Mountaineer

Before I moved here my old reef club once or twice had a DIY build party. A group of interested folks would order from a list the required items and we would meet and build together with an experienced DIY'er leading the group. They did this with a DIY skimmer from 5 gallon water bottle, and something else I don't remember. Not sure if anyone would be interested but I'll throw it out there as an idea. I will probably end up buying a commercial system for simplicity, but could be easily swayed to DIY for the opportunity to learn how.

I have done very few DIY projects with my tank and tracking down all of the supplies not sure what I am looking for seems to be the biggest road block for me. I find that I spend so much time tracking everything down and then never really get the project off the ground. dakotasreef, I would love to check the tank out some time, but the kids seem to be taking up most of my free time lately. Maybe when football season is over.......

I'm looking to add supplemental actinic lighting to my 265 gallon reef tank. Currently I run 3 250 Watt MH 20K bulbs, but I'm looking to supplement with some actinic and to have some additional viewing time when the MH's are off for early morning and late evening, Not looking to use these as moon lights. Here are the two I have my eyes on. Finnex http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/FI-IL-3615.html ReefBrite http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/RB-PM36-B.html Does anyone have any experience or advice to offer regarding lighting choices? JR

Welcome home! Now let's get that tank back up and running!

Maybe he is thinking of the phosphate reader from Hanna and not the "checker".

My experience at F&F has always been great. I have found some of the best deals and friendliest people there. The square footage of the store is not the greatest, but with commercial space costs around here and the unbelievable deals I've had extended to me I certainly understand that. I only wish it was the closest store to me.

You can find it at hobby stores. I bought some in Rockville at a store off of 355, but I don't recall the name of the store.

Go slow, realize the rock may break in half if its very porous, and go up in bit sizes as incrementally as your patience will allow. Good luck and share some pictures.

I am so glad you gave us an update. I'll still be worrying (I tend to do that) until you post the "everything is back to normal". I wonder if it is possible that some of the nematocysts from the anemone stung the cornea? Please keep us all posted! JR

I have not had that experience, but I would get it checked out right away. I tell my guys at work in regards to eye safety "You can walk on prosthetic legs, and eat with prosthetic teeth, but you can never see with a prosthetic eye." Keep us posted as you get better so I can stop my worrying. JR

Make sure you test for ammonia and are looking for the tank that may be going through the nitrogen cycle following disruption of the bacterial flora. I had this happen to me in one of my moves. I'm always on the watch for it now. I find this is especially problematic if you move and replace the sand bed. Good luck, JR

I've moved my tank 3 times (some of the same fish over the past 5-6 years) once from Germantown to the Va Beach area and then back here to Olney 3 years later. That is about a 4 hour trip but usually takes much longer due to traffic. I moved these fish in the back of a U-Haul truck in rubber maid containers with the fish tank water. No air stones and they did fine. I'm not going to comment on what would be best, but just sharing my experiences. I figure they spent less time in the back of that truck I was driving than the Fed-Ex truck coming from who knows where before they arrived at the LFS. I don't even want to think about the time they spend just sitting on the tarmac at the airport.

I wouldn't freak out over the kids or dog at least in regards to the fluoride. What you don't want to do is have a pediatrician or dentist prescribe additional fluoride supplements on the assumption that you don't already have it in the well water. What you have may very well be adequate. ...back on topic with the aquarium, I would just use RO/DI water and not have to worry.

The problem with well water is that you really don't know what's in there unless you test for it. Most people for instance don't know that fluoride naturally occurs in many wells and in fact this is how it was discovered to have the benefit of preventing dental decay when found in a town with high fluoride levels and low levels of dental disease. I'm not saying that fluoride is good or bad for a reef tank, just pointing out that things can be "natural" to a well and you may be unaware of this.

Aquarium One is the closest to you for RO/DI I think. I would also recommend you invest in a RO/DI unit of your own, but if space is an issue I would get water containers from someplace like Wal-Mart in the camping section and buy it from Aquarium One. It will be cheaper and you can dictate the size of the container.....as long as you can carry it of course.

It might help direct you if we new where you lived.

Great troubleshooting suggestion!

Could this be a new tank with a bloom of some form of zooplankton? Little white creatures? I forget what they are called, but I recall getting thousands of them with every new set up I have had and then the fish seem to make sure they don't make it to such a large population ever again.

That is a beautiful fish you've got there. The story made me laugh out loud.

Can you describe the water clarity (color, uniform within column, do you see it in the sump as well. etc.) or a picture?

Looks great! I really like the open space that size tank affords in the front. Very well done so far.

Very nice progress, but I'm with Coral Hind on that sump looking scary. I froze on that picture for several minutes pondering the events that must have followed. I hope you were home when that happened.

Good catch with camera! This is one of the reasons I love having a reef tank. There is always something very cool if you are observant enough to catch it at the right times.

WELCOME

I agree with checking the ph for a change. It is probably fine, but I would check it to be safe. If you don't see a change you know your OK.