Osprey

Next time you acclimate, if they do the same thing (lying on the bottom), add an airstone, and neutralize any ammonia in the bag, as well (prime works well for that). They should still be alert and relatively active while acclimating. Lying in the bottom of the bag is a bad sign. My latest addition to the tank, a flame angel, laid in the bottom of the bag like that, but an airstone perked him back up. Not a bad idea to make sure your tank temp matches the temp of the store tank, as well. A move down in temperature can be particularly traumatic, in spite of all the care we take to acclimate them.

Hmmm... it's no surprise to see a cleaner wrasse kick the bucket (they really aren't very hardy; best left on the reef), but the clowns are a surprise. Usually clowns are bulletproof. What kind of behavior are they exhibiting? Any gasping at the surface for air? Are they still active in the bag while acclimating, or do they kind of lie there? Did you use anything out of the ordinary to clean the tank with?

What all are you testing for? Should be: ammonia nitrite nitrate (should always be zero, in a tank with hard corals) calcium KH Magnesium SG Those are obvious, but it's best to be thorough when giving advice. What fish are you keeping with them? Corals from that genus are well known for being very tasty. Do the corals show signs of wasting away, or do patches disappear, unexplained, overnight? Are they anywhere close to your other corals? LPS always lose in a battle with anemones. What kind of lighting and water flow do you have? Where are the corals placed? Do you run carbon regularly? Leathers have active chemical warfare, that could be doing in your hard corals.

How have you been acclimating the fish? What kinds of fish have you tried? Which test kits are you using, and exactly what readings are you getting off of them? Just troubleshooting a few common trouble areas.

Yep, that's about it. I used to use foodsafe rubbermaid containers to mix mine, now I use an old tank.

I'm glad to see this... it's ridiculous that we continue to wild-harvest fish that are so easily bred in captivity!

You'll need to test for ammonia and nitrite. Make sure both are at zero before you buy livestock. You'll also want a nitrate test kit in the future. Also make sure you plan out your stocking list carefully ahead of time so you can't be talked into making impulse purchases at the store! How big is the tank? Are you planning to eventually buy corals, or is this just a FOWLR tank? Have you purchased a skimmer? Lighting? Powerheads?

I have to agree that the skimmer is the biggest and most important decision as far as equipment goes... are you going to have a sump, or will you need a HOT model? Canister filters are kinda optional for use in reef tanks... they're nice to have for chemical filtration, but all your biological filtration is done by the rock in the tank. There are pretty heated debates as to which brand is best... but both the XP and the Fluval are fine, really. I'm not familiar with any of the stores in Edmonton, unfortunately... but most decent SW aquarium stores can order in almost anything you're looking for. Buying my own stuff has been a comedy of errors... XD I do have to say... be careful buying used. Especially tanks- a used tank is much more likely to fail than a new one. Make sure the potential risk is outweighed by concrete savings.

Rearing either requires dedicated grow-out tanks and live, cultured foods. It's pretty labour-intensive. However, both Clowns and cardinals are relatively easy to breed, as SW fish go...

That's actually an interesting question... I've never seen a site that bothered to post the typical lifespan of hermit crabs. I can tell you that I've had my dwarf zebras for a year and a half now, and with no indications that they are likely to die of old age any time soon.

Move the skimmer cup down a little bit, so that the foam that gets pushed into the cup is fairly wet, and the amount of waste collected builds up quickly. 'Skimming dry' produces a smaller amount of very dense, dark skimmate, while 'skimming wet' produces a large quantity of slightly less dense skimmate. It's a pain to skim wet for long periods of time (you have to dump the cup more often), but it can give you an extra edge on nutrient removal in certain situations. I'd wait to add more fish until you're certain you have the issue under control. Cyano can be a pain.

Very cool... I've seen those before and drooled over them, too. But after careful consideration, I have to think that keeping the glass clean would be a PITA, with two surfaces to scrub clear of algae and all those rounded corners. Not to mention the $1800 price tag on a 20g tank...

How big is the sump, and how much clearance do you have vertically? The best skimmers are often tall, and have a bit of a large footprint.

Heh...my dwarf zebra hermits have exterminated any snails I attempt to introduce to the tank. I figure you can pretty much expect snails to become snacks/housing for your hermits.

I have both Tunzes and the Koralias- the Koralias being a recent addition. I switched over because of the really wimpy mounting system for the Tunze nanostreams. They break CONSTANTLY. Tunze will replace the mounting brackets, but it's still a major PITA. Go with the Koralias for surface movement, IMO. They stick out a bit more (the Tunzes just blended into the background), but the extra durability in the mounting system is worth it.