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Nitrates do not have to be zero. For some delicate corals is should be below 10ppm but for most animals it can be significantly higher. Think of Nitrite and Nitrate as saltwater smog. If there's a lot of it then it's probably uncomfortable so you do need to monitor and keep it low if possible...

I agree, there'll not be much die-off if it goes straight from store to your tank. Even less if you put it in a bucket of tank water during the trip home ;)

I love fresh live rock!! Keep in mind that most live rock in the store was in a boat for a week, sat in a box for a week before arriving at the store. It will still have interesting critters probably but don't think it was pulled out of the ocean yesterday. On the other hand, years ago I...

With two powerheads I like to place one blowing across the front near the bottom and the other on the opposite end of the tank blowing high across the back near the surface.

With the lights off you're not going to get an algae bloom. This is a good thing. Algae interferes with the growth of bacteria colonies and should be avoided as much as possible during the tank cycle. There is no reason to cure your rocks before using them to help cycle your tank. Cure &...

In addition to properly setting up your tank you need to cycle it. I think that's probably what you meant by "properly" but I just want to make sure. You're a couple months from adding fish to your tank in my opinion. Please don't get in a hurry. Impatience is the number one reason why new...

I see what you mean, it's five times the cost!!!!

I understand the need for inexpensive vs cheap. That said, it's still going to hurt LOL First item to ponder for you is what do you envision your end result looking like? If you don't know yet then stop everything... go to the photo forum and look at tank pictures of similar size (29 - 55...

Much relieved :cool: Why not just use a Nickel? Lots of changes since you went on leave. It's GREAT to see you back.

If it can't get light where it sits then yeah, I think you need to take the risk (high) and move it. They enjoy a dark rock crevice to set down their foot, in a moderate flow area, where they can stretch for the light. If it (now they I suppose) don't find a good spot in the tank they will...

JOE!! You put copper next to your corals? What are you thinking? But yeah, those are tiny frags. Reminds me of another "company" that used to sell "aquacultured" frags.

I assume this is an Entacmaea quadricolor. They commonly split with put under extreme stress. Probably some type of survival trait. What is a heater sump? Can you post a picture? Generally, it's best to leave them to crawl to their preferred location but if it's in a dangerous location...

That's what I'm saying.

I kinda sorta agree with Joe... Like I mentioned above, start small and slowly build up. For me my target ammonia level is 0.25ppm. I attempt to add just enough food to maintain that level. Like Joe mentioned, it takes a few/several days to get the first ammonia reading. I wouldn't even...

The idea behind cycling is to grow a healthy bacteria population that is sufficiently large to convert all free ammonia produced by the animals in your system to nitrite and nitrate. The idea behind ghost feeding is to start small and slowly build up to a food level that is equivalent to what...

1 - Continue ghost feeding until you add a fish. The bacteria won't suddenly die off but the population will decrease and increase in response to the amount of food available. If you're going to add a pair of Clownfish to start (not a bad start at all) then ghost feed as if you already have...

An hour is the absolute minimum. I strongly recommend mixing it the day before. Mix it as cold as possible, slowly pouring the salt into the water (not the reverse) and stirring as vigorous as possible until all salt is poured in and dissolved. Probably not for dry rocks. I'd suggest ghost...

It is an Epitoke - the reproductive phase of a type of Polychaete commonly called a Fireworm.

+1 - it could save your life, at minimum a very uncomfortable shock.

I agree to add most of your rock at this point. If it were me I would add a substantial amount of uncured live rock and use that, along with ghost feeding, to cycle your system.