russell_wiley

Here are some pics all set up! It always scares me to death when I set up a new tank. I don't want a flood or worse in my kitchen! It has alot of softies in it for now. I need to get rid of them. So, if y'all know anyone who wants some let me know. It's mostly leathers. Enjoy!

I wouldn't mind going with a 150w, but all I have laying around is my 70w. I also thought about going with this: Evilc66's PAR 38 - 21w Cree Lamp http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?products_id=623 I'm still trying to find a pump as well.

Dave- Thanks for the kind words, I just stuck one of the "green slimers" there for now. El Camaron- Thanks man! I have aquascaped this thing about a hundred times & finally settled on this. It will hopefully give my corals room to fill in.

My new frag tank came in today! It was made by a guy from ebay who auctions them off. This one cost me more in shipping than what I won the auction for. It is 19.25"x14"x8" which is 7.5ish gallons (I think). It will have a 30 gallon sump. The rest, I am not so sure about. Will a 70w MH work over it? It has a 1" drain & a 3/4" return. What size return pump would be best? Thanks, Russ

34 gal. Solana 150w radium 20k euro reef nano skimmer I hope ya'll like it! I will try to get some better pics later. (these are from my iphone) Thanks, Russ

That is the reason for connecting the timer to the solenoid. I would have the RO pump into the container at set times, which should increase the redundancy.

Could I run the RO to the container with a float valve& timer? Then, have that pump into my tank via the float switches?

I was thinking of running my RO directly to my tank triggered by a solenoid valve. The valve would be turned on/off using my float switches. Has anyone done this? Do you have pics? Any suggestions? Thanks, Russ

Dave, I am not that experienced, but I will give you a hand. -Russ

Is it possible to "over skim"? By that I mean, is it better to have a bigger skimmer than what is rated for your tank? Or, should one stick to the manufacturer's suggestion? Thanks, Russ

Bubble Magus skimmers? Particularly the BMQQ models? Thanks, Russ

First of all, thanks! You all have been very helpful! I only have a Solana. So, I don't have a lot of rock. I am still planning this whole switch out, so I do it right. I will be getting one of the Warner Marine HOB skimmers & will probably start after that. Is there a place to get acrylic rods cheap? I want to aquascape better. For the corals such as montis & the like, should I dremel them off the rock, or just break some off for after I replace the rock? Thanks, Russ

Should I buy new live rock, or just "cook" my old rock? What should I do with my corals/fish in the meantime? Can I just keep them in my tank after I get the sand out & the starboard in? Any help would be great! Thanks, Russ

The problem isn't necessarily the $12 part. It's the idea that I will be buying those every couple months. Not to mention that they can't guarantee the part to begin with. They don't have a pin wheel for it. This seems to be all they have.

I purchased one of the Euro Reef Nano Skimmers for my 34 gallon Solana. I bought it right when it came out, so I knew there were some "bugs" that would have to be worked out. At first, it worked great! Lots of skimmate & I couldn't be happier. However, after a couple of months, the performance of the skimmer took a serious down turn. So, I took it apart to find that the mesh wheel had all but dissolved off of the impeller. I sent an email to the company to request help. They immediately sent a replacement. They said that the first version of the mesh wheel had the same problem & that this new one would work well. The last few days, I have noticed the same down turn in performance & once again disassembled the pump to find the exact same problem. Once again, I contacted Euro Reef & told them about how my impeller dissolved away. They responded quickly again, by saying that they have a new diamond mesh wheel as a replacement. However, since this was made out of a more expensive material, they were charging $12 for the replacement. I responded by asking if this, the 3rd version, was going to have the same problems as the previous two, thereby causing me to be without a skimmer again in 3 months. He said: The other impellers fell apart because of the pH levels in reef aquariums which was not expected...it attacked the base material and over time destroyed the impellers. The new material is not affected by pH levels since it is made of a Silicon Carbide material as opposed to metal foam. You must also recognize that this is a rough environment for any impeller to be in. We feel that these new impellers will last a lot longer then the old ones but I could not honestly tell you at this point how long...we would expect at least 6-8 months and maybe longer. I really don't know what to do here. Should I buy the replacement, knowing it will break down again? Or, just chalk it up to experience & get a new skimmer? I really have no clue which skimmer to buy if I do this. But, I want a skimmer that will continue to work. I don't want to keep buying costly replacement parts every few months. Any help with this would be great. Thanks, Russ

Which snail has the best rep for cleaning up in a reef tank? Thanks, Russ

Does anyone have a good way to rid a rock of GSP? It is encroaching toward my SPS. I like it, but, I need it off that rock. Anyy suggestions would be helpful. Thanks, Russ

That's awesome! Where did you get the tank? Thanks, Russ

How is the tank going? have you gotten the algae under control?

Is that the normal size for the mag-rock? Or did you order it special? Thanks, Russ

WOW!!!! What are your plans for the corals in the future?

Thanks to all of you. You have been very helpful. I have an old RO filter. Could I just buy the inserts they sell & modify it to accept a maxijet? Seems like it is just an RO filter with something different in the canisters. Is that a correct assumption? Thanks, Russ

I have a 34 gallon solana. I want to run carbon & gfo. Any suggestions on what would work good for this setup? Thanks, Russ

How do you guys keep your rock so clean? Mine has stuff that always seems to grow on it.

I use the frag mags. Love 'em. I want to get a mag-rock though.