One dead fish and another is on its way out... help w/ pics & video (LONG post)

Alright, where do I start...

Lets get this out of the way....

Fish list:
Blue hippo (Dead)
Flame Angel
Midas Blenny (Almost Dead)
Clownfish

Red Sea Max 130 parameters are all good.
Temp 79-81
pH 8.2
Alk - 8.7
Cal - 430
and 0 ammonia,nitra,nitri


So I just lost my baby blue hippo tang. I had him for 2 years. I got him as a quarter sized baby. He's been super strong. Eats like a pig. No ich or stress from tank mates.

About 2 weeks ago I added two new fish. A Flame Angel and a Midas Blenny. The blenny ate within 5 minutes of being in the tank and found himself a nice little hole to live in. The flame angel took a few days to eat and has been eating good since.

Back to the hippo tang...
He died out of nowhere. The day prior to him dying he ate like a pig, swam normal and all was good. I woke up in the morning and he was wedged in the rocks (which is unusual since he is out swimming all day.) I ended up lifting the rock and he came out and was swimming with the front fins only and slowly sank to the bottom. His whole lower half was almost paralyzed. I went out to run errand for an hour and came back and he was dead.

Now at the same time the Midas Blenny started to act weird. He still alive but BARELY. Hes been on the sand bed for the past few days unable to swim. His lower body is also paralyzed-like. He will still eat only if the food is put on his lip.

My fish have been on pellets only for the past month since I've been a little too busy to buy mysis. I was able to go buy mysis at the pet store and about 2 or 3 days after my fish have been all screwed up.

Could it be the mysis? All the other fish are fine...
Or Could it be that the Midas Blenny brought in some sort of infection/disease? Swim bladder disease? I've also noticed black stringy heavy poop on the sand bed.

Midas Blenny's Current status



https://youtu.be/zX0RobRtvlQ



Blue hippo
This picture was taken about an hour after he died. Notice the white stomach. I don't know if that's normal.

Whats your favorite cleaning tool?

Like the title says, whats your favorite cleaning tool?

Mine is a powerhead.



Not any ordinary powerhead though! Its a power sprayer, vacuum pump, water mixer, takes care of my heavy lifting by doing what its designed for, pumping water from one place to another and to top it off i put a plug in on/off switch to reduce the risk of accidental shocks from unplugging it; lets not forget how its also a powerhead! I fitted two hoses on it, the small one is the suction side and the longer is the output. As it sits now is how i have it when im using it to blow out the rocks, much easier then a turkey baster and gets deeper into the pores of the rocks, i often see crud blowing out of the rock from several spots at a time as well as on the complete opposite side of the rock! Route the long hose into a 5g bucket or container/drain of yoir choosing and you can easily use the shorter end as a vacuum to vacuum out sumps or the bottom of a tank. An angle on this shorter side helps with the ergonomics of holding the pump. Different size hoses can be attached for different flow rates or velocities as well, although it would probably not be in the best intrest of the pump to go with a smaller diameter hose then what the input side diameter is. Adding a larger hose on the output side will, however help in getting water from a mixing tank or container nearby into the tank in a reasonable time, just a few minutes for every 5g! Dont let that time goto waste though! Look over your beautiful, cleaner reef while you wait!

With such a magnitude of ways to use it, its my number one, must have tool for a reeftank!

5 gallon fluval spec v reef upgrads

Hello everyone! I'm new to thereeftank and I have just recently set up a 5 gallon fluval spec v micro reef. So far everything is great. Water is Crystal clear and parameters are perfect. The only thing I changed is the lighting. I'm currently running a 18"-24" current USA orbit marine led light with a ramp pro timer and controller (witch fits perfect on the tank by the way). So far I am very impressed with the light. I have a pretty big zoa colony,some polyps and a nice toadstoal. At least I think it's a toadstoal. Still don't know the names of certain corals. They seem to love the lighting. Open up every morning and look amazing under it. I have around 7 pounds of premium live rock and about a 2inch deep sand bad of arag alive indo Pacific sand. So my question being I don't know what to do to make this a better tank. I would like some opinions. I was thinking about removing the massive filter sponge they have in the back chamber and putting some kind of protein skimmer in or just buying the after market filter basket and putting in some chemi pure elite and purigen. Idk if being such a small tank (that I don't plan to overstock) I would need a protein skimmer plus I have all that live rock and sand. The water flow on the tank now is minimal with there pump putting out only 85gph. Any suggestions on updating that? I plan on ordering a koralia nano 240gph tonight. Let me know what you guys think. I really love this tank and only want to do what's best for it. Thanks

Monti Cap

I was given a couple of frags of Montipora. I placed them in my tank toward the top. They seemed to be doing good at first and they began to encrust on the rock they were placed on. But now, after a few weeks, the edges are turning white. They were slightly white when I got them home but the color seemed good and the white appeared to be going away. Now the white area is growing around the edges. Could my lights be too intense? I have two AI Hydras on a 120 gallon tank. All other corals are doing good but they are all LPS and the Monti is my only SPS.

Future Bowfront Build

Hey guys, new to this forum and it seems very promising!

Anyways, I plan on getting a reef, something I haven't kept for nearly 12 years (although I currently keep a 210 gallon FOWLR and 90 gallon octopus, currently empty). I will either go with the 72 or the 90 gallon bowfront tank, as the difference is just 7 inches in height. However, I need to measure and make sure that I definitely can't fit a 155 or even 175 gallon tank, as the larger the tank the better.
My goal is to keep this pretty simple, and I'm kind of on a tight budget with this, so I would like it to have minimal equipment and most importantly cheap equipment. I know that I need:
-The aquarium and stand
-A lighting system
-A protein skimmer
-Live rock (or at least base rock and some rubble to seed it)
-Heater and thermometer (or a chiller - are there guidelines as to which to choose?)
-Salt and hydrometer (eventually I'll upgrade to a refractometer)
-Sand
-Test kits (probably just get it tested at the LFS)
-Powerheads
-Sand
-Other things that eventually, I will buy (reference books, RO unit or RODI unit, UV sterilizer, ozonizer, wavemakers, controllers, calcium reactors, refugium, and a return pump) - I know that some of these things I will need up front, specifically the RO or RODI unit, refugium, and return pump
So far, I have no clue as to what things I need to get for this tank, brand-wise. ANY recommendations are appreciated. Thanks!

YAY! My tank has nitrite now! 1ppm Nitrite and ammonia is this good?!

I tested my tank yesterday and it had 0 nitrite and 1ppm ammonia and I tested it again today and now I have 1ppm nitrite and ammonia! Is this a good thing? D: Please tell me my tank is cycling normally. Lol

Compressed Air Liquid Over Reef Tank

So I was using compressed air to clean off my LEDs that sit 8" above my open top reef tank. I held the can upside down and apparently when you do this a liquid/white air cloud comes out. I did this right above my open top reef. Is it going to seriously hurt my reef? What was the stuff coming out of the compressed air?

Montipora Spongodes! Just sharing.

My new prize. I bought it from a guy breaking down his tank for $75. It's a beautiful piece, you should see it glow under the blues!

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milky water cuz of salt

i mixed water for my new 15g tank, they have been mixing for 8 hours now and the water still so milky, the salt i used is kent salt, its the first time happens to me, usually it take it an hours or so to disolve, what should i do?

am thinking of using a Sponge filter to catch the undisolved salt parts would it work?

My first marine tank - a Fluval M90

Hello all from small town Ontario, Canada.

I am just in the process of cycling my first marine tank. It is a Fluval M90 which works out to 35 US gal/30 Imp Gal.

It was a “kit” system that came with a built in sump, skimmer, power head, water pump, reef light, heater and power head. All Fluval products. The price was right at a LFS “tent sale”.

I have added 50 lbs. Carib Sea Arag-Alive Hawaiian Black. 55 pounds of a combination of live, dry rock and carib sea man made base rock. The ratio is approx. 60% dry, 30% live & 10% carib sea. I liked the shapes of the carib sea rock pieces I bought.

I am using Instant Ocean reef mix for my salt. Water is RO from local RO supplier.

The current SP is 1.024 and temp is 76F. I was surprised at how much mix it took to get to 1.024. I used the amount recommended and it didn’t even move the swing arm on the hydrometer. I also added 15 ml of Prime.

Wish me luck moving forward. I am in no rush to add corals or livestock - mind you I do have a hitch hiker that showed up after I moved the live rock from the curing vat to the tank. Any guesses as to what it is?

I am sure I will lots of questions as I go forward.

Judi

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Hammer Coral Concerns

Hello all, I have a hammer coral frag that I bought from a local reef store two weeks ago. I was kind of concerned because my hammer coral keeps on shriveling up and going back to being fully extended. This is a pattern that happens during the day and at night, however, at night it usually closes up. I don't know if I should be worried because the frag keeps on shriveling up from time to time.
The following water parameters are:
ammonia: 0
nitrate: 5
nitrite: 0
salinity: 1.024
temperature: 79 degrees fahrenheit
ph: 8.2
Salt type: Red Sea CoralPro Salt (contains needed calcium and magnesium for coral)
Tank mates: A Pair Of Clownfish, Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, and a Scarlet Hermit Crab. (No other coral)
Size: 10 Gallon Nano Reef

Any replies would be appreciated. Thanks! :thumbup:

What is this Hitch Hiker

Just filled my marine tank on Thursday. Going to let it cycle until it hits 0/0.

