Marine Aquarium Maryland

It does take time, patience in waiting for your tank to "cycle". That is to firmly establish sturdy populations of needed bacteria. You can speed up cycling, shortening the time youll need to wait, but its important to keep in mind that there is no substitute for patience to assure your tank is ready for livestock.

Live Rock, Sand:

Are materials that you can buy or borrow from an established aquarium. These come with their own re

Unfortunately, it just does not work too well in aquariums.

Powerhead Maintenance

Regardless of brand, all powerheads are going to require some routine maintenance to keep them functioning properly. Intake screens should be cleaned at least once per month. Every three to six months I give my pumps a series of chemical bathes to clean them thoroughly. First, unplug the pump, remove it from the tank, and place it in a clean bucket that is only used for the aquarium. No mop buckets! Be sure to arrange the powerhead such that the output nozzle is aimed sideways (Not up! Youll see why in a minute!). Add enough hot tap water to completely subm

What absolutely the temperature is, is not as important as that it remain stable. Got big money? Spend a bit more on a hydrometer with an internal thermometer as a "standard". Have little money? Utilize two cheapies inside the system.

Substrate, Other Non-Living Decor:

Now lets see, where are we? Youve got the tank and filtration all checked out for leakage, the lighting situated, air and heating tuned in; youre ready for gravel (if youre using it), rock and other non-living decoration installation!

You want my advice? Refer to Section 5) C) Cleaning Coral and Decor and prete

I feel that this amount of maintenance is reasonable given how much I liked the performance of this unit.

As for negatives, the units are a little big and unattractive, but in my mind so are powerheads in a display. Either can be dealt with using strategic placement and concealment in, around, or behind the aquascaping. I have also heard of some people complaining about these units because they redu

The screen is then covered by 2" of fine coral gravel. This allows the aquarist to turn over the top inch of gravel occasionally to clean it, without disturbing the anaerobic layer below.

Anaerobic bacteria form in the bottom depths of the substrate and in the water below. As anaerobic bacteria cultivate, they remove nitrates. Anaerobic action produces a fair amount of heat. The heat warms the water layer below the gravel. The warmer water flows upwards, displacing cooler water above the gravel. This action moves water through the plenum at very slow rates. The slow movement of water through the gravel helps to prevent dangerou

Why Do My Fish Hide All The Time?
Fish that hide all the time are a baffling and frustrating problem for the owner. Here are suggestions for how to coax your fish out into the open where you....

Mud sump
Hi, my husband is starting a new 170 gal tank with a 100 gal mud sump for me. Is it ok to take maybe a third of the mud from my 50 gal mud sump and use it like a sourdough starter? How long would it take for it to cycle? Thanks.