium foam mat. The advantage of using a mat that is flexible in some way is that if you had a bit of sand or something between the glass and the mat, the mat absorbs it rather than letting it push up into the glass. Over time, that pressure building upwards would take effect until...

You've certainly got enough water volume to house angelfish, though I don;t know if it's tall enough.

I would personally blame the customer for not knowing better, but then I suppose that comes from the viewpoint of myself knowing better. A lot of people are blissfully unaware that many fish shops will say anything to get money out of your pocket. I go into a lot of pet shops and see a lot of...