Recent content by fisherman9844

Box filters have been around since Moby Dick was a minnow and they work just fine. They work on the same principle as a sponge filter but probably do a better job of mechanical filtration and not quite as good a job of biological filtration. IMO, they're most useful in smaller tanks (<10g) and...

I don't know any secrets for making it profitable but I would have to second (or third) the suggestions for breeding angels. Breeding pairs are prolific - my gold marbled pair are laying eggs every ten days, regular as clockwork. They grow relatively quickly - I have about fifty right now that...

Thanks a million smb! I appreciate you sharing your thoughts!

Well, the color in the photo is off but everything else in this picture and especially the dorsal says pristella tetra. The only two I've ever seen is the regular (silver/gray) one and a gold color morph. Neither match the color in th photo but everything is so right on that I think this is...

Smb, I 'd be interested in your thoughts regarding why bio-wheels are an advantage or even necessary with cichlids compared to canisters. Let me say up front that I know nothing about cichlids. Do you believe that cichlids can produce enough waste to exceed the capacity of canisters? I'm not...

OK, I know I'll probably get killed here but...why is a bio-wheel better than a canister? Bio-wheel manufacturers claim that bio-wheels support 30,000 times more bacteria. Sounds impressive but my question is, so what? The biological filter in a tank, any tank, will grow only to the size...

Inchworm said it all. Water chemistry is not something to mess with unless there is no other option. You can open up a whole new can of worms and it can spiral out of control before you know it! :fun:

I've gotta second Lateral Line's approach. GuppyMonkey, I understand and share your feelings. But the bottom line is, many folks simply do not have that many options when it comes to stores. And the reality is that pet stores sell injected fish because folks. most which don't understand the...

Definitely not looking for a fight here but IMHO, relegating gph to "means absolutely nothing" is a bit of a stretch. Gph is often cited as a measuring stick for determining filtering requirements with 10x considered sufficient in all but the most unusual situations. I think a case could be...

I would recommend against the Chinese Algae Eater. Especially with the angel. CAEs do a pretty good job on algae when they're young but when they mature, they get lazy...and aggressive. They are bad about attaching themselves to broad-sided fish (like an angel) and eating the slime coat which...

Two ac 500s would turn 1000 gph and I think the Fluval 404 turns approx 350 gph. That's 1350 gph on a 55g tank. IMO, that's a LOT of filtration for a 55g tank. If you turn 10x the tank size, i.e. 550 gph, that should be enough to handle any fish load you're likely to put in there. I've run a...

These guys are sometimes called Threadfin Rainbows. I've never seen one except in pictures but they certainly are spectacular. You can get a little more info at http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/iri-wern.htm and if you Google Threadfins or Iriatherina werneri there is a lot of info out...

Smb - any special reason other than the obvious possibility of some food being picked up by the filter? I'm assuming that your comment is not limited to feeding fry but all feeding? TIA!

IME, you probably don't have to worry about turning a sponge off when feeding BBS. Even if some shrimp get drawn to the sponge, you fry will probably just pick them off the sponge.

Friendofthefish, I live within spittin' distance of you and my wife bought my 80g for me for my birthday at PetSmart. The tank has been set up for almost a year and I haven't had any problem with it. But to be honest, I've also purchased smaller Visio and Eclipse tanks at a couple of different...