Had it with my reef tank

Hello all,
I am new here and as you can see from the title of my post I am ill with my
reef tank. I have a 75 gal reef set up that I could never get the handle on
and set up right. This has been going on for about 3 years. Before then I
had always been in freshwater (7 years). Thinking of coming back and
throwing up my hands with my reef which means I will be getting rid of a lot
of stuff. I plan to start a planted tank for which I enjoyed very much
before and was definitely less maintenance than my reef set up. My questions
a

1) Can I use my wet/dry trickle filter plus a magnum 350 canister filter and
that's all? Before I used a undergravel filter as well.

2) I still have my gravel left over from years ago. If I rinse it well can I
still use it. It is natural pea gravel. and how thick should I make the
layer in a 75? I had a 55 gal before.

3) I have a power compact unit for lighting. Will that do for plants or will
I need to supplement it with an additional light?

4) It has been so long, How long will it take to cycle a 75? Can I cycle
with plants or do I need to add them gradually?

5) I have 4 powerheads. Are they useful in a planted tank? I can hook air to
them to aerate the water.

6) I have had cichlids in the past and angels. What would be the limit
number or inch of fish in a 75? Or does it determine on how many plants you
have?

7) Sorry, this may be a stupid question because it has been so long since
freshwater. Do I siphon the gravel with a planted tank or leave it alone
when I do water changes.

8) I have a RO/DI unit for filtering water. Will it be useful for
freshwater?

I am sorry this is so many questions and I am sure there will be more. Just
trying to determine if I want to make the switch or not. I even thought of
getting brackish fish but not sure what plants would tolerate salt of course
in low concentrations, not at a marine level.

Hope someone can help me or at least point me in the right direction. Maybe
someone else has gone through the same thing that I am thinking of doing.

I am sure many changes and techniques have changed since I was in
freshwater.

Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you,
Paulette

Told you I would have another question:
I have since done some reading and if I make sure the bioballs in my wet/dry
trickle filter are submerged and I use a poly prefilter, would that keep me
from losing CO2? Still contemplating whether to do or not to do.
Thanks for your time,
Paulette


"Mermaid" wrote in message
...
Hello all,
I am new here and as you can see from the title of my post I am ill with
my
reef tank. I have a 75 gal reef set up that I could never get the handle
on
and set up right. This has been going on for about 3 years. Before then I
had always been in freshwater (7 years). Thinking of coming back and
throwing up my hands with my reef which means I will be getting rid of a
lot
of stuff. I plan to start a planted tank for which I enjoyed very much
before and was definitely less maintenance than my reef set up. My
questions
a

1) Can I use my wet/dry trickle filter plus a magnum 350 canister filter
and
that's all? Before I used a undergravel filter as well.

2) I still have my gravel left over from years ago. If I rinse it well can
I
still use it. It is natural pea gravel. and how thick should I make the
layer in a 75? I had a 55 gal before.

3) I have a power compact unit for lighting. Will that do for plants or
will
I need to supplement it with an additional light?

4) It has been so long, How long will it take to cycle a 75? Can I cycle
with plants or do I need to add them gradually?

5) I have 4 powerheads. Are they useful in a planted tank? I can hook air
to
them to aerate the water.

6) I have had cichlids in the past and angels. What would be the limit
number or inch of fish in a 75? Or does it determine on how many plants
you
have?

7) Sorry, this may be a stupid question because it has been so long since
freshwater. Do I siphon the gravel with a planted tank or leave it alone
when I do water changes.

8) I have a RO/DI unit for filtering water. Will it be useful for
freshwater?

I am sorry this is so many questions and I am sure there will be more.
Just
trying to determine if I want to make the switch or not. I even thought of
getting brackish fish but not sure what plants would tolerate salt of
course
in low concentrations, not at a marine level.

Hope someone can help me or at least point me in the right direction.
Maybe
someone else has gone through the same thing that I am thinking of doing.

I am sure many changes and techniques have changed since I was in
freshwater.

Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you,
Paulette

In article ,
says...
Hello all,
I am new here and as you can see from the title of my post I am ill with my
reef tank. I have a 75 gal reef set up that I could never get the handle on
and set up right. This has been going on for about 3 years. Before then I
had always been in freshwater (7 years). Thinking of coming back and
throwing up my hands with my reef which means I will be getting rid of a lot
of stuff. I plan to start a planted tank for which I enjoyed very much
before and was definitely less maintenance than my reef set up. My questions
a

1) Can I use my wet/dry trickle filter plus a magnum 350 canister filter and
that's all? Before I used a undergravel filter as well.

2) I still have my gravel left over from years ago. If I rinse it well can I
still use it. It is natural pea gravel. and how thick should I make the
layer in a 75? I had a 55 gal before.

3) I have a power compact unit for lighting. Will that do for plants or will
I need to supplement it with an additional light?

4) It has been so long, How long will it take to cycle a 75? Can I cycle
with plants or do I need to add them gradually?

5) I have 4 powerheads. Are they useful in a planted tank? I can hook air to
them to aerate the water.

6) I have had cichlids in the past and angels. What would be the limit
number or inch of fish in a 75? Or does it determine on how many plants you
have?

7) Sorry, this may be a stupid question because it has been so long since
freshwater. Do I siphon the gravel with a planted tank or leave it alone
when I do water changes.

8) I have a RO/DI unit for filtering water. Will it be useful for
freshwater?

I am sorry this is so many questions and I am sure there will be more. Just
trying to determine if I want to make the switch or not. I even thought of
getting brackish fish but not sure what plants would tolerate salt of course
in low concentrations, not at a marine level.

Hope someone can help me or at least point me in the right direction. Maybe
someone else has gone through the same thing that I am thinking of doing.

I am sure many changes and techniques have changed since I was in
freshwater.

Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.


If it were me I would keep the salt water setup, get ride of the coral
and run a Liverock/livesand with fish.
You already have the live rock and live sand, just sell/trade the coral,
get a regular strip light, done.

--
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To email me just pull my_finger

In article ,
says...
Hello all,
I am new here and as you can see from the title of my post I am ill with my
reef tank. I have a 75 gal reef set up that I could never get the handle on
and set up right. This has been going on for about 3 years. Before then I
had always been in freshwater (7 years). Thinking of coming back and
throwing up my hands with my reef which means I will be getting rid of a lot
of stuff. I plan to start a planted tank for which I enjoyed very much
before and was definitely less maintenance than my reef set up. My questions
a

1) Can I use my wet/dry trickle filter plus a magnum 350 canister filter and
that's all? Before I used a undergravel filter as well.


Yes, but trickle filter will remove co2 which plants like. I
don't use canister, they are hard to clean and have too many
tubes sticking out. I use a small filter that hangs outside
and that removes some of the debris and circulate my water.
Small because I only want to move water slowly, I don't want
water moving too fast in there.

2) I still have my gravel left over from years ago. If I rinse it well can I
still use it. It is natural pea gravel. and how thick should I make the
layer in a 75? I had a 55 gal before.


Yes, 1.5" thick, I like to leave it a little dirty and put some
potting soil under it 1.5" thick.

3) I have a power compact unit for lighting. Will that do for plants or will
I need to supplement it with an additional light?


Don't know about salt light and fresh light. But full spectrum
should be ok.

4) It has been so long, How long will it take to cycle a 75? Can I cycle
with plants or do I need to add them gradually?


Yes. I think same time to cycle a 1 gallon as 100 gallon. I
put in all the plants at once. But some plants seem to do
better if they are put into an established (dirtier) tank. I
would guess they like dirtier tank better because of the
fertilizing benefits.

5) I have 4 powerheads. Are they useful in a planted tank? I can hook air to
them to aerate the water.


Just 1 to circulate water is ok. Air will fizz the co2 out of
your water, if you inject co2.

6) I have had cichlids in the past and angels. What would be the limit
number or inch of fish in a 75? Or does it determine on how many plants you
have?


