My new tank and a few questions to go along.

Hello! I am very new to this. I just bought a 65 gallon tank and want to start a reef tank. Now I plan on running an overflow box (CPR CS) and sump which I have but i do have a few questions...
1. which rock is better FIJI or Caribbean and how much?
2. what gph powerheads and how many( was thinking 2 in the middle pointing down and 1 on either side)
3. do i need a protien skimmer? ( i plan on having lps and sps with the sps being added in later)
4. what size return pump do i need? (I have a 700gph mag 7,just not sure if this is right for my tank.)

I think that is all for now. very new to this like I said. I just want to get all the equipment together now so i dont have to run around last minute because I've forgotten something or found out that what i have is not up to par. Thanks!!!

Colony question

I'm curious if anyone might be able to help. This is all one colony here, with an obvious difference in 2 sections. The left half used to be open like the right half, and simply no longer does. Seems to still be spreading, just doesn't open as much anymore

Thanks
Dave

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40 b tank 6 mos old

Hi I have a 40 gal breeder tank. It has been going for about 6 mos. And after surviving red hair algae, water hardness disaster ,and total invert die off in the first 2 mos. It has finally leveled out and doing great.

Residents:
Mandarin dragonet
Clown fish
Blue damsel
6 line wrasse

2 small red leg hermit crabs
Sand sifting starfish
2 snails

Hitchhikers: brittle star, 2 small white and yellow starfish, 3 bristle worms,numerous snails abalone and other.

Bp2 skimmer, large over the back filter, 300 w heater,530 gph wavemaker.

Polyps,mushrooms,ZOA's,feather dusters, red and purple coralline algae. Kenya tree corals. In tank basket with macro algae.
28 lbs live rock. And 1.5 in live sand.

PH 8.0
Nitrates 0
Ammonia 0

I am still adding corals, and debating one more fish (lawnmower blenny maybe)

RO/DI water during a boil order

So with the flooding here the flood water got into the drinking water supply so we're on a boil order for the next 7-10 days.

So can I still use the water for my tank if I run it through my RO/DI filter?

Does the RO/DI filter remove organic matter so the water can be consumed?

I really don't think I'll be drinking it because I stocked up on drinking water today, but it's just good to know.

Thanks,
Chris

Radions

Hey Guys, I'm here to report my experience with Radions and Chinese LEDS. People always trash Chinese LEDs and bash the cheaper light brands in favor of Radions. However, In my trial of both Chinese LEDs and Radions (each over 1 half of my 125 gallon reef) I have found Chinese LEDs to be far superior to Radions for the price. For $600 you would expect a far superior light but you really only get an overhyped light that can't out due cheap $150 Chinese LEDs. Coral growth has been much greater on the half that is covered by the Chinese LEDS. I wanted to see what you guys think but I think that Radions are overhyped, over priced, light fixtures. Any comments on this? I just want to see if other people have experienced the same thing as me.

Thanks

Bulkhead to pvc help!

Hi there,
Im trying to set up the filtration on my 220G. I have Aqueon twin overflows with 1inch and 3/4 inch bulkheads on each side. Each bulkhead is threaded and ends with a hose barb and NO pvc will fit the threads. I thought I could connect the pvc directly to the bulkheads with an adapter, union, etc but nothing fits. Im assuming I need to buy different bulkheads w/o the hose barbs? Are there ones that connect directly to standard pvc you get at Lowes/Home Depot etc? I dont want to get tubing and then adapt that to pvc etc. Rather it just be all pvc. Thanks!!!

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Green Algae On Saltwater Sand Bed?

Hi there,

For weeks now I've been having this green slim like algae on my sand. I've tried to remove the algae from the sand bed, but it still comes back. When my tank lights go off the algae goes away and doesn't appear to be on the sand, but when the lights come back on in the morning the green algae comes back.

Levels:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm
Phosphate: Looks to be 0.25ppm
Salinity: 1.025

This algae makes my tank look ugly... Someone please help me remove this algae :(

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20% off Salifert Test Kits – LAST CHANCE!

