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LR in a small tank is nothing to be afraid of :) What my recommendation would be is to start your cycle with uncured LR... and maybe a raw cocktail shrimp... the LR put in right in the beginning should be all that's needed to kick start your cycle, but a raw shrimp will be a nice supplement...

Hara.....beat me to it.....roughly the same idea.....'cept she remembered the powerheads!!

Hey, welcome to AA, and welcome back to the hobby. First off, I gotta say that "success in SW" and "low-budget setups" aren't really friends in this hobby. You can make them get along for awhile, but eventually, if you want the peace usually "low-budget" needs some character-improving. It...

ya hammered it home, Roka!

The damage was done, for me anyway, after this comment was made.... "i'm not keeping the damsels so i don't care about there health. i know its cruel but i'd rather do it this way then to feed the empty tank and let the food rot to build ammonia." Some may be more forgiving than I, and I...

WOW... I just stumbled upon this thread at this point. Hard to believe the comments about not caring about the health were actually said. Who gets into keeping live animals without having their health at the forefront of their endeavor? At this point, I wouldn't even bother giving any...

First off I would recommend getting a salifert NO3 test despite whether the test kit you are using is spoiled. I say this because saliferts ARE accurate and when dealing with a problem, it's best to have accuracy for true monitoring purposes. I understand that there is a discrepancy between...

you mentioned you have "cleaners" already, are you referring to a clean up crew? If so, you may find that many will perish...they're not generally hardy enough to endure a cycle.

there are a few species of peppermints as well. The caribean is the one you're after for aiptasia control. "Lysmata wurdemanni" You can also try berghia nudibranchs which feed only off of aiptasia.....after the aiptasia goes extinct, so goes the nudi's too though.

JBJ 12G nanocube deluxe is what I would go with if it were me. They make a 24G too. The deluxe gives you better lighting so you would be capable of keeping several types of corals at a later date as your tank ages/grows. My suggestion, however, is if you are set on a nano as your first SW...

:( not a very good start.... I hope the wife forgives ya!!

one of my cats won't drink water at her eating spot, no matter what kind of vessel it's in. She will only drink water out of the toilet, or glasses left around the house....go figure.

Yes. That's what gives us the measurement as movinweight mentioned. I was just pointing out how it worked. I just posted this in another thread, but I'll put it here too. It's only my opinion though....not to be taken as verbatim. FO ~ 1.020. FOWLR ~ 1.023 REEF ~ 1.025

- refugium with macros - reduce feedings to every second day - feed what the fish will consume in 3 minutes, no more - pwc's

I would put a thin layer of sand in there. pods will make to your main tank via return plumbing.

You can get some pretty good deals on refractometers, I would definetely make the upgrade. As far as SG, I would say that its dependant on the system you are running. FO ~ 1.020. FOWLR ~ 1.023 REEF ~ 1.025 My thoughts anyway... HTH

another thumbs up here. Increased concentration of salt will cause light to bend more aggressively.

what is your nitrate reading?

I wouldn't recommend it for a long daily duration. It won't help the smell. If your kids gave you directions not to turn them on, then I would stick with that. I do, however, think a little daily light is good to keep any photosynthetic life that may have a chance of pulling through the...

All sounds normal for your cycle process. The smell is the die-off from the live rock. It's bad, i know, but it is quite normal. There is no need at all for a raw shrimp when using 2 lbs per gal of uncured LR. That is PLENTY of ammonia production on its own. I wouldn't do a water change...

Speaking as a tech myself, I wouldn't let the the part about how fast she does an exam bother you. Some techs are faster than others.... and some feel the need to do what has been engrained in them as far as what they interpret to be a complete exam. I work in a busy hospital so I do what I...

IMO, nano's aren't the best way to get the feel for SW. They need a much more watchful eye and dedicated husbandry.

mine fluctuates almost the same as devilishturtles.

FYI... Plankton, by definition, is small organisms that live in the water column. They are separated into zooplankton (heterotrophic, ie: copepods), phytoplankton (autotrophic, ie: algaes) and protoplankton (bacteria).

Welcome to AA. First off, a good SW book will go a long way. I urge you to read as much as you can before starting. Don't just jump in and try and learn as you go. You will make crucial mistakes that way, some that could lead to even more stress than you already may have now. You are...