Jason Rhoads

I did not try to push back. We were on our way back to Charlotte when we found the place and didn't have any time to negotiate. Plus, I am not sure if it would have done any good. We were talking to a low-level leasing consultant and it was Sunday, so getting in touch with the boss wouldn't have happened. I will negotiate when our lease is up if we are not in a house by then. Honestly we were just happy to have found a place. I am taking a pay cut to take this new job (worth it as I will be in a more rewarding career) and the price range we had severely limited our options. I also LOVE being close to where I work so I really wanted to be on the metro line with a ride of < 30 min.

From what I see (online) I would say $5/polyp is fair. You may be able to get more, but that would be a good denomination to use for ease of transaction --most people can pull a $20 bill out of the ATM and buy a frag with 4 polyps without you having to make change.

I really wish this forum had a "Like" button. I agree with much of what has been said to this point. I really like ridetheducati's take. I think you have some dinos there. Are you seeing long strands which produce bubbles and break away easily when disturbed (probably brown/rust in color)? Do you use Kalkwasser in your top off water? What is your Alk/PH at? I find that using kalk in my top off water helps a lot in controlling nuisance algae. See this if you have not read it already: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php

$350 non-refundable pet deposit PLUS $40 extra per month in rent. I pay all utilities so the extra charge doesn't go to that. Renting in the DC metro area is EXPENSIVE to say the least. I really love my fish

What source are you using for top off & salt water?

Part of a large structure containing ~30 units per building. I just found a picture that shows that there are infact units attached to both the sides (at the bedroom) and back (where the garage would be) of our unit. Here is the link to the apartment's photo section: http://www.ridgeleig...an-dorn/photos/

No hardwood floors, they are fully carpeted. I was thinking the same thing (outside wall = good) but I am no engineer. Thanks for the input! We will be on the second floor. The only thing I am worried about is running the tank parrallel to the joists and having the floor warp under the weight. I am almost positive that these are attached at the beadrooms and open on the garage and deck sides, but I don't remember and cannot tell for sure from the pictures online. I am paying the extra rent for pets and have paid the additional pet deposit. Not sure if the floors are cement. Good info on the walls, I was not aware of this happening. I think I understand what you are saying. From the pictures I can find online, the roof "peaks" in the middle of the unit (living room). Will this hold true even with buildings that are 3-4 high? Would the wall on location 2 be load bearing? Sorry, I am unfamiliar with what a shear wall would be. Having the joists run east to west makes sense to me because they would be spanning a shorter distance than if they ran N to S. But that does go against the joists following the roof. Thank you all for the responses. The complex is very nice and the units seem well made and fairly new. They are listed as luxury apartments if that means anything at all. Currently I am on the 3rd floor of a similarly built apartment and there are no problems with my tank as (I think) the floors are cement. I am not sure if they will be the same in the new apartment because we didn't have a ton of time to look around the place while we were in the area apartment hunting. thanks again everyone, and if any of this new info helps please let me know what your thoughts are. I really dont want to have to drain and move the tank once it is in place

Welcome to the club!

A recent thread sparked my curiosity about where I should be placing my tank in my new apartment. I will have two placement options 1 & 2 in the below photo. My question is can anyone figure out which way my floor joists are running based on the floor plan for my apartment, and if not are there any tips for figuring this out once I am on site (obviously ripping the floor or ceiling up to check is not an option). My tank is 100g with about 30g in the sump.

Can you elaborate on this? Will other brands work?

Yep bristle worm. In my opinion they are very good to have, their population will self regulate based on the amount of uneaten food and waste. You may get their spines stuck in your fingers if you grab one by mistake. It doesn't really hurt, but it makes my finger swell a little and go kinda numb.

That is the best sump I have ever seen... Talk about being on another level!

I do appreciate the concern, but this is completely fine with my setup. I have 4 drains total on this tank. Even if these were both clogged I would still have more than enough capacity to handle my return pump. I combined these two because I can be very safe with the 3 return pipes I will have running. With this I will be able to re-do the plumbing to include all 4 if I decide on a larger return pump in the future. I also keep hearing that gate valves are the way to go, but I dont see why a ball valve cannot be used in the same fashion. I can fine tune these as needed.

Thank you for sharing this! I love the look of his setup. I would also really like to see how he has everything plumbed, and take a look at the "guts" of the system. Awesome find!

Yeah, that would be a good setup. Will you use both drilled holes as returns? I forgot to answer your question about the caps. No, I do not have holes drilled in them. I have something similar running now without holes and I wont drill these unless I need to. With the caps not being cemented in I have the option of drilling if they get noisy.

You are right on, a coast to coast is basically one large overflow box that covers the entire length of the tank. My tank is 60" long so I am using two overflow boxes. here is the right side setup:

Here is what I am doing for plumbing: Return over the top. This is sch 40 PVC painted with Krylon black spray paint, and 3/4" Loc-Line: Right side returns. Two drilled holes combined into one downpipe. Flow controlled with 1" true union ball valve. Left side returns, sorry for the bad pic, this is up against a wall and I didn't feel like moving the entire tank. Two 1" returns with true union fittings to facilitate cleaning/maintenance. These will drain into a compartmented refugium in my sump (feeding two compartments growing two types of macro). Honestly from a distance you hardly notice the return over the top of the tank.

Yep, mine is a "typical" yellow tang (Zebrasoma flavescens). He slurps it up like spaghetti

Would you be willing to give me some of that which you are throwing away? I would love to start growing this. My tang eats cheato, but I would love to get more variety in its diet.

I agree, I drilled my 100g and did not drill for the return because it can just as easily run over the top. I will snap some pictures tonight of what I did for overflows and return and post them here for you. I think the crux of this is that we have given you too many options Take some time looking at images on the net and see what you want to do (re: using both holes for overflows, or one for a return). In the end it will be about personal preference because there are many many ways to skin a cat when it comes to this hobby.

You probably don't need the gloves. As long as you don't have any open wounds you should be OK. I just don't want my fingers going numb from palytoxin while I am cutting frags

Also, I have a bunch of Loc-line that I was going to use for another project. You are welcome to a few pieces if you decide to use that for your return.

These are all good suggestions. I will add that the reason you want to use an overflow is so that you get increased surface skimming. You want to pull a thin layer of water from the surface. If you use elbows you will get a thicker layer of water over a very small surface. Both will work, but increasing the perimeter of the overflow will allow you to draw a thinner layer of water which will be better for removing the organics that develop on the surface of the water. I would use either a glassholes overflow, or this from ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1200-GPH-Overflow-Box-internal-aquarium-surface-skimmer-/181074621915?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a28e375db

+1 you are doing just fine. The only reason I don't take some out to work on them is because they are growing on large (or structurally important) pieces of rock. When I am trimming zoas or palys I always take them out of the tank and wear gloves/goggles. I also thoroughly wash down any surface used in the process.