Help please

[Armywife]

First I wanna say thanks for all the replies! Im gonna try to answer back to a few.

1. I have had my tank for 7 weeks BUT.. it was a established tank that was 9 months old we moved everything with it all water was moved with it. I have been using declorniated tap water. What is "buckeye RO/DI unit? So should I have used bottled water?

2. The sand thing I was just wondering.

3. My BTA is getting more color.

4.The reason I asked about lighting is seems like when u ask someone who is selling lights they Have the "right" lights for everything! Lighting is very confusing to me. I have spent over 300 on lights and still don't have what I wanted. I thought I could get a better explaination from you guys whom have nothing to gain from it.

I do read as much as I can and gather as much info as I can and I am hopeing that in the near future I will be well enough to be able to read and be able to retain things better. I must say though having the tank has helped so much. It is so relaxing to set and watch and the sound of the water also helps.

Thanks
Armywife

[Daniel]

1. I have had my tank for 7 weeks BUT.. it was a established tank that was 9 months old we moved everything with it all water was moved with it. I have been using declorniated tap water. What is "buckeye RO/DI unit? So should I have used bottled water?

1. Stop using tap water, that is prolly the source of your algae blooms. Buy your water if you have to from walmart that has a RO/DI (Reverse Osmosis Dionized) machine. It should state its process on the machine. If you have the money buy your own RO/DI unit, I bought mine from maast sponsors www.airwaterice.com. If you are not sure what to get call them they will pair you up with the right unit. I got the dual reef undersink system 75gpd and am very pleased with it. It was easy to install in less then 30 min, you will need to drill a hole in your sink if you plan to use the provided faucet for drinking water.

2. I wouldn't add sand after the fact unless you have taken some out and are boosting existing sand.

3. That is a good thing.

4. What type of lights did you buy? How many bulbs and are they single lens reflectors or it is one flat reflector? T5 ho depending on the wattage are a good set of lights for anemone, lps, and some sps. My 55 has a 6x54 48" slr and I can grow sps without any problems, I am sure if I had metal halides they would grow faster. BTW 300 dollars for lights isn't that bad.

[Bill S]

Lots of really good advice above.