Recent content by John G

I have a different RO system, but I assume they work on the same principle. A quick test on the membrane is to perform an alkalinity test on the RO water. If the test changes color immediately on the first drop of reagent (alk=0) then your water is ok. Another thing, I forget the exact...

Pretty sure you are correct. The sp. indicates that exact species is unknown.

I have a large hammer, not exactly sure if it's ancora or pancora. Lately I've noticed some large, translucent bubbles on a few of the stalks. If I had to guess, they look like polyps that filled with air/gas. The largest bubble is about 1 inch in diameter. Can anybody tell me what exactly...

One last comment after reading the literature on the sea swirl. It seems that you can hook them up to an existing return. If this is so here is how I would do it on my tank. My return line comes up from the sump through the overflow chamber then goes into the tank THEN it tees to two...

After posting found this website. Quite extensive plumbing on a 300 gal. http://bobsreefermadness.homestead.com/300gal_plumbing_page1.html

It seems to me you would only need to add one extra hole in the bottom of your overflow for a total of three - one for the flow to the sump, one for the return from the sump to the tank and one for the return from the sump to the swirls. You might have to make the hole for the flow TO the sump...

Yellow Sub, I'm sure somebody will shake their head, but I used tap water. My tank is setup such that most of my corals are not attached to rocks, so I was able to move them all to a tub. I was careful to run the tap water over the area of the bubble algae, not the entire rock. As far as any...

Not to beat a dead horse - I guess I just don't understand why you needed a 4th hole in the overflow bottom?? If all water is going/comming from one sump/two pumps you should only need three. One to the sump and two for each return line from the two pumps. Or am I missing something?!?!?!

Second the vote for URI. Using seven 46 inchers over my 120. Mix of 4 actinic whites ( 12000k-50/50) and 3 actinic 03 (420 nm). Having good results so far.

CJ - what exactly are you looking for when you say maintenance software?? Not sure if this is what you mean,but...I found a program called "Aquarium Manager" on the web. It's a nice program where you can enter your testing results, (calc,alk,nitrate, etc) along with othere things. It has...

Yellow Sub, I had a problem with bubble algae a while back. Yes, emerald green crabs are reef safe and are supposed to eat the bubble, but the ones I added to my reef never did..or maybe the very small bubbles. I eventually went the rout of removing my rock and scrubbing it. It's...

Marillion - I can't add a whole lot from what McReef said. I went from a 55gal to a 120 gal earlier this year. There is alot of planning and buying to do ( I got all new equipment, skimmer, sump, etc.) But once everything was bought and ready to go the process was easy. I had my tank an sump...

Gator - I use the SeaChem Reef Status test kit for both alk and calc. I also use a Tropic Marin calcium test kit onci in a while. The two calc. kits give results within 20-25 ppm. As for media, I am using the Carib Sea ARM. Even though Joe S. has had good results with this media, and mine...

Randy - You have piqued my interest. Although I've read and researched alot, I must admit the calcium/alkalinity issue still confuses me somewhat. First, I think my reactor does balance the cal/alk based on the tank requirements as you mentioned. It is just at a level of alk (8-8.5 dkh) that...

Probably will open myself to critism, but why bother heating the mix water?? I never do. I change 10-12 gallons/week in my 120. I'm not sure of my mix water temp, but I'd estimate 65-70 deg. I keep my tank at 82 deg. I've read somewhere that a short term inrush of cooler water is actually...