Get some peaceful fish, like tetras, white clouds, etc. They
will have many babies and the population limit will be reached
and it'll stay that way. Same with plants. Cichlids will dig
up the gravel and tear up the plants, angels will eat small
fish.

7) Sorry, this may be a stupid question because it has been so long since
freshwater. Do I siphon the gravel with a planted tank or leave it alone
when I do water changes.

I leave it alone, plants grow better with dirty gravel. The
excess crap goes into the side filter and I hose that material
off and put it back in. I have a Penguin with a refillable
cartridge cage, I also have an Aquaclear with a sponge. I take
the sponge out back and hose it and step on it and all the crap
is squeezed out. Wash the bottom of your shoes before going
back in the house.

8) I have a RO/DI unit for filtering water. Will it be useful for
freshwater?


Maybe DI is too clean, no trace minerals at all. But the RO to
make it softer might benefit plants.

I am sorry this is so many questions and I am sure there will be more. Just
trying to determine if I want to make the switch or not. I even thought of
getting brackish fish but not sure what plants would tolerate salt of course
in low concentrations, not at a marine level.

Hope someone can help me or at least point me in the right direction. Maybe
someone else has gone through the same thing that I am thinking of doing.

I am sure many changes and techniques have changed since I was in
freshwater.

Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.


I was thinking of the opposite. Getting into a small simple
sal****er setup with easy fish like damsels, and easy
invertebrates like snails or something. Is salt easy? Should
I try? I know nothing about salt.

1) Can I use my wet/dry trickle filter plus a magnum 350 canister
filter and
that's all? Before I used a undergravel filter as well.

This will be more than adequate.

2) I still have my gravel left over from years ago. If I rinse it
well can I
still use it. It is natural pea gravel. and how thick should I make
the
layer in a 75? I had a 55 gal before.

Yes you can still use it. I would make it about 2 inches thick though
opinion may vary on that. Some people might suggest a bit deeper
substrate, though I suspect few would suggest anything less for a
planted tank.

3) I have a power compact unit for lighting. Will that do for plants
or will
I need to supplement it with an additional light?

Several people have brought up a similar question recently with at
least one of them saying they would try it and see. I haven't heard any
results back yet. The only concern here is that your power compact is
probably a 15,000K bulb or somewhere near that which will have a
distinctly blue tint which may or may not be useful to plants. I've
used 3500K bulbs (red tint) with excellent results but I haven't
experimented with the other end of the spectrum. I say try it and see -
and report back what you find. If the plants don't do well and you can
rule out any other problems then you may want to switch to something
closer to 6000K.

4) It has been so long, How long will it take to cycle a 75? Can I
cycle
with plants or do I need to add them gradually?

If you plan on heavily planting then cycling really isn't that much of
an issue - it will take a very long time for the tank to cycle with a
lot of plants in it but that is because the plants are eating up the
nutrients faster than the bacteria can get to them. Which means the
nutrients aren't building up, and nutrient buildup is the only reason
cycling is such a big issue. If you don't add plants count on about a
three week cycle time (assuming proper cycle stocking levels).

5) I have 4 powerheads. Are they useful in a planted tank? I can hook
air to
them to aerate the water.

They are useful in an unplanted tank to get air into the water. In a
planted tank they have the same effect but if you are injecting CO2
they will promptly remove it for you. They aren't neccessary but won't
hurt anything if you aren't adding CO2 to the water.

6) I have had cichlids in the past and angels. What would be the
limit
number or inch of fish in a 75? Or does it determine on how many
plants you
have?

This is debatable. Assuming you want a low(er) maintenance tank stick
with about 50 inches of fish. You can fit many more than that if you
have the desire to (and don't mind the extra upkeep). If you're going
to do the south american cichlid thing again then figure on about a
dozen fish, but unless you have unusually well mannered cichlids you
can count on losing plants on a regular basis.

7) Sorry, this may be a stupid question because it has been so long
since
freshwater. Do I siphon the gravel with a planted tank or leave it
alone
when I do water changes.

