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Got to be careful how you read that Dave. Your clarification needs clarification. It won't "raise" your pH at all but will "normalize". This isn't what Jazz wants or should do since it will only lower his pH and never increase it since he has decent alk levels. Example with made up data, let's...

As Mike said it's normal. It's on the same line as the "molting" process you might see a shrimp do. Your leather is probably happy and healthy if it's doing that. Carlo

Also definately worth mentioning is the Aquarium Center in Blackwood/Clemington. Carlo

For sure, you would most certainly see a diatom outbreak if you have an abundant amount of silicates. I'd say don't even bother to test for it if you don't have diatom problems. If you do Red Sea makes a pretty good Silica test kit which is reasonably priced. Carlo PS If you register anything...

The RO/DI unit will definitely be of help. The problem you might face is that the aquarium has a lot of phosphates stored up. You could be lucky however and they could be close to zero already because of all the hair algae growth. If you don't already have a phosphate test kit pick one up. Do a...

For the hair algae to grow that fast, I would think you have some decent nitrate and phosphate levels in the tank. A couple reactors (nitrate & phosphate media) would help but you might want to go a little more extreme and get those reduced a little more quickly. The best products for this IMHO...

I honestly don't know the "correct" answer to this question. I've never been able to find a good source of information on what pods can tolerate nitrate wise (other levels also). So I just go with the "gut" and I try and do a 10%-20% water change per week on these small tanks. Once I get the...

I've got 2 dehumidifiers running in my basement. I have a small hose in each one feeding the french drain (1" around basement slab). I did the same thing with my RO/DI unit discard line. I also empty/pump my QT tanks the same way only this goes directly into the sump and not the 1" gap around...

It changes based on the amount of pods in the tank. The more there are the more phyto you go through. Don't worry about how often. Just go by color. The phyto is very dark green so when you add it to the tank it will turn greenish. The more you add the darker it gets. I just try and keep it a...

I've read about that last year and there is a lot of contradicting stuff about "anaerobic ammonium oxidation". It's been around the circles since 2004. Most experts think it's nothing more then marketing old products under a new premise. Regardless, the basic problem for us in our aquariums is...

Not always and sometimes it can hurt you. What do you accomplish by doing a water change? You export some nitrates but hardly any phosphates since they leach into the subtrate and liverock. Over time your phosphates build and build while the nitrates get "normalized" by the water changes. In any...

If you're testing RO/DI water for phosphates you WANT to use the freshwater card. If in fact it is .5 that is a HUGE amount of phosphates and your RO/DI filter isn't working properly.

I like Cyano. It shows you everywhere in your display tank where your circulation isn't good enough and needs to be improved. :) Cyano is ever present in our tanks. It's a needed bacteria that forms part of our little eco systems. Almost every new tank will get an outbreak in months 2 to 4. Yes...

Baking soda will LOWER your pH NOT raise it. You need to use washing soda (baked baking soda) to raise it. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate while washing soda is sodium carbonate. One is "bi" and the other is not. :) The main difference as far as we are concerned is that the baking soda has CO2...

I've been doing this for a while and sell bottles to reefers (have a waiting list) for $14.95 a bottle for about the same amount of pods as you get from reefnutrition. Here's what I've found. Small ball of cheato is fine but I don't use it. Leave out the sand and rock. Don't bother upgrading...

That is true of the inverts but I prefer to keep the refugium free of fish and crabs. Gobbies and other fish (normally) don't belong in a refugium IMHO. The gobbies will eat your pods big time. This is just my opinion and I know other people feel differently. Without a predator in the fuge it...

I don't really think there is confusion about the denitrifying bacteria. They need/want low oxygen based water to survive. While they can move via the water column they won't live there or be found in any great numbers. Generally speaking the water change issue has to do with the nitrifying...

If you already have the 20H then that is fine to use but a better choice would be the 20L. The reason is that you have more surface area for the sand and end up with a "bigger" DSB. You can have the water enter one end and exit/overflow the other end. Of course if this is going under a stand...

What specific angel is it and how big is it currently? What have you tried to feed it so far? Carlo

I actually just use a closed loop with a cheap pump on a 32 gallon brute trashcan for 1 minute each day at about the time the lights come up. I have the system setup to not dose kalk for 3 hours after this period to let it settle. I have a lot of evap and had to upgrade from my 5 gallon kalk...