Wes

I wasn't ULN, but I ran biopellets. In my scenario, I saw a noticeable increase in growth of corallimorphs when I started adding aminos regularly.

Too much flow and too much light seems to slow them down, as well as too clean of a tank. When I used to add aminos, these guys seemed to grow much better.

Ahh, I miss it. Maybe someday I'll be able to afford to go back. ;-) Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be many up this way. Once I get things going, I'll have to have you over for a 'boh and a look at my tanks.

I've seen mentioned in a few places that red spectrum lighting(660nm) is best for algae scrubbers. I've had fine luck with CFL (warm and cool white), but I'm thinking about buying/putting together a cheap LED fixture for the fuge area. I'm not sure if I'll stick to chaeto or eventually build an up-flow algae scrubber, so I'd like to get something that could grow both. Basically, all I'm asking is if anyone has advice on growing chaeto under a red LED.

You can see a couple pics in this set of photos: http://imgur.com/a/W6mhb Somewhere I have pics of the process, but I'm on my phone right now.

If you want to do it on the cheap, buy a used nanocube. You can pull off the trim and it cleans up nicely. I've done this 2x and loved the outcome both times. Then you have a rimless AIO without any seams along the front. I quite like it. My other fav. mod for the nano/biocube is to put a koralia nano into the false wall(dremel out or drill a 2" hole IIRC). I think this setup would look just KILLER with a kessil. When I was always on the cheap, I made a DIY 70W halide setup for this size tank, though a viper also looks nice over that setup and sometimes can be found nice and cheap. My original plans for my my nano build were to do just this, but I wound up with an 18" cube... To be honest I think I might've been happier with the nanocube. AIO rimless nanos are quite a bit of fun.

I have a hard time believing this. I'm sure some is lost to abiotic precipitation, and perhaps considerably more so if dosed all at once, but with proper protocol, I doubt there would be a noticeable difference.

gorgeous fuzzy dwarf! one of my favorite fish! If you ever want to keep things it would eat, let me know, I've been looking for a yellow fuzzy dwarf...

I'd also dry it and weigh it to get an idea of how much it's pulling out. It'd be interesting to collect, dry and weigh the skimmate over the same period, but that'd be pretty gross...

Should be fine, just don't dose both parts at once. I'd do it over a few hours to be safe, though.

That's 1.1mL per minute on the BRS dosers. How to accomplish it best depends largely on the system. I personally prefer kalk in the ATO and 2-part on dosers(BRS seems about the most affordable). If you don't have a large demand, you can dose 2-part daily/weekly/whateverly. In fact, as you're learning your system, it's a good idea to do it manually until you get a feel for how much you're actually using. Overdosing can cause a boatload of problems.

Calcium is only limiting at pretty low levels and there is far more of it, making it pretty easy to keep Ca levels safe. It is far more important to maintain appropriate levels of alkalinity. If you're only going to dose ONE thing, do alkalinity and rely on frequent W/C or more intermittent supplementation to maintain the rest.

Same thing just happened to a friend of mine in another club. Unbelievable how fast it goes in that direction, given how long it takes in the other... ...It's time for me to review some redundancy plans for myself and look at my weak links... So sorry to hear about it.

While I don't think LEDs yet qualify as "tried and true" like halides or t5s, I have very little doubt they will grow most corals. I think the biggest difficulty is the wide variety of options in LED setups.. I think that the true test is 5+ years under the same fixture. As that becomes more and more common, I think it will become clear that LEDs are the top option. The kessils are sleek and cool, but IMHO not my top choice for a full blown SPS tank. I did decide to use an a150w over a mixed reef nano, however. I also feel like I should say that while I am hesitant to give a 100% endorsement, I'm still choosing LEDs for both of my current builds. By the way, if you have a 3' tank, check out the max spect razor. It seems like about the best option, LED or otherwise, for that size.

Hey guys, I'm thinking of doing an all in one 20l using the Badfish AIO and was wondering if anyone else had experience or opinions on these systems. If you've got one, I'd appreciate pics!