bawater

Only certain file types can be attached , if you stick to the normal pic files like jpeg or gif you should have no problem. The problem with megapixel cameras nowadays is that a lot of people don't resize them - since you only need to post a pic and not print a A4 or A3 poster you will need to resize to below 800pixel width . Which 500 or 600pixel width is perfectly fine for viewing. Mega pictures(anything above 800pixel width) are deleted.

If you have access to other test kit brands i suggest you get a re-confirmation on the NO3 level. If you drink the well water i think you need to keep this in mind with regards to blue baby syndrome(which may come in handy in future): http://www.seagrant.umn.edu/groundwater/pdfs/MDH-NinWW.pdf http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension...wm/ag473_4.html You choose a sensitive algae to start on - caulerpa tends to go sexual often -24hr lighting doesn't stop it. I find the grape is the first to go then followed by feather/fern caulerpa. There is a moss kind of caulerpa which never melts....and will even grow in ambient lighting. sorry i don't have a pic of it(but i think there is one in the seahorse forum) - this algae tends to grow fast, you can almost see new growth daily (with fast growth means uptake of nutrients) and need regular trimming. I'm very sure you should be able to find it. You may want to use PL lighting on the algae- which helps in good lush growth. A 16hrs on 8 hrs off period is good enough. Water flow had nothing to do with it. If you can find Ulva around, it would also be a good candidate. If your souce water is 13ppm NO3 - have you also tested for PO4? What are the levels in your main tank? The algae should be able to lower it by a pinch but don't count on it doing more than 10-20ppm(depending on the amount of algae used). Try to get a good reverse osmosis unit.

Depending on the product you use. They have different OD results. but OD is OD and things still may die as a result. Its like a snowball effect - it may push other parameters out of whack causing stress,causing death due to the stress, or causing you to use other products to balance the other parameters & you OD on that product too....and you spend more time and more money doing all this than looking at your tank. That's not a hobby.

One major problem in calcium levels is that many people don't test for it and dose blindly. This results in all kinds of problems. Get your current levels and then decide what kind of amounts you need then you will be able to choose a product specific to your needs. and don't forget a Alkalinity/DKH test kit to test you carbonates too(Salifert would be a better test kit range). If you do 2 calcium tests 24hrs apart(measured at the same time e.g tue 10pm and wed 10pm) you will get your tank's daily consumption. Its quite easy to balance levels once you have that. Before that. I don't recommend dosing any products because nobody has any idea what amounts you need. In calcium- you choose a product for the grade of material used...not by brand. Use calcium chloride as a booster if you have low levels - never as a long term solution. Kalkwasser is much more balanced for daily use.

Nice tank anthony, first thing you have to do is resize it - nothing beyond 800pixel width. honestly 600-700pixels is big enough(& faster to load). by resizing it - the pic will also get a little clearer,the 2nd pic a bit blur. just repost smaller pics and i'll clear the previous pics once the new ones go up. thanks

You may try it and the worst is that the media is spilled all over the place. i tried the coconut squeeze bags long ago and stayed away from cotton from then on. Spotlight have some nice bags (either polyester or nylon) which they keep for decorations near the small coloured boxes for wrapping gifts for a few dollars which i use - so far they have lasted well over 12mths. or watercircle as some fine mesh media bags. "Cotton will dissolve in seawater" and is used in aquaculture for that specific purpose- http://www.fukuina.com/shellfish/flexmesh_socking.htm and just some generic news to back that up. http://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/ware/fasern/baumwoll/abb9.htm

i've tried AZ-NO3. Its a temp solution. Firstly - start using it once u have removed all the bio-balls Follow the dosing instructions on the bottle and make sure you have enough water movement during treatment (oxygen levels will drop to almost half during the period) and you may loose some livestock during this time if not there's not enough water movement for oxygen exchange. i think you will find that once the bio-balls are gone you will have plenty of space which you can utilise. its an enzyme base product - won't affect PO4 media. What you are feeding may relate to PO4. what u feed the fishes? what u feed the corals? You shouldn't need to starve LS or corals to lower PO4, you just need to balance the input with ample output. Once your PO4 levels start to rise - you need to change media. Rowa is a good product and you should see a big drop within 7days.(if you have high levels) PR has a new PO4 media called Biophos II(Fe based) , a 500ml bag just nice for 1000ltrs and 1ppm PO4 reading. i think you will find it cheaper.

zero NO3 reading on home test kits is more than enough for clams. NO3 as a sole food. NO! Clams to help lower NO3, (very expensive theory if u wanna try it out)

dude a refugium is not compulsory. a refugium is a refuge for the tiny animals to reproduce in a sheltered environment this will serve as food for the reef, you may use macro algae in it to help with a little nutrient management but don't expect that small amount of algae to do miracles . To process nitrates look into a real turf scrubber or other NNR methods (DSB,plenum etc) A refugium is an additional benefit if you have space.

