pics of my tank and some questions along with it!

[geo6028]

here is my tank it is a 150 gal display with id say about a 35 gal refugium, and been running for about one year. the lights are made by current with the halides atinics and moon lights built in. and i have a chiller 1/4 horsepower chiller also made by current. my protein skimmer runs 24 hours, and i dont run u.v. sterilizer, do i need it? my corals seem to grow very slow any way to speed it up. any imput is appreciated

tank perameters:
CA 420 Read sea test kit
KH 8-9 API test kit
MAG 1350 Red sea test kit
PH 8.3 API test kit
SAL 1.025
NIT .5 API test kit
PHOS 0 API test kit
TEMP 81 digital probe

are these good readings, and is API a good accurate test kit

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/199718IMG_1493.jpg http://

WHAT KIND OF CORAL IS THIS? AND WHAT DOES IT REQUIRE? MY FRIEND GAVE IT O ME
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/199718IMG_1532.jpg


WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT MY FROG SPRAWN IT WAS MORE RADIANT LOOKING NOW IT IS KIND OF DULLL WHAT ARE ITS REQUIREMENTS AND HOW DO YOU SPOT FEED IT
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/199718IMG_1534.jpg

AND HOW CAN I KEEP MY WATER CRYTAL CLEAR LIKE WHEN I GO TO THE REEF SHOPS IT ALMOST LOOKS LIKE THERE IS NO WATER IN THEIR TANKS.

ID APPRECIATE IF SOME ONE CAN ANSWER MY QUESTIONS AND ANY OTHER TIPS I SHOULD APPLY TO MY REEF

[Sisterlimonpot]

UV light:I have one but not needed
Your water parameters seem good. Although I don't know of an API test kit that has .5 nitrate unless you mean 5. That is the only concern I see.... you want to shoot for 0, SPS love undetectable nitrates. Are you running your tank with activated carbon (AC)? AC will make your water crystal clear.
And as far as coral growth: time is your best friend.:D
Tank looks good though just be patient.

[snorvich]

The coral is an alveopora. What do you measure SG with? A calibrated refractometer?

[geo6028]

THE THING THAT YOU DIP IN THE TANK AND IT GOES BY BOUYANCY

[Superstretch18]

The coral in question is actually a Goniopora. Goni's have 24 tenticles, alveopora's have 12.

Your frogspawn looks healthy, so I wouldn't worry about the color being different; changes in lighting and water quality will change the way that corals look, but if they are growing, feeding, open and otherwise happy, I wouldn't be concerned. More lighting will typically help corals produce more pigments. If you haven't ever replaced your bulbs, you are probably getting close to the time to do that. That might help with the frogspawn's color, but otherwise, don't worry...

[Imzadi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14987925#post14987925 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Superstretch18
If you haven't ever replaced your bulbs, you are probably getting close to the time to do that. Oooo, good call. I had that happen. I underestimated the important of fresh bulbs.



I love Gonioporas! Mine died... and I blame myself, for being too cheap to buy new tubes...

:-(

[lombard0]

Water parameters looks good. Can you post what's the technical details of your halides (wattage, how many), and far is it from the waterline?

And as what others have mentioned, you dont need UV for a reef tank.

[Anemonebuff]

I agree that your tank looks good.
I have the same Gonipora:

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/1369/corals105.jpg

You may be losing color in the frogspawn because of the nutrients in your tank. Many corals "brown up" when nutrient levels are up. Add some GAC(Granular Activated Carbon) and some GFO(Granular Ferric Oxide) to get the nutrients down, just make sure to use GFO in small quantities as not to shock the corals. Even though your PO4 is 0, you may still have PO4 that is being consumed by the organisms or algae in your tank.

Overall everything looks great, I really do't think there is much, if anything, for you to change.

[Sugar Magnolia]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14987978#post14987978 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Imzadi
Oooo, good call. I had that happen. I underestimated the important of fresh bulbs. Be sure to reduce your photoperiod when you get new bulbs. Or you can place a few layers of window screening over the tank and remove one every other day to acclimate the corals to the new light.

[maroun.c]

Coral in question is an Goniopora, one of the most (if not the most) difficult coral to keep alive long term in aquarium. in short its not known why most fade starting 8-9 months in tank. yours have a few polyps that already died (is this new die off or did you get it like this?) also it should open up a bit more but that could be just the time when the pic was taken. also polyps would extend a bit better than this. I would advise you to do some research on those. it is believed that some tanks with higher Iron content are more successful in keeping those.
As for the frogspawn it hsould open more with time if not moving it to anarea with slow to medium flow and maybe me3dium light would serve it better. feeding it also helps.

On the other hand nice tank. why is your temp at 81.5 with a chiller did yo usetit up this way or is your chiller not able to keep up? what lighting do you have?