Recent content by Fishtachio

ygpm

is that 150W metal halide? i used to have a 150W sunpod on a 24g aquapod mounted with legs 4-5in above the tank and left on for only 5 hours. my temps in the winter was ok, around 82 most of the time but during the hot summer days, if i didn't have a fan blowing on the surface, i could reach 90...

you got pm.

What color are the mushrooms?

Why don't you try looking into those expensive led fixtures and copy their led color combinations.

what kind of filtration do you have in this tank and it's size? also, what kind of lighting and for how long do you have them on?

i'm assuming that's hair algae? those are the worst. i would take those rocks out of the tank and scrub them with a toothbrush in a bucket of water. then rinse them with rodi water before putting the rocks back in the tank. as for the substrate with hair algae, you can collect them in a cup and...

I wouldn't keep rodi water around for too long. Because the rodi removes the chlorine from the tap water, there's nothing to impede bacterial growth. I read this article once how people who constantly refill store-bought water bottles with carbon-filtered water had the most bacterial count...

Well, if you can maintain your calcium, pH, alkalinity, etc. with water changes alone, then you probably don't need to dose. Also, if your corals are thriving with water changes alone, then you probably don't need to dose. May I ask what salt you're using and have you ever measured the calcium...

Yes, what you're planning is fine. But remember that kalkwasser is a strong base and will increase your pH above 8, so be careful how much you dose. Also, you probably still need to add the soda ash. Corals will use the carbonate to build their skeletons.

Soda ash is sodium carbonate. It's a weak base and will probably not increase your pH much. However, it will help maintain your tank to pH 8 as each carbonate ion can accept/give up 2 protons in solution. That is why when you added it to your tank, your alkalinity (which measures buffering...

Hi, maybe I'm misunderstanding you. What are the chemical components of the solutions you have added and/or plan to add to change pH and/or alkalinity.

If your pH is 8, then you need to raise it to 8.2-8.4 first with CaOH or kalkwasser before you buffer it. I think that's the optimal pH range for corals. You said you dosed with "alk" last night. I'm assuming that is buffer (carbonates, bicarbonates, etc.). What you did last night is buffer the...

I second Crystal Sea Marinemix. The salt is very cheap compared to every other salt on the market, and has dechlorinator added in every batch. The pH, alkalinity and calcium content is a little low, but that's why we dose, right? In addition, I see far more "critters" (copepods, amphipods, sea...

You can never have enough calcium in a reef tank! lol. I wouldn't be worried by that level of calcium. I measured oceanic consistently over 500 in the past. Test the calcium level in your reef crystals. it should be about 400-420, but as long as it's less than 540, you can continue to do water...