Selbo

My tank has been cycling for the past 6 weeks. Ammonia is 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate is >0.2 so I added a clean-up crew a couple of days ago. The first day the snails seemed to find their way to the rocks. This morning, just about every nerite snail is clustered at the top of tank around the overflow box. Trust me, I've got plenty of diatoms and hair algae on the rocks to keep these guys fed for a long time. The glass and overflow box seem pretty clean to me. Is this normal? Will the snails eventually make their way back down to eat? Not sure if this is typical snail behavior or if they're trying to tell me something about poor water parameters. Also, is it possible to have too much flow for these guys? They're on the side of the overflow box that's away from the power head. Thought maybe flow was an issue. I hired these guys to help clean up the tank, not sit on the overflow box with their friends all day. Any ideas? Am I being overly concerned? Thanks.

JP, My wife is from Atlanta and a proud GT grad. I'm zero help since my tank is still cycling but i've been on WAMAS long enough to know that you're in good hands. Lots of good stuff for sale in the forums too. Definitely worthwhile to become a full member. Welcome to the area! Selbo

I just recently picked up the top cord at Radioshack since my PH came without it. Paid like $8 but I'm sure you can find it cheaper online. I needed it right away. Not sure about the connector piece (second picture).

I

For a newbie like myself, I just want to send out a thanks to Ryan and all the posters during his build process. So far, I've only stockpiled some equipment and worked through the plumbing (well, Rob was nice enough to work through the plumbing and explain the setup) but Ryan's experience has taught me more than anything I've found in a book or online. I feel awful for Ryan's learning curve but without this thread, I would easily be in Ryan's shoes. I think I've read "nothing good in reefing happens fast" about 10,000 times but reading through this thread really hammers home the point. Let's face it, anyone new to a reef tank is not going to spend time looking at tanks in the cycling process. We all zero in on the established tanks with grown coral and fat tangs swimming around. Getting to that stage takes time and Ryan has helped me see the light. My wife refers to my tank as "the coffin" and my friends all ask "why don't you have any fish?" but based on Ryan's experiences, I plan to stay the course and continue with my "it takes time" rebuttal. Anyway, I know it doesn't make Ryan feel any better but he's been a tremendous help and all the advice he's received along the way has been great too. Hang in there, Ryan. Obviously the desire is there. You'll be fine. Thanks for all of your help.

Cerium Oxide is one thing I haven't tried. The Magic Eraser is pretty cheap so I'll give this a shot as well. Thanks for the help. I'm sure the spots will be less noticeable once it's filled but it does bug me. I'll let you know if any of these options work.

I got a good deal on an old tank which just needed a little TLC to make it sparkle again. I

I'm located on the Falls Church/McLean border - probably a couple of miles from the church where the last WAMAS event was held. The tank is a 210 (7x2x2) with dual overflows (one in each corner). I have a 60 gallon sump. The tank sits on a stand but the stand is over four feet tall so there's plenty of room inside the stand. My sump is the traditional configuration of skimmer section-return-fuge. The tank is completely empty right now. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

Hello. I've been following along for a few months now doing research and assembling equipment for my first build. I think I'm finally at a point where I can start this tank. My problem is that I do not have any experience with plumbing tanks. I have a good idea for my design (it's a dual overflow, reef-ready tank) but I don't want to take any chances on leaks or faulty connections. I caught my wife at a weak moment to get this tank to begin with. Anyway, are there services/people you can recommend who will help me with the plumbing for my tank? Most places I've contacted want to do the entire set-up including choosing the equipment. I really just want someone to concentrate on the PVC work. Any ideas? Thanks for your help.