Achilles Tang

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Dunno... probably get a 6-line or Halichoeres Chrysus. Some reefers say they work.

3 days ago.... I spotted more white patches on my brown montis.... and today.... I found the culprits.

For someone who have been hurt by a long spine urchin while scuba diving... i have one word..... YYYYYEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!! Just be careful with it. Another thing to consider is that they are very very strong and will topple LR easily. Also, their spines may pierce coral tissue as they walk around.... they don't really care and won't say 'sorry' to your bubble coral or elegance or pratas if they should poke them.

As Tanzy said, the AZ-NO3 enzymes will produce a drop in oxygen as it works to quickly convert the nitrates to nitrogen, affecting PH. Corals will deplete cal and alk. I doubt if AZ-NO3 has any connection with this. Fluctuation of PH happens on a daily basis. Mine fluctuates from 7.8 to 8.2 daily. Have you measured DT's PH? I think it can be quite high. I had a couple of LS casualties b4 the start of the AZ-N03 project. PH fluctuates daily, reaching its peak during the 'day' where photosynthesis of algae, microalgae etc consuming CO2 and producing oxygen will boost PH levels. At 'night' when photosynthesis stops and livestock consumes oxygen & produces CO2 that acidifies water... PH drops. If you have a calcium reactor which uses CO2, it makes PH drops at night even worse. You can use kalkwasser solution to top up evaporated water at night to help buffer PH as its very alkaline by nature. After you complete your AZNO3 treatment to drastically reduce nitrates... you can resume normal operations, which is to just keep your cal/alk levels stable.

DIY 400w SE units are cheaper to make than to purchase 250 DE pendant fixtures and are proven units for producing large amounts of PAR which reefers have used successfully currrently and in the past for SPS. I think Robe prefers SE bulbs too and have used them for years. Figures are still coming in for the newer 250DE bulbs like the Aquaconnect, Giesemann Megachrome etc and there are quite a few designs for DE reflector/fixtures with different light spread. I may make the switch when I have more money, when the price of DE bulb fixtures start coming down and they start making more efficient reflectors for DE bulbs... I have seen too many tanks with shadows and darker zones which are commonly seen with DE reflectors vs SE reflectors which are much larger and cover more area. My 2 cents.

I'm on too!!

LOL! No prob...

yeah.. sometimes I have to double guess what you're trying to say!

19percula, Your POV will cause problems because: 1. You have to know how to ID the fish ie. know its name, because you need to know ALL about its feeding needs, housing requirements and compatibility with the current tank inhabitants and future inhabitants. That's the basis of RESPONSIBLE REEFKEEPING! 2. Reef safe doesn't mean its going to ok in your reef tank. ie. if you like a red coral trout or polkadot grouper and you put it in your reef tank with small fishes like cardinals or anthias... guess what happens? Or buy an AT or powder blue tang and place it with your established YT or PT? Or buy a razorfish or seahorse and put it in a tank with fast current and fast fishes? 3. You still want to think the advice they give is important in your decision making... well... good luck then. My 2 cents... AT

Featherstars - family Comasteridae.

I don't think there is a major difference between SE and DE bulbs. Its just made in different sizes for different applications. The protective outer glass envelope of SE bulbs does away with a need for a pendant with an additional UV glass. The problem with SE bulbs is trusting that the UV glass supplied with pendants to be of a grade good enough to screen out harmful UV and not burn your corals or hurt yourself. Even Hon still has problems with his Guiseman DE pendants which burnt his SPS corals. He has changed his UV glass a few times already.

Aiyoh, like that also call 'suan'!

What a cool weapon! sony_gravity_bomb_ad.mov

Err... whats a featherstarfish/sea spider? There is a crinoid which is also called feather star, which is not a starfish. And there is a sea spider which is a coral parasite.

Interesting rockscape, reminds me of a volcano top.

Well, if its any consolation... my corals all turned brown under 150w even when directly under the water surface under the MH... under 400w, once they adapt to the water conditions... its fast and furious with the colours! I guess with 250w, its somewhere in the middle.

Do you feel great? nutrigrain_02.mov

Welcome to the expensive, money guzzling, frustrating, patience-building, worrying, wonderfully amazing world of SPS-keeping! You keep mostly frags? Care to share your tank details?

Angel you mean. Not Angle. Sorry to hear that. If its a physical wound... there are many causes, Aggression between fishes, panic + rocks, a big mantis?

I think most of us do. I think it does give a sense of accomplishment when you can built something yourself that works! Well done!

Morning folks! Got skimmate?

Do remember to feed it with consistent amounts of phytoplankton daily for their survival.

Do you use a ball valve to control your durso returns?

Agree with Joe_p. I think I know whose tank he's referring to! Anyway. Morgan is going to set up 400w MHs for his reef tank as he says his 250w MHs can't penetrate deep enough. It should be up sometime next century. Frankly, for your depth, if you intend to keep clams and SPS at the sandbed level, then by all means, 400w is best. 250w is a compromise and 150w is no go. Intense lighting is recommended for SPS. Most of the ultimate tanks in the Ultimate Aquariums book are using much more than my 1600w of lightings and they have amazing colouration and growth of SPS corals. I'll be showing some growth sequence soon of my SPS corals directly under 800w of MH lighting and you'll be shocked at how fast they can grow!