20% off Salifert Test Kits – LAST CHANCE!

Stock up and save on OUR MOST POPULAR aquarium water test kits!

Sale ends tonight @ midnight (as does our December Holiday Deals and Year-End Clearance)

Everything is almost complete

1. So my 50 gallon tank is halfway full, my wave makers, heater, dry sand and rock, and protein skimmer are all set up. now my only question is, should i replace my di unit from my rodi when only the bottom part begins to turn brown?

Unknown Sea Creature in Rock

I have an unknown sea creature growing in a hole in my live rock. It looks like a white spider curled up hiding in the rock hole. I added a photo below to help. I have no clue what it is. Could someone help me out at identifying the creature? Thanks!


Specs:
40 gallon breeder tank,
Filstar xp large 30th canister filter with crushed coral and bio stars,
Current USA marine led 36watt, 54-12,000k and 18-8,000k leds, 36 inch
Dual actinic and dual daylight,
Finney hma-200, 20th at heater,
Marineland maxi jet 900 powerhead,
55lbs live rock and 40 lbs live sand,
1 diamond goby
1 ocellaris clown
2 dottybacks
1 yellow tang
4 damsels
2 Turbo Snails

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Raising salinity

Has anyone used this?

http://ift.tt/1YUdKYQ

When I was mixing salt there was not one lfs store in my city that sold refractometers.... They all had the swing arm version. So I did what most people must do...... Order from Amazon:)... I purposely mixed the salt low (in my estimation) so I am planning on bringing the salinity up by adding salt. Can I just drop it in the tank? Should I pump water out and salt and pump back in? There is no live stock in aquarium. (Refractoneter arrives on Monday). I used reef crystal for initial mix.

Happy Birthday Mommy2Julianna!!1/31

Happy Birthday

Mommy2Julianna!

:bcake:

Is my anemone sick

Every day at 2:00-9:00 P.M. my Rose BTA starts looking like this, this is not my anemone btw.

What should ph levels in my aquarium be?

I got a test kit and my ammonia was at 0 and my nitrates are at 0 but my ph levels are at 7, should they be at 7, or at 8?

reactors

Guys I have a 75 gallon reef with a 30 gallon sump/fuge and about 100 lbs live rock. I have about 70% softies 10% sps and 20% lps and probably going to add sps and lps in future and less softies. Do you think running all 3- bio pellet,carbon and phosphate reactors is an over kill? Realizing they all do different things but are using all of them more beneficial or just a waste of valuable real-estate estate along my sump area??

New Years Eve

Morning all.

Long day ahead. Travelling all day, then going to a New Years eve dancing night out. Veronica's old coworker is front man for a 70-s disco and Motown band that is always a good time.

With a couple additional hours in the day due to changing time zones, this could be tough to make it until Midnight.:jester:

Coming right back to CLE Saturday.

Maxspect Gyre 130 pulse mode

I know the manual says that use pulse mode at your own risk due to stress on aquarium seams. I've got a standard 90 with my gyre as my only pump. Does anyone here really think running pulse mode at less than 50% really endangers the seams on my tank? The tank was brand new in August of 2014.

Also does anyone have any experience keeping LPS and softies with this pump? Which mode is best? My frogspawn didn't like the constant mode but seems to like the alternating gyre. I've read the pulse mode is closest to nature. Thanks.

Gathering parts for new tank

I have been wanting another tank for some time now. So after a long time away I am starting over. I spent today digging my rodi out of storage. I changed all the pre filters. It will need a new membrane. I had plenty of di resin. I picked up a used 45gal rimless cube with a stand an eshopps sump and a return pump. I also ordered 40 lbs of dry rock. I am not sure what I am using for substrate yet. I also need to get a skimmer. I have a radium xr15 plus a couple led strips. I hope to get started setting this up in the next couple weeks.

I think we over complicate this hobby

I just wanted to share some of my thoughts on the hobby. Specifically, I want to share some of my personal opinions on how I think we over complicate this great hobby.

