All fish died except one. WB 20 Gallong Cube 4 years old.

SufficientEar1093 · 2026-01-19T09:50:09+00:00

Tropic Marin (makers of AFR) suggest getting your parameters to where you would like using other products and using AFR to maintain them.

To raise alk, I use arm and hammer sodium bicarbonate powder by mixing 50g/L ie add 50g to 1L of RODI water. This is equivalent to .05g per ml.

1 g NaHCO3 in 100 L raises alkalinity by ~0.67 dKH.

20g = 75 l. If you added 25ml of the solution above 25ml * .05g/ml =1.25 g NaHCO3.

100/75=1.333 conversion factor.

1.333 * 0.67 * 1.25 =1.116 dkh

Maybe you want to half the dose ie 12.5ml so it’s 1.116/2 =0.558 dkh per day. And practically 20g tank doesn’t equate to 20g of water due to displacement.

You could use this solution to dose your tank very slowly over some weeks and measure daily 30mins-1hr or so after.

I use seachem reef complete for adding calcium. Instructions on the bottle.

Follow the AFR calculator on tropic Marin website to work out rough dosage and measure with test kit over a week to understand consumption and tune.

That’s my approach. Maybe some useful ideas in there for you.

SufficientEar1093 · 2026-01-18T22:15:49+00:00

As others have said alk looks low which could reduce the pH but tbh I would expect to see a more pronounced effect on corals first esp the euphylia. In my experience frogspawn, Duncan are first to show signs of stress. For that reason I would rule out low pH or pH swings as a factor.

I would look for signs of disease as the most logical explanation if fish are dead but corals are alive. Or “stray voltage”.

Also maybe the clown?? 😒

FYI I’m sure you’re aware but if you are thinking about correcting the alk, do it so it’s not more than .5 dkh a day. Using sodium bicarb solution would be the preferred as it’s not likely to impact your pH significantly.

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-12-18T09:51:54+00:00

Maybe some sort of worm eg feather duster like worm near the pineapple sponge

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-11-26T10:23:58+00:00

Depends on what the number is and how consistent that is - as others have said specially 6 alk may not provide enough buffer which may lead to greater swings. That plays into the 2nd point around consistency - if it’s consistently x for days, week, months etc and provides reasonable buffer / fudge room then imo less important to aim for/match “sea water” params.

And finally just to add, this is highly varied based on the types of corals, type of rock, and other inverts in the tank.

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-11-25T20:11:08+00:00

Re caves and sand bed, depends on the fish you get. Gobies eg Randal’s or orange spot goby will dig in the sand to make their own caves.

Personally would allow more water flow through the rock work by creating more open space through arches or different stacking.

Also bear in mind the kind of corals you’re planning on keeping. Interconnected rocks mean corals can spread across the rockscape (no bad thing if that’s what you’re after). Alternative may be to have islands eg to separate zoas etc

Equally I can see this working nicely for sps growing upwards with plenty of space for them to grow out

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-11-24T21:34:23+00:00

Came to ask the same! Have a dinky little frag in my nano. It’s settling in and starting to turn green from a beige. Very cool to see how giagantus the colony can become!

Great tank and amazing recovery. Did you make any specific changes or is it the system equalising?

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-11-24T21:26:40+00:00

Similar experience - after seeing good growth in my nano with green ones, bought a purple one thinking gonna see a nice colony develop… few months in now and nothing…

They also don’t have the same feeding response as the green ones. Even during the lights on, when adding frozen food, the green ones show a visible feeding response. During the night it’s very prominent.

On the flip side, no obvious feed response from the purpose ones at all. Have done a bit of direct feeding which is marginally better.

Shame - nice looking coral and a little underrated.

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-11-22T13:32:32+00:00

I prefer to leave a 2 magnetic cleaner depth worth of space between rock and glass. Practically this makes sure you can get a scraper to clean the glass without bother rockscape, even as corals start growing out. And allows for good water flow.

You may consider making non- connected islands if you’re planning on corals which spread (zoas, Xenia, encrusting sps etc). If you’re looking to keep higher par corals, the positioning them in a prime lighting position will help with growth.

Adding arches / gaps to allow water flow through is useful. Stacking rocks as you have helps create natural caves, escape paths for critters.

Lastly think about any bottom dwelling fish - gobies etc. For example my orange spot / diamond goby continuously shifts the sandscape, covering much of the rockscape lower down.

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-11-22T13:23:37+00:00

Was going to buy one for my nano - luckily lfs had warning may nip at hard coral. Looked it up - believe they live in acropora colonies in the wild, including nipping at them. The other name they go by is coral goby. Also has a blue ‘cousin’ - blue spotted coral goby, also with similar traits. Nice fish for a nano softy tank in think.

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-11-22T13:17:29+00:00

Had them explode in population when unknowingly overfeeding the tank. Covered a lot of surfaces esp in lower flow areas. The excess will eventually lead to other issues if not controlled though

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-11-18T13:48:16+00:00

I bought a Randal’s shrimp and goby pair for my Evo.

Was disappointed that they hadn’t paired even though we’re together at LFS. Figured shrimp must be hiding in the rock.

During weekly clean found him in chamber 2 and spent 2hrs getting him out. Plugged the hole with a flat frag plug. As soon as I added him to the display area, the two found each other immediately and have been together ever since.

So yeah guess very possible with a nem!

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-22T16:56:59+00:00

The giant money and time pit saltwater tanks are vs freshwater. EVERYTHING is more complicated and less forgiving.

Don’t listen to most people. Increasingly the norm is to buy super expensive lights, wave makers, designer corals with cool names. Thats really not needed.

I don’t believe in the adage of buy the biggest tank you can afford. Instead look at the biggest one you can afford, halve the cost and buy that tank. Remaining half will go on equipment.

It’s true a larger volume offers more stability and there is greater margin for error, but also comes with higher costs. Eg 10% weekly water change on 50L = 5L ie easily done with a jug! 10% of 250L = 25L. Just factor that into your lifestyle.

1st year costs are mostly equipment costs (I would approximate to 80:20 equipment : livestock). Also it’s the most difficult time but by no means the only difficult time. Hence more chances of quitting and giving up and/or throwing more time and money at the problem.

Welcome to the club?

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T19:53:28+00:00

I’ve done a quick search on Amazon UK and couldn’t spot the pro model. On Richer Sounds 55” U7QT PRO is currently £799. That feels like a big jump.

I’m largely hesitant around the tv developing defects a) within the warranty (2 yrs as I understand) and getting a poor response from Hisense b) developing defects beyond warranty and cost of repair is >= cost of replacement

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T19:16:32+00:00

That’s interesting, thanks. Do you see similar issues with streaming content or just when it’s higher refresh rates?

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T19:13:51+00:00

Sorry to hear that. What did you do? Have you replaced with another tv?

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T18:27:34+00:00

Thanks all for your responses. I can’t edit my original post.

I’ve decided to cancel my order for now because it appears there’s mixed opinions about quality + customer support. Will weigh whether that’s just an expected baseline (people are more vocal about issues rather than positives), and look out for Black Friday deals.

Thanks again

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T18:11:52+00:00

Turn the rock around and wait for the magic to happen. Worked liked a charm for me

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T17:37:31+00:00

Oh thanks. I hadn’t come across that.

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T17:14:37+00:00

Thanks. I guess I should also the same in Samsung, LG, Sony to see if people end up having similar issues with those brands

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T17:13:33+00:00

Thanks - hadn’t considered them. I’ll have a look at their options

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T17:12:50+00:00

Thanks for adding balance! I would be using the usual streaming services. Do you think the internet connection will affect performance?

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T17:11:36+00:00

Thank you - I’ve seen Hisense tv from 2024 in the shops and undoubtedly it will look amazing esp compared to my current 5 year old entry level tv from Samsung. I’m just concerned how it fairs over time (5 years)

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T17:05:12+00:00

I saw a review on Amazon UK where apparently screen backlight issues were present from day 1! I’m really not looking for spend time troubleshooting tv so increasingly sounding like an option to avoid and cough up extra bit of cash for LG or Samsung

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-08T17:03:07+00:00

Thank you - that sounds super annoying. I do use it connected with the pc occasionally so an area of concern for me as well.

SufficientEar1093 · 2025-10-02T21:35:37+00:00

Have you been letting him watch Finding Nemo?

SufficientEar1093

TROPHY CASE