Reefer_Madness

Looking to get another wrasse. I love wrasse colors and personality. Peaceful wrasse only that is ok with SPS, LPS, Zs, Ps, snails, and shrimp. Tank mates are: Melanurus Wrasse Christmas Wrasse Royal Flasher Wrasse Assessor Cherub Angelfish Bicolor Blenny Royal Gramma Purple Dartfish Bali Picasso Clown I could use some more yellow, orange or green.

That would reduce the monthly maintenance fee from Rob.

Lookin great!!!!! Is that a Chalk Bass buddying up to your McCoskers Wrasse?

....it cuts PVC like Magic Butter (AKA Magic Lube)

Good choice. I have had one for a couple months. It rocks.

Better take more pictures. It won't look that good for long!

Who is doing the traditional Black Friday upgrade? The deals are awesome. Wife is watching the money like a hawk since last year's Black Friday "episode", so I hope to live vicariously through someone else!! Everybody has awesome deals right now!!

Nice. It has a lot of potential.

This is another of those subjects. If do searches about this and read other forums, "everyone" rinses their food. People are pretty adamant about it. It just reinforces that the "rules" are made by the loudest forum poster and they get repeated by others.........and saying "why" is a good thing.

That's what I was thinking.

Does everyone rinse their foods before feeding? I have been, but thinking about not doing it. I hate throwing away they good looking juice. I think an SPS somewhere in the world dies every time I do.

Yes on the Gyre. I have a 12" deep shallow reef with a 130. It works great.

Just as an update. I went with the Dino X method. After the last of the algae died off, I continued with 4 more doses. All is good and algae is gone. I had a bunch of stringers of dead algae, but sucked them up during a WC. No affect what so ever on my corals. The stuff is expensive but wow. Pretty cool. I have to say the first week I was doubting it would work. It didn't seem to be doing anything, but then BAM it did. I read on some threads that you should continue even after you think it is all dead. I did and it really worked. I stopped about a week ago, did a water change, turned on the carbon, and everything looks to be happy and healthy. Highly suggest the Dino X from Fauna Marin. Formerly known as Ultra Algae X.

Happy Thanksgiving Rob.

Colors look really good Bruce. Nice tank.

FYI they are having a pretty good sale on Hanna Checkers at BRS......$35

I have the Alk and Phospate ULR checkers as well. Very accurate in my experience.

Some very interesting reading I found: http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f362/some-light-reading-for-you-all-191201.html You can't believe everything you read, but some of this stuff really does make sense.

Exciting!!

I like the poll you made. Good job Seth!!

What has caused me to really question everything is my experiences in the past. I got my first reef tank 25 years ago and then got out of it for about 10 years. The "rules" then were different. I had a very successful tank back then. Fast forward to about 5 years ago when I got back into the hobby. Everything I knew to be successful from past experience is now horrible practice. Every loud voice on the big forums says so. Now I say "why" to everything I hear. Most people just repeat what they have heard rather than thinking for themselves. This is the real reason for this conversation. Real experiences and a first person discussion. I think a conversation like this needs to have personal failures and success. Ok enough reef hobby preaching. I'm off my soap box now...

Agreed. That's kind of where I am going with this conversation. I really like where this talk is going.

It peaks my curiosity because so many people have these "rules" of what a tank is supposed to be. Logically, some of it does not make sense. My experiences don't always seem to match the loudest of the opinions out there on the forums. Paul - You are a perfect example of this.

It takes a minute or two for the water pressure to build up enough to turn the valve off. It's not instant.

So am becoming very curious about a subject that a lot of people are pretty hard headed and very opinionated about. It seems like people see this as black or white... Almost everything in this hobby is an opinion. Most of the "rules" have been broken successfully by other hobbyists. Keep in mind this may appear to be a question, but it is meant as a conversation. If you are thinking about posting a 2 word answer, I don't think this thread is for you. I'm hoping to talk about this and get real opinions and experiences. So here we go... Do SPS corals grow faster in a "dirty" tank or a "clean" tank? Which has better PE? Why do you think this? My tanks are "clean". By that, I mean unmeasurable nitrates or phosphates. My corals are growing like weeds. I am about to do some experimenting with increasing my nitrates and phosphates to increase color in my SPS. When my tank was "dirty" it had better and brighter colors. I feel that if a tank is too clean it has pale colors. That's been my experience. But, I am seeing my corals grow pretty fast in a clean tank. I'm wondering if I do succeed in gradually raising my nitrates and phosphates a little, will my growth slow down or will it increase? I am pretty sure the colors will be more appealing to my human eye, but does that mean the coral is healthier? I'm not sure. I can promise you one thing, most of these corals don't look like this in the ocean. Does that mean they are less healthy? What do you think? If the water is super clean, I would assume the PE would be more extended, since they are reaching for food. If the water is a little dirty, and has more readily available nutrients, does that mean the PE would be less? I'm curious. There are all kinds of things that affect PE, but in theory, if all parameters were kept exactly the same would PE be better in a clean tank or a dirty tank? What about growth? Better in clean or dirty tank? With all the other parameters good and stable...no changes. There is obviously a tipping point for a dirty tank. That number is not for this thread. For the discussion, I am assuming any measurable nitrates or phosphates is "dirty". "Clean" is unmeasurable. Very broad definition but I'm trying to keep someone from latching onto minutia and ignoring the point. Has anyone switched from a clean tank to a dirty tank on purpose? What was your experience? This conversation would be so much better with a coffee or a beer.