For example, I hear so often how people are stressed out about very tiny drops in Alkalinity and Calcium and fretting about keeping these numbers extremely high. I also constantly see different products that claim to raise a huge assortment of different parameters; parameters that we often do not know their affect on reef organisms.

I personally feel that a lot of reef tanks would be a lot healthier if owners focused on getting quality lighting, pumps, powerheads, and doing frequent water changes instead of fretting about tiny changes in parameters and getting a ton of expensive and often not necessary equipment.

I am not an expert, nor do I claim to be, but I have always kept my reef tanks using very simple and effective equipment and I have had good success. In fact, the 34 gallon mixed reef tank I keep now runs with no skimmer, no dosing, and no reactors, UV sterilizers or huge refugiums. My only means of filtration is a bag of carbon and gfo, and a 10 to 15 gallon water change every week and a half.

Now I know I do not have the fastest growth rates in my corals, but they are all healthy. LPS, soft corals, and SPS are doing well. A variety of SPS including Purple Stylophora, Montipora Digitata, Setosa, and Capricornis, two species of Birdsnest, and an Acropora have all encrusted and started to grow.

I just feel that people would enjoy their tanks more if they slowed down a bit and didn't worry about a bunch of different parameters and equipment so much.

I know my tanks are not the best out there, but they have all been very low maintenance and enjoyable for me. I also believe that they are proof you can keep a variety of coral without really large amounts of dosing and keeping track of a ton of different parameters.

Some pictures of my current and past tank setups

10% OFF: LED Strips, MH/LED Fixtures and MORE

10% OFF: LED Strips, MH/LED Fixtures and MORE

Make the season BRIGHT with Reef Brite lights for your reef tank!

24 HOUR SALE: 10% off AquaMaxx Reactors

24 HOUR SALE: 10% off AquaMaxx Reactors

Make a resolution for 2016 to improve the quality of your aquarium water!

Purchase an AquaMaxx media, calcium or biopellet reactor by midnight and save 10%

Just enter coupon code MAXXREACTORS during checkout to claim your savings

Sigh

I am sitting here staring at my 2 well established fully planted FW tanks & looking at a photo on my phone of my just starting out SW tank & I can't help but feel frustrated. I know slow & steady, the average Reef takes 2-3 years to establish......
I still have alot to learn & I'm doing this on a budget. Gosh I can see how most people give up in the 1st 6mths. Atleast I have my upstairs tanks to be proud of while I build "momma's sea" as the kids call it.

Got an Orange Digi frag last week help

& slowly over the past week it has lost its velvet coating. Is it just stressed from the transplant or did it die?
sorry had to go to laptop to be able to post a pict. I can't post using the mobile.

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30 gallon first reef build

Hi there

so on christmas i received a 30 gallon tank and 2 TMC aqua beam aquaray lights, white and blue and a fluval canister filter

I have now setup the tank with live sand 10 pounds of dry rock, will be adding another 20 next week and the water.

My test so far read

ammonia 0.50 ppm
pH 8.0
nitrate 0ppm
nitrite 1.0 ppm

Should i wait until both ammonia and nitrite are at zero before i begin adding livestock

I will be posting on this thrad after every update and any tips would be appreciated because it is my first reef tank thanks

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Final Hump Day Of 2015!!

Good Morning all!




Hot coffee is ready,

Raining and rain in forecast until Sunday.

Off to work , Have a Great Day!!

Sailor and his rescued 45g corner tank

Do I have to have a rodi unit?

1. Is a Ro/Di unit all that necessary for a 50 gallon fowlr tank?
2. I have a filtered water in my kitchen next to the tap water, can I used that instead?
3. What are the furture problems that I'll most likely have if I used my filtered water (I will also dechlorinate it)?
4. If I have no other choice, can this rodi unit be portable ?http://ift.tt/1mhuSvB

It looks cool, can I keep it?