point 5. Its new water volume - unless you took all 200l from the 2ft. 3 days does not cycle the tank - bacteria need more time to establish themselves. Thus u needed to treat it as a restart - not transfer from one established tank to another. Meaning cycle the new tank then transfer fish by fish over after a month or so. You also need to look at the nitrogen cyle carefully http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/bionitrog.../a/aa073199.htm http://www.petland.com/gazette/no2_chart.htm The bacteria on the LR you put in still needs time to acclimatise to the new environment and then establish themselves. There may even be some die off. Unless u mean bacteria colonize the surface area of the carbon and starts processing nitrites...in that case you use carbon for the wrong purpose by making it work like ceramic rings or bio-balls. No2 is still toxic, if you still measured it in your previous tank 1) your biological filtration in inadequate (carbon falls under chemical filtration) 2) you are over stocked 3) you have not finished cycling 4) all the above About the protein skimmer thingy....i don't find a difference, in fact it would be better to run from day one once u add livestock or LR.Even if it doesn't skim anything at least its aerating the water. remember that when u add fishes...you have to feed them too. There are so many factors to consider, different environment/parameters leading to stress,stress from toxicity, stress from low oxygen etc etc...all in an un-established filtration not capable of handling the waste from the fishes. what's done is done - don't dwell too much about it, you still have livestock to look out for in the present. Now just cycle the tank properly and read more during this period.Ask more questions too. A picture of the current 3ft situation would help too.

In theory yes.(if its a sterile tank with nothing to consume it) In practical there are many factors...... & most probably won't happen. With many living organisms consuming the phyto - even a DSB from the creatures living in it. There may also be a salinity or/and other parameter shock to the microalgae in the DT, this will cause some cells to die off and there will also be some dead cells in the bottle already. If overdosed - either you get a green water tank(highly unlikely if you have a heavy filter feeder load or sponges) OR you get higher nutrients from phyto die off...which leads to nuisance algae blooms. Its a good product if you can bear the price$ - and you should also get to know your tank's nutrient processing capabilities when feeding anything.

Tanzy already answered that. yes they will grow. There are different kinds that grow in different light levels.Fast or slow depends on your water.

It should be a new tank.? And you must be using the red sea test kit. Yes you have to add the initial 4 drops. Increments are in 50ppm so you loose a lot of accuracy. results from the kit is so-so.Gives you a rough gauge.

some links based on hard corals.photosynthetic species Abstract from the link below : "Coral polyps absorb calcium ions from seawater and are transferred by both diffusion and an active pump mechanism that ends at the area being calcified. This is important because calcium is used in cell metabolism for regulation. The calcium concentrations must be low or else it will interfere with coral tissue functions. The concentration of free calcium ions is lower in corals than in seawater because the calcium ions stick to membranes or organic molecules. Lothar Böhm at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica showed through his studies that calcium has a high turnover rate. The process in which the skeleton is made takes place during the day with great intensity. At night skeleton growth abates and slows down. The growth depends also on the season of the year, age and shape of corals. Young corals grow much faster than old corals, sphere corals grow slower than corals which have branched shape. A fact of particular interest is that corals are able to change their shape during their life to aid in sunlight retrieval. Temperature is also very important, for corals grow best in temperatures between 25-27oC. Factors Influencing Calcification It seems pretty obvious that light is important in coral calcification because corals need light for photosynthesis. It makes sense that growth decreases when there are drugs present that inhibit photosynthesis. As a matter of fact, corals grow 14 times faster under light than in the dark. For example, calcium uptake is highest at mid-day on a clear sunny day. On a cloudy day, the rate is 50% lower, and in darkness, the rate is 90% lower. The calcium deposition rate rapidly decreases as depth increases. Why Do These Factors Depend on Zooxanthellae? There are few relationships as close and tight as that between coral and zooxanthellae. As one might suspect, it is crucial to take zooxanthellae into account when looking at how reef calcification occurs." http://library.thinkquest.org/25713/reefs_....html?tqskip1=1 Research on the subject: http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/facilities/ionprobe/Nicky.pdf http://www.whoi.edu/GG/science/people/acoh.../chemistry1.pdf Reduction of calcification from lowered pH and CO32- was greater than reduction from nitrate additions. Corals in low pH treatments recovered their initial calcification rates within 2 d of re-introduction to ambient seawater, indicating the effects of CO2 chemistry are immediate and reversible. Changes in calcification from increases in atmospheric CO2, and hence decreases in CO32-, may be larger than local effects from elevated nutrients. There are various articles on increased CO2 levels affecting growth rates in the wild- this is just one. http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v188/p117-121.html I think for sps night is more dedicated to food capture,but that's another subject altogether.

moved.

