Apple_Acres

For any tank 30 gallons and above, I would absolutely say yes to a protein skimmer. If you're raising soft corals, they prefer dirtier water to be honest, so less filtration can be good. Hard corals prefer very clean water.

Office Space and Army of Darkness. I really want to see Oblivion though.

I would lean more towards 70 with trout. I'll warn you up front, expensive isn't a powerful enough word for the cost of chillers, as we call them. A chiller for a 30 gallon tank can be 400 or more dollars, and it just goes up from there. The lighting on the HQI would allow you to grow almost any coral you wanted, SPS (hard corals, generally more difficult) and LPS (soft corals, usually much easier to grow). Make sure you do your research about understanding salinity, calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium levels in your tank and how each will affect each other and coral. Then you'll also get into target feeding with zooplanton (phytofeast) and other fun stuff! First and foremost, I'd avoid anything with ANY land based animal meat (beefheart, chicken, liver, etc...). Tilapia, as with most cichlids, are omnivores, and in particular many species have been observed grazing on algae to some degree. Frozen shrimp of varying sizes (anything wild caught, such as mysis, will not be GMO or have additives), mussels (I've heard you can buy a few lbs of it for a reasonable price in some locations, and then just grate or cut it to size), daphnia, and spirulina (algae) wafers/pellets/discs, make a great supplements many times! I hope that's all helpful! :)

If you had a really good pond heater, but preferably you'd want a greenhouse over it. :\

The two power compacts that come on the Biocube are strong enough for soft corals/polyps! You could do basic Zoanthids, Mushrooms, Green Star Polyps, Kenya Trees, and possibly Xenia under that lighting. Coral does put out waste though, like any other animal, so make sure to do those water changes and maybe do water tests for Ammonia every few weeks. The higher number of corals you have, the more nutrients they will take out of the water. Generally doing frequent water changes will help keep those in the tank if you use the right brand of sea salt. For anemones I'd recommend maybe just sticking with Condylactis (Condy for short) anemone, though clownfish generally won't host with those (especially if they're tank raised). With anemones it isn't as much light as making sure you feed them. At work I generally target feed them with brine or mysis shrimp. On water changes, avoid using tap water if at all possible. Many of your local fish stores will have RO (reverse osmosis) water (and sometimes they are already mixed with sea salt). For raising corals I would absolutely recommend using this. :)

Unfortunately that is the case... Those are probably the easiest of all to raise as well. Sunfish are very hardy generally, and beautiful little fish to boot! Pacu are delicious! Just make sure you give them their proper diet though... They're a cousin of the Piranha, but get MUCH LARGER. I've heard rumors of individual fish getting 4 feet long and 20+ lbs. Considering their relation people assume a meaty diet is needed, but they're actually herbivores by nature. They'll eat nuts, fruits, and green vegetation, and, from what I understand, that's how you'll get the best flavor from them. Whatever you decide on getting, in my own opinion, do NOT use feeder goldfish as a food source. They aren't healthy for your fish, and you won't get the best flavor out of them either. Feeders are riddled with parasites and bacteria (flukes, water lice, and even tapeworms I hear), and have almost no nutritional value (they're mostly fat...).

Haha yes, I've seen those before and they're extremely handy for large aquariums. Little tip, if you don't want to spend money on de-chlorinators, letting tap water sit in a covered bucket for 24-48 hours works just the same. The cover will protect it from dust and dirt, and the chlorine dissipates after about that long. At least, that's how it is here where I live in Utah. As far as I know there isn't much chlorine in the water here.

100 gallons is a great size for a Cichlids! (yep, correct spelling :) ) Though I'm sorry to hear about the tanks not making it. I think that's very doable, and would be the only saltwater set up I'd recommend for a beginner below 55 gallons! :) My saltwater tank is a standard 29 gallon Biocube kit made by Coralife that you see in your local pet store. As it comes is fine for saltwater, though just be careful about how many animals you stock in the tank. I wouldn't recommend the 14 gallon set up though. I completely altered the filtration in mine, and am working on the lighting, but for 3 fish and some clean up crew (hermit crabs, snails), the standard filtration is just fine! Most importantly, because it is a smaller tank you will need to do more frequent water changes. Generally salt water aquariums 55 and over only need to get a 20-25 percent change once a month, but anything smaller should be every 2-3 weeks, ideally. If you decide to set one up, let me know and I can send you an outline of how I personally would set up the tank! :)

Filtration for a pond THAT big might be tough... The biggest filters we sell only go up to like 1,400 gallons I believe... I mean, that'd be a start, but... I would look into creating a pump fed bio-filtered "sump." A fountain or waterfall would be helpful, too. Current will help keep that water fresh. Keep it under a shaded area as well or you will forever be at war with algae! If you need advice feel free to message me anytime. Ponds aren't my strong point, but I know a little, and could definitely look into it! :)