From across the room I saw something floating around in the middle of the tank, my Chromis and my Goby both gave it a shot to eat, but they all decided it was best to leave it alone. After swirling around a little bit it found a home in the middle of no where, somewhere between Lincoln, NE and Denver, CO. I've gone through a lot of older threads looking for anything similar to what I have, but only thread I found that was close, no one answered. I'm hoping I get a little better luck. Sorry for the crappy pic's I'll try and get better ones tomorrow If I find him again. Or find a different one.
So I'm wondering what this is and can I keep him? heh

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whats a good pump

I have a rio 1400 for my sump now its a piece of **** when i turn it off to do a water change when i turn it back on takes easily 5 minutes before it starts pumping again

D-D Refracto Closeout- $19.99 MH bulb clearance!

D-D Seawater Refractometer Clearance - Sicce Xstream $100 off - JBJ Chillers 1/15 to 1/3 are 15% off

Mogul and DE Halide Bulbs at $19.99 in our clearance section!

Sump light

What are you guys using for your sump (chateo) to grow, looking for a cheap light ,I'm currently using an energy saver light bulb (cool white) but not sure if this is good.

Green rocks...anybody?

Hi i have 55g tank-new tank.
water parameters are good only phosphate is 0.25ppm.
tank was setup with tap water (4 months old tank)
now i have RO filter and water coming out of filter is 2tds
doing water changes every week 5gallonRO water and +adding about 5gallon RO water every week for evaporation.
about month ago i had brown algae and is almost gone and now i have green stuff on rocks...what is that and why???
anbody???

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how do you siphone sand

how do you go about siphoning sand? also how often should i do this?

Does my BTA look normal?

Hi, I have had a BTA for about 2 month now. When I first got it, it had bubbles for about 2 days. The rest of the time it looks like the attached image😔 Does it look unhealthy? I have looked at other forums but have just decided to join myself. thanks

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Seachem is still 10% off… but not for long!

Seachem is still 10% off… but not for long!

Don't miss this opportunity to stock up on media, test kits and supplements!

Is this ok in my tank?

I am taking the fish tank from my work and am wondering if all the red stuff on the rocks is good or bad. If bad how do I prevent it?

New here

Hey everyone,

Just saying hi and giving a bit of info about my tank and hopefully will get some help along the way. I decided to go down the saltwater route last year with FOWLR (trigon 190, JBL 1500e & 901e filters, 40kg LR, 2"+coral sand bed). Fully cycled and all going great the got hit by a I think velvet. Lost a clown, dwarf Angel & cleaner wrasse. I've now sourced a qt tank for the future (should've got one as soon as I started cycling) 😖. My question being, How long do I keep the tank fallow to be sure of being as velvet free as possible?

Worms, Algae, Pests? What is this stuff?

This stuff is accumulating on my rocks but I can't identify what it is. They're attached to the rock but can easily be blown off using a turkey baster. They don't move at all when on the rock or when you blow them off. I'm not sure if this is some sort of algae or what - can anyone help me identify this?

[Video] SR-80 Tank Update

[Video] SR-80 Tank Update

In Marine Depot's last video of 2015, we thought we'd give you an update on our office shallow reef tank!

In case you missed an episode of this tank build, you can watch them all here.

Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel—we have 5 videos planned for January!

Powerhead question

New to saltwater aquariums
and I had a question about water flow. I have two aqueon 950 powerheads in my 60gal tank 12.75"Lx48.5W"x25H"

I have one position at the top right hand corner slightly disrupting the surface of the water and the other head on the bottom left hand corner that i've had to position pointing up just slightly as it was blowing my sand around too much.

Even as they are positioned now, my sand is still getting moved around, not blowing around but every few days i have to move my sand around to cover up bare spots.

My tank is currently a FOWLR tank but I would like to add some soft corals in the near future after I get the proper lighting set up.

I have heard that it's really difficult to have "too much flow" but it is fairly easy to have improper flow. My question: is the way i have them setup the best way to optimize flow in my tank??

