pbnj

I wanted to share this, as it addresses a couple of common issues people have in their reefs, especially SPS-dominated reefs....

A couple of months ago, I switched from dosing Seachem Reef Complete (SRC), which I had been using for several years, to BRS Calcium Chloride to save some money (actually, a lot of money). I never dosed Magnesium specifically because I always thought the SRC would take care of that (SRC also includes Magnesium & Strontium), but with the switch to BRS Calcium Chloride, I needed to also start dosing Magnesium.

So here I am a couple of months into dosing Magnesium and I have to say, it's important. I previously used to describe my corals as "great color, decent polyp extension, slow growth". Color continues to be great, growth rates have visibly increased, but the biggest difference by far is the polyp extenstion. My Milli's, Prostrata, and Red Planet are quite "shaggy" now with pronounced polyp extension. I have a Neon Green Montipora Spongodes colony that looks almost brown, but not because of color loss; the brown polyps are so big/extended that they cover most of the colony now.

I recently researched Magnesium and I read several forum threads where Magnesium was suggested to people complaining about poor polyp extension. It bascially confirmed what I was already seeing, so as it turns-out, I just happened to accidentally stumble upon the benefits of this very important additive because I was trying to save a couple of bucks.

Also, I asked around Reef Central (Randy Holmes-Farley & others) and found-out you can mix Calcium Chloride and Magnesium Chloride (important: both have to be "chlorides"), which is great because I can still use only one dosing pump for these additives. In a 1g container, I mix 2.5 cups of BRS Calcium Chloride and 1.5 cups of BRS Magnesium Chloride, but you can experiment with your own recipe.

You can continue using both pumps and just install a ball valve on the Mag 18's output/return line. That way, you can control the amount of flow you want/need.

Pretty much the only benefit to running an external return pump.

Yes, two Mags can definitely create that much heat.

Your skimmer probably overflowed because the sump water level increased when you shut-off the return pumps.

What are you using to waterproof the plywood bottom of the 250g?

I'm going to use pond armour pond shield. Its a non toxic epoxy that is made for just this type of thing.

This guy build built a 237g plywood tank using only ZavLar liquid rubber for waterproofing:

What are you using to waterproof the plywood bottom of the 250g?

FYI, when you update your signature, all of your older posts get updated with the new signature too.

Shoot them an e-mail. While they technically don't have to, they might still give you the discount.

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Wow, some heavy-duty critiquing of various ARC sponsors. This kind of thread used to get shut-down quickly.

My 2" Red Gonipora has only been in my tank about 6 weeks, but looks good. No target feeding (I only feed my fish), but it's directly downstream of a powerhead my hippo tang always poops in front of.

Sorry, didn't see that you were trying to give them away. I'm not interested in taking them (more like I would like to, but I'm out of room).

If you can't find any freebies, I think Walgreens has a program where you buy a pair of new crutches at full price and then return them whenever you're done for like a $20-$25 refund.

Nice...acrylic?

You should provide more detail and highlight that nice EuroReef/ReefDynamics skimmer. That should be a big selling-point.

I feel like I've seen this tank before...is there another large bowfront in that room right next to this one?

I never had a problem with Damsels and over-aggression, but all of the hoopla has discouraged me from adding them to my current system (I do have a 4"+ Sgt Major).

Such a bad rap.

By "large purchase", do you mean a single item or several things?

If it's a single item and you can't find any coupons, Marine Depot has a low-price guarantee, so if you find a lower price from another online store, they will match the price and refund 10% of the difference.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_low_price_guarantee.html

I think most people use that "Miracle Mud" if you want to research it.

i need some different colored acros besides all the green ones ive bought lately purple coral sounds yummy!

My second favorite coral in the tank....my Pearlberry:

I sold quite a few frags back in December, so new ones for a while.

I bought the colony from an ARC member (Finfriend) who shut-down his 180g tank last May. I didn't think much of it at the time (he said himself that he had let the tank's maintenance fall behind), but it really came to life in my tank.

If I cut a frag for everyone's who's asked for one, I'd have nothing left!

Here's what I would do:

1) Stop using the food you're feeding the tank. In my opinion, that kind of food (mysis, frozen foods) should only be used as an occasional treat, certainly not fed every day and not in the quantities you're using. In your case, you need to eliminate them altogether. Don't even use flake foods or Nori for a while because they break-down fast in the water. Switch to something like New Life Spectrum 1mm slow-sinking pellets and only feed once per day. Even better, buy an automatic feeder, that way you know the tank is only getting a designated amount every day. Feeding by hand tends to lead to over-feeding because in our minds, the fish always look hungry.

2) Buy a hand-held TDS meter and check your top-off and water-change water. If using your own RO/DI unit is not an option, you may need to start buying RO/DI water from a LFS.

3) Many people have seen great results by increasing their Magnesium levels using Kent Marine Magnesium (levels of 1500+). Keep pulling-out whatever GHA you can by hand.

4) With the way you've been feeding, that sandbed is probably loaded with nastiness. I would start to slowly thin it out over the next few weeks.

Also, clean-up crews don't remove nutrients from water. They eat stuff and poop it out. Clean-up crews break-down waste/detritus so that the tank's nutrient export system (skimmer, water-changes, etc) can remove it. Can you imagine the waste a Sea Hare would create by eating all of that GHA?

My Rainbow Stylophora....

pH is so forgiving with it's wide range (7.9-8.4), why the need for "lab-grade" equipment? Standard probe is fine.

My tank is 24" tall and the reflectors are about 9" above the water.

Razor, which Web browser are you using?

1) (4) Lumenarc Mini Reflectors w/250W 14K Plusrite MHs on Lumatek dimmable ballasts and (2) 72" VHO T12 Super Actinics on an IceCap 660 ballast.

2) Just VHOs on....

3) VHOs: 8:00am-10:00pm; MHs: 11:00am-6:00pm

Recently became a big fan of the Super Actinics and will always run these from now on. Even corals that look "so-so" under MHs come to life with just these VHOs on.

Bt the way, your poll choices have overlapping values (6, 8, and 10). Sorry, I used to be in Marketing Research.