Recent content by jumpincactus

Ditto on the favia

What I do is I have a 40 gallon Brute with RO/DI when I get ready to do water changes I mix the salt and then add a powerhead to the bucket to aerate the water. It also gives the water temp time to equalize to the tank temps.

first off Welcome. It is refreshing to see a newbie actually ask questions before starting/ You are in the right place for help. Here are a couple of links that you can access online. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/totm/index.php And http://www.advancedaquarist.com/ Both...

Curtswearing, your tank is not the only tank to have your corals respond negatively to aluminum based phosphate removers. There have been a few studies that show that aluminum is not well recieved by our corals. Both RowaPhos and Phosban were tested side by side and hands down the test showed...

I really love the look of the blueberry gorgs. However I have yet to meet anyone that can keep them alive for years.Anyone have any luck with BB gorgs???

Iam inclined to agree with Cheeks.............Epicystis crucifer I could and have been wrong before tho......

Doing what they are born to do is not evil. It is just another day in the cycle and circle of life in the reef system. As others have spoke on crabs are oppurtunistic feeders. They are great critters for keeping the uneatan food cleaned up and detritus. Crabs depending on the species can be...

Bonnie I hear ya darlin about not being able to keep from wanting to add critters. We all go thru it. I will promise you this if you take your time and read and ask questions and apply others wisdom you will be rewarded with a beautiful tank. :) A lot of people will argue keeping the lights...

Tanks with uncured rock typically take from 4-6 weeks to fully cycle. It is not unusual to see your ammonia spike go up and down. As your ammonia climbs nitrites will form and then be converted to nitrates. As the cycle continues you will get another wave of die off and your ammonia will spike...

We are all responsible IMO. Knowledge is power. In respects to me I took a year to read everything I could on reefkeeping. I spent that year planning saving, asking other more experinced hobbyists what worked for them. I do believe that there are some really good LFS out there but as with...

Asking if a few snails and some crabs are really necassary in the reefs we keep is like percieiving a nest without a bird, or a sky without a sun. As someone mentioned earlier the cycle of life travels in circles. I do not buy into the cleaner crew bit that most LFS would have you believe that...

I disagree strongly with this statement if water parameters are poor and nutrients high I have seen algae completely cover coralline algae and literally encroach and smother corals. Coralline algae is not immune to nuisance algae.

Back to your cycling question a lot of people would say to cycle between2-4 weeks. When your water parameters look where they need to be I would wait at least another week and re-check. Then you can start stocking lightly. Read a lot and ask lots of questions. I use this site and not to...

Every knowledgable salt tank hobbyist will say 15-20 % water changes minimum of once a month. There is a reason for that. If you want to maintain a healthy balance in your tank get into the habit of regular water changes your fish and corals will love you for it.

Agreed with the others. For a FOWLR setup stay away from an undegravel filter. They are by industry standards archaic. Since you are going fish only you can do well with powr compacts or T5's. They will give you plenty of light to promote coralline growth on your LR. A skimmer is a good choice...