Not a stupid question at all. Opinions differ - most people siphon
their gravel at least occasionally though planted aquariums need it
done far less often. I only siphon when I can actually see the buildup
(very rare) or if a tank is having a nitrate problem. Assuming low
nitrates and an attractive looking substrate I leave it alone.

8) I have a RO/DI unit for filtering water. Will it be useful for
freshwater?

Yes. Especially if you have hard water and want to keep anything from
south america. It isn't strictly needed but your fish will appreciate
the extra effort you put into their water. It will also be very helpful
if you ever decide to breed your fish.

-Daniel

Salt water is a pain and expensive. All I do is water changes every weekend
and still I battle with Hair algae and cyano. And everyone I have talked to
on the internet all have a different solution for which I have tried. Unless
you are willing to sink some major money in an aquarium, I would do a lot of
reading and really make sure I was serious about doing a marine tank. As far
as what we call a Live Rock Fish Only tank, that is my problem (the rock), I
have even gone Bare bottom trying to resolve my Hair algae problem and I am
tired of fighting. I just have a few corals because I don't want to waste my
money and let them be covered up with algae. I want a tank that I can enjoy
instead of a being a slave to. And where I live there are no clubs or people
locally that are willing to help unless it is the LFS that wants to take
your money. So that is the main reason I am considering getting out of the
marine hobby. Unless I just sell everything at a major loss and give up
having a tank all together.

Sorry for the rant but my aching back is talking to me.
Thanks for replying,
Paulette


"BillT" wrote in message
a.net...




In article ,
says...
Hello all,
I am new here and as you can see from the title of my post I am ill with
my
reef tank. I have a 75 gal reef set up that I could never get the handle
on
and set up right. This has been going on for about 3 years. Before then
I
had always been in freshwater (7 years). Thinking of coming back and
throwing up my hands with my reef which means I will be getting rid of a
lot
of stuff. I plan to start a planted tank for which I enjoyed very much
before and was definitely less maintenance than my reef set up. My
questions
a

1) Can I use my wet/dry trickle filter plus a magnum 350 canister filter
and
that's all? Before I used a undergravel filter as well.


Yes, but trickle filter will remove co2 which plants like. I
don't use canister, they are hard to clean and have too many
tubes sticking out. I use a small filter that hangs outside
and that removes some of the debris and circulate my water.
Small because I only want to move water slowly, I don't want
water moving too fast in there.

2) I still have my gravel left over from years ago. If I rinse it well
can I
still use it. It is natural pea gravel. and how thick should I make the
layer in a 75? I had a 55 gal before.


Yes, 1.5" thick, I like to leave it a little dirty and put some
potting soil under it 1.5" thick.

3) I have a power compact unit for lighting. Will that do for plants or
will
I need to supplement it with an additional light?


Don't know about salt light and fresh light. But full spectrum
should be ok.

4) It has been so long, How long will it take to cycle a 75? Can I cycle
with plants or do I need to add them gradually?


Yes. I think same time to cycle a 1 gallon as 100 gallon. I
put in all the plants at once. But some plants seem to do
better if they are put into an established (dirtier) tank. I
would guess they like dirtier tank better because of the
fertilizing benefits.

5) I have 4 powerheads. Are they useful in a planted tank? I can hook
air to
them to aerate the water.


Just 1 to circulate water is ok. Air will fizz the co2 out of
your water, if you inject co2.

6) I have had cichlids in the past and angels. What would be the limit
number or inch of fish in a 75? Or does it determine on how many plants
you
have?


Get some peaceful fish, like tetras, white clouds, etc. They
will have many babies and the population limit will be reached
and it'll stay that way. Same with plants. Cichlids will dig
up the gravel and tear up the plants, angels will eat small
fish.

7) Sorry, this may be a stupid question because it has been so long
since
freshwater. Do I siphon the gravel with a planted tank or leave it alone
when I do water changes.

I leave it alone, plants grow better with dirty gravel. The
excess crap goes into the side filter and I hose that material
off and put it back in. I have a Penguin with a refillable
cartridge cage, I also have an Aquaclear with a sponge. I take
the sponge out back and hose it and step on it and all the crap
is squeezed out. Wash the bottom of your shoes before going
back in the house.

