Search results

All gas exchange takes place at the waters surface so the airlines won't help add oxygen to your tank. The airbubbles can cause problems as already stated and you should remove the airstones and pumps. The only exception to using an airstone in a saltwater tank is during a power failure. What...

It is a combination of carbon and ion exchange resins. I have a bag in my nano and plan to keep using it in it. This is the first time I have ever used it and feel that it is helpful, especially with the small sized tank I am using it in. HTH, Skip

Anything you add to the tank may cause a skimmer to act up for awhile. That can include fatty foods, additives, and even your hands may trigger it. What happens is that the surface tension of the water is temporarily affected and the skimmer will go nuts until the water returns to normal...

I helped a friend set up a tank and had a similar problem, we fixed it by adding a sponge on top of the lower grate in the sump so the water was hitting it instead of the water. I think we had to double the sponge due to the depth of the water. HTH, Skip

Whenever possible buying tank raise is the responsible thing to do as an aquarist. Not to mention the fact that they are hardier, are adapted to aquarium life, feeding is not a problem, and they are not being removed from a reef. As far as true percs or the ocellarous clowns that is a matter...

The only time brine has any nutritional value is when they first hatch and still have their yolksac or when you gutload live brine shrimp (and then all of the nutrition is in what you gutloaded them with). Brine shrimp have always been compared to feeding fish popcorn. I occasionaly use brine...

If you search on the web you may still be able to find some of the Custom Sealife retrofit kits that were made for the Eclipse hoods. There were two of them as I recall, one was a 32 watt and I am not sure about the other. They basically were made to fit right where the current lighting...

I have one in my nanocube, he does hide alot but he also spends some time out in the open. He has jumped into my sump a couple of times and is a pain to get back into the tank. I also purchased a pistol shrimp to pair up with him at the same time (Alpheus Randalli) and I think they may have...

You are getting pretty good readings for the BB RO unit, it has a 95% rejection rate. Adding a DI filter will further reduce your TDS readings to near 0. A flush kit helps to keep the membrane from becoming clogged by allowing alot of water to flow acrossed the membrane, basically giving it a...

The upside with going with the percs is that they won't outgrow the tank. Obviously the downside of the goldstriped maroon is that if you become as attatched as the two previous posters then it will be a heartbreaking experience to have to trade it in. I have a pair of baby percs in my...

Adding too many fish to fast is one of the newbie mistakes that is common along with overstocking. Adding a cycling product/booster if fine but allow the cycle to complete before adding livestock. IMO I would rather add fish one or two at a time (depending on the size of the tank and the fish)...

Instead of adding a powerhead have you considered adding a baffle that forces the water to go down to the bottom of the refugium? I personally would rather have a baffle instead of another powerhead that can fail and also produces more heat (which it seems like we are always fighting). HTH, Skip

I have been lucky and haven't had any problems with ich. I have heard of quite a few success stories of reefers curing ich by feeding their fish with fresh garlic. The ones that use garlic also say that the bottled garlic preparations are not that effective because the chemical that makes the...

Most stands that are built for glass aquariums are only made to support the perimeter of the tank, as long as you make your stand so that it evenly supports the entire frame on the bottom of the tank you will be okay. Some people also place their tanks on a piece of styrofoam just for added...

I might have fallen for it but since it was April fools day I didn't think it was real for a second but thought it was a great prank. Now lookout everyone, there is going to be a new sherriff in town, the Angel Police. This is a specialized unit to take over where the Tang Police leave off.

Actually if you pay close attention to the plywood you buy the stuff they sell as 3/4" is usually something like 23/32". That is why if you use a 3/4" router but to make a dado the dado is kinda loose. Skip

Very nice looking tank, it looks like it was worth the fighting to get it to where it is now.

If the problem will only be during the early spring and fall when temps are not too hot you may want to try running a fan so that it blows acrossed the surface of your tank. This will cause evaporative cooling and that may be enough to keep your temps stable. HTH, Skip

You can run it but it may prolong your cycle by removing waste products necessary to feed the bacteria you are trying to grow.

The skimmer box is simply a surface skimmer, it is not and does not take the place of a protien skimmer. It is still a good idea to have some mechanical filtration that is either cleaned or replaced at least weekly to help prevent nitrate build up. The skimmer box is not a housing for a...

Also on the www.melevsreef.com site if you look near the bottom of the homepage there is an area called "hidden treasures" there are quite a few different plans for sumps found there. HTH, Skip

Ideally a refugium should be at least 25% of the size of your tank, but I feel like anything that is removed by any sized refugium is a step in the right direction. An AC500 is a pretty good sized refugium so I feel like it will help you out as long as you don't overfeed or have a high bioload...

The best thing to do is not dose anything that you haven't tested for. With a light calcium demand you may be able to maintain your calcium level with regular water changes alone. The biggest calcium demand you have is the clam and with the lighting you have I don't think he will be growing...

Raise the prefilter box up a bit so that you see it pulling water from the surface into the prefilter and this should help to rid your tank of the film on the surface. If the prefilter sits too low in the water it doesn't effectively skim the surface. HTH, Skip

You can buy what they call fragging pieces from www.premiumaquatics.com. They are very small pieces of rubble rock and it is fully cured if I am not mistaken. HTH, Skip