fishgate

It should work within a virtual box. Can't you get someone to loan you a PC laptop to get it going and update all the firmware?

40bs really scare me. They are so thin. I don't think I would drill one. Drilling will probably go ok but they flex so much when full of water I would be afraid they would break. Good luck though!

It is much easier than you think. Really no chance you will crack the tank. Smaller tanks maybe but not a big 220 with 1/2" glass. You aren't cutting, you are grinding. Keep it wet and let the weight of the drill do the work and you will be fine. Don't bottom drill almost 100% chance the bottom is tempered. And don't drill too close to the edge or another hole.

You can drill but it is not recommended while the tank is in "production". Among other things, you will get glass shards in the tank later to be filtered into unsuspecting fish lungs. But check out youtube videos of this being done. The bottom is almost certainly tempered while the sides are probably not.

A CPR is one choice but this is not needed to prevent flooding. A properly designed sump filtration system will never flood. Your tank should be able to hold anything that would be pumped up in the case of overflow failure and your sump should be able to hold anything that would drain down in the event of pump failure. The Eshopps are better. They do not rely on a pump to start or maintain siphon. They also maintain siphon even if the return pump stops. They are very well designed. I would remove the Fluval once you get your sump in favor of a filter sock. Canister filters are great for mechanical filtration but need to be cleaned weekly and not allowed to build up ditreus or have too much bacteria colonize in the filter. As you have seen, they create a nitrate factory. Meanwhile, clean the Fluval out weekly.

Are you are basing your decision on purely anecdotal evidence of DC pumps not being prime time? I think a lot of people are pissed off that they flushed their money down the toilette on Ecotech products, the biggest ripoff out there, and are now badmouthing cheaper pumps as some sort of retribution. I hear of way, way more problems (anecdotal) with vortechs than any other pump out there. Then people gush over the wonderful "customer service" they get when they call for problems. Well I guess you should get wonderful customer service since you paid $700 for a $50 pump! $700? What, over! It moves water! Hello! And I am sure I will get the "you never owned one" comments blah blah whatever responses yes your GD right I never have and never will buy one of these overpriced water movers. FYI: There is a lot of anecdotal evidence of the Mag pumps also being less than reliable. I heard it all when I bought my Mag 6 over 5 years ago (they were a cheaper alternative to eheim at the time which was the defacto standard), which I never had any issues with at all. Do your own research and get whatever allows you to sleep at night.

If you have a lot of algae or other things that use phophates/nitrates your test readings are typically not accurate. In those cases you should go by what you see. A lot means high phos/nitrates.

I have a Jabeo DC6000 and DC9000 as well as an Eheim 1262. All of them have performed flawlessly. I like the DC pumps due to the adjustability and low power consumption. I don't see a down to the DC pump I have Jabeo wave maker as well never had an issue. Beware of those that criticize without ever owning one and simply parroting unverifiable anecdotes.

DC is where it's at. Don't even consider anything else. I love Jebao!

Super easy. Just get the following from home depot, all 3/4" fittings 8ft length of 3/4" PVC pipe (you will cut it, cheaper than buying those smaller pieces) 2 90s slip to slip 2 90s slip to thread 2 3/4" to 1/2" ID barbed to thread fittings (plastic) (to fit in the 90s) 2 end caps 2 3-way tee splitter 2 quick disconnects 1 small pump (I use a small rio pump) http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Plus-600-Aqua-Pump/dp/B0017JJMUW/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1458761856&sr=8-7&keywords=rio+pump 3ft of 1/2" ID tubing 1 3 way 1/2" barbed fitting (barb/barb/barb) 1 (or 2 if you can do both sides) cheap shop light 1 2700k CFL bulb 100 watt equivalent PVC glue pack (glue/primer) pack of zip ties 1 piece of needlepoint plastic http://www.amazon.com/Darice-Plastic-Canvas-Clear-12-Pack/dp/B00DV68A9I?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00 You need to cut a slit in the 3/4" PVC that will receive the algae sheet. Attach this with 3 zip ties. Use a table saw or dremel. You could also just drill holes but I don't think it would be as effective. I actually nest the needlepoint about 1/2" inside the PVC pipe in the saw groove. Rough up the needlepoint sheet using a hole saw or some other rough knife/cutter. You want it really rough. Look at the photo for general design. The small pump pumps water into the entire frame via the 1/2" barbed connection. I have the ball valves in the pic but they are unneeded I thought I might need to throttle the input but I didn't. Also make the right side like the left side not like the pic. I changed design 1/2 way through. And you can see on the right leg I have tap for future expansion to something else. Also not needed. The tee fitting creates the legs of each side of the ATS. Plug one end with the cap and the other gets the 90 slip/thread fitting and is the input for the pump. I have my light on an 18 hour timer - 6am to 12am. I also have my needlepoint sheet just touching the water so I have no splashing at all. Pic - this is within a week of setting this up. I already had hair algae growing on it and the tank is crystal clear. These things WORK! This was a quick and dirty so hopefully I did not leave anything out.

