DaveS

The longer the handle the less effective it is due to bending. Also, if the blade is red, it's the softer, less effective one used for acrylic.

I started a new thread in the GB section for this. I was assuming that if we ordered by tomorrow, they would ship it out that day for next day arrival (Friday). I'm fine with ordering tomorrow and asking for shipment later or even ordering later. Basically, I'm not in a huge rush unless someone else is. If we can get it in to take advantage of the $10 credit, great, if not, no big deal. Go ahead and post what you want in the GB thread and we'll go from there!

If we can get it ordered by tomorrow for delivery friday and use the $10 credit great. If not, I can wait till next week or something. I'll start a new thread on this.

Interesting, looks like they've changed their shipping all around. No more "free" shipping. Now shipping is $35 on orders between $29.99 and $79.99 and $28 for all orders above that. Not a huge deal since their "free" shipping usually meant $10 box fee and $10 fuel surcharge. I'm considering doing a GB from them. Anyone want to join me? Delivery in the Tyson's/Great Falls area.

Well just finished my plumbing job for the night. Almost got everything done but I ran out of Teflon tape. Ohhh, shoulda just used glue... For me, I glued some threaded fitting together because I was using a threaded nipple to connect 2 threaded joints together. The nipple is fairly short so there is no area in the middle to grab. By cementing ONE side of the nipple to a joint, I am able to control which side of the nipple comes undone in the future if/when I unscrew that connection. Maybe there's a better way to do this but it's what I had to work with. Thanks for answering the questions guys. You input allowed me to get things done by the time I needed to.

1) Anyone know if there is an issue gluing schedule 40 and 80 pvc together? Anything weird that prevents reliable joints? 2) Anyone ever PVC glue two threaded connections together? Any suggestions on what to do and not to do? I know it sounds stupid but I have a specific need to do this. Thanks.

I've done the open the AC output to the fish room. It's great in that it helps cool down the tank a bit but then the rest of the house gets hot so we have to run the AC more. In my situation, it's not enough of a benefit to warrant the increased home AC cost. I've also done the fan thing for evaporative cooling. It works great both cooling and energy wise but the downstairs is much more humid and mold is a concern. If I run a dehumidifier, I might as well run a chiller. I've heard of running the intake of the skimmer line to the AC output. That would only solve part of my problem as I need cooling during the winter months too and this would do the opposite then. Now I got an idea I've been toying with- how about running the HVAC RETURN or INTAKE from the tank/sump area? This should create a significant amount of air flow and should allow for plenty of evaporation. In the summer time, the humidity from the tank should condense just like the regular humidity in the air. In the winter time, the humidity would get dispersed throughout the home and reduce the dryness of the cold air. Obviously you want your air filter between the intake at the tank and the HVAC unit. What does everyone else think about this? Any flaws in this idea?

This is super cool. One question, I'm assuming the 9V battery is attached to the backup power plug/port on the AC3. Is it intended to power the AC3 for the duration of the outage? Or is it meant to power just long enough to get the e-mail out and register the power outage so the AC3 knows how to act once power comes back? I was thinking about getting a 9V DC wall wort and pluging that into the network UPS so the AC3 would stay up. The programming you provided is exactly the info I needed. Thanks.

IMO O2 is unneeded. The goal for the gas isn't to actually oxygenate but to create water circulation which allows oxygenation on the surface. The O2 isn't going to add much to this process for the 5 seconds it is in contact with the water before it bubbles to the surface. Explosiveness isn't so much of an issue assuming you aren't doing the filling yourself. Getting the O2 is a pain because it's more expensive than air and depending on where you get it, they may pull the "medicinal requirement" clause where they want a doctor's prescription for the O2. Robert's used to ask me for that whenever I got O2 for mixed gas diving although they don't any more so maybe they figured out that was paranoia or just something for medical grade (the kind people breathe) O2. Like I said in the beginning, I doubt the minor benefit from O2 is worth the hassle. As far as using UPS, basser's numbers are great from a theoretical standpoint. However, those UPS batteries degrade over time. I went through 7 UPS' on my tank in the 20 hours I lost power this week. None of them powered a Maxi-jet 1200 for more than 45 minutes. One lasted 5 minutes. If you're going to keep the UPS charged (plugged in) it will degrade so by the time you actually need it, it may not last anywhere near as long as the numbers predict. At least that's my opinion. Guess it's time to bite the bullet and spring for that whole house standby generator...

