*Since my tank crashed this past Aug,2008, I have started over again, rinsing off the life rocks, about 100 lbs. and keeping the same sand bed, about 3 to 4 inches deep. The tank is 65 gal. salt. It is two feet high, three feet across the front and one and a half feet deep. It is located in the corner of the living room, beside the entrance to the garage. Every one in our family enters through the garage, so there is some movement going past it. The fish don't seem to mind the movement, and it keeps the tank under frequent observation, so if something goes wrong, it is quickly detected. Like the day of the heatwave when upon arriving home from being out all day, my 12 year old son asks, "Mommy why are those corals leaning down like they are dying?" 
*I have dual day lights and dual actinic lights, the florescent type, 65 watts each. They sit on top of the tank, about 3 inches from the water surface. There is a plastic cover on the light fixture which I have to clean off frequently as the salt accumulates on it. I have two fluval canister filters, one is series 405 and the other is 304. My tank did not need much cycling as I used the same live sand bed that I had from my previous crashed tank. I also put all my live rock back in after rinsing it off.
*I use several additives once a week, namely all Kent marine products which are coral vite, essential elements, calcium and strontium and Molybdenum. I clean the filter system about once every 3 weeks, as it does not get very dirty, as I do not overfeed. There are prefilters on the three power heads and I do clean them more often, like once a week. The glass also gets cleaned at least once a week, as it is in a very public spot, so I try to keep it looking nice. I do water changes of 5 gal. about once every two weeks. My water source is from our well. We do have a filter on the line, which has a cartridge that gets changed every three months.
*The corals are ones that survived the previous tank crash, caused by a heat wave which left the water at 90 degrees for two days, while I didn't notice. The corals must have been the hardy ones, to survive all the poisons that were floating around in the crashed tank after all the corals started to die. I have yellow zoanthids, brownish mushroom anemones, about 10 discs, and one tiny Kenya tree coral. I have bought one hairy mushroom anemone since the crash which is surviving nicely.
*Since all the fish died in the previous crash, I have added only two tangs, one naso tang, one yellow tang, and 3 blue chromis. Also one big blue legged hermit crab and 3 feather dusters survived the crash.
*What I can not provide you with is the measurements for ammonia, nitrate, phospate, or calcium. I take water to the pet store from time to time to get it tested. They just tell me if its "okay" or not. The temp is about 80, and the specific gravity is usually around 1.023. The question I have is what testing kit should I use, since I want to start doing my own testing. I need the cheapest, fastest, simplest kind. Any suggestions?
*Also I feed the tangs and chromis flakes, called Spirulina Plus, frozen brine, and Romaine lettuce, previous frozen to break down the cellulose. I add Kent marine ZooPlex, PytoPlex, ZooMax, about every 4 - 5 days for the filter feeders. Is this a varied enough diet? Any other suggestions here?Thanks for listening...and for all those who give feedback.:bowing:
*I have dual day lights and dual actinic lights, the florescent type, 65 watts each. They sit on top of the tank, about 3 inches from the water surface. There is a plastic cover on the light fixture which I have to clean off frequently as the salt accumulates on it. I have two fluval canister filters, one is series 405 and the other is 304. My tank did not need much cycling as I used the same live sand bed that I had from my previous crashed tank. I also put all my live rock back in after rinsing it off.
*I use several additives once a week, namely all Kent marine products which are coral vite, essential elements, calcium and strontium and Molybdenum. I clean the filter system about once every 3 weeks, as it does not get very dirty, as I do not overfeed. There are prefilters on the three power heads and I do clean them more often, like once a week. The glass also gets cleaned at least once a week, as it is in a very public spot, so I try to keep it looking nice. I do water changes of 5 gal. about once every two weeks. My water source is from our well. We do have a filter on the line, which has a cartridge that gets changed every three months.
*The corals are ones that survived the previous tank crash, caused by a heat wave which left the water at 90 degrees for two days, while I didn't notice. The corals must have been the hardy ones, to survive all the poisons that were floating around in the crashed tank after all the corals started to die. I have yellow zoanthids, brownish mushroom anemones, about 10 discs, and one tiny Kenya tree coral. I have bought one hairy mushroom anemone since the crash which is surviving nicely.
*Since all the fish died in the previous crash, I have added only two tangs, one naso tang, one yellow tang, and 3 blue chromis. Also one big blue legged hermit crab and 3 feather dusters survived the crash.
*What I can not provide you with is the measurements for ammonia, nitrate, phospate, or calcium. I take water to the pet store from time to time to get it tested. They just tell me if its "okay" or not. The temp is about 80, and the specific gravity is usually around 1.023. The question I have is what testing kit should I use, since I want to start doing my own testing. I need the cheapest, fastest, simplest kind. Any suggestions?
*Also I feed the tangs and chromis flakes, called Spirulina Plus, frozen brine, and Romaine lettuce, previous frozen to break down the cellulose. I add Kent marine ZooPlex, PytoPlex, ZooMax, about every 4 - 5 days for the filter feeders. Is this a varied enough diet? Any other suggestions here?Thanks for listening...and for all those who give feedback.:bowing:
