Marc Weaver

Tom, I think your link is incorrect?? I'm getting the vertical tanks from the group buy here.

Asterina Starfish http://www.reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/45-reefkeeping-101- I would not be concerned. I have some as well and they don't seem to harm anything.

4 IO Please

I don't use it either.

I feed my anthias once a day and have for a year. It depends on how long your food circulates in your tank so they can get their fill It's hogwash, don't be afraid to get some. By the way Matt, sorry for your losses. My GFCI circuits in my bathrooms sometimes stay off after a power outage.

Apparently Neptune Systems is working a wizard-based version of the controller software. Not sure how long it will take though, it's being beta tested soon. I'm excited about that personally. I'm a software/database designer and programmer but still hate the Apex programming language. It feels so 90's lol. Article here.... http://blog.aquanerd.com/2013/11/neptune-systems-apex-fusion-beta.html

WOW!!! I'm very impressed with the creativity and love the tanks.

1/4-20 and 1/4" NPT taps are different. The NPT taps are tapered which allows the pipe to tighten before bottoming out, allowing for a water/air tight seal. The NPT taps also have a different thread pitch (18 threads per inch vs 20 for the 1/4" size.) A 1/4" pipe fitting can probably be forced into a 1/4-20 tapped hole, especially since PVC fittings are thin-walled plastic, but I would not try that in metal or thicker-walled plastic. Standard taps like the 1/4-20 are not tapered, which is why a screw will not stop turning until the head bottoms out. Sorry for the long "lesson" but that harbor freight kit does not have a 1/4"NPT tap in it, but it does have a 1/8"NPT. Maybe you can try and find a John Guest to 1/8" fitting?

You need a 7/16" drill bit and a 1/4" NPT tap. My lowes had the tap, but that's way out here in Hagerstown, MD. Maybe sears? http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM2675956702P?ci_src=184425893&ci_sku=SPM6299307603&sid=IDx20130125xMPTLSx025&s_tnt=48014:0:0&executed=true&PDP_REDIRECT=false EDIT: I hate it when national stores sell other people's stuff too, that link is not for Sears, but you get the idea.

When I had my 220 on the 1st floor and the topoff container in the basement it pumped up 14' vertically and 15' horizontally. Now I run it 8 feet up, 3 feet over, and 8 feet back down. I'm still on the original pump from 2 1/2 years ago.

Welcome!! I'm between Boonsboro and Hagerstown if you ever want to trade or need anything.

Carbon (assuming you mean carbonate hardness or KH) is more often called Alkalinity. Just trying to eliminate confusion. Definitely have another person verify your test or get another test kit to double-check before taking any action. If your Alkalinity is low and your Calcium is high the best thing to do in my opinion is water changes to bring it back into balance SLOWLY. Unless you are adding calcium or using salt that is either bad or not mixed well I can't see how your calcium is that high. Seawater is 420ppm or so, are you measuring 800ppm or so?

1.025 - 1.026, but stability is more important. Letting it rollercoaster like that is not good, Josh

I used a CNC laser cutter at work.

Here are some pics of it, holding 3 pounds of soda lime.

Soda lime here (half the price of BRS) http://www.shopmedvet.com/product/soda-lime-3-lb-bag/jorgensen-products-anesthesia-products I built a diy one but I only had to buy the round acrylic tubing from McMaster-Carr, the other acrylic and fittings were drop from work. In the end I decided that the perceived benefits were not worth the added time and media costs and stopped using it. I used it for a few months and while it did raise pH on average about .2, nothing better happened in the tank as a result.

Glad to hear that. I was wondering what regulator you bought, and why it took so long to get. Now I know, mine took a week and a half to get here, but I still had a partially working regulator on there already.

The "pH controller" is actually my Apex, on at 6.31 and off at 6.27. I run the reactor 24/7. Bubble rate is 1 per second. I tried to adjust it as close to the demand as possible as well.

Glad to hear your coral is doing well.

I just bought the AP reguator too. We should have tried to get a group buy going LOL. Since I use a pH controller, I bought it for the reliability based on reviews and for the warranty, not for the adjustability. It's installed and working well. It's only been on for 2 days, though.

I think that is every bit as expensive as the lighting in the summer for me. I'm basically fighting another large heat source.

Thanks for these threads. I am going to attempt my own build in the future and your guidance and experiences and will be invaluable.

Thought I'd share a picture of the only chalice I have. At least I think it is a chalice. It's bright pink with orange eyes, growing quickly now on the bottom of my tank under 400W halides.

+1. I have killed a few as well from overdosing. Did anyone else lose all their zoanthids? I did on 2 separate occasions after a month of carbon dosing.

You sure can, many reefers dose a combination of both daily. Vinegar seems to help with cyano, as I experienced myself. I transitioned over from all vodka to all vinegar, mixing the two for a month, and all my cyano disappeared.