Who Gives A Fish Forums

Using ARM media, the coarse kind. It's been steady for months now. Only downside is it's dusty as heck when you first load it. Rinse that stuff real good or your skimmer's gonna freak out.

Yo, I've got the same reactor on my 90-gallon. Took me a week to dial it in. Keep your alk test kit handy, and don't rush it. My tank's alk was 8 dKH when I started, now it's steady at 9.5. You got a pH controller?

Mine did that when I overdosed ferts. Cut back on the liquid stuff and it greened up again. Also, keep an eye on your temp, they prefer it cooler.

If you're serious about controlling it, try adding floating plants that outcompete it, like Water Lettuce or Frogbit. They're bigger and easier to remove if they get out of hand. Just make sure your filter flow isn't too strong for them.

Apple cider vinegar has a lower acidity than white vinegar, so it might not be as effective. I'd recommend sticking to white vinegar if you can. What kind of rocks are you testing? Some are more porous than others.


Thanks for the heads up. It's just some river rocks I picked up. I'll grab some ...

I've heard about the vinegar test for checking if rocks are aquarium safe, but all I've got is apple cider vinegar. Will it work the same as white vinegar? My tank's a 20 gallon with a pair of Angelfish, and I don't wanna mess with their setup if it's sketchy.

Have you tested for stray voltage? Sometimes a faulty pump or heater can leak current into the water, stressing corals. I've seen it cause bleaching before. A simple multimeter check could rule that out. Also, how's your flow pattern? Dead spots can lead to issues.


Thanks for the suggestions ...

My Acropora started bleaching last week, and I'm not sure why. Water params are good, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 5 nitrate, 8.2 pH, 1.025 salinity. Running two AI Primes at 70% for 8 hours, tank's a 40-gallon breeder with a Nero 3 for flow. No recent changes except adding a couple of new fish. Any ideas?

You might want to try cutting back on the feedings to every other day, see if that makes a difference. I've noticed with mine that overfeeding can stunt the tentacle growth, so giving it a break might help them stretch out a bit.

I'm no expert, but I've found that a coned shape at the bottom is usually a giveaway for an Indo. Aussie ones seem to have a more flat base, that's what I've noticed anyway.