salmon alley

Don't have any...looking for some My pet peeve is having to reach over the bottom lip of a canopy to get into my tank, so I'm looking for something that will allow unfettered access to the tank when open (like front door swinging open or possibly up). But I need to incorporate a light mover track and dual T5s on either side. I'm no engineer so I have a tough time visualizing this. Hoping someone will add their 0.02. Thanks!

Count me as a definite 'Maybe'.. If I can work out the logistics with the family I'll be there.

Anyone know what happened to the mjmod website? I get a 'Page Not Found' error, and I'm wondering if it's a temporary glitch or they are down for good.

I've got a fan in my canopy and I'm wondering if it cools more efficiently by blowing room air INTO the canopy or sucking the hot, humid air OUT of the canopy? BTW- ( I know that the fan will be more likely to corrode if I'm sucking humid air out...but I'm willing to sacrifice if it's more efficient at cooling)

Thanks Michael. So Andy at Myreefcreations will sell the flanged tops? I'll have to drop him an email. Jeff

Hi everybody. I posted this on RC and got precisely ZERO replies. So here goes round two: I've got a dual chamber calcium reactor which I had made by Coralhound a couple of years ago. It has worked fine over the years, but opening and closing the chambers is a real PITA. The acrylic tubes each have a threaded rubber gasket insert at the top. A large plastic male threaded adapter screws into the gasket and squeezes it against the acrylic to form a waterproof seal. Here's the problem: In order to prevent leaks, you need to really tighten this bad boy down, and once that's done, it's very difficult to get undone. (the smooth acrylic cylinders don't make for a very good handle to get torque) So, I'm looking for advice on how to modify the tops for easier access. I'm acrylically impaired, so something simple and straightforward would be better. As an added feature, I'd like to install an unused CO2 recirc line into the top as well. Thanks! Jeff

Just finished going through this post. I'm doing some research into building a kalk reactor and checking out different designs. My biggest concern with most of the designs is calcium precipitation inside the mixing pump. I would think that precip would occur fairly quickly and require constant regular maintenance. Is this something that you are seeing? It would seem the only way to avoid such issues would be to have an indirect mixing system (magnetic stir bar or externally driven mixer). Any comment on this? Thanks

There are a lot of people with much more experience than me in WAMAS, but I'd recommend going with either a deep sand bed (4 to 6 inches) or nothing at all (bare bottom). Substrates with thickness less than 4-6 inches tend to offer the worst of both worlds...that is minimal nitrate reduction AND detritus accumulation. PS- you can get appropriate sand much cheaper than the Caribsea at your local hardware store. Check for Southdown or Old Castle

I've got a fellow reefer coming into town and we'd like to check out the lfs in the DC area (the good ones). Since I live in central/northern MD I'm hoping someone closer in to DC can make some recommendations. Thanks! SA

I wanted to revive this thread if possible. I'm considering trying a DIY HQI and curious as to how happy you are with the fixtures you chose. Do you get good light spread? Am I better off going with a ReefOptix III type pendant? I appreciate any help here. TIA SA

Hi George, I'm also thinking about building a canopy modeled after the one on your 120. Two questions: 1- How far above the water are the MH bulbs mounted? and 2- Could you describe or take a pic of the top of the canopy, so I can see how you dissipate the heat? Thanks Jeff

FYI- The IceCap 400@ MH ballasts are supposedly going to be off of backorder this coming week.

I know that Read Plastics in Rockville, Maryland sells them, but I'm not sure if you want to avoid crossing the Potomac...

I guess my big question is how much more life do you get from a bulb using eballast vs. coil and core? When I run the comparison on wattage only, I would save $21.90 per year by using electronic instead of coil and core. Really not much. And the heat issue really seems to be a wash..I mean it increases your AC costs in the summer, but should decrease you heating cost in the winter..take your pick. I think the real question is how much longer is a bulb on an eballast good for? i.e what are the savings in bulb replacement costs.

I'm not interested in brand of ballast or wattage (yet) :p , but just curious as to what type people use...

FYI...if you're interested..I've got an internal overflow box of 1/4" black acrylic I made specifically for a back glass drilled tank. Could let you have it cheap if you want it, it's just sitting in my basement. check here: http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21173&highlight=

I'm pretty certain this is C. racemosa, but I'll break out the digital camera tonight and try and post a pic for your viewing pleasure!

Believe me, you don't want this problem...the stuff is like Kudzu. It's a weed which chokes out everything else. If it was just in my fuge..great, but it's taking over my display tank. I think the excess CO2 in the water from the calc reactor is fueling it. I'm ready to tear down the current LR to take it out and scrub it free of the stuff!

I've got a Purple Tang, and the spoiled brat won't touch the stuff...

...keep Caulerpa from invading your tank? I mean, this stuff seems to come in on almost every piece of LR that I have gotten. The rock looks clean to start, then after several weeks under the MH, I've got a forest to prune. :(

I just got my first Ca reactor and am currently going through the process of "dialing it in"...if you have not read it, check out this article regarding reactors, I found it very helpful. http://www.andy-hipkiss.co.uk/cacalc.htm Jeff