OldReefer

It is really tough to get the females. The guys at Blue Zoo Aquatics have been willing to help out.. There are many beautiful wrasses available, so I think it is important to get the right male/female ratio, and be flexible on the species.

If you start pulling out the metal now, you may be ready for frags by the next meeting. I can bring you some colonies. When a similar thing happened to me, I talked to Dr. Ron Shimek at a MACNA and he convinced me to abandon my sand and rock. In retrospect, I think that is over-kill. I have really dug into this since. Look hard at Chemiclean. That and Polyfilters are about the only things that can clean up the metal. The Chemiclean can take the levels lower.

I am also obsessed with clams but I have never seen a 1.5" clam survive in a display tank. Are you guys actually able to grow these little clams? I have never had anything under 3" survive more than 6 months.

Mine is on all the time.

I have one that is about 3 inches and all alone. I believe it is a female but hard to tell as a juvenile. Let me know when you want to sell.

I get a rash on my arm for about a week when I brush up against a Leishman's table. I guess that is a Millepora Hyancith?

I generally agree with this advice, but I have gone barebottom again ( I had it years before as well) and I am using a mix of Ceriths, Astreas, and those tiny blue hermits. They seem to get after the detritus better than snails alone. You need something to get the meaty bits since you can't keep the Nassarius snails that scavenge in sand beds.

I run one just like that in my top-off container for 3 years with no problem. I have also run one in my sump as a low sump alarm and that has failed after about 2 1/2 years. (BTW an intermittent false low sump alarm will make you crazy).

Here is a long over-due update. The tank is back together and settling in. I am very happy with the mix of light I have now. I ultimately ended up with 3 AI Sol Blues, 2 - 80 Watt Fiji Purples, 2 - 80 Watt Giesmann Blue+, and 2 Strips of 12 XTE Royal Blue LEDs. Here is a picture of everything in the hood: This is what the tank looks like all together. I much prefer the color I am getting over straight LEDs: This whole thing started with a bad case of Bryopsis. I carried some of it over with the corals and odd piece of rock I couldn't give up, but I am having great success treating it with Hyrdogen Peroxide. I am spot treating rocks and clams by putting a few drops on straight from the bottle onto the Bryopsis and then rinsing it off with tank water in a couple minutes. Badly infected colonies I am dipping straight into a bucket of 50% Hydrogen Peroxide and 50% tank water. I treat for about 2 minutes. No ill effects on the corals and the Bryopsis fades in a couple of days. Here is a picture of one rock the day after spot-treatment ... and then a week later...

I didn't like the Alk swings I would get with Reef Crystals, so I went with H2O Ocean Pro. It mixes up exactly to the chemistry I like to run my tank at. That being said, Instant Ocean with some additional calcium added is a decent alternative.

Pay close attention to phosphates. If they shoot up, it means it is leaching from the rocks. If that is the case it will need to be treated with something like lanthanum chloride.

I hate to mention this, but aren't all 55s tempered? I blew one up once.

I just started doing peroxide dips for bubble algae and Bryopsis. It actually works!

It is the most basic powerstrip from home depot. It is just a long metal strip with outlets that you pick up next to the surface-mounted wiring parts (the sort of thing you plug in about a workbench). I am thinking something has gone south with it that is causing voltage to feedback through the ground circuit. The other EB8 and the other powerheads I have plugged into it do not seem to be a problem, but that may be because none of those devices have three-pronged plugs that enter the water. Also, it is possible that something could be wrong with that circuit that could cause voltage to be sent into the ground circuit?

I unplugged the whole EB8 at the source. The 4 and 8 outlets run dosers. They were never on during the testing. I had them both unplugged anyway.

I am not a stranger to stray voltage problems in sumps. Normally it is pretty easy to troubleshoot with a voltmeter, but I have had an intermittent problem that has been making me crazy for months. I have a big power strip connected to a GFCI outlet about 3 feet above my sump. Into that outlet, I plug in two EB8s, and a couple of powerheads and my grounding probe. I was getting getting 16 to 30 VAC in the sump, but when I upplugged the individual components from the EB8 it would not go away. But when I uplugged the EB8, it went down to 0.1V. Then when put my grounding probe back in the sump, the voltage went back up to 6 !?! I plugged the EB8 and the gounding probe into an extension cord on another circuit. The stray voltage stayed at 0.1. So apparently it has something to do with the powerstrip, but I am at a loss to understand how that could happen. I have another EB8 plugged into that strip but I do not get the same problem. I don't want to replace the strip until I can understand what it is I might be fixing. Anybody got a clue?

Justin, I will never pass up an opportunity to beta test for Avast. I thought that pirate ship had sailed when Dan moved out of Del Ray. I will do something simple while I wait to test something cool from you guys.

I have an elaborate setup with a controller at home. I am doing this for a guy starting a first tank on a budget. I use a float valve and and ASOV on my own system as a backup, but if that was the only shutoff, it would cycle constantly and wear out the membrane early. I'd like to let the container drain down a bit so that the RO/DI runs an hour or two each time. Of course you can switch it off manually. I did something similar to that on one system I had, I just wired the 12v power supply, float switch and solenoid valve in one simple circuit. Every Saturday morning I would plug in the power supply and let my 50 gallon container fill up. When it was full the float switch would shut it off. Later that afternoon I would unplug it so that it wouldn't cycle as it was being used. I am trying to be a little more sophisticated this time, but stopping short of an Apex and multiple float switches like I run on my own tank.

I was trying too noodle this through myself, and then I remembered this forum was full of helpful electrical engineers that void tell me how to do this right.... I am helping a friend with his first tank build. I am trying to help him setup a way to fill his RO/DI container up without overflowing. I have a 12v solenoid valve, a float switch that clips to the side of the container which is normally closed until it fills up, and a 12v power supply. I would like to set this up so that he can push a momentarily on button and have the RO/DI run until the container is full, and then shuts off. It would stay off until the water level goes down and the button is pushed again. My thought was to use a simple latching relay, but I wasn't sure where to find one. I am also open to suggestions as to how to best wire it.

Ryan, Sorry to see you go, but I really respect the choice. You really have a passion for this hobby. Life will give you a lot more choices to get you back to the stuff you love. I have a feeling your kids are going to really need one heck off a tank. The hobby is a lot more fun when you don't have to stress over every expenditure. You are going to love the trip back. I vote that we retire your username to male it easy to find your way home.

+1 If you have a shirt with your name on it, this is the place you want to wear it.

I just did a big transfer like that. I didn't transfer my sand bed and I only used about 1/4 of my old rock. I did use some bottled bacteria. I never tested any ammonia even with a full fish load. Nitrates never went above 5. I had a 75 fail just like yours. It was due to an uneven base. My stand developed about an 1/8" deflection in the middle and put stress in the seams. If you have a similar scenario it could fail catastrohically any second. I would take half the water out and the think about next steps.

I got this switch for about $200+ and installed it myself in an hour. It came with a video and everything. I was amazed how easy it was. http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/Reliance-Controls-30216A/p1114.html

I just used a conventional transfer switch. I was really amazed how easy and cheap it was to install. The whole project cost less than an MP40 dry-side. The only thing that makes it hard, is if you scatter your fish stuff across a bunch if different circuits. If you add a couple of dedicated circuits for all your fish stuff it makes life a lot easier. My wife was able to plug in the generator and run the whoe fish-system without even a phone call while I was out if town. So for me... Dedicated fish circuits, GFCIs, and transfer switches are all good things and relatively cheap.

Steve, When you talk Dan into making you a CS2, I have an extra CS2 Swabbie laying around you can have cheap.