Recent content by pauloesco

  1. pauloesco

    LIghting

    you would be better off with some t5s than vhos.MHs arent needed for softies. two tubes arent enough tho, get 4 tubes, and a couple retro ballastgs arent too expensive especially if u order thru a regular electric supply. each ballast for 2 tubes ran me abt 30 bucks.
  2. pauloesco

    Dragon Eye Zoa question

    a couple thoughts come to mind... first, is this a gradual change or smething that occurred when u broght it home? next is it under the same kind of lights, same distamce as at the store? corals adapt to light and type, spectrum, and distance can cause it to change if its not just appearing...
  3. pauloesco

    seachem 8.4

    right, sorry i was using meq/l (3-5) versus dKH of 7-12)... and, as i said before, you're running "high" at Calcium, so getting your Alk any higher is going to come at the "expense" of making your Calcium lower... They have a phone number and email on their contact page...
  4. pauloesco

    seachem 8.4

    Dosing to your overflow is fine. You want to be sure that you're not moving your pH too quickly... but buffers don't raise pH. I've used Seachem prods in the past, and they seem to work well, IMHO. What alk are you looking to get to... 5-7 is about right... and the products are designed to get...
  5. pauloesco

    In-tank leds?

    where did you read this? water movement as in glimmer lkines both increase and decrease avail light. by alternatively diffusing and magnifying light. but anyone whos measured par for aquariums does it in a tank. you dont need submersed lighting which would add to any heat issues... water absorbs...
  6. pauloesco

    Question about Red Sea Hydrometer and levels

    Two things. as moewsdr says, hydrometers are generally inaccurate. they usually settle down to a covery ansistent inaccuracy over time. really does pay to buy a refractometer for 7&0 bucks and are very accurate. for fo systems many keep the salinity llower to prevent diseases... and its cheaper...
  7. pauloesco

    Help with Lights 28g Via Aqua AR620

    yea, i dunno. I'm not familiar with this aquarium or setup, but googling the AR620, it says the lamp/bulb is 23" and 20watts? Skip the pink one, it's to add red light for planted FW. Use Day and/or Blue. This one guy i found online, added lighting .... (a T5 lamp) which will go a long way. Are...
  8. pauloesco

    Question about ball valve

    putting the ball on the return (out) side of the pump is equivalent to having more head (a longer/higher return line). It will decrease flow but not stress the pump. What you don't ever want to do is restrict the inflow of the pump, because then the pump will be running partly dry and will burn...
  9. pauloesco

    10 gallon transfer into 20Long

    I think you're ok -- just move everything from the old tank to the new tank, after you've put and stabilized (salinity, ph, temp) the 10-12gallons of new water in the new tank. If the 10 hasn't been set up long, then the sand shouldn't be a big issue. I usually use a strainer, so you get lots of...
  10. pauloesco

    Fish only tank??

    And, don't forget for FO, there's always pwer filters, cannister filters or wet/dry. but the cycle is the cycle -- generally the rate of growth of the bacteria that do the job are limited by what they grow on and what they have to feed on.... along with water flow over wherever they're growing...
  11. pauloesco

    Advice on hypo PLEASE

    Modification. If you put anything from yur Ick tank into hubby's tank, you can infect it. You could use the DT as the q-tank, removing the LR and corals into another tank or food-grade container. I wouldn't use rubbermaid or sterlite, as both contain chemicals to retard mold, which reportedly...
  12. pauloesco

    Advice on hypo PLEASE

    you can often pick up a couple or three tanks cheap on CL or yardsales -- anything from 10-55 gallons are usually available cheaply... and having something else that you know holds SW animals safely is probably not a bad idea to have on hand. Read the wicki on Hypo and the other thread, "I'm...
  13. pauloesco

    My new CONDY NEM

    A condy shouldn't really cause any rashes, unless she's allergic or something. sticky, sure. carpet anemone or fire-coral they are not. Pretty hardy -- still needs decent lighting and you should feed it something about once a week or so.
  14. pauloesco

    maintaining a reef

    Quote: Originally Posted by cmonti [snip] I also have a protein skimmer that may be removing some elements that I am not replacing. I plan to add additional corals including a frogspawn and brian coral. Can you please advise on which elements that should be added to my reef. Thanks The...
  15. pauloesco

    Will be Starting Hypo Treament Soon

    Agree - keep Ph at DT levels. But, if it falls, raise it very slowly. Ph shocks are far more dangerous to your fish than salinity. Like, you shouldn't move it by more than a o.1 unit in a day, according to the experts. And don't use your usual buffers, use baking soda.
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