Recent content by dougc

I am running the Megachrome Corals over my tank. I find the color pleasing and they pack a pretty good punch in the PAR department. Due to their cost, I don't look forward to replacing them.

The Osmolator works well. Mine has been in use for about 4 years. It has several failsafe features that go beyond a simple float switch. The optical water-level sensor has only caused me trouble a couple of times when it got dirty. Those are probably the only two times I have cleaned it, too...

Is your topoff hooked directly to a water supply? I have a Tunze Osmolator drawing water from a 25 gallon container. That provides several layers of redundancy. The Osmolater self-limits to some extent because it will not run for more than 10 minutes at a time. It also has a backup float...

I will be attending. I went to MACNA in Baltimore and had a great time. It ends up being an expensive weekend, but I think that it is well worth it.

I would agree with an aggressive program of water changes. On a 29 gallon, it is a cheap way to lower nutrients. If it helps, you may want to look at upgrading your skimmer or adding a refugium.

How big a tank is it? If you have algae, you may have excess nutrients. You need to post more information about your setup, maintenance, and testing to get help with the algae problem. As to a cleaner shrimp, I have kept them with damsels without any problem. Most (but not all) fish accord...

I have two 6100 Streams on my 210 and it is not too much flow for an SPS tank. I must take care where I put LPS, softies, and gorgonians, though, because the Streams would blow some of them apart. I have the pumps mounted in the upper front corners at each end. I have some fine sand on the...

Bring money for beer, not frags. Some of the best times at MACNA involve hanging out at the bar. If you can, go for the whole weekend. There is plenty to do.

I have seen low temperatures do bad things to montipora species. Acros, softies, and LPS seemed to be less affected. I do agree that high temp is worse than low. Before having a chiller, my temperature would sometimes hit 86-87 in the summer, and I had some acros that would have bouts of...

I have a pseudopterogorgia bipinnata and it is doing well, but it definitely prefers a lot of water flow. After it had been in an open area of the tank for a few months, I decided to move it to the other end of the tank. In the new location, there was less flow because of the rockwork. After...

Flavia? Favia, maybe? Given good conditions, I have found that LPS corals will recover over time. I had a blastomussa that was reduced to a few nubs of tissue that made a complete recovery, but it took over a year. Patience is the key. As far as the montipora goes, keep a close eye on it. If...

I have a fairy wrasse that harassed a scissortail goby to death, so I had some trepidations about adding spinecheek cardinals to my tank. The wrasse does chase them sometimes, but the aggression is spread among the six cardinals in the tank, so there is no harm done. The rest of the fish in...

It's not clear from your post how long the snails are in the tank before they die. Snails are fairly sensitive to changes in salinity and need proper acclimation when you introduce them to your tank. I use a slow drip to acclimate snails and shrimp. I put the snails in a plastic container...

The Digital Aquatics controller doesn't do pH or ORP. You can control lights, temperature, pumps, etc. I have an AquaController II and love it. I ended up spending a lot more on it than I had budgeted, though. Because of a succession of X10 control problems, I ended up buying two heavy-duty...

I had a lot more coralline algae under VHO lighting than under my current 10K MH lights. Frankly, I hate the stuff. It gets to be a nuisance to keep it cleaned off where you don't want it. Other than seeing it as an indicator of good water quality and lighting, I don't understand the...