This totally counts! That's AWESOME! I've always wanted to do a pond in a big green house so I could raise Pacu as a food item. If you need any advice or recommendations, I'm your guy! The trout generally require a permit I hear (I'm not for sure on that one..), but as for Jaguars, you might be out of luck already. On my order list they are flagged and listed as "restricted" lately because they've become invasive in Southern Utah. Some guy apparently decided letting them go in a backwater pond near the Virgin River system to use for fishing would be a good idea... Until the pond flooded into a nearby stream and the fish spread. So they might already be illegal. :\

Well all I can say is my hat is off to you! That's some good fish keeping, even if you aren't doing much! And only two cleanings a year? Wow! I do a 20 percent water change once a week on all my fresh tanks, and a change every 2-4 weeks on my Biocube. I'm going to dread water changes on my new 75 once it's finished being set up... My plan so far is to fill it with a hose through the window and when I need to syphon water out, just aim the tube back out the window! I'm surprised too that Petsmart fish have lasted so long! I can't go in there anymore, I usually want to adopt many of the fish I see... lol Your husband knows his stuff! I couldn't make a better recommendation myself for filtration for a turtle tank! I normally tell customers to avoid turtles if they aren't ready to shell out money on good filtration or devote considerable amounts of time to changing out water. Haha yeah... Don't name 'em. That'll just be awkward dinner conversation when you say you grilled up "Bob" or "Fin" or heaven forbid "Nemo."

I'm sorry to hear that with the Biocube... Mine is doing fairly great so far, but I've got a bit of Saltwater experience, and I work with guys that know it better than their own family (I wish I was kidding... haha), so if I ever have any problems, I have any and all answers I could ever have. So I guess I lucked out? lol

Wow!! Nice pictures!! Looks like a Gold Gourami, either two Giant Danios or possibly Australian Rainbows, two Blue/Opaline/Three Spot (more or less all the same fish) Gouramis, and a Leporinus! (How'd you keep him in there? Normally they are EXTREMELY aggressive and can reach a foot long!) I'm a big fan of Map and Softshell turtles myself! Never took to the Sliders... And yes, turtles, unfortunately, live to make clean water dirty. Most turtles get much larger than most people give them credit for. :) Sneaky little devils. I'm in Utah and all species have been outlawed from private owners.. It kind of stinks. Granted, they're worried about them being released into the native environment, and that makes sense, but our winters are more than capable of wiping them out. I'm torn on an issue like that... I love my pet fish... and I love to eat fish.

Badwolf, you are preaching to the choir! It is absolutely an addiction! Every time I tell myself "no more tanks" I end up buying a co-worker's 75 gallon set up... Or my Biocube... I'm making headway, I guess. I DID take down two other tanks I had set up... Boats and aquariums are exactly the same. They are both black holes for money. You might as well throw your wallet in and give it one final salute! Lol My problem is I can't stick with one group of animals either... At this moment I have a dog, 2 cats (inherited from my sister when she moved over seas), 2 lovebirds (inherited from the same sister), almost 3 fish tanks, a leopard gecko, and a leopard frog. The ridiculousness of it knows no bounds!

Whatcha' got in the community tank? What species of turtle? Haha that sounds awesome! We get a lot of people in my store as of late asking about aquaponics! I'm not sure about the laws where you're at, but where I am you need a permit to keep Tilapia, or else you can be heavily fined! Make sure you're up to date on all the laws regarding keeping Tilapia. Other than that they are extremely easy to raise, can tolerate the worst water conditions, and are delicious! Though they aren't the prettiest members of the Cichlid family.

Personally, I feel like Satan values subtlety.

I've been putting together aquariums and taking care of fish since I was about 5 or so! While I'm in school I also work at an aquarium centered pet store, which is basically the best job ever. At any given point I've had between 2-5 aquariums running in my house! Currently I'm down to just two, a 29 gallon Biocube (saltwater, reef), and a 8 gallon with a betta (freshwater). I'm about to set up my 75 gallon that will be for predatory freshwater fish in the next month. Anyone else on this forum share the love of raising fish? Or am I just a weirdo? Haha

Hello! I don't really know what to say or where to start... I was once a member of the church, but have been inactive for some years. I'm still religious, and attend mass at my local Catholic parish on a semi regular basis. My mother is LDS, as are many close friends, and I love dialogue and discussion with them, even if we don't always agree. I always love conversing with others of different faiths, and I hope to have some lighthearted discussion here. :)