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I loved using a peristaltic dosing pump for my kalk dosing. Wish I could go back to it, but there just isn't enough room in my stand for a kalk stirrer. How often (if ever) do you pull the kalk stirrer out for a thorough cleaning?

Hahaha it's ok, I'm just about done being an electronics super nerd, and time to switch to reef super nerd.... What am I going to stock the tank with?!

Oh and a major issue I ran into.... The MeanWell power supply I'm using in the controller apparently is pretty noisy and screws up the powerline adapter I use to get my Apex onto the network.... Right now I'm running my Apex with no network. I bought a clip on ferrite core filter which I hope will help, otherwise I will have to switch to a wifi bridge.

Almost there, finally ready to add a couple of snails and start getting the tank ready for corals..... I may still slap a fan on the lights. They are ok running ~50%, but higher than that and I should run a fan. And I need to start thinking more about the semi-automatic water change module.

This could explain the fraudulent paypal account that was setup using my CC that was also used at BRS in November. Paypal was really good about pro-actively shutting down the other account and refunding the money back to my CC. I just wish they had done a better job of notifying me... I saw a charge/refund from paypal a few days after it had posted and had to call in to find out what was going on, then call my CC company for a new card.

Been awhile since I've update this.... Cycle is done, rigged up the lights in a temporary fashion a week ago and starting the algae phase. I need to do a full water change, which I'll probably take care of this weekend. Most of the work over the last few weeks has been on the controller... Programming is ~90% done, I just need to program the water change module. I've painted and drilled holes in a project box that will be the case of the controller and I've started mounting and wiring some of the parts. I've also finished soldering the main arduino circuit board except for 1 capacitor.

I have the DI version without VC. I just tested it and you are right, at 1:1 it's f/5.6, and about 12 feet to get 2.8. I hadn't noticed that before, but isn't really a big deal for me. I'll mainly be using this for 1:1 or near 1:1 shooting where the DOF is so shallow I wouldn't want to shoot at less than f/8 anyway. Having only taken a handful of shots with the lens, I'm quite happy with it so far. Here is the exact lens, although mine was bought used so I didn't feel as bad about the price tag on a lens I won't use a ton http://www.amazon.com/Tamron-AF-90mm-2-8-Di/dp/B00021EE4U

Thanks! Thanks, with the super high ISO i was able to keep things relatively sharp while handholding. Hoping the tripod will let me shoot with some more DOF without being a shaky mess! Darth Maul Porites from piper. It's kept it's color but really hasn't grown in the last year. http://wamas.org/forums/topic/61267-rare-darth-maul-porites-fs-at-meeting-or-local-pickup/

Got a Tamron 90mm macro lens for x-mas and finally decided to give it a quick try, here are a couple of the better shots. Handheld on a D7000 @ f/8 and 6400 ISO, quick tweaks on an older verion of CameraRAW. Next time I'll bust out the tripod and shoot at f/11 and also try some top down shots. Oh and maybe try stocking my tank with some more interesting subjects!

Sorry if I gave the impression that I carefully monitor and chase pH, I'm happy as long as it's somewhere in the ballpark of the right value.... The probe was measuring 8.6+ at the peak when I finally decided it was time to try to calibrate! I know that the probes need to be replaced every year or so, I was just surprised that this one only made it 3 months... After "calibrating" it last night and reviewing the pH graph it looks like the response time of the probe is shot. After removing the probe from the 7.00 reference solution and putting it back in the tank, It took over an hour to stabilize. Interesting, I did not know that.... I think mine is fully submerged, or pretty close to fully submerged. I'll have to find a better mounting method for my next one!

3 months ago I bought a BRS lab grade ph probe for my apex. It calibrated and ran fine for a while, but lately it's been reading really high. I wasn't too concerned and figured it had drifted and needed to be calibrated. Tried calibrating today, but after finishing the calibration process I put the probe back in the 7.00 solution and it reads about 7.25. The probe hadn't been out of water in 3 months, but I also hadn't really cleaned it at all (last week when I finally did clean it there was a bunch of red bubble algae growing on it, mostly on the outside casing). Should I be cleaning the probe more often or did I just end up with a bad probe? Now I'm debating splurging and getting a Cole Parmer probe or just getting the cheaper Pinpoint one.

Running the Jebao DC3000 for 11 months now, no problems so far. Edit: I also only run the pump at 19V off of an old laptop power supply. Not sure if that will affect the longevity of the pump.

Well I finally got the controller build started. Right now it's setup on a breadboard for testing purposes and to have the ATO portion of it running before we leave town for the holidays. Right now the controller has 100% ATO functionality and the ability to monitor temperature. I also added a bluetooth connection so I can monitor the current status of the float switches and temperature with my phone or laptop. Eventually I want to be able to use it to send commands to change settings (set time, light schedule, etc). During the initial testing of the controller my stupidity managed to fry 2 Arduino chips. It's a good thing they only cost around $2 and I bought several spares!

I haven't setup the ATO yet so I don't know the exact sensitivity. I figure that I should be able to keep the water level within 1/2" at all times. Based on the size of my return area, that's about a 2.3% swing in water volume. That should keep the salinity within 1ppt. I can live with that kind of swing in salinity, hopefully corals can too! ;-) My fingers are crossed that the 1/2" assumption was conservative, but I'll find out once I get it setup.

Thanks! Although I wouldn't say experienced (my coral keeping experience is only about 2 years)... I think it's more that I love a good challenge!