Recent content by ElMonoCalvo

Hi and I too started out with a 29 gal and believe I had that exact book. It had some ok stuff in it but take it all with a grain of salt, especially their first fish recommendations (i.e. avoid the Damsels). You found a good site to help you get started and I wish you nothing but luck.

I had an AquaC Remora on mine which pulled a fair amount of waste. However, I was a little lax on water changes so if you're on top of that then you might be ok without one.

Are you going to plumb it or go the hang-on route? I had a 30 gal reef tank for a couple years and did the hang-on thing which worked fine but I caught a lot of flack from the wife about the "science project" look and feel of the whole thing.

Welcome to the addiction and I've kept smaller tanks but am a fan of Clown fish, specifically Maroon Clowns. They have a ton of personality, are reef safe and are pretty easy to keep. Stay away from Damsels if you want a peaceful reef. Biggest mistake I made in the beginning was putting a...

http://www.garf.org/index.shtml Getting a donation from an established tank never hurts but I'd say it's not absolutely necessary. I've bought "live" sand in the past from a LFS and see pods and other hitch-hiker type stuff after cycling.

The reason I was going to swap out one at a time was to minimze the intensity change of going from 2 subpar to 2 full strength bulbs in one shot. I guess if the the bulbs are changed out before they get to "subpar" it shouldn't matter, right?

Yep, the polyps are zoas. I was checking out that site earlier and while I'm ready to add I'm torn because there are a couple nice LFS within an one to two hour drive of me. I already have the replacement bulbs but it sounds like I could just gauge by the health of the tank when to replace them...

Thanks for the input GratefulDiver. I've got good corralline algae growth and a small cluster of polyps and xenia that were recently added seem to be doing well under the current bulbs. The plan now is to swap out one of the two bulbs every six months.

I have a 12 gal Nano with the 2 stock 18w 50/50 PC bulbs that has been up and running for about 6 months now. My previous tank had VHO lighting which I switched out every 6 months. Do I continue the 6 month routine or can I go a little longer with this type of lighting?

I've ordered livestock from and had good luck with Drs Foster and Smith and That Fish Place (www.thatpetplace.com)

Was there anything in the tank to die off and create nitrate/nitrite/ammonia? I'm currently cycling a nano w/ cured LR and it took about a week after the LR was in before I noticed a spike. Be patient, it'll come.

Wouldn't that equate to about a 1.023 S.G.?

That'd be my guess, especially since your parameters were a little off. I ran into a similar problem when I first started...was mixing in the water but was cutting corners on the time and paid the price. Since then I have used the float method from the LiveAquaria.com with good results...

what method and how long did you acclimated the fish before releasing them into the tank?

Thanks for the input, I might try drilling a couple additional holes to increase airflow. I'm reluctant to remove the hood because the tank is accessible to my wife's cats.