medhatnoobee

the problem I see is you should plumb an automatic top off. the overflow doesn't hold much water. the evaporation rate of a 240 will cause you to need to top up every day to keep the level in the overflow anywhere near stable.

Looks like pvc threaded sprinkler nipples, and abs elbows. expensive alternative to glue, but should be ok on the aquarium. I agree to spend the time to get the back looking good. it will drive you nuts. +1 on scrape and redo

There isn't a best type, all opinions. I just got some from red coral, very porous and branchy. I think it's jacarta but it might be tonga or figi lol.

You can leave the carbon in as long as you want. Not sure on how much salt plants can take but unless your battling ich there's no reason to go more than your normal tank dosage. The problem with giving a remedy is there's not enough info to to be remotely close to a cause. We have numerous dead fish, spotted an unknown worm in a filter, and water tests 0. The fish are not doing anything abnormal before they up and die? what were you doing in the filter? When did you do the tests? even nitrate was at 0? this is odd and starts to raise questions about your test kit. Could be anything at this point and loading up on meds for an unknown cause may harm more than it helps. Can we can assume they are looking and acting normal, and then die? Tall order for a guess, but it rules out most if not all bacterial, fungal, and parasites. I sway towards water parameter but water change should have fixed that for the most part. Is there anything more you can tell us?

It's important, but cracked corners arn't going to be a deal breaker. fill it outside if your worried about it. if you can pull up the rim, put some new silicone around the top and reset it.

what bulb and how many? If it's a 2 bulb t8, any hardware store will have them. Ask for electronic (smaller usually white) rather than magnetic (larger, heavy, usually black). For a t5 or t5ho you may need to go to an electrical wholesaler/online.

I'm battling ich right now also. from what I've read, ich has a hard time completing it's life cycle at temps 30+. the salt aids in slime coat and also is detrimental to free swimming ich. the chemical will kill off remaining free swimmers. Doing a not so good job the first time around lets Darwin take hold and those that survive are tougher. IMHO go to a tbls/gallon, get the temp up another couple degrees and do another chemical treatment. keep temp and salt up till a few days after all spots gone. "insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome" I'm using malachite green at half dose do to clown loaches. temp at 31-33 depending on time of day. 4 tbls/5gallons. on my 5th day and things are cleared up. Didn't lose anything.

I'm pretty sure they can be separated at any time. the parents are there to protect them but if there are no others, then no point in the parents being there either.

Purchased some clown clown loaches last week, noticed darting and flashing mid week, 2 days ago noticed the dreded spots. First ich outbreak I've had to deal with. This morning I have gotten the heat up and the salt (4 tblsp/5G) all added. Going to go see what the lfs has for ich treatments. Wish me luck.

water change. Lets say that your nitrates were double what you test goes to as a max. A 50 % water change would only bring it to the max showing you effectively no change if by going by test only. Another 50 % water change would get you 25% of the test scale. etc etc. It's all relative.

I don't believe 2 t5's is enough. good enough for fish and some lps high in the tank, but that's it. Actinic bulbs supply the much needed blue spectrum that can penetrate the water deeper. get another lightstrip and run 2 actinic, and 2 6-10000 *I am also just getting started on saltwater so take my opinion with a grain of salt

is there any proof that a plastic dollar store scrubby has more surface area than a sponge? I question the effectiveness of scrubbers over sponges. I've seen them used numerous times but can't help but think that a sponge in the same place would be better. Same for the bioballs. They have nothing for surface area compared to a scrubber. Possibly bacteria can attach more readily to plastic? I would like to know more about this.

in my aquaclear 50 i run all three sponges so I can pull a sponge to jump start a different tank/filter.

they don't need feed till the egg yolk is absorbed though they will take food earlier than that