Posts by Joshua Farrell

Love having rocks, shells and some artificial structures in my tanks. Never understood why some people prefer to have an empty tank that is void of an environment. Fish do get bored and can get afraid. Having stuff in there helps with easing them to their environment.

Injecting CO2 sounds like it could be potentially an issue, atleast with me in the past 15 years. I've only recently had the opportunity to not have to aggressively check equipment. Though, if those living with me end up touching stuff without my being around, it could be a messy business.

Nope. Never got to that stage in the process. Wish I did though, as it would be a fun learning experience to have fish hatch in the tank environment.

I would take a gander that it probably would have to do with the difficulty in getting and maintaining the fish. It is a pretty costly endeavor to keep up salt water fish healthy and happy.

I personally would use the fake coral, as I don't want to be tending the tank frequently to keep that alive, as well as keeping the fish healthy and fed well. If I had the opportunity that would allow me to have real coral, I'd probably start out small, and branch out as I am able to.

I do know that people tend to try to help others, with what has worked for them (or others) in the past, but sometimes, the very thing that would be a good thing for one, could very well go bad for another. I would rather get a fish vet to help, than to trust Facebook. Just personal preference here.

I would recommend in the future, to double check the information that is provided by people. Not everyone has proper information on how to fix in tank issues. Salt can help, but so can other appropriate things that can be added to the tank. Really, it falls under the guise of, check twice, add once. Wouldn't want to kill whats in the tank on the first suggested item, as what is in it, is valuable and a living creature or plant. It's like bringing your dog or cat to the vet. Usually there may be something visible that doesn't need multiple checkups to figure out, but there are some things that getting the extra help to figure out, might actually benefit knowing.

I know for most animals, they tend to put strict breeding controls on verified breeders. It might be that they want to cut corners, due to the supply of fish available, when people are less able to go out and seek replacement fish. When breeding stock doesn't rotate, genetic issues tend to creep in, including other health risks, like illness.

Generally I am not gone long enough to have someone watch over the fish for more than the day. Usually is just the immediate family, when I do leave for stuff for more than a day or two.

As mentioned, salt tends to break things down quicker, due to it being corrosive in nature. The higher the salt content, the harder it is to maintain good equipment. Wouldn't want your equipment breaking down fast, now would you? Plus having to spend the money for good quality equipment is always a plus. The better quality the tank and equipment is, the longer you could go between maintenance fixes that would require replacing parts.

Well, it is always good to start small, if you aren't planning to have a half a dozen or more fish that can grow pretty big. 25-30 gallon size tanks tend to be pretty good on a few starter fish, if you buy the proper equipment and supplies. The type of fish you put in there too, can help with whether or not a medium size tank would be a good choice for how many gets put into there.

It depends really. If I want to make a tank that has a wide variety of things in it; sure, I'd browse around for different things that would go good with it. Then ofcourse, I hate to have too much stuff, as I don't want to have to have issues figuring out if the fish are healthy, if I cannot see them because of what is in the tank.

I generally pick my fish, based on whether or not they are high maintenance. For awhile there, I usually went after fish that I would need to keep an eye on, as I have had family that tends to bother the fish quite frequently.

I've liked guppies. I love staring at them for awhile, when I have nothing else to do. I haven't done much in getting a wide variety before in one tank, but these tend to be one of my go to favorites for tanks.

Those filters seem to generally be a pain. I dislike needing to clean them frequently, with the possibility of needing to replace them often.

Not sure why people would want to put things under the tank, as I have seen that to be an issue with needing to replace the tank more frequently. I understand needing to put the tank on an even surface, but not putting things like rubber or Styrofoam under it. It just sounds like one would be asking for trouble.

I'm guessing ammonia build up can be an issue if the tank isn't cleaned frequently with the water replaced and filtered often enough. Hope you figured out if you needed it.

The steel shelving units we have at my work can hold pretty heavy amounts, provided the shelving unit is anchored. That pictured unit looks like it might hold the weight, but one cannot be too sure about it though.

Found that fresh water tanks are a bit easier to maintain. The water we get here can easily be used to keep the tank running without too many issues. Our water supply comes from a clean water source, that is generally kept pretty clean by the company that maintains the supply.

Depending on space and if you have a corner to use, there are always the option to have linked tanks via plumbing and shared filters. That way, you could connect the two tanks together, and allow the fish to swim between the two tanks.