am i lucky?

[optimus prime]

hi all, i been to a few fish forums, and found that many people uses a lot of equipment/additive/chemicals for their marine tank.i've been keeping marines about 5 years.in which i am lazy to change water- just top up with boiled water. my fishes are all alive and healthy, untill i gave them away a few times to try new fishes.the question is am i lucky that i dont get any problem, or is it something i may not know. fyi my tank are 3 and 4 feet, which i costume made using IOF system consist of 3 compartments.

pls enlighten me, im setting a new tank soon.thanks!

[kelstorm]

well.. generally, fish only tanks are easier to maintain than those with reefs tank.. as they are generally more tolerant with the water conditions. i also do what u mentioned.. with hardly any losses of livestock too... IMO, it is more like what u wanna keep and keeping the regime of maintaining it..

for me, it is like this, if i cannot keep that livestock alive, regardless corals or fish, i wun consider getting it..

[Achilles Tang]

For a FO tank, you don't really have to worry about calcium, kh, ph as much as reef tank.

Even a minute change in phosphate levels can affect corals.

I guess your FO tank's filtration is pretty established, so your PH and SG is pretty much the only things you have to worry about.

The type of fishes you keep is also a factor, hardier species can tolerate a lot of abuse, I mean lack of maintenance.

[hongqixian]

Just curious, what kind of fish are you keeping?

I don't think there is significant benefit to boiling water, you might want to just use a dechlorinator for your FO tank. Saves $$$

[optimus prime]

hmmmmmm, almost all species found in the shop i kept,except the high end

angels.... i kept corals once, lasting only 8 months or so.i think KELSTORM

got the point there.reason why i use boiled water is ...... i think there are cleaner.... .oh yes, i forgot to mention i use liquid type protein remover. well thanks for the answer friends......

[Achilles Tang]

Curious to know your tank setup.

Can you describe it or better still show some photos?

[optimus prime]

my set up very simple....... 2 inch of gravel- the shop tell me its size 3.

internal overflow system. 1 air stone.1 atinic and one normal white light.

some live rocks.1 dead skeleton corals.tank size - 3 and 4 ft.

[hongqixian]

Boiled water just serves to concentrate the minerals and kill bacteria and get rid of chlorine. The tapwater doesn't have much bacteria and you can get rid of chlorine and chloramine with water conditioner.

What do you mean by almost all? Can you give a list?