Ran 3 categories...only received 2 entries. don't think need to carry on with the entry submission. Something else may be coming up instead soon.

Is there a relationship between the water volume of the tank and the cycling period and danger? There may be some difference in cycle time- it does not only apply to volume, but also the amount of bacteria and media in which the bacteria can colonize. Depending on how much LR is used and other aspects of filtration. The timed guideline given is just that! a guideline. The only way you know personally is by testing the water for the various parameters which indicated that your cycle is done. Logically, 100g of decaying matter in 100L of water will potentially be more lethal than 100g of decaying matter in 1000L of water in terms of mg/l or ppm for Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate rite? In theory yes . Usually ppl with smaller tanks do use a smaller piece of prawn meat. I don't like the idea of putting something to rot in the tank because by adding LR to a new tank you already will have the ammonia to jump start everything. And if you don't use rocks at all - bacteria will drop into your tank for free....just that it takes many many weeks longer. In the above example, the 1000L will have 1/10 of the levels of Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate in the various cycling stages? It may not be the case - If the 1000L has a big filter and enough filter media...the only difference you may see is that the prawn decays faster as the bacteria population multiplies in the bigger surface area given. Unless the 2 setups are indentical then you will have 1/10th levels- otherwise cycling time and levels will differ for sure. So what exactly is harmful to the LS? the total amount of ammonia/nitrate/nitrite in the tank? (which is constant in both examples) or high levels of ppm or mg/L? You need to read zero ammonia,zero nitrite. (these 2 are harmful and can kill LS instantly or in short periods at certain levels) Test kits will provide the danger levels guide in the instructions. If you test for any of the 2 - either you have not fully cycled or you have a filtration problem. LS will tolerate Nitrate to certain levels- and if you do not provide Nitrate reduction methods in the tank...then this will accumilate. The end product of the basic cycle is nitrates - you will need to look into NNR methods or other methods out there to process this.

The only alternative is different species of Starfish. They will take almost all kinds - but seem like the linkia sp. is a favourite. You don't have to cut anything - just get small stars and feed the whole thing. If you don't want to feed it anything live- forget about keeping a halequin shrimp. Yes they are reefsafe.

while looking for CV 150w DE comparisons i came across this for 250w users May be of some use with the PAR readings in the table at the bottom. http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm

moved.

just setup one day before chinese new year. PH 8.3 and NO2 0.1-0.3. There's your problem would be good to test for ammonia too. Its an uncycled tank, the inhabitants will have a hard time in the coming days-to weeks. You are basicly testing the limits of the coral's ability in an unstable environment. You just need to read up on the basics, all posted & pinned in the new to the hobby section.

The brand of the liquid food will give an idea of what it is. They should also list the ingredients on the bottle. Target feeding would be better with solid food.(something meaty) but you don't need to for the above. unless you want giant mushies & button plague!

Everybody left out the super duper robust Truncate fairy Anthias ...........can almost feed out of your hand (or bite your finger off)

Up to personal preference. but there is nothing that say corals can eat the DT in 30mins with no circulation to bring them the food. Simple way of feeding phyto is drip feeding - use your normal amount of DT or phyto food and dilute with 300-500ml of tank water, put it into a drip bottle and let it go 1 per sec or 1 drop per 3 sec. This gives u a constant drip input of phyto over a few hours- meaning a consistent food source in the water for the period of time. The longer the better (the more natural it becomes). You will be doing this without increasing food amount- all you are doing is simply diluting it to make it last longer in the water column. This way u can run your pumps & skimmers without worry.

Food is mainly protein,amino acids and assorted vitamins(contents directly relates to the kind of food you feed). Uneaten food won't dissolve on its own - it rots. In an established tank, before the uneaten food rots to nothing it will be eaten by the hundreds of thousands of micro-organisms and millions of bacteria. The biological process by the bacteria may lower pH around the immediate area (which may release accumulated PO4 in the sand or LR) which may lead to patches of cyano. If you have zero PO4 in the water- don't worry so much, once the PO4 source for the cyano runs out, it will go on its own or only be limited to a certain spot.(worry if you have a high PO4 level) Same happens when a fish dies and you can't find it.....only cyano. The Food chain doesn't end with fish - it goes down much futher. Fish excrete - which again will also be assimilated in an established system (which is why you never get elevated ammonia in an established tank once the biological process is established) - bacteria and algae will take it up. Fish poop - will be foods for others , it breaks down and gets covered in bacteria which is then caught by some corals - this is just one ingredient in the particulate matter you see floating around. Bacteria is one of the major foods for corals. The balance will find itself over time , you just need to take care of the tank parameters and the system will evolve itself. That is why no 2 tanks are the same. Plastic Fish don't poop or pee