iceman

Michael, When did you change bulbs or start using the phosphate remover? What you describe sounds like (1) the fluctuation in alk and CA could cause the stress;(2) low phosphates could start the bleaching as has been seen by many that use phosphate removers; (3) the bioassy salt could also have contributed...did you do a water change just before this started? Stability is the key for acros. When I tried to switch to bioassay salt, I had similar problems with tops bleaching followed by whole colonies going from the bottom up. With changes in alk (either high or low), I seen monti caps start to bleach...have you noticed anything there? As for phosphates, a change in either more or less in a short time can cause acros to have problems from my experience. By the way, how old is your phosphate remover? Could it be used up and allowing phosphates back into the water?

The person that purchased the system did not BLAME others. If you look at the posts, their friend made the comment and was mad about the situation. I think its a legitimate concern. As for the other posts, I don't see store bashing. Some interesting points were brought up about being new to things (everyone is a newbie at one point). Finally, what's the deal with an officer using a censored word in a post? That's uncalled for!

Is the skimmer a red sea berlin hang on skimmer or another model? Does your tank get a film on the surface of the water? Glenn is also on to something. I read some of your past posts and it seems you are adding live rock a little at a time, is this the case? Here's some suggestions to get your tank on the right track: I would first start with getting an RO/DI unit before getting any more fish. This will help definitely help your setup and your slime algae problem. I went through the same thing and my tank didn't really improve until I purchased an RO/DI setup. It seems like an expensive item, but it is well worth it. Another problem may be circulation, you should consider adding some maxijet pumps (one or two will do wonders). Finally, when you add fish to your system, don't get a bunch at once. By adding several at a time, you increase the bioload and the bacteria in your tank can't handle it. Thus, you get a build up of ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate depending on how the bacteria react.

Please answer the following simple questions (just trying to help here): 1) do you have a skimmer? 2) are you using RO/DI water? 3) what kind of lights do you have? 4) what is your water temperature in the morning (before lights come on) and in the evenin (before lights go out)? 5) do you have a sump 6) Are you only using a whisper (hang-on) type filter with the polyester (white) filter pad? 7) any other pumps for circulation (other than the whisper filter)? 8) How much evaporation do you have (how often do you have to put water in your tank to top it off?)? 9) when you top it off, do you use tap water or salt water? In reading your posts, it appears you have a tank setup with only a hang on type of whisper filter that has a white filter pad (maybe with some carbon in it?). It appears you are using tap water to make up your salt water and there is little to no circulation in the tank. Does this seem correct? I'm just trying to understand what you have and this will help to figure out the problem. -ice p.s. I started out with a simple 30g tank, no sump, no skimmer, etc. and can tell you some similar stories....

All you have to do is remove your flow restrictor, let the unit run for a while, then replace the flow restrictor...voila...flush kit. The flush kit does the same thing, but allow you to turn a valve which directs water that used to go through the flow restrictor through another tube without and restriction.

Neon gobies work well as cleaners! I have several in my tank and they setup cleaning stations.

Jamie, Since they both cost the same, it doesn't really matter I don't think. I have a TDS meter so I check my water regularly. The color changing stuff is still good for a little while past the color change, but only with a meter can you tell how much past. I use the refillable catridges and resin refills from buckeyefieldsupply.com without any trouble. Bob

try www.buckeyefieldsupply.com

I've built counter current air driven skimmers as well as a copy of a bullet-2 beckett injector skimmer. Here's a picture of it (see gallery for post in November 2003): http://www.wamas.org/ib3/uploads/post-3-84489-skimmer1.jpg If you have the tools, it can save you alot of money. What kind are you considering building?

Into the RO: 370 ppm out of the RO membrane: 20 ppm (75 gpd membrane) out of DI: 0 Frederick, MD

Gary, I have a 150g sump/refuge in which I have my skimmer, live rock, DSB, macroalgae and a whatever else I throw in there. I have it drilled which goes to my return pump back to my tank. You can use the mag7 as a submersible return, but just be sure to partition it away from the refuge so that macro and critters don't clog the pump intake.

58g sps 150g refuge 20g anemone tank total: 228

Is your friend wanting to use single ended (mogule) bulbs or double ended (DE) bulbs? For single ended (SE) bulbs, he can go with 250w or 400w ballasts and regular reflectors. The ballasts can be the icecap or blueline electronic ballasts or the PFO hqi ballasts. If he wants to go with DE bulbs (which need an hqi pendant or some protective feature...see DIY thread), he has his choice of 150w or 250w ballasts. These can be icecap 150w or 250w, blueline 250w, or pfo hqi 250w. There are also other DIY cap and core ballasts that can be used. I like the idea of the 250w e-ballasts (either icecap or blueline) as they will allow you to run either SE or DE type bulbs. Oceanencounter.com and premiumaquatics.com are close by and have the various components. I have a pair of icecap 250w ballasts, two hqi sunlight supply (SLS) pendants, two aqualine bushkee DE 10,000k bulbs. From what I've found the SLS pendants don't have as big of a spread as the PFO hqi pendants, but the SLS do concentrate the light into a more confined area. Another possibility (but more expensive) for DE bulbs are the aquaspacelights. They are very nice looking fixtures!!

