Looks like Petco is back to doing this, not sure if other big chains are. I know most of the local shops in my area are still taking returns (that is - if it was in their policy to).

I’d have to say when I adding in a pretty badly attacked black knife eel as a friend was tearing down their tank, only to notice a day or two later that it completely killed all of my other community fish in the tank (not sure if it was an attack feast, or if it was super hungry, or what). Kinda sucked the most as doing a favor tended to make me restart my whole tank.

I tend to dip the plants a few times in vinegar and a light copper solution (as copper kills snails and most invertebrates). Then I rinse them throughly in water to make sure the copper treatment is gone so it’s safe for my tanks that do have invertebrates and snails (the ones that I do want that is).

I honestly wouldn’t be too shocked if things don’t settle down until COVID-19 is gone or at least handled a tad more better. Even then it’ll be curious on how many of these events stay as online events, and how many do actually go back into being in-person.

I would probably say the aspect of needing more equipment. A ton of times you can get away with just a tank, heater, and filter with freshwater - although saltwater requires more equipment for daily use and for maintaining levels (ex; making sure the salinity is the same when doing water changes).

Do you wear gloves when you work inside of your reef aquarium in order to not get poked/bit, or do you wing it and watch what you are touching and what is around you at all times?

Since everyone has their own personal opinion on how much substrate they like, if they want it level or at a grade around the tank, and other aspects. What is your preferred substrate depth and does it vary from substrate type (ex; gravel/sand/soil/etc.)?

I normally just rinse it thoroughly with water, and then test the water with a bigger spectrum of parameters to see if it is releasing anything toxic (or has something toxic coating it). If so, I just try to rinse with vinegar and if it that doesn’t do anything - I just discard it.

Where do you end up sourcing your aquascaping material from? Do you source it at your local stores, online, or even around your home in nature itself?

This can range from wood, rocks, to other items that are aquarium safe to give it that biotop feel/look.

From a friend who does this all of the time;

Quote

Put polarized sunglasses on and look at a known peice of tempered glass compared to a known non-tempered peice of glass.



I believe it looks similar to the reflective rainbow I see when I look at my trucks side glass which is tempered.I believe it looks similar to the reflective rainbow I see when I look at my trucks side glass which is tempered.

Otherwise I’d highly recommend on calling the manufacturer and seeing what they say.

I’ve seen a few do it, but I never had a tank that either was too experience for a stand - or was an odd shape and therefore a common stand isn’t really an option.

For strength, I’m sure one could use some type of CAD program or even go to a lumbar yard and see what they would recommend for thickness of wood and what type of wood to use.

When you setup your tanks and stock then, do you go for a majority of them to be schooling fish - or do you go for more centerpiece fish without background fish?

Do you use a protein skimmer for your freshwater tanks, and if so, what made you set one up?

I personally use one for my turtle tank, however I don’t use it in any of my other fish only tanks since I never really had a protein layer on the surface build up enough to warrant one.

I personally do fill my tank up all of the water, I hate the way that water stains look on the tank and they are a huge pain to get rid of.

I believe that the fish major thing that wiped out one of my tanks when I was starting with either Ich or it possibly was something else in the form of a parasite.

As far as cleaning, I used a ton of vinegar, magic erasers, and water to clean it fully out. Then I setup new filter media, and let the tank run through a cycle for a month and half.

By then anything that was there is surely dead without any hosts available.

I normally plan a rough cost, although that can be pretty hard to pinpoint when you walk into a store and see the vibrant colors and the costs with them.

I remember using this before to paint some decorations I made, but I also made sure to prevent if it was toxic by coating the whole thing is hot silicone (melted in a more liquid than goo form) to protect the paint.

Good call out, always check to make sure you have every part and that it’s not broken before you leave the store (obviously they won’t let you test a filter - but you get the idea).

Since there are such a wide variety of different types of lights, which ones do you use?

It really depends on your lighting and the corals you have. A vast majority do fine without any extra feeding, although some do better when fed if they aren’t getting enough nutrients from the light or waste that is being created in your tank. Some even do good as they are normally indirectly fed by fish who swim between them and get trapped.

As a basic answer, is it required? No - but feeding them CAN provide them with more nutrients which will allow for them to grow and be more vibrant under a light.