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Originally Posted by Reefmack  Starting out with tap water didn't help I'm sure. Are you running a phosphate remover media, something like Chemi-Pure Elite or a media with ferric oxide in it? The CPE is good, but the best place for it is probably under the pumps, to keep the flow up in back. It doesn't need to be changed more often than every few months. |
per your previous advice, I just got some CPE. I have it above the skimmer pump though. I will move it below the powerheads, but does it matter that I don't have the ceramic media or carbon back there (so it will rest at the bottom of the tank)?
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I don't think you have any clean up crew yet. If your ammonia and nitrite levels are OK, you should get some snails - Turbos are great algae eaters.
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I have what I believe are 4 turbo snails. they do eat the algae. someone else also recommended a emerald crab. I'd like to get more, but I'm very hesitant to add creatures given that I can't quite get my tank to cycle like I expected it to.
My pH has dropped to about 8.0 from 8.3....even after a 10+% water change. I don't understand this.
This seems to indicate that my water quality is getting worse, not better. I rarely feed the fish (maybe once every 3 days). Maybe the water from Walmart just sucks. I'm going to get a TDS meter and see what it shows. I really wasn't expecting to have to get a RO system, but I'm leaning that way more as each day passes. I just got a digital thermometer and refractometer, both of which are sweet. I was using the plastic kind that tested both and the temperature was WAY off. The SG was okay.
Thanks for all your help with this reefmack!