rioreef

the link is to the Grim Reefer home page. Best source for T5 bulb info. Look him up on ReefCentral.com

Not even close to what I had back in my tank in 2007. Mine was about 2x3 inches!!! Never did see him again after I got the photo. My GIANT flatworm.

Don't know if someone already posted this article. Very informative article in Advance Aquarist on Phosphates. Interesting opinion by Randy about the practice of rinsing frozen foods. "Again, the conclusion I make is that rinsing is not really worthwhile, in my opinion." Read and find out why and where phosphates are coming from.

I don't see tank temp or room temperature. This time of year it happens a lot when your furnace or ac are not on (windows open) . So you house/apt can fluctuate instead of keeping a constant level of your thermostat setting. Resulting in tank temperatures rising which can lead to algae breakout. I have seen this happen in my own tank. Compound that with cycling a tank and poof the algae gets going.

You mentioned facing the window, is direct sunlight getting into the tank? Not a good idea to have that happening from increased algae blooms to increasing tank temp.

Got an empty feeling when I read all the loses. Sorry to here about this Dave.

The two I got to replace my 660 are the ATI replacement ballasts listed at Reef Geek. Note that these are the ballast only. No wiring or power cord. I was able to use the wiring from my 660 and just had to get my own power cord.

Now that I have gone from two ballasts for my 6 bulb to three (two each) this will give me more control of the lighting schedule from dawn to dusk.

I had an IceCap 660 since Feb 2005 running on four 54w T5's. It just failed a few weeks ago. It does overdrive the 54w to around the mod 80s in wattage if I recall from my initial searches and are very bright. Don't keep corals too close to them as I saw my colors decrease in this situation. However, this ballast will help push more usable light to lower portions of your tank. I was on a schedule of replacing the bulbs every 12 months. Cooling should be directed at the ends of the bulbs for best performance. Here is a link to the Grim Reefers home page for info on T5s and discusses overdriving and the IC 660.

Litermeter main unit, remote pump, water exchange pump is what you would need. I am running just the main and a remote. Nothing special too it. Get the manual if you do not have it from Spectrapures web site to see a hook up diagram. The water exchange pump uses a pressure switch to activate. If you had to you can open up the water exchange pump and engage the switch and secure it in that position. Then you can use the pump like a normal pump. Another way of using the remote pumps is putting a 12v (proper amps) power supply on it and not plug it into the LM 3. This way you can plug it into your systems controller power bar, float switch, or timer and use it independent of the LM 3 main unit. The is discussed in several threads on ReefCentral.

The OM will require maintenance. Sometimes the drums can get stuck because of debris or calcium buildup. The drums move slow inside of the OM's units, so buildup can occur. If the pump fails on a closed loop or you cut power to the pump, the water neither goes down or up in the pipes because there is no opening in the system (air gap). No issues. But, do put unions before and after the pump as I said in my previous post for maintenance of the pump. If you ever remove the CL and pipes, then you will have to deal with creating that siphon gap (input/output) to prevent water coming down. You probably would not do this until you are breaking down the tank and you have much bigger issues to deal with then.

The ASOV that comes with this kit will shut off the water going to from your water source to the RO unit and shut it down from producing filtered or waste water. The float valve will stop the flow to your reservior. See the diagram from this situation at Spectrapure on how this is setup. Spectrapure has great diagrams for all kinds of other situations too.

no check valves but I put full union valves on the input and output sides of the pump on my CL. I also have a AquaUV inline on it with unions for that as well. I just cleaned my pump yesterday and the full unions made the process very simple. OM would need them for maintenance too..

I agree on the CFL 5100k bulb. Never a problem growing Chaeto.

Remember that when the baffles are placed in a tank they should have the bottom corners cut back about 3/16 of an inch at a 45-degree angle. This is to allow for room for the existing silicone caulking in the tank. Allowing for the glass to sit on the bottom for a better fit and not having a gap along the bottom edge of the baffle that you have to 'fill' with silicone. Any baffles that are not in contact with the bottom, this is not required.

Bob, I see three ball valves off T's going nowhere. You tempting yourself to just open one up someday and see what happens?

When starting a tank, resist the urge to want to put fish or corals in it. Take a couple of months and reduce all that testing up front. With the values you want to achieve they should be naturally down at that time. Test once a week during this time just to check on things. Putting live rock in the tank and any decaying material will provide the source for good bacterial growth you want. This is what I did and it will save money with the test kits and wont stress the new tank. Now, if you cant wait then you will be testing daily til your parameters are right and then add inhabitants.

All I got were ties and a couple of shirts!!

Where did you get your LED? Same here using this bulb which is rated at a color temp of 5100k

That would have been me. The best advice you can give to anyone wanting to start a marine/reef tank is...do your research, read, and when you are done, read some more, ask questions, etc. This is where you find out about the 'cost' and gain the knowledge to have a successful tank. In my opinion, the best knowledge about this hobby when starting is patience, don't rush it and you will have a more successful system.

Didn't mean it as a status symbol, just that it is expensive and you know it going into it. The reason why we do and get past that acceptance of the cost is the love of the hobby.

First off, if you are on these boards commenting you can already afford an expensive hobby (no matter where you get it)! Accept it Also, we all probably save so much already by getting other stuff in your life online that the savings out-weigh by a mile what you might spend extra at a LFS. So buy at your LFS as much as you can. Those that are looking for more from their LFS, patronize them more and you will get more. In any business, the face-to-face relationship goes a long way in the service and in our hobby it results in friendships too.

If you can put the sump out in the open and easily accessible would make any sump not seem cramped. Just from the standpoint of easy maintenance and maneuverability.

During the winter it goes down the drain. In the warmer (growing months) I divert it to the sump which is already pushing out my AC condensate. This goes outside to water the grass and a tree.