Recent content by mgranato

It's about 2 years old. My nitrate and phosphate kits are at least a year old, so I'm not sure I can put too much into their readings (nitrates = 0, phosphate = .1+ ish).

Got this stuff on rocks and glass (but not on sand), it even covered my ball of chaeto in the fuge. Any i.d. help and solution suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

It looks like that's the route I'll be taking as well.

Has anyone ever "hard plumbed" and Eheim 1048? Is it possible? Would regular PVC fittings connect to the in/out threads? I'm looking to make a calcium reactor and would like to hard plumb the pump I've already got.

Thanks a ton, James. She'll stay as is. An empty tank, I'd probably try it - but a full tank (in the kitchen) would get me shot if there were ANY problems. Good point of view, I wouldn't take this on with someone else's tank, so I should probably leave well enough alone on mine.

Pic of current situation...

I did some measuring a little while ago - the temp of the acrylic brace closet to the light is at 120* inside the closed canopy (laid thermometer on the brace for about 20 min.). The rim surrounding the tank is actually 3.5" rather than 3". With all that being said (and I certainly understand...

Yes, all vertical panes are 3/4", top and bottom are 1/2".

James, thanks for the response. Because of the two large overflows in the rear corners, the two outside openings are not that great (lots of light on the overflows not the corals). If I'm reading between the lines correctly, you would probably opt for the 1 strong center brace. That sounds...

I have a custom display that measures 60x23x23 inches with 2 large (8x13) overflow towers in each rear corner. I over built it with 3/4" acrylic for the sides/front/back (corners reinforced with 3/4x3/4 gussets) and 1/2" on top and bottom. The top has 3 cut-outs with 3" rim going all the way...

My mag is 1250, it was at 1100 (couldn't get the Ca above 310 until I realized what was keeping it down). I use Tropic Marin for 25 gallon changes every other week. If I remember correctly the new water tests at Ca 350-360, dKH 10, and Mag 1225-1250. My display specific gravity is 1.026...

Thanks for the responses. I'm also of the school of let the animals tell you if things are good or not. I'm also not one to seek max numbers with Ca and alk (my Ca stays at 350). But yes, the corals are growing and with good polyp extension. My main concern was that I didn't want to be fine...

I just recently switched from Salifert to Seachem for testing my alkalinity. My reading with the Salifert was 10.2 dKH. I was getting a total alkalinity reading of 3.0 meq/lusing the Seachem test. I'm very fuzzy on the differences between dKH and total alkalinity, but Seachem recommends a...

I've always read (heard, been told) to buffer RO water prior to use. I use 3 teaspoons of baking soda. However, I'm obviously getting the wrong reaction from that advised method. Today I replaced the air stone with a powerhead to just agitate the surface. The water is very clear since...

I change 25 gallons on my 150 reef every 2 weeks. I mix Tropic Marin in a Brute with RO/DI water. The RO/DI water is well aerated, heated, and buffered (baking soda) before I mix it with the salt. The salt mixes fine and stays clear for 2-3 days after initial mixing, but by day 3 everything...