madweazl

Yes, we desperately need one. I'm always on the road for work and my poor wife is always at home. I want to vacation and home and I'm sure she wants out of the house LOL.

What is this, vacation, you speak of?

Well, Elite Aquatics failed to come through; they'd estimated 4-5 weeks for completion and another week for delivery but after 10 weeks, nothing had happened. Ended up disputing the charge through PayPal and got the refund notice today. A shame that so much time has been wasted but I ordered a Synergy Reef TS-44; here's hoping it arrives soon!

I've been using Instant Ocean for about three years in the 75g but I do lower the alkalinity in it as well (Reef Crystal should be within .5 dKh of Instant Ocean). There is nothing wrong with either (or any other salt on the market). You can blame a lot of things for a tank in bad shape, your salt mix will never be one of them though.

1-2 years for the ones above. They start slow and then explode with growth; then you wish they grew slower like in the beginning because they're a pain to keep trimmed down. The unknown acro was 13" across when I cut it way back (kept about 1/3rd of it).

Cali tort Yellow tip austera Unknown acropora

Does your refractometer have a focus ring? Most have a knurled eye-piece that allows you to focus the unit. Also, the conductivity probe on the controller is just about worthless so dont rely on it.

Cali tort Jason Fox Jack-O-Lantern

I used 3/4" aluminum square tubing that I found at Lowes.

In about 24 hours, I should have a pair of "you build" Avast MR-5 Reactors ready to go. I ditched the black PVC and subbed some red to match the sump (should it ever arrive...).

At a bit of a cross-roads; do I buy a small welding machine and do it myself or take it somewhere and have it buttoned up for me... 6xT5 with 3 (or 4) Kessils.

Another slow day but I built a screen for the back of the canopy. Now it's time to spend a week in the Sierras!

Strawberry Short Cake Tyree's Pink Lemonade Unknown

Red Planet SC Orange Passion and Hawkin's Blue Echinata Vivid Rainbow Delight (has endured a number of changes and hasnt had much chance to color up) GARF Bansai Yellow tip austera

I'd probably stick to shims and then cover them with a trim ring at the bottom so you can use the stand down the road if it's moved.

The heaters are mounted on the left and right sides of the back panel until the sump arrives (at which point they'll be relocated). The center overflow only has the herbie plumbing and return in it. I'm not sure what you have for lighting but these fans are a touch louder than those of the Kessils; on low, they produce less noise than the Kessils. There are a lot of quiet fan options you could go with that are under 25dB (you wont hear them) if you need one.

A gallon of water for a royal gramma is unlikely (probably more like 1/10th) and probably wont affect anything. As for the accumulation of heavy metals, an ICP could eliminate any doubt. I tend to believe old tank syndrome is based more on poor maintenance syndrome.

Some type of sponge?

Not a real productive day but I did get some fans installed in the canopy today. They can be powered via USB or a wall-wart and have three speed settings; I'm currently running them on medium speed and they are audible but not annoying in our living room and they're moving quite a bit of air. I'll take some temperature comparisons in the canopy after an hour or two (Kessils are currently at 100% to generate as much heat as possible). Installation was super simple; they come with a template so you just have to lay it out, grab a jib saw, cut the hole, and screw them in (four screws each).

I'm sure there are many more things that will pop out of there as well! My tank is all about the bio-diversity! Brittle stars, tube worms, limpets, I have it all...

I'm in Fredericksburg and have plenty but it comes with red planaria, bristleworms, asterinas, pods, and god only knows what else is living down there now...

You probably wont have much for a clean up crew to clean up. Once the cycle is complete, I'd start with a fish; the most timid one of the bunch you've been thinking to add.

As yhsublime mentioned, skip the water change until ammonia and nitrITE have dropped to zero. Once that happens, your nitrATE levels will increase dramatically and that is when you'll do some water changes to bring it back down to desirable levels.

I refused to program the A/C for about 8 months after moving in and just did it manually which usually worked out fine unless my wife made adjustments (she likes it quite a bitter warmer than I do) I didnt notice until I was half asleep and it was hotter than bajesus in the bedroom. Took a few minutes but i figured the thermostat out and got everything programmed (even away mode even though the both of us are never actually away at the same time) and it has been fantastic. I do wish I could make it antarctic at night but it's not worth hearing the whining from the better half.

It will stay low (lower than the pillar up front anyways). I look at the rock like the skeleton of the body; it is just the foundation and the corals will fill in and add the body as they grow out.