Recent content by ccr

I started a half-gallon cookie jar reef last week (ccr's Cookie Jar Reef). It houses one rock, partially encrusted with purple coralline algae. I want to seed the jar with bits of rubble from an interesting tank hoping to pick up some hitchhikers. The tank (or more correctly, the jar) is in my...

I believe I have shared a bit too much information :eek:. I will not be posting that picture.

I will enter my vote on the side of water changes. I have a 1-year-old, 30 gallon tank with only live rock and sand plus a 8ish gallon CPR HOB refugium with love rock, 6" mud, chaetomorpha and rock rubble. Fish and coral will be coming later this year. 6 months ago, I had zero nitrates. I then...

I am out of the house at the moment. I will post a picture later. I will start with a simple statement. A refugium is not a substitute for good husbandry. I have heard folks out there with apparent success and little water change. I would not suggest it for the masses. If the stars align for a...

If the tank had ick, any fish that remain in the tank can continue the ick cycle. I believe you have one fish left. If true, he should be move to a quarantine tank. Your display should be without fish for at least 6 weeks to be sure all the ick is gone. When you start back up, I suggest all...

Your tank should be level to avoid breaking. The best way to do that is to level the stand, typically with shims. You will likely need to remove enough water to allow you to jack the stand and install shims. I would be reluctant to lift the stand by hand, but a car jack might work. How much...

1.5" Bulkhead Rationale I want to be sure that I minimize overflow noise. By overbuilding the capacity I hope to keep things quiet and give myself room to upgrade in the future.

Here is my very conservative formula: First, wait for Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0, Nitrate=0, then wait the algal succession to complete. I went through a period of diatom growth during which I added my cleaner crew. Once the diatoms are gone, wait at least another month. During the wait, set up a Q...

I am looking for a service to drill a hole for a 1.5" bulkhead in a 40 gallon breeder tank. I live on Long Island, but am willing to go where necessary to get it done. The folks at Country Critters offer this service, but they can't seem to get their hands on the right diameter bit. They have...

My reading tells me it is unfair to expect peppermint shrimp to eat aptasia (polyps we hate) but ignore close relatives (polyps we like). The most conservative use of peppermints is to create a separate tank for them and move your rock a piece at a time into this dining tank.

I should have 2 in a 30 gallon breeder. They are shy and have only seen one recently. I got them to remove some aptasia; they have done their job. I would like to find them a good home. I live in Wantgh (Long Island). Let me know if that is close enough to interesting.

In my reading and experience a combination of live rock and good skimming contribute to a reef tank's success. Are you asking the question because you want to avoid using rock? A larger amount of LR is analogous to greater water volume - they both allow greater tolerance for mistakes. I...

I am planning a 20L reef. It will have plenty of live sand/rock, a fish and clams. I don't know what will happen beyond that, but I would like to keep my options open. I am considering the 30" Orbit 2x65 watt SunPaq w/Lunar Light (PC). I would like to know if MH is a viable option for a 30" or...