sam75

Are people letting high up corals (usually SPS) go without water during water changes? ^^ this. The bigger problem is the is forgetting to turn of the fan pumps and getting blasted by water. The corals really don't seem to mind (at least in my experience).

Depending on how long you want to wait for you water change a 24 may be better. Just realize head pressure ratings are often best case, do the math, and assume yours is gonna perform a little worse on the plus side the was the greatest upgrade I ever made to my tank!

The one from Home Depot may work, but I would be a little scared that it might not be marine safe (not sure it could be fine but I have not come across anyone using them). Personally would look for a cheap used mag 18. I picked up a very used mag 9.5 for the same purpose. Works well but do not under estimate head pressure

Josh, I would second that. While you do need a little up front cash. With the right choices you can run a very frugal reef with good success. The key to this hobby is not money. It's patients and stability. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Maybe it's just afraid of getting trimmed back again?

Mines been mixing in my tank for about 10 years now. Hasn't gone bad yet... :p

You may have already tried this, but if not wet it and spend some time on it with a razor blade. I had a similar spot i could have sworn something had etched into the glass, but after going over it hard with a razor it came off.

How pissed do you think his wife was?

Couldn't hurt imo. Often folks do 2-3 days of lights out per month.

It's certainly cool, but not sure it's something I would personally do. That said I think most "normal" people would think each and every one of us is crazy for the stuff we do to related to our tanks. Don't judge lest ye be judged :p

I've had an ev 120 for many years. Here are several tips I've learned after several frustrating years... Some of these were already mentioned. 1. Keep the water level consistent ( set it to the bottom of the neck as mentioned and leave it). 2. The goal is higher pressure and less water turn over through the skimmer. Wedge something in the injector to increase pressure an reduce water volume. I used a (cut) plastic screw anchor jammed in the middle of the injector to create 3 separate smaller streams. 3. Use a filter sock on system. Larger particles reduce foam production. 4. Take 2 pieces of eggcrate, cut them in a circle so they fit at the bottom of the skimmer neck. There is a small lip they will set on. Stack them an turn them slightly so the holes are off set.(think bubble diffuser - this reduces turbulence where the bubbles begin forming. 5. Clean your pump and impeller to make sure you are getting peak performance. A lot of folks go up a pump size to get better pressure. 6. Clean the air intake valve every few day. It clogs with salt creap rather fast. 7. Try and keep hands out of the tank. Selcon and alike will kill foam for an hour or more. Feeding can too. Do these things and I promise you will see a difference!

I bought some clams from the supermarket years back. As I was tossing his brothers in a pot of butter and garlic I decided to spare one and put it in my refugium. He buried himself in the sand and lived for 6 months to a year. Didn't really seem to have a noticeable impact on nitrates, but every time I looked at him it made me feel a little guilty... a bit like the Walrus and the Carpenter.

Yauger - I'm very sorry for your loss. It seems sometimes like this hobby is a constant struggle against some evil with a few weeks of success thrown in here and there to keep you coming back. As for the Red Slim remover - I have used "Chimiclean" before (I don't know if there is a difference in products, I was told it was the same stuff). I left the skimmer on (bubbling over) during the treatment and estimated the dosage on the slightly low end. I didn't expect much as I have read many of the horror stories and am not one to typically try the random "snake oils". To be honest I was amazed with the results. it knocked out the neon green slime algee I had been fighting for years. It had no noticable effect on my corals. Personally I would use it again in a heartbeat, but I wonder if there is a difference in brands or if there is possibly a quality control problem that leads to the varied experiences? Also I agree that it's best to try other methods first, but in my case nothing else worked. (For the person battling Neomeris- I had the same plague for about a year. it's god awful. Finally i beat it by cutting and siphoning evey shoot around every few days. Finally I won. It is possible, but it is not easy.)

Glad to hear it's working now. I've been running a Aua-C 120 for around 7 years now on a 55g. I hated it for the first two years. Now I think it's great. I'm sure there are better, more effecent skimmers out there, but it will do the job. that said don't expect great things out of the box. Here are a few tips... 1. use a filter sock - not sure why but it really helps (maybe it helps capture larger particles, oils) 2. use a larger pump - I'm using a mag 7 (instead of a 5) 3. cut two circles of egg crate and fit them (grids off-centered) in the bottom of the neck. There a little lip at the bottom where they fit nicely. - think bubble diffuser (reduces water/bubble turbulence right where the head begins to form) 4. wedge something in the middle of the spray injector. I used a plastic screw anchor cut in half - jammed in parallel to the spray. Basically it turns the one large spray nozzle into three smaller ones. (reduces the volume of water traveling through the skimmer and increases pressure of the spray) note: it will clog easier with the smaller nozzles so check periodically 5. make sure you clean out the air valve frequently if clogs with salt creep (also, sump water level needs to remain constant, water level in skimmer should be at the right at the level of the eggcreate, water conditioners & oils will wreck you for a long time) hope that helps!

I use RC in a 32 gallon brute and have the same percipitation of salt/minerals. I read some where that the red/brown color is from some type of anti-clumping agent, but who knows. I used to clean it frequently, but stopped since i figure whatever percipitates is already in the salt and the "crust" likely helps protect from the plastic leaching stuff into the water. Which is worse I can only speculate... I now clean it out about once a year (I keep it dark and covered and haven't seen any slime buildup).