rooroo

Black paper, the stuff from my LFS. I used black because my overflow and powerheads are black, so this hides the equipment a bit better.

Dave, where do you get your bulbs if you don't get them shipped?

They aint that much cheaper anyway. Go with a place not going out of business.

I have a 65, and I use two 24" VHOs and two 35" T5s. I had to go with 24" VHOs because the space in my canopy is actually 35 1/4", and 36" VHO bulbs with endcaps are actually a little longer than 36" while I knew that T5s were 35" so they would fit. This is plenty of light for softies and LPS. I've not ventured into SPS yet but I know that I have room to add another one or two T5 bulbs if I decide to. In any case I really like this coloration and setup. I use two IceCap 430 ballasts so I can do the sunrise/sunset thing. Here's a comparison. VHOs only, 300 watts: 150 watts VHO, 78 watts T5 (excuse the condition of the corals, they had just been moved to a new tank too):

I don't have an acrylic shield. I used to but replaced it with an eggcrate cover. I'm sure this limits the light reaching the tank but it makes me feel better to have something covering the tank. I think the fans are basically computer fans. My dad told me what to order and he installed them. There is one on each side of the canopy, and the back of the canopy is competely open. Here's a picture of the canopy and fans before we installed the T5s: You can see the old acrylic cover too.

Ah, I see. I didn't know that about blade guards. Well if the woodworkers show is in March, I'm sure we'll be going. Thanks for the recommendation though.

I'd probably just borrow it for a weekend. Probably not this weekend as we're doing some painting. I'll let you know though.

I think I'll take you up on that offer Dave. It would be interesting to see what the par is for the tank anyway. I'll let you know when I have time to come get it and get a quick lesson on how to use it.

New endcaps, new bulbs, they snap in well. Never get wet to my knowledge. It might just be the bulbs. I got a bad batch of VHOs that some would last a month and burn out, which was more likely the problem than blowing fans on them. Anyway, I'll try turning the fans on and see how they do.

Hmm, I noticed the discolored ends last night after the bulbs had been running for some time. But I will switch the Aqua Controller to turn the fans on when the bulbs are on. Thanks.

I have an IceCap 430 running 2 36" T5s with reflectors. I've only had the bulbs going for a few weeks and they're already getting slightly blackened on the ends, meaning the bulbs are wearing out faster than I expected. I have canopy fans but normally only run them to cool the tank when it gets too warm. Should I be running these whenever the lights are on? I found with the VHOs that blowing cool air on them seemed to make the bulbs wear out faster, but I'm guessing the T5s are different.

I've told him to investigate it. Knowing my husband, if he doesn't think its his great idea then he won't use it at all. Or he will replicate it. But I will insist that he get one for trial. Actually, the blade guard on this table saw is really nice. It's in general a really nice table saw. It's a Rigid jobsite saw. I looked at a Craftsman that's a similar style and none of the accessories were as good as the Rigid. Still, the blade guard gets in the way of certain cuts he'll need to make so the gripper is a good idea to have around. Anyway, he got his stitches out today. His fingers are returning to normal. One nasty scab on his index finger but otherwise they look good.

Thanks everyone. I'm going to get some thicker acrylic today and will glue in spacers for the baffles. I still have plenty of silicon left so I'll be sure to use a lot of it.

Well I realized that my plumbing is also a bit off, so I am going to have to empty the sump anyway to flip it around. So I am going to reinforce the baffles with scrap acrylic.

3/16" If you've got the time it might be a good idea to call them up and see if you can get 1/4". If not it will probably hold, just use extra silicon.

I installed my new sump today, and the silicon I used to glue in the baffles did great except for one baffle, which isn't even under as much pressure as the other baffles. It's not imperitive that I repair it immediately, but I was hoping there's an easy way to repair the seam without removing the sump and scraping off the old silicon. Would two part, 5 minute epoxy work? Or that epoxy in stick form? I can drain the sump down a bit and remove water from the areas around it, but if theres something safe for underwater use that would be even better. Just to defend the baffles a little, I probably should have bought thicker acrylic as they bow a bit when under pressure, but when the whole sump is full none bow. Anyway, any help greatly appreciated.

I really like my Aqua C Urchin. Its the same thing as the Remoras only in sump. I use it on my 65, easy to use and clean, pulls lots of junk out, and its got a small footprint so its good for a small sump/taking up little room on the back of your tank.

