Gouldian

Actually all LR will have some form of die off one way or another but according to A. Calfo's book as long as the LR is kept moist it should still be able to support the beneficial bacteria. In fact there are some reefers who practice curing LR till all visable form of algae are completely gone before they introduce into their system. Some reefers will introduce beneficial bacteria to speed up the process. For me, I just let nature takes its course since I will be cycling the tank too. So whats the hurry. ;-)

Supermarket......

You raise Ca based on the instructions given by the manufacturers. What I do is one dose - monitor for one day - test - dose if necessary. Kalk should be a daily affairs cuz it will help maintain Ca & KH levels but it can't raise Ca or KH if they are too low. Buffers are add to replace any depletion of Ca & KH or other minerials. I for example uses Tropic Marine Triple Buffers twice monthly and use Bicarbonate of Soda weekly. Bicarbonate of Soda is a cheap Ca buffer - It is usually use by Housewives for adsorbing odours in Fridge and for Washing Laundry.

Welcome back bro, Missed your Reidi Paradise!

Read in books by A. Calfo & E. Borneman, they advises to light refugium on a opposing timing as your main tank. Which means if your main tank lights off your Refugium will lights on. This, they claim will prevent sudden drop of PH and oxygen levels in your systems.

Actually most reefers nowadays are beginning to appreciate the present in Bristle Worms due to it "Cleansing Properties". As for the crabs and mantis, these are a different story altogether.

Hi Bro, your calcium is very low and you alkaline is on moderate low. This is what I will do: 1. Dose 1 application of Calcium up and test Ca to confirm Ca is about 400 - 420 2. test both KH & Ca later at night 1 hour after lights off 3. Determine the consumption of Ca per day 4. Daily dosing of Kalkwasser 5. Continue to monitor of KH & Ca 6. If KH still remains at 7 even after daliy doses of Kalk, consider to add buffer 7. Once both Ca & KH is at 400+ & 8 respectively, continue to dose kalk daily but only add buffers weekly after knowing the consumption of my tank * Read & follow instructions on the labels. * Never have a sudden increase of KH or Ca, do it slowing over a period of several days. * Usually if your Ca or KH is moderately low it can be correct with Kalk dosing, I will only add the respective additives if it is way too low. Even then I will add them slowly. * If after the above and your tank still read low in Ca or KH, it could mean that your tank is shortage of Magnesium. But that is another problem that you need to seek help. Regards,

1. IMHO means In My Honest Opinion. 2. Red Slime Remover can be bought at most marine LFS, I bought mine from Marine Life for $18 2. Red Slime Remover is very effective. But as mentioned earlier some invertebrates cannot with stand the "POWER" Thus the moral of the story is "Prevention is better than cure".

Live rocks: 1. Needs to remain submerge in seawater thus when you buy LR make sure it is taken from a tank or tub with seawater. 2. Will have some live form growing on it such as algae / coralines. 3. Will smell (Some like it but I would'nt bet my last buck on it). Dead rocks: 1. Clean & dry. 2. Nothing growing on it. 3. Usually place in some container without any form of water or circulation. As you might already know Dead rocks can be converted to Live rocks but this process will takes time and if you don't have any live rock to begin with it will be even much difficult convert dead rocks to live rocks. Anyway, most reefers will go for the live rocks cuz firstly you can be certain that the rocks are truly from the sea and secondly LR aids filtrations and expedite cycling process. Although dead rocks are much cheaper, some which are not from the sea will leech unwanted nuitrients such as silicates or even worse poisons into your tank! For me, I will usually go for dead rocks (That I confirmed origin) only as base rocks and use LR to fill up the rest of my tank.

I would advise you to use a test kit to get a proper reading first. From there, the reefers then can advise you mah. If not advise wrongly, later kena "flame"

I will usually drop a couple of Mysis directly into its mouth and watch it "bloom" and swallow. :-)

For me I will not want to give an anemone to a clown if I have having a mixed tank espcailly if your tank is below 3ft. Cuz through my experienece, I noticed clown will be very terrotorial once they have a anemone and will terrorize any fishes that comes close - EVEN YOUR HAND!

Thats a very good suggestion bro. In fact, I have read in Anthony Calfo's book recomending that too. He claims that it will help in the populations of copepods too.