New to saltwater aquariums

and I had a question about water flow. I have two aqueon 950 powerheads in my 60gal tank 12.75"Lx48.5W"x25H"

I have one position at the top right hand corner slightly disrupting the surface of the water and the other head on the bottom left hand corner that i've had to position pointing up just slightly as it was blowing my sand around too much.

Even as they are positioned now, my sand is still getting moved around, not blowing around but every few days i have to move my sand around to cover up bare spots.

My tank is currently a FOWLR tank but I would like to add some soft corals in the near future after I get the proper lighting set up.

I have heard that it's really difficult to have "too much flow" but it is fairly easy to have improper flow. My question: is the way i have them setup the best way to optimize flow in my tank??

RBTA Desperate

Help! I just fed my RBTA that I've had in my tank for 5 months, and the baster sucked in one of its tentacles and pulled it off! Now the mouth is all poked out. Will it kill the anemone? Or will it grow a new one??

would you buy this tank??? acrylic corner chip, and possible crazing

I have an opportunity to buy the perfect tank for me.
Its close to 400g tank, in mint condition other then a chip/chunk out of the front right corner, and possible crazing on the bottom of the tank. Which might possibly be scratches from it sitting imporperly on a cinder block stand.
Its been setup for a month like this. And was supposibly new never filled before hand.
Herew pics, whats everyones opinion

Gbta

So my GBTA has started to do something funny....... Maybe at about 430 each day its hides until I turn on the blue led lights its like I doesn't like the regular daytime light LEDs is this normal as soon as I turn the blue LEDs on HE IS BIG AND BUBBLY and looking so beautiful

Hello Tuesday!

Good morning friends, and.....HAPPY TUESDAY! Dragging my feet to post, but looks like every one is, fingers crossed. Looking like a scrambled eggs and bacon morning to keep our coffee and pink milk company. Dreary and seasonable...40's. A typical slow start day for this time of year around here....got to squeeze in 2 of the 'Lord of the rings' movies last night before the eyes lost the battle. 3rd going on sometime today....then the hunt will be on for the 3 prew-quils. Best to everyone this morning,
Hack

Male or female??

Good morning everyone. I was looking for the forum to post this is but could not find it..Question..I had 2 Oc. clowns. 1 was alittle bigger then then other. Well the bigger one dies from getting cut and infected and got worse..anyways. It died so the smaller one was left alone for less then a week. I got another clown same kind yesterday it seems be be slightly bigger then the one in the tank now. If the one that died was bigger, then givin what has been said the one that dies was the female? correct? leaving the smaller male alone for a week. Adding the new one which again is slightly bigger would it be safe to say the one i added is a female or another male. The one i got was alone, im assuming cause the others had been sold. So seeing that it is alittle bit bigger would it be the female and the one that was already in the tank the male..or 2 females or even 2 males. Would the one that stayed in the tank have changed sexes in less than a week or would it still be what im assuming the male? They were fighting yesterday nothing crazy just locked fins together and the new one chases the old one around keeping it in corners and just being a jerk. Is this normal would it pass or will the new one end up killing the old one?? Thanks for reading..any info would be greatly helpful.

my marine reef tank 90L

I am wondering why my KH is so high PH is high too and why a shrimp died but the clowns live,Nitrate is low, the tank has been running for 6 months, its had rock in it for 3 months, i added some new rock from a tank which come with the clowns and shrimp.
Any ideas please

Happy Birthday TheFishFinatic!!!! 12/29

Happy Birthday TheFishFinatic!!!

Need help placing my Saltwater Tank

Ok, so I have all the materials that I need, now my only problem is placing my tank.
1. My brother told me its not a good idea to place my 50 gallon tank in my room because its too small and would cause stains on the ceiling due to the evaporation causing molds which he thinks it will be bad for my asthma. I currently placed it away from my heating vent and my window. I also have a ceiling fan. So am I ok in my location of my tank?
:confused::help:

Do I have to have sand?

When I setup my 20 gl tank, I added about 2" of aragonite. Was told I needed it to buffer ph. Also thought I needed 20 + lbs of rock. I've learned some things from TRT, than you. Ive removed the sand from places that I can't vacuum easily. Taken out some rocks slowly, for more room to clean. Tank is 20 gl high not a long. tank has been going for almost 2 years, so there's not much sand left after all the water changes and vacuuming.

