amay121

Dude, Wes. Welcome to wamas from another former OC guy.

Nothing too glaring, but with that capacity, small changes could affect things quickly. One suggestion is maybe up the temp a little to 77-78.

These are Gen 1 and are going on sale at most places to prep for their newer models. Great price though and it's going to drop all those used units even further I hope.

Whoops, one last thing. WELCOME to WAMAS.

The brown stuff is just a diatom bloom due to the cycling (which is typical and shows that you're on your way in the cycle). What I'd do now is get a cheap nitrate and ammonia test kit and test them weekly if not daily (API makes a super cheap set for general usage). Also, if you haven't already, maybe pick up a refractometer. This is a better method of ensuring that your salinity is up to par (god knows how many cleaner shrimp/corals I've lost due to salinity issues). Everything looks to be going good, just take it slow and not try to add too many fish too soon. Enjoy the hobby and good luck.

+1 to what Dave said. Don't buy another computer, just go and get Parallels or Fusion and then install Windows. You'll be able to control whatever you want from there.

+1

I believe that BRK has them as well. Maybe even F&F.

Welcome to WAMAS. 1) 2nd hole may not be a drain at all. This actually may be the return pipe. 2) Maybe they took the liberty of shaking off loose particles for you, hard to say sometimes. 3) You can turn them all on at the same time, but most of the time folks just turn on the skimmer until the tank has cycled. 4) Yes, you want to grow bacteria, but turning the equipment on, won't kill all of it. 5) You can leave the lights off, some folks start/program their normals lighting cycle, others just leave things off until they notice dinoflagelattes. 6) Not sure, but I don't think so. 7) You don't need to add algae to the tank yet, but you could. 8) When the tank hits the dino algae stage, give it some more time, but you could probably add clean up crew members (snails, hermits) 9) Pinch of food could help with the cycle (allows the bacteria to grow off the decaying food) 10) Just one shrimp will be fine. 11) Just add the shrimp, won't be as messy, but you could do both. 12) You don't have to monitor Phosphate just yet. Keep track of PH, ammonia, salinity, nitrate, nitrite. What you're striving for is the initial increase of nitrates and the overall decrease of nitrites and ammonia. 13) You don't have to do a water change until after the initial dino algae, but if you wanted to, you could.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/for/3122143037.html

Here's one for $180. Don't know if it's good or not though. http://www.ebay.com/itm/DuroMax-1500-Watt-Portable-Pull-Start-Gas-Power-Job-Site-Electric-Generator-/200687021159

I wouldn't sell anything yet. Like everyone said, maybe this is a great chance to take a step back and evaluate what you want to do again. I've gone through this so many times as well. Biocube 8 -> 90g -> 220g -> 120g -> 45g -> 150g all within 4 years. All the money I've wasted, ugh!!! If I would've just stuck with one, I think it would've been great, but there was always that one thing (electricity bill, nothing seemed to go right, thoughts on upgrading, finances, etc. etc.) that made me want to sell. Good luck with what you choose though.

Bigger. Easier to go big and have less limitations, especially when deciding on what approach you're looking for. Corals in a 40 would be alright, but can also fill out quickly given the proper environment. Fish types could be limited as wee with the smaller tank. Plan on what you'd like to have in terms of livestock and "try" to plan accordingly if possible.

Yeah, everything except for the weight after a long days use.

That's some serious coinage and glass there. Enjoy.