stevil

I would, but I don't think he'd be compatible with my existing tank-mates... don't they eat crabs, shrimp, snails etc?

What is making the noise? The pump, the water gurgling, the air? Some folks have put a mouspad or something underneath the pump to help silence it.

Thanks everyone!

Also, if I recall correctly your old bulbs (175W 20,000K) were old were beyond their end of life... The light change is probably substantially different.

I don't think you need a canister filter... What kind of tank is it? Is it an aquapod with built in chambers, or just a glass box? Is it drilled, do you have any kind of overflow so you can have a sump? I think the basics are - live rock, live sand, protein skimmer and pump/powerhead for movement.

In my humble opinion: I suspect that its stress. How big is the hippo tang? From what I understand many fish will continue to carry Ick, even though they don't break out, their immune system keeps it in check until stress overtakes. I don't know what your stock load is like, or how much other stuff you have in the tank, but if the fish doens't like the environment, it's probably stressed out. I'd say trade the fish for something else. In the long run a hippo is going to out-grow your 55 gallon anyway (if it hasn't already).

I'm in Cville too - in the Faircrest development. Would be cool to share the ride.

Links don't work... What are your parameters? How long has your tank been established? Some algae is normal during the first several months (or even 1st year) of a new tank. Do you have a clean-up crew? What does it consist of? Without any data, a lawnmower blenny might be something to consider...

One other issue is returns... what if your bulbs arrive damaged? Will they refund or replace? Can you be certain?

If you don't have one of these books, I highly recommend getting at least one. "The New Marine Aquarium, A step-by step setup and stocking guide". It's an easy read and pretty short. "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. I still use this over a year later. The first one walks you through setting up all your equipment and provides great checklists for different types of tanks. The second one does the same (but to somewhat less detail on the setup), however is an awesome resource for the continued maintenance and stocking of your tank.

Do you know the rating on your membrane? It might be an easier and cheaper fix. There are membranes rated for different rejection rates - 70, 85, 95%. Typically though the higher the rating results in more 'reject' water, requires greater pressure and has reduced GPD (unless you have high-pressure). If that doesn't solve it you could keep the membrane and then get a new increased stage unit DI and use it in that.

Not sure if you are kidding or not... I'm not sure "too many" pods would be a problem... but, just get a mandarin or other pod eating creature...

2nd that - they are worth it. I bought a bottle and was trying to breed them in a 10 gallon tank, but then forgot to feed them... anyway - they exploded in population after just a few weeks.

Advantages of using an RO/DI filter will reduce the amount of unknown elements into your water which has the net effect of reducing algae blooms, which is particularly an issue when starting up a new tank, but can continue to plague you. Disadvantages are cost, but that is relative. It's at least $60 to get a basic RO/DI unit, average will be $100, and depending on how much water you need per day you might need a more expensive one. You'll also need to buy replacement filters every year. Another possible disadvantage is water waste - in order to get purified water, some of it must go down the drain (or if you are creative you can find other uses for it.. watering the plants, etc...) Personally, I wouldn't go with straight tap water and dechlorinators... I think the RO/DI investment is well worth it. How big are you planning your tank to be? You can also buy it from local stores - folks with small tanks tend to find that a cost effective alternative.

The ricordia fairy must have visited... I noticed two new small ones exactly like that in my tank the other day too... don't have any others like it.

$30 dremel: http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=prod...681-353-2850-02 May need to enter your zip-code to see the price.

I don't think the speed matters as long as the new water is about the same temperature and specific gravity. I don't heat my water, but it is at least room temp, perhaps a bit warmer because of the pump that is circulating it. If you were doing a very large water change (50% or more) I'd say be a bit more careful about trying to match pH and or doing it slower, but at the volume you are talking about, I think you'd be ok. I do 6 gallons a week on my 90 (about 105 gallons total water volume). Pump out the old, pump/pour in the new - 5-10 minutes.

You mean the wedding pics? The first set is my wedding from March 2005, the others are from a friends wedding... But yes, you can congratulate me for not having my wife divorce me after spending all the time and money on my tank!!

So, it's been just about a year since I set my tank up... Here's a series of full-tank shots showing the evolution: Dec 12, 2005: Dec 17, 2005: April 1, 2006: Today, with just Actinics: Today, with Actinics, 1 10k, 1 5600k: (large version) Thanks WAMAS for all the help!

I could use an emergency contact or two for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have a pet sitter to take care of the daily feeding and basic maintenence, but just in case..., would like to have someone that can be around. Luckily I've never had to have her call anyone.

Could maybe reverse the flow through the overflow and push him out? I'm thinking you could turn off your returns and then hook one of them to the drain of the overflow he's stuck in and pump water "backwards". With enough force he should be pushed to the top and you could then scoop him back into the tank (or he might pop out anyway). You might need to take the standpipe out.

Hmmm.. Well this morning its down to 8.0, which is typical for my am reading. Flow in my sump is a bit restricted at the moment (I put a 5 gallon tank in my 20 gallon sump as a poor mans refugium). I wonder if that had something to do with the reading... If the kalk dumped in, but wasn't rapidly mixing or being removed from the sump then perhaps that's why I got the higher reading. I'll check it again tonight, and run a full suite of tests and see.

My one and only magnesium test on oct 14 had it at 1005. What's the connection?

Ok - good to know. My kalk drip is very irregular, since it's all manual right now. I'm trying to get into a rhythm of 1 gallon per day, but this was the first drip I've had going since last week. Plus I'm taking a v e r y slow wean onto it so I don't do something stupid by accident (like dump a gallon in ). I don't have a ton of SPS coral yet, most of what I'm trying to do is ensure that I have adequate calcium and alkalinity to support more SPSs. Nothing in my tank 'freaked out' that I can tell. My ph has been pretty stable at ~8.1 for the past 3-6 weeks, my alk has continued to drop/stay low (was 1.25 last time I measured, hasn't been higher than 2 in months), and I've not been able to drive my calcium up above 360. I'm certain it's because I'm not adding enough kalk (definitely not enough to replace my evaporation). Think I need to revisit the kalk-reactor build or buy.

I was finishing up a water change I started last night, leveling off my water etc... My kalk drip was slow, so I sped it up.. way too much... about 3/4 gallon of kalk dumped in and took my pH from 8.1 to 8.4, although just in the last 5 minutes it's dropped to 8.35. I think i literally just caught this Should I be concerned? Any suggestions? I just mixed up new water, so I don't have any aged water I could do a water change with (and it would be only 5 gallons, but could make more).