The 3reef Tip & Win Contest

Remember that your aquarium is a complex ecosystem that must mature and achieve balance. The bacteria and fauna that live in your aquarium are just as important as your fish. The more natural of an environment you can provide for your fish, the healthier and happier they will be.

 

When buying live stock never be spontaneous. always research and buy the livestock that are compatible.

 

Remember the cycle? always make sure to fully cycle any nrw tank before adding inhabitants.

 

When using Bio-Pellets, start off slow. Less than half the recommended amount is a good start. Be patient with them. Cyno blooms are known to happen if you start out with too much pellets. Cyno also occurs when you have added to many pellets in an established pellet system. If experiencing cyno blooms that won't go away no matter how hard you work, lower the amount of pellets in the reactor. Also I have found out that pellets work great on nitrates but not phosphates. Using a small amount of GFO to address the phosphates is not a bad idea. Again only add the GFO if you have been running pellets for a couple of months but still are battling algae. I love pellets but after months I was fighting GHA and was only feeding every other day. Less than half the recommended GFO amount settled everything out.

 

Double up on heaters. Never know when one will go out.

If using analog timers keep spares around the house to replace.

 

Always expect to loose something while on extended absences. Friends are great but none care or know your tank better than you.

 

Don't look at your tank with a flash light in the middle of the night. You might see something that you don't want too. Weird things appear when the lights go out.......

 

When using a sump, use glass instead of acrylic. Acrylic may hold to the silicone for a few months, but it does not bond permanently like glass. Also make sure that the sup can handle the drainage from the display in case of a power ouatage.

 

To raise salinty gradually top off with salt water instead of ro/di and check the sg often during the process until the target sg is reached.

 

Don't panic. Make changes slowly and one at a time so you can judge the results.