Hi Folks, please keep in mind that some of this is my opinion and what I have observed. Quite frankly I have a tendency to be very skeptical but will give things a try that do not seen too far out there. This is the case with a product put out by Red Sea called Aiptasia X, the Eliminator Kit.
I would first like to point out something that I am certain will be met with strong arguments, but that is the nature of our hobby. I have had a huge Aiptasia for almost a year. He had given me no problems and had not spread at all. A YEAR!! Keep this in mind. I then got a little worried over the horror stories of Aiptasia taking over and spreading like crazy so I decided it was time for him to go..did not need any more battles. I purchased Joe’s Juice. I used Joe’s Juice, and within three weeks had every size Aiptasia known to mankind. I have since read that when attacked they produce this "slime" which is actually Planual, or spawn if you prefer. So, as a result of using Joe’s Juice and really making him mad I now had dozens of these little devils EVERYWHERE.
I searched and researched and discovered a nudibranch called Berghia. These do in fact offer some control. Problem is, they can have a hard time finding all of the Aiptasia and sometimes have to be physically moved to where one is located and then they can starve, and the recommendation is to gather them up and trade/give away to someone who needs them. Seemed like a lot of trouble to me so I kept searching. I found a product called Aiptasia X by Red Sea. I have used their products in the past and have always discovered the quality I demand. I purchased the Aiptasia X after watching a video on their site that clearly shows them imploding if used correctly. I managed to use it on all but two small ones that were hiding out in Willis, the Foxface’s corner so for obvious reasons I have not got to them yet. I have to tell you, this stuff works. You approach the Aiptasia carefully while letting some of the product escape around their mouth, They like it and wrap around the applicator (there are two, one is bent fir reaching hard spots) then you squeeze enought o cover the entire area in between the tenacles and it shrinks immediately and then if you look closely you can see it implode and it disappears completely. It took about 15 minutes to hit all of the ones I had and within a few hours, no more Aiptasia. The product is safe for corals and fish. WOW, I am amazed that something actually does exactly what it claims and therefore would recommend this product to anyone.
Conclusion: **remember this is my opinion** I think Joe’s Juice exacerbated the situation and actually enabled my one large Aiptasia to turn into 15 because it allowed the planual to spread. The Red Sea Aiptasia X glues the mouth shut so no planual or spawn can be released into the water, creating more. So I would suggest if you have a problem with these try the Aiptasia X, it did exactly what it claimed to. If I discover that some return or any other problems I will update.

Why Cycle?

I doubt that any of you would consider bringing home that new little cute & cuddly kitten from the pet store, lock him in a closet with a litter box, throw in a can of cat food, close the door and let him live in his own waste. Of course not! Besides, he probably doesn’t even know how to use the can opener!

Naturally, you prepare his area in his new home, with a clean dish, clean pillow and a fancy little feather toy. Well, I can tell you that fish do not like fancy little feather toys, but the concept is the same.

In addition to being a more humane process, since there are no fish in the tank to be harmed, it offers complete and total control over the process, is quite forgiving should mistakes be made, easily corrected, and if done properly, can allow for a slightly larger quantity of fish to be introduced at once.

However, I feel that best way to justify using this method is that Fish have rights. Just as any other animal in our care, whether domesticated or not, at one time was taken from its natural environment, and at that particular point we must assume the responsibility of providing a safe and healthy environment, allowing it to achieve, as it is entitled to, a good quality of life. (Remember the kitty cat?)

• First and foremost a good quality liquid test kit. one that tests for ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte (that’s all for now) around $20-$30. Yes, I know it is expensive, but, heck, you already spent more than that on that stupid Castle, Sunken Ship, or Ship’s Wheel you have sitting on the bottom of the empty tank!

• A pen or pencil and a Notebook. You are going to want to record your daily readings with the test kit, and probably refer to them often. You can also use it for photos, and doodle if so inclined.

• A bottle of pure ammonia. Since there are no fish, we are going to manually add the ammonia for the other bad boys to go after. It’s important that it be pure ammonia without any surfactants. Test-shake it, if it bubbles put it back!

Point: Patience. Tanks cycle in their own time, you cannot force it.

One final note, kind of for the future. As you add fish, (and you will), it’s important to quarantine them a while (2 weeks or so) so as not to add any contamination/disease from the LFS. After all, you just went through an exhausting experience "cycling" to insure a pure and healthy tank. Don’t want to see it all for naught.

I was playing around taking some pics of my newer corals and decided not to turn on the vho’s and take the pics only with the 20,000 halides on. I Figured I would have to retake all the shots because I didnt use a flash, and man they turned out very good.
I wont label them all, would take too long.

