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Well done. Beautiful fish!

At this point I am not quite sure I understand succinctly what the disagreement is. It is simply about how many of a single species of fish is best for long term health in an aquarium environment?

Substrate.

Thanks. I got the plumbing in. I had to get a new pump and a ball valve. I wanted control of the water that flowed out of the wood and back into the tank. You can see where the hose comes out.

I got some plants. Both aquatic and terrestrial. I have to wash the roots to get the soil off the terrestrial plants. Some people say let them soak for a few days. I'm not exactly sure if that is necessary, does get all the dirt off. I'm not sure I'm afraid of a little dirt, or even a little...

Dang, it's been a long time since I started this. It just sat there as COVID and other factors in my life took hold. Recently, made the tough decision to get rid of my 80 gallon reef tank. But I can't be tankless. I also can't settle for only having a 5.5 gallon. I upgraded to a 28 gallon...

I have read through this thread and I have seen some very sound advice from members. Fishless cycling is best. Fishless cycling requires time and patience. If fish are dying then something is wrong, or not yet right, and that is a signal not to put fish in the tank. Don't tap the tank, rock it...

When I first got here, I was asked to come over from another forum where I also admin. At that time the two were owned by the same people. This forum was the wild west and it took hours of staring at the screen to get it sorted. We still get moments of difficulty that take our very hard working...

necro-congratulations...

This comment is hugely important. Focus on what can be kept. 3 gallons is terribly small. We all pretty well know that not much can be kept in that size of tank and thrive. What can?

That's right. This is a known thing. It isn't something we need to figure out, we already have figured it out. These folks just need to study what is out there and learn the existing science.

I live in a desert. That means that most fish and plants just won't grow here. That means I can have almost every thing I want to have. I didn't realize until I started getting into forums like this (years ago) that others were not so fortunate. Californians cannot have caulerpa algae...

That is very true. Many of them require unique conditions. It is a specialty itself to keep algae of certain types. Some are easy of course, but they also tend to be invasive and so not available in many countries.

That's tough because looks can be deceiving. It is hard to tell from looking if this is the remains of a coral reef or some other form of stone. The reason is that impurities can exist that are harmful to your tank in rock that was created in, say a cave. That rock will also be calcium carbonate...

I have found that ceramic rings work really well. They are easier to maintain than bioballs in my experience.

Thank you for the information, a very well thought out article on this subject. I have make it a stickie thread so that people can easily find it.

A reminder to everyone - duplicate accounts are a violation of the rules and results in an immediate ban of both accounts. This thread is now closed!

I have had experiences that lead me to agree with this. When people are not around there is often more to it than meets the eye. As for updates to the forum itself. like an app or a button to voice agreement, keep making suggestions. The moderation team has no power to enact them. We don't...

That's good stuff. There is also a very good reason to have that grain size. The size of the sand is such that it doesn’t hold onto detritus. It has that nice grain size where stuff doesn’t get trapped but there is enough surface area for bacteria to thrive in the sand bed. Also, if you enjoy...

A sump is best. You can also buy a hang on the back refugium. Marine tanks usually have a protein skimmer as part of their filtration. But in terms of an actual filter, the bacterial part is done by your rock. So if you need a filter for particulate matter you can use a canister.

1. You don't really need to prevent it. Things will be puffed up at first but generally stay settled afterward. 2. No, you don't need that. If you decide to use it I suggest waiting. Coraline isn't something you must have in your tank.

Curing the rock has two functions. 1. For dry rock to build up the bacteria 2. For live rock to give the die-off time to decay before placing it in your tank. When the rock is taken from the ocean, and transported across the country, there will be a certain amount of organisms that do not make...

Thanks for chiming in. If you have a version you feel comfortable being pinned, let us know.

Thanks for asking. I and the mod team will take a look at them and decide. Chad

Good luck! It might help if you explain how different it will be than the one you have. Let us know what they say!

Often, most often, when a fish passes away we will buy a new one to replace it. So what I mean is that you simply don't do that. This can be a problem though if the fish are schooling or shoaling fish that can't be alone. What I've mostly done is either buy another tank, even when I didn't...

I'm of a different mind on the snails. Nassarius are really the only ones I would put in. or a single fighting conch. Some snails, like turbos, are actually cold water and die off causing more problems that good. I love hermits. I recommend scarlet reef hermits if you can get them. If you can...

Then you should just jump in! SW is as easy as fresh when you are just keeping fish.

The fish part is just like fresh. Some fish get along and others don't. Then you add the crabs and shrimp. And snails. Even some snails will kill each other. Then you have hitchhikers like bristle worms. And once you get to corals that's an entirely different level. So complexity can be no more...

They also eat anemone. So if you plan on having one eventually the shrimp will need to go prior.

Shrimp are aggressive toward each other and other species of shrimp. Clownfish are aggressive toward each other and other species of clownfish. Some, like my maroons, can kill other fish quite easily with their cheek spines.

Keep in mind that the footprint of a lot of these tanks is the same. They just are taller. A 40 gallon tank is 48x13x16 and a 55 gallon tank is 48x13x21 so same floor space just 5 inches deeper water. As for the shrimp and their aggresivness...so true...you can have a pair but mixing species...