Noticed Friday morning that there were some small polyps on one of the very small pieces of live rock. By late Friday afternoon 6 of them had opened and 4 smaller ones were thinking about it. The lighting was just ambient from a window that gets very low west setting sun light.

Once the light went the polyps went back into their “tubes”. You can’t see from the picture but the center is yellow and the tentacles have a greenish tinge.

Question: What are they?

So far the responses have ranged from zoo’s, majano and clove polyps. Depending on what they really are is weather or not they stay.

I would hate to trash clove polyps, but certainly don’t want to keep majano.

The tank is only 48 hours into cycling so it might be a moot point anyway.

Any help with identification would be appreciated.

Thanks

Judi

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Happy birthday to bud217 on 10/31

And here's the Official TRT Chorus® to sing...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOO YOUUUUU!!!

55 gallon stocking list

I would like advice on my stocking list for my 55 gallon reef and order they would be added

1}pair of o clowns
2}purple firefish
3}shoal of chromic
4}algae blenny
5}pistol goby pair
6}mccoskers flasher wrasse
7}coral beauty

Sharks

So I'm thinking about buying a 250 gallon tank, and I'd like to see if I could get any sharks. I don't like the little skinny ones like the black banded cat shark or the young brown banded shark. So is there any cute that sells for a reasonable price. I can't get a black tip because the tank is on 15 feet long but any thing like a adult brown banded shark would be good. If the black banded cat shark gets to lose the stripes and get bigger than I may want to just raise one myself.

48" led strip and corals for sale

One 48" royal blue stunner led 50.00
Two 6x3" meteor shower 50 each
Two 6x3" blue caps 50 each.
All for 150

Welcome to Saturday!

Yeah.....waited all week for this....HAPPY SATURDAY! Jen was up all night, and still had energy enough to make fresh cinnamon rolls for all of us to go with our coffee.....she loves me! Hoping, as usual for 1/2 a day today, we'll see. With the boss leaving tomorrow I wouldn't even hazard a guess. Looks like "lil' Hack has opted to hand out treats tonight at his cousins house with his other cousin, sooooo, guessing me and the Mrs. will be there too? Hope all are safe and well,
Hack

Need help with overflow.

Hi.

I'm about to attach the overflow in my diy AIO and need some advice so i get it right.

Dimensions.
Totall tank size 43x25x13" and sump messuring 25x9x13"

To calculate the lenght on the overflow i am using reef central calculator.
"Recommended minimum linear overflow size = 5 inches" for my 317 gph.

So what do thing about between 6-8" lenght instead, or is that just uneccessary?

(Tank specs)
http://ift.tt/1KMaqH7

Regards.

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Planning on getting a pair of clownfish but don't want them to breed?

I'm planning on getting a pair of clownfish once my tank finishes cycling but if I do get a pair, they will breed right? I don't want baby clownfish. What happens when they do have eggs and the babies then hatch and die, wouldn't that crash my tank? Also I was thinking about adding one cardinalfish before adding the clownfish. Should I do that?

Rose bta

Anyone interested in a ROSE BTA? Mine split about a month ago and they had been nice and happy until yesterday. Then one decided to be on the move. Currently attached to a ginormous piece of live rock. The other is attached to a smaller piece of live rock.

I would prefer you wait and see if the daughter continues to move to some smaller rock on so we can just pluck it out. Let me know if you are interested and we can go from there.

cleaners fish

Dear All,
Which kind of cleaner fish are good for salt aquarium.

Ammonia is at 1ppm when will nitrites show up?

I just started cycling my tank for about 4 days already and I just now tested my ammonia and it's at 1ppm and ph is at 8 is this good? I tested nitrite and nitrate also but both came out at 0. When should nitrite start showing up in my tank? Should I stop feeding my fishless tank fish food and take out my dead shrimp now? Or should I wait a couple more days?

Moving sandbed from current aquarium to new

I have a 90 gallon tank and am upgrading to a 180. I see many people saying that moving the sand to the new tank can cause die off. The idea of phosphates increasing from moving the sand makes me curious. I clean my sandbed weekly and don't see if it is cleaned often how this is going to cause a rise in my phosphates. Any help would be appreciated.

need help asap

My ammonia levels are off the charts i have a 75 gallon with 20 gallon sump i did a 15 gallon water change a week ago and a 25 gallon change last night didnt put a dent in added a new filter still nothing what should i do next

Clownfish Behavior In A Group

Hello Everyone!

I am happy to say that my pair of clownfish that I have had for 2 years are finally laying eggs! So far, they have laid 7 clutches and I have attempted to raise 2. My oldest clutch, consisting of 25 clowns that are about 3/4 of an inch each, is about 3 months old now. My younger clutch, consisting of 60 clowns that are about 1/4 of an inch each, is a little under 1 month old now.

So here's my question: If I decide to keep my oldest clutch instead of selling them, how will they interact as the mature and grow? Will they pair off into 1 dominant pair, or multiple pairs?

Also, since they are all from the same clutch and parents, will their offspring be normal if/once they lay eggs in a couple years? Or will their children be more prone to die due to lack of genetic variation?

Thank you all! If you want to check out what they looked like as babies and how they grew up, check out my 'blog' here: http://ift.tt/1P8AD93

-Camryn

55 reef lighting?

Hi I recently started a 55 gallon tank and want to try soft corals. I recently came across 2 36" HO dual t5's. In each fixture is a 39w 10000 daylight and a 39w actinic. I was wondering if these will work for soft corals. If it will do I need both of the fixtures and do I run both lights (daylight and actinic) at the same time? Thanks in advance!!


ps if it doesn't work for the 55 might it work for a 40(36"x13"x21")

180 complete reef tank for sale

I have a well established 180 gallon reef tank for sale two sumps skimmer rdio unit doser pumps with chemicals uv light. 3 multi color led lights 175 ish lbs of sand 150 ish lbs of rock 6/7 starfish 2 urchins 4/6 red tip nems 2 white nems lots of ricordia mushrooms good size duncan large purple tang large naso tang med powder brown tang large rabbit fish psudochromis yellowtail blue damsels clown fish in a nem start blenny welk snail large crab looking to sell complete 1800.00 I will add pictures asap

how to tell if a clownfish is healthy or unhealthy?

I'm planning on getting a clownfish once my tank finishes cycling, I've been reading around and I see people saying choose the clownfishes that seem the most healthy, but how can I tell if a clownfish is healthy or not?

FOWLR Tank Cycle

46 Gallon Bow - Setup with 50lbs of dry liverock. To start cycle added a shrimp. Today is day three and ammonia is at 1.0ppm. I plan on adding Bio Spira. I read to wait until ppm at 4-5 before adding. I added it today. Will this present any problems?

My fish keep dying... :(

Hi,
I have a new tank that is about 1.5 months old. I have had such a wild ride with this tank and spent so much money, that i really just need to know what to do next. I am going to give a history and specs so you have all of the information and i would really appreciate some advice on what to do!

I set up my 40 gallon Marineland bow front tank on 9/16 with 40 lbs of live sand and 35 lbs of live rock. I filled it with Red Sea water from my LFS (mixed by them, not me). I used the product that they recommended to speed up the cycle called Smart Start to help seed the tank. I
tested the tank and it seemed to cycle after about 5 days The ammonia spike was very low (3.0) but i ti did go back to zero, nitrites , then nitrates spiked and went back down, so naturally, being the newbie that i was i went and got some fish...My LFS sold me 6 fish and a Starfish right after a cycle. Which was wrong, obviously. I didn't know any better (which is my fault for not researching). Long story short, I lost the starfish within a week, and we didn't know he was dead. This and the huge bio load that was just added to the system caused me to go into a REAL, full blown cycle. I lost a damsel fish and a hawkfish (so sad!) before i took all the fish back to my LFS and the graciously decided to give me a store credit and take everything back. i left the cleanup crew and lost a lot of them as well.
My tank cycled for the next three weeks. My ammonia was at 8 then 10 for about 2 weeks total. Then finally it dropped and i got my nitrite spike which lasted 4 days and then nitrates were at 160 fr 3 days. Finally everything normalize. I did a water change to get rid of the nitrates and left the tank for a few days, testing the water. All was well so i carefully chose two fish to get for my first few weeks, i would add more later.
I got another Flame Hawk and a BABY Atlantic Tang (tang police- I KNOW i cant have a tang in my tank. I KNOW i would have had to trade him in once he grew a bit and I was okay with that. I would not keep a fish that was too big for my tank, he was only about 1.5 inches). I acclimated them for over an hour, with a drip into a 5 gallon tank i had. Turned the lights off and did everything i was told. The Tang still got sick and was turning a brown color with a few ich spots. I got a large rock covered in star polyps the day before so i was unable to treat with copper, and he was too fast with way too many hiding places to catch and QT, so i tried to lower salinity (not too low) and a bigt of a higher temp (again, not too high! Just 78.5-79 a few hours a day) and i treated the tank with a weak, but reef-safe ich treatment. I also added Megaplex and fed Anti-Parasitic Caviar to them twice a day. The Flame never got sick. Never even flinched. But the Tang never recovered. I got a UV sterilizer as well and ran it for one day before I went out of town for 3 days. My friend who was watching over the tank called me and said i had a power outage! It was out for 15 hours and basically without the filtration and oxygen flow, the tang did not make it. He was still breathing but on his back when i got home and died shortly after. Let me add that my parameters have been near perfect this whole time. When i got back they were even better than when i left, albeit i did get a green algae bloom from the lights being on too long.
The hawkfish was still fine and it seems that the Ich treatment worked on the Tang because he was cured of the ich. He didn't have any spots when he died. He just turned brown and was not getting enough oxygen i think... :( So sad!
So i was left with a seemingly healthy Flame Hawk and the water was even tested at my LFS to be perfect (aside from having a drop in pH a few times due to the stuff i was adding to the tank, but i used buffer and it worked fine).

So, last Saturday I got a pair of clowns and a new cleanup crew for the algae. The guys at the LFS said that there would always be parasites in my tank, i just need healthy fish to combat them. They did advise me to wait longer before adding more fish, but i chose to get two clowns instead. They actually said since the Flame has been fine the whole time, it probably was just a very sickly tang in the first place and a healthy fish would probably do well in my tank.

The Clowns seemed fine on Day 1. Were eating and claimed a spot in the tank. They were beautiful!
Then day two i started noticing a ghost-like white fuzz forming around one of their rear fins. Not at all like ich, but a perimeter of white. Very odd. By day two they both had the fuzz all over them and it seemed almost like cotton but very very thin, just like a fuzz on them? It looked like Brooklynella from the research i found online. I tried to catch them to put them in the sick tank and treat with a formalin bath but could not. The aquascaping in my tank is very cool but has a LOT of caves and hiding places, unfortunately. So i went to the same LFS and they gave me Kanaplex. Dosed it with their food and the next morning the orange clown was dead and somehow attached to one of the power heads :( and the larger black/white clown has completely VANISHED. I have no idea where he is. I have looked everywhere. Im assuming dead, obviously, but he has vanished into thin air it seems.

Meanwhile, back at the hawk, he still has NO signs of sickness, bacteria, fungus, parasites....he is losing color every few days then it comes back in the morning after lights out time. Thats the only sign of stress except for the occasional trip to the top of the tank for what seems to be air? But I dont know what would cause this because there is a lot of flow in the surface water and the tank should be oxygenated. Maybe im uneducated on how to properly measure this, so tips would be helpful. But the eats only brine shrimp veraciously and is not a huge fan of the caviar. He spits it out. So, he seems overall healthy.

Water parameters are still perfect. Did a water change after the tang died.

Is it possible the flame ate the clown? I also had a nice cleaner shrimp that i bough for the Tang when he had ich. The shrimp made it 2 days and was found decapitated. I thought the crabs did it but now im thinking it may have been the Flame?

And my biggest question is how do i fix a tank that i don't know the problem?? I got the clowns and the Tang from two different stores. So it may not be the store.

My bf calls my tank "Auschwitz" :( I feel awful that i keep killing these fish and I am NOT going to buy ANY more for a while.

But i want to know if there is any way to test my tank for parasites or bacteria issues?

Also, random fact, after i got my cleanup crew and my clowns, the next morning i woke up to a HUGE pod population. Like a weird amount of pods hanign on the glass and floating around. It has diminished, so something must be beating them?

Sorry for the long story, i just really want to know what im doing wrong?

help me in this please

Guys i have a 15g tank and i have a couple of clown fish, a bicolor blenny, long sping urchin and a sand sifting star. Am not able to get them a bigger tank would they be ok in the 15g tank?

New @ MD: Reactors, Frag Racks, Skimmers and MORE!

New @ MD: Reactors, Frag Racks, Skimmers and MORE!

PLUS Sump Giveaway, Items Under $50, Nano LEDs and Customer Reviews

What do you think of ATI purple plus

I am still fairly new to T5. Went out and got 4 new bulbs for my 6 T5HO bulb 36" fixture. I placed the lights like this front to back:

blue+
coral+
blue+
moonlight leds (almost never on)
blue+
purple+
blue+

What do you think of the purple plus? I thought it would bring the reds/oranges out more, which it kinda does, but would I be better off getting another blue+ or coral+. I took out 4 aquablue specials and replaced those because I couldn't stand the look. Do purple plus do much for coral health and growth, or is it mostly aesthetics like an actinic?

Cherub Angelfish

My current stocking is the following

Solar wrasse
2 black O-Clowns
1 Blue Reef Chromis
1 Blue midas blenny

Im just seeing if anyone has anu experience with this fish with smilair livestock. Just don't want to get him and he's trouble or or gets picked on or becomes the bully. I have a 55 gallon tank. Plenty of live rock. And plenty of caves hiding places etc. I don't have any coral besides some polys that were on a liverock that I had when I started my tank over a year ago. Also will he eat or pick at my blue tuxedo urchin?

Lighting for softies?

Hi I recently started a 55 gallon tank and want to try soft corals. I recently came across 2 36" HO dual t5's. In each fixture is a 39w 10000 daylight and a 39w actinic. I was wondering if these will work for soft corals. If it will do I need both of the fixtures and do I run both lights (daylight and actinic) at the same time? Thanks in advance!!

Happy birthday to Junkzoo on 10/30!

And here's the Official TRT Chorus® to sing....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOO YOUUUU!!!!

Fantastic Friday

Morning everyone. Waiting for my 5 am flight to Houston for a connection, then home.

Still not snowing in either Colorado, Boston or Cleveland. Not worrying about Vegas or San Diego which are also in the next three week horizon.

Hope you all have a great Friday and coast into the weekend.

20 Gallon reef help

I am starting a 20 gallon reef tank that i want to stock with mostly lps and 2 true percs, I will be running an Aquaclear 70 as my filter, I will have one powerhead that pushes 528 gph, 15 pounds of base rock and 5 pounds of cured live rock to seed base, i will have about 15 pounds of just regular aquarium sand, a heater, and i need lighting preferably in the 150-200 range, I was wondering if these would work
http://ift.tt/1Wle1rJ
I just want mostly LPS and some softies

im new to reef-can anybody tell me what is growing on my rock?

hi...
can anybody tell me what is growing on my rock?
the tank is started 5 day... and that is dry rock
thank you.

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Kordon Ich Attach - Starfish safe?

Hello,
I have a Sailfin Tang who has come down with a nasty case of the Ich. He's currently in a 20g hospital tank, however I am afraid that he has also infected the display tank. I bought some Kordon Ich Attach and would like to use some of it in the DT to be sure nothing else gets infected (he's lost some spots, which I assume are now breeding in the tank). Has anyone used this? I don't have corals at the moment, but I do have craploads of brittle stars, Asterinas and hermit crabs and would like to ensure the safety of my invert friends. The active ingredient is Napthoquinone, and it claims that it is invert safe, however it does not mention anything about starfish. Is there anyone who has experience with this product?

Algae Bloom

Hey Guys,

My tank has been having trouble with an Algae bloom. I'm pretty sure the cause is from non ro or DI water I've been Adding, I used some tapwater with some fresh water chlorinator and dechlorinator for an emergency. I've stopped using that all together. But here's whats happening.

My rock, sand and glass have been getting coated with Brown algae, There has been tiny bits of red algae I noticed.

Now what's the best way to stop an Algae outbreak? Should I get some Algae eating Invertebrates and fish? or more water changes to filter the system?
Or perhaps chemicals?

Whats my best options.

spider man!!

So I have a snail that looks like he has been attacked by spider man? Has a Web all around him what could this be from???

Is it too late to add dry rock to my saltwater tank?

I ordered dry rock online and it's suppose to be coming in 2 days, I'm wondering if it's too late to add dry rock into my tank? Right now my tank only has sand and some live rock, so i'm wondering if it's too late to add dry rock to my tank so the live rock can seed it. Should I have waited for the dry rock first to get live rock?

Clownfish Behavior in a Group

Hello Everyone!

I am happy to say that my pair of clownfish that I have had for 2 years are finally laying eggs! So far, they have laid 7 clutches and I have attempted to raise 2. My oldest clutch, consisting of 25 clowns that are about 3/4 of an inch each, is about 3 months old now. My younger clutch, consisting of 60 clowns that are about 1/4 of an inch each, is a little under 1 month old now.

So here's my question: If I decide to keep my oldest clutch instead of selling them, how will they interact as the mature and grow? Will they pair off into 1 dominant pair, or multiple pairs?

Also, since they are all from the same clutch and parents, will their offspring be normal if/once they lay eggs in a couple years? Or will their children be more prone to die due to lack of genetic variation?

Thank you all! If you want to check out what they looked like as babies and how they grew up, check out my 'blog' here: http://ift.tt/1P8AD93

-Camryn

Uv sterlizer for 75 gal tank

UV Sterilizer I have a 75 gal tank.....How long should I run this thing the bulb is 8 watts????

Salinity and the New Coral

So, my GSP seems happy, about three hours a day. The rest it seems to recede. I am wondering if my salinity affects it. My salinity is usually 1.0225 to 1.0245. I use a refractometer. I top off with fresh RO/DI water. I do WCs with that water and salt added. I use Instant Ocean and follow the recipe on the box. I know that adding that to the tank does not equalize what the tank has, but with FOWLR, it hasn't been an issue yet. Can anyone suggest a technique to make this easier?

