New 20g Tank/Sand/Equip Q's

[Cathic]

Just reset an old 20g tank had to boil my old LR to rid it of Aptasia(sp?). Stocked it with this new "base rock" also changed sand and added CaribSea Arag-Alive! reef sand. Need opinions on this stuff at it claims a few things... such as

! Buffers for the life ofthe aquarium maintains ph 8.2.. forever...
! Carbonate Minerals maintain Calcium and Alkalinity... Good for corals?
! Supplies all trace minerals, specifically included Calcium strontium and Carbonate

This stuff has hazed my tank over with a very find silt of sand, water is foggy until it settles, filters clog along with Powerhead.

Another major question I have is this, how can i get my good algae growth back, since its all dead from boiling.

Sand came stocked with all the bacteria needed for the Nitrate Cycle, but is there a product I can find that will grow my algae?

Also any pointers for starting out again would be nice, id like lods of info and i stand ready with pen and paper awaiting your expert advice and ideas!

Thanks in advance! Cath

 

[bjohanson1234]

Since you boiled the LR, what you will need to do is go to the LFS and get a small peice of live rock that has coraline on it. Just pick one that doesnt have any apstasia on it and you will be fine. Keep the alk and cal up and brush it with a tooth brush to help it spread.

Brian

 

[Cathic]

Appreciate the information, I dont really have a good LFS in my part of the woods AL, anyone willing to work with me on a good small piece of LR? I can pay shipping, or am willing to travel anywhere near the South, GA TN FL, thanks again for the info.

 

[yote]

Cathic,how long would it take you to drive to Chattanooga?

 

[Cathic]

Im in Brimingham yote, so not long specifically im from Tuscaloosa, i could make that drive easy.

 

[yote]

One weekend when you got the time.Make the trip and check out Bermuda Triangle.
I help em out there when my payin job aint tryin to kill me.
We've got a huge selection of saltwater fish and inverts,along with corals.We also carry just about any supplies you'll ever need.
Got quiet a bit of live rock too,with a lot of life on it.

 

[sen5241b]

I just finished a water change on our 20G last night. We have a 1G fuge chock full of chaeto and 2 strong lights on the fuge. It has 3 fish and no skimmer. Nitrates are consistently at zero. We do not dose anything.

 

[SigEpLucas]

as far as calcium and alkalinity go BulkReefSupply makes a great and cheap two part kit that will help raise ph, and it actually comes with stuff to dose calcium alkalinity and magnesium. Once i started adding the magnesium it really helped my coraline take off