Marc Weaver

Heading out in a few minutes. I'm about 1hr 20min away. Just wanted to give you my cell number in case you need to contact me - 240-382-8040 Thanks, Marcus

Not to me. Quite the opposite actually. The only way I was ever able to reduce or level out nitrates was to do water changes or with carbon dosing. My tank's been untouched for years and I have always had nitrates that slowly built up over time. Once I learned not to chase numbers around if everything looks OK, I was able to enjoy the hobby much better. My tank's nitrates are always between 20-50 on several test kit brands, but all coral is growing and looks OK. The acros are slightly on the darker side color-wise, but not brown. I have an algae mass in my frag tank that I control with manual removal, but zero in the display tank.

I would cut the excess length off of the overflow tubing and be done with it. Grab a set of ratcheting PVC cutters for around $12 from Lowe's/HD. They work great for flexible tubing as well as hard PVC. Definitely add hose clamps to all of the tubing connected to barbed fittings. If the barbed fitting has a flat area at the top, tighten the clamp around the flat part. Try not to tighten around one of the barbs if you can. Use stainless steel hose clamps for connections out of the water and plastic snap-type clamps if you need to use them underwater or close to the water's surface. Stainless clamps will rust eventually if under water or close to the surface. As for the slip fitting, more teflon tape is your best bet if you would like it to be removable later on. If not, you can use silicone but a better option would be PVC glue.

It depends on what type of lighting you have now. When I went from 3 400W metal halides to 6 150 watt evergrow-style lights I started with the white channel on 30% and the blue on 70%. If you don't already have them, LEDs can have the appearance of being dimmer than they actually are. Starting out low and working your way up while carefully observing your coral is the way to go. I did bleach a few acros, but they quickly recovered after dimming certain lights more and ramping them back up gradually. Most of your soft or LPS type coral might stay closed for a few days until they become acclimated to the different light.

Good luck!!!!! Hopefully this is a new start for you. You could use a break!

Just wanted to let you know I have a mean clownfish too that is not interested in pairing up yet. I have tried two different clownfish The thing I have to watch out for is her chasing the smaller clown until it jumps out of the water. You may want to cover your tank when they are introduced into the same tank, unless you sell the meanie.

The best way (other than quarantine and hypo-salinity, which is a long process) is lack of stress. You did the right thing by removing the CBS. Just relax and let the clownfish alone. Don't add any new fish. Don't mess around with the tank. Return the ich attack. According to most reviews I read on the stuff many years ago, it does not work.

No problem, Tom. A multimeter's no fun, though. Seeing spots for a few hours when you close your eyes is more fun!!

I love to rehabilitate and rescue PETCO fish, and it's cheap if you raise enough H-E-double hockey sticks. I have been given fish before that were on the brink of death. Sometimes the SKU of the fish has been "accidentally" written down wrong. That was a funny looking $5 damsel, it kind of looked like a hippo tang LOL.

Tom- It's probably not a driver. I've had the same thing happen to a few here and there. It's always just one bad LED that's the problem. One bad LED takes out the whole channel. They can be bought for next to nothing on ebay. You can test each LED in-circuit (with the power off obviously) with an LED tester like this or make your own from 2 AA batteries wired in series, some spare wire, and some electrical tape. The epoxied ones are a pain, but come off with needlenose and some elbow grease. Make sure you re-apply thermal paste and solder a new one in. I bought some cheap ones like these from ebay for next to nothing. As to their longevity and quality: I have had 6 over my 220 for 3 years now and they do fine. I had to replace 3 LED's over the years for a grand total of a few dollars. They grow all types of coral just fine. I have the blue at 80% and the white at 30% and love the crisp white look.

Amazing what fish can survive. I also had an easily startled Dory a while ago whose favorite hiding place was in a very large stag colony I had. I removed the coral one day for trimming. Of course, as soon as my hand entered the water, she made a beeline for that colony. I began to lift it out of the water and she was still in the coral, even out of the water and would not budge. I had to gently swish the stag at the top of the water to coax her out. I also had a Melanurus Wrasse that slept in the sand as they all do. I moved my tank inhabitants to their new tank in the same house and forgot about the Wrasse. I drained the old tank and left around 2" of water above the sand bed in the tank, then went to bed exhausted. Of course that "hour long" tank move took 6 hours. As I was further cleaning and draining the old tank I realized my mistake. I carefully sifted through the sand by hand until I found the wrasse, completely unharmed but stunned. I re-acclimated the wrasse slowly and it survived. It was in the old tank for about 12 hours and the water was pretty darn cold. I guess the Wrasse probably slows its heart rate for sleep and did not need very much oxygen.

If you haven't yet, pull the hose off and check the air intake of the venturi. I use a different skimmer but I have to run a drill bit (by hand) and clear the deposits out of mine every few months. If it clogs too bad, it will basically shut the skimmer down and produce microbubbles exactly like you have happening. Here is a link to a Mr Saltwater Tank video that shows you what to check. The principle is the same on all needlewheel skimmers. I believe your intake venturi is blue (per Amazon search results.) Video

I have 4 or 5 HUGE (baseball-sized) turbo snails I will donate. They are knocking over too many frags. I've had them for many years.

Thanks Tom, I ordered a replacement after breaking my plastic cover. The pins were very corroded and removing them was impossible. I also ordered marine grade 316 stainless 1/16" dowel pins and replaced the pins in the new cover with them and all is well. I can't understand why manufacturers use 400-series stainless in devices that are going to be exposed to any liquid, much less saltwater. The pins cost me a few cents each and should not rust for many years, if ever. I had to order 25 pins, so if anyone wants me to mail them two, PM me your address.

I have a rusted pin where the plastic cover for the prism rotates. Has anyone ever taken this pin out to clean it and re-assembled? I don't really want to break the plastic cover. It appears to be a friction fit somehow. The rust makes the plastic hard to rotate and measurements are more difficult.