2manytanks

I have them too, assumed they were a copepod.

I could use some on my driveway right now. I've read lots of people suggest just flicking it back in the tank. But I prefer not to - dog and cat hair, dust etc.

OOOoooo ... major thanks. That IS worth a try. I was kind of put off when I visited their website that they had no parts at all that I could find, and seemed more interested in pointing us to their distributors. I guess I'm making something out of myself with my ASSumptions. But you're the second one to say they have great customer support.

Thanks everyone, I'll give them all a try. So far the only place I found on the internet that carries them doesn't take international orders.

Does anyone know where I might be able to find an electronic ballast for a Coralife fixture? I had a ballast go on my Coralife fixture and am lookng for one to replace it. I haven't had any luck locally or on the internet yet, and would prefer to find the identical replacement so it can fit back in the fixture rather than being external. It is used to power a 65w watt pc at 390mA. Model # is SPL-165R-JS I'd rather not replace the fixture - I have everything modified for this one to fit in, and it still has one other lamp and monnlights working in it. So if I end up only being able to get an external ballast I'll just have to make do with that - but I can't even find one of them locally so far that would work.

I don't believe I'll be asking him to come for a visit.

Peppermint shrimp did a great job in getting rid of my aiptasia.

No problem. It can be your Christmas present and you can still keep your eyes peeled for bargains on the board here that you can get yourself for your birthday. Welcome aboard.

That's why I lke Oscars so much, they can be just like puppies. Have you thought about incresing your filtering rather than getting rid of your pleco?

They really do look good, and the way you have the tank set up really enhances their colour.

No kidding - waiting really sucks, and I'm not very good at it. And sometimes I just can't resist the temptation. You'd better do it though, you don't know how well cured your new rock is. I got some great stuff at Golds that had been there quite a while and found that it was pretty much completely cured, I didn't have any increase at all in my ammonia/nitrite readings when I added the rock - but I also had live sand in the tank and it would have helped digest anything the rock may have thrown out. You may not really have enough rock to sufficiently filter the water (depending on what you throw in the tank) so I would suggest putting some biological media in your filter to help compensate. And I would stay away from useing a bubbler, especially when you don't have a protein skimmer. With saltwater full of disolved proteins you'll wind up covering the surface of the water with foam. As for hitchhikers, who knows. You're bound to have plenty of them, but most or all of them will be beneficial or at least harmless. Plants, snails, worms, clams, crabs, mantis, only time will tell. And it may take quite a while to see who you got with your rock. I don't think you're to likely to find a mantis, but there's a pretty good chance of finding a crab or clam, or 2 or 3 or 4. I have kept all of my crabs, and I guess I've been lucky, they seem to eat mostly plant matter and will occasionally come out for a taste of whatever I'm feeding the fish or anemone. If you have something like clams or other filter feeders and decide to keep them you may need to get some food for them too, but be careful of polluting the water since you don't have much filtering to fall back on.

You got me. I don't have any myself, I only deal with them because some of my customers have them. They are more rugged and durable than the Rena and Fluval but I always have more problems with the Eheim losing it's prime than I do with the others, and have more difficulty getting them primed again. One of my customers has an Eheim hooked up to a UV sterilizer, and I'll tell you, that extra resistance the UV throws in the line makes it a real b*tch.

I don't know why the salinity would go down. Maybe you just had a bubble stuck on the needle of the hydrometer the first time you checked it, giving you a false reading. Make sure to tap the hydrometer a few times to loosen any air bubbles that may be sticking to the needle before you take the reading. Also, the water temperature will affect the reading. As far as I know, the live rock should still be OK at the hypothetical lower salt level. You're going to want to get about 15 lbs. more rock when you feel like putting out the bucks, and you got it from a good place, Gold's has nice live rock. Was the sand you got live?

What fun hey? And when that still doesn't work you take the cap off the intake tube and pour water in until water starts to flow out the output tube.

Thanks Murray, maybe I'll take you up on that someday when I'm coming to Edmonton. I just started my two little reefs within about the last 4 months. I'm starting to wish I hadn't - they're so fascinating they are causing me to somewhat neglect my FW tanks. Anyways, I'm so happy with the way they're going, the changes from day to day never cease to amaze me. Things are going so well I maybe in the situation to supply some corals before not too long as well. I've got Colt coral, green star polyps, many different types of buttons, sunflower coral and a few others I can't think of now. The colt coral is growing like a weed, and the green star polyps have multiplied and are now colonizing new areas of the tanks. It would be especially nice to be able to start a little trading network in the Red Deer area since there are no stores here which handle marine livestock.

Definitely, snails are king. Both of my reef tanks had big algae problems, since they were both new tanks I cured the rock in the tanks before I added livestock so lots of nutrients and lots of algae. The snails I bought cleared it out in a matter of a couple of days. What really amazed me though is the plants and corals that were on the live rock seemed totally unaffected by the snails. If you have live sand with algae growing on the surface of it, I would suggest a sand sifting star. Not only nice to look at, but it keeps the sand stirred up and eats the algae and detritus.

Me too, neither my GSP or my figure 8 will go anywhere near them other than just to see what they are. Won't even touch freeze dried, it amazes me that they know the difference between freeze dried and frozen from a foot away. Anyways, to AllGo'n'Show, these guys know what they're talking about and have you on the right track. Puffers really are great pets, with loads of personality, you'll enjoy them a lot.

The 405 is the newer version of the 404. I'm not sure if there's much difference other than the quick release. Personally, I prefer the Rena Filstar XP3 to the the Fluval. It's just a matter of preference but I belive the XP3 to be built a bit sturdier and find it a bit easier to disassemble to clean. Last I saw, Petland had the XP3's on for about $160. In Edmonton I saw the PJ's on the south side of town selling out their 404's at an unbelievable $130. I was tempted to pick up a couple myself at that price.

Welcome to the site and to Alberta. But remember - no combines allowed on Deerfoot Trail. :hey:

I'd keep the carbon in the filters unless it's a cichlid tank, and even then I would only run without the carbon if I had a fish who has had a problem with HITH disease. Carbon is great at removing dissolved contaminants that other media cannot touch. One school of thought has found an apparent link betweeen HITH disease in cichlids and the use of carbon - for that reason I do not use carbon in one of my tanks which contains a fish who was suffering from HITH when I got him. Other than that all the rest of my tanks (except the reef tanks) run with carbon. If you are going to run without it I would suggest doing water changes a bit more frequently and useing a bit more bio-filter media just to be on the safe side. In addition you'll find that your water will likely be noticeably clearer if you run with carbon. As for the lighting, I would think that you have plenty of light for your tanks unless they're planted. I'm no expert on planted tanks but depending on the spectrum of your bulbs you may find that you need more light for your hex tank if it's going to be planted.

Thanks everyone - this is gonna save me tons of money.

Also, Pisces carries it, both in 5 lb. boxes and you can buy it out of a bulk bin. It's the cheapest I have seen yet. What store is this? I have to check it out.

It sounds great Tanker - I'm looking forward to it.

Wow! You're really going all out. I have 8 babies right now, and I love the looks of them. But you're tank is going to look like 101 dalmations.

Hi Tim, welcome. Go ahead, tell us about your "problem", we've all been there - and the first step is admitting you have a problem. You can admit to us that your children aren't getting fed because of the money you spend on your "problem", and about your marriage teetering on the brink of divorce because of the time you devote to your "problem". However, if you are to sucessfully overcome your problem, you are going to have to stop referring to yourself as "the owner" of a legitimate business. You are a plant pusher - selling your wares to other aquarium junkies and encouraging them to become even more involved and dependant on their addiction. Shame. Good luck, Bill