Can I remove all the remaining aragonite sand??
Can BB be done without a skimmer??

lots of poop

Never seen a coral poop this much :bigeek:
by the time a got my camera ready the shi@#$% was moving


5932c (1 of 1) by alan marquez, on Flickr

New to coral

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum and would like some info/advice of you, the more experience reef keepers.
After setting up my 29G tank a year ago I start adding coral to the tank.
Last weekend I bought a torch coral and 4 coral frags at my LFS.
the coral frags are 1 Favia, 1 Zoanthid and 2 Blastomussa Wellsi's
Now the questions are:
- I know the coral family but can you guys give me more specifics on the coral frags
- what would be ideal placement
- do you feed them, I'm planning on spot feeding my torch twice a week with Oaster feast (recommended?)
- Any advice for best success in my tank, optimal water parameters?

My tanks is 29G, got a coralife T5 HO lunar fixure with 2x31W 10.000K and 2x31W Actinic, a AquaC Remora-S protein skimmer
My tank parameters: Alk=10.2dKH, Ca=425, Mg=1440, ph=8, Amonia-nitrate-nitrite-phosphate=0
I have 2 Occellaris Clowns, 2 Kaudern Cardinals and a cleaner shrimp

Zoanthid
Attachment 120920

Favia
Attachment 120921

Blastomussa
Attachment 120922
Attachment 120923

Torch
Attachment 120924

Tank overview
Attachment 120925

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Eeeeeeeels

Hello.... so posted a while back in this forum about needing help to get the 3 foot zebra and 2 foot snowflake out of my tank... great ideas but job not done... so... having a maintenance company come and do a cleaning and they agreed to get the guys out of the tank (needed to reduce bio-load in my tank)... so - wanted to see if anyone has experience or has good guess as to credit I should get from LRFS for these guys? Just so I have an idea and dont get taken advantage of...

Time to get the crab out

So when I first started in saltwater 5 years ago or so, I bought LR and eventually I found a tiny hitchhiker crab. Everyday I'd think to myself, "I should get him out." Well, 5 years later that crab has grown, and become aggressive. It's not the snails and hermit crabs that he's eaten that concerns me. It's the fact that he's been trying to attack ME that makes me think it's time now to find this 'crabby' guy a new home. I can't post pics because I'm on mobile, but his big claw is easily an inch long...so he's not to be trifled with.

So, does anyone have suggestions of how to catch a crab with a body the size of a golf ball?

Coral Type

I am trying out my new light with some coral. I got this at a chain pet store and the sales person was not sure what type it is. I'm trying to figure it out so that I can research on the care that it needs. Also a friend of mine keeps telling me that they need supplements is that so?
The one that I'm talking about is the big giant one on the right.

GE silicone 1 ALL PURPOSE safe?

Hey I really need an answer for this. I got GE silicone 1 ALL PURPOSE it says it works on Windows doors attics trim and flashing I need to know if this is safe for building an aquarium with!

Year-End Clearance Event

Year-End Clearance Event

Take an additional 20% off already discounted aquarium gear!

Once our clearance items are gone, they're gone forever!

Use coupon code XMASCLOSEOUT before New Year's Day

New 14 gallon biocube help :)

Hi everyone. I recently(one week ago) purchased a 14 gallon biocube. This is my first saltwater aquarium and I realize the commitment and work it takes. The tank has ten lbs of live rock and live sand. Upon purchasing the tank I also purchased a cleaner shrimp, two clowns, one anemone and some snails. As of right now the only animal still going strong is the cleaner shrimp. Being so brand new to salt water I had no idea what was going wrong. Any one have an ideas or suggestions for getting my tank healthy? It would be much appreciated right now since I'm feeling pretty helpless!

