Can flame scallops survive in a tank with horseshoe and hermit crabs?

With horseshoe crabs, yes, but hermit carbs will eat scallops. Unfortunately, horseshoe crabs rarely live in captivity unless kept in a very large display such as those found in public aquariums.

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What does live rock need to thrive in a tank?

Good light of at least 3 watts per gallon and plenty of water circulation.

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How many drips of calcium per minute should I use to maintain calcium levels (rough idea)and how do I administer CombiSan?

There is no "rough" measurement for dripping calcium. There are way too many variables for us to answer that question with any degree of accuracy. Variables include, but are not limited to: How many corals you have; What type of calcium you use; The alkalinity and pH of your tank; The specific gravity; etc..

Your best bet is to simply keep a log. The goal is 400 ppm. Any higher than that and alkalinity will fall. Set up your drip at six drops per minute and check calcium daily for one week. If there is no change, increase by one drop, and check again. Continue this until you are able to maintain the calcium level. However, keep in mind that you may need to increase this as you add more corals.

The bottom line is that without a calcium reactor, controlled via a CO2 system and a pH controller, you will always be guessing. You may have better luck using a two-part calcium/buffer such as Two Little Fishies C-Balance.

Combisan comes with dosage instructions that are fairly accurate. there is little we can add to Julian Sprung's instructions for use.

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I am setting up a 175 Oceanic Bow Front reef ready aquarium. I am using 200lbs of premium Fiji live rock, live sand and a custom built refugium. For lighting, I am using an Aqua Space Light 72" 3x250 watt metal halide system. I live in Denver, CO (to give you an idea of local climate). The aquarium will be in a very well ventilated location. Do you believe I will need a chiller? If so, what kind of chiller works best? Do you believe I will need a calcium reactor?

When metal halide lighting is used, even on well-ventilated tanks, the possibility that a chiller will be needed is always there. Understandably, many hobbyists want to avoid purchasing a chiller because good chillers are expensive. Our recommendation is to set-up the tank without one and before adding fish or live coral, let the tank run a few days first. If the temperature exceeds 78 to 80 degrees F. after the lights have been on all day, you should probably invest in a chiller. We prefer the flow-through types, and titanium evaporators are usually the best.

Calcium reactors are great pieces of equipment, controlling not only calcium levels, but also balancing pH and alkalinity. However, there are many ways of achieving the same results that a Ca reactor provide. The reactor simply does it all automatically. Please keep in mind that a reactor alone will not do much without a CO2 system and a pH controller, so the combined investment of all three devices will be considerable. In your case, if your budget does not allow for both, I would see if I needed a chiller first before buying a reactor.

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I can't keep the temperature of my reef tank below 84 degrees Fahrenheit. What can I do?

Ahhh! The catch-twenty two of saltwater live-reef tanks. We need an excellent, high-powered lighting system and powerful pumps to simulate light conditions and the strong water currents found in tropical marine reef environments. Unfortunately, strong lighting and pumps will also generate a fair amount of heat. The heat produced by this equipment is transferred to the water, and therein lies your problem. Too often, we hear of new reef-hobbyists who have purchased all the right equipment for their tank, only to find that the water temperature in their tank is too warm to maintain a healthy living-reef!
You can try using electric fans blowing across the top of the water's surface or your pumps to remove some of the heat, but the sure-fire solution to this problem is to equip your aquarium with an aquarium chiller. So why is it that some aquarium stores often sell reef-aquarium systems without including (and sometimes, without even mentioning) an aquarium chiller? Three reasons:
1) Chillers are expensive. The cost of a chiller is often enough to make the price of a new reef aquarium prohibitive, making it easier for a store to sell a new reef aquarium without one. Of course, the store will have to address the temperature problem eventually, but by then, the hobbyist is in too deep to quit.
2) Chillers are relatively large devices. They cannot be enclosed in most cabinet stands, unless the stand is large and well-ventilated. A chiller is actually a heat-transfer device, or "heat pump." In most models, warm water is pumped through the chiller, which transfers the heat to the air around the chiller. In order to operate correctly, the air around the chiller should be slightly cooler than the water passing through the chiller. This is called a temperature gradient. Chillers are controlled by a thermostat. When the water reaches a pre-set temperature, the chiller will turn off automatically. If the chiller is enclosed, the air around the chiller quickly heats up, the chiller will run continuously, and will not cool the water. Many aquarium owners want all of the aquarium equipment out-of-sight and inside the aquarium cabinetry. To these people, a chiller sitting next to the aquarium is unsightly. This is an issue that just might kill an aquarium sale.
3) Although modern aquarium chillers have come a long way in terms of noise-production, they still emit a low-pitched hum when they're running. This may bother some people who are noise-sensitive.
We have seen very few successful reef-aquariums that did not require a chiller. Planning ahead and doing some research may solve the issue of where to place a chiller. If you own your house or condominium, you may find a location for your aquarium that allows the filtration and/or chiller to be placed in a remote location, such as the basement or a ventilated closet near the tank. This, of course, involves cutting holes in your floor or walls for the filtration plumbing lines. If, however, you rent a house or apartment, cutting holes in the walls is usually not an option. You may want to order a cabinet stand for your aquarium that is well-ventilated and large enough to house a chiller, in addition to the filtration equipment. Careful selection of fan-cooled lighting equipment, and air-cooled pumps with a low heat-transfer rating, may allow you to keep a reef tank without having to invest in an aquarium chiller. The worst-case scenario is that you may have to settle for purchasing only those fish and invertebrates that inhabit very warm regions of tropical reefs, or have proved to be heat-tolerant in captivity. This means you will have to research each specimen carefully before you buy.

