treesprite

I went ahead and ordered a new one and calibration fluid. The new one is kind of cheap, but I'm hoping I can figure out what is wrong with the one I already have. Still, I need to know what the possible problems are so I know what to look for.

Do you have to pay shipping for Amazon and Chewy? I passed them up because of the shipping cost.

Nice. Maybe you did see Christie, she was in that hole all this time and the fish didn't want to leave her by herself.

Already started a thread for this just a few posts down

What kinds of problems can make a refractometer give inconsistent readings from one minute to the next? I can't find my calibration fluid, but even using just RO, the reading should be consistent for the same batch of water tested a few minutes apart so there is no temperature variation. A side question is, does RO really have a true 0 reading on a calibrated refractometer? I've never compared so I have no idea. Not knowing makes me not trust using the RO. I did just get new filters from AWI. Info is appreciated.

The shipping is what gets to me for heavy weight items. PetSmart actually gives a discount if I order online but still pick up in the store, so not only do I not pay shipping, I get rewarded for it as well.

Is it possible to paint those conduit pipes?

Are there any discounts right now on IO salt? Either stores or group buy discount? I only have enough for one water change, so I need it quick. Info would be greatly appreciated! UPDATE Found out PetSmart has 160g buckets for about $38 (that's with an in-store pickup discount for online order). I would have preferred a 200g box for that price. Maybe there will be a group buy by the next time I need it.

So are you getting the 4x4?

Biota has captive bred yellow tangs. I was so happy when I found out about them. It is my favorite fish. They run about $100 which is a good price given what went into the breeding and raising of them on top of the research and trial-and-error that had to be done.

Is is just a cosmetic thing, or are the seams a problem?

Weird.

YAY!

Picture is not working.

I kind of agree with you about controllers on skimmer pumps. It seems to me that the longer the water is in the container, the longer the skimmer has a chance to skim it. Is there anything wrong with flow being so low that the same water gets skimmed several times? It takes longer for the entire system volume to get skimmed, but it seems to me it balances out with the water overall is more likely to end up in the skimmer and not just passing by it. I'm kind of wondering if advancements in rollermat technology will eventually cause more people to do away with skimmers.

One of the things I read today/yesterday said something about how the flow in the skimmer section should match the amount of water the skimmer can process. Is the amount it processes the same as the amount of water the skimmer pump sends through it? I have no idea what flow my pump is set at, because the pump controller buttons don't work (skimmer is working well at whichever setting it is stuck at). It's a Reef Octopus 170 INT skimmer, the pump label says max water intake 1600 lph (about 422 gph). Just to clarify, the skimmer is in the #2 sump/fuge which is plumbed to return to/be fed by the #1 sump, so there is no direct connection of it to the DT.

Ok well, I took the pump out to look at it. It has a label on it which I couldn't see without taking it out. It is a Via Aqua pump, rated about 118.8 gph.

Apparently the livestock sold at the linked website is captive bred. Given the pricing of it, it ought to be.

Thanks, I will check it out.

I'm talking about water noise, not pump noise. It is the simple standpipe plumbing from the first sump into the second sump, and the water/air coming out of it, that cause the noise; it would probably be better with smaller pipe, but the bulkhead is 1" and the 1" standpipe is glued together, I can't take it apart to reduce it, only put a reducer at the output, which I did down to 3/4". Insulating the stand might make a difference if I have to use a bigger pump. These are the kind of pumps sold with or for pico setups, but are look like the ones sold as little fountain pumps so I just called it a fountain pump - I didn't actually take it out of a fountain (the only time I ever got a fountain was to use for the cat's drinking water). I have been using this one for several years off and on in QTs and small, temporary tanks. It has the same size nozzle as a Maxijet 1200, and has a flow adjuster valve on it. I used it in the 12g Aquapod at times when the Maxijet was too strong for what I was doing. I was just guessing that the max flow setting is 100gph because of its relative size (since I can't remember the specs or brand) - it may be closer to 200. I tried using a Maxijet for the return, but got the water/plumbing noise, and this was the next option for what I already had in the tank junk collection. Based on what I have read various places, the majority of people have the opinion that flow for a skimmer section should be low, that lower flow means less water simply getting returned before it has a chance to be skimmed. I haven't seen anything about being really low, basically people recommend between 200 and 300 gph.

It it possible to get useful captive bred snails, hermits, and serpent stars?

It made no sense to have quiet tank plumbing if there was noise from under the stand, so when I set up this system I ended up using a little 100gph fountain pump as the return from my second sump (skimmer/fuge) back to the primary sump (tank drains/main return) - everything bigger created water noise. I didn't think it would have any negative effect, it would just allow more time for the skimmer to process stuff, but I figured since I'm bored, that I should go ahead and make a post to ask what people think about using such a small pump. I don't want any water noise.

Congrats and good luck on the new setup. Planning and setting up is both fun and challenging

I accidentally came across something about dipping/dosing with, surprisingly to me, witch hazel. It was on the Credabel Labs FB page. Has anyone seen any articles besides that one, or actually tried the method? It sounds crazy to me, having not heard about it from more sources.

I was thinking the sapphire damsels, but the 2019 list made me think they would be much harder to get than others. I'm not sure how many I would want, maybe 3. One of the things about CB is that people don't have to be so worried about initial losses that they buy a couple extra fish to make sure they still have a certain number when those almost expected losses happen. If people know they will have initial losses, they shouldn't be purchasing those WC species of fish.