extreme_tooth_decay

I agree, a simple part that "can" help is worth it. I think the one I bought at lowe's was about $10, but may be less reliable, not sure. Is still working for me...

Unless a snail is parked on it, which he will be. And when you have 2 holes, you'll have 2 snails. The more redundancy, the better...

I have been using the PVC check valve from Lowe's. 1/2" I think. It is a spring type. I check it periodically. Still works after years. Does rob some flow, but I took that into account.

Problem with myths is, people get to saying it so much, people never try it...and you get to a point where 95% of the people saying it are just saying what they heard, and never tried it, etc...

+1 I am 3/3.

Well I can think of at least one well documented thief who lurks on these boards...but that is somewhat OT...

How do we know the fish were innocent?

When I had my "big" reef system, I rarely did any water changes, and didn't run a skimmer for a long time. My system was "thriving". I attribute it to a very large (40BR) fuge, full from bottom to top with macro, that I harvested frequently. The few times I measured my nitrites and even nitrates, they were close to 0, if measurable at all. Not everyone has room for it, but it worked like a charm for me. Here is a pic of the fuge, and separate (55G) sump (pic taken when I was running a skimmer).

I never heard that before...I know the PE mysis I feed almost exclusively is from FW...I don't think there are any ill effects there...

I never tried guppies (not enough meat on their bones), but I have acclimated mollies that lived. I did it over a few days, though I think it could have been done much faster.

Sucky...happens to everyone, though... Nice of your tank to sting you in the shape of a claw. Just tell people it is a tattoo until it heals.

Yep, I agree. For me, the best/most memorable moments in this hobby come when people branch out. I often think we limit the experimentation of newcomers by "telling them what to do" (call it what you will, that is what it is...and of course they do ask for it sometimes/often). It is a 2 edged sword...in many cases, they are better off. In my opinion, in many cases, "we" are worse off...hard to learn when everyone is doing the same thing, and "validating" others for doing that same thing, when most haven't even tried anything else...they just say that is what you have to do because that is what someone else told them. It is a circular, self perpetuating orb of isolation, non-experimentation, and sterility. More musings for amusement...all from my own personal experience/successes: There is very little "accepted truth" in this hobby I personally accept. I know skimmers are not necessary. I try not to buy from any LFS that does QT, I don't QT. I virtually never test my water params. I don't see a need to eradicate beautiful majano/aiptasias. I know mandarins do not need a big tank or any pods at all, etc And don't get me started on RO/DI. One of my favorite moments at a meeting was when Julian Sprung told everyone he uses tap water. Not RO. Not DI. Not even dechlorinated. Of course, people found some way to twist that to their own mindset ("the water he gets down there is cleaner/better than that we get here", etc). Hogwash. Oh, and phosphates. That is another one. Legendary SW boogey man! And stealth heaters. And acrylic. Hm, another jacked thread. I guess this is pretty far OT. Ok, I need to relax now.

Lots of interesting questions there... Just for the amusement of musing, here is what comes to my mind: * I think the questions are a lot different for the "established" people out there not in WAMAS (which is who I was talking about) than the folks new to SW not in WAMAS. **I think the new folks would be more malleable. I don't at all think being more malleable is always a good thing. Especially in this hobby. You have to experiment and find what is right for you, in my opinion, which is often not at all consistent with WAMAS dogma. There is something to be gained in my opinion by starting off with an open mind and experimenting (and there are downsides...which in my opinion are worth it) **Older folks, set in their ways, could/would likely have "different" ideas than "we" do about what is "ok". * When the (older folks particularly) get "bashed" here (we never do that, do we?), will they just leave, irritated? Here is something I never told anyone before: Many years ago, before I found WAMAS, I first joined another salt water site, and that is exactly what happened to me. The people there just couldn't see past their own opinions, and just incessantly went after me every time I made a post. They could never accept that I was going to do things a little different, and accept that, and offer advice with that precondition. It made me feel unwelcome. In the end (which wasn't long), I just got irritated and left. In the end, all of those things I was doing "different" worked beautifully, no help from those guys at 3reef. Yep, I named names. It isn't as bad here, but I've certainly seen it...

I know when I entered the hobby, I thought it was going to be much easier...with no help from TV or anyone. I had previously kept FW, did breeding, sold the fry I raised to LFS, and that was all pretty trivial. I wonder how many of us had a good idea what is required when we started out. I would guess "few". Of course, the TV show doesn't help...or does it? We've just heard from someone who started due to the show.

I wonder what the real percentages are. We are just guessing here, aren't we? I wonder whether we would be better off if all those "other" folks joined. I wonder how many thongs Chip owns.

I saw one in the wild, finally... A week ago, in Belize. Crazy snorkeling, there...day and night. I saw morays, octopus, squid, lobsters, mantis, shrimp, sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, fish, etc, etc...and the best/biggest/most dense corals I have ever seen. Oh, and 1 porcupine puffer. Big one, too. And unfortunately, lionfish...I saw about a dozen total in about a dozen trips.

Most of the problems I have in life are related in some way to small brains.

Probably most people have the same dilemma after watching the video.

Maybe his grouper got tired of waiting for the fish enlivening process and ate his camera. "saw one eat a rocking chair one time" -- Quint

They probably come alive most of the time, he just got unlucky. He doesn't have time to video every time, his grouper is hungry.

I kept skipping ahead. Only wasted about 2 min.

Hm, I predict the can will be gone before the bottle... Unless you invite one of those Indian glass eaters over.

How long do you think it will take the bottle to go away on its own?

He is probably at Roozen's.

I do over-rate mine. I have been running a mag 9.5 and the CS 102 or 202 (not sure which, seems like not much difference) for years. Never a problem. I like CPR boxes. I think Chad is making a good point about additional air build up in there with slower than expected flow rates, but I also think it is important to have something in place to deal with those bubbles, as I think they will still accumulate, just at a slower rate. I really like having 2 out-tubes, to prevent a single point of failure from a single tube (snail that makes it past the mesh somehow, etc).