wasp

With JDM on that, also, you never quite know how a leather will go in a different tank. Sometimes they can open straight up like they never moved, or they can stay shrivelled up for weeks. Sometimes they will just die. Your water parameters look OK, about all you can do is just make sure there is good aeration, plus keep a moderate flow on it.

Enough time has passed to look for the proof I guess. Puttputt, how was the vodka, and did it fix the problem?

Wondered how long till that would happen.

I'm a bit different on that, I do use an electronic pH tester & now consider it quite an important tool. I know the overwhelming majority will dissagree though. . It's just because I now control pH fairly carefully, having discovered how much effect it has on growth. But when starting out Maelgrim don't worry about it, do what the others have said & just get alkalinity right, keep the tank as aerated as possible, and that will keep the pH in reasonable range.

What is nitrate now? Before getting too carried away with the Po4 remover remember you need some phosphate to get rid of the nitrate. The Redfeild ratio hobbyhorse

There's a great tip! In the old days when I had a sump, no baffles, the changing level did used to effect the skimmer. Never thought of putting a bucket in it.

Well if anyone could find that article, it would be someone called Bubbles!

Skimming wet can only remove more, plus a bit of water. Ought to be a good thing.

Well after learning that about the new start2 which needs a bigger dose I upped my dose to about 1/2 the recommended dose. It's great! Since setting up this tank there has been a nitrate problem, started at about 20ish but slowly dropped to 2.5, but has stubbornly stuck there for several months. Anyhow a few days after increasing the start2 dose I tested nitrate, 1.0. Then today I tested, 0.0 :bounce: Interesting thing also, my purple montipora used to be a lovely purple in my old tank, which had undetectable nitrate. But since being in the new tank it has been a solid brown. However over the last few days I've noticed a slight tinge of purple creeping in! :bounce: :bounce: May this trend continue .

They are fine with sps, and all other corals.

That was quick! No advantage in using a courier by the looks!

Finally we find out what happened to those big acros from his origional tank! 8)

Everything you say is right on track. For water collection it depends where you live, but if you are handy to North Shore, Takapuna boat ramp is good, when conditions are right obviously. The chromis will not "school" in your tank, as it is too small to see this behaviour. They are pretty fish though. Might I suggest you get two clowns? Clowns like to live in a family and will be happier like this. As things progress you may end up getting an anemone and they could live in it.

When they arrive you probably can't tell if they are alive just stick them in the tank anyway. In a day or 2 it will be obvious if they are alive, other than the leathers which can look pretty crappy for a few weeks. But if the leathers are dead they will rot, long as they don't rot, they are alive.

Better see if it gets there alive before you say that!

All the frags that are going in the mail have been sent monday morning. I've done it El Cheapo style in jars without proper heat insulation so it's experimental just to see if it works, so if there are any fatalities please let me know I want to see how effective this method is. I found a few extra frags for the new guys, so here's instructions. Hard corals need max light & good flow. Xenia needs good light not much flow, but can have a lot of flow if you don't want to see it pump. Candycane low light low flow, leathers medium light medium flow, anything else low light & med / low flow. BTW don't be dissappointed not everybody got all this, just an extra frag or two each. No need to acclimate any of these, just take out of the jar & put straight into the tank. To attach hard corals, wedge in a crack, then knead some of that putty stuff taped to the jar, and jam that in to secure the frag in place. the putty stuff will harden in about 15 minutes. Assuming the stuff got there alive, $5.00 for p&p can be paid to account 12-3087-0055883-02

Nice, those corner ones are very attractive.

Should be some good interest if you stick that clown / anemone combo pic on trademe. But then you'll be the guy answering lots of questions like "does it have to be in salt water?"

OK well I'll still post unless you guys change the plan first.

Actually it was the case. Once again you are trying to re-write history. Here is what you REALLY said - QUOTE LAYTON "The fact that he never mentions these abilities of UV, doesn't mean they don't exist, it just means he doesn't know about them (ignorance)" I did not see the word probably in your origional statement at all. Another example of you writting anyone off who dissagrees with you as someone who just "doesn't know". You did not say probably doesn't know, you stated as a fact that he doesn't know. I believe he does know, and you are always making these assumptions about people who dissagree with you, you do it about me all the time. This is another sign of a person with a way overblown opinion of themself, they could not concieve an opinion different to their own could be right, it must be that the other person just "doesn't know". This is one of the things I find so wrong with your readiness to bandy around words such as "ignorance". You ASSUMED Eric doesn't know, when in fact you have no idea, and then stated that he suffers from "ignorance". You say this with such glib confidence that some poor souls might actually believe you, which is sad. Totally unfair judgement on him, and simply demonstrates your own readiness to jump to unfounded assumptions, plus heap abuse on people. I see you do this constantly.

Yes I do but only because it is recommended as part of the zeovit system I use. If I was not using zeovit I would not bother, there are some stunning tanks to be seen on other internet forums that dose nothing other than the basic calcium alkalinity and magnesium. The rest is done by water changes and presumably fish food adds some to the tank.

Layton my tank is designed all wrong too. It is a little 4 foot thing too small to even get proper flow, the zeovit reactor does not work properly due to my poor design, I cannot even claim it to be a proper zeovit tank. What's even worse it has one of those "calcium reactors" you claim are so detrimental to growth. I'm not afraid to show a pic though. If I had a tank the size of yours, I am sure, faults and all, I could get some results I would not be ashamed to show. I would not be running away embarrassed from Pies challenge, and trying to explain it all away. You also have two other advantages that I don't, one, you know the best way to do everything, and two, you have one of those UV things that has done "wonders" for your tank.

Well if you're putting that much in, and getting no precipitation, your acros must be climbing out the top!