Agree with you sis. I have tried that before and sacrificed my torch over it. Anyway, I personally feels that it is best to use chemical as a last resorts thus I term it as "Nuking the tank". The priority is always good husbandry and lastly "Boh Bian" then nuke.

Hi, just wanted to share that I have seen a solid black frog fish in Para#$% R*&^f. Dunno how much it is but seems very interesting especially for reefers that likes wierd stuffs and have the capacity to accomodate.

Since you are at cycling, it is normal to have this happening. However, I would like to point that 2 x 36w PL for a 3ft will not be sufficient unless you are planning to have FLOWR (Fish Only With Live Rocks).

Thats right! If we were to increase our Alkalinity drastically our Calcium will drop drastically or visi versa. Thus it is always prudent to either drip Kalk daily and supplement with buffer weekly with Bicarbonate of soda or any other commercail preparation of buffers. Actually from my experience and from what I have read, dripping Kalk has been reported to maintain Alkaline and Calcium but it is adviseable to add buffer once you know the characteristics of your tank - which means you know the consumption of Alkaline & Calicium of your tank after monitoring for a month. For example, my tank alkalinity will drop after one week (even with dailiy doses of Kalk) thus I add Bicarbonate of soda to increase akalinity. But for my friend, his Caclium will drop with daily doses of Kalk thus he add increase calcium weekly. So I guess just like everything else, there is no hard and fast rules. Just monitor your tank to acertain its characteristics and maintain the Calcium and Akaline accordingly. The other alternative is to have Deep Aragonite Sand Bed or Calcium Reactor.

oic thankz if i change water does it work ?

It depends on: 1. Budget 2. Space available 3. Tank size Most hobbyist started with Weipro, Macro or Prizm and slowly advances to Aqua C, H& S or Backett.

Most common reasons for Cyno 1) Water circulation is not enough - there are dead spots within the tankl that water is almost stagnant 2) Too much nutrients - Reduce feeding and improve skimmimg. Use a good skimmer Remedies 1) Siphon off cyno 2) Increase water flows with the tank by have another powerhead 3) Nuke it with chemical (last resorts) From what I know, cyno are bacteria. not algae and thus reducing photoperiod is not very effective in controlling them.

By the way, could you update us on your tank? Capacity? How long have you had your tank? What LS are you currently having? If not very difficult to advise. Afraid to give wrong advise. Anyway, for me I practice Kalwasser dripping very night after I tested the consumption of Calcium and Alkaline of my tank. Every weekly I also add Reefez Akaline. Please be advise that dosing Kalk or any additive requires monitoring cuz over dose will have drastic effects on your tank. I have a friend who have his whole tank wipe-out after not heeding my advise on Kalk dosing.

I did that to my tank once and I experienced another cycling! Amonia & Nitrate spikes! I would think it is alright to adjust a little but moving too many LR will firstly stressed your LS and secondly create another cycling of the tank.

1) Test kits for testing Alkalinity and Calcium 2) Increase your light output (VHO or MH) 3) Calcium reactor (expensive) or Kalkwasser (cheaper) to supplement / maintain Once all this is settled, all you need is time. By the way, Coralines growing in your tank is a general indication of your tank's health. Cheers,

Very hard to advise you cuz your sump is design for wet / dry filtration. Thus you will notice that the water overflow from the main tank goes through the bottom of the first and second chamber from the right before flowing into the skimmer. Most people now uses deep sand bed (DSB) support with macroalgae. As such, the design of the sump will be slightly different. The water from the main tank generally will be fed into the first chamber with deep sand bed, filter feeders and macro algae. From the first chamber, the water will "overflow" to the second chamber with some form of deritus trap and subsequently to the third chamber for Skimmer. You noticed that both your first and second chamber does not permit you to place DSB. Anyway, wet / dry filtration is considered not suitable for invertebrates / reef tanks if you are planning to have a FLOWR tank than it is ok. You may check the following link to find out more: http://saltaquarium.about.com/gi/dynamic/o...g1%2Fsumps.html Cheers,

The Red, Purple & Pink you see in LR are Coraline Algae. They are beneficial to the system cuz where Coralines grows, it prevent unwanted algae to grow on the same spot. Also, they definitely looks more appealing than the other @#@(*&^$ nuisance algae. To encorage the growth of Coralines you need: 1) High Calcium 2) High Alkalinity 3) Lights, lights & more lights Good luck.