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  1. luke

    300 Reef Q

    Although dwarf angels do eat algea, I find them to do a poor job at "polishing" the glass like snails do. Also they can nip at corals and clams. I have had one do that to me. Luke
  2. luke

    Dont flame me for this but im starting a freshwater tank and wondering....

    blj1234 - Why don't you think it would work?? Luke
  3. luke

    lighting live rock for the first time

    Definitly rock then lights (IMO). The rock will have to cure, you really don't want to run lights during that process (you can cause massive algal issues). It may be worth it to run a cheap 40watt flourescent over it during that time to see in. But it won't look nice while the rock is curing...
  4. luke

    Dont flame me for this but im starting a freshwater tank and wondering....

    Josh and Wamp and others? :) : I am not saying that anaerobic bacteria need O2! I was only pointing out that in our aquariums, if they live in zero O2 there are problems that arise. Hydrogen Sulfide in an inclosed space can cause serious issues. Anaerobic bacteria don't need O2 to survive...
  5. luke

    reef tank

    You certainly won't be able to keep sponges. Corals are possible, but it depends on your perticular fish, and how he feels that day :) I have seen them be fine, then go nuts on coral. Particurly Gorgonians. Luke
  6. luke

    need help with float switch for water top off

    <a href="http://www.mcmaster.com/" target="_blank">http://www.mcmaster.com/</a> Search liquid level switch. They will sell to anyone with a credit card. Madison makes a good food grade one that I have had for two years now. (about 12 bucks) Take an extension cord: Cut into one wire wire the...
  7. luke

    cleaning calcium deposits

    If the tank is GLASS you can use a single edged razor. Sorry I forgot to include this in my other post :) Luke If the tank is acrylic DON'T do this!!!
  8. luke

    Bubble Coral

    A little more info would be really helpful here :) What type of lights?? What size tank?? What are your water conditions?? What do you consider moderate current?? How did the coral look at the store?? All these will help answer your question. Luke
  9. luke

    300 Reef Q

    I would not add hundreds of snails!! It may very well be important to get the population up into the hundreds, but if you go put 250 snails in, and your tank only needs 175, 75 snails won't make it. They will all live for a while but then some will begin to die. I would suggest, as I did...
  10. luke

    Any suggestions or comments?

    The tank sounds great :) I would say that you probably don't need to clean twice a week. That seems excessive. What are you cleaning?? Algea?? I personally have found that the less disruptions to the tank, the happier corals and other inverts (fish too) are. How big is your tank? Good...
  11. luke

    300 Reef Q

    Yeah, the snails will really help with that algae. They don't do as well with slime algae and things like bubble algae, but the standard brown stuff ;) they polishout really fast. I would keep up on WCs until the trates come down. Work on getting the sand bed deeper too (as you said you were...
  12. luke

    Dont flame me for this but im starting a freshwater tank and wondering....

    Wamp- Anarobic bacteria do not function in zero O2. It is a balance (as I stated earlier). If you don't have the creatures to maintain the sand bed then it will develop pocket of zero O2. This will cause hydrogen sulfide buildup. Again this is toxic. I am not suggesting that you have so...
  13. luke

    300 Reef Q

    Well I would venture to say you need a whole lot more snails :) I would add another 25. I would do two smaller water changes (12.5% each) one day apart. I think that 25% is drastic for a tank that does not sound like it has many problems (other than the algea) Your bulbs are getting old...
  14. luke

    kalkwasser clouding tank

    Well there is your problem :) Kalk has to be added slowly, and never to sw just fw. What happened, probably, is the salt mix has CA in it, the right amount, you just added more causeing some to come out of the solution (or it never went in). First siphon off the CA in the tank (if possible)...
  15. luke

    to light or not to light

    If you have something growing down ther (or would like something growing down there) then light it otherwise don't waste the energy. As for reverse daylight, it is a great method to maintain pH. But you need something growing for it to have an effect! The way it works is through...
  16. luke

    kalkwasser clouding tank

    How did you add the kalkwasser? You should test your alkalinity (or maybe you have). LR can cloud the tank on its own, but it should not leave a calcium like residue, more like grey water. Luke
  17. luke

    Dont flame me for this but im starting a freshwater tank and wondering....

    Wamp, you obviously don't have a real grasp of denitrafacation. Yes it does need low O2 levels, but if there is zero O2 down there hydrogen Sulfide will develop (which is highly toxic and smells like roten eggs). You are correct that if there is too much O2 then denitrafaction will be hindered...
  18. luke

    Dont flame me for this but im starting a freshwater tank and wondering....

    In theory it could work... but you need creatures to take care of that substrate. Denitrafacation still holds true in FW. If you don't have creatures to take care of the substrate, it will have zero oxygen which will lead to hydrogen sulfide build up (I beleive it is Hydrogen sulfide [someone...
  19. luke

    300 Reef Q

    I have to appologize for the number of possibilities I am giving you :) but here goes: You have a number of issues to address. The trates are high, water changes will help that (if your water is good, which it sounds like it is). The wet/dry is certainly contributing to the nitrate problem...
  20. luke

    Someone tell me if this is a good deal

    Let me see if I can answer these one at a time: Reflectors: Just a sheet of polished metal to reflect the light that hits the top of the canopy back toward the tank. This makes your lights more efficient. They can be mirror like (best), metal, or white. Actinic VHOs will give your tank a very...
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