gastone

Eric, did a search for a spectral plot for you lamp/ballast combo... couldn't find it (I think I've looked before for the 250w DE Ushio 14k and couldn't find it then either). So for all the good it does, here goes: most 10k lamps spike at 420nm (what we consider to be actinic), I therefore like to use T5 blue+ lamps to supplement as I feel the balance is better. most 20k lamps spike at 450nm (that's blue to you and I). Therefore I prefer true actinic (420nm) to supplement (either T5 or VHO - personally I use T5 as they use less electricity, are brighter, last longer, and generally kick VHO's tail IMO). 14k lamps seem to go one way or the other (though I would guess that most of them spike at 450nm). I have no problem with how PC actinic lamps look... they are just grossy inefficient. G.

Eric, what brand name bulbs? Bluewave, are those HQI ballasts? G.

Eric, there is no easy answer. You are looking for actinic supplementation I take it? What is your current lighting scheme? You have halides, correct? What bulb/ballast combo are you currently using? Garrett.

Johnny, how'd he trick you into hiring him? Make sure he leaves his McDonalds' cups at home. Garrett.

Was doing some tank maintenance today and found my mantis' home. He's been in there for a few years I reckon. I'm pretty sure I got him from Dave Sandstrom a few years ago. I thought I lost him in one of a few disasters that I've imposed upon myself. Today I was placing a frag plug into a hole. The second the plug went in it was pop pop pop. That being said, I have never seen him... just heard him popping from time to time. If memory serves me, it was a wennerae. Yay for me and my invisible manits. G.

Jason, I still like the grouper idea. Maybe you could bring your lion over to play for a spell. That would probably do the trick. G.

Chip bought me my first purse! My hero. G.

Yes. Some species of turbinaria (or scroll coral if you like). Here's a quickie fact page: http://www.asira.org/turbinaria Dremel, bone cutters, hammer and chisel, saw... pick your poison. Garrett.

The nice thing is that once the RO/DI is saturated with kalk, it's done... can't take anymore. Meaning if you mix up 1g of water with 5 cups of kalk powder it isn't an issue (in theory). You can supersaturate with vinegar if you choose, though I'm not a proponent of that for my own reasons. G.

Different species=different size tank. Try www.stomatopod.com, they have forums there. G

Mostly you should do whatever Erik tells you to... he's way smarter than me. G.

Just add kalk to your RO/DI, making it into saturated limewater. Check Cliff's links. I'm sure he directed you to the correct place. A heaping tablespoon mixed in with a gallon of water would probably make saturated kalkwasser. G.

The nice thing is (as you've already found out) is that you have options. How automated is do you want your system to be? You could manually measure out and add two part daily (works fine, but kinda a grind), but what happens when you go away? Now you are missing days, and your balance is out of whack. So you could do two part via dosing pumps (or aqualifters-which I wouldn't recommend for 2-part) which is another expense. And to get a good dosing setup is not small expense (I use a aquamedic triple doser which is just okay and I belive new it costs ~ 300). A nice litermeter or good two channel perisaltic is going to cost just as much, and in case of the litermeter, even more. A kalk reactor (if you go that route) can be DIY'ed (ErikS just posted in the DIY forum his) cheaply for $50 and nicely (a la Erik's) for 100. Or Dan sells nice ones as well, or pick up a used one or... Point is, not a huge expense. You would just need a top off resevoir and a digital timer and you are ready to go. I'd put total cost to set up kalk via a reactor (assuming DIY or used) at under $130. I've overdosed kalk a few times (purely through user error, and I've eliminated (adjusted) those failure points), but never to any degree of tank collapse. If your top off resevoir is only a few gallons (and on your size tank a few gallons would last at least a week I would think), a overdose of saturated limewater isn't going to be the end all (so we hope). You could also just use kalk in a large resevoir w/o a reactor. Check Cliff's link... I'm sure it's in there somewhere. This could again be used with a dosing pump, aqualifter on a timer, ATO (or some other float valve), osmolater, et al. More saturated limewater in this method means that if there is a failure, more limewater could potentially get dumped into the system. Blah. G.

On a tank that size I'd use kalk for my top off. Is your tank sumpless? G.

For those of you looking for a smithii: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...hreadid=1363525 G.

I've got a flow of about 45x my tank volume. 42 hex, with a modded maxijet 900 (~1000 gph), a 6025 (~600) and my return pump which is another few hundred. The sps, zoas, anemone seem to enjoy it, the LPS and clams need a bit of careful positioning to make them happy. Garrett. Edit: FWIW there is probably no such thing as too much flow (laminar of course). On reef faces, measurements are often taken in terms of m/s, when we do these calculations in our systems, we measure in units of in/s or ft/s.

Erik, That reactor looks great. I'm still using the reactor that we made at Chip's place during the last build party. It works quite well, but accessing to add kalk/clean pump/dump "sediment" is a PITA. I like the idea of adding a union on top to add slurry. Nice build. Looks quite refined/polished. Would you change anything? Garrett.

I used a grouper to catch my damsels. Worked quite well. Damsels are kinda like people, they get even more crotchety with old age. i.e. he ain't going to get any nicer, he ain't going to calm down. G.

I'm beginning to think that he's done this before. Looks awesome Chris. How long before the tank is up and running? G.

Thanks for putting together a good meeting. Sanjay was a great speaker and I enjoyed his talk. I'd also like to thank all those involved who helped to get me my jacket/keys back... finally. G.

Whining would be me telling you what the Bronco gets around town. G.

I live in Fredericksburg which is at least an hour from anywhere. I drive a 78 Bronco. It gets about 9.5 mpg highway. I was thinking the exact same thing. Garrett.

mostly indifferent. IME they show up more with new LR. They'll spot your glass for a couple of months and then just cease to exist. G.

Like this?

Are you using foam under your tank? Garrett.