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For those interested in the Magnesium Chloride Hexahydrate, I did finally get some details. I'd like to run it by RHF on ReefCentral first. How many are truly interested in this? If so, I think we are good to go since we only need to hit $150 to get this off the ground... 7 bags of either and/or does this of course.

Sounds kind of what I might suspect for Brooklynella, which is a parasite. I believe one of the areas it is known to attack is the gill area. Please feel free to research it a bit because this is all from memory and subject to be wrong. I think a fresh water dip in conjunction with the Formalin treatments would be a good thing if it is indeed Brooklynella aka Clownfish Disease.

Gotcha Lee, thanks for the lookup. So it is actually a smidge under 4.75". Glad you liked the rock, it would probably have been a little more developed had it not been overtaken by the accursed anthelia I am always pulling out of that tank.

I am replacing the tubing on my Kangaroo 324 pump... it has been a long time since I owned an official Kangraroo pumpset. In place of buying new pumpsets, I use tubing from Cole Parmer that lasts exponentially longer. Having said all of that, can someone with an official and unused one measure the length of the tubing that goes over the roller/s? I seem to remember it as 4 1/4" or so, just looking for clarification.

Larry, As you stated if some people switch to a full bag, it will help in getting to the level to get this order going. If we mix in some Magnesium Chloride Hexadhydrate, that will also count toward the total we need. Again, we need seven bags to make it happen... the magic number is $150. I was unable to get the $35 shipping/handling fee waived, but split among at least seven people, it isn't too oppressive IMO. To those looking for some Magnesium Chloride Hexadydrate (flake)... yes they also do have it. It is not currently stocked locally like the lime. It would take around a week to get it moved from Atlanta where they do keep it stocked. The price for a 50lb. bag is the same as the lime, .46/lb. or $23 per bag plus shipping + tax. I am waiting on a chemical specification sheet to look at its chemical analysis. I have its MSDS sheet, but that isn't necessarily accurate for this sort of thing. It looks to be pretty high grade stuff like the lime. Doug mentioned Dow Flake, calcium chloride dihydrate, would anyone else be interested in this?

The update in pricing still has the product at $.46/lb. That puts a 50lb. bag at $23. Then there is a ship/handling fee of $35 w/ tax on top of that. That puts the full bag in the $29 ball park. Still pretty cheap. I have not had a chance to talk with the "official" sales guy yet, but I will try and get the shipping/handling waived... still pretty good pricing IMO. We need 7 bags to make this happen. I will also ask them about the magnesium chloride hexahydrate. I have only been able to speak with the staff in the office who can confirm pricing, current ship fees and go from part numbers... my sales guy should shed some light on getting some magnesium chloride hexahydrate.

Actually, there were a few people that did not pay the last go round. I had several projects going on and didn't keep very good records... but I know a few people did not pay for sure. Did I break even... no. :( I will be keeping better track this time as my wife did give me some grief over not doing so. Phil, I don't remember if you paid or not and if you aren't sure either way, don't worry about it. Consider it a little gift for your now not so new 150 island tank.

It isn't a retial item, I buy it through my company and am happy to do so. I will try and get updated pricing and post back when I get the info. I will also update to see where there ship mark is... since they are a high volume supplier, they have a limit to how little they will ship/mess with. I have already OK'd delivery with Chip again at his location. One time period we have to be sensitive to is Valentine's Day, since he does own/operate a flower shop. Will post more when I know more.

Not to be greedy if someone can swing it, I'd like 1. Details, details... tried to order and you have to register. Part of the registration is an account number.

Geez, I was thinking about the "comparable" marketing numbers... you are right the true ratings are pretty close. In poking around this evening I found the LOA 65W 6500K flood light assembly for $12.50 + $4 shipping. The marketing wattage on this one is 500W... LOL. I will be buying a few... not sure if they have them listed wrong, but I'm not going to ask them about it. http://www.energyfederation.org/lipa/defau.../25_174_241_480

Good choice, the biggest difference IMO between your two choices would be rated W's. 13W vs. 75W or 85W @ almost the same cost

I concur, #16 is kind of a cement as opposed to an outright solvent like #3, #4 and #5. The #16 is a mixture of solvent with acrylic chips essentially. The solvent reacts with the acrylic and evaporates away leaving the acrylic within the #16 behind. In a pinch you can take acrylic shavings and mix them with solvent to fix cracks, gaps and etc. What exactly are you sealing... I'm assuming a crack?

One thing I have learned in buying skimmers... is to just bite the bullet and buy something that will work. Given your price range, that might be tough... so you need to keep your eyes peeled for something used. A Prizm, Jebo and Seaclone do not fit my "work" list for a 75g. IMO, if you want a hang-on, the AquaC Remora Pro is the best hang on I know of. If you decide you would like to use a sump, then I would suggest an ASM G2 or G3. What sort of tank are you shooting for? (livestock, filtration, ancilliary equip., etc.)

