Hilary

Thanks! Road trip at lunchtime.... Now if I can just get the RO/DI unit installed without flooding the basement. I'm picking up 90 lb of Antonio's LR tonight, so I'll have plenty for these tanks.

I was JUST at Wally's this evening - should have posted this earlier! I need to find the other store - I'm trying to visit most of the local stores so I know what I can find where. I'm hoping for enough weather to not have to go into DC for work, but still good enough to take my Subaru out for a couple of little excursions.....

Thanks so much - I like those answers! Wasn't looking forward to floating dead shrimp.... I'll see if I can find Cycle (Nutrifin product, right?) tomorrow.

I'm setting up two tanks as temporary quarters until I get the 90g set up the way I like it. Today somebody recommended throwing a shrimp (dead kind) in to help cycle the filters? I'm getting LR from a tank breakdown tomorrow and plan to put some of it in these tanks along with some live sand - shrimp still necessary?

Another thought - have you used a heater with these?

Excellent - that is exactly what I needed to know. Thanks!!

OK, so I get that I should only use food grade plastic storage/mixing containers. I picked up some of the water containers from WalMart for storage and maybe my auto top off, but still need a larger container I can use for mixing. I see Rubbermaid products in a lot of photos and have heard it mentioned, but their website doesn't say anything about whether they use food grade plastics (unless I missed it). Would I be pretty safe using any of their products, or is there a line I should stick to?

And how long was your safety stop after THAT dive?!

I do - it's the only camera I use. You just have to remember to change the mode if you're out of the water (I took a lot of really red pictures of sea lions in the Sea of Cortez while snorkling between dives before I realized it was still in sea mode.... ). It's not as fancy as other cameras out there, but then it's also not as expensive!

With the wide angle and the digital flash that sounds like a good price! Camera alone runs $500 plus. I've had mine for about a year or so, and this is (I think) my third SeaLife camera. I dive a lot and always have my camera with me, and so far love this camera.

Thanks Bob! I just placed an order with Air, Water & Ice for their Typhoon 5-stage RODI unit based on your advice. That seemed to be one of their most popular models?

Thanks Chip and Troy! Question about RO/DI - any recommendations for an affordable unit? I've read about WalMart water and know I can get it at Wally's, but tap is certainly easier than carrying all of that water, plus I'll be a lot more likely to do my water changes.....

If the rock is pretty well cured, would it make sense to add my dry sand to the tank while it finishes off (and then add live sand when it's done), or better just to wait? Seems I've read not to add anything to make cleanup easier, but somewhere else that adding at the same time can help seed the sand? Hilary

Excellent info - thanks! Plan is definitely to grow this into a reef (slowly ), so I'm trying to put it together now with that in mind. Thanks for the info about the sump - it'll be in my living room, so anything I set up will have to be HOB or fit underneath. Glad to get confirmation about Dr Mac's - I've read good things about them from several sources, and the prices (even with the gas) are great. I know that it's going to drive me crazy to drive all that way and just walk out with rock!

Thanks so much, Brian!

Hey all! I'm a mechanically-challenged newbie setting up my first saltwater tank and I have several questions. Any help would be appreciated (please be gentle and laugh only when you're out of my earshot! ). I'm setting up a 55g (not RR), with a 10g sump for the skimmer (due to space considerations) and a separate fuge. I'm starting with FOWLR, but recognize that I'll eventually venture into coral-land. I'm planning to pick up my LR from Dr Mac's in a week or two, so hope to have everything pieced together in time to let things run for a couple of days before adding the rock. - Is vinyl tubing acceptable for inflow/outflow or should I do PVC? (Keep in mind the "mechanically challenged"....) - Any recommendations for overflow box and submersible pump (for the sump)? I want adequate flow, and it's a little confusing when flow rates for the two pieces of equipment don't match up..... - I've read recommendations to mix my water in a large trashcan, but then also see that I shouldn't use rubber/plastic that's not food grade. Do you only worry about food grade for storage of water? - If using RO water, should I use Reef Crystals or is Instant Ocean still ok? - I got a used canister filter that's been used for FW that I thought I'd use to provide some mechanical filtration and a little bit more flow - dump the media and buy new or go ahead and use as is (maybe just replace the carbon?)? - I just noticed that the plastic rim on the top front of my used tank is cracked all the way through. Still safe to use as long as the center brace is still sound, or ditch and find a new one? Thanks in advance for the help!