craby

More on Candella: 1 candella is the amount of light 1 candle produces onto 1 sf of surface 1 ft away, and foot candella is the measurement of light produced from the light source at a certain distance. IE: if (1) foot candella or fcd is desired 3' below the light source, then the light source would have to produce 9 candella. Make sense? This is important as you concider the depth of your aquarium & distance the critters are away from the light source.

Option # 2 - Do you think the refugium chamber is large enough @ 7"x10" in plan for a 70 gal? This setup does not allow much flexibility for lighting such a small refugium foot print.

I have a DIY sump w/ (2) options: Option # 1) Water drains into skimmer chamber, then refugium, then return chamber. - Positives: Larger refugium, linear flow, all water gets returned back to take. - Negatives: Bowes out acrylic in the middle, can only hold (8) gal of additional water during power failure. Option # 2) Water drains into skimmer chamber, then into return chamber, then return pump diverts water to refugium. Refugium dumps back to return chamber. - Positives: Acrylic does not bow out in middle, can fit Kalk reactor & CA reactor in return chamber, can hold (14) gal of additional water during power failure. - Negatives: Small, deep refugium (7"x10"x10"). Any suggestions on which layout? Which layout would y'all do?

Y'all have way too much time on your hands if you can clean the glass for 2-3 hours every 2 weeks. I don't see how you manage to fit the time in regularly. Also, Tony told me that he has to get the top half of his body in the tank w/ a diving mask & snorkle. That must be a trip B) .

My skim mate container has the ping pong ball shut off. It basically is an old 1/2 gal wide mouth jug w/ a plastic lid 1st hole taped for 3/8" NPT to barbed fitting for skim mate inlet & 2nd hole has (2) 1" to 1/2" bushings glued back to back @ hole w/ short piece of 1/2" pipe. A 1" cap is glued to the top bushing. A 1" coupling w/ cap is glued to the bottom bushing. Both caps have (5) 1/8" holes drilled for air flow. Oh, & don't forget to put the ping pong ball in the bottom section before gluing the bottom cap on :P . HTH.

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I'm interested in the Shrimp goby & purple star.

You probably would be alright w/ the standard bathroom exhaust fan. Is this going in a closet w/ all your equipment? One member's setup I've seen has an exhaust fan/blower hooked up to a thermostat in his equipment room.

I hope it doesn't cause too much comotion, but I will unfortunately be out of town on the 7th. I'm returning on the 8th. Hopefully I can pick up the goods @ someones house/work. I live in Van Ness, (NW) DC & work in Reston. Any body fit my profile & willing to help a brother out? I'm looking to buy: (1) block of Cyclopeeze (1/4 to 1/2) block of mysis (1) ziplock bag of frozen fish food. Please let me know if you can help me out. Thanks, Luke C.

I need a Tunze transformer model # 7210.202A for the 6000 turbelle stream. The TS24 kit comes w/ this transformer extra to make a 6100 into a 6000. If anybody has this extra transformer & doesn't need it, please PM me! Thanks, Luke C.

Jake, Is there any calcium build up on the float swith shaft? This can make it stick.

I'd like to get a block of cyclopeze & be involved in the food making party.

I'd be interested in one of these. Maybe we can get a real one and DIY duplicate it, if we can't get design details for DIY.

Matt, I am going out to Bob's house @ 4pm today. I live in Van Ness, DC., about 10 min. N.W. of you. I can pick up what you want if you give me a list. I'll PM you for this list. It would probably help if you could contact Bob as well to let him know what to hold for you.

What I would do in your case is to add some baffles just outside of the section of the sump that now holds the bioballs. This will raise the water level in this section to the top of the highest baffle, which needs to be the baffle closest to this section. Also, you should take out the bioballs gradually so that you don't shock the biological system.

In my experience, you want good flow rate in your fuge because if the water moves too slow, you could get Cyano bacteria (sp). One way around this is to stay w/ the 150-200 gph & add a power head.

I'm also interested in the follorwing: Cyclopeze, mysis shrimp, ARM media, Koralith CA media, phosban, Carbon, Blue Frilly mushroom. Sorry for the partial replies. I'll email you.

I'm interested in the Tunzes. I'll PM you.

In viewing the tanks on the tank tour last year, I noticed a significant difference between the people complaining that they couldn't control the growth of the xenia & zoanthids and the people who complained that these coral shriveled up & died. 1) The people who called the xenia & zoos a weed had a set up mainly for stony corals. 2) The people who had a problem losing xenia & zoos had a set up made for softies (ie: low light, not as coniencious about water parameters & replacing old bulbs, no Kalk & CA reactors). I am in no way emplying that you need all those things to sustain a healthy colony of xenia & zoos, but mearly noting a difference between the stony & softie tank set ups. Maybe a coincedence, maybe not. I also would like to note that some people feed their zoos directly with something called "Spectra Vital & Black Powder" which I believe to be a supplimental nutient base food to compensate for the conditions of natural oceanic water conditions. Although these suppliments may make your zoos grow, IMO it is a maintenance issue to direct feed an organism to give it what it is lacking from the natural environment. I have tried both supplements & upgrading & have to admit IME a better response by the zoos to the better lighting & addition of reactors than to direct feeding supplement nutrients. (ie: no growth w/ suppliments & the first noticeable growth in 2 years w/ changing set up to mainly sps setup). People who have experienced different observations, please chime in.

FYI - All who are plumbing in a tank. If you go to plumbingsupply.com you'll find everything you could imagine to use for plumbing in a tank. They even have flex PVC pipe, the same pipe used to plumb in the pumps on the radius sides of whirlpool soaker tubs & jacuzzis. HTH.

I have about 3'x4' of 1/4" acrylic/plexiglass that Tony Gallo gave me @ the Wamas mtg. I'd still like to make one of these reactors, but am still way too busy w/ work . If this group project ever gets off the ground, I am willing to donate this plastic sheeting to the fund. I hope y'all can forgive me if I am unable to attend many of the meetings, but hope that someone can work on a reactor for me in the case that I have to be absent .

Anyone want to buy about 40 lbs of Aragonite sugar sand? $20 obo. LMN.

I have mine set up like Krish, w/ a pressurized tank hooked up to the pressure regulator on my RO/DI unit under my kitchen sink. I have a solenoid valve & float switch to control top off. When the water level drops in the sump, the switch turns the normally closed solenoid valve open & the pressurized tank forces water throught the kalk reactor into the sump until the water level shuts the float switch off.

OUsnakebyte, I just moved to the Columbia Heights area of DC right around the corner from you. How big is the Panther Grouper :o & pair of lookdowns in your 2.5 gallon nano? I'd love to see this! Maybe I can swing by one day... LMK

How deep is the sand bed now? Was it a bare bottom tank before? Can you siphon some of the sand out (maybe 50% or more)? If you can, I'd try that and set the sand in a big tote w/ some of your water change water (that you usually pour down the drain) w/ some of your LR (Live Rock) & a PH (power head). The new sand did not have any live bacteria, and is not really alive yet. The live rock in the tote will seed the sand and bring it to life. You can then start slowly adding the live sand back to your tank. Also, as Michael has said in previous posts, it's a good idea to go out & get like a 3" diameter pvc pipe that can reach the bottom of your tank, and pour the sand down this pipe when adding it. This mitigates the sand cloud & keeps it off of your LR & corals. HTH.