Recent content by No_Floaters

brittle stars, serpent stars and sea stars

Full tank pics here

I can't find liquid concentrate anywhere. I did see the jugs of dry salt.

Have you thought about adding any corals like mushrooms or zoos while you wait?

If it is diatoms, they are feeding on phosphates. I forgot to ask...are you using RO/DI water or at least distilled water? If so, the problem should clear up in a few days. That light schedule is short and OK for now.

Be careful about adding more liverock. Unless it's cured, you'll risk starting another cycle.

If you can brush it off and it swirls away like dust in the water, it's probably diatoms. They'll die off given a little time. It's common in tanks that are newly set up.

The bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrites and nitrates live in the sand and rock. If you can, try to add the sand and cured liverock at the same time. And later when you add more seeded liverock, add it a piece or two at a time. There is usually something that will die during the move...

You can always add the good stuff back after skimming the good and bad stuff out.

After a little research, I found this article: http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/rarespecies/a/fiddlercrabs.htm If the crab dies in your tank, it'll cause an ammonia spike. That spike could do harm to your fish.

What kind of film do you want to use; like cellophane? I would be afraid of the chemicals it would take to get the dbl-sided tape off again if a razor couldn't do it. I've always used clear box tape to hold a background on.

That was a good move on your part. Glass for a reptile tank is usually half the thickness of a fish tank. A 50 gallon reptile tank glass sides are about 3mm. A fish tank of that size - 6mm. It's like wearing a seatbelt that's already been cut half way through. It "might" work.

Hey Willyboy...I've been working alot - in fact, that's where I'm at now and haven't been able to follow this thread. You made a good choice on the lights. I've got the same 30" fixture over a 29-gal. We bought the legs for the fixture so it would stand over the tank. It used to sit on folding...

I would stick with the small brittles. They may not be cute, but they have their place in a reef tank as a scavenger.

The manufacturer will have a suggested flow rate for each lamp's wattage probably right on the box.