Recent content by DougBak

Freighter hurt coral, spongesThe ship that ran aground in South Florida left a huge destruction zone. By David Fleshler Tallahassee Bureau April 3, 2004 FORT LAUDERDALE -- A freighter that ran aground off Fort Lauderdale last week smashed coral and sheared off sponges over a wide area in what...

Ok, it's officially spring. My clowns just laid their eggs. Protective little things! Every time the damsel or wrasse gets near, mama runs then off.

Wouldn't hurt to rinse it good with another load of water before filling it. Once you rinse it out, you can fill it with the water you plan on using for your cycle. Do you have a container to hold more water? I'd make up some more to use for water changes during the cycle. That way you'll...

Above quoted from wetwebmedia.com FWIW I've personally stayed away from them due mainly to the damage they can do when disturbed. Here's a link to the page: WetWebMedia SeaCukes

The only way I can think of to answer this would be based on the inhabitants. If they're from cooler water, you wouldn't want to go that warm. The idea is to try and match the natural environment of the inhabitants as closely as you can. Granted, there are always fluctuations in temperature...

You might want to check out the article in Advanced Aquarist concerning this: Spectral Analysis of 250 Watt Double-Ended 10,000 K Metal Halide Lamps and Ballasts http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2004/feature1.htm

It's always hit and miss using fish to control algae, but I got lucky with my kole tang. Grazes like a lawnmower and took out every bit of hair algae I had in my 90. But I have heard plenty of others say that they wouldn't touch the stuff. Same goes with lawnmower blennies, which are also...

Mine generally stay in the shaded caves while the lights are on, occasionally venturing out at feeding time. After the lights go out, they are a lot more mobile, cruising the tank for food.

One thing you might want to consider if you run a common sump, is taking into account the possibility of one of your return pumps stopping. Both tanks will need to be able to hold the capacity of the overflow for both tanks, or you'll end up pumping water all over the floor.

I've gotten the best overall performance and sound deadening from using a Durso standpipe in the overflow and bringing the drain pipe below into the sump at a 45 degree angle, with the end sitting about an inch below the waterline. This creates enough backpressure to allow steady flow and...

Using a Durso standpipe reduces the 'slurping' sound that's caused by the uncontrolled amount of air that enters an unregulated standpipe. By throttling the amount of air antering, you can reduce the noise and keep a steady amount of water flowing thru the drain. I built this for my 90 gal and...

You're right Nathan, that is pretty cool! Clip worked fine for me, thanks for sharing that!

Brad, Check out the first message in this forum, Subj: New Reefkeepers Forum: Reefs.org's Guide to Information There are links there that explain a LOT about starting a tank. IMHO, you'll want to put the live sand and LR in the tank at the same time to get the cycle going. It's up to you as...

You can go to a higher K temp bulb with no problem. Just be sure it's the same ANSI rating. Yours will be either ANSI M57 or M137 depending on whether they're pulse or probe start bulbs. Some electronic ballasts will drive both, so check the specs. Single ended bulbs don't require a glass...

If the water came back thru the supply line, which is generally the case, all you have to do is drill a small hole in the bottom of the highest point of the return line. This will allow the siphon to break and stop the flow of water all over your floor when the pump stops due to power outage or...