Any other suggestions for a base besides paver stones? I don't think my sand bed is deep enough to accomodate/hide a paver stone. Anything else a little thinner? What else besides PVC pipe works for support? I saw something about fiber glass rods. What about acrylic rods?

This is great! Looks like exactly what I was envisioning. I hope it's safe for use around tanks! This is great! Looks like exactly what I was envisioning. I hope it's safe for use around tanks!

Yea, I got one coming in next week. I let you all know how it goes.

I was thinking there was something that was more specialized than Krylon. I have an unfinished utility room which is the fish room. I was looking into painting the back side of the bare framing and down onto to the cement floor. I've had some spills before and seen the water seep under the footers and into the other room. I'm looking to avoid that in the future.

I seem to recall posting here/there about people using a marine paint or something to paint the insides of their fish room or at least the inside of their cabinet. Anyone know what that stuff is and where I can get it? I also recall some issue about using the paint around live tanks with the fumes being toxic or something. Again, any help would be appreciated. Thanks all.

Dual T5 fixture, $50 shipped to the door: http://cgi.ebay.com/new-T5ho-T5-ho-24-2-la...1QQcmdZViewItem Anyone have experience with one? Looking to use it on a 20L frag tank.

Not to hijack this thread but any one have suggestions on what can be done with the skeleton? I know you can just chuck it in the trash but how about other options? Attach other corals to it? Put it in the calcium reactor?? Just wondering...

Ok fair enough answer on the Mystery Ballast. Anyone able to help out answering the initial questions on fixtures, retro kits, spay covers, IceCaps, etc?

Hi Guys, I'm setting up a 20L for a frag tank and need some help getting a light for it. I'm not sure what to get other than not MH lighting due to heat and power. So far I think I need a 24" T5 fixture with 2-3 bulbs. The frag tank is in a closet to looks aren't very important. Should I get a premade fixture? Any recommendations on one? What's a retro kit and would it be something I should get? From what I can tell it looks like a ballast, end caps for the bulb and reflectors. Do people get this and just mount it all to a small plywood sheet? What about some type of cover to protect against spray? I'm gathering that IceCap ballasts are a better brand but what is the difference between good/bad brands? Lastly I got the ballast in the picture below as part of a box of random stuff. No idea on the brand but it does have a sticker that says "4x48W-120V XIN 9#". My guess is that it's a ballast that can drive 4 bulbs of 48W each. Thing is, I don't see 48W T5 bulbs for sale, only 39W and 54W. And on top of that, the 24" bulbs I want are only 24W. Is there a way to use this ballast or is it totally wrong for my need? If I can use it, what do I do with the 1-2 extra leads since I'd only be using 2-3 bulbs and not 4? Thanks as always for everyone's help!

Man I'm jealous. Not only of the box but all the tools available to make the box!

I rinsed mine out and was about to put it in place when I read Stevearlen's post. It made me think that filling it and letting it sit for a day or two would be a good idea. This way anything that leeched into the plastic would have a chance to come back out. Probably don't need to do it but oh well. I'm planning to cut a hole in the top, large enough to drop a pump in and then I'll probably plumb a float value into the side. Any one have any suggestions on where to put the hole/bulkhead for the float valve? I'm wondering if the curvature of the 30G drum will cause any problems with the bulkhead seal.

So by now hopefully everyone has gotten their drums and starting thinking about using them. (Thanks again Cliff!) So questions- what are you guys doing with them? Anyone put a bulkead/float valve on the side? If so, was the curvature an issue? Anyone cut the top some to be able to drop a pump into the drum? Where did you cut and how big? What about making a replacement lid? Any other concerns, thoughts or ideas? This group is such a great resource I thought I'd ask and see if I could get any great ideas before I whip out my power tools.

I have a few more misc frags that I forgot to post: 3 frags Watermelon Zoas (Neon green skirt, bright orange center)- $15 1 ORA Blue tort frag- $10 2 Orange Digitata frags about 1.5"-2" long- $5 Here's where the frags came from: