Jason Rhoads

Tom gave you some great tips! One thing you really should key in on is the part about the environment you will put them into. Really try to plan where you want things to go, and remember that coral will grow so what looks like a sparsely populated area of a tank can quickly become overcrowded as things start to grow. A little preplanning will save you in the future.

We would need to know more about the setup. For starters, how long has it been operating? Do you have plans to incorporate a skimmer or other nutrient export mechanism?

I never understood the draw of ivory. The sculpture is amazing but would look just as good if done in wood. This is just as bad IMO.

I have two yellow tails, but no experience with cherubs. You might be OK with the damsels if you add them last. Mine are terrors who wage jihad every time I go anywhere within 12" of "their territory." They do, however, seem to tolerate the fish that were there before them, bigger then them, or who are so dissimilar to them that they don't recognize as threats (goby, blenny...).

How old is the tank? I am with Isaac in wanting to know what the actual measurements are.

I have seen others discuss this exact phenomenon. Unless you use the entire bag there may be inconsistencies (probably even variances from bag to bag).

Probably won't make one bit of difference, other than you knowing it is there.

No power out for my part of lake ridge. I love having underground power lines. And, I have to compliment my HOA, they had our street clear basically the entire storm. Kudos guys!

If anyone buys this I am still interested in the clam, light and snails/hermits

Where are you located? I am interested in the skimmer, light, clam and hermits/snails.

Price on that gem?

Nice looking frags!

You can always use a MJ or similar small pump to "kick up" all the detritus before you siphon. I usually do that which means all the water I siphon out has at least some detritus in it.

Is it in the return piping (under pressure from the pump) or is it a drain pipe? Despite what everyone else is saying, I have "fixed" PVC fittings with superglue and silicone. All were on drain pipes where there is really no pressure to worry about. If the leaking pipe is subject to pressure from the return pump, you will need to redo it all. If not, there are other ways to skin this cat.

I have been tempted to quit a few times in the past. On each occasion it was due to finances, or job opportunities. For me, the lure of this hobbies potential for tinkering will keep me in for life. I love building things myself (even though I am but a novice) and a reef tank gives me ample opportunities!

Mine goes: sediment, carbon, carbon, membrane, di, then bucket. This being the order in which the water encounters each stage.

This is probably your best bet.

You already have some great advice from the above posters, so I will only add that your rock work looks great! Well done. I hope the cycle is going well!

I am very happy with my Reef Octopus. I have personally ran it for around 5 years and got it second hand when I lived in NC. I would wager that it has been running for over 7-8 years with no trouble.

I should qualify that I do use RO/DI for my top-off water. The tap is used only for water exchanges. I feel that this helps mitigate the accumulating ions phenomenon that Tom mentions above.

I have good results using my 160-200tds tap water for water changes. I do get some algae, but who doesn't, and why is that necessarily a bad thing?

Nice! I saw these dry a few weeks ago. Glad they have water in them now. I am going to have to swing by one of these weekends and take a peek.

Awesome!

Wow, excellent shots!

Sorry for the loss. KISS is my mantra in this hobby. I can cut you some red dragon and bonsi. I work in DC if you want to meet up.