Recent content by blastermqn

True, very true. However, I've had half a dozen mangroves growing in refugiums on tanks with annoying nitrate problems, and have yet to be convinced they make much of a difference either.

Done it - the airstone trick works on the thing. Still, if you could mount a decent needle wheel tyype power head on the thing, it might fix everything. However, I can never find needle wheel power heads unless they come with an expensive skimmer :-)

Was one of those long news group threads I saw awhile back. I wasn't sure if I should take it seriously or not - guess I won't.

What he said. Mechanical or even chemical filters in marine tanks can often do more harm than good. Yeah, they pull junk out of the water, but it doesn't go anywhere. Just decays faster thanks to more water flow, and the decay products cause more harm than what's being filtered.

Ditto on the bi-color. Great fish. Watchman Goby. Yellow headed jawfish, although they require a fairly deep substrate for their burrows. You might call my marine betta a 'plopper' since he 'plops' out of his cave every time somebody walks by the tank becase he thinks he'll get a scrap of...

I've had exellent luck with Xenia. Seems to be very nitrate tolerant, if not enjoys a bit for stronger growth. Xenia does not like new tanks in my experience and cannot tolerate even slight ammonia or nitrite levels. In other respects, I've found it a weird critter. In one of my 55's under...

Long time ago I had a 3" Picasso (huma-huma) that would chase a 10" Panther Grouper around. They'll chew on plexi to.

Double ended HQI was my idea as well. Should have no problem lighting that tank. I can't help you with hood options because I don't like them. I'd rather have a suspended pendant because there's fewer heat problems, and I find hoods to be totally annoying when it comes to getting in the tank...

Cut the bottom off, clamp it to the side of the tank or sump, and stick a wooden airstone in it. Use a simple garden hose PVC fitting over the top that screws on, and dumps into something for disposal. Adjust the height of the bottle to get it working good. The only real drawback is it's...

Well, yes and no. The biggest drawback I could see with this gadget is that it won't turn over enough water to benefit a large tank. On a smaller tank though like my 30 I could easily turn over enough water to make it a benefit, if perhaps I could get at least a 50% volumetric reduction in...

I should first offer a disclaimer that I've never used a nitrate coil, and am not not trying to come up with a gizmo to relieve myself from proper tank husbandry. Still, I've found the concept of a biological de-nitrate device very facinating, and any practical device that aids in nitrate...

I've built skimmers out of 2-litre bottles and airstones. Don't laugh - some of the stipud things worked extremely well deu to the large voume of the reaction area. Damn ugly in a 55gal tank though. I regard fluidized beds with the same shrug as trickle filters and wet drys; basically what...

Cool. I have a few of those to, just like the pic. Always wondered what the heck they were.

Low 70's / high 60's for a short period of time usually won't bother marine life. Stressed fish might show some ick (their version of a cold), but shouldn't be anything bad. Lower water temps actually increase the amount of O2, and many corals actually prefer it. The minor increase in water...

What about nitrates? Side bar - how much corralline do you have? Is it dense puple/pink and grows fast, or does it tend to grow slow and have a lot of white/crustiness to it?