I also recommend it highly and it is easy to do. A definite must-do for ER/ASM skimmers.

The pump sets aren't so great... the only reason you really need one is to rob it of the drip capsule and the piece on the other side. Reefdosingpumps.com sells tubing in 2' lengths that you can use to replace the tubing that goes over the rollers after if wears out. It lasts for months, whereas the pump sets might last three weeks at the most. FWIW, if enough of us use these type of pumps... maybe we can buy a roll of it from Cole Parmer direct. It has been a while since I looked but it is like $30 for a 25' roll.

Just when I thought you couldn't say anything dumber, you say something like this... and completely redeem yourself! John, Glad to hear the Skins game will be available. It makes coming a little easier.

I think reflectors with halides are important due to the 360 degree output of light around the lamp. The poorer the reflectors, the less efficient the lamps are. I would think a non-spectral grade aluminum reflector might actually rank below a white reflector... which runs about 85% or so in terms of reflectivity. Just my opinion and numbers from memory. That is why I think spectral grade Parabolic reflectors are the way to go with MH's if getting the most out of the lamps is the goal. I would like to find a source for Miro4 aluminum to make some reflectors out of. My brother who builds houses has a tool that he says he could bend pretty much anything I wanted. What type of material did you find at McMaster Carr? I might be interested... I once tracked down some Miro4, but I would have had to buy a whole roll of the stuff for ~$400 + shipping.

Alex, I will not ask why you got brand new 55's when your setup is for 65's. Without knowing what type of ballast is used in the fixture and what sort of electrical charachteristics are on the wires... 55's should work. That is providing the bulb connector type matches the hood you have and the fixture is using an electronic ballast that can run multiple types of PC's within spec.

I think the G4x or G4+ would work great on your tank. The recirculating mod should increase performance. The gate valve does improve the tuning of the ASM skimmer greatly. Otherwise you rely on lowering and raising a pipe... not the easiest or most precise method IMO. MR-2 (Beckett) skimmers work fine too, I just don't like the monster pumps you have to use with them. Different strokes for different folks... I like ASM's and Aqua-C's due to their lower flow needs.

Paul, The short answer is yes. You and I were among the lucky. I've lived here several years and have lost power for maybe 10 minutes at a time. I knew it was bad news when the power tried to reset itself three times and nothing. Aside from having livestock in need of power... it was Christmas Eve!!! I had my head in the fridge putting away the last of the left overs from Christmas Eve dinner when "the event" sprung its ugly head. I went scrambling for a flashlight. The first detail on my mind was to check the tanks... no water on the floor and the returns broke syphon as they should have. Yipeee! I had Bek call Ed and he had a UPS ready for me by the time I got there. I ran two powerheads in each tank with a little venturi action. Some current and aeriation... eased my stress a tad. Aside from doing Mr. & Ms. Claus by candlelight, I was awake pretty much until the lights came on. I finally decided to get some shuteye (1 hour maybe) but made sure the lights in the bedroom were on. Per my plan this woke my wife who promptly let me know to shut the lights off in the room. I oblidged and checked the tanks. I kept the powerheads on the UPS for safety sake and called it a night. Everything looked good today from the few times I did look them over. Looking back I didn't gain anything by watching over the tanks... but I did nonetheless. Glad to hear you made out as well, I did wonder how you were doing up the road.

Haven't really priced MJ's but bigalsonline.com seems to have the best prices on MAGs and so forth. Worth a look I guess.

Bought my 5-stage from wpsinfo on E-Bay. I got the one with clear housings for around $130 shipped. I like clear housing since I can see what kind of shape the sediment and carbons are in... in addition to TDS of course. Also came with a clear refillable DI cartridge. Works fine for me.

I wait less than an hour for sure, but do try and run some water through the pieces before putting it into action. Never had a problem.

Lee, You can certainly run them on electronic ballasts. I don't remember which one you have, but if you had a Fulham WH7 ballast, you could run four 54W HOs off of one ballast. If you mixed and matched a VHO and a T5... you could only run one of each. You would also need end caps to fit each type of lamp. Bascially for every two a ballast might be able to properly light two 4' VHOs(110W), you could use four T5 HOs(54W) in their place. I'm not sure what the power requrements are for T5's but I think VHO's are in the 1.5A range. Haven't really paid much attention to T5's, but they do look interesting.

My skunk cleaner shrimp had eggs recently... it was a green area visible in her body. One evening my wife noted that the green was gone and there were a bunch of creamy/tan lumps all over the underside of her tail. They stayed there for about three days and then they just disappeared. I've never had any sort of cleaner shrimp reproduction, but it would be neat if a few of the many eggs survived somehow in the rockwork... not likely IMO, but still interesting.