Posts by Avery

Like Brosj said, really sponge filters work for any tank size.

For smaller tanks, many just use a sponge filter or a smaller hang on the back. Some brands include Aqueon, Aquaclear, Fluval, Eheim (used to have smaller filters).

For medium tanks, mostly recommend hang on the back or canister filters. Some brands include Aqueon, Top Fin (for canister filter), Eheim, Aquaclear, SunSun, Marineland.

For big tanks, mostly recommend canister filters or sumps. Some brands include Eheim, SunSun, Marineland, Fluval, Penn-Plax, API.

I never really thought about setting a specific schedule since in the wild, they kind of get food whenever they want or whenever their food source comes into play. I probably mostly feed in the afternoon or evening, but never have really had it with like a 30 minute window or so every day.

I personally have used Eheim (even when Petsmart rebranded them under their own Top Fin name), SunSun (and the various off brand names it is also under), and Marineland canister filters. For the best results, Eheim is the way to go. But for the best overall value on a low budget, I’d totally recommend SunSun (what I personally go with on a vast majority of my own tanks).

I tend to just recommend and go with the overall master saltwater test kit unless you want to test specifically elements/chemicals. It tends to be a better bang for the buck overall, whereas buying them all individually would cost a lot more due to them needing to package it, etc.

Nope! That is Java Fern and it actually propagates using leaves that will grow roots on them (those brown patches with the brown roots). After awhile the leave will either separate on its own or you can pull it apart and it will be a new plant by itself.

Ironically all of the ones that appear green, and fertilized shrimp eggs - the ones that are clear are not fertilized. I’ll say an early congratulations since you’ll soon have little shrimp roaming around the tank.

I would honestly probably do a full water change over the course of a week (so like 80% or so water changes for every day for a week) to make sure that medicine is out, while additionally using carbon or Purgien to soak any small amounts out too. I believe once you are done with this, I’d say it is 100% safe to add them back in.

I just added a new photo, really to show the coloration that the powdered blue dwarf gourami has and just how the few snails I got have basically taken over the tank when it gets dark.

I’m closing this out since the issue has been resolved. If we see any other type of downtime happen repeatedly, I’ll include a public status page where things can be viewed to check in this thread.

From zooming into the photo, those are planarian (basically little worms that are harmless but have the appearance of a tiny white leech). They are not snails who left their shells (no freshwater snail does this), and they are not harmful.

You have them naturally as they are attracted to excess waste/food being in the tank. I’d recommend feeding about half of what you currently do and they will reduce/disappear (from above the substrate level) once that is done.

Do you know the weight rating of the unit itself? A lot of times they have a maximum weight limit, and then it should tell you a per shelf limit (since that particle board/wood can only hold so much).

From there it should be easy to tell if a fully stocked 10 gallon would work on multiple shelves.

We currently have had a third-party do status uptime checks (and page load speed tests) from around the world at a set interval. So far it appears that this trend is keeping (unfortunately) steady from around 2AM MST to around 4-6AM MST.

In short; this has nothing to do with you, but rather is a database resource contention issue with our hosting provider. I’ve already set the caching limit to the highest setting with our CDN and have enabled AMP to prevent those errors from showing on our static set of pages - but anything forum related, registering, logging in, searching, or changing settings will trigger this around those times (as your requesting dynamic content instead).

From doing some digging, it appears that for whatever reason the hosting provider we are using has their database server pegged throughout that time, which prevents some of the required queries we need to load content, gather dynamic elements, and more. I’ve already started the process to move our database to another system (this time, only bound by if there are hardware failures) and am just finalizing the security processes required along with other alerting types. So far this is roughly 1-2 weeks away, before I will migrate everything over (should only take 15-30minutes of downtime) for it to start spinning on our dedicated system and resources.

100% agree, the bigger the better when it’s your first time with saltwater. Ideally anything above 40-55 gallons would be ideal since it has more room for you to get used to doing water changes, testing for various things, and making sure the lighting is right for anything you plan on keeping.

As the poll states, do you personally use an air pump on your tanks and if so why?

If you use an air pump for a sponge filter, I would exclude that usage since it has a dual purpose (for both the filter and to create bubbles).

Quote from Andy

How can you tell if it’s normal vs a disease or something? Like does fin rot turn pieces darker or some other diseases?

Most diseases will end up either fraying the fins, or if it’s a color change, will either change to white (like a fuzzy white), red/pink (due to sores and blood), or black (dependent of its it’s a fungal issue). In almost all cases though, the behavior of the fish will have changed (hides more, eats less, less active, etc). Although color is a good sign of a disease, there are other aspects you can notice by simply watching that fish for a small period of time that would be more detailed and informative on what they may have.

With a vast variety of different diseases that are out there, and the ones that are somewhat common in the marine hobby, what was your first disease that you had?

Stores normally have then exposed and closer to the light so it’s easier for them to sell, while also allowing for you, the buyer, to inspect them fully. Plus the closer you are, the more vibrant you can see their colorations and any possible issues they may have.

Ironically, with saltwater tanks many people prefer not to use a glass lid (but do have a hood to prevent jumpers from being able to jump out) since it traps heat (good for freshwater tanks but not so much saltwater tanks), and any level of salt buildup on the lids would prevent enough light from being able to go in the tank.

If you have a fish or inhabitant that is not known to jump (or long finned/slow), then using a lid or hood isn’t really required. For one that may jump when scared, it’s recommended to at least have a big good to prevent so (while also hiding your lighting equipment).

You can use heat or the medicine approach, but if you use medicine make sure to take out any carbon in your filter(s) otherwise the carbon will soak it up and it won’t be in the tank for the fish.

I wouldn’t specifically say that they are necessary, but they are highly beneficial. Plants can soak up some ammonia, nitrite, and more specifically nitrate which is the last bioproduct from the nitrogen cycle and normally is only removed using water changes.

Plus it adds in some hiding spots for smaller fish, those that are aggressive can get spots to rest in, and it really adds to their natural behavior compared to fake plants that don’t sway or feel the same for fish.

Yes, that is the perfect sign of a fish that is heavily infected with Ich (or also known as Ick). Please read out article on this as it recommends various different treatment methods since some people don’t like using medicine, and others prefer to use heat.

Ich (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis)