Recent content by surfnturf

There is also the fact that when you mail order "cured" LR it has gone through a die off period before it left the distributor, then it goes through another die off period when you get it. It only makes sense that you will lose more of the total population of the rock going through 2 die off...

You do need to maintain water movement in the curing container. Salinity should be the same as the display, I would go easy on the light, at least for the first week. It is also recommended that you use a skimmer on the container or at least do 10 percent water changes if the ammonia or...

Skimmers do disolve oxygen into the water and drive off CO2. Any water surface will absorb oxygen, bubbles are no different than the the water surface in the tank.

Just wanted to add to what slick said. If you get uncured LR or LR that has been shipped, you can use that to cycle your tank, you don't need to add damsels or dead shrimp if you go that route.

You'll be happier if you go with the uncured LR, but I would cure it in a rubbermaid container or something before adding it to the tank if the tank is already established. The uncured LR is quite a bit cheaper and definitely looks better initially.

You can use a computer fan and hook it up to one of those 120VAC to 12VDC power supplies. You know the ones that come with cd players, cell phones, printers, etc. Find one that is around the voltage requirement for your fan and it should do fine. Glad you like the light, sorry about the heat...

Maracyn will also wipe out all of the beneficial bacteria in her live rock and filtration system. this is not a good solution. Yes it will work, but you basically destroy the cycle at the same time. I would question the competency of the LFS that told you to use that.

The units can be installed on most faucets using adapters, you could use the tap on the sink in the basement and run it into the plastic garbage can. It takes a while to get the RO water out of the unit, they are rated in GPD or gallons per day, the norm seems to be about 50 gpd so it may take...

I don't understand your LFS reasoning behind removing most of the sand. Crushed coral substrates trap detritus and promote nitrates, this is true. Fine sand does not trap detritus and will not contribute anything significant to nitrate (or any other undesirable) levels in the tank. Until you...

Any way you can post a picture of what you are dealing with? We might be able to make some good suggestions if we have a picture to go on.

Well, you know they say, "everythings bigger in texas":D

I took another look at the tank, trying to figure out what these were, it appears that the sponges I have on the glass are sending out these "roots" and that the places where I have just the "root" I am getting new sponges. The look somewhat like trunicates, but only have a central opening...

I had these show up in my tank in the last few weeks too. I would say tubeworm/fanworm, but these guys branch out like a tree root. There is no apparent filter feeding mechanism either, strange creature.

Barnacles are filter feeders so you will need to provide them with phytoplankton, there are several foods available that will help. From what I have heard from others, they will not survive long in the tank because they require so much food. Enjoy them while you have them, and if you can keep...

Check your phosphate and nitrate levels, these are the culprit. Also check on your bulbs, the quality of light from them plays a huge role here. If running fluorescent, make sure the bulbs are not more than 6 months old or are anything below 10,000K. Coralife makes a nice 10,000K bulb that...