fishgate

You can just add the new membrane. Mine has the flow restrictor builtin check to see if yours does also and if so what it is rated for (if not then you need to replace it with the higher rated one). Mine is coralife. I went from 50 to 75 with no change in anything. If you redirect your waste to a second membrane you will wear that one out in a hurry using waste water. The wastage is not really that much. Certainly not as much as you will spend on an entire new membrane setup not to mention a pump since your waste pressure is too low to be of any use.

I have a 1262 for my 125 but for my new 120 build I went with a Jabeo DC-6000. I really like the Jabeo and the soft-start and abililty to throttle it, even though I run it full blast. I'd look to DC pumps if I was buying again.

"We never did that when I was growing up! What's wrong with kids today!" - Maybe if Jabeo had doubled the price they would get more acceptance? lol. I'm happy they didn't. I don't know anyone that has one that isn't satisfied. Pumps are surprisingly simple there isn't much that can fail. Looks like you're pushing around 500gph at 8ft with the DC-6000.

No clue I just got it. I run it at full blast since I have a full siphon. It isn't enough flow actually for my 1" full siphon drain I have to close off the gate valve of the drain a bit to achieve equilibrium. About a 6' head height with a couple of elbows. I am thinking of upgrading to the 9000. Pump is great though slow start is a good feature and very quiet.

Your title says it all! lol.

Jabeo DC-6000. You can clock it down with the included control since it is a DC pump.

125 gallon (6 feet).

I have a Powder Blue and never had any issues with him going on 2 years. He eats everything I put in. Frozen, flakes, pellets and sea weed. As far as "getting ich" - If you don't have ich, they won't get it. I did quarantine mine for 30 days just for general prudence but no issues in quarantine. I didn't treat him at all.

When (ever?) is the last time you cleaned your RO/DI reservoir? They build up a lot of slime and it could be that dumping it all at once as apposed to trickling from an ATO is triggering the skimmer to go crazy.

Gaithersburg/Germantown store usually has a lot in stock. I picked up 3.

I'd go 40/65 or 75. 55s are terrible for SW as someone else said. Also almost all are not drillable they use glass that is too thin so it is tempered to give it more strength.

Thanks for that. Very educational. It looks like they lose brightness a bit but not much of their spectrum. Which is probably better. To put this in perspective I'll look for a comparative chart for T5HO lights. Perhaps ATI has some similar testing report.

I had read they stay fairly constant over their life. Do you know the rate they dim? I know T5HOs have to be replaced annually if used for photo-synthetic life (as apposed to just viewing your tank). I'd be curious to see some testing where LEDs have lost enough intensity (and one would assume spectrum) so as to impair growth. I don't have a PAR meter so I can't test myself.

I say 2 - 3 years. Got to be certain right? :clap: :wacko:

I have a 4x80 over my 125 gallon. Biggest problem for me is getting bulbs shipped that don't come broken. I have found no local stores that sell them. It usually takes 2-3 tries before I get them all no broken. If I had to do it again I would go all LED. On a 10x80 light you are talking $250/year for bulbs alone as well. LEDs don't dim over time.

Qulity stuff like ATI rarely goes on sale. Probably Coralife will be on sale. You could always wait just to make sure it isn't that far away.

The siphon break hole can go anywhere you want. Just realize that the tank will siphon to the sump until enough water has drained that the siphon break is out of the water and breaks siphon stopping the flow to the sump. As long as your sump can handle that volume, you are good. I don't use a siphon break as Alan pointed out, my sump can handle any volume that would drain back to my sump in the event the return pump stops. TEST THIS ON YOUR SETUP IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW! The only down to that is my return loc lines are near the surface but I think it looks better anyway with them barely visible.

This is a video of my correctly running sump. The one thing you don't see is the top of the elbow on the standpipe has a 1/2" hole (video 2 has it).

Mine is 3-4" below. Shaking usually indicates turbulance due to flushing. It shouldn't hurt anything if it doesn't bother you. Do you have enough air coming into your stand pipe (the hole in the top of the standpipe)?

I think you need a bigger hole (vent) on your drain standpipe. How big is the current hole?

FYI: Whenever I use a ball or gate valve, I get a valve one size up from my pipe diameter then neck it down with the appropriate bushing. If you look at most ball and gate valves you will see that they are poorly designed and severly restrict flow even when fully opened (in relation to their stated size). The next size up usually ends up being the correct hole size for the valve diameter that you want. Home Depot typically does not sell all plastic valves. I have found them all at Amazon however.

What is the problem? Looks like you have plenty of drainage which is what you want. If it is too much, crank back your return pump with a gate valve. You could always cover that section so the splashing is contained. Another method is to redo the plumbing piece that ends in the sump. Make it longer (more spread out) and with holes in it to spread out the drain water.

My experience with them and what I've heard from others is they perform to about 1/2 of what they are advertised at. So if you think you need 1 300 watt, you will need 2.

If they are in your sump, they are now, or will be soon in your DT. Stock up on AiptasiaX or get a syringe and some lemon juice. Don't let them get out of control! Check your overflows they like to start there too.

Definately get a controller. RKLs are cheap and will control heaters out of the box (up to 4).