120g RR Progression

Figured id start a new thread, seemed appropriate. Here are some pics of current state, my next task is to get it in gear on the refugium add on as i ordered pods to seed it. also would like ideas on ATO tank design that gravity feeds the float valve in the sump but does not run my RO/DI until the ATO tank is all but empty to save on DI resin usage. all i can think of is a electrical float switch low in the ATO tank wire a shutoff valve to open and use a second high up in the ATO tank to cut one side of the pull in coil supply from the on side. am i overthinking this? anywho pictures we all like those right...

best placement of powerhead in a 20g long?

So these past few weeks ive been experimenting with different placements of my 2 hydor koralia 425s and also the direction that my duckbill return (~300gph) faces, to get suspended detritus to lead toward my hob aqueon overflow box. So far all i can seem to acheive is getting little cyclones of detritus on my tank corners(bottom glass) and all suspended particles get close to hob overflow but either get pushed away or drift rigt past.

Has anyone had success with a specific placement of a two powerhead setup with return in back left corner in a long shallow tank 30x12x12". I can move overflow box anywhere i want on tank. Return kinda has to stay in left back corner.

Thanks for any ideas
Scott

Im Back....Kinda

hey all its been A LOOOOONG time since last posted here. Ive since taken down my saltwater and rehomed all my fishies. I recently got married and I'm slowly wanting to get back into salt if the wifey will let me lol. I currently have 2 large tanks so I prob cant get a big one but I do have this 3g pico tank sitting around and was wondering I can do with it. I know not much as the smaller the harder the tank can be. I have all stock stuff from the (I believe) JBJ picotope. I cant really afford to do light upgrade right now as after wedding I'm strapped lol. I was thinking of just rock and sand for a few weeks to get cycle going then adding a pair(or just 1 if you all think its better) of clowns for my desk.id like to do frogspawn coral at most with zoas and shrooms. Any advice would be great. Glad to be sorta back lol

Jeff

Aquarium Therapy

Lifes been taking interesting turns, but none so much as using an aquarium for both physical and mental therapy. Since this tank was set up I've learned so much more than I could have at any school. Its that learning thats kept me sharp and not let me deteriorate any more than I have.

Originally we started scouring for parts and researching everything we could as a way to occupy my time and to give me something to zen out on and lower my blood pressure. Six months of collecting, bargaining, and robbing someone leaving the hobby, I had a fully set up the tank, rocks, corals, crabs, and polyps. Thats about when I found you guys here!


Here was a lesson I had to learn: Impulse buying. With the last push of gear, I had also bought an Anemone and an Urchin and set them up in a brand new tank. I didn't even have water in it before I bought them. Im sad to say the urchin paid the price for my ignorance, and was fearful the anemone would do the same. As it turns out, the nem was doing fine, and my lack of knowledge about this beautiful addition to my tank caused me to jump to the worst conclusions. Chiiwing was instrumental in lessening my stress over the matter and I couldn't have asked for someone better. :)

First week's water change was a major wake up call. 5 gallons of water is HEAVY. I couldn't keep this up for long, it put me out of commission for a while reeling with pain. What would I need to do to stop that entirely? So, time to do more research on removing or lowering water changes, is it possible to run a semi-contained system to filter itself, and also fill itself? I'm still talking it over with some, FutureDoc being a font of information thats proven invaluable so far. Big surprise I've been overthinking everything, eh? :P

Once the tank had finished cycling, what this community calls "The Uglies" reared its ugly head. A -massive- sudden bloom of a rust colored blanket: Cyano. I fought with it for weeks with water changes, siphoning, scrubbing, hell. I even boiled a patch of sand with it in, nada. Snails, nada. What else eats this stuff...? The tank was cycled, and stable... why not see if a fish would eat it and keep the sand sifted? Thats when the first fish was bought: An adorable Lawnmower Blenny.

This blenny was awesome and had a character of personality that reminded me of a secret agent. He'd sneak out, plastered to the side of a rock with its head on a swivel, and once content he was safe he would start chowing down on the algae. Success! That was a month ago, and while he never beat the bloom, he held it in check rather well. I continued with the water changes and siphoning, but the bloom wouldn't relent. Something had to be fueling this, where were the phosphates coming from!?

One of my biggest problems that I rectified last night was my protein skimmer wasn't producing foam. It always concerned me, but everything I read stated it would start producing eventually, that theres not enough nutrients in the water, etc. If there wasn't enough nutrients, why the outbreak? Something was wrong. It turns out that my brother who helped set it up had fed the air intake into the main water body. There was no oxygen to mix with the water! All it was acting was an over glorified filter! Dipchit. 9 Hours of proper skimming and the water is as crystal clear and beautiful as it should have been all this time. The water paramaters are brilliant, even with a second addition to the tank everythings stable and happy! The bloom even seems to have been culled and died back!

Thats the other change , another addition to our little family is the introduction of a Ray. The blenny doesn't know what to do with him, but the cleaner shrimp has had a fun time at his little cleaning station keeping him up to snuff. I swear he's the most cuddly thing in the world! He loves his stomach being tickled, gives kisses and nibbles on your fingers, and will even come to investigate whatever comes in the water! I never knew a cuddly fish, its intrigued me something fierce. The other plus for this little guy is he's a top water column swimmer! Apparently he doesn't know to stay on the bottom yet.

All of these things over the past few months has engaged my mind, kept me learning every step of the way, had me moving more than I believed I could, and given me a bit of a purpose while I continue to heal. Without this tank I couldn't imagine where I'd be. Probably sat on the computer turning into a vegetable. As I continue, the tank will grow, and when something new happens I plan to record everything here. Both the good and the bad, as well as any thoughts on the matter! Feel free to message me with any questions, those of you who read this. I dont bite. :)

Stocking biocube 14 question

Whats a good first fish to add?

I want 3 fish would rather have 3 different species I was thinking one clown, one goby, and one wrasse? Wondering what has worked for people and what they suggest. Also want to get a cleaner shrimp.

My setup is a biocube 14 gallon and will eventually add corals.

Thanks

Good first fish for biocube 14?

What are 3 good fish for a nano reef biocube 14. What's a good one to start with?

Thanks

Saltwater mixing container

I am using a 32gal Brute container to make saltwater in, and I need to make 20gal of saltwater per water change. I have a pump inside the container similar to the setup used on ReefBum.com. The problem I have is though the last 5gal in the container are what submerge my pump. If go below that then the pump is out of water. The tank is much higher then the container so any recommendations on transferring that last 5 gallons of saltwater out? Thanks

Looking for a HOB UV light

I had a coral die and have been dealing with algae in my water ever since. Turning my lights off helps as there are no more corals in the tank, just a few fish and snails.

I've got a 75G sumpless tank and was looking for recommendations on a HOB UV sterlizer. Preferably on that comes with a powerhead to feed the water through it.

Any ideas?

what is this?

new in this game... tanks cycled and have a clean up crew in now. but im seeing these guys on different rocks and can't seem to figure out what they are.... pics below

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Happy birthday to morairtym on 10/29!

And here's the Official TRT Chorus® to sing.......

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOO YOUUUU!!!

Welcome to Thursday

Good morning folks, and HAPPY THURSDAY! Better weather than yesterda, and warm...creeping up to 70ish today. Not quite tired of my PB and J's yet on waffles to go with my coffee, so please feel free to join me. Looks like PUMPKIN CARVING night ahead for us tonight, as well as the Mrs. baking some cup cakes for Nate's class party tomorrow. Should be a fun night.....now to just get to it. Work is in the way for now. Hope all the best,
Hack

Cycle tank only once?

So i'm confused... Im fairly new to this so please forgive me if my questions are dumb. So you only have to cycle the tank only once? Why don't you have to cycle again after doing a water change? I heard it's because of the filter but what if you change out the filter? i'm so lost :( Also i'm cycling my tank with fish food and shrimp right now, how long should I keep "feeding" my tank fish food? and how long should I keep the shrimp in there?

China (Guangzhou) International*Pet Industry*Fair*2016 (CPF2016)

Date: March 18th---20th, 2016
Venue: Guangzhou International Sourcing*Centre
Venue address:No.2-8, Pazhou Dadao Dong, Haizhu District, Guangzhou, China.


Pet Industry is Big Cake in China
According to the data of China pet industry,the pet economy in China reachedRMB60 billion at the end of 2012and it will be over RMB70 billion in 2015. It*is*estimated*that*the market*will*keep**soaring*with*the*rate*of**20%*to *30%
*in*the*coming*5*to*10*years.*Meanwhile,*the*marke t scale*is*expected*to*reach*
around*150 billion*in**the*next*5*years

Under the large market of pet in China,more and more international
famous pet brand enter into China to establish their business,like Gaines,NAVARCH,Pedigree,Natura,Hill’s,IAMS,DOG CHOW.NORY ,etc.

You can’t never ignore the worldwide biggest market with more than 1.3
billion population and how can you miss this big cake in China?

CPF 2016 will be a golden chance for you!
Covering an area of 12,800 m2, CPF2015 attracted about 100 exhibitors and over 1000 pet brands which were displayed by GUANGZHOU KEKE PET SUPPLIES CO.,LTD, Yiwu MeiLA pet products factory, Hangzhou SKV Pet Co.Ltd, SHANGHAI BEIYOU PET SUPPLIES CO., LTD, ROYAL CANIN and other exhibitors,including pet food,pet costume,pet bed,pet cage and other pet supplies.

Sponsored by Yangcheng Evening News, ycwb, Guangdong Pet Industry Association and held a series of colorful activities, CPF 2016 will attract more exhibitors,buyers and we believe that CPF 2016 will be more wonderful and fruitful with your attention!