Aw, I love parrot fish. I don't have a freshwater tank set up though otherwise I'd take one. I know you're in VA, but if you can't find another store I know that both Aquatic Creations in Ijamsville, MD and Tropical Fish World in Gaithersburg, MD will take them and give you credit.

Awhile ago I bought two or four (can't remember) of these guys, before I started to research new inhabitants before purchasing. This past weekend I swapped out the old tank for the RR tank and while taking out rocks and sand I found two of them. I since read up around the web on them and find that they seem to be controversial. Most people with personal experience with them like them or find nothing wrong with them while all the experts say you shouldn't put them in your tank. I put them back in because as the others with personal experience say, I didn't see them do anything bad for the tank. Scientific names are Engina mendicaria or Pusiostoma mendicaria. All the experts say they're a kind of whelk that prey on beneficial worms, which they probably do, but I still see bristleworms around in my tank so they don't do too good of a job. Just curious what other people thought of them.

I used a canister filter on my FOWLR, actually a micron filter, the Magnum 350. Good little filter and eliminates the issues of high nitrates as long as you are religious about changing the filter every 2 weeks. If your not going to keep corals for a bit, theres not much reason to fear higher nitrates as the fish can handle it. Just need to be good about water changes. Unless you get some expensive, highly populated live rock with sponges and corals on it. Otherwise, you shouldn't have to worry about nitrates the way those with reefs do.

Wow, Fairfax county spent some money on a graphic designer for that report! Well, it seems that everything is ok with his water, the only concern again being copper. 1.3 ppm (parts per million) (action level) is above what Randy suggests, he says something in the range of 0-100 ppb (parts per BILLION) might be acceptable. Get a copper test kit and check regularly. Either way, you should always treat for both chlorine and chloramine when using tap water. That way you don't have to worry about it. Use Seachem Prime or Tetra Aquasafe (you can get that at Petsmart). They both treat for both. In any case, you're taking a gamble no matter what using tap water. I had no problems for a year and many others have never had problems either. Its up to you, but like most others recommend, a RO/DI filter is the best option for controling the water quality of your tank.

I used to live in Columbia. A couple of good stores out that way... Sea Save in Glen Burnie is my first recommendation. They have great livestock, especially fish, but their selection is limited as are their hours. Check out their website (google it) and see if you can stop by on a Saturday when they're open. House of Tropicals is also in Glen Burnie. They have great live rock and corals but are pretty expensive. Every time I've checked out their fish its been sub-par. But its a big store and they have lots of equipment. Aquarium Center in Randallstown. This is a big store and has a lot of equipment. Their fish selection is pretty impressive but the health of the stock is up and down. Not sure about live rock as I've never inspected it, and the coral selection, from what I remember is kind of limited. But they seem to have good prices on equipment, and especially good prices on tanks. FWIW I started out with a 33 gallon FBH as a FOWLR several years ago, then moved to a 65 gallon reef tank when I was given the tank, stand and canopy. I stuck with the 65 gallon size because it fits best in my house and budget. A bigger tank is certainly in the future but not until I get a bigger house, which will be 5 or more years down the road.

Heres a link to the water quality report for Alexandria. Lead and nirate results look good. Copper might be a little high, but I'm not really sure what the acceptable level is for a reef aquarium. Will look that up. No info on silica or phosphate. But it seems the most feared are acceptable. This article is a really good read about using tap water in a reef aquarium. Edit: Copper levels seem to depend on your home and the kind of piping in your home. Best to purchase a copper test kit and test it yourself. The 90th percentile levels seem acceptable for a reef aquarium but you cant be sure as your neighbor may be fine while your house is not. As Randy suggests, run the water for a few minutes before placing in a storage container. Be sure to use a good dechlorinator that removes chloramine too. And if your at all worried as water conditions change all the time with public water, you should get an RO/DI.

Drs Foster and Smith have a great deal on some base rock. Not really sure how the rock looks but I'm going to order a box when it becomes available again. It's $60 for a 35 lbs box. So under $2 a lbs. Might be worth checking out. Edit: Sorry, its liveaquaria.com and the rock is called fiji foundation rock. Same price and weight though. Not available yet.

My guess is it depends on how severe the scratch is. If its deep, you're better off not wasting time on it. If they're light and faint, your above techniques might work. Just be careful that whatever you do you don't scratch it worse. Sandpaper might remove the larger scratch but add lots of micro scratches that cause the glass to look cloudy. Good luck and if you try any of the above let us know how it goes!