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A sump with a refugium is a great way to go. There are some things you can do with your main tank to improve your nutrient levels. First, I would recommend adding a dusting of sand to your tank every day or so to bring the sand bed up to a total of 4-5 inches. Second, you didn't mention if...

If you use sand paper to sharpen the scraper, a speck or two of sand could get impregnated in the plastic on the scraper and scratch your tank, I wouldn't do it. You might try a mag float scrubber.

You might want to think about adding additional bracing to the floor. You're pretty close to 1500 lbs in a relatively small area and that doesn't even take into consideration the weight of your substrate and live rock. If it was level before you put water in it and now it's off by an inch, you...

I wouldn't use the crushed coral for the tank or the refugium, in either place it will trap detritus and contribute to nitrate levels. I wouldn't throw it out, you may find another use for it. You could mix it with cement mix and make rock for your tank, it will eventually become live rock and...

I've never seen live rock "white as walls" The more initial color the better, but give it time and like HNF2K said, eveything will be fine.

The biozyme may have gotten to the ammonia before you could take a measurement. Check your nitrite levels, if they are high, then you have a week to a week and a half left. If they are low, then check nitrate, if you have a measureable level you are almost there. Do water changes to keep the...

If you batter and deep fry them, they're pretty good, LOL:D You can get the CC out of there and get the sand in there with the damsels in there. It will be cloudy for a day or so, but the fish will be fine, there is a reason people cycle tanks with them, they live through pretty much anything...

Beth is right, of course;) The TetraTec does look like a good idea though, so I can't really say anything about that. Get the CC out of there and get yourself enough sand to give a 4-5 inch layer on the bottom of the tank (you'll be glad you did in about 2 months). You should use the finest...

I just wanted to add that floating hydrometers are calibrated at somewhere around 70 degrees, so they will give inaccurate readings at normal SW temperatures(there are conversion charts out there). I would trust the deep six or whatever you have over the floating type. If you really want to be...

I think you are pretty safe scraping the glass, they will swim away to avoid the scraper. BTW if you see hundreds, you have thousands and they multiply like rabbits, so no worries.

As long as you see some corraline algae (pink, purple, etc) on the rock everything is fine. The rock does go through a die off period, where things disappear from the rock, but most goes dormant and will eventually return. Give it time and plenty of light.

Actually, everything I've read said 1 inch per 5 gallons. They are referring to length and it is only a general guideline, it doesn't take into consideration the girth of the fish, but has a built in safety factor.

For a tank that size you could use a Lee's airstone skimmer http://www.leesaqpet.com/PICCAT/17100-10.htm , which are cheap, or you could try a visijet skimmer, but I don't have any experience with those. The problem is that all of the skimmers I've seen for small tanks are mounted inside the...

I'm not familiar with the setup that you are talking about, but the same laws govern all skimmers;) For an airstone skimmer, you do not need a smaller air pump, the more bubbles the better, but you do need to reduce the amount of water going through the skimmer, put a valve between your water...

Frank, thanks for posting a link to your article, great information!

Someone already mentioned this in the thread, but have you tried putting an air tube into the intake of the pump? Just don't stick it too far into the pump, otherwise you'll be scooping impeller blades out of your tank. This gives you real small bubbles, perfect for a skimmer. This also cuts...

How long has the skimmer been running on the system? It takes up to two weeks for a skimmer to break in and start producing dark skimmate. Also, how long has the tank been running? If you just started it, there may not be anything signicant to skim.

Actually you would want an AquaC Remora Pro, $220 or so, highly recommended by those that use them.

I reread your post, and the part about the bubbles forming on the sand before the cyano appears. I assume this to be nitrogen gas from a deep sand bed? Reduced feeding may help the matter, what are your nitrate and phosphate readings?

Originally posted by bas12547 My Chemical levels are Nitrite .25, PH is at 8.4, Amonia is at 0, Nitrate is at 0 and my Salinity is at .21. The Nitrate and PH appear high. Should I do a water change? I did about 5 gallons a week ago. Should I let it ride to see if this is part of the cycling...