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Any aquarium hobbyists on ATOT?

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Howard said:
No filters for fish? What do you do with the ammonia?
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Extremely aggressive protein skimming has been found to "blow off" excessive FREE ammonia before it gets the nitrosomonas seed process going by excessive numbers. Of course such strong skimming in a reef has drawbacks of removing other beneficial things. Not to mention the initial investment of hardware, upkeep and sheer operating noise is likely to keep 95% of the hobbyist level keepers, away. 😉
 
Posting a quick update: the 90G crashed while I was working on restoring the 200G. Lost quite a few corals.I eventually got the 200G running, but I am having trouble with micro bubbles or tiny particles in the water. I cant figure out what it is.I initially ought two Radions to replace my halides, then added a third one. I think I am gonna need a fourth one. I love the control you get with those units, but I still think HIDs offer better shimmer. I might add 2 halides just to get the shimmer right.

I'll post pictures later. But I made a quick video for now 😀

http://vimeo.com/39265808
 
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One of these days Im going to upgrade my 65g into a 120, my new cichlids are starting to grow quickly. My baby bumblebees are already 3-4" so Ill run out of room in a year or two.

As a side note, anyone know which plants are safe from cichlids (mainly labs)? Ive tried various Anubis and Amazon Grass plants and they dont survive more than a few days. Only thing Ive had last is some moss but moss isnt very exciting.
 
deanx0r said:
Posting a quick update: the 90G crashed while I was working on restoring the 200G. Lost quite a few corals.I eventually got the 200G running, but I am having trouble with micro bubbles or tiny particles in the water. I cant figure out what it is.I initially ought two Radions to replace my halides, then added a third one. I think I am gonna need a fourth one. I love the control you get with those units, but I still think HIDs offer better shimmer. I might add 2 halides just to get the shimmer right.

I'll post pictures later. But I made a quick video for now 😀

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ-kgAbuxaA
Click to expand...

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GORGEOUS tank...video was pretty well done too.
 
I've got a few 20G aquariums with snakes in them, if that counts.

(and a few of mice, for the snakes :awe🙂
 
I used to be big into aquariums. I had a 45g, 55g and 200g, but over the years we lost all the good places to get fish from around here.. 🙁 We used to have this local guy that bred/sold out of his basement. He has some amazing aquariums and quality fish for a reasonable price.
 
i'm going to be moving into my first home at the end of this month and i want to get an aquarium.

i am a 100% noob to aquariums and haven't had one since I was a kid, and that wasn't anything serious.

i am potentially interested in a saltwater aquarium, however I know there is much more maintenance and setup for these, and more care must be taken in general. i don't know 100% if i will go that route, but i am entertaining the idea.

i was wondering if anyone had any books they recommend reading that explain to a noob the process of setting one up?

i did a little research on amazon and saw the following books:

http://www.amazon.com/Marine-Aquariu...water+aquarium
http://www.amazon.com/New-Marine-Aqu...water+aquarium
http://www.amazon.com/Conscientious-...water+aquarium

those all have great reviews, however i don't know if any of those are for people as beginner as i am.

any suggestions?
 
Man, it's been so long and I refuse to do an aquarium until I finish my basement and can setup an overflow to go in to a drain, but this thread really make me miss the aquarium.

I have been itching to setup a dart frog habitat though.
 
purbeast0 said:
i'm going to be moving into my first home at the end of this month and i want to get an aquarium.

i am a 100% noob to aquariums and haven't had one since I was a kid, and that wasn't anything serious.

i am potentially interested in a saltwater aquarium, however I know there is much more maintenance and setup for these, and more care must be taken in general. i don't know 100% if i will go that route, but i am entertaining the idea.

i was wondering if anyone had any books they recommend reading that explain to a noob the process of setting one up?

i did a little research on amazon and saw the following books:

http://www.amazon.com/Marine-Aquariu...water+aquarium
http://www.amazon.com/New-Marine-Aqu...water+aquarium
http://www.amazon.com/Conscientious-...water+aquarium

those all have great reviews, however i don't know if any of those are for people as beginner as i am.

any suggestions?
Click to expand...

IMO, the first book on the list is less valuable than the second two.

Not a BAD book...just not as good as the others.

The author of Conscientious Marine Aquarist is Robert Fenner. This is his website:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/

LOTS of good, valuable information there.
 
BoomerD said:
IMO, the first book on the list is less valuable than the second two.

Not a BAD book...just not as good as the others.

The author of Conscientious Marine Aquarist is Robert Fenner. This is his website:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/

LOTS of good, valuable information there.
Click to expand...

if you had to recommend just 1 of those books, for a complete noob to get started, which would you recommend?
 
additionally, i've been reading about salt water "fish only" setups, that don't involve any of the live coral or plants.

would this be a good place for a noob to start? i mean i would definitely want fake stuff in there, and i really like all of the colors and stuff of a tropical environment.

or is this even feasable for a tropical setup, having fake plants? the types of fish i'm interested in starting with are clownfish and other colorful fish of that nature.
 
My 10G with 4 platies and 1 molly is running fine.

My girlfriends 50G tank had a faulty heater that ended up over heating the water and killed off a good chunk oh her fish. Luckily the Angel fish are fine.
 
purbeast0 said:
if you had to recommend just 1 of those books, for a complete noob to get started, which would you recommend?
Click to expand...

Just one?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/189...1?tag=at055-20

There's nothing wrong with starting with "fish only" tanks.

Just be aware that many of the fish you choose may not later be suitable if you want corals and macroalgae. (plants)

I prefer fish only with live rock (FOWLR) for a fish only tank. The live rock will grow lots of algae and even some corals for the various fish to snack on. (of course, it will also probably grow aiptasia (tiny anemones) that can be a REAL PITA to control.

aiptasia.jpg


They happen in MOST reef tanks and tanks with live rock...but they're NOT desirable. There are several "recommended" ways to deal with them...but for "current best methods," you'd probably check with the reefing sites. I don't keep up on them anymore.
(I used to use a thick kalkwasser mix for mine.)
 
It's been a while since I updated. I was contemplating upgrade the 200G to a 400G+ custom... but I finally came down to my senses... lol

New shots:
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