Mixing salt in tank on new start up

I'm in the process of completely restarting my bio cube 29. It's currently sitting dry after going through a deep cleaning of vinegar, bleach, and fresh water...it's like new now.

I'll be putting fresh live sand and dry rock in it in a week.

My question: Can I mix the salt in the tank for this first cycle of new water?

The reason I ask, I don't have a 20g mixing container and doing several batches in my 5g bucket is a bit cumbersome. The only thing I can think it might harm is the live sand. Thoughts?

Lawn Mower Blenny and Yellow Watchman Goby

I used to have a Lawn Mower Blenny about 2 years ago. He passed and a couple 3-4 months ago I got a yellow watchman goby.

If I buy a new lawn mower blenny, will they get along?



Thanks!

Lps help

Hey guys, yesterday I upgraded tanks yesterday and my wellsophyllia now has a slime around it covering about 1/3 of its skeleton. its translucent and purple. I attempted to remove it but it came right back and the color is fading. I received it 4 days ago and it was doing fine in the original tank. When moving tanks I had it in a tote with other corals with a heater and a power head circulating . the process took about 8 hours.

Should I leave it alone. or is there anything I can do ? its a rainbow rim wellso so it was quite costly.

How much to feed

Hey guys I was wondering if you have to feed salt water fish more often than say fresh water, Because I can get away feeding my fresh water fish once a day, And I've been feeding my salt water fish twice a day. But my question is can I feed salt water fish once a day?

The Year in Review

The Year in Review

Here are 40 of our most popular products in 2015. How many are you using?

Good *onday *orning!

HAPPY *ONDAY *ORNING FOLKS! A day to shift gears and get back into the game a little. Still *onday, and in the *iddle of the Christmas season though....but still, things are open, and there's shopping to be done for New Year's Eve celebrations. I'm hooked on the 'light breakfasts' yet....Thomas's English *uffins and jellies to go with our coffee and pink *ilk. Hope all are well, and have pleasant thing ahead for the*selves for the day,
Hack

Setting up a Fowlr

So I'm barley starting my very first saltwater set-up and wanted your opinions on it.
So far I have the fowling:
50 gallon tank with canopy
Lights
Hydrometer
Heater
Protein Skimmer
2 Wave makers
3 Huge dry rocks about 120 lbs
Salt (from my LFS)

Four Questions
1. Am I missing something else besides substrate and Rodi unit?
2. Can I get 40 lbs of dry sand and 10 lbs of live sand? Will that work?
3. Im planning to get another 50 lbs of live rock, is that fine?
4. When I start adding water in my tank, I'm going to add the water in the 25 gallon bucket then add salt (measuring it as well) then pouring it in my tank then I grab another 25 gallon bucked and repeat the process until its full? Is this the right way?
Thank you for your advice

New tank build!

So after some headaches with my last tank I have decided to start fresh and have a little patience. I am going from a marineland 27G non drilled cube to a Deep Blue 35G cube that I will be drilling using the glass-holes overflow kit. My stand will be custom made. For substrate I will use about 40lbs of Fiji pink sand and roughly 50lbs of dry rock from Reef Cleaners.

-The light: I have chosen to try out the SBReef Lights 165W full spectrum ramping LED hanging about 8" above the tank using some bent and painted conduit. I will upload some pics of the light tonight, I know it is a black box design but the spectrum is designed and tested by reefers and not just shot gunned by manufacturers in china.

-Skimmer: For now I will continue to run my Aquamaxx HOB-1 Skimmer as it has been super impressive for being a HOB and only a few months old so ill upgrade to in sump later.

-The Sump: Right now I am still in debate as to what size I would like. I currently have an old 10g sump in the garage w/o a fuge area. I am not sure if I will use this for now since I have it and maybe upgrade later on. **I am open to suggestions on the sump situation**

-Other Equipment: The only other equipment I have right now are two sicce voyager power heads, one 250GPH and the other 500GPH as well as a phosphate reactor.

I am open to any and all suggestions to what I may want to consider adding to my build before it all really takes off! I will update this thread with pics as the next few weeks roll by starting with the light.

