Recent content by jeremy upshir

yeah I would just change your carbon.. if your levels are good on that size tank you may get away with once every two weeks but I would not go any longer.. generally you want to change it once a week but if you are running larger amounts in a reactor you can go every two weeks

no all carbon is used for is it reduces ammonia and makes the water clear, it does nothing else or does not prevent anything else

how is your nitrates?

usally there is a floss pad and a carbon pad in each basket or something similar, if there are other pads then you should usally change those once every two weeks.. no I wouldn't say your running two much. I have a reactor and I am running about half of cup of carbon

what type of filtration are you running? I agree with the api test kits they are not accurate

do you have floss pads in that filter also?

that's to long for the filter.. you should change the carbon once a week, it will make a huge difference

how often do you change your carbon and how much do you run?

I would use half live and half base rock also.. big coast difference and it will be able to cycle with the tank.. if you do get base rock just be sure to scrub the rock real good before you add to your tank. I also agree with the skimmer if you have the money they are great skimmers but really...

I agree with carey... no lights needed to cycle the tank, all lights do is grow algae and rack up the electric bill, I would not turn them on until you have fish

no kidding that's a good clean up crew,, mine sucks lol

you should always only top off with fresh water only because salt does not evaporate, your salt levels will slowly raise every time you add water, but as far as your cloudy water you prob should have tested your water before the water change so we had an idea on what was going on, after the...

and also be real careful with that canister and a saltwater tank, they are okay to use but a sump is a way better way to go.. with a canister you have to make sure you change your media bags once a week, also with a canister they are bad for holding nitrates in your tank so be real careful about...

I would just start with new media.. using the old media will not help with anything and the bacteria is different

and what kind of water are you using?