Recent content by steamboatreef

I recently watched a BRS FAQ that stated bio balls will not complete the nitrogen cycle and trap in nitrate while marine pure can fully complete the cycle by transporting nitrate into nitrogen gas. How does one determine if the bio media has the ability to fully complete the nitrogen cycle and...

I'm going to guess the answer of my own question based on the link provided. Copper medication will not kill the live bacteria cultivated on my biological media, and I should not worried about an ammonia spike. I should just be mindful every piece of equipment used in the tank will be...

I'm planning out the setup of my first QT tank. I've concluded I should not add sand and live rock. I understand, medicine could kill the bacteria on the live rock. My question is regarding biological filtration, will the medicine potentially kill my biological filtration and therefore I...

BRS has the $200 unit on sale for $140, that's probably your best value in the long run. It's good to know, you'll never have difficulty finding replacement filters and customer support will always be there.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/JECOD-JEBAO-DCP-6500-Submersible-Aquarium-Pump-WController-Compare-to-DCT6000-/252462460394 Take a serious look at the Jebao DCP-6500 It's their third generation pump, uses far less power than AC pumps and many comparable DC pumps are north of $200. The quality is...

Fixtures with 54 watt bulbs are 48" long. I believe the giesmann and ATI are designed to for hanging, not tank mounted. I have an aquaticlife 4x54watt tank mounted fixture on my 75 gallon. It does the job but in a league below giesmann or ATI.

Bulk reef supply has some great deals on T5 fixtures right now. The Giesmann 4x54 (48") is $450 and that's normally $600. The ATI sunpower 4X54 is $400 and that's nornally $470. I would highly recommend either of those brands/models. Either of the two would be cheaper than two leds fixtures.

I'm not sure if there's a thread to share black Friday deals but I noticed premium aquatics has a killer deal on vertex omega skimmers right now. The 150 is priced at $250, which is normally $400.

I planned on bringing the calcium levels up in the newly mixed saltwater from 380 to about 420 and magnesium from 1200 to 1300. I didn't think that would create precipitation. Is this a specif issue with Tropic Marin salt? The extra calcium and magnesium I need to bring my overall tank...

That's very good to know. I was unsure that technique would work, but someone on here mentioned doing it with IO salt. I just purchased the regular tropic marin and will not do it with the salt once I start using it. I've been using IO and dosing pre-mixed and packaged two-part by hand...

What about using a salt with lower magnesium/calcium and boosting it with a premixed solution before adding mixed saltwater to the tank? I'm thinking about doing this with instant ocean or regular Tropic Marin which has lower calcium and magnesium levels. I suspect some of the brands are...

I have a 75 gallon with a small amount of live rock forming a couple hiding spots and two blue damsels with yellow tails. Can I add two clownfish with the damsels, or should I get rid of the Damsels before adding the clownfish? The damsels are medium to small size I read and heard from others...

I've been buying RODI water from my LFS. I test the water once I get home and it usually reads 0 or 1-2 TDS. I'm using five gallon WECO water jugs. I usually get enough water to last a couple weeks. I just tested the water in four of my jugs. One jug still reads 1 TDS, another reads 550...

Thanks for the link, in your last sentence did you mean to say magnesium chloride rather than calcium chloride? I don't have any espom salts. I will probably purchase some dr foster magnesium chloride for the short term to raise it, then later get dr foster magnesium sulfate to form a ratio...

I will probably purchase some Dr Foster and Smith mag chloride then, it's cheaper than BRS product. I'm also switching to regular Tropic Marin salt from instant ocean with weekly 10% water changes. My magnesium is probably low from the instant ocean salt since my tank is 5 weeks old. I hope...