Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Sheol That's good to know about the amphipods - I didn't want to die, haha. |
I knew you'd like that.
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| The canister filter: Shouldn't I be able to handle it by cleaning it frequently? |
No. The canister filter can help eliminate
Ammonia and
Nitrate because it in colonized with the aerobic bacteria necessary for converting those substances to
Nitrate. The
Nitrate continues to build up because there isn't anaerobic conditions necessary to convert the
Nitrate to Nitrogen gas, the final stage in the
Nitrogen cycle. You could clean it every day, that's not going to solve the problem.
I understand not wanting to pay shipping on one item. That's why we price our items to include shipping. You'll find our J's J competitively priced with your
LFS, if they even handle it.
Joe's Juice Quote:
| I'd say the sand bed and LR were big storers of detritus, supplying the nitrates. It had probably been building up for a year without being disturbed when I got the tank, and there is always plenty of white detritus coming out of the sand when it's stirred. Also, I have no snails - will that help at all? |
I think you are correct on the sand bed and
LR holding
detritus. If you go with a
DSB in the future tank (4" minimum), then you will add a clean-up crew. The clean-up crew will include snails of several types. Here is a link to my tank thread which will help you understand much of what you need to know -
Amphibious' 135 Reef Quote:
| My boyfriend thought I was insane for spending $200 on a rock... luckily he didn't ask me what it cost until 2 hours after it was all situated. |
I'll bet he gets what ever he wants regardless of the cost. What good are boyfriends, anyway?
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| LIGHTS: Does anyone know whether I should look into buying these lights? I wanted 2 x 250-Watt MH, but these are 2 x 175 Watt, and I don't know that they'll be enough to support Anemone / Coral. I also had my heart set on lights w/ night time LEDs... but those lights are only $250 - the fact that it says "retrofit", though, means I can't use them, if I don't have a canopy, right? |
You are correct about having to have a hood to mount the retros. Too many beginners think the brighter the
MHs the better. Most of them buy insane (there's that word again) lights and wind up burning corals or having the bleach out. I would say start with 175 watt
MHs with 2 110 watt
VHO actinic florescent. You are going to be able to keep any coral you will likely run into and the anemone will be fine, too.
Hope this helps.
Dick
