do so......Im willing to bet that those big arse leathers are the reason youve had trouble with sps.....leathers are the worst for chemical warfare

So your saying get off my arse & get some carbon running huh :lol: biggest problem is that there is really no where here to buy a good quality carbon, I guess I will have to get some in the cities next time I go north or south.

Really make me think even harder about starting up a SW supply shop her at the acres.:idea:

:boink::boink::boink: More Pic's!:twised:

I'm by no means an sps expert, far from it, but mine are doing pretty darn good. I credit this to doing 20% water changes every 2 weeks without fail. I was a real lazy water changer in the past but ever since I ventured into the world of sps, realized this is something you need to do.

Get some ROX carbon from BRS. BRS is really the only place you can get it from and trust me once you go ROX there is no other you'll go to afterward. I only wish some of our more local vendors would bring it in (HINT HINT ... er, AGAIN, because it's not like I haven't brought this up before).

But Doug is right, get some carbon on there. It's mandatory IMO. Read this for a good description of "why":
http://joejaworski.wordpress.com/200...k-need-carbon/

Doug is probably also right in that the reason for your SPS troubles are your leathers. In general these two types do not mix well at all. With maybe only a few exceptions you don't really find SPS and leathers in the same reefs in the wild and that probably tells us something.

And it's not just leathers. Softeys in general, macro algaes, leathers are just among the stronger one who participate in allelopathy ("chemical warfare").

You can mitigate this some by using more carbon but there will be a point where it's sometimes better to pick your favourite kinds and focus on that for a single tank. There are not many "mixed coral garden" that last very long and it is because there are just too many interactions going on that we can't really see or do much about.

But yeah, I agree. Start with some carbon and go from there. (See if you can get the ROX http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...-carbon-1.html ... well worth it.)

I've got 5 gallons of ROX here. If you ever make it by to pick up those monti's I could set you up with some to try out before ordering from BRS.

Cool thanks Sean, I will be down with any lick this week for a job. Hopefully we can hook-up then.

I wonder if my leathers would be ok in with my Preds when I get the 116 gal done?

I would imagine they will be just fine.
Yes I agree ROX carbon is very good however it tends to clump up very quickly so it's life span tends to be shorter because I don't reuse it after taking the reactor apart to change it. I have recently started using the small carbon pellets by Fauna Marin (which I carry) and I think it does a very good job. I may even try mixing it together with ROX to see if it will reduce the clumping.

I like the sound of a carbon pellet :biggrin: