Recent content by rubiconman

I currently am using a Red Sea Alkalinity test kit and it only reads low, normal, and high and currently testing at a normal level. I do not have a magnesium test kit, but if you think this may be the problem I will get one tomorrow. Can you tell me the correct levels to look for?

I have a 55 gal. that is 13" wide with a Coralife 48" Aqualight Pro that is 15". I had to turn the legs inward to set on top, but it's seems to be doing fine. I don't get a lot of excess glare because there is a 3/4" gap between the edge of the unit to the actual lighting itself.

I am having a problem keeping my calcium levels at a sufficient level. I am currently adding Kent pro buffer parts a&b daily, but my levels will not get up past 300ppms. This morning I added 12 mls of both units to my 55 gal. and tested several hours later and they were 50 ppms lower than they...

I just went through the same situation that you are and I waited after the cycling to add the shrimp. During the cycling I had 2 that I could see that popped up and grew to about an inch in size. After the cycle I added the shrimp the Aptaisia are no longer there and don't see any coming up...

I am looking to set up a sump system and was wondering how this works. Anyone have any good links?

My 55 gal. is now 2 months new and I seem to be losing a considerable amout of coraline that was already on the rock when I got it. Some of them have been stripped to have coverage. What could be the cause of this? Currently, I have green fuzzy mushroom, green star polyps, 3-emerald crabs...

My current setup is a 55gal. w/ 48" Coralife Aqualight Pro (2-250 mh's, 2-actinic, 3-nightlights). I have 2-maxijet 600 ph's (waiting for Red Sea wavemaker system), Seaclone 100 protein skimmer w/ good extraction, 250w heater, and Penguin 200 filter w/out bio wheel. As for fish and livestock...

I have a Penguin 200 filter on my 55 gal. and I have been reading a lot about people who don't ever use a filter. I have 80 lbs of Marshall Island rock and was told that this does the job that the filter does. Is this true?

I am currently using a Marineland Sea Clone 100 on my 55 gal. Is this sufficient enough to handle the bio load of 5 fish, snails, 3 nudibranch, 4 shrimp, linkia star, several crabs? I am working on stocking my tank with sps corals and others and want to make sure I have the right equipment to...

Had the night lights on and saw a serpent looking creature coming out my rock. It looked to be over 8" in length and maybe longer! It was creeping up behind one of my emerald crabs and once the crab felt him he turned and snapped at it and that was it. It had a head shaped like a small grass...

I am considering purchasing a wave maker and had some questions. I have a 55 gal. tank and I want to know if a wave maker will help out? The one I am looking at is Red Sea Pro w/ 4 1200 p/h's. Has anyone had any experience with this particular model? Is the kit worth $150?

They also have the inline UV sterilizer for $80.

Just purchased a brand new system by a company called Water General. They are on EBAY with a special offer of $95. The company who distributes them has a listing on EBAY and they also have a web site: www.filterdirect.com. However they do not have this particular system listed on their site...

sailmike...I am trying to take some pictures of my own and it seems that you have the closeups down to an art. Any comments on your camera settings. I have an Olympus Z-50 zoom camera with 5 mega pixels and I can't seem to get the closeups to come out as good. Any help would be appreciated.

I can't get a good picture of it, but it is a very simple looking creature that I just saw for the first time. It is about 3/4" long and kind of moves like a snail, however it has no common shell. It is solid black and has a smooth black shield on it's back that small soft spines(kind of like...