muddybluewater

Welcome and thanks for joining.

Red bugs do not lay eggs they are live birth. Their life span with out a host is 3-4 days, They will only host acros. They will not host millis or montis. I treated my acros out of my tank in a QT for 5 days and it has been several weeks with no sign of any bugs. One 5 day treatment. I treated them for 12 hours and then did a 80% water change with tank water. I did a second water change on day 3. I then left them in the QT for 2 more days . On the 5th day I retreated for 2 hours and then returned everything to the display tank. my 2 cents

How much water did you add the salt to? You should always mix the salt over night.

Welcome, thanks for joining in.

Mmmmm... donuts

That is a good point Mike. Would it not be better to go with 2 400w instead of 3 250w though? I would like to see the difference in par ratings at different water levels between the 400s and 250s and for that matter 250s in Hello reflectors vs Luminarcs.

Approximately 1/2 cup per gallon

They will work but you don't get the coverage you would out of a Luminarc. To get good coverage you might consider 3 over a 90g. With Luminarc minis you would only need 2.

Good. They are filter feeders

T-5 come in 48"(54w) max lenght. You could use 4 30" Ho T5(31w). VHO come in 60"(140W). Either would work for supplimentation. Led lights are used for night time lights.

A couple of things natural sea water is actually 1.026. Not much will it make it at 1.035.

Things you need for saltwater

1 Patience

2 Patience

3 Patience

4 ask as many questions as you can

5 Research all purchases, you can waste a lot of money in this hobby

6 Saltwater is very different than FW

7 The larger the system the more stable and easier to keep

8 reef keeping is an addiction, Welcome

Just keep an eye on the want to sell threads. Some one is always selling tanks for one reason or another. It is better to do things right the first time. It may seem expensive but will save you money over spending it twice by making mistakes

Try a tunze osomlator, it has a 8' head height. cost under $25

Get rid of both of the filters. Canisters really don't have a place in saltwater. Yes you would need an overflow box if your tank is not drilled. The other option is to have it drilled. Dave at Epic reef can drill it for you. I am a big believer in skimmers, I also feel that Octopus skimmers are the best value on the market. You should definitely put in a sump with a refugium. I would build a sump out of a 20g long. You can buy one at petsmart for $25 and another $15 for acrylic or glass and silicone you have a sump.

I don't like phyto, IME it just causes problems. If you feel you need to feed corals use oyster feast or similar. It can't hurt to rinse the mysis, try it for a couple weeks and see if it helps. The cyano is feeding off the phos and waste in the substrate. That is why high amouts of flow are required in a reef tank to keep it suspended in the water column until it can be removed. The other source of removal is CUC. I like skimmers for removing waste. I know subsea does not. There are many methods in this hobby to achieve the same goal.

As stated above the rock could very well be the problem. Something else to think about is what you are feeding. Flake food is also a source of phos. Pellet is better or frozen. If you are using frozen, thaw it and then strain the water out. Add only the solid to your tank and see if that helps.

Reef cleaners will set you up a custom cuc. There is a group buy going on now. They are also a sponsor.

I am still waiting for the 55g

Go horns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

come on you don't need info just send him $155. He does have 2 posts here and has them listed for sale on several other sites. You can always hope that there are no pests in his tank. Sorry for the sarcasm but it seems strange.

I have not thought of that place in years. Great b-fast tacos.

That is why you use a GFI. It could have killed everything in the tank, and possibly you.

When I said I had to change them out I meant that I had to have my electrician change them. They were on a 20 amp breaker and 12-2 wire. All of this per the 2008 NEC. My house is wired to the 2000 NEC and has 20amp breakers in it. Definitely look at you panel and see what size breaker you have. A 14-2 might be an issue with 20amps but I would have to look it up. I am not an electrician but do own a copy of the 2008 NEC.

Another question would be why 400w, and what kind of fixture/ pendant would cover a 55g tank (4'x?)? Wouldn't it be better to go with 2 lights? 2x 175 or 250w

Welcome, I think you will enjoy it here. Lots of friendly folks