craby

Howard, One thing I did since I work construction is I got the Ductwork sub to donate a 3'x6' sheet of 1/2" duct liner to the cause. It is used to insulate duct & deaden the sound of air traveling through it. It is black fiberous padding material. I used it to wrap the walls of the sump area in the stand.

The only problems I know of running MAG pumps externally are noise, heat, & leaks. When submerged, the water acts as a vibration dampener & heat dissipator & the pump can leak all it wants w/o ill effect. You need to also make sure the hole you use for the C/L supply is low enough that the pump will not draw air as this makes a ton of noise w/ MAG pumps.

Larry-T "So plus or minus 200 out of 30,000 is about the same fluctuation you get with a 1 degree F change in temperature." This is not comparing apples to apples as the 200 ppm of "Total Dissolved Solids" in the tap water are unwanted solids & the 30,000 ppm in the tank are beneficial salt & trace elements.

As far as I am aware, not all Iwaki's are japanesse made. The abbreviations are as follows: MD - Japanesse motor WMD - Walchem american motor 30 or less - no cooling fan (quiter) 40 or more - Comes w/ cooling fan RLT - Pressure rated RLXT - Non pressure rated (made for high flow)

Doug, Thanks for signing me up for the set-up & tear down. Let me know if I can help out in any other way on Sunday before the tear down.

Yes, they pair up. I've had several pistol shrimp & have never seen them go after hermit crabs or snails & typically just eat what they dig up. The aragonite/crushed coral should be great. One note, make sure that your LR is on the bottom of the tank & no sand under it as the shrimp/goby will dig & possibly undermine the LR creating an avolanch.

Mine smells like chicken. Whaz-up w/ dat? Does anybody's filtered water ever smell funny?

Have you looked at the Tunze wavemaker? Works well on long tanks (+=4').

What is the water pressure coming from your well? If it does not meet the min. PSI (40 I think) you may need a booster pump to get any clean water. The reason is the membrane requires this pressure to force the water through it.

reelsteel has brought up a possibility. Cleaner shrimp hide when they're about to molt to protect themselves as they are most vulnerable when molting.

You also need to plan the spacing of the dividers/baffles according to what you are planing to keep in your sump, where the drains will be, & where the return pump(s) will go. I have mine w/ refugium chamber on left, skimmer chamber on right, & retund chamber in middle. Here's some picks:

Sounds like you have a mantis shrimp. If not, I have one I can sell you. PM me if interested

I lost one due to a Tunze Turbelle PH falling off the mount & blowing on one side for a day. The deterioration started slowly, & after a week the whole thing was white. Is it in high flow area? Also, is there anything close that could be sending stinger tentacles out at night? Other damage has occured by stuff falling on it. I have lost 1/2 dozen brains over the past (2) years. My experience has been that once it starts dying, it does not survive.