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My 4' inwall tank is under a staircase, which makes it very difficult to mount a light fixture that is as wide as the tank - unless it's literally sitting on top of the tank. Here's a quick and dirty photoshop "picture" showing what it looks like from the back of the tank: The top left...

As far as inverts go I've got a bunch of snails and hermit crabs, a few starfish, some fan worms, a couple of clams, a few oysters, 5 cleaner shrimp, 3 or 4 blood shrimp, and I think that's about it. I know the shrimp need Iodine to promote growth and molting, etc. but are inverts the only...

I'm looking into getting a calcium reactor. One of the things the guy at my LFS said was that although they are great, you will still need to add calcium manually every now and then. I said, can't you just crank up the calcium reactor to output the amount you need, and he said no it can only do...

Thanks for the reply. I've heard that Seachem test kits are overall pretty good. Why would they sell an Iodine test kit that doesn't really work? Well obviously some companies would do this just to make money, but what I mean is that I've heard Seachem is a "good" company and it seems odd they...

Per my LFS' recommendation (they set-up my tank) I add 2 drops of Lugol's Iodine solution 3 times a week for a total of 6 drops per week. This exactly matches the recommended dosage on the label of the bottle. However, according to my Seachem test kit the Iodine/Iodide levels are still...

I'd say it really depends on what you have in your tank. I would bet that I do more frequent water changes than most people, and yet if I didn't use Lugol's my Iodine level would be significantly below NSW.

Yeah the hermits do get to some of them, but there have been so many dying that the hermits can't even keep up. So I guess the question is, which snails are algea eaters and can easily flip themselves over?

My tank is about 3 months old now. Everything is going great - except for the turbo snails. They are always falling off rocks, etc. and landing upside down and then usually die. There are a few that seem to know how to flip themselves back over, but most don't. I've probably had 50 die in the...

I've had a recent outbreak of spirorbid worms. They are starting to take over the tank. At this rate they will be everywhere, and quite unsightly, within a week or two. Is it just something that comes and goes periodically? The tank is about 3 months old now. Anything I can do to cut down or...

The lower the better - in an established tank it should be practically undetectable. If you are getting a decently high reading for Nitrates you should also test for Nitrite which is very toxic. A little nitrate is OK but nitrite is NOT ok ...

I think you are right - I just got a good glimpse at a few of them and they do look like those spiral worms ... really tiny ones. They just came out of nowhere the past few days and really seem to be increasing. Is it something that comes and goes? Where do they come from? If they become too...

Hard to tell. I tried to scrape a few off but they just crumble. They almost look like tiny pieces of sand. I'll try to find a big one and get a closer look ...

Ah, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the insight!

Should I be concerned or just let it be for now? It seems to be slowly increasing...

I'm starting to notice small white spots on the sides of my tank, on some corals, on snail shells', etc. - but no spots on the fish which would indicate ich. Is this some kind of fungus or algea? Calcium deposits? Or ??

Steve, you said: Nitrite is toxic, while nitrate is relatively non-toxic. Why do you recommend monitoring nitrate more closely than nitrite?

I've heard that it does help with parasite control, that's why all the LFSs do it - they have less chance of selling you a fish that will die and they will have to replace out of their pocket. More importantly however, once fish are in your established tank, a higher number like 1.025+ will...

Can anyone post a pic? I had a fish jump out of the tank and die a slow painful death on the floor the other day, so I'm interested in a cover too. Are we sure the water gets oxygenated enough with a cover on it though?

Also, one other question. If I just want to raise the salinity a tiny bit at a time, is it OK to just pour a tiny bit of salt mix into the sump every now and then. I mean a really small amount - like a quarter cup here and there. Then check the SG a day or two later, etc. Or do I have to go...

Cool, that makes sense. Is there some way to combat this "problem" automatically? I guess I could set-up some kind of drip system that drips really salty water into my refill tank, which would increase the salinity of that water a little, which would then slowly increase the salinity in my tank...

Yeah we have been thinking about that. However, the noise level is a factor. The system is already pretty loud with all the pumbs, the chiller, etc. Cutting a hole in one of the surrounding walls to make a vent will just allow that much more noise to escape into the surrounding areas of the...

That's pretty strange ... all I know is that everything in the room is covered with a thin layer of salt and it's not from splashes. If you lick the wall it even tastes a little salty. I think a little bit of salt does evaporate, that's the only thing that would explain it. I actually grew up in...

I'm new to the hobby so please bear with me if this is a dumb question ... I have a 150g tank that is set in the wall in my living room. The space it is in is basically the area under the stairs that go upstairs, and there is a door to gain access to everything. So basically it's a tiny...

What's weird is that it all seemed to happen after he lost that one ray. Or could it have been a bigger problem that just took a week to fully manifest itself? He did look great for the past week, crawling all over the tank. Oh well, I'm going to try another one soon ...

Just an update ... he's dead now. =(