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No laughing please... I've got an adult Pseudotropheus saulosi with a piece of dolomite stuck in its mouth! :-( He's been digging up a storm the last couple of days, redecorating his home turf. This evening he didn't eat, and I see what sure looks to me like a piece of gravel stuck in his mouth. Any...

Thanks for the info... This tank will be next to another 55 (already in place)- and I'd like them to be at the same height. That was part of my motivation to find out what bottom support was necessary. For tank leveling, I used to use a sheet of homasote(?) - greyish, a little spongy, maybe 1/2"...

> what size tank are you talking about? Standard 55 gal > are you making your own home-made tank? No. > why do you ask... I've never had a tank with a tempered glass bottom and I don't want to screw up! I'd like to put it on a wrought iron stand w/out a piece of plywood between the tank and the stan...

Ned,

Is a tank with a tempered glass bottom required to sit on a solid surface?

Can its stand support the four sides - as in a wrought iron stand - or does the tank need to be on a full, solid surface?

Thanks.

...just depends on species... Any problem with any of the above (guppies, saulosi, or labs)? I would think the guppies would handle the temp extremes best. Watch out for over heating too in july & august It'll be in shade all day, but a couple of 90+ days will surely heat it up. Any suggestions...

Ok, how stupid is this idea... I've had the good fortune to be given a 55 gal tank. Eventually I'll set it up, but it's going to require re-arranging existing tanks and I won't get to it for a while. So... instead of having a perfectly good tank unused, taking up floor space, I was thinking of setti...

Ned, How much phosphate is too much? My city water supply reports for total phosphate: Average in Distribution System: 1.01 ppm Range in Distribution System: 0.27-1.72 ppm I too have been having algae problems... blue green in some tanks, string algae in others. FWIW: The city appears to be adding p...

Apparently blue green algae isn't really algae at all - it's a bacteria. That's why you've seen discussion of using Maracyn which is an antibiotic. There's a thread over on shelldwellers.com http://www.shelldwellers.com/index.php?board=8;action=display;threadid=253;start=10 that discusses this (with...

> no more supremes
> thet stopped makin' 'em
Yes, I know.

Probably 'cause they worked too well. I've got some that I've had in use for 15-20 years.

I don't suppose I should expect any of those listed (Hagen Tronic, Ebo Jaeger, Sera) to last that long.

Thanks for the info. I had one backup submersible in stock - a Rena :( Hopefully I'll get a couple of years out of that one. In my old fish-stuff box, I pulled out a Supreme (hang on type). Sometimes I wonder why I ever switched. It worked years ago and seems to work today. I guess I'm glad I kept t...

Ned (or anyone else): Care to recommend which heaters you've found to be long lived and reliable (water temp matches what you set the heater at)? I've recently had failures with Visi-Therm and Rena Cal. You can see moisture in the tubes - one stays on permanently, the other stays off. So much for su...

Hi Ned, FWIW: I stumbled on a reference to this link and thought you might (or might not) be interested: http://www.purearagonite.com/co-opprogram.html They say they sell and ship "Pure Caribbean Aragonite" in 40 lb bags at what seems to be cheap. If I did the math right (including shippin...

I like the fact that with dolomite, I don't worry about the pH. It stays 7.6 to 8.0. Sounds like with the Aragamax I'd never have to worry about pH - in fact if you believe the CaribSea FAQs, it'll be 8.4-9.0. (Is it possible to be too high for the Neolamprologus similis?!) Does the Eco Complete san...

Ned, Previously you mentioned: "Calcium based sands such as aragonite, crushed coral, and dolomite will raise pH and KH." Is there such a thing as dolomite in a sand form? For the various shell dwelling africans, would you recommend one form of sand over another? Is the sand necessary? I'v...

And my family thinks it's unusual to have the tanks we have. Wait until I show them the other posts here! 55 gal - Angels, Clown Loaches, assorted Corydoras, Cardinal tetras, unknown upside catfish (seen about once a month) 55 gal - Pseudotropheus saulosi 30 gal - Julidochromis marlieri 30 gal - Lab...