8) I have a RO/DI unit for filtering water. Will it be useful for
freshwater?


Maybe DI is too clean, no trace minerals at all. But the RO to
make it softer might benefit plants.

I am sorry this is so many questions and I am sure there will be more.
Just
trying to determine if I want to make the switch or not. I even thought
of
getting brackish fish but not sure what plants would tolerate salt of
course
in low concentrations, not at a marine level.

Hope someone can help me or at least point me in the right direction.
Maybe
someone else has gone through the same thing that I am thinking of
doing.

I am sure many changes and techniques have changed since I was in
freshwater.

Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.


I was thinking of the opposite. Getting into a small simple
sal****er setup with easy fish like damsels, and easy
invertebrates like snails or something. Is salt easy? Should
I try? I know nothing about salt.

Daniel
Thank you so much for your help. You have given me hope. Can you answer my
wet/dry trickle question?
Because I converted my filter to a refugian, I raised the water level in it.
If I keep it that way, the Bio-balls would be under water.
Or do I not even put the Bio-ball back in? And just use the poly floss. Just
wondering where the good bacteria would grow.
It would be a shame not to use that filter as much as it costs me. Surely I
would need something more than my magnum 350.
Any body need a skimmer? LOL

What do you use?

Again thank you,

Paulette


"dfreas" wrote in message
oups.com...
1) Can I use my wet/dry trickle filter plus a magnum 350 canister
filter and
that's all? Before I used a undergravel filter as well.

This will be more than adequate.

2) I still have my gravel left over from years ago. If I rinse it
well can I
still use it. It is natural pea gravel. and how thick should I make
the
layer in a 75? I had a 55 gal before.

Yes you can still use it. I would make it about 2 inches thick though
opinion may vary on that. Some people might suggest a bit deeper
substrate, though I suspect few would suggest anything less for a
planted tank.

3) I have a power compact unit for lighting. Will that do for plants
or will
I need to supplement it with an additional light?

Several people have brought up a similar question recently with at
least one of them saying they would try it and see. I haven't heard any
results back yet. The only concern here is that your power compact is
probably a 15,000K bulb or somewhere near that which will have a
distinctly blue tint which may or may not be useful to plants. I've
used 3500K bulbs (red tint) with excellent results but I haven't
experimented with the other end of the spectrum. I say try it and see -
and report back what you find. If the plants don't do well and you can
rule out any other problems then you may want to switch to something
closer to 6000K.

4) It has been so long, How long will it take to cycle a 75? Can I
cycle
with plants or do I need to add them gradually?

If you plan on heavily planting then cycling really isn't that much of
an issue - it will take a very long time for the tank to cycle with a
lot of plants in it but that is because the plants are eating up the
nutrients faster than the bacteria can get to them. Which means the
nutrients aren't building up, and nutrient buildup is the only reason
cycling is such a big issue. If you don't add plants count on about a
three week cycle time (assuming proper cycle stocking levels).

5) I have 4 powerheads. Are they useful in a planted tank? I can hook
air to
them to aerate the water.

They are useful in an unplanted tank to get air into the water. In a
planted tank they have the same effect but if you are injecting CO2
they will promptly remove it for you. They aren't neccessary but won't
hurt anything if you aren't adding CO2 to the water.

6) I have had cichlids in the past and angels. What would be the
limit
number or inch of fish in a 75? Or does it determine on how many
plants you
have?

This is debatable. Assuming you want a low(er) maintenance tank stick
with about 50 inches of fish. You can fit many more than that if you
have the desire to (and don't mind the extra upkeep). If you're going
to do the south american cichlid thing again then figure on about a
dozen fish, but unless you have unusually well mannered cichlids you
can count on losing plants on a regular basis.

7) Sorry, this may be a stupid question because it has been so long
since
freshwater. Do I siphon the gravel with a planted tank or leave it
alone
when I do water changes.

