bededog

I should be receiving the Euro-Reef pinwheel impeller today. I will let everyone know how works. I have calcium buildup in my pump and I have read on here that others have had the same problem. What should I use to get it out. Should I just scrape it out, soak in vinegar first? Thanks in advance to anyone that can help out with this.

This sucks. I have a $700 skimmer that is less than a year old and I don't know what to do to fix it. Has anyone tried simply mesh modding the standard impeller on the Eheim 1262? I am just wondering if I should buy a new impeller for the pump or wait until I get a reply from Dan. The skimmer isn't working any better than the junk I had running before I bought this one.

I just sent Dan a long email explaining the problem I was having with the pump on the 8 that I bought from him last summer. It sounds like I am having the same problems that other are having. Anyone get a new impeller from Dan and did it fix the problem?

The eggs will turn white if they aren't fertile. They also might not be quite as orange if your fish haven't been eating enough or the right stuff. If they are spending a lot of time over them then I would guess they are clown eggs, especially if the male is fanning them. Then again, maybe they are snail eggs. Just trying to help.

Incredibly clear photos - nice work.

Yeah, I guess you are right but some people are very impressionable. I have a guy that works on my fish crew with me that has a BS in Ecology and is currently working on his MS in Fisheries Biology. He is a scientist/biologist as his chosen line of work. At the same time he is a somewhat far to the right Republican and he doesn't believe in Evolution and discounts the idea of global warming. I can't figure him out. It would be easier if he wasn't such a good guy because it would be much easier to argue with him about this stuff.

Our fearless leader would say this is hogwash. There is no such thing as Global Warming. If we can't believe our President then who can we believe?

I would be interested in purchasing this item. However, if you have only used it for a week then there shouldn't be coraline or algae build up on the powerhead. Please explain and post photos. I am not trying to be a pain in the arse, I just like to know for sure what I am buying. Thanks, Matt

I use Aragamilk or PurpleUp (both pretty much the same I think) to get coraline going. The stuff is really amazing. You will have a purple tank in no time at all with this stuff. These products have all of the elements coraline likes (Mg, Alk, etc...) and the bottles say you can't overdose with it but you should monitor your chemistry to make sure anyway. Matt

If anyone can make me the top for a skimmer like the one Howard has I would be happy to pay them for doing so. I don't think I have the capabilities to make such a thing. I believe I can do the rest of the skimmer without any trouble. Howard, Your skimmer looks amazing. You wouldn't have an extra top for it would you? I didn't think so.

Photos of my CC air driven skimmer are in my gallery. It didn't work very well the first day or so. I bought a Luft Air Pump repair kit and it is skimming pretty well.

I will be hooking up my CC air driven skimmer this evening. I will get some pics and post them. It is 6' tall and made from 4" diameter PVC. I will be using a Luft air pump. It seems like it should work. I guess I will know shortly.

I think we were typing at the same time or close to it. Thanks for the hint to stabilize the hartford loop. I was wondering about that. I plan to make at least two of these. One that is really big and one that is big enough for a 65 gallon reef. Any suggestions? I plan to use OR pumps.

Oh yeah, I planned to have that on the skimmer. I didn't know there was actually a name for it. I am planning to make this skimmer a re-circulating skimmer. Is there anything special that I need to consider when I hook up the pump (e.g., placement of holes in the body for pump intake/outflow, position of the pump, etc...)? Thanks a lot for you help.

Could you describe a hartford loop?

I am planning a DIY skimmer and I am thinking I will use PVC for the body with an acrylic top on the body. I was then planning to drill a hole in the acrylic lid and use a uniseal to go from there to my riser tube. Will that work? I will also have the outflow go through a gate valve so I can adjust the water level in the skimmer body. Am I missing anything? Are Uniseals easy to install? How do they work exactly? Thanks for any help anyone can provide. Matt

I don't know of anyone locally that has them but Pet Solutions sells them for 2.99 and 1' bulkheads for 3.49 each. That price is about 1/2 of what other online places charge. You will have to pay shipping but if you need some food or a heater or something else it will be worth it. They are in OHIO I think so UPS ground only takes two days.

If you haven't been exposed to any info about breeding clowns then I would suggest getting Wilkerson's Clownfish book. It pretty much tells you what to do and how to do it. Percs are pretty easy so they are a good one to try. Marina is an excellent source of info and help when you can't figure something out. The best thing to do would be to buy the book, read it a few times and then ask questions about anything that you might not understand. Be paitent with your clowns, feed them as much as they will eat and a variety of foods and they will spawn eventually for you. I am not expert but feel free to ask me questions. I have only been raising clowns for about a year so my experience is limited.

I think it would be fair to post the prices. The other costs that you mention are there whether a retailer gets a CB shipment or a WC shipment. The shipping is probably nearly the same, losses are probably greater with WC, and maintenance is the same for both. I wish more stores would keep separate systems for CB. That is a lot to ask for most of the small to medium fish places though. I believe you are getting a lot more than just disease free fish when you buy CB. CB aren't simply adjusted to life in captivity, that is all they know. They are more hearty right from the start. Putting them in a tank with WC fish is a case by case issue. WC should always be QT'd so this isn't an issue if you don't make it one. I don't have a burning desire to know what the ORA prices are for CB fish. It just crossed my mind so I thought I would ask if anyone knew. No big deal.

Are you saying that it is far cheaper for stores to buy tank raised? I assumed so but when you look at prices for tank raised vs. wild caught at places like LA or SWF the prices are very similar and even more for tank raised in some cases. I was hoping someone on here knew how much ORA actually charges for their fish. Thanks for the reply.

Does anyone know what ORA charges pet stores for their fish? I am curious about what the markup is and also the price comparison between captive raised and wild caught.

Do you have the manual that came with it? If it allows for a one point calibration then you will only need the 7 but you will typically get better readings with a two point calibration. You want to calibrate with buffer solutions that are above and below the ph value of the solution that you want to test. Since you are probably measuring a pH in the 7.5-8.5 range, go with the 7 and 10. Just in case you don't have the manual, you should calibrate with the 7 first and then the 10, or at least that is typically the way it is done.