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That is my entire point "if you change water frequently with a good salt, you won't have to supplement." . Perhaps because I've usually had good calcium levels, I've never see a drop in magnesium. Yes, magnesium is needed to maintain calcium, and all the factors related to it. The only time I...

The only thing I can tell you is my experience. I see my Ca level drop, mostly due to coral growth, and I do not see a similar drop in Mg. I question your numbers because Mg is present in SW at about 1350 ppm, with calcium present at only about 400 ppm. If Mg was being depleted at a rate 9...

I would agree with the previous post. In addition to the bulb, the $199 unit is almost certainly going to come with a coil and core ballast. This will waste energy. An electronic ballast will pay for itself in energy savings. I highly recommend them.

I did read you question. Since you were asking about a battery charger, and for use as a backup, I assumed you wanted it to charge a battery for backup to one or more pumps on your reef. This does seem to be what you want to do. Now if look at my original reply, you will see that the...

After about 15 recommendations for magnesium supplements from Bulk Reef Supply, I can't add much to that. However, my question would be, why do you need to adjust magnesium? Unlike calcium, it doesn't get depleted by the livestock. I would suggest that if you are getting low readings, check...

The reef is an excellent example of what can be done with equipment that is generally considered obsolete by today's reef standards. No mater what systems was being used, it is an excellent reef. However, other than as an experimental system, would you recommend that method to anyone today. I...

I believe you are looking at things from an incorrect point of view. Salt water is the lifeblood of your reef system. If this isn't correct to start with, no amount of lighting, filtration, or other equipment can solve the problem. The way this should be viewed is you have a bundle tied up in...

I have known people to use plastic cutting boards, cut to fit the tank bottom. Obviously for a large tank you would need quite a few of them. They are tough and just about indestructible by aquarium standards. You can not easily glue anything to them, but this isn't as bad as it sounds, since...

You can run VHOs less than1" from the top of the tank. They don't need to be placed far away like MHs. If fact you'll usually get the best light out of them this way. But... you want to let the tank fallow for awhile. So if you have no hight light requirement corals or other livestock, you can...

Well, read the entire page. It only puts out 1200ma at 15v. That's not a lot. Then look at how long it would take to charge anything. Most batteries they are talking about would need more than a day to charge them, and that's at a 50% discharged, not completely run down. I don't think you...

That's the problem. You don't know wich one is bad. It could be either. Get another quality brand, and retest, and then you can at least pick the "majority choice".

There was a very recent thread on this subject. In case you didn't see it, here is a link - http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=14880.0

I've found that DE bulbs tend to run a lot hotter, possibly because manufactured fixtures for them often don't use fans. As pointed out they must be run with a UV blocking glass shield. I think it's a little easier to get a good reflector around a DE bulb. On the other hand, you have to be...

If you have not already done so, get yourself a few books on state of the are reef systems. The knowledge there will help you prevent beginner mistakes. On the subject of supplements - With the exception of calcium and related supplements, I feel most supplements are a waste of your money...

Air driers are something else I have tried with ozone. The good side is that they do remove water vapor from the air and this just about doubles the amount of ozone produced. The down side is that even with a large air drier, it will have exhausted it's media in about 3 days to 10 days...

Actually, considering this is a 15 gal tank, your choices are fine. Your going to be limited to 2 or 3 fish anyway. You have two you like, you just need one more. Yes, in a larger system, where you wanted a lot of other fish, I'd say "ditch the damsels". You have two nicely colored fish you...

Yes, Lifereef overflows cost about twice as much as the "famous brand" overflows sold by the major online stores, and many LFSs. However, it's well worth the extra cost. They do not tend to accumulate air in the siphons and don't requit another small pump to keep the siphon purged of air. This...

You might consider replacing your ballasts with electronic ballasts. They will light almost any bulb, and with the electricity saved pay for themselves in a couple of years. They will also run cooler.

Please understand. I consider ozone to be of use in some special circumstances. I do believe that most people don't need ozone, and I do want anyone considering it to be sure they are really going to gain something with it's use. So I point out the possible problems and the possible...

I've never used that skimmer, but my experiences with Rio pumps has been terrible. They seem to be very prone to failure. If the one you have works ok, go ahead and use it, but if you do need to replace it, get something similat, but of much better quality, like a Mag. The needle wheel pumps...