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What can I do to raise the dissolved calcium level in my living-reef aquarium?

To truly understand how to maintain good dissolved calcium concentrations in seawater, it is important to understand the relationship between pH, alkalinity, carbon dioxide, carbonate hardness, and calcium carbonate, which are some of the basic components used in the natural buffering system of saltwater. Advanced aquarists may sneer a little at this over-simplified and partially incorrect explanation, to which we would say: Hey! send us your best simple explanation, and we'll post it and give you full credit (but remember to keep it very simple - Aha! . . . not that easy, is it?).
A simple way of looking at it is to examine only the relative relationship between pH, alkalinity and calcium. Seawater has a relatively high pH of approximately 8.2. At a high pH, calcium does not tend to dissolve well. If you add a lot of milky Kalkwasser to a tank with a normal pH value, some of the Kalkwasser will precipitate and settle out as calcium carbonate. In most marine tanks, the pH has a natural tendency to fall over time. This is due to the accumulation of dissolved organics that form mild acids, and the production of carbon dioxide by algae.
As pH drops, the mild acids dissolve calcium carbonate (from coral gravel, shells or precipitated calcium in the tank), releasing calcium into the water, so calcium levels rise. As pH drops, total alkalinity also drops.
So this presents us with a catch-22 situation. Unfortunately, to maintain a perfect calcium level (most authors agree on a value of 420 ppm or higher) all the time, we would have to maintain a pH in the aquarium of about 7.6, which is dangerously low for the animals we keep. So the solution is to maintain a pH that is too high to naturally dissolve calcium and add calcium supplements to the aquarium. When we add calcium to the water, alkalinity tends to drop, so it is important to buffer the water as well. This is a balancing act that many reef hobbyists face.
The best (and most expensive) way to add calcium to a reef tank is by using a calcium reactor. It is usually better to add calcium at night when the lights are off and pH is naturally falling. Most folks use Kalkwasser, which is powdered calcium hydroxide. This may also be supplemented with liquid calcium chloride. There are several schools of thought on the best way to add Kalkwasser to an aquarium. Mixing the powder with warm tap water yields a milky solution that will really do a great job of raising calcium, but this should be added with caution as it may also boost pH to dangerously high levels. Allowing the milky solution to settle, yields a clear "lime water" solution that doesn't maintain calcium levels as well, but still does a fair job without a drastic rise in pH. Clear Kalkwasser solution or calcium chloride may be drip-lined into the aquarium or added on a daily basis. Add buffers in the morning to help elevate the alkalinity. Another great product that adds calcium and buffers the water at the same time is C-Balance® by Two Little Fishies®. Always test calcium, pH and alkalinity before and several hours after adding calcium so you can note the effects of calcium addition. This will also help you to better understand the saltwater buffering system.

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Can a purple tang be kept in a reef tank?

Purple tangs make excellent reef-compatible fish in aquariums of 100 gallons or more.

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How long each day can a carbon canister filter be used on a reef tank? I also have a wet/dry and protien skimmer on my 150 gal tank.

We have been setting up and maintaining reef aquariums for our clients for twenty years and have always used carbon 24/7 with no ill effects at all. While carbon may remove a small quantity of beneficial trace elements, the benefits far out-weigh that small negative property.

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I have a 30g Reef tank with 40lbs liverock& 40lbs livesand and some grape vine plant algae to help nitrates. I have 1 Bubble Tip Anemone(medium),1 Sand Starfish, 2 Fromia Starfish, 4 Reef Hermit Crabs, 1 Curly Cue Anemone (small), 1 Emerald Crab, 1 Porcelain Crab, 2 Cleaner Srhimp, 3 Turbo Snails, 2 Naserous Snails, 1 Hawaiian Feather Duster. It will eventually have 4 fish, 1 Gold Stripe Maroon Clown, 1 Banggai Cardinal, 1 Tiger Wards Goby, 1 Royal Gramma. Can I add another Emerald Crab, 2 more Hermits, 2 Astrea Conehead snails and 2 bumble bee snails, or am I already overloaded. It really does not look like I have to much stuff in there, and I was told invertes do not put to much of a load on the tank. My fish tank webcam is at www.spotlife.com/users4/rjwilson37/webcam take a look and tell me if it looks overcrowded. I was planning on putting 1 or 2 more live rock and then some corals after the fish are in the tank is stable from the fish going in. Let me know, Thanks

Add more corals--your fish population looks great (I checked out you pictures--thanks!). You can also add crabs to your heart's content (almost). I would not add uncured live rock to an established tank. Add cured live rock only.

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I recently transfered all of my corals, live rock, and sand from my 16 month old 7.5 gallon nano-reef to a 20 long. I stirred the sand and then poured off the water before transfering, just in case there were any nitrate pockets. Could I have removed too much bacteria form my sand? I'm afraid of having a bad nitrite spike in the new tank. I only have 1 fish and several inverts in the tank.

When simply moving an established reef from one tank to another, with little time spent during the move, there should be little, if any, die off. Typically, your live rock alone should contain enough beneficial bacteria to handle any die off that does occur. Stirring up the sand as you described should not have a tremendous impact, especially if the tank is lightly stocked.

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Frequent Aquarium Questions