Exhibition Scope
Pet food：staple food, snacks, food additives, food processing machinery, food
packing, etc;
Pet Supplies：costume, beds, cages, toys, make-up, care and toiletries,
instruction supplies, etc；
Living pets：dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, chinchilla,marten, birds, lizards, etc；
Pet care：pet hospital equipment, surgical instruments, pet medicine, biologicals, health feedstuffs, prescribing feedstuffs, test strips, reagent, etc；

Contact Us:
Organizing Committee: Guangzhou*Mingyi*Exhibition*Co.,*Ltd
Add: Room E06-08, Tenghui Business Building, Zhu Cun, Tianhe District, Guangzhou
Contact Person: Sheila Shu
Tel: +86-20-28966533
Fax:+86-20-82579220

fish and coral order

Hey everyone, I'm headed up to the distributor on monday to get fish. If anyone wants fresh, saltwater fish, or coral, pm me or call: 507-two five 1-8832. Prices tend to run about the same as online. Pick up monday evening in nw rochester. They do have some wysiwyg coral posted on Facebook in the pictures section at Northstar aquatics http://ift.tt/1LYWiMp

I still have lots of other coral too. Thanks

selling out

I am selling all my marine fish, complete tank setups and equipment.
Tanks are 225 gallons, 125 gallons and 90 gallons....all beautiful corals, fish, live rock, protein skimmer, UV sterilizer, reactors, filters, sumps.
Tanks come with full canopy, wooden stands, lights, fans, all reef ready.
Can someone tell me how to list these items on the reef tank? Under what category and how to upload pics.
I live in Northern Maryland. Please help me get the word out to fellow hobbyist.
Debbie

ASM -G3 skimmer w/sedra pump

does anyone use this and if so good? Bad? Great?

Hi to all in the digital water world

I'm fairly new to the salt water tank life, I have 2 year old tank and I'm looking for any info on the creatures that have randomly started to show up on my live rock and coral, Google isn't helping much, any "real" help would be awesome please and thanks!

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Happy birthday to FishDaddy on 10/28

And here's the Official TRT Chorus® to sing a belated ....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOOO YOUUUUU!!!!

280 Gallon Brewery Build!

Its time for my own 'rebuild' thread so I stop asking all my questions on others build thread :)

First some background, brewery mentioned in the title is the bar in my man cave. With that being said, I designed my bar around the fish tank. I have 12 beers on tap (all of which I made) underneath the tank. The tank is a 72x36x25 tank purposely because that allows my large fridge to slide under neath of it for the 12 kegs.

Originally, my brewery was named 'Shark Tank Brewery'. I had marble cat sharks as a FOWLR tank. And my slogan was 'Brewed in Captivity, Drink to get Wild', as a play on Zoos saying bred in captivity, released to the wild.

Couple issues, I love sharks, im an avid shark diver and have been around the world seeking out sharks to scuba with, but in captivity...well...they suck. I had an awesome shark and eel that were awesome for exactly 30 seconds a day. The rest of the time they were hidden under a rock. I grew to be infinitely more fond of the cleaner shrimp cleaning station and my fox face rabbit fish that was always scared and changing colors. Sharks presented other challenges, like they eat clean up crews. And as a newcomer to the hobby I needed clean up crews to deal with all the issues I had.

Lets just generically say that I ran into every issue that you might come across as a hobbyist. Ich, velvet, cyano, hair algae... Long story short after accidentally bleaching the tank and killing the remaining inhabitants I wanted to start over.

Starting over wasnt an over night thing. Ive read Geoffs 'Reef keeping made easy' thread at least three times. Along with a million other threads, sites, etc. I only had my tank up for a few months, and at this point I've waiting almost six months to start again while researching for hours every day.

At this point things are in motion again and most decisions have been made. Im finalizing a few things that I wanted to get input on first, so I started this thread. I originally had 150 pounds of dry rock. To ensure nothing was left from my previous failures I bleached the rocks, and did an acid bath. I bought 50 pounds of shelf rock, and 50 pounds of cut shelf rock from macro rocks and 50 pounds of branch rock from brs. I dont know that Ill need or will use all 300 pounds but when you order online you never know what you are going to get. I have all of the rock currently in a 100 gallon tub covered, with tons of flow and I hooked my skimmer up to it. Its been running for about a month and the skimmer at first took a ton out. When I remember I 'feed' it just to get some bacteria growing but mainly I just figured while Im researching I wanted to get any phosphates off the rock and get it going.

White slug on my glass

Haven't been on TRT in a while, I have my reasons. But I'm back so hello again:)
Anyways, I saw a white slug with horn like things protruding. Wanna know what it is and if its benifical or harmful.

40 gallon tank stocking list

Since my 55 gallon tank's seals broke I went out and downsized to a 40 gallon tank, it has already got a snowflake eel, a saddled Toby, and a scooter blenny. And I want to have some strange fish that almost no one else has that can fit in the aquarium. So fire away

5 Day Reverse Osmosis Sales Event

15% off RO & RO/DI Systems, Booster Pumps, Replacement Cartridges, TDS Meters and MORE

Use coupon code PUREH2O during checkout to redeem

Remove harmful impurities from tap water before they enter your tank!



Want to learn more about reverse osmosis systems?

WATCH OUR YOUTUBE PLAYLIST

Lighting for Corals

[FONT=Times New Roman,[URL]Hi All.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,[URL][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,[URL]I have a corner bow front unit that holds 92 gallons. It is 45 inches across the top (36" available for a light), 25" high and 33 inches deep. The bow itself is 55" across.

So I am still not totally sure what kind of light to get. I have mostly fish, but I would like to keep some easy softies (I have a green star polyp now). Can you offer me any advice in regards?

Right now I have florescent... one actinic and one white. I think I would like to transition to LED.

Thanks.[/FONT]

Quick Question. Copper Meds and Reef tank

I currently have a 220g freshwater tank that I need to treat with copper. If I do this can the tank never be used for a reef again? Even if its 2 years down the road?

Lighting Suggestions for a Noob

I have a corner bow front unit that holds 92 gallons. It is 45 inches across the top (36" available for a light), 25" high and 33 inches deep. The bow itself is 55" across.

So I am still not totally sure what kind of light to get. I have mostly fish, but I would like to keep some easy softies (I have a green star polyp now). Can you offer me any advice in regards?

Right now I have florescent... one actinic and one white. I think I would like to transition to LED.

Thanks.

Online Vendor Killing Fish

10 gallon saltwater tank setup

Hi all,

I have a small 10 gallon saltwater aquarium that is housing some pulsing Xenia's but mostly blue and orange mushrooms along with 1 clown fish. I have an AquaClear filter on the back along with an LED light on it. The tank has been getting a lot of red algae in it and most of my Xenia's have died off. My mushrooms are doing fine. I also lost one of my clown fish. I am lax on doing water changes so I think that is the problem. Which filter would you go with on this tank, if any. Also, I do not think the light is bright enough on this tank. Since this is just a desktop tank I really do not want to spend a lot of money on it as I also have a 28 gallon setup which is doing fine and I can transfer some of my Xenia's from that tank to the smaller tank once it is cleaned up.

I am open to any suggestions on how to clean up this tank and get it back to a healthy setup again.

Thanks

Yep, you guessed it...Wednesday!

Good morning folks....and HAPPY WEDNESDAY! P.B.and J. on buttermilk waffles again to go with our coffee....I'm a creature of habit. Hmmmmm, well since the picture thingy ain't working for me this morning, picture this....Yosemite Sam beating his camel over the head with his antiquated rifle saying...' Say Hump-day one more time!'.....then the camel looking up defiantly and saying....'How about camel appreciation-day?'.:rotflmao: Best I can do folks...sorryt! Gonna go play in the rain for a bit,
Hack

Replacing Coralife Biocube 14 Lights for LEDs

Hello I have a biocube 14. And want to upgrade the lighting. How do I do this is there any step by step directions out there and I want to do LED for better lighting also should help avoid the heating problems with the coralife biocube 14.

Which LEDs would be good in a biocube 14? Any step by step instructions out there?

Also I would like some that fit in the original hood would like to keep the hood.

Thanks.

Need help with Disease ID!

Hi,

I am new here. Just recently started up a 125 gallon salt water tank. I have had it about 3 months now after the cycle. I have 2 Clownfish, 1 blue/green chromis, yellow tang and a blue tang. All of the fish Were fine for a while until I added a pepermint shrimp from a bad fish store. They used the same water for him as a fish that I could see in the tank had ich. I figured it was fine so I just brought home the shrimp not realizing that the water would have been contaminated also.

Shortly after my blue tang now has ich and has been showing some signs for a few weeks now. I tried a few options for the reef tank, but I do not have a qt tank so far.

I thought ich would pass by now, at least on the fish and go into one of its "multiplying stages" but it just wont leave.
My levels in the tank are all zero.

Now there what looks like a giant black spot in the side of him,


any idea what this is? Do you think I should try to take him out and put him in another tank?? or would that stress him out even more to kill him.

Thanks,

Adam

Upgrading lights in Biocube 14

Hello I have a biocube 14. And want to upgrade the lighting. How do I do this is there any step by step directions out there and I want to do LED for better lighting also should help avoid the heating problems with the coralife biocube 14.

