Recent content by johnfluevogs

You think this is enough flow, or would you be suspicious that I would need more? Anyone, THANKS!

So I visited the LFS this afternoon and they informed me that my salinity was way high ~1.029. I guess I need to be around 1.024/1.025. Apparently my hydrometer has lost its calibration. There was also a large amount of nitrates. I will easy the salinity to acceptable levels and doe a water...

Flow in 30 gallon cube (18"x18"x18") Mag Drive 500 return from sump; 1 return to tank split in tank with two outlets made from loc-line Mag Drive 250 closed loop; sucks from bottom center behind rock stack and returns opposate side of rear wall with 1 outlet (fan) loc-line.

OK, your comment "somehow i don't think you have too much light." I think might be getting me somewhere. The corals: The hydno frag has its polyps extended; it sits near the top of the tank The Cap has its polyps extended but has been slowly loosing is reddish color over the last 2 weeks...

I appreciate all the help I can get. I guess where I am at right now is: Am I getting enough light? OR Am I getting too much light? What is a 'good' amount of light for a mixed tank (LPS/SPS) mostly LPS. 30 gallons 18" deep. Aslo, if a 175w halide is acceptable how high should it be above...

18" deep 20-30 lbs of LR (guess) 1 maroon/gold clown 1 sailfin blenny 1-2 hermit 1 cleaner shrimp crushed coral/sand floor none of the corals have or are doing "good" bulb new as of the 1st of the year water parameters are good according to the LFS and my test kits I will have to get back to...

my current lighting system is homemade with an advance magnetic ballast. I have been useing Hamilton 175w 14k MH bulbs and Coralife 36w PC Actinic 03 bulbs.

I have had a number of corals that all ended up dieing slowly. The corals seem to live and die very slowly. Nothing has ever grown. (torch, mushrooms, candy, caps, hydno, acro) I currently have a candy that is hanging on, I never see any feeder tentacles and it doesn’t open up like it once did...

I have a 30 gallon cube that has been set up for 2+ years and it has never been a striving system. No I understand there may be a multitude of things happening but over the two years I have addressed many aspects and have come up short. All levels are in range according to home testing and LFS...

Innovative Lighting Solutions does have a phone number and I have spoken to a human every single time I call. I have ordered lighting materials from them for over a year now and have yet to run into a problem with there service. I did receive a shipment that was damaged by UPS and they credited...

I have run a phosphate reactor myself but found that it lowered my alk levels considerably. Could I be useing it wrong?

ok... I use RO/DI water to do water changes. According to my portable TDS meter the RO/DI water reads 0ppm. So it was my thinking that I wasn't getting them from my make up water. As for fish.. I have a maroon and gold clown, bi-colored bleny, and a sailfin blenny. Others incld. sand slug...

I want to know the story on phosphate and where they come from. I have detectable phosphates in my current reef and they get as high at 0.3-0.4 ppm and I definitely think that they have a detrimental effect on SPS corals especially. Does anyone have an idea how they come from?

I did just replace my PC Actinic bulbs a month ago, as I do religiously every 6 months. But, I never had any coralline to bleach. I think my problem lies in the low alk and the trace of phosphates. Who knows though?

thanks so much for all the replies... First off, I do use RO/DI for water changes and I have a handheld TDI meter that reads 0 ppm. Second, I have a phosphate reactor and use phosban media. I only add 1/4-1/2 of the media you buy because I have such a small system. (Maybe I should be adding...