Palani

So when you first add kalk to the RO water there should be Kalk everywhere, but it should dissolve completely. Is that right? Even if you have 2 teaspoons per gallon of water you are mixing it with? So when do you know you have to add more kalk? Do you have to make sure that the kalk reactor is air tight to prevent CO2 from entering and creating precipitate?

Also I heard that kalk makes your skimmer work better. Kinda how ozone does, is this true?

I've seen coker's tank from when he has his 2 250's and a couple 2 ft. t-5's. Now that he has the 8 bulb t-5 lighting from sunlight, I'll have to say it has seemed brighter. Not to mention less heat and wattage. Are there any 20" fixtures out there with 8 bulbs? I guess I'll have to make my own.

Hey, I'm thinking about making a DIY kalkreactor, but don't exactly know the process. I've dripped kalk before, it's just that the kalkreactors not kalk stirers, get me. Does the pump go 24/7? Even when it is dripping into the tank? Isn't there any percipitate that gets into the tank?

what kind of salt are you using? Ocean Pure?

Nyles is having the same problem. Look at the emergency thread. It kinda describes the same thing, and he's using OP.

Nyles, I know Dan has the same problem with his sps in his tank and he is also using OP. Something about super high boron that's fing things up. Just to let you know. I'll agree, time to change salt.

WWWAAAASSSSAAAAPPPPP. Aloha.

I can get some up and going, give me a few days though. Did they just spawn? It must be that time of the month because Jordan's (Ron Popeil) just spawned too. I guess I need to make twice the amount as anticipated. Let me know.

Shoots

I need some more so I'll be in too.

I'm on it Jordan, come on over and drink all of the 2 liter bottles that you want. I need them for my phyto cultures, then I could use them for my rotifers.

Yeah hopefully soon I can get my rotifers going.

Well you could do what I did to my JBJ. But it's not an "all-in-one" tank like you may want, but I don't have to worry heat too much and I have an all SPS tank. Maybe I'll post a pic, but after I'm done with classes and genetics quiz.

Oh yeah, my bartletts jumped out of my tank as well. So a lid is a must. When I had my tuka anthias they would only eat that artipods from Reed Mariculture. So I would get a bottle of that to feed them first. Like I said about the live rock, just make like 3-6 ledges for the anthias to hide under and I think you'll be fine.

great, I needed a calcium reactor for my nano SPS tank. I think that would be able to keep up with the calcium needs. j/j

Oh yeah, you might want to make a large ledge for them to hide under. Just find a large flat piece and make it like a "roof." If something bothers them, they will retreat to their ledge for shelter.

Now anthias have a shorter digestive tract from what I read. That is why they need to be fed so regularly (many times a day). In the wild they "float" in the current eating plankton all day. The more often you feed, the less agressive they will get with each other, as well as with other life. Another thing is that it might be kinda hard for them to get on premade food. I know with the tuka (purple queen) they would only eat live brine. They were doing good, until I left for three days, and couldn't feed them and they didn't recover from that. Try to stick with the disbar, "tricolor" (there are a couple of species that they call tricolor), squaminses, and bartletts. Try to stay away from vantrallis (spelling), tuka, purple queen, and the purple square. They don't fair as well and are only for those who are experienced WITH ANTHIAS and want to spend time to feed them live until they are on frozen, at least.

Anthias wouldn't bother gobies in general because gobies are bottom dwellers adn anthias swim on the top of the water column.

does the skimmer come with the pump? My dad might be interested.

I go with 13 hours of 14K MH. a mixture of sugar fine, up to pin sized.

It's funny how that equals to $45. LOL.

Well if it was me, I'd get a half a dozen of anthias, a little school of lepord wrasses, heniochus bf (the reef safe ones that school and eats plankton), potter's angel, navarchus angel, pinktail trigger (ppl say they are reef safe and get really pretty with a whole bunch of colors), couple of fairy wrasses, and other cool stuff. A lot of my stuff on my list are kinda demanding, but if you was to ever get a tank with all of these cool fish, you'd be #1 in my book.

Purple tangs are good, but they are in the same genus (zebrasoma sp.) with the yellow tang.

The thing about chevrons is that what you see is the juvenile coloration. Once it passes it's juvenile coloration it becomes big, black, and mean. The tangs from the ctenochaetus genus eat diatom algae, such as the tomini tang (which I would suggest). My favorite genus of tangs are the acanthurus genus. They get bigger than a zebrasoma, but smaller than a naso. One of those would be great in your 180. They can be mean, so that would be the last tang to introduce, but they are (IMO) the most colorful and demanding of all of the surgons.

Tangs (fish in general) are vertebrates just like us. So the stomach would have a "sensor" to tell the brain to "stop eatting, I am full." Tangs have a longer digestive tract than other fish (something I learned from Sean recently) so they could possibly eat more food per body size compared to another fish per body size. I would keep the romaine leaf coming every day.

About adding another tang, it is best to keep tangs that are in a different genus. If a tang is too closely related (being different species in the same genus, or even being the same species), they would most likely quarral because they would be competing for food. But in your case, 180 is plenty enough to have a little school of yellow tangs if you prefered. Just make sure that the yellow tang you are adding in is just as big, or bigger than the one you have now. This way you can reduce quarraling at acclimation. But I would suggest any tang in the book for you.

Well, I have nowhere the amount of experience as you Jody. I've only been doing this reef thing for only 2 years this month. I just read the article in Aquarium Fish Magazine "How Safe are "Reef Safe" Fish in Your Tank," by Scott W. Michael. They go over all the different types of fish and they have a specfic section on the blue tang, Paracanthurus hepatus and this is what is says:

"In a reef tank, nipping at corals may occur, especially if the fish are not receiving enough to eat. Offer food to P. hepatus several times a day."

Jody, I know you know how to care for your animals. It's just that I'm SUGGESTING that you should care for them in a different way. That's all. For the example at hand: you can do 2 heavy feedings, OR you can do 4 normal feedings through out the day. Both ways care for your fish. It's just that the latter might reduce the tendency for P. hepatus to eat those zoos. I'm not trying to discredit you as business. I mean, I come here to learn from others, and help those who need it. I just thought you would like my help, that's all.

ah, that is right. It is harder to digest plants than flesh because of the hard cell walls. So it would make sense that grazers would have longer digestive tracts which gives them a longer time to break down and digest the plant cells. I should have rephrashed that last post, but we all get the idea.

Well rich I vote seahorse tank. I know of a guy in Corvallis that is selling baby seahorses. Right now he has them on frozen cyclops, but has all of his adult seahorses on frozen mysis that he puts in a shot glass on the bottom of the tank. The seahorses eat right out of the shot glass! It is very relaxing to watch a little group of seahorses that float on by with little effort.