rioreef

For dosing I also use the Litermeter III. I got the 2.5 gallon jugs from BRS and I can go a long time. LMIII total reliability. Magnetic float switch with a backup mag float to shut off, again never a problem. Got mine from Autotopoff.com Mag pump for return for sure. What you described for the skimmer, wish I had that.

Windex. Thats a new one. The ultimate aptasia, majano, or what ever you dont want with a neat spray on applicator. Now your rock is a door stop, not for reef use.

Mine does the bubble action too, I just have never seen it to where it could not swim down because of too much air. Keep that thing healthy and it will develop nice streamers on its tail first and then the pelvic fins on the bottom.

Make's you feel like your Captain Kirk....fire phasers on my mark....FIRE!

My son has gotten into Arduino, so I am going to follow along. Just curious, what is the cost this is up to now and how does that compare to controllers out there that have about the same number of functions.

Years ago I just put them in my tank. On the rocks and the substrate. Never feed them. See my signature for my lighting. Now, they are everywhere and taking over. One of those regrettable decisions of putting them in the tank.

Check out this article from NOAA on the Hawaiian Reefs and keeping them clean.

AWESOME tank! Dont mess with your video settings, looks like you have it nailed. A tank looking like that is what we all strive for. Is there water in that thing? It is so clear (as I look at my tank with micro bubbles floating around.)

Came across these covers. Made from 1/4 black acrylic with stops to keep it in place.

Thanks. It was a long year of after school meetings for them meeting two sometimes three times a week with a 5 hour session on each Sunday. It paid off. My sons have moved up a level in the competition to the FTC level. Dont know if they will make it to a FRC level (late high school) where I understand it takes about $40K to start a team and equipment.

They are using Lego Mindstorms with the NXT module. There are many sensors that can be connected which for this demo I suspect they are using the color sensors. My sons have this. The Lego Mindstorms is the basis of the robots and competition used in the FIRST Lego League (FLL) (9-14 yr olds). This is where teams are formed and compete using robots made using Lego Mindstorms and a multitude of attachments all made from legos. FLL is a world-wide league under the direction of the FIRST foundation formed by Dean Kamen in 1998 (Dean is the inventor of the Segway) and each year there is a different themes to the competition. Last year it was biomedical engineering to discover innovative ways to repair injuries. How do I know all this. Well here comes the proud father in me... Last school year my two sons in middle school were on the Ashburn Robotics team that won the Virginia FLL state title and were invited to represent the region at the world competion in St. Louis. There were over 80 teams from 35+ countries there competing at the FLL level. Although they did not win the overall tournament, my sons team was awarded 1st Place in Robotic Design...(World Champion Lego Robot Designers baby!!!!!)

To clean my sump I used a Bucket Head from Home Depot. Quick, simple and effective to vacuuming up the detritus. Twenty bucks and used one of my many 5-gal buckets.

My fuge is the same setup but with the fuge much deeper, but that was to get more depth (thus volume) as I have the width of it at only about 6 inches. If you put the fuge in the middle it will be lower, but make it as long (in direction of water flow) as you can. Remember that by having the fuge water sourced from the T off the return you can control the flow through this chamber. When in the middle, it will get the full flow of the water cycling through the sump. In the baffle section I made the first section a bit wider and put an egg crate shelf in there. This way if I want to put a bag of media or frag plugs I just lay it on top. make sure the last baffle going into the return section is a bit lower than the first baffle from the skimmer section. This will ensure good flow.

I also have glass covers on my tank, but over the overflow and then lays on the glass I just use double layer of alumn foil.

I have an aquauv on my system. Mine in not on the main return, but a closed loop. Using the head calculator on ReefCentral I positioned the unit on the loops' return using the calculated length to get the appropriate flow.

I know Scott711made and sold his own food mix. Contact him.

Agree. The people buying these systems are not in the 'hobby'. I believe the tanks will have professional service contract on them. No 'mods' or looking for group buys by these people. So far these tanks have been fish only too. Which means they can treat the entire tank with meds if necessary. Just remember...its a TV show set in Vegas! Not lets build a sump with baffles and plexiglass from Home Depot.

Don't know about others, but the Autotopoff.com one claims the following: "Polypropylene Solenoid Valve. Internal components are saltwater safe (plastic and stainless steel)."

Stick your hand in there after rubbing a piece of shrimp on it. It will wrap its arms around your fingers/hand and take it out.

The intake for my closed loop sits behind coral up against the overflow chamber and goes up and over the back of the tank. The return is up and over too. I do not see any plumbing except for the return which I can reposition the flow direction. As far as plumbing, clean your connections prior and glue them up, never a problem. I also have full unions on the in/out of the pump for easy maintenance. So far it has been running 6+ years and no problems, now where is that piece of wood to knock on.