Which LEDs would be good in a biocube 14? Any step by step instructions out there?

Thanks.

Blue Reef Chromis

Anyone have or ever had a Blue reef chromis?? I'm considering one or two for my 36g. Are they ok by themselves or do they need a group? Current stock is 2 clowns and a royal gramma.

Pool Sand Filter for Aquarium.

I don't know about you all but I feel ripped off by Aquarium hardware manufactures. Frankly it seems very obvious that anything related to aquariums gets priced jacked simply because its for our hobby. Filters, protein skimmers, filter media, whatever. These things are made from very cheep materials but have at least a double markup if they're related to reefing. Ferric oxide is freaking rust for gods sake , butits sold like gold. A skimmer is a plastic tube with a cheap chinese motor that cost hundreds of dollars.

Anyways. I was look at water filtration in other industries and I came across pool Sand filters. It seems like a very cost effective method for cleaning very large volumes of water.has anyone tried them on an aquarium? I was really I interested in a product called Activated Filter Media or AFM. Has anyone tried this on a reef tank? Is there any reason we shouldnt?

Interesting fish for 50 gallon?

Hi
does anyone have any ideas on any fish species that would go in a 50 gallon long tank that are kind of special, a prize fish so to speak and that are reef safe. Something out of the norm

Thanks a lot

Need ID help- curly string mass on meat coral, open brain coral

Hi All- need some ID help please! We noticed this small mass on our meat coral over the past week, who otherwise is happy and healthy. Then I noticed our open brain coral, who hasn't been as happy lately, has a similar mass. Tonight I noticed the small mass has changed position on our meat coral.

I'm thinking it's got to be some critter?? And this is where I need your help :confused: Meat coral shows no damage and is doing great; ate last night. Open brain looks a little depressed, but again, shows no holes or ragged edges, etc. The pic I'm attaching does not capture what this thing really looks like; it looks like I took a long piece of white thread and curled it up and mashed it into a little ball, maybe a 1/4" in diameter. Sometimes the string gets more open, sometimes the ball is more closed. My research has turned up zip.

We've been dealing with a flat worm invasion on our mushrooms and did a couple dosings of the tank a few months ago. Some flat worms have lingered. Otherwise, the tank is in pristine order. Everyone is happy! Anyone have any ideas?

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Clownfish with white, stringy poop

Hello everyone i recently got a new ocellaris clownfish. Lately, all he does is lie down on the sand and does not move much at all. However, if a shrimp approaches, it will swim away, similarly with my hand/net. He also frequently has a white string hanging from his under side, which I am assuming is poo. After some research, I have found out that this might be an internal parasite. I will attach some pictures of the poo. If it is a parasite, what do I use to treat it?

BIOCUBE 29
BENGAII CARDINAL FISH
OCELLARIS CLOWN
ASSORTED CLEAN UP CREW

Have a few rocks coralline will not grown on?

I have very healthy growth of coralline in my tank, full 3 sides of tank, almost all rock, plus new growth on display wall after a week. However, there are a few base rocks that it just will not grow on. Is this a clear indication that they are Phosphate redden?

Thoughts?

Queetion on starting up (again).

So I'm attempting to finall set up my New tank, but am wondering:
As my car cannot fit all the water and rock at once, could I go and get the water one day, fill the tank and begin circulation (no heat). Then a couple of days later add the rock and sand?
Would this work? I can't see any reason why not ?

Black Friday Sales?

What is the best equipment to wait to get on black friday? Is lighting much cheaper? What are the sales like?

cleaned my skimmer and now it won't skim.

I have a coralife 65gal protein skimmer. I cleaned out the cup and dumped out the water in the canister part of the skimmer because I had to clean the crust of salt on the outside and inside the cup threads. Now after I put it all back together and in the aquarium and turned it on, now it isn't skimming or making any bubbles inside. So do I have wait for it to break in again or did I do something wrong?

Biocube 14 stocking and filter questions

Hello new to reef tanks have had a 60 gallon cichlid tank running for 2 years and want to get into reef tanks.


I have set up a Coralife Biocube 14 it has cycled and has 14 lbs of live rock and about 10-15 lbs of live sand (fiji pink). And plan on using the stock lighting.

Right now the only livestock in the tank are 4 black turbo snails and 3 scarlet hermit crabs. Would like to add 2-3 fish and a cleaner shrimp.

Right now my filter set up is in the first chamber I have the biocube protein skimmer running and a bag of the seachem matrixcarbon. Second chamber I have the stock bioballs and the stock sponge and pump. I have but the heater in chamber 3 by the pump.

A few questions.

What fish are recommended and how many? I have read about damsels, cardinal fish (pj cardinal fish), dwarf sea basses, and dwarf wrasses.

I've read a lot that the bioballs are nitrate factories and to remove them. I was thinking about removing them and replacing them with Seachem matrix. What are some good alternatives I thought the media basket by inTank but I don't want to remove the tab between chamber 1 and 2 because I want to keep the protein skimmer there. What are some recommended mods to the filter?

I want to add coral but unsure of what to add. I'm currently reading "The Nano-Reef Handbook" by Chris Brithwell. But want some names of corals that people have successfully housed in the biocube 14. Also do I add the fish or the coral first.

Sorry for the long post just really want some answers I want to do this the right way.

Thanks

Biocube 14 filter and set up questions

Hello new to reef tanks have had a 60 gallon cichlid tank running for 2 years and want to get into reef tanks.


I have set up a Coralife Biocube 14 it has cycled and has 14 lbs of live rock and about 10-15 lbs of live sand (fiji pink). And plan on using the stock lighting.

Right now the only livestock in the tank are 4 black turbo snails and 3 scarlet hermit crabs. Would like to add 2-3 fish and a cleaner shrimp.

Right now my filter set up is in the first chamber I have the biocube protein skimmer running and a bag of the seachem matrixcarbon. Second chamber I have the stock bioballs and the stock sponge and pump. I have but the heater in chamber 3 by the pump.

A few questions.

What fish are recommended and how many? I have read about damsels, cardinal fish (pj cardinal fish), dwarf sea basses, and dwarf wrasses.

I've read a lot that the bioballs are nitrate factories and to remove them. I was thinking about removing them and replacing them with Seachem matrix. What are some good alternatives I thought the media basket by inTank but I dont want to remove the tab between chamber 1 and 2 because I want to keep the protein skimmer there. What are some recommended mods to the filter?

I want to add coral but unsure of what to add. I'm currently reading "The Nano-Reef Handbook" by Chris Brithwell. But want some names of corals that people have succesfully housed in the biocube 14. Also do I add the fish or the coral first.

Sorry for the long post just really want some answers I want to do this the right way.

Thanks


I've attached a picture of the tank.

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flame angel issues

I have a 55 gal tank with a fairy wrasse, flame angel and a clown. they have all been in there for about a week. I noticed yesterday the flame angel swims for a little but mostly floats on it side. he's eating fine with no signs of ick or anything. I did a water change and checked the levels with everything reading zero. what could my problem be? also the salt is 1.0024

Need Clownfish Advice

Hello!

So when I started my nano 29 gallon aquarium, my naive self bought 3 clownfish and a damsel from petco out of the same tank.

Months later, someone told me it could be trouble if one of them turns female. For the last several months the 3 of them have been getting on just fine and nothing in regards to bullying or aggression seemed to happen. Except for when they'd mess with the emerald crab but that was just good fun.

Two weeks ago I was talking to a local salt water store about my set up because I was having algae trouble and she made a huge deal about me having 3 clownfish. She said if one of her clownfish turned female in their sales aquarium that contained about 10-15 clownfish, they would all be dead in a week.

I believe one of my clownfish has turned female. Whenever the largest one is near by to another make, the male spasms to submit and just follows here where she goes. The third clownfish is now also being chased away from a her certain spot.

The tank seems large enough for the 4 of them and I have plenty of live rock for them all to share. I have read up a lot on this all and it seems from person to person the situation changes where sometimes the female is super aggressive and kills other fish but other times the female chooses one mate, and when she has her mate everything else typically lives in peace.

With that said, I don't want my fish to die. So here are a few questions:

1. Is the clownfish who is submitting safe from being killed by the female?

2. If the third wheel clownfish has plenty of room and is rarely chased off, is he fine? Or is he a threat to any eggs and will the female and other male now just treat him terribly for the rest of his life?

3. How big does an aquarium have to be for one clown fish to live alone in and be okay?

I guess I really don't want to move him because I have the power head and filter in the 29 gallon tank. I could go buy a smaller tank but I can't afford all the extra equipment for a second aquarium.

Thank you ahead for your responses. Unfortunately, this is my first saltwater aquarium and as I read and research I realize this is one of the stupidest situations I could have got myself into.

F/S Med-Large Koran Angel

I have this healthy Koran sale I am selling simply because I have a second one and don't have a big enough tank to house both. Fish is ready for pick up/
Will try to attach a pic along with thread.
Thank you.

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Reef Tank videos

Hi,

I have been keeping fish for a couple of years now but I have only recently jumped into the marine side of the hobby. I started with a 70L tank and have now progressed to a 130L (should have planned ahead from the beginning). I have been documenting the move from my 70L tank to the 130L.

As I said at the start I am fairly new to the marine hobby and would really appreciate it if you could take a look at what I have been doing so far and recommend how to improve and hopefully keep the tank striving. Luckily I was able to use a majority of the water and all of the live rock from my old system so the cycling wasn't so long or hard.

You will see from the videos that the fish are now in the tank. Really I would like suggestions on what other fish I can stock the tank with and ideally so more easy to keep corals.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to your response.

We got a Tuesday here

Good morning folks, and HAPPY TUESDAY! I think you nailed your carving George...and yep, I'm clueless on baseball. Though having to look up such a big word, I thought Perry's response was funny.("Making me have to look up big words before my first cup/pot of coffee....shameful!") Going to have P.B.and J on buttermilk waffles to go with our coffee today....can't look at another pop-tart. A nice day today before tomorrow's expected rain. Hope all are well, and safe,
Hack

Has anyone ever had a skimmer that was too strong for its own good?

I have extra room in my sump, i was considering upgrading my skimmer. Two things i was unsure about.

1. Can a skimmer be "too strong" where it pulls all organics out of water and causes very low nitrates? I have a BB tank so wouldnt i want atleast 5ppm nitrates to keep corals happy? Lps and softies. If feedings increased could a strong skimmer be a very successful combination? (Would be nice to spoil my fish/corals with daily heavy feedings)

2.could i use my current skimmer body (coralife SS 65) and upgrade the pump and or pinwheel? Or would my skimmers neck and body be too small and water would come through neck rapidly?

Ive heard from 1 person at a lfs once that a very powerful skimmer might pull trace elements out of water. Is this true because i was skeptical of that.

Thanks.
Scott

Protein skimmer recommendations for my 120 gallon reef please.

So I am toying with the idea of upgrading my skimmer for my 120 gallon reef. Currently I have a Coralife Super Skimmer rated for tanks up to 220 gallons and it's ok, but I could definitely have something better. It came with the tank when I first bought it anyway so it's ot my first choice in skimmers. I am having trouble finding the right skimmer for my tank though, as I am not as educated on the equipment side of the hobby. So I would like a little bit of help on the direction I should take. Here are some info you guys will want to know first:

1. I would like to spend no more then around $350 to $400. Of course I want as cheap as possible, but of course I won't sacrifice quality for price. I think this price would allow me to get something pretty decent for my tank size.

2. I would like an in sump skimmer as well. My sump is 30 gallons, but have considered getting a 40 breeder to DIY for a sump so I am not worried about a new skimmer not fitting. I could build a new sump around a skimmer if needed.

3. My tank has been rather loud and gurgly recently and its been buging the family a bit. So as quite a skimmer a possible would be nice. My current skimmer can be a bit obnoxious at times.

4. I tend to stock heavy for my tanks so the skimmer would need to be able to handle it. I also like over filtering or over skimming on all my tanks so skimmers rated for around 300 gallons would make feel comfortable if I could find a good price.

If you guys need anything else let me know. I have good things about Reef Octopus skimmers but other than that I am not sure where to start looking. Thanks.

Can someone identify?

I bought this frag the other day. The lfs guy told me the name but I forget..not sure if it is montipora or something else. He said it would sting if it was near other corals and I know montipora is peaceful. It has tiny little finger tentacle things. Not like the halo shaped ones on montipora. Help!

Best Biofilter media for sump?

What are considered the good media to put in your sump? Whole live rocks, crushed, uncured rock, matrix, etc.?

I see that bioballs are now considered a joke. Getting back to hobby after 20 years out!

Sustainability of the Hobby and Captive Bred Yellow Tangs

So recently there was a reef builders article that was published announcing the first captive bred yellow tangs. (You can read more here: http://ift.tt/1N3rtKW ) I always like supporting the sustainability of the hobby and would never mind paying a bit more for aquacultured frags and fish. With that said I'm don't pay too much attention to what I put in my tank and have (like most of us) killed a fair share of wild caught fish.

Well the point of this post was to get your opinions on what you people (especially people who have been in the hobby a long time unlike me) think of the future of the hobby and the sustainability of the hobby. I am just hoping to ignite a solid conversation about the hobby that so many of us love.

Im new to reefing but I want to know EVERYTHING

I recently started my nano tank (first time salt water).
My gear:
5 gal nano

5-10 gal filter with poly's

Tap water (for right now expecting a shipment of natures ocean nutri- sea water in 2 days)

5lbs live rock

Live sand

8 watt, 6 inch led light

Fish:
Orange spotted goby

Ocellaris clown

Pyramid snail

(They all seem to be doing well, the clown is very shy and stays in his little area which I expected)

I'm really looking to expand since I absolutely love this hobby. My setup has only been up for a week or so but I'm very meticulous with what I'm doing. I've asked a lot of advise and although I know it's early for me to have 2 fish I've been told my water quality is high enough.
I plan to cycle within the next week or so with hopes of getting corals that my clown will host (not an anemone as I know they're difficult)
But my main goal is to become comfortable enough with my skills on the nano tank that I can build a real reef in a 40+ gallon. I work very hard in my job and have the money with no reservations on spending within reason because this gives me joy. I just want any advice or tips that can get me into the 40+ gal range.

Tube Anemone Prob?

Day 3 of tube anemone from LFS. Looked fine this am, but I just noticed it curled up and had what looks like a spider web around it. Anyone know what's going on w her?

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New From Rhode Island

Hello... so im brand new to reefing but have been a freshwater guy for years now. Iv been doing a good chunk of research and just picked up a 29 biocube for $20. Tank is cycling now (will do first water test tomorrow) below i will list what iv got going on so far... any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated... let me know what you think of the aquascaping

29g biocube
26ish lb live rock
2in live sand
intank media basket W/ purigen, chemi-pure, and floss (+fish saver)
tunze 9001 skimmer
heater
vortech mp10 powerhead
rio 6h4 return pump
ai prime for lighting
custom stand

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Keep your tank safe when disaster strikes!

Keep your tank safe when disaster strikes!

With all of the time, money and effort we dedicate to becoming excellent stewards of aquatic life, investing in backup equipment and having backup saltwater prepared are precautions every hobbyist should take.

Thinking of going super simple

Hi all

I've moved into a new place and the tank has gone through some changes as well. Made a small upgrade from a 20 gallon to a 29 gallon. I was in the process of going bare bottom through water changes anyway, so I'm starting bare bottom.

I was moving over about two weeks, so I shut down the protein skimmer so I didn't have to worry about overflow during that time, and saw that my tank was no worse for the wear.

When I set up the new tank, of course I wanted to give every part a good cleaning, so at first all I put on was the HOB filter with some carbon and a sponge. I noticed that everything was still doing well in the tank with just a heater and the filter, so it's been two weeks now and I still haven't added any other equipment back. I'm kind of enjoying having less noise and wire clutter, so I'm thinking of taking off the HOB and doing just a powerhead and a heater.

I've experimented over the past two years with all sorts of filter media...carbon, chemipure, purigen, phosphate remover pads, phosguard, nitrate remover pads, polishing pads, and prob some other stuff I'm forgetting. While I don't think it's all completely useless, I've never used any of it and though "My tank can't do without this." I've left the skimmer unplugged many times before and again never noticed any drastic difference. As long as I keep up with water changes, things are usually fine.

Any failure/success stories or suggestions with decluttering a tank from all the equipment?

Halloween crab video for Halloween

Made a video of my Halloween hermit crabs and friends. My niece who lives on the opposite coast loves them, so thought this would give her a laugh. Figured you guys would get a kick out of it.


https://youtu.be/3Cjwl28eDow





.

How to Acclimate New LEDs

Hello all, I have an orbit LED strip with a whoppin 36W of power. I recently bought new LEDs, each is 165W. I am experiencing some really great growth on my coralline, pulsing xenia and clove polyps so I'm really trying to prevent any bleaching or death.
My LEDs are set 10" above my tank edge so in total about 11.25 above water line.
The lights don't have a dimmer or show what percentage I'm at - it's a turn dial on and then the more you turn the higher intensity.

How should i try to acclimate these lights since I don't have a way of dialing in the percentage? How long would this take? Should I try to lower any of the xenia and clove polyps?

Thanks!

Just a *onday

Good morning folks, and HAPPY *ONDAY! *ondays are just a door to the week you simply walk thru..:agree:..don't fear em. Looks like so*e time this week George we'll be getting so*e of the feel of that systy* that hit the gulf....Wednesday perhaps? Lots of rain. Back to a diet of pop-tarts and coffee for early *orning starters. Hope all are well and safe,
Hack

Let's talk salt.

What salt mixes is everyone currently using at the moment. Was your purchase sale based or quality based. What params do you like to keep? What did you like/not like about any salts you've tried in the past. Mixed reef, sps, lps, or softie dominated. Any notes on growth, extension, color, want to hear it all.

I'll start. Using aquavitro salinity at the moment. Was talked about at georgia aquarium with high reviews, thats what got me on it. Current bucket mixes ~400cal 8.1dkh 1300 mag. I was previously using nutri sea water. That was too expensive too fast and switched over. I like how it mixes fast and you get 225g worth per bucket rated at 1.026. Doesn't have to be and actually shouldn't be mixed longer than 24hours.

Downside. Will mix very cloudy if mixed in too fast. Also if water gets very cloudy there will sometimes be a pinch of calcium carbonate chalk at the bottom of 5gal bucket. Doesnt seem to bother fish or inverts or corals for that matter but makes me think things are precipitating out of solution abundantly.

Neo Marine Salt?

