Recent content by foamythesquirrel

I used to pour from a small bucket and found it to be a mess. Since I don't have a sump my process has made my weekly chore much more rewarding. I start by mixing salt in a 5 gal bucket of RO. I have a Rio power head I place in the bucket along with a small heater. 24 hours of mixing seems...

I have a 30 gal with a pair of clowns and a royal gramma. That's it, and may add one small fish later down the road. But not sure. I agree with the others, and look to add more inverts like a cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp, several more hermit crabs (variations) and lots of snails.

Understand about the calcium. I was trying to show how even mushrooms took advantage of the bio-Actif. There are so many trace elements within this salt, the entire tank flourishes.

I have switched from the lowest level Tropic Marin to the Bio-Actif about 3 months ago. I have a 30 gal reef tank with only a protein skimmer. I asked a fish store owner about the pro reef and was told that that should be used when calcium buffers were used. since I don't have any reactors...

My Royal Gramma has a fin discoloration. Doesn't look like ick, but still enough for me to notice. Asked the LFS where I got him from, and the first thing he said was.... 'does he fly around at lightning speeds and hide in the rocks?' And to his point, yes. The bad fin is starting to...

I agree with the substrate comment, since there are bags of live sand for sale. Don't bother reusing it. As far as the 'lack' of conditions for the duration of the trip, imagine what these species are going through when they travel state to state and further. I would suggest having new...

so I performed my PWC just a few hours ago and anemone seems fine afterward. It was obvious that being out of the water wasn't pleasant, but once the water level raised back up, all went back to normal.

my lighting is PC, 65W with a 10K and actinic. Someone told me that anemones are good in tide areas, which indicates they can handle a lack of water for a short time. But I still think it's going back, now a matter of how to handle it in order to bag it... don't want to do any damage. Any...

I am in this hobby just over a year now, and have learned a lot from this community. I have taken tips and tried things with success. Now is my turn to add some value back :) One dilemma I have come across is when someone else needs to care for my tank in my absence. Mainly feeding times...

Hi, I've had my BTA for several months now. And like I should expect, this one is not satisfied and moves around the tank. Currently, the BTA is near the water line, up against the back wall. My concern is performing a water change. I have a 29 gal and replace 4.5 gals of water which brings...

I purchased my yellow goby at Go Fish Aquarium in Orland Park. Pretty much my main source for everything. But the unfortunate has happened, and I found sunshine (or what was left) at the bottom of the tank. Held in there for a few months, but never really became comfortable in the tank. I...

the cleaner fish is most likely the culprit. I just recently pulled my marble out of the tank because there were pieces of him missing. Pretty much at the spot where the leg attaches to the middle. My star was getting somewhat washed out looking, so I figured it was only a matter of time...

Jimbo7, nice to see this topic approached. I have recently purchased one of these. Name is sunshine and I have to say I can't believe he is still alive. I was in my LFS and that day a few of them arrived. My guys there told me to wait until at least the next day to take one home. So I...

The place is called Chicago Reptile House / Go Fish Aquarium. They are located in Orland Park on John Humphrey Dr. Not very local to Chicago, but I live in the south suburbs. Keith and Jeff are the guys that I would suggest talking to. If you visit there, I would be interested to know how...

I came across a photo I took when I had everything set up. This was about 2 weeks into the project. Taken on August 16, 2009.