New here...from NC. 55 gallon reef (pics)

never used brightwell... no opinions good or bad

the system I use has a 2part magnesium to mix magnesium sulfide and chloride i think it is (don't recall at moment)

depends on the reliability of the mineral measurements of that salt mix... it's rare that salt mixes come with high enough readings, but if kept up with, would probably be fine. You will probably find that you will have to dose Mg ocassionally anyway...

 

here are some links to their webpages. the only two that aren't right off that main highway are Aquatica and Down Under they're just south of Raleigh in Garner.
Aquatica - Live Saltwater Fish Store
Down Under Saltwater Fish and Corals
Tropical Fish World - Home
The Fish Room | Raleigh NC | www.thefishroom.net
Welcome to ReefScience!

 

Sounds like I'm going to have to get a better test kit. The API one I have makes no mention of testing for magnesium levels...it just tests for phosphates, calcium, carbonate hardness, and nitrates. Is magnesium something I will have to test for or are there other telltale signs that magnesium levels are low? Are there any other things that come to mind that I might need to test for other than what is on the API test kit? I am such a noob, lol...srry

 

Thanks for the links! Those places look great...especially the first two. I have heard of Aquatica before but I had no idea they had such a huge collection of livestock for sale.

 

API doesn't mention Mg tests because they don't make a Mg test

I use Salifert for Mg.

It is right near impossible to keep your Ca and Alk in proper and stable balance if your Mg isn't where it should be... so, I guess you could call that a tell-tale; but I would call it a reason to test

Between the Salifert Mg and the API kit tests, the only other things I have are a refractometer for SG and a pH probe pen (bc the API pH test is hard for me to read).

 

I'll def look into getting one of the salifert mg tests.

I got some more stuff today...koralia 2 pump, filter sock, and more sand for the fuge. I put enough sand in the fuge to get about a 4" thick sand bed. My only concern is that I might get gas pockets that build up in the sand bed since it is so thick. Is this something I need to be worried about?

I ended up putting some of the new sand in the display tank so that is why it looks so cloudy in the pics...

 

Clean up crew got delivered yesterday. I was a little bummed cuz they forgot to include the 5 red mangroves with the order. They are going to send them out on Monday. They did include a LOT of extra snails and crabs and stuff:

What I ordered, followed by what I actually got:

50 dwarf ceriths, about 250 dwarf ceriths
19 nassarius snails, about 150 nassarius snails
15 florida ceriths, about 150 florida ceriths
8 blue leg hermit crabs, about 20 blue leg hermit crabs
10 nerite snails, about 20 nerite snails
10 limpets, about 30 limpets
2 fuzzy chiton, 3 fuzzy chiton
5 red mangroves, 0 red mangroves
1 gracilaria, 1 gracilaria
1 chaeto w/ copepods, 1 chaeto w/ copepods

Unfortunately I think that two of the three chitons didn't survive acclimation because they have not moved and are kind of curled up.

I'm already noticing that some of the hair algae I was starting to get on the glass is disappearing. And something left a string of white clumps (eggs?) on the front glass.

Here are some pics...

 

pics taken over a period of about 8 hours...

 

it took my chitons about 5 days before they moved...

 

Looking good.

I used to get fish and liverock from Tropical Fish World a decade ago when I was living on the North East side of Durham.

Tigerlilly-- goldsBORING, NC, that is so sad. I used to come into Seymour Johnson for military duty and I don't remember it being a bad town, then again I can't remember doing much of anything there either.