ATS' are super simple to build. A visit to Home Depot and 2 hours later you are up and running.

Set up an ATS (algae turf scrubber). Very under-rated piece of equipment that will make your experience so much better.

It is getting air in it. I finally gave up on my 404. Same issue with the 105. They just accumulate air. I even got a new o-ring seal but still got a lot of air. Mine never stopped but tilting it would make it spit air out. My FX5 has an auto air purge mechanism I wish they would do that on the smaller ones. I think air comes in via the prime handle.

I bought the below for my kids. It is really good and the same as a lot of schools use. I looked at my own blood and could easily see all the blood cells moving around. Very stable. Highly recommend! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AM5XB5O?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

You could do it without moving the tank. You can have them cut around the tank and leave that section be. If you are planning on staying awhile it isn't really a big deal to do this. Just have them leave enough spare carpet to fill in the hole should you ever decide to move the tank.

I put GFO only and it works fine. I suggest put less until it tumbles and doesn't clog. I have mine (2 little fishies) about 1/4 full. You'll have to change it more often since it is less.

Have you ever done this?

I disagree. It is almost impossible to tune a Herbie without extra water tricking down the open channel/emergency drain. This small amount of water means with a blockage of the main drain, you will not have enough drain capacity to keep up with the pump in the event of full siphon blockage. The Herbie design also does not allow the emergency drain to go full siphon when called upon guaranteeing a flood if the main drain clogged. Full siphon flows a LOT more than non full-siphon. This can be corrected but in the original design it is just a stand-pipe and will not go full siphon. You can read all about the Bean design and why it is infinitely better than Herbie on the Bean page. Bean was invented to correct Herbie design flaws. IMO all new setups should go Bean.

This is a design flaw. Bean corrects that flaw. If your primary drain stops in a Herbie, your risk of flood is very high. With Bean, there is no chance of a flood even with a total blockage of your primary full siphon drain.

Sorry, you lost me at "EPA".

Bean is the only way to go. Everything else is obsolete. You only need one gate valve however on your full siphon drain the open channel and emergency do not need a valve (like pictured on the Bean page).

Your small varation in temp and salinity between tanks is not enough to worry about for anything live. Transfer away!

This is the one I bought. I think it is a 55 watt light although this ballast will do a bit higher. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002B7SAEI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

PC lights are easy to fix and the bulbs are super cheap on ebay. I replaced my 55 watt balast for my 48" light with a $14 ballast from Amazon and it worked perfectly. Took 10 minutes to replace it that was 4 years ago and it has been working daily every since.

1.020 Salinity is very low. You should have 1.025 even for just fish. You can add salt directly to the tank it will all disolve this is no problem at all as long as it doesn't settle on something that is alive. Since it is still cycling, no issues. 1 month is too soon for corals really. You should wait 6 months or so to let the tank establish more. They will do better in the long run. Don't lose a lot of sleep over pH. PH changes throughout the day and will settle at the right amount when the tank establishes. Aragonite is a natural buffer.