Not a stupid question at all. Opinions differ - most people siphon
their gravel at least occasionally though planted aquariums need it
done far less often. I only siphon when I can actually see the buildup
(very rare) or if a tank is having a nitrate problem. Assuming low
nitrates and an attractive looking substrate I leave it alone.

8) I have a RO/DI unit for filtering water. Will it be useful for
freshwater?

Yes. Especially if you have hard water and want to keep anything from
south america. It isn't strictly needed but your fish will appreciate
the extra effort you put into their water. It will also be very helpful
if you ever decide to breed your fish.

-Daniel

Mermaid wrote:
Salt water is a pain and expensive. All I do is water changes every weekend
and still I battle with Hair algae and cyano. And everyone I have talked to
on the internet all have a different solution for which I have tried. Unless
you are willing to sink some major money in an aquarium, I would do a lot of
reading and really make sure I was serious about doing a marine tank. As far
as what we call a Live Rock Fish Only tank, that is my problem (the rock), I
have even gone Bare bottom trying to resolve my Hair algae problem and I am
tired of fighting. I just have a few corals because I don't want to waste my
money and let them be covered up with algae. I want a tank that I can enjoy
instead of a being a slave to. And where I live there are no clubs or people
locally that are willing to help unless it is the LFS that wants to take
your money. So that is the main reason I am considering getting out of the
marine hobby. Unless I just sell everything at a major loss and give up
having a tank all together.

Sorry for the rant but my aching back is talking to me.
Thanks for replying,
Paulette

Hmm...I ran a nanoreef on pure Berlin method and never had a lick of
trouble beyond the first, typical red slime bloom. It seemed magical,
how well it worked and I would never run a salt tank any other way. I
eventually had pink coralline algae over everything, including my
heater, liverock, tank backdrop, and substrate. Polyps and mushrooms
thrived and a clownfish took up residence in a long-tentacled anemone
that took up half the tank. I bet your sal****er tank is salvageable by
selling some fish, doubling the live rock, converting the trickle filter
(aka nitrate factory) into a sump, removing the magnum (another nitrate
factory), sealing off the UGF to serve as a plenum, and adding the best
skimmer you can possibly afford.

Anyway, you're going to be fighting algae in a planted tank as well,
although you've done FW before so you know what you're getting into.

I'll answer your plant tank questions too. Just wanted to share what a
small miracle Berlin method was for me in a SW reef tank.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

Mermaid wrote:
Hello all,
I am new here and as you can see from the title of my post I am ill with my
reef tank. I have a 75 gal reef set up that I could never get the handle on
and set up right. This has been going on for about 3 years. Before then I
had always been in freshwater (7 years). Thinking of coming back and
throwing up my hands with my reef which means I will be getting rid of a lot
of stuff. I plan to start a planted tank for which I enjoyed very much
before and was definitely less maintenance than my reef set up. My questions
a

1) Can I use my wet/dry trickle filter plus a magnum 350 canister filter and
that's all? Before I used a undergravel filter as well.

Unlike others here, I prefer canister filters for plant tanks. I like
to hook them up to a spraybar so the outflow is more diffuse and creates
a nice current through the tank without splashing. You need to choose
your prefilter medium carefully so that it doesn't clog from bits of
leaves and debris. The Fluval ceramic prefilter media works very well.

Everone else has pointed out the problems with trickle filters and CO2.
If you're not planning on using CO2, you can use Seachem's Flourish
Excel as a carbon supplement and use the trickle filter.

2) I still have my gravel left over from years ago. If I rinse it well can I
still use it. It is natural pea gravel. and how thick should I make the
layer in a 75? I had a 55 gal before.

Pea gravel is too large for plant roots. You want either a planted tank
substrate like Onyx, Fluorite, or EcoComplete or 2-3 mm or smaller
gravel (down to coarse sand). Someone mentioned potting soil, but I'd
only use an aquatic one like Farfeld's. I've learned from ponders that
peat-based soils can rot underwater. Better than plain gravel but
cheaper than Fluorite is a 1.5" layer of gravel mixed with laterite
clay, and another 1.5" of gravel.

