matt

I believe they told me that one of the largest blocks (priced at $50 at MACNA) was the equivalent of what you would need for a 100g tank...if you didn't have any live rock. The bigger block is best (in their opinion) if you also want anaerobic bacteria, as the flow will be slower in the middle. For straight up ammonia/nitrite -> nitrate conversion they also have a freshwater pond product (smaller cubes) where water flow is better enabled and apparently they price that cheaper than the balls and plates they sell to marine aquarists. It's definitely an interested product. Maybe monkiboy will chime in...I think I remember him using it too. I would also like to hear from someone who has some real experience with it over a decent period of time. I'm wondering if remains just as effective over its life as when it's new and relatively clean. I had a freshwater canister years ago and media was a pain to clean as I was always afraid I'd kill off too many bacteria if I did too much to it.

A friend of mine down here in VA asked me a couple of weeks ago what he should buy if he was going to get a tank. His 2 kids want fish etc. He's a hard working fed working in an arena that keeps us all safe. I don't know if he'll go with fresh or saltwater, but this could be the type of deal that might be a good fit if you're not looking for a bunch of cash...I don't imagine he's looking to spend a lot. going another route, you might see if the school tank program in WAMAS could use another tank. you might need to wait until after this weekend to get on their radar though....busy times

You might consider a single fish... damsel or clown maybe... never hurts to feed the fish and have fish waste feed the coral (in small degrees)

Check the source water too if you can...what conditions is it coming from?

Also, calculate how much evap from the pump chamber (last) tank will register enough drop to kick on your ato. The smaller or more vertical this compartment is will make your ato operate with more system sensitivity and keep your salinity more stable.

Flow needed, hmmm...kinda subjective depending on corals, skimmer ratings, and what else you are using to generate flow in the display. The stick overflows will have a max rating with confirming, but you should also look on RC at the headloss calculator to get a sense of how much head your plumbing will equate to.

If you're a member of the Zoo and want to park there it isn't that far...but get in by 9 or earlier

...but you may have to upgrade after Macna...better stay too busy to drool

It's such a great little tank

I hear ya! ...my first MACNA too. I generally have not found travel funds for these in the past, but maybe having a local experience will inspire me in future years to hit the road. Following along

Wow, congrats!

Thanks, I appreciate those insights. Nothing beats experience in these situations...and mine is relatively limited with these decisions. Rob, thanks...similar to above...really appreciate the insights as I know you've done a bunch of set ups. Sounds like S40 is fine...and I have his old bulkheads tucked away which (I think) are S40 anyway. This tank came from further south...had to drive a ways to get it. Will remeasure just to be sure and then order something up. yeah, it seems pretty cool. I'm just not sure I need to go closed loop...and I'm not sure how easily I could hide the returns if I put, say, a 45-degree off the bulkhead or something. All the return holes are near the edges, so I probably wouldn't hide them with any main parts of the rockwork. If you have advice on how to make the closed loop work though.... :-) So I don't know if I'll get a jawfish...but I had a crazy idea that I'd leave a 6" pipe on one of those front holes and keep it open inside the tank. That would let a jawfish use the hole in the tank as a hidey-hole. I have no idea if that would cause major problems and likely leaks. Anyone else? But, it could be cool to "help" a blue spot or pearly stake out a spot I'm more likely to see him regularly.

Thanks, I should probably re-measure the holes to know exactly what I'm working with in case either sch 40 or sch 80 is really required. I'm leaning towards sealing things up other than the DIY overflow...which I think I'll turn into a herbie. Wish I could find bulkheads locally that would work....I'm always more certain of fit when I'm measuring something in the store. What kind of life do people feel they get from their gaskets and should I be shopping for something specific to get good gaskets? Btw, here is the tank:

So I grabbed a 150dd tank only. It came with four 1" holes in the bottom for a closed loop (2 we're factory), two 1" in the overflow on a the back wall, and one 1.5" closed loop intake on the back wall. I'm still on the fence about using the closed loop or sealing it up. I'm not sure how best to plumb the closed loop for low maintenance and I'm not sure what pump would be optimal for configurations, reliability, and really quiet. So back to bulkheads. Should I use schedule 40 or 80? Any real difference in the useful life? Also, should I used slip/slip, or slip/thread if I'm going to seal some things up? Where should I get a bulkhead wrench in case I need to tighten down the road while tank is up? What would you do? Where is the best place to find the right fittings you might describe?

I know you're pain. In a few days you can start daydreaming about new fish you haven't had before though. Every setback is an opportunity in disguise ;-)

So have you lost any fish to that anemone? Huge

Yes, looks quite nice!

Have you run the nac6 on this size tank before? I have a RO 150 (6") and 150 cube in the works...wasn't sure if/when I may need an 8" skimmer...didn't know if you had wrestled with the same dilemma or not. Keep it rolling... looking good!

Left to right...? Drain/sock, skimmer, five, return? Doing a multibaffle bubble trap? You're on the ball and rolling. May be taking a similar approach myself with a dig sump

nothing to do with the frag, but are there back up plans or buffer for volunteers that don't make it or good shifts for someone who is tentatively available? If I was to commit I'd really like to commit. However, I've hesitated in signing up for anything because my wife is due in mid-september....so I've tried not to commit myself to anything in all of September in case mother nature decides my own plans don't matter ;-)

Can you put it in a piece at a time over the next few weeks? If you've been cycling it in a tub and nothing is dying on it I would think it wouldn't much impact an existing system other than to give you more surface for bacteria to grow and help you....just perhaps add it slowly vs all at once so you can monitor. The brute itself has surfaces where bacteria are colonizing during a cycle of the rock...so water quality of the brute will be driven by both the rock's and brute's bacteria colonization

I was going to say something similar. one man's problem is another man's blessing. you can't grow algae? take it for what it is and enjoy. if you really want softies then set up another small tank and don't run a skimmer...i dunno...just a thought

haha...got you...know that song and that dance maybe plumb in inline mr aqua bookshelf tank under the stand...long and skinny...T5HO or maybe T5NO to light if just zoas. you might consider a window in the stand if you feel it would be a permanent think...or maybe a removable panel so that the 'window' is visible when YOU want it and not when the boss doesn't

Do you want the zoas to be in a diplay type situation or is this a fragging operation where you don't mind having to open up the stand and looking at them in the sump? I think I've seen setups on RC where people have put a window in their stand to see a frag tank...or maybe it was Leishman's cube here in WAMAS that had a similar setup.