Surveying my 5' high by 9' long storage shelf mostly full of aquarium stuff I consider essential, I am glad to see that I am not the only aquarium nurd out there.
This has to be one of your best articles yet.
Having done the aiptasia thing I would consider your advice here as the most important tip in the article. I will NEVER again put anything into my tank without quarantining it.
If you don't like the idea of going in to a pharmacy to get you needles, try your local farm supply store. They won't tell you its illegal and don't even give you a second look when you pick up a seringe and a couple of different guages of needles. They also have a nice variety of diffent sized needles for different applications.
I hope that the folks at aquarium systems come out with a "Stream" clone soon. Anyone that comes up with a reasonably priced, reliable, alternative should make a good profit.
Now for some questions.
Where do you find a 10x magnifying glass? I looked around and could only find 4x and 6x with a focal distance of 4": not very useful for an aquarium that is 2' deep.
Perhaps you could expand a little on the "dramatic results" you have seen from golden pearls and cyclopeez.
What organisms do you believe will benefit from the feeding of golden pearls? I am looking at them as a food for small benthic critters, various filterfeeders and as a replacement food for detritus for organisms such as z. sociatus.
On refractometers:
At one point there was a suggestion that not all refractometers were meant for use with salt water. Are all those available through common aquarium related sources appropriate? This along with salt for the tank are my next purchases for setting up the new tank.
Will any dissecting microscope do for aquarium purposes? What is a reasonable price range to pay for one of these? I have no idea what represents reasonable quality or what the value of these things is new so its hard to know where to start.
Again, great article!
Fred.
This has to be one of your best articles yet.
Having done the aiptasia thing I would consider your advice here as the most important tip in the article. I will NEVER again put anything into my tank without quarantining it.
If you don't like the idea of going in to a pharmacy to get you needles, try your local farm supply store. They won't tell you its illegal and don't even give you a second look when you pick up a seringe and a couple of different guages of needles. They also have a nice variety of diffent sized needles for different applications.
I hope that the folks at aquarium systems come out with a "Stream" clone soon. Anyone that comes up with a reasonably priced, reliable, alternative should make a good profit.
Now for some questions.
Where do you find a 10x magnifying glass? I looked around and could only find 4x and 6x with a focal distance of 4": not very useful for an aquarium that is 2' deep.
Perhaps you could expand a little on the "dramatic results" you have seen from golden pearls and cyclopeez.
What organisms do you believe will benefit from the feeding of golden pearls? I am looking at them as a food for small benthic critters, various filterfeeders and as a replacement food for detritus for organisms such as z. sociatus.
On refractometers:
At one point there was a suggestion that not all refractometers were meant for use with salt water. Are all those available through common aquarium related sources appropriate? This along with salt for the tank are my next purchases for setting up the new tank.
Will any dissecting microscope do for aquarium purposes? What is a reasonable price range to pay for one of these? I have no idea what represents reasonable quality or what the value of these things is new so its hard to know where to start.
Again, great article!
Fred.