Charlie97L

do your t5s have individual reflectors? also, what was the lighting in the tanks they came from. it's not uncommon IME for some coral to change colors in a new tank, but if the lighting is adequate, they should still be colorful. water parameters? maintenance schedule?

pic pic pic

I'm goin with JERK STORE! haha. i just got one the other day, and he made a nice little hidey hole under a rock crevasse. i was worried about him too, but he poked his head out this morning when i fed... although, he wasn't apparently hungry enough to come out yet.

looks awesome man! keep up with the pics! :0)

i'm sooo looking foward. i can't go to freakin macna though, i have to work that weekend. bah.

I believe Martin at Atlantis in Richmond feeds his main display Arcti pods, and they go nuts for it, the fish actually recognized the bottle. Arcti are in the red bottle, right? edit: yup. i've heard nothing but good stuff about those. for the phyto and roti, i can't say.

tunze nano is the best, along with aquac. cpr skimmers are generally not so great, and the sappire ones are just a rip off of the aquac design, but sold at a premium, because they fit in the BC/AP rear chambers. (just MO.) as for a HOB fuge, any of the aquaclear or whisper filters should work fine with a little modification (see www.nano-reef.com) if you want to run an overflow box, do it. WAMAS is drill crazy, but honestly, on a 20 (glass is getting to be thin), i'd prefer a lifereef overflow box to a possibly cracking 20. just remember, not all overflow boxes are created equal. some of them are horribly unreliable when the power goes out.

i'd do a HOB, with mostly cheato... some people put LR rubble in not as a filter, but an extra breeding ground area for pods, sorry shoud have been more specific. the cheato/macro should keep your phos/nitrates down.

not purigen... it can help but the best nano's i've seen didn't use it. put some cheato and live rock rubble in it, and run a little clip on PC light... if you can, opposite your main lighting schedule. also, weekly water changes, especially if you have fish are a must. this is really the most important things. nanos can change params really quick, and water changes are the best way to keep everything cool. i just do an 8 gallon change weekly on my 20g holdling tank (set up while the aquapod cures) and let me tell you, it does wonders.

are you setting up for a salinity treatment for QT? that's kind of a high SG. i keep mine at 1.024 ish.

yup. i've read about that too. i know almon's math, while seemingly correct, isn't the same as a person, even though the lbs/ft2 is similar. it's like how a 100 lb dumbell feels heavier than a 100 lb person.

honestly, i wouldn't go over 75, and build in spill redundancies. but the above post is right, if it is a 1 bedroom, your whole apt might be on 1 or 2 circuits, which may not jive with running a tank larger than 75ish. it would be crucial to make sure that the tank is parallel to the joists... just get a stud finder, and you should be able to tell. also, something to consider, generally houses built 30 years ago were better constructed than houses now, so i don't think jason's argument of the "newer" the better would really be applicable. they weren't churning them out like mcnuggets in the late 70s/early 80s.

i wouldn't bother with baffles in the sump... just run a filter sock or do the 90 deg elbow trick to prevent bubbles. i think the fuge should HOB of the display, as then you won't have issues with your return pump chopping up any pods on their way back. you could do either a remora and hang it on the sump, or an aquac urchin, in sump. i believe ASM also makes a "mini" skimmer, that would be in sump as well. having owned both, i would go with the urchin skimmer... even with 30ish gallons, i think the mj1200 version would be fine over the mag version. also, wait wait wait on any anemones until the tank parameters are rock solid and you've figured out your maintenance schedule, especially if you haven't kept anemones before, or not had success. i seem to recognize that stand and tank.

ditto... i stopped by yesterday, and got a few rics, an echinata and a bunch of live rock for my new setup. great quality rock, great service. F&F rules!

thinking about heading up this afternoon to grab a few things, and i've never been there. call the cell, pm or respond if you're interested... i'm in the mont co. md area. charlie 240 498 3404

sure, cbashaw lost a beautiful regal tang to this very occurrence... i know it's a long shot, but hey, never hurts to be too careful!

ph will be the main swing at night. having a refugium light that is run opposite will help a lot. lookin great!

great addition! if you could drain the tank enough to glue that piece of grating in there, i think it would be a good idea... larger fish could dislodge that easily. ahahhahawesome!

i think he's talking about BRK, but they're comparable to everywhere else on the prices. i haven't seen any t5 retros up lately that are used.

jason... there is wire at lowes/hd. try also any auto store, they should have wire as well. a spool though, is gonna be $$$$. what ballast are you needing a harness for? i havea few harnesses i found yesterday when i was packing.

Wow! That's awesome! Great work on the woodwork! Don't forget to put some kind of *secure* netting/screen/grate on that pvc elbow overflow drain, otherwise your fish might go exploring and really mess things up. one guy here had a regal tang go down a pipe that size. not good. keep up the excellent work!

i agree on the return pump (1262 rocks), and both those skimmers are great, just make sure they recirc. that really helps with efficiency. i have a 48" VHO x2 bulbs retro if you would like... i thought about offering that to ya the other day when you got the tank, but you seemed set on t5s. bulbs only have about 20 hours on them.

welcome to the boards!

i'd go with the pendants... i think with a tank as big as yours, the clip ons won't be big enough, and they're really meant for nano tanks. pendants have the shield glass you need and have a variety of mounting options. just my .02

looking good! it was great to see you guys on saturday, and i'm glad i could give you some more goodies.