Ryan S

I will test Ca, Alk, Mg and Phosphate this afternoon and post them here.

I have a couple large pieces of rock in my tank that have been covered in pink coralline algae for 2 years now. Over the past week or so they've both been turning white (so I assume the coralline algae is dying/dead). What could cause something like this? I haven't added anything new to the tank, or done anything differently lately. Is there a certain thing I should be testing for? My gut guesses at possibilities are: 1. Alk too high 2. Cal too high 3. Mag too high 4. I pour into the tank 40ml alk, and 50ml cal everyday from my BRS dosing system; but I don't drip them, I just dump the whole thing in at once into the sump; I know you're supposed to drip though. Could this small amount all at once, blown on to the rock above, be killing the coralline? Maybe the ph swing or something? Any guesses anyone? Thanks.

Here are the GFO instructions I use. There was a guy in Kansas that put in double what he should have, and all kinds of things died. I'm not sure how/why the GFO did that, maybe someone else can chime in on the chemical reason behind it? Just start off slowly with the BRS starting amount recommendation, and you'll be fine. He put like double that in a cannister and things died. The good thing about GFO is that you don't have to change it very often. I change mine every 2-3 months, which is good b/c it's a little pricey. You could get some from BRS in the current group buy if you wanted...

Hi Jan! I can also add that GFO helps lower phosphates in my tank. I run it in a BRS dual reactor (gfo and carbon). But be careful with GFO, if you add too much, it can really harm your tank. (BRS has excellent directions for it). -Ryan

That's a gorgeous tank you have. I love the wood on the stand and canopy. What are the dimensions of the 265g? I think that's the size I want to upgrade too from my 135g tank (Read: let me know if you ever want to sell to downgrade/upgrade! .) (I am not sure I could fit anything larger than 265g through my condo front door to be honest). It's glass right? So it must be MEGA heavy?

I've always wanted 1 male and 2 females. Would be a cool trio to have.

i think they'd be fine. puffers get along pretty well with one another.

I don't have any dosing pumps yet, so all I can tell you is what I plan on buying. When I can afford them, I am going to buy 2 of these. I will use them to dose my BRS alk and cal 2 part system. BRS has never let me down on any of their other products, and the reviews are good too. The features are really great: BRS Doser Features Extremely slow 1.1mL per minute flow rate is ideal for dosing chemicals like two part. Silent operation At 4 hours use a day tube life is over 12 months Mounting bracket Includes approximately 17ft of extension tubing Two roller design extends tube life and will not back siphon

Cool, thanks all. And to make sure, these aren't the bad flatworms that kill zoanthids right? I guess I need to grab a sixline wrasse. Looks like he would be very happy in my tank!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwPpDzSJ1vk I don't think they are copepods. Are they red bugs? Or a tiny snail? My digital camera couldn't focus on them, so I made a short 1 minute video, but it's not great either. You can at least see their distinctive shape. Anyone know what they are? Are they good/bad?

I've always wondered why units such as Aquacontrollers, couldn't control more than temp, ph, and orp. Why not a unit that monitors nitrate, phosphate, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, ph, salinity and temp. All in one unit. How awesome would that be? My initial thought was that probes didn't exist to test those other parameters, hence why you need those liquid drop test kits to test those parameters, however, probes do exist for them. Nitrate Probe. Calcium Probe. Salinity Probe. Etc. Etc. I picture in my mind, a 1" wide piece of acrylic, that spans the width of your sump, with many small holes down the middle of it, where the probes fit. Thus, you could have 8 probes, in a line, all dipping into your water, running to a controller, that is constantly monitoring all tank parameters, not just a couple. Why doesn't some company make this? Too costly? It seems to me like, someone should develop it, and if not now, then it should be viable in the near future. Even if the unit was a $1000, it would still probably be worth it? Thoughts? Opinions?

Petland in Fairfax is having a sale on their LR. $4.50/lb. http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...mp;#entry273487

Those are amazing. Thanks for posting those pics!

Yes, which ones did you get? These are the ones I want to get some day (too expensive for me right now): http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/Two-Part-Kit...oduct_info.html

I use the BRS dosing system too. I just pour the entire MAG container into the tank at one time, (after the CAL and ALK are gone). Here are the BRS directions. They say: "At this point it is time to dose the 20oz bottle of Magnesium. This can be done entirely in one dose just remember to add slowly to a high flow area of the tank." Someone asked them about adding it all at once, or dosing it slowly in their FAQs: I would like to dose the Magnesium portion in multiple doses instead of one dose in the end, is this ok? Yes, this is fine and many people opt to do this. Just keep the following ratio: 20oz of Magnesium solution for every 1 gallon of Calcium and Alkalinity. (20oz Magnesium:1 gallon Calcium:1 gallon Alkalinity)

I had an Octopus NW150 on my 75g tank, and now have an Octopus NW200 on my 135g tank. So, needless to say, I am a big fan of the Octopus Skimmers. I will most likely be getting another when I upgrade tanks again. I am sure the Reef Octopus Extreme 300 is a beast.

Agreed. Looks great Jan!

I can't find it now, but I came across a tank on RC once that had a camera inside the center of his tank in a dome, and you could control it from the website application, and move it around, zoom in and out, etc. Was super cool. Wish I could find it, but not having any luck.

Jan, I would replace the bulbs. 14k DE MH bulbs, and new actinic pc bulbs. I think you'll see a huge difference.

Gorgeous progression shots from the RC March 2009 TOTM. Very impressive: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...hreadid=1674294

I started with 7, and ended with 0 after about 18 months. I'd say every couple months the school would drop by 1. 7 to 6 to 5 to 4 to 3 to 2 to 1 to 0. Today I have 0 and haven't replaced them. I didn't know why it happened, but read that it had happened to others too. I am not sure if it was aggression amongst themselves or lack of feeding. I'll probably try a school of them again some day. For about $5 each it's not like it's that expensive to "keep their numbers up" I suppose.

Chromis would be fine. I used to have 7 that schooled in my old 75g tank. Probably the cheapest school you could get. Some day I would like a school of Disbar Anthias like this:

bob can I get on the future frag list please? I saw them Saturday at Mr. Coral's and was beyond impressed. If I was already working I would've definitely brought one home with me. Such a unique piece that you never see.

I went ahead and ordered this one: http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-36in-2...ure-p/52102.htm I am sure it will work for now, and we can find something nicer down the road.

thank you for the replies. if it was my main tank, I'd never get it, but for a FOWLR, it seems like it would do fine for the price? i mean, we are comparing a fluorescent single strip to T5, so, cheap fixture or not, the cheap T5 should blow the fluorescent single strip away right? Her 36" 38g tank dimensions are: 36 1/4 x 12 5/8 x 19 3/4. So, my next question is, would 2x39W over a 38g tank be sufficient for beginner corals, polyps, zoas, leathers? It should be right? They do sell a 4x39W for $50 more...?