Aquarium Lights

Turns out, these organisms arent necessary, nor advised. There is plenty of ammonia available from live rock, live sand organisms, old/used media, and even starter cultures. Why risk introducing a parasite, pest or pollution to your new system by using live animals here? Dont.

Some folks endorse adding fish food, a bit of cocktail shrimp (sans sauce), even exogenous (like household cleaners) sources of ammonia to s

aquarium lights

The water at the bottom of the filter is fresh and high in dissolved oxygen, so aerobic bacteria cultivate in the bottom half of the sand bed, and remove ammonia and nitrite, using up oxygen in the process. In taller fluidized-bed filters, enough aerobic bacteria cultivate in the bottom half so that as water flows past them, they remove most of the oxygen from the water, so facultative anaerobic bacteria cultivate in the top half of the sand bed where they remove nitrates. Not all fluidized-bed filters are tall enough to promote anaerobic denitrifying ba

Your success in keeping aquatic life depends on establishing and keeping these bacterial populations in sufficient numbers as your biological filtration.

So, what are these magical microbe helpers and how can you get them going for you in your aquarium? Theyre are a few approaches here, with variations therein, and all with their various endorsers and detractors. Again, dont let these differences of opinion faze you. Bear in mind that the end result of all these different efforts is the same. This is to make a home for sufficient numbers of beneficial microbes to help keep your tank clean and healthy.

Of the Many Ways t

approach can work satisfactory for the toughest of reef organisms. As far as creating and maintaining optimized water quality, air and power-head driven systems are low-scorers. Such "nitrate-factories" are better adapted for use as low oxygen denitrators by increasing substrate depth and removing their airlift tubes. They attain their highest and best use when employed in a totally separate sump or refugium where periodic cleaning and other disruption does not disrupt a

Modern power filters with their small cartridges, foam pads, and spinning or whirling gimmick devices, will never be adequate for proper biological filtration, in spite of the misleading and exaggerated claims made by some manufacturers.

Under-Gravel Filters: This was the first true biological filter invented for the aquarium. The gravel in an aquarium is suspended above one or more plastic plates, which are equipped with "lift tubes" that extend vertically from the bottom to the water surface. Air is pumped into the bottom of the lift tubes and rises up the tubes, carrying water w

Reply to Need more fishy advice please

mrbigmuscles posted a reply:

In regards to what "Funfishtank" has to say, I disagree. Whether you cycle fishy or fishless does not affect how many fish you can add at .

Cleaning Under Your UGF
If you've ever considered tearing down your under gravel filter, just to clean the junk out from under the plate, here is a tip you'll enoy. ....

lighting help
Alright im gonna make my own canopy and wanna retro some lights in it. Im not sure on what lights to use but i dont want buy anything later down the road. So heres what i was thinking 2 175 watt 10k metal maybe 2 96 watt vhos and 2 acntic vhos then some moon lights. My tank is a 90 gal 48wid.