So today I went out and got a bag of salt and I decided to see if this brand called NeoMarine was any good. It was said to be, so I figured why not, ya know?

Anyway I did a water change, but then after that something happened that has me concerned. I have a Tooth Coral, Galaxea, whatever you wanna call it... and some of its polyps are shriveled up and their polyp skeletons are showing as if they were melted away or something. Some other corals have very mild bleaching as well, though almost entirely unnoticeable. The Tooth Coral is very shocking, though. I don't know what happened, but I think its this salt.

Can anyone voice some words of wisdom?

Hi.Im new to reef and looking for help...

hi i have 50 gallon acrylic tank-just started today.
60lb live sand
30lb stone
Mag 1800GPH pump-pumping from basement to first floor (vertical pipe lenght is 12Ft) and 3/4" pex pipe-3/4" bulkhead
drain- 3/4" pex pipe -3/4" bulkhead
bulkhead are drill on back and 3" from top...
sump is 30gallon
heater-300Watt
skimer-Reef Octopus Classic 110 INT Protein Skimmer
power heads x 2-Hydor Koralia Evolution 550/600 Aquarium Circulation Pump, 550-600 GPH
light-Current USA Orbit Marine Aquarium LED Light 48"-60"

No corals and no fish yet...
can anybody help my what kind corals are good for beginners and my lighting?
how much water im getting thru 3/4" bulkhead/Hr. ?
thank you.

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New tank Additions- Quarantine advice.

Just got 3 new fish for my aquarium, (planned on getting two but guy at the fish store talked me into 3) I got A flasher wrasse, Bicolor Blenny, and a Blue harptail blenny.

I have 2 empty tanks current. First one is a 10 next is a 29. Should i quarantine all 3 in the 29 gallon tank or will the 10 be enough?(they came from the same tank in the store)

only current issue is i let my RODI supply run low and only have about 5-8 gallons of clean water. So i can only fill it up that much or maybe a little more.(until my RODI pumps out some more water)

So advice? use the 10 or the 29?

Sand

I was wanting your opinions on whether or not I need to use live sand or playsand? Can I use either or does it not matter. Doing a 10 gallon nano.

Thank You

One fish practically wiped out entire tank

Hello guys iv'e been a member for some time but this is one of my first posts in quite awhile, i'm having an issue with a number of parasites and infections. I have a 180 gallon flat back reef tank where I had a tomini tang, 2 convict blennys, a fox face, golden spot rabbit fish, hipo tang, naso tang, aero head crabs, misc cardnals pajama and bangai a few corris clows cromies sand sifters and stuff like that.
My tank has been very stable,
NO3= 5.0
NO2= .25
NH3= 0
PH= 8.0-8.2
PO4= .25
CA= 440
KH= 179
SG= 1.023-1.025

I added a ring tail tang which ate and showed no signs of sickness and since i have never had a quarantine tank added him into my tank. Well he showed some small signs of ich after a day or so, i lowered my salinity slightly 1.021 he was still eating like a horse and my other tangs were very healthy I didn't worry about it. Well I should have over the course of two days the ring tail was covered in ich the Naso tang got what looked like velvet, the Tomini tang and hippo tang broke out with ich bad. I hit the tank with kick ich and rally for 4 days. The sand sifter got pop eye and the convict blennys got a kinda bloat/ swim bladder issue, the ich ran its course and the Tomini tang cleared up but was pail along with the ring tail and the Naso tang they all seemed stressed an had labored breathing and I replaced 80% water and re treated with rally and kich ich.

Now at day 10 I have lost the Tomini he wouldn't eat one day and the next he was dead, the naso died along with the ring tail and the sand sifter goby, I have never seen one fish obliterate a tank like this and I have never seen one fish bring on ich, velvet pop eye and bladder issues at the same time. These fish were healthy fat happy fish. The hippo's eyes are cloudy this ich is clearing but I don't know if she will make it the convict blennys look like hell and still have bloating.

I will never add a fish without quarantining them first, it took me two years to add those fish and keep the bio load balanced. Have you guys ever seen a single fish do so much damage?

Hi.Im new to reef and looking for help...

hi i have 50 gallon acrylic tank-just started today.
60lb live sand
30lb stone
Mag 1800GPH pump-pumping from basement to first floor (vertical pipe lenght is 12Ft) and 3/4" pex pipe-3/4" bulkhead
drain- 3/4" pex pipe -3/4" bulkhead
bulkhead are drill on back and 3" from top...
sump is 30gallon
heater-300Watt
skimer-Reef Octopus Classic 110 INT Protein Skimmer
power heads x 2-Hydor Koralia Evolution 550/600 Aquarium Circulation Pump, 550-600 GPH
light-Current USA Orbit Marine Aquarium LED Light 48"-60"

No corals and no fish yet...
can anybody help my what kind corals are good for beginners and my lighting?
how much water im getting thru 3/4" bulkhead/Hr. ?
thank you.

Long green algae

Hi, can anyone give me some advice plz..... I am a newbie to marine, I have been reading and watching lots of videos on it, for a few months now, I brought all my bits and have just started my tank up 2 days ago..it is a used tank only 6 mths old, aqua one reef 195 tank, (195 litres) with a weir, I brought 24kg of dry Pukani rock put it through a cleaning & scrubbing process & left it in a solution of bleach for 2 days then cleaned it off & dried it out, I am curing & cycling at the same time in my tank (no fish) just sand & the rock, no lights I have read it's better without them, I am running a sump with 2 skimmers... it goes, 1..water in, 2..aqua one protein skimmer G220 with charcoal sock & 2 150w heaters temp for tank set at 25deg, 3..aqua medic turboflotor blue 1000 protein skimmer with pukani rock and have put some live rock in there, 4th & last section just the return pump..
I have put just under 2 inch bed of crushed coral 0.3, and the rock is in there I also bought a couple of kilo of live rock from my lfs to help it on its way, it's been going 2days now well this is the 3rd day, and I have just noticed ( the weir is in the middle at the back of the tank) and there is 3 or 4 lots of long green algae growing on it.... I don't think I want this in the tank do I?? what can I do to get rid of it.. appreciate any help :( thanx

New Addition: FIRST Coral!

Hi All:
I just added my first coral to my 92 gallon bow-front tank.

I added a small Green Star Polyp frag attached between two small LR branches. I put it on top of a shelf rock that should get good light and movement.

Wish me luck...I'm a little worried that I will either kill it or everything. Pics are below. You can see the frag around the yellow chromis in the middle.

Thanks

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Advice/Experinces with Dispar Anthias

Hello all,
I am planning a 100 gallon set up round about Christmas and have set Emmy sights on Dispar Anthias. However, despite looking up information left right and centre, I can't seem to find some answers to my questions. And so I turn to the wise Reef Tank :thumbup:

1) Do you personally feel that having 1 male to 6 females in a 90 gallon tank is acceptable? If not, why, if so what else could I have (if anything)?

2) These guys feed on zooplankton, is there no way I could purchase this, for example a frozen purchase? I would like to replicate their natural diet as best as possible.

3) I can't get my head around this one: Should I be adding them all at once? Will this not shock th system? Or can I add them one or two at a time?

Thanks all in advance for any help. Also, if you have any experience in general with these guys, please let me know. All is appreciated!

HELP - Protein skimmer and simple make-shift sump

I'm in the market to buy a new protein skimmer because mine is a piece of crap that I wanted to run until it died before I bought a new one. It is now not working at it's best so I know it's time. Yay! It's about time LOL!

Anyway, I am one of those people that likes to get the most out of my money without spending a bucket load for a name and packaging. I want something that works the best for the best value. I will spend more money for better value, but it better be darn good, you know? I want best value over just affordable, but if the best value IS affordable I may just dance like no one's watching! :banana:

The tank I have running right now is a 90 gallon reef tank with 8 fish. I'm not adding anything more to this tank except equipment because we plan on moving in a year. Currently I have a HOB skimmer which I hate, so I'll be throwing together a make shift sump. Just some rubbermaid type tubs to get me by until we move. When we move I am upgrading from a 90 to something larger. I'm not sure how much larger, but I know I don't want anything larger than 180 gallons, and it will have a proper sump built in.

Soooo with this information in mind, what is the best most affordable protein skimmer on the market right now that gives you huge value for the money?

Now on to the make shift sump... Has anyone made a simple DIY sump out of tubs where the bubbles are trapped in the sump and stay out of the display tank? I hate hate HATE - LOATH ENTIRELY - bubbles in my tank. So any information, videos, tips, ideas on how to make this happen, I'd love to hear it. :) I've been looking all over the web for the past year and haven't found a simple easy way to do this. It's like people already assume people know how to make this stuff. I am not a plumber. I am not a builder. I need KISS instructions - Keep It Simple Stupid instructions. Like sumps and plumbing for dumbies. I'm an artist, not an engineer LOL!

This tank is not drilled so I know I will have to get a HOB overflow. My next tank will be drilled, so I don't want to spend a ton of money on this because it will be useless to me after we move. I know there is a DIY overflow and I'm thinking I will do that to keep cost down. I know lots of you have done this so any tips would be greatly appreciated. :)

Oh one last thing - I hate noise. I like QUIET, so that will have to be a deciding factor too.

Thank you all in advance! I'm looking to buy the skimmer and goodies in about a week, so I am truly thankful to have your wisdom to help me with this in a relatively short amount of time. :)