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New Light

I finally broke down and got a new light. I at first ordered the Orbit Marine Pro light cause I found it cheaper online. I have to send that one back cause it was too short. I went to the fish store I get my stuff at and got one the correct size. I have to say I love it. It's got the timer on it so I don't have to worry about turning it off and on. I also noticed that I don't have to clean the glass as often since it's not getting left on for a long time. I ended up getting the same Orbit Pro but one that fits the tank.

ISO: Few medium to smaller pieces of CLEAN local live rock...

Looking to buy a few CLEAN pieces of live rock locally (aka no hair algae or bubble algae, no known flatworms in your system please or aptasia/majanos).....

Need to fill in a hole on the back left part of my aquarium. Ideally need 2-3 pieces that would fill in a space about the size of a football to 1.5 footballs in total....Just got some new frags so ideally would like to pick up this week or weekend so they have a good place to go once they're done acclimating....

Let me know what you have! Thanks!

Saltwater tank questions. Starfish and hermit crabs together?

I recently purchased 3 hermit crabs, 1 emerald crab, 1 scooter blenny and 1 red starfish. I read online that they are all nonaggresive for the most part, the starfish being the most preditorial. The more I read, the more I realize this may not have been a good idea. Any idea who will go first? I also have a damsel and snail in the tank. The damsel seems to be getting along fine with everyone so far. i also plan on getting some clownfish and Yellow tang in the future along w some scallops. Any advice? I really hope the starfish doesnt eat anyone. same with the baby hermit crabs. Will the scooter blenny eat anyone? Its a fairly large tank. Im probably just stressing about it bc its my first time w saltwater

Whicg chamber?

Okay, it has been said by wise men / women here that one should place ther ATO sensor in the sump. Question is, which chamber...entrance or return?
Thanks

Ocellaris Clownfish ?

ok so as noted in my other thread the older 2 kids got clownfish for Christmas from Grandma & Grandpa. & I mean literally gifted clownfish. On their way to our house they stopped in at the store & told them their DIL had started a SW tank & they wanted to pick out 2 different looking clownfish to take their grandkids as they'd been talking about getting clownfish for the tank eventually. & the store actually sold them the fish. :bigeek: I called immediately to ask if I could return them b/c my tank wasn't ready for them but they told me that being boxing day they weren't accepting returns or doing refunds. I demanded to speak to the fish department manager & he told me the fish would be fine being added as long as I dosed Prime & Stability for 3 days.
anyways so my ? is it seriously seems like these 2 are bonding already. One is a black & 1 a common. I know clowns usually will pair up but I didn't think these would. they are swimming very tightly together if 1`wanders off the other rushes to catch up....

Grandis palys

Reefers I just got this palys frag and I noticed this white dots on the flesh , is it a parasite, disease or is just normal, not familiar with this coral yet. Also with my light is not fully extended at night wow all wide open is this part of the acclimation
Thanks

5899c (1 of 1) by alan marquez, on Flickr

White spots on Humu trigger help?

Hey there, two weeks I ordered a Humu trigger from liveaquaria.com. When he arrived the exterior shipping bag had been punctured and some of the water from shipping had leaked out of his bag. I called Live Aquaria to let them know after I began acclimating him. He's been in my 65 gallon FOWLR system tank for almost a week now that has 85 lbs. of live rock and 3" of live sand. His tank mates are a skeleton eel, snowflake eel, moon wrasse, one spot fox face, and a domino damsel. Invertebrates include a short spend urchin, a tuxedo urchin, pincushion urchin, 2 turbo snails, and a red thorny star fish. I am currently preforming water changes weekly replacing 20 gallons each time. I had my roommate feeding my fish for 3 days while I went home for Christmas and when I returned the Humu trigger has white spots on his body and fins. I read online and it seems there could be two possibilities: he's stressed out, or could be a disease. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? My LFS is closed until tomorrow but I do not want to wait that long to get him help. He's been eating just fine and still swimming around the whole length of the tank as he's been doing but I do not want to lose him!

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