So, i talked to this guy i met at the fishstore a while ago and he had told me he adds salt to his fresh water fish. He said that his fish grow a lot healthier and with brighter colors. i didnt believe him, i was like why would you add salt to fresh water fish, but he said he has been doing it for over 7 years and he has like 4 or 5 tanks in his house, so i was like ok and we left it at that.
so i just got some aquarium salt for my betta because he was showing stress signs and i read that a little salt would help. so i figured salt reduces stress, makes sense what the guy had told me. then i further read that the salt adds electrolytes to the water which the fish need. so its starting to make sense what the guy told me. so i added some salt to my fish tank.
I was doing rutine test on the tank yesterday, everything came out fine, but the PH IS OFF THE CHART…literaly, my chart only measures to 7.6. so i added a bunch of ph down and lowered it a bit, then i came back home later in the night and added a little more, got the ph to 7. this was about 2 in the morning.
i tested it again about 3pm and its giving readings between 7.2 and 7.6
What should i do?
right now the fish look ok, but i know in the long run its going to hurt them.

Hey guys, I am pretty new here and joined up a couple of months ago. Anyways I have had experience with FW and much success with it. However curiosity and the want to do SW has overtaken me. I have read many many threads and topics here and have gotten some great info from all around the web. Right now I just have the 75g and its stand sitting here empty as I begin to plan out the tank. At first I was going to start out with a small 10 or 20g setup but I realized that any error on my part will be better sorted with a larger tank and I knew that I would just want to upgrade anyways. I don’t care how much planning or time it takes to get this thing going I want to do it right the first time. I must say I feel a bit overwhelmed with everything I am reading. Its so much more involved then FW but I am up to the challenge. Unfortunately money is not in tight supply but its not like I have thousands to spend right now on this so its going to be a slow moving process and will take some time to get all my ducks lined up. I have so many questions that I literally cannot think of where to start.

My biggest concern right now is what route I am going to go with on the filtration for this thing. I would really like to go the sump/refugium/skimmer route but I want to start simple and plus I don’t have the $$ right now for that. I do know that a good quality skimmer is needed and I know not to skimp on that. I think to start off with I am going to begin with a AquaC Remora hang on skimmer seeing as how it seems to be regarded as a good choice. It fits the budget well enough and the quality seems to be on par also.

Then we have lighting. My ultimate goal as of this moment is like I said, simple. Down the road, when the tank is established for awhile I would like to add some corals to the live rock but not anytime soon. I know also that its good for the tank to be established for awhile before adding any and then I will have to rethink the lighting to accomdate them. The tank came with one single flourescent 48in light and I of course will be upgrading. I found some T5HO fixures online that I am looking into. Here is the link… http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt…ory=FILTFIT5T5

I was thinking of doing two of those ontop of the tank to give me a total of 216w which will be about 2.6w per gallon. I need information though on this and what kind of corals and whatnot can survive with that kind of lighting. I realize that in some cases you need upwards of atleast 5w per gallon but thats not the goal right now.

I also have yet to look into powerheads that I will be using and also I have to start looking into getting live rock to cycle this thing when the time does come. Now when I get my live rock, can I just add it to the newly setup tank or what? I know live rock has to cure but wont it be fine to cure while the tank is cycling itself? I also need suggestions on substrate. I want to have a live sand substrate also. Of course all of this is just what I am considering right now. I welcome any and all suggestions any one has. Like I said, im doing my research first and taking my time with this one.

If you have a question about your tank, someone here probably has an answer for you. But there are a few things you can do to help eliminate the guesswork involved in order to find a resolution fast.

First off, many of the problems that plague aquaria are due to poor water quality. For this reason, this is generally the first thing that you will be asked about.

Getting Results

Since we cannot always see your tank and the conditions you describe we must rely on information to help us determine what the underlying issue is. Testing your tanks parameters and knowing what the current levels are is a crucial part of accurately diagnosing and treating your tank.

Statements such as "I have algae in my tank" and "My water is cloudy" are not really enough to go on.

Here are a few of the questions you will likely encounter whenever asking for help with your tank.

Freshwater

What size is the tank?
How long has the tank been set up and running for?
How many fish do you have, and what are they?
What is your Ammonia level?
What is your Nitrite level?
What is your Nitrate level?
What is your pH?
What is your KH?
What is your GH?
What is the temperature?
What type of filtration do you use?
How often do you change the filtration media?
How often do you perform water changes?
How often and how much do you feed your tank?
What chemicals do you dose in your tank?
Where do you gather your water from, and what conditioners do you use on it?

If the tank is Planted, then add the following:

What is your Phosphate level?
What is your Iron level?
What is your CO2 level?
What Type of lighting do you use?
How long are the lights on each day?

