Ryan

Nope, it was for everyone!

No problem! I cant wait to do the next one, it really is a good deal for those that buy from BRS often (as I do). What did you end up getting?

I picked my sand up from Davey Jones Locker today! Dave got me a great deal on it! I have this sand in my current tank and really like it. Its a bit coarser/heavier then most people use but that allows me to run more flow through my tank without creating a sand storm. I also think it looks great! I also picked up a nice piece of live rock covered in Coralline to seed my dead rock. Im going to let it sit for 4 weeks in circulating salt water prior to using it. I had planned to get the tank up and running this week, but I decided to wait until the rock is finished curing.

Or you can tee into your return line similar to what I did when I used a calcium reactor... Look at the ball valve in the upper right hand corner. I drilled/tapped a hole for 1/4" pipe tread, then screwed a speed fitting into it. Worked like a charm.

Im looking for a piece of clean (as in no pests) live rock from an established tank that has lots of coralline algae on it. I do not care what it looks like as Im just using it to seed my dead rock. I would prefer it comes from a tank that is known to be relatively pest free. No aiptasia, flat worms, red bugs, cone snails, nuisance algae, soft corals, polyps, etc... Just looking for a 5-7 lb piece. You can even have it back after a month or so if you want.

The rock is very lightweight! I was actually shocked how much rock 75lbs was! The large pieces are 10-12" across and medium sized pieces are 6-8" across. For some reason its hard to tell from the pics, but the rock is EXTREMELY porous. I can see deep inside most of the pieces. I picture my 6-line swimming into the rock and not findings its way out :-(

Yes I made that and my calcium reactor. I kept my effluent at 6.8 if I remember right...its been a while since I used my reactor. I actually shut my calcium reactor down. I had good success with it, but I didn't have the controllablablity over calcium and alkalinity that I wanted. To keep my calcium where I wanted it, it seemed to keep my alkalinity a bit too high (11 or so). I now use 2 peristaltic pumps controlled by my AquaController to dose BRS Cal/Alk. Im able to keep my cal at 440 and alk at 8 with no problems.

It is worth it. You'll want to be able to measure the effluent in the reactor so the controller can immediately shut your CO2 off if your effluent PH goes below your set point. Effluent PH too low = calcium media turning into mud I don't see why it would cost $60 though...that seems a bit outrageous! You could make your self an effluent chamber to set your PH probe in. Heres what I did for my first calcium reactor:

Im finally making some progress! The holidays kind of slowed me down... My BRS "Reef Saver" rock and other BRS supplies arrived yesterday: I set the rock up in a Rubbermaid tub and salt water to cure/cycle: I also picked up a bucket of Brightwell NeoMarine salt yesterday. Thanks Bob! I'll be picking up 80lbs of CaribSea Special Grade Reef Sand tonight from DJL. I just have to finish up my DIY seaswirls and I'll be able to get the new tank up and running!

I have been using Tunze for the last 6 months or so and really like it. It's been on back order for some time now so decided to switch to something easier to find.

I see... Low calcium is fine with me...its easy it bump them up. What Im really looking for is a salt that doesn't have high alk. 8 is perfect. I just picked a bucket of Brightwell up this morning from Bob. Im going to start my new tank with it.

Why did you switch from Brightwell salt, if you mind me asking?

I have full 5lb Aluminum Co2 tank if you need it...

MM? Its real rock. They mine it out of an under round ancient reef that is no longer under the ocean. Im filling my rubbermaid tub up now to start cycling it!

Not good! Kalk raises PH, so if his PH is really at 8.8, adding kalk will do nothing but worsen the problem.. FYI- I have never found an accurate PH test kit...its not even really worth testing with a test kit cause PH fluctuates so much through out the day. Example, my PH is at 7.8 before my lights turn on, but by the end of my light cycle, my PH is up to 8.3. I can also see the differnence in PH if we leave a window open for an extended about of time.

My order arrived today!!!! I love the UPS man (UPS the company is another story though)! Im excited about this rock! Its hard to tell the pics, but it is as porous as can be! I can literally see through some pieces!!!

Shot 26...1 talked. Im going to keep working on it...[language filter] hos.

Are you adding any supplements? I cant imagin your PH getting so high without over dosing something. How are you measuring your PH? Test kit or PH probe? If its a probe, have you re-calibrated your probe recently? When did your corals start dieing? Has it been gradual, or all of the sudden? As Roy said, I lost most of my SPS cause of a metal plug. I would check for other causes then the PH. One thing for sure, don't overreact. Think things through and make sure you dont make the situation worse. I know you want to large multiple water changes, but make sure you make your water the right way...RO/DI water, up to temp, fully mixed, etc...If you rush things, you could make it worse.

Man Andy! I bet its hard to get that collection cup off your skimmer!

Nice! So when are we going to get a FTS?

oops...typo. Thanks!

21 more days of recovery and growth!!! (01/10/2010) This thing is growing faster then any SPS I have ever had!!! The florescent orange color is getting brighter and brighter...I just have a point and shoot, so its hard to capture it, but the color on the edges of the coralites is a pretty good representation of the actual orange color! The ployps are NEON green!

Im not a big fan of Kent products...no real reason, just never wanted to use them... Brightwell seems promising...especially if you are after close to NSW perimeters. They claim their salt comes in at: Cal: 413 Alk: 8 dkh Mag: 1290 I especially like that their alk is only 8. We'll see though, someone on RC got a batch that had much higher ALK...everyone else seems to have got 8-8.5 or so though.

I have some medium/large hammer, torch, and frogspawn colonies I might be selling soon if anyone is interested....also a TON of zenia and green star polyps...