Octoman

Do you have an auto shut off valve that looks like this? If so, sounds like this valve might be faulty or hooked up wrong.

Looks like the smallest they have is an RK10, they don't give much sizing info but I'm sure someone in their support dept could point you in the right direction... http://www.rk2.com/protein-fractionators-saltwater.php The units that I worked with were in the RK300 and up range, so I can't speak to how they perform on a smaller scale. But the big guys were well built and reliable and we never had micro-bubble issues with them - they discharged directly into biotowers to allow for dissipation of the gases. We did have the cups plumbed directly into the drain, which is necessary for the spray down cleaning on a timer schedule.

I have worked with a few RK2 skimmers in the past and been pleased by their performance over the long term. Very little maintenance to keep going and performed well with the self-cleaning spray down option.

Just got mine set up this morning. I got the 100gpd unit and without a booster pump I'm getting about 50gpd output which is plenty for me, but a little less than I was expecting. I'll have to see if I can hunt down a pressure gauge to throw on the supply line and see where I'm at, I imagine my pressure is a little lower than I thought. The waste:product ratio I'm getting is 5:1, which is in line with the bigger units I've had before, so that doesn't seem too bad. For the amount of water I'll be making (maybe 10-15g/month), I don't know if the improved efficiency of the booster pump would be worth it in the long run for me, but I'm interested to see your results Andre.

I installed the overflows and tested them out today. I only plan on running about half the flow I used during the test, so they should be plenty for the job...

Been working on the plans for a while and now things are starting to move along so here begins the chronicle! I love the look of the Fluval edge, a little solid cube of water sitting out there with windows all over. I also happen to need a place to put my liquor bottles, so why not throw the two together? I like the standard fluval edge stand, but feel like the rear window is wasted. I knocked around a few designs and settled in on one that lets me have all four sides open (with one facing in to the liquor). The plan is to use a sump in the bottom of the cabinet with a skimmer and refugium. I'm anxiously waiting for the AI Prime to be released as this will be a perfect fit on top. I was hoping to get started on the cabinet this week, but unfortunately left an integral part of my saw at the old house - it will have to wait until next week. Here is the rough design, the front door will swing down...

These are great if the tank has no fish, but otherwise - left-over fish food and fish poop (and the associated bacteria that develop as a result) are usually more than enough. Any extra would just be unnecessary waste.

It's a fluval edge 12, going to try to integrate it in to a bar cabinet.

Here's an old FTS from my tank in 2010 (55 at the time). Missing this tank pretty bad right now.

Thanks for the warm welcome!! I was at Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk. My main sections were tropicals - sea turtles in with bigger fish and a couple decent size reef tanks, and the treatment and quarantine section which also included caring for the sand tiger sharks and giant pacific octopus. That was a fun job!!!

Do you have microbubbles or general cloudiness in the tanks? How do you have your skimmers situated on/in the tanks, could you post pictures?

Hello all, just moved to town. Loving Falls Church so far. Started reefing in Athens, GA in 2000 - working my way from a 20g up to a 90g mixed reef over the years. I moved the reef from Georgia to Connecticut (with no losses, thankfully!!) a few years ago. Then I got too busy at my aquarium job to care for the reef at home so I had to give it up about 3 years ago. Now we have settled in Virginia and I have a little more time and energy, so I'm picking things back up. Renting right now so just going to start out with a nano that's still in the planning stages - but always have the big tank in the works for when we find that permanent residence. This seems like a great community and I'm looking forward to becoming a part of it!