Saltwater

What size is the tank?
How long has the tank been set up and running for?
How many fish do you have, and what are they?
Do you house Corals or sensitive invertebrates in the tank?
What Salt mix do you use?
Where do you mix your saltwater at and how long before you use it?
What is your Ammonia level?
What is your Nitrite level?
What is your Nitrate level?
What is your pH?
What is your KH?
What is your salinity (ppt) or specific gravity (ppm)?
What is the temperature?
What type or combination of filtration do you use?
How often do you change the filtration media?
What type of lighting do you have?
How often do you perform water changes?
How often and how much do you feed your tank?
What chemicals do you dose in your tank?
Where do you gather your water from, and what conditioners do you use on it?
If you keep carnivorous fish do you feed them live foods?

If you have a Reef tank then add the following:

What is your Phosphate level at?
What is your Calcium level at?
What is your Strontium level?
What is your Magnesium level?
How much current do you have in the tank?
How much live rock is present?
How many total watts of lighting are you providing the tank with?

Answer as many of these questions as you possibly can in your first post. The answers to these questions can tell whether your tank is cycled, biologically stable, overburdened, properly configured for the species you house, has compatibility issues that need to be addressed, and will give clues as to what is causing your problems, how to deal with them, and how best you can go about resolving the issue so that it does not return.

Help others help you by coming prepared with some base statistics. Otherwise there will be a lot of back and forth, what is this, how about that, check this and report back…

Thanks!

We appreciate your patience during the last two weeks. All bugs should now be fixed and lost posts restored. If you are still having difficulties, please PM a Moderator so we can quickly tweak the system back to normal.

Thanks for your help!
FTF Moderation Team

We apologize for the inconvenience, and are working to correct the problems. You may find posts from the last two weeks temporarily missing or inaccessible.

Thanks for your patience
FTF Administration

Stress.

We all know that eating right, exercising and getting the proper amount of sleep is a formula for a long and healthy life. We also know that smoking, drinking and partying all night surely affects that.

But what about our fish? They don’t smoke or drink and their partying is pretty much limited to “hide and seek” and “hopscotch” among the rocks and caves.

Increased stress reduces a fish’s ability to ward off diseases. It reduces its ability to breed successfully and shortens its natural lifespan. Stress also affects deterioration of the slime coat which protects the fish. This slime coat is a fish’s main defense system of infections. Thus, it is important that we as fish keepers eliminate sources of stress whenever possible. As with everything in life, removing stress does not totally guarantee a healthy tank, but it does significantly increase the odds.

So what causes stress?

Physical Space. Most fish are territorial and need room to chase intruders from their claimed space. Keeping a fish in a tank that is too small for it will increase the level of stress not only for that fish but the entire tank as aggression issues become likely.

Tank Buddies. Not all fish species mix well with others. Size and compatibility are the key issues here. Most Cichlids will eat any fish that fits in their mouth. Even if a fish is too big to be eaten, it will be chased endlessly causing stress. Some fish are by nature a “schooling” fish and do not fair well when kept individually.

Temperature. Fluctuations of temperature should be kept to a moderate level. Bear in mind also that as water temperature increases, the amount of dissolved oxygen decreases. Aeration here is important.

Water Conditions. Perhaps the most significant cause for stress comes from poor water quality. It’s important to note that our aquarium is an enclosed ecosystem, and fish are dependant upon us to keep it optimal. Sudden changes in water chemistry causes severe stress. Adjustments need to be made gradually. Ammonia and Nitrite are extremely stressful and high levels are lethal.

Acclimation. Fish do not travel very well. The trip from their natural habitat to the LFS and then in a little clear bag to our homes is quite traumatic. Usually the very first aquarium phrase a novice learns the hard way is “Osmotic Shock.” It is very important that fish be acclimated into our tanks properly.

Other Factors. There are many additional factors which cause stress, such as, adding untreated water, poor nutrition, addition of medications to “treat” illnesses, and more.

Signs of Stress. Fish stays or hovers at the surface (not to be confused with “top swimmers.” Fish remains motionless at the bottom. Fish does not eat or eats less than normal. Wounds do not heal. Fish stays hidden.

Hints and Tips to minimize stress.
Acclimate new “finned friends” properly.
Get to know you fish by watching them the first few weeks to get to know what their “normal” behavior is.
Place your aquarium in a “not heavily traveled” location in your home.
Although extremely important, water changes do stress fish. Consider changing less water more frequently.
Test your water parameters often to get a “heads up” on any trends happening.
Insure that your tank contains enough “hiding places” and/or “safe havens” for each fish to reduce aggression.

Eliminating some causes of stress will increase your fish’s resistance to other stress factors.

I hope you have found this helpful in achieving a healthy and less stressful environment for your “finned friends.”
Please feel free to add to this.

Now, if we could just come up with a formula to assist us when we are filling out that Form 1040 at 11PM on April 15th!!!

The newest in our series of informative videos is ready for viewing. The video will be posted in our Video Tutorial Thread as soon as we can resolve a technical issue. In the mean time, you can follow this link to access the "Common Fish Ailments" instructional video.

http://www.youtube.com/user/fishtankforums