Heating cables are another high-tech addition to a plant tank and Red
Sea is making them fairly inexpensively now. I'd use them if I had a
tank large enough.

3) I have a power compact unit for lighting. Will that do for plants or will
I need to supplement it with an additional light?

Reeftank lighting shold be plenty bright for plants. Switch out your
bulbs to something in a daylight spectrum like 5500-6700K. Actinic
light doesn't help plants much.

4) It has been so long, How long will it take to cycle a 75? Can I cycle
with plants or do I need to add them gradually?

You can totally cycle with plants. I do it all the time. Buy lots of
plants and very few fish. You probably won't even see an ammonia spike.
I typically start out a planted tank with about 50% of the substrate
covered and a few small fish and I've not seen ammonia or nitrite in one
yet. Some folks run planted tanks reeftank style - the "Dutch Aquarium"
and use no filter at all - only water movement. The plants take care of
all the nitrogenous waste. I add additional plants as LFS gets
interesting ones, and only a few fish at a time until the tank is full.

5) I have 4 powerheads. Are they useful in a planted tank? I can hook air to
them to aerate the water.

It's beenpointed out that aeration drives off CO2. Submerged powerheads
are very nice to gently circulate water if heavy plant growth leaves
dead spots in the tank.

6) I have had cichlids in the past and angels. What would be the limit
number or inch of fish in a 75? Or does it determine on how many plants you
have?

Ah, stocking. It seems at first that a planted tank could support more
fish, however the surface area for O2 diffusion is the same. A night
time power failure that leaves the tank reliant on passive 02 diffusion
is what really limits stocking. A standard FW formula is an inch/gallon
but I'd count angelfish as double their length since they're so deep
bodied and such serious piglets. Other good non-digging cichlids for
plant tanks are Bolivian rams (M. altispinosa), Rams (M. ramirezii),
Apistogramma spp., Kribensis (sometimes aggressive), and Keyhole cichlids.

7) Sorry, this may be a stupid question because it has been so long since
freshwater. Do I siphon the gravel with a planted tank or leave it alone
when I do water changes.

With a fine gravel, not much gets too far down into the substrate. Most
leave it alone. I'm the odd woman out here and gently gravel-vac the
top 1/2 inch or so of my planted tank substrates. I find algae grow
slower if I remove excess leafy debris and fish poop from the substrate.

8) I have a RO/DI unit for filtering water. Will it be useful for
freshwater?

Definately. It's clean and nitrate/phosphate free. You'll need to add
some sort of buffer to get to a stable pH and hardness. Kent makes one
called RO Right.

I am sorry this is so many questions and I am sure there will be more. Just
trying to determine if I want to make the switch or not. I even thought of
getting brackish fish but not sure what plants would tolerate salt of course
in low concentrations, not at a marine level.

Not many plants tolerate brakish.

Hope someone can help me or at least point me in the right direction. Maybe
someone else has gone through the same thing that I am thinking of doing.

I am sure many changes and techniques have changed since I was in
freshwater.

Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you,
Paulette



--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

In article ,
says...
Salt water is a pain and expensive. All I do is water changes every weekend
and still I battle with Hair algae and cyano. And everyone I have talked to
on the internet all have a different solution for which I have tried. Unless
you are willing to sink some major money in an aquarium, I would do a lot of
reading and really make sure I was serious about doing a marine tank. As far
as what we call a Live Rock Fish Only tank, that is my problem (the rock), I
have even gone Bare bottom trying to resolve my Hair algae problem and I am
tired of fighting. I just have a few corals because I don't want to waste my
money and let them be covered up with algae. I want a tank that I can enjoy
instead of a being a slave to. And where I live there are no clubs or people
locally that are willing to help unless it is the LFS that wants to take
your money. So that is the main reason I am considering getting out of the
marine hobby. Unless I just sell everything at a major loss and give up
having a tank all together.

Sorry for the rant but my aching back is talking to me.
Thanks for replying,
Paulette


Thanks. Can't you just get something to eat the algae? We
have ramshorn snails, ottocinclus, etc. for that in fresh.