OK, finally some pictures.
First, I've recently serviced my DO meter probe and so I was able to measure oxygen levels again in my 38G tank. As before, I found that when my halides are on, my DO is about 120%. If I shut off both the lights and Millenium venturi, 3 hours later, it drops to 37% (When I turn on my venturi at MED flow, the DO would go up to about 56%). However, in my similarly stocked 3.5G nano with PC lights and AquaC Remora, DO is 90% all the time. I think the difference is that 1 is heavily aerated while the other one isn't. PH is affected by CO2
http://www.kernsite.com/uwp/modules/pH/pH.htm so I think the low DO and wild PH swings in my tank was a main reason why I couldn't keep Acros.
I can't wait to run a good skimmer on my 38G again. I've had nothing but problems ever since I took out my Remora. I've stopped skimming for about year or more (skimmers are too noisy for my bedroom) and my tank has suffered. Things will stablize for sure once I plumb in my in-cabinet sump and start aerating and skimming properly again. In the meanwhile, leaving at least 1 MH lamp on 24/7 in my 38G has stablized the DO to at least 90% 24/7 and my Acros seem to be doing much better than before. I'll see how it goes once I'm skimming properly again and take more DO measurements.
Here are lighting comparison pics. I really don't like the MH-only look. I'm hoping to add PC supplementation again.
[2x150W DE IceCap 10K]
[250W SE AB 10K plus 55W 9325K]
