I've just set up a 100 gallon marine tank and have used a red sea protein skimmer. The skimmer is very noisy, is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

Red Sea Skimmers (and there are a few currently available) are driven by a water pump, which powers a venturi air intake. I'm not sure which noise is the loud one. If it's the pump, you could have a bad pump, or it may be vibrating against the sump or the cabinet. A basic servicing on the pump may help--clean out the velute and clean off the impellor (see if all the blades are attached). If it's still noisy, try a new pump. I'd reccommend one, but I don't know which skimmer you have, so follow the manufacturer's specs on flow rate, etc. when selecing a pump. Your current pump, if not defective, may be too strong (and therefore loud). If it's the venturi (air intake) noise, this is an easier problem to fix. A simple air line valve will dampen the noise even if all the way open. You can close the valve to decrease the air intake. While this decreases the noise, it will also decrease the amount of air injected into the dwell chamber, and thus the efficiency of your skimmer. This is something you may have to fine tune over the course of a few days.

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If I am interested in starting a "Fish-Only" Salt Water Aquarium, about 40 gallons, what is the recomended equipment needed for success? Money is not an option, and I travel frequently, so daily or weekly care is sometime difficult, bi-monthly or monthly would work better. Thanks...Angelo

This is a big question, and could have an equally big answer, but I'll keep it short. I reccommend a marine fish-only aquarium be decorated with live rock and reef sand. I mention this because it will determine the type of equipment you will need. A Wet-Dry sump (of at least 18 gallon capacity) and good water pump (submersible, like a Mag 9.5, or an outboard pump like an Iwaki 20) are a must. I would strongly reccommend a good protein skimmer (such as the Top Fathom Model 100) with a devoted pump, and (for a fish-only aquarium) an Ultraviolet Sterilizer (also with a devoted pump). Lastly, adequate light on a regular cycle is beneficial--say, two 40 watt strip lights (or an equivalent in Power Compact lighting) on a timer. If you intend to house large predatory fishes, some sort of mechanical filtration may be in order--either drawstring filter bags or a separate mechanical filter, such as a canister. As for the frequency of care, all fish need daily (or every other day) feeding, and a monthly water change.

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I have a 90 gallon tank with two 5-inch oscars. In this set-up, is there an ideal schedule for changing or washing out the filter pads (both coarse [blue] and fine [white]) and the carbon in my Eheim 2313 filters? I am also using Boyd's Chemi-Pure.

There really are no hard-and-fast rules governing how often filter pads should be replaced. They generally need to be replaced when they seem to be wearing out. However, it is very important to thoroughly clean these pads AT LEAST once a month in any aquarium set-up. Carbon should also be replaced monthly, while Boyd's Chemi-Pure can be left in the filters for about three months (I know the package states six months, but I have found that this product usually doesn't last quite that long).

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I have a fish only 90Gal marine tank that I'm adding anemone's and soft corals to.I currently have 1-percula clown,1-yellowtailed damsel,1-spiny pufferfish, and 1-coris gaimard wrasse.I just bought my 1st soft coral,and a few small hermit crabs. I've upgraded my lighting to 390W of PC flouresents,and 4W of moon lighting. Filtration is provided by a 175 wet/dry(w/rio2500 return pump), a rated 90G skimmer, a 350GPH power canister filter that powers two bio wheels, and an undergravel filter with 3 medium sized power heads.I'll be adding another percula clown but that's it for fish. Can I turn off the aerating feature on the power heads since the majority of the dissolved oxygen is coming from my wet/dry return? Also, what would you remove,add or change on my set up to improve the health/success of my animals? Thanks in advance, what a great site. -Greg.

Before you make the jump into a reef tank, i.e. add the live rock, I would definitely remove the entire undergravel filter, and the substrate to boot. Replace the gravel with about 1/2 inch to 1 inch of live sand, and use the power heads just to move water within the rockwork. The live rock proveds more than enough biological filtration--you could even remove the biowheels if you wanted to, but the removal of the UGF is mandatory. If you leave it in, anaerobic mung will accumumlate under there and with no critters to stir it, will foul the entire aquarium. Your lighting and skimming and filtration all sound good. I would also reccommend the purchase of about 100 Reef Hermit Crabs, and 100 Astrea Snails, as well as 5 Sally Lightfoot crabs. You will also need to remove the Puffer, as all the critters I just mentioned are potential meals for him.

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I have setup a new 40gal salt water tank. I bought a protein skimmer with a UV sterilizer, the prtein skimmer collection cup is filling up with water and almost no foam. I was wondering if this is a problem and what I can do to solve it. Also if I have just clown fish and about 25 lbs. of live rock do I need a special lighting system or will my regular flourecent light from my fresh water tank work fine?

You need to open up the outflow from the skimmer, and/or clean the venturi intake. You will need at least 80 Watts of quality lighting (probably almost three times the output on the strip light that came with your freshwater aquarium) in order to encourage the health of the coralline algae on the live rock, and especially if you intend to house a host anemone for your clownfish.

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Is there a big difference between freshwater tank filters and salt water tank filters?

Typically, freshwater filtration usually consists of an undergravel filter combined with a power filter or a canister filter. On some tanks, only a large canister filter may be used. Marine aquariums usually use either a wet-dry filter or Berlin reservoir combined with a protein skimmer as the main filtration. However, over the years, we have seen many types of filters in use on many different types of tanks. There is no hard and fast rule except one. That is to design the filtration around the size of aquarium and the animals being kept.

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I have a 55 gallon tank and have a 50 Watt heater, from a old smaller tank. I wanted to get a 100 Watt heater and use both. Should I put the two together in the tank or separate them?

You should place one heater on either side of the tank.

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I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank with an undergravel filter, a powerhead, a power filter, and an air pump running a bubble wand. I have 24 fish averaging about 50 inches total. If I put a second powerhead on the undergravel filter, will there be enough oxygen in the water to eliminate the airpump?

The air pump is not actually doing much aeration other than disturbing the water surface and increasing surface area. Although this does aid in gas exchange, the effct is minimal so you can eliminate it. We will say that you should probably be using two powerheads anyway though, so by all means add another powerhead.

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Are air stones needed in an undergravel filter? Can you start an undergravel filter without an air stone or pump?

Air stones (or venturi-type air diffusers on powerheads) are required for an undergravel filter to function properly. You can run the UGF without air stones, as long as you use the powerheads I mentioned before, with the aerators to oxygenate the aquarium. It will not work without some kind of pump to move the water through the uplift tube(s).

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What is an airstone?

An airstone is a piece of aquarium equipment that is used to diffuse air from an air pump into fine air bubbles. They are usually made of compressed ceramic or glass beads, or similar materials. They come in a large assortment of sizes, shapes, and styles, but all need to be connected to an air pump in order to do anything. Small sizes are often employed to power undergravel filters, while larger ones are purely decorative.

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Frequent Aquarium Questions