Lighting over 6 ft tank...

[czieler]

The other test kits I have are red sea test kits (got this one... http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/11395/product.web)... but I'll get this alk kit. Are the red sea test kits ok?

I have a pin cushion sea urchin that eats my coraline algae all over my tank (except in my overflows). I was actually bummed he was eating it at first..but it grows back after a week or two....then he eats it again.

But yeah..I should probably run vinegar through my pump every so often.


If my alk happens to be low..how do I raise it? Figured I should ask before I place my order in case I need to buy something else. I am using this for calcium: http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/200518/product.web in case it makes any difference.

 

[surfn]

The other test kits I have are red sea test kits (got this one... http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/11395/product.web)... but I'll get this alk kit. Are the red sea test kits ok?

I have a pin cushion sea urchin that eats my coraline algae all over my tank (except in my overflows). I was actually bummed he was eating it at first..but it grows back after a week or two....then he eats it again.

But yeah..I should probably run vinegar through my pump every so often.


If my alk happens to be low..how do I raise it? Figured I should ask before I place my order in case I need to buy something else. I am using this for calcium: http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/200518/product.web in case it makes any difference.

Bio-Calcium is a good product.......for small tanks. you have to add WAAAY too much though for larger tanks just to raise it up a tiny bit.

I would recomend Kents Dry Turbo Calcium, as its the strongest calcium supplement on the market since its anhydrous (lacks moisture...thus more pure).
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...OD&Product_Code=K-TCAL800&Category_Code=Kent2

As for alkalinity, i would suggest putting some baking soda (regular food grade you buy at the grocery store, make sure it doesn't have any extra "enhancers" in it, you want just the normal stuff) into a 1gallon jug of RO water, mixing it up, and then dumping it in your sump. do the same method for the calcium supplement, but be sure not to mix the two supplements. and dont add them at the same time.

to find out how much of each supplement to add, use this calculator:
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chemcalc.html

since i imagine you have a fairly light load of alk and calcium demanding corals, i would suggest doing this every couple of days. (test first obviously, using salifert kits if possible)

 

[czieler]

Yeah right now... I add 10 scoops of the calcium each morning ... which works out fine, since I have to normally add 2-3 gallons of water in the morning ...

I've never added baking soda to the tank... that makes sense though..we put it in our swimming pool for the same thing

 

[czieler]

so I'm finally getting ready to buy at least one bulb..cuz one of mine cracked..and my lfs gave me another of the same bulb for free..but it looks totally different.

Anyhow..I figure I'll replace that with a better one...see if I like it before ordering the other two.

Other than the Hamilton..any other suggestions? Or is that a consensus? A little blue is ok..because I've decided the greens look better under it...but I still don't want really really blue.

Thanks for any more info.

 

[czieler]

What about Reeflux vs. Hamiltons... has anyone tried both of these?