lanman

So new their website is a phone number. bob I have a Sunpod on my 24-gallon nano (a lot smaller than you would be getting, of course). I have had no trouble with it at all. It isn't 'silent' - but not terribly noisy, either. The little blue LED's try to take the place of actinics for viewing, and they do make most of the fluorescent stuff glow - but I think I would prefer to have some real actinic lighting. bob

So I am assuming that you use just a, and recommend it. It sounds like it might be years before I needed anything more ©. Sounds reasonable to me. When I get ready to quit using 2-part dosing (which may be soon, I'm going to add a 40-gallon sump, and the system will be almost 150 gallons), I will try just a kalk stirrer and auto-topoff system. I guess I can set up the auto-topoff before I get the kalk sitirrer and make sure it works. Thanks for your HO, bob

Marine Center website says 2006 was the first year they had seen any Gem Tang's in about 10 years. Raise a few of THOSE! bob

Obviously I haven't been paying enough attention. How does this look for plumbing up my system with 33-gallon frag, 20-gallon refugium, 40-gallon sump, 58-gallon display?? And where do you usually put a skimmer if it's in the sump?? Near the incoming water? Middle? Outgoing water?? System will be around 140 gallons of water. I think I need a REAL skimmer. thanks, bob

Wow! Incredible bargain! Marine Center is sold out.... Add to Cart Gem Tang Price Qty. Add $3,499.00 Of course theirs were 2" long; BIG healthy suckers. They ARE a nice looking fish, though. bob

And so - a brief rundown for us non-members?? bob

Thanks, guys - I was invisioning some kind of a box with filter pads or something. But for $25 - I can get a hang-on thing for the sump and a sock - and a few spares at $10 each. Certainly looks easy enough! bob

I sure hope that I can get it done in a weekend. I figured to start pulling water out on Friday night, and as the level gets down to the corals, I should have enough water in the aquariums and buckets. I would hope to finish on Saturday, but if I run into plumbing problems or something, I would finish it on Sunday. I know the fish don't mind a bit of sand cloud - I saw some doing just fine in cloudy water today So - a weekend should be just fine? bob

I will be getting rid of my U-tube overflow when I switch from my 45 to a Reef Ready 58. The current tank has a mechanical sponge filter in the overflow box. I like having a mechanical filter - it gets lots of good gunk out. How/Where do you hook up a mechanical filter to a Reef-Ready tank? Recommended type? Brand? Thanks, bob

Nobody seems to want to answer my earlier post; I think I had too many questions and too much reading in one post. So I'll ask the questions separately. How long can my corals and fish survive in a couple of 10-gallon tanks and a few buckets with heaters and powerheads to move water around - but no actual water circulation or skimming or lighting or anything? Fish is just two Anthias and a 6-line. Sally lightfoot, snails, hermits, emerald crab. Some smaller or more 'important' corals will go in the frag tank during the move - which will continue to operate normally. This is in connection with moving everything from one tank to another tank. Thanks, bob

Someone posted a while back - that the pump itself draws so little current that the controller didn't even know it was there. He added a light bulb to the same circuit, and it worked properly. bob

It was an experience. A 210 is a 4-man lift, even empty! bob

Joe's Juice does the same to Aiptasia - I've brought a few in on frags, and Zzzzzzap!! I do have some injured zoa's - but not sure if that's from the aiptasia or the Joe's Juice - the anemone's were growing out of the middle of a pile of zoa's. bob

Well... I keep hearing a Phosphate test must be done when you do NOT have algae. I have a bag of Rowaphos in the sump right now. Reducing the lights by an hour slowed it down - maybe I'll try reducing them some more. bob

Flow as in flow through the sump and back into the tank? Or just water movement? Because I have a powerhead pointed right at that spot that moves water pretty well. But I do have some concerns about the main pump being a bit on the wimpy side. bob

Before I start my weekly scrubbing - here is the algae that I'm plagued with on plastic parts (and frag disks). What is it? Any suggestions for eliminating it? Thanks, bob

How much water in the entire system? My 45-gallon tank has a 33-gallon frag tank, and a 20-gallon sump (about 4/5 full) - which brings my system up to almost 100 gallons of water. I've been dosing about 25 ML of two-part, and it doesn't seem to be enough even in my fairly lightly stocked system. I'm moving on up today to 30ml, and see how that does. bob

PM sent bob

Yes, actually - but I missed a key word 'or' - so it appears that you only use one of: Limewater in auto top-off systems, drippers or dosers for many reef aquaria, even those using other systems in addition to limewater, is not suitable as the only supplement for aquaria with a very high demand for calcium and alkalinity. I use limewater alone for my reef aquaria as part of an auto top-off system. Costs can depend on the nature of the setup and the lime (calcium hydroxide) or quicklime (calcium oxide) used. Two-part systems (including DIY) are recommended for very small aquaria, and any without auto top-off. Two-part additions can be manual (two to seven times per week or more) or automatic with dosers. This method is suitable for all levels of required calcium and alkalinity additions. Do-it-yourself solutions can be very inexpensive; commercial versions are more expensive. CaCO3/CO2 reactors have high initial setup costs, but can meet demand in any reef aquarium if sized appropriately. Once set, such reactors can often run with little day to day attention. So far, one would probaby not say that my system is high demand. I'm only hoping it will become so over the next year. So I could use any of the three for now at least. With my two-part system - it appears from everything I've read, that I can just keep dosing more and more of the two-part to get/keep my ALK where I want it. My CA is already running around 380-390, but my ALK is still low. And it would NOT hurt anything to add more two-part to get my ALK up, even if it drives my CA up to around 420-450. Everyone agree with that? That would be my instant fix. Over the longer run, I could start using a kalkwasser system, but I would have to set up auto-topoff rather than just dumping in a couple of gallons of RO/DI each day. This would allow me to adjust ALK - and CA would follow in some ratio. Sounds like the EASIEST (most automated, least attention required), but most expensive, is the CA reactor. Considering at this point I would give up on buying my Lotus Elise in order to have a clear, clean, beautiful aquarium - is this my best choice?? bob

Nobody seems to have any suggestions. Next question - how long can my corals and fish survive in a couple of 10-gallon tanks and a few buckets with heaters and powerheads to move water around - but no actual water circulation or skimming or lighting or anything? Fish is just two Anthias and a 6-line. Sally lightfoot, snails, hermits, emerald crab. Some smaller or more 'important' corals will go in the frag tank during the move - which will continue to operate normally. Next - How much water can flow through a 1" (durso) overflow? Will a MAG-7 with a head of about 4 feet (about 500gph) overflow it? Next - I will be getting rid of my U-tube overflow, which has a mechanical sponge filter. I like having a mechanical filter - it gets lots of good gunk out. How/Where do you hook up a mechanical filter to a Reef-Ready tank? Recommended type? Brand? Final - for today. Is there anyone that is really good, really experienced at this hobby living in the Bristow or Woodbridge area that would be willing to drop by and discuss the whole tank move with me in front of the tanks? Thanks, bob

It seems the more I read, the more confused I get. Can someone put it in terms a dummy can understand? I use two-part dosing, but would like to upgrade - assuming it's an upgrade. Is a calcium reactor (co2, water, media) basically the same as a Kalk reactor (lime (calcium hydroxide), water)? If I get a Kalk or CA reactor to add calcium to the tank - what do I do about Alkalinity (the other part of my 2-part dosing system)? Kalkwasser also adds to the pH of the system. Does a CA reactor do the same? Do either or both of them add to ALK? (article on Kalkwasser claims to - but doesn't say how or how much) I guess the basic question is - what does it take to replace 2-part dosing with more automated methods of maintaining CA and ALK and pH?? Thanks for any help, bob

Like Fab said - my 45-gallon tank is only 12" from front to back. Some of my rocks are 8" from front to back. I didn't have much choice. I am switching it all into a 58-gallon tank, and one of the main reasons is front-back space. 18" will seem like a lot of real-estate! I'm hoping I can stack well enough not to touch the back, and if I do - only in a few places. bob

Removes dissolved organics and waste products with extreme efficiency Greatly benefits water quality Increases oxygen levels and stabilizes pH Reduces Nitrate, Phosphate and Nitrite levels Do skimmers lower Phosphates?? bob

I have about 4-5" of sand in the 45. And a bit of rubble on top of that on one half of the tank. Still looking for suggestions on how to 'wire up' the system. bob

I purchased a 58-gallon RR tank to replace my 45-gallon non-RR tank a month or so ago from a WAMAS member. I want to move everything from 45-->58 as smoothly as possible, with as little loss of life as possible. Cost is not a major factor, but of course I don't want to waste anything, either. I have now cleared the playing field, and I'm ready to start the move. Current setup includes the 45 and stand, a 20-gallon acrylic sump/refugium, and a 33-long acrylic frag tank. The 45 and frag tank are on separate pumps in the sump, and both overflow separately back into the sump. Here is the current setup. The 58-gallon tank can fit where it is, except to move it back a few inches. Doing so will require sliding the frag tank over to the left a couple of feet, and sliding the sump/refugium over a couple of feet, and of course re-plumbing. None of my plumbing is glued together, because when I switched from flexible hoses on the main tank and installed the frag tank, I knew I would be switching over to the 58 before long. Or the 58 can go where the 45 is now; which means I have to empty the 45 so I can slide it over before I put anything in the 58. There is room in the cabinet under the 58 for a 40-gallon sump. I would like to have the ability to upgrade to a larger skimmer, and be able to add a kalk reactor and CA reactor - even if I don't do it during the switchover. I could make the 20-gallon tank into just a refugium with a separate sump (more plumbing). I am all in favor of improving and upgrading the system while I'm doing this, if anyone has suggestions. First question I have - of many I'm sure - the 45-gallon tank is only 2 months old; can I use ALL of the sand in it? Or should I just scrape off the top couple of inches and assume the deeper part has bad stuff in it? (which of course will lead into questions about how do I get the sand out first...) But for starters - suggestions on design, placement and plumbing and other things I can get ready ahead of time? Thanks for any help, bob