What not to buy: A DO NOT buy list for your reef.

[Talonstorm]

Odyssea lighting:

Agreed! I made this mistake when I started out and the only part of this fixture I still use is the case. I had to replace ALL wiring, ballasts, switches, etc. within 6 months of purchase. The money I put into this fixture when it burned up (it never actually caught fire, but it went out while I was at work and I came home and smelled that electrical burning smell coming from it and unplugged it quick, it was very hot) plus the initial cost of the fixture would have bought me a top of the line fixture. The parts in the Odyssea fixture/ballast box looked like they were produced in the 60's. Be very careful if you own one of these!!

Tina

 

[jejton]

Any livestock you haven't thoroughly researched.

 

[inkblue]

http://tanga.com/deals/current

:lol2:

 

[ReeferMadness99]

Hey Chief, have to agree and disagree with the Nano comment. I started this hobby with a 34 gallon Solana. The best Nano on the market IMO. It has a great Venturi Skimmer. Plus, I easily converted the middle chamber in the back into a nice housing for Chaeto & added a reptile compact flourescent 8W light.

Back to my point. Nano's are harder to maintain because of the small margin of error. But its a great way to break in a newbie. Its made me pay attention to detail. I change water once a week. I dose every day and vodka dose every night. I test the water once a week. Because of the little margin of error, I'm going through reefing boot camp right now and overall, its made me much more aware of whats going on in my tank.

 

[ReeferMadness99]

Save our reefs! Maricultured Live Rock or Reef Ceramics only!! I know Reef Ceramics are a little costly but you only need about half of the weight of live rocks considering the ceramics are dry rock. Live rock is weighted with water and organic material.

 

[jrobbins]

I dont know about this one. I used a tap water filter for over a year with no problems. for the last year i have been running my ro/di without the ro membrane, basically making a huge tap-water filter. it seems to work ok for me....

Do not buy this thinking it is a replacement for an RO/DI unit:

Tap Water Filter

 

[e.muehlbauer]

I've always been happy with my tap water purifier...I've used it for at least 10 years and my tank is fine.....

 

[CHEMCHEF]

72 bowfront:
#1 Everything looks distorted thru cuved glass. I know, you have one and everything looks great. That is until you go to a fellow reefers tank and the glass is flat, and you say Holt **** I wish my tank looked like that.
#2 You can not fit a decent sump under this thing 10gal. 15, 20long. Thats it. Now try getting it out if you have a leak