Gary, Something to consider....a closed loop can easily be upgraded when the finances come. All you need is a bigger pump and some more PVC tubing. Closed loops are easy to make and change, so don't worry too much about that now. We can help you set one up with whatever pump you decide to start with now. As for your initial question, if you are going to have the tank drilled you may as well get several holes drilled while the tank is empty (its alot harder to decide later that you wish you had more holes/flow). If its possible, have two holes drilled that will accomodate 1.5" threaded bulkheads. You can always use reducers to go smaller, but you will have the luxury of removing those fittings and going larger when you get a bigger pump. The bottom line is buy the best pump(s) you can afford now and you can work with it. One question, is your sump drilled to allow for an external pump or do you need to stick with a submersible type? As SDBDRZ said, you can't have enough flow with SPS. Its easy to add flow with closed loops. I've seen his washing machine like tank in action...its amazing. When I come home from his place, I always find myself thinking about adding another closed loop. In time, you'll find you will want to add more, but go with what you can afford now.

You can use a mag7 for a closed loop, but the manufacturer doesn't recommend using the pumps externally. They have a tendency to leak around the baseplate. There are many people that have used them externally, but be aware of a potential problem. For a closed loop, it might be better to consider using an external type of pump. What type of tank are you setting up? SPS? Softie? Depending on what you are going to keep will help determine how much flow you would want. An sps tank can take lots of flow while a softie or LPS tank would take alot less flow. Can you tell us what you plan to keep?

Gary, A single 1.5" bulkhead will give you 1400 gallons per hour, a single 1.25" bulkhead will give 900 gph, a single 1" bulkhead will do 600 gph, and a 3/4" bulkhead will give you 350 gph. The standard reef ready tanks have two 1-inch bulkheads for the return which will give you about 1200 gph. These tanks also have two 3/4" bulkheads to use for returns. Once you determine what flow you want in your tank, buy those bulkheads. Once you have the bulkheads in hand, you can measure what size hole you will need to drill in your tank so that the bulkhead can fit properly. Not all bulkheads have the same size, so its best to have the bulkheads and then drill the hole opening so that the bulkhead will fit through the hole. When I had a reef ready 120g, I used a mak4 (or blueline 1100) pump externally for a return. I added a ball valve on the return side of the pump to back down flow in case the return flow was too much (it wasn't on my tank). I also used pvc to make a closed loop setup with an ampmaster 3000 and two 1" sea swirls. There are many variations you could use. What pump are you looking at using? If you are going to have holes drilled, by all means get the largest possible and try to have one on each side. For closed loops, the possibilities are endless. Bob

Do you have any union-type valves on the loop? If so, do they have the rubber o-ring installed? When I set mine up I couldn't figure where the air was coming from until I checked my union valve and found the o-ring on the floor.

Go to a glass/plexiglass shop and ask for weldon. Weldon 3 is real thin and works by capillary action while weldon 16 is thick and works well to seal gaps. Both work by welding the acrylic back together.

I was just at Aquarium Center and they still had the 200g buckets of Instant Ocean salt for $37.99 and through December 24th they have 10% off all merchandise so a bucket is only $34.10. Some of you may have seen Instant Ocean will be switching over to 160g buckets, but keeping the price the same.

Aquarium Center usually has instant ocean for $37.99 for the 200 gallon buckets.

I couldn't find the link?????

Depending on the water quality of your tap water (which varies depending on where you live around here), you really only need a sediment filter chamber, carbon block chamber, RO membrane, and a DI chamber. I live up in Walkersville and our tap TDS is about 350 ppm. Running the RO unit, the TDS is around 15, and then 0 out of the DI chamber. It doesn't hurt to have an additional DI chamber, but they can be added on later. ARS has some decent deals on RC: http://www.aquaticreefsystems.com/ro_di_product_specials.htm Some things to consider: Do you want the automatic shutoff with float valve? These are handy in case you are making water and forget to turn it off. TDS meters...hand held rather than in-line are nice so you can check the various TDS reading to determine if there is a problem. These run abou $20 on ebay. I have the Hanna 1 and it works well. Membrane flush kits are really worth it to protect the membrane. Adjustable flow restrictor to adjust ratio of waste water output to product water (recommended 4:1). This helps to keep your system running efficiently. One last thing: RO membranes run about $45, sediment cartridges $3, carbon blocks around $10, and DI refills around $18, so you can consider buying a used one cheap and replacing all the chambers if needed and it may be less in the long run and you still have a nice system (that's what I ended up doing). Hope this helps!

Peppermint shrimp are opportunistic so they will feed on whatever is available and easy for them to get. So yeah, they will eat some of those good critters but once you get an established population going, a few peppermint shrimp shouldn't wipe them out.

Jamie, I have kept blue acros under 2x250w iwasakis with the corals being about 10 inches from the lights (total distance) and they maintained their color. These were captive raised pieces. Some of the wild blue colonies that I got didn't keep their color. It took them 8-9 months before they colored back up to the blue color. Granted, water quality conditions play a big role in it as does wild vs. captive as to whether it will maintain its color. If the acro is captive raised and you placed it under the 250 watt bulbs, you might have a good chance at keeping the color. If its wild, I'll bet it will turn brown (at least for a while). Hope this helps. Bob

One thing to consider with these generators are the noise that it produces. If you live in an area where your neighbors get agitated with noise, you better plan ahead. Either buy a quiet generator or offer to share an outlet with your neighbor. I borrowed SDBDRZ's while our power was out. It was 4,500KW unit with a honda engine and it was still loud! After about 14 hours of this thing running, I was getting annoyed myself. I'm going to get one of these: http://www.agturf.com/honda_eu2000i.htm Even though it costs more, the noise issue is worth it to me.