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  1. Phranque

    Hammer Coral

    It's personally not one I'd recommend as a very first piece of coral. Not saying you shouldn't, or couldn't... it is fairly hardy, but once established. Of the LPS, it's one of the more sensitive to any parameter swings. Among the corals in my system, my Hammer is typically my "canary in the...
  2. Phranque

    Lighting

    Got one of these over my frag tank, and it does a pretty darn good job... https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-Timer-165W-Aquarium-Dimmable/dp/B00UMXAR5S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493573144&sr=8-1&keywords=viparspectra+reef
  3. Phranque

    Hydraulic Cement Reef Safe?

    Well, while I don't have any anecdotal evidence either way, I am a QC Manager at a concrete company, and knowing how the cement powder is made, I personally wouldn't put it in my tank. Most cements are made from a combination of mined clays that are high in silicates, crushed limestone, plus a...
  4. Phranque

    Humidity

    There is no ideal ambient humidity as far as what is good for your tanks..... As Mr_X said, the only thing you'll notice is that if your humidity is low, you will use more top-off water since the drier air will pull more water from your tanks. Now, if you've got a basement literally "full" of...
  5. Phranque

    Sump refugium

    I have noted the exact same thing. My caulerpa's (grape & prolifera) thrive in a higher nutrient environment, but the chaeto doesn't do much.... Once the nutrient levels come down, the caulerpas slow down & the chaeto goes absolutely nuts. I like having some of each....
  6. Phranque

    cleaner shrimp

    If I stick my bare hand in my tank, which I don't do often, my clown will come out of nowhere, grab the fleshy part between the fingers, and shake back-and-forth like a little freakin' shark!! Doesn't really hurt, but you sure can feel it. The first time he did it, it scared the CRAP out of me...
  7. Phranque

    Why are my Zoas always closed?

    That, and if they're not dimmable, try moving the lights a little higher. A 20 long is a fairly shallow tank for 165W of LED's.... or try sliding the zoas under a rock shelf so they're not in direct light (or both). My first thought in this situation is they're retracting from the intensity.
  8. Phranque

    Protein skimmer

    Well, it's typically recommended that you go "plus 1" on your skimmer size, meaning go a size up from manufacturer's spec over your tank size, but if you've got a lighter to medium bioload, this should do pretty good: Reef Octopus NWB200 8” Pinwheel In Sump Protein Skimmer - Bulk Reef Supply...
  9. Phranque

    Water quality

    :facepalm: :lol: I've got 5 pugs, which are just as bad, if not worse, than cats.... If you've got furry animals, it's inevitable you're going to get some hair in your tanks. IMO, I've never had it cause any problems that I'm aware of, and I just pick it out when I see it. More of an annoyance...
  10. Phranque

    Protein skimmer

    Are you looking for HOB or sump? If sump... In-sump or recirculating? How big of a tank? What's your budget? When it comes to skimmer price, you usually get what you pay for... there's a big difference between "cheap" and good value.
  11. Phranque

    High nitrates

    Distilled & RO water are both purified water, just different processes to get there. You do not want to use pure distilled/RO water for FW tanks, as both filtering processes remove everything from the water, including carbonates, which are required as buffers to maintain pH. If those are absent...
  12. Phranque

    Seahorse help

    Seahorses are one of the more difficult marine creatures to keep alive & healthy, and usually require very particular conditions that typically entail they be kept in a species-specific tank. The best seahorse tanks I've seen are set up by people who have an established reef/sump set-up, then...
  13. Phranque

    Help with a 90 gal

    If you were going FOWLR, you may be OK with that, but if you're considering reef, I'd recommend against a canister.... not saying it can't be done, but they are a maintenance nightmare. IMO, anything over a 55g reef would be best served having a sump.
  14. Phranque

    Thinking of starting my first saltwater tank

    Scour the 'net.... read, read, read until your eyes bleed, then read some more. After you think you know everything, you'll set up your tank, then realize you really know next to nothing.... you'll make just about every mistake in the book, some very expensive, but if you want to succeed...
  15. Phranque

    Water changes during cycle

    :thumb: No water changes during a fishless cycle, and definitely leave the lights off..... After the tank has cycled, do a full water change, & you're ready to go.
  16. Phranque

    150 Gallon tankmates? ??

    Yes, one small bit of advice, take it or leave it..... Unless you are absolutely, positively, 100 percent SURE that you're going to leave it a FOWLR, stick with reef safe fish. I've seen it happen many times where a FOWLR is set up, then someone gets the idea of "maybe I'll try an easy...
  17. Phranque

    Stuck on skimmers

    That sucks.... my son just arrived in Darwin for a 6 month deployment, and it was a customs pain just to send him a care package.
  18. Phranque

    Tax refund Group Buy at BRS!!

    Sending you a PM..... my email has changed.
  19. Phranque

    Best reef aquarium salt

    :thumb: Ford, Chevy, or Dodge???? Everyone has their own opinion on the matter. Personally, I like Red Sea Coral Pro because it produces hardly any residue in my mixing tub, where other salts I've tried can leave a brown film on everything......
  20. Phranque

    Ro/di system questions

    All RODI systems have waste water.... it the nature of how the reverse osmosis membrane operates. The incoming water pressure is used to both push water through the membrane and flush away the waste left over from the water that has made it through. With a dual-membrane system, like the BRS...
  21. Phranque

    Stuck on skimmers

    I'll second the Reef Octopus... got an NWB150 from BRS, and that thing rocks.
  22. Phranque

    RO/DI wastewater for freshwater tank?

    I'm the same way.... I use the waste line to fill the washing machine when doing laundry.
  23. Phranque

    Temp change

    This is why I'm a big fan of heater/temperature controllers..... It's very difficult to set two separate heaters to keep a tank within a degree or two.
  24. Phranque

    Filling Up My Tank

    :thumb: The reason being is that the beneficial bacteria balance to the load that you have in your system..... when you add additional livestock, the BB have to catch up with the extra bioload, which can cause a mini-spike in ammo & nitrites for a few days or more, depending on how much is added.
  25. Phranque

    Iridescent Bristle Worm?

    ID'ing bristleworms is like trying to ID zoas..... There are so many hundreds of different kinds. Luckily, there are only a very few that are bad for your system, and from what you described, it ain't one of them.
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