swimmatte

So, a couple months ago I started up a 30g frag tank with a 10g sump. Currently there are about 30 zoa frags, a couple Acans, some snails, and a lawnmower blenny. Shortly after starting everything up I noticed my ALK was on the rise and is now topping out my Red Sea test kit which goes up to 14. If I had to guess past that point I would think it's probably somewhere around 15 or 15.5........ I have not been dosing anything and use Instant Ocean. I also run cheato in the sump and just recently (about a week ago) installed a dual reactor running carbon and gfo. Does anyone have an idea as to what is could cause this to stay this high? Also, what would you suggest as far as fixing it? Below are my complete readings: SG: 1.023 (had been at 1.024 since the beginning) pH: 7.9 Mag: 1340 Alk: 14+ Calcium: 400 Nitrates: 60 (I know, I know) Phos: .03

I'm not a fan of the marineland products. The only one I do like is their hidden LED as an accent as it has versatile mounting options, and can be submerged. Why not just get a d120?

You'll be hard pressed to find a LFS that sells any rock for $2.50 a pound. You do however see WAMAS members selling it that cheap in the for sale section.

Can I make a recommendation? Stop using crappy dip strips. For someone that has been in the hobby as long as your signature says, I would assume you would have upgraded your testing equipment by now. IMHO, you have no idea what your readings are, because those strips are junk. Furthermore, I'm from the belief that you shouldn't be dosing ANYTHING without a good test kit.

Lol, you didn't know that an orange fungia's growth rate doubles when placed with exactly three non-orange fungias? The light reflection from a perfect combo of purple, blue, and green enhances essential vitamin intake!

Orange are considered more rare so you some people will make you take other more common colors along with it. Same thing with Master Scolys. When we pick up a master we've had to buy as many as 10 other assorted Scolys as well. As for Fungia care, I agree that they love to eat. I have found that they'll eat just about anything and mine like medium flow with medium light. I would try to stay away from letting them get buried in the sand. I put a frag plug underneath where I want it placed to try and keep it elevated just slightly off the sand bed. I've had a few nice fungias for quite some time now and just picked up this sweet helio today......

Wow.....

Welcome back! Glad to have ya!

Let's see a "real" pic of that master!

This is just my opinion but since your tank is only a few months old, you may want to wait a bit before buying any SPS corals, especially anything expensive. I bought a few cheaper SPS corals a couple months after starting my system and all of them died fairly quickly. Did you wait for the tank to cycle before adding stuff? How are your parameters? Where are ya from?

+1 I alternate 15% - 10% - 20% week by week, which gives me a similar schedule to you at 45% every 3 weeks.

IMHO, water changes are the MOST IMPORTANT portion of reef keeping. I notice a huge difference between when I am vigilant with water changes to when I slack.

I would not suggest choosing your led colors based on which colors you want to stand out more in your tank. Using too much Red in your setup could create a large amount of nuisance algae that could be impossible to overcome. I would suggest going with one of the Evergrow lights sold in our group buys and at least start with a stock layout such as the one provided by reefbreeders. You can then substitute some blues for whites for a less blue look, or vice versa if you want more blue. The stock reefbreeders layout for the d120 utilizes 55 led's and they are broken out as follows: (14) 4500k (24) 450nm (6) 420nm (9) 480nm (2) 660nm (red) Also, in the ocean reefs, the red spectrum does not travel further than 14ft underwater, so many corals never even see any red spectrum.

Nice to hear. Hopefully we both still have it a year from now.......

I just ordered this for my 30 gallon frag tank due to it's super small footprint. Any update on yours after a week?

I can't wait to see some real pics

Sick.....As usual

So sick.......... Enjoy that master bro, it's a GEM

You should see it in person..... That thing is SICK.

I should clarify that I'd be getting the 3.5 model.

I'm thinking about running this bad boy....... http://www.marinedepot.com/Bubble_Magus_NAC_Series_In_Sump_Needle_Wheel_Protein_Skimmers_w_Bubble_Plate_In_Sump_Venturi_Needle_Wheel_Protein_Skimmers-Bubble_Magus-4W03002-FIPSISNW-vi.html Thoughts?

I can probably do 6"x10"

Ooops..... that's pertinent information huh. It's only a 30 gallon tank with another 10-15 gallons in the sump. I'd like to stay away from going with a HOB, but I guess I could run the HOB in the sump.

Is it Monday yet? I can't wait to see this FIRE.................