Search results

To add to what DaveK said. Myself I would go easy on the water changes and do no more then 25% weekly to give the bacteria a chance to multiple and process the current nitrates. You need this bacteria to build up or you are going to have problems once the tank has a fish load. I would start...

What harryk said. You miss out on all the natural fauna available on live rock. Carlo

Well if that's the case, that would not be good. :) BUT atleast the price wasn't jacked up and was within normal pricing on a normal purple fire fish. Carlo

I don't like most salts on the market because the potassium levels are way low. Most are in the 300 range and they should be at the 400 range. This is one of the important parameters that is most often overlooked and since there isn't a decent test kit for it I feel it's best to use a salt this...

If it was a helfrichi you got a good bargain for your money. If it was just a normal purple fire fish (99% probable) it was a "normal" price. The damsels were probably about 2-3 dollars over priced and the true perc depending on size were "normal" to only about $5 high. Chances are depending on...

Candi you are dedicated. I've heard of people with a rubber ducky in the tub but taking your rock in the shower... :) Actually that was pretty smart. I've always been a big advocate of cooking moist (not dry) rock in the oven for an hour at 350. It will kill off just about anything except for...

Yea, I'd have to agree with DaveK. All things being equal you're going to get more PAR spread out over a greater distance with multiple 250s then a single 400. You're also going to get more light directly under the lamps especially if they are right next to each other. Keep something in mind...

As reeferwanabe just mentioned. Test for ammonia, nitrites & nitrates. When the first two hit zero after 2 or 3 days (asuming they ever rose) do a 100% water change and run again for another 2/3 days. When all 3 are zero it should be safe to add to the tank bacteria/nitrogen cycle wise. There...

I know a lot of you northern guys/gals like the NJ (err NY) Giants but most of the central/southern people like the Eagles and since they are in the same division usually dislike every other division team. With that said GO PATS! :) Carlo PS Pats are my Dad's favorite team so I've always like...

Yep, lots of "ways" to run carbon and similar type materials. If you choose to do so the only recommendation I'd make is to use a reactor and not just stick the media in a bag thrown in the sump. Ideally, you want to force the water through the media like in a reactor. The problem with most...

Hello Scott, I'd really like for you to take a look at Billyr98's aquascaping. He's got a few pics on the board already. It's a nice change of pace and a very open aquascape that more people could/should do instead of the typical rock wall. Could you elaborate a bit more on what you're...

As long as you adjust the flow properly and either adjust based on ORP or Nitrite/Nitrate results you should be ok. Completely personal but I'd remove a bit of the sulfur and only use enough to cover the top of the media. dandy7200 using the ORP probe in "pH" mode should work just fine. Carlo

that should work just fine. Carlo

GFO medias have their own set of issues too. I'd go with the Phosguard in the beginning bbecause it a faster absorber and will get the P04 down faster. If you are more comfortable with GFOs then feel free to try this but it might not work fast enough to put a major dent on the P04s. Carlo

I'm not a fan of magnetic stirrers either. I'm more a fan of a true mechanical stir model. Carlo

Coralife 500G calcium reactor. Same as what's mentioned earlier up in the thread.

I was planning on sourcing some cheap small motors and doing a mechanical stir. For the most part I was going to try and do something very similar to an Aqua Medic kalk reactor but I wasn't worried about having a clear reactor chamber. I stopped in Lowes this morning and picked up everything I...

You could run the nitrate reactor into the calcium reactor. You'll find your CO2 will last longer as the starting pH is already lower. :) What you can do to test the effluent is put a "T" valve in between the 2 units which you can use to "sample" the water. It sounds like you have a good plan...

You have major phosphates in the tank if you can test for it and find it with a hobby based test kit. If you have any type of algae growing in the tank you don't even need to test the water for phosphates as it's guaranteed there are phosphates being introduced in the water from something. Most...

Yea I believe it is but it's a calcium reactor and not a kalk reactor. I'm building a few kalk reactors this weekend for the store so if anyone is interested in a DIY project just let me know. Carlo