rooroo

I can get bigger if I use submersible, though I'm not sure how I would get it in the stand. I knew for sure that a 20H I could wedge in there. Skimmer is in sump, its the Aqua C Urchin so it has a footprint of 6" x 6" (the whole reason I bought it!). You mean bubble trap by baffels, right? If thats what you mean then yes, I'm going to make them 12" tall and 1" apart. With the way I laid out the sump design I'd have a 7" x 12" section for the skimmer, 10" x 12" refugium, and 7" x 12" return. 7" x 12" should be large enough for a submersible pump.

Main tank is a 65. If I have an external pump the 20H is the largest that will fit.

Thanks Charlie. I know a place that I can get a great price on the Supreme/Mag Drive pumps. Any opinions on those? I've been thinking about getting a submersible for a bit as I really thought my pump is just too big for my tank. It would be a good time to do it now.

1" bulkhead size. 20Hs are really that thin? I'm just using it for a sump... should I look at a different size? phisigs79, what kind of frag are you looking for? I've got a torch that needs to be fragged, but not much else. dhoch, thanks! I'll contact them. I didn't expect a glass shop to guarantee they won't break it cause stuff happens all the time. Maybe I should consider getting a new submersible pump and selling off my Panworld pump? Its a bit too big for my tank anyway at 750 gph, it will probably be too big for my overflow.

I got a 20 for my birthday that I'm going to use as a new sump/refugium. I need to drill one hole in it for a bulkhead for my external pump. Anyone know of a place to get it drilled? I tried to convince my hubby to drill it for me but he's not too keen on the idea. I also know a guy that is a master glass worker but he's out of town for the holidays and I'd like to get the hole drilled as its the only thing holding me back from swapping tanks out. So any suggestions? Also does Top Fin temper any of their panels? Guessing since its a cheap brand they don't.

I saw one at SeaSave and told my husband about it. He wanted me to get one for my tank, until I told him it would eat/destroy everything in the tank.

Nope, it smells just like cat pee. Not fishy at all. In any case I've found that aerating it and heating it seems to remove the smell. I scrubbed down the container a few weeks ago, but I do mix water for water changes in it. I try to rinse out the container after every water change. Just something in the basement maybe (like the cat). In any case if some other people notice the same thing I'll just ignor it unless it gets bad.

Thanks everyone. I'll look into the flex pvc. I've only worried about rigid pvc when trying to close/open a particularly tough ball valve. But that stuff seems pretty strong.

I got my new tank this weekend. Same size, 65 gallon, just with a corner internal overflow. Its a perfecto, so it came with a huge standpipe and return with the modular piping. Very cool, but I'm not sure if the standpipe is what I should use. It kind of looks like the durso standpipe but it doesn't use a Tee fitting, just two elbows, and has two holes drilled in the side of one elbow, then a 1/4" hole at the top with a little piece of rigid airline tubing. Anyone have experience with these standpipes and how they do? Also I'm considering trying flex PVC instead of rigid PVC. Only thing is I have an external pump, and I've heard you should use rigid for the return with external pumps. BS or true? And all rigid connections will work with flex PVC, right? Glue will too? TIA!

So after testing, I usually pour the remains one by one down the drain with the water running. Should I be concerned that any of the chemicals used during testing could cause problems in my sewer line? I believe all of the waste water pipes are PVC, but after it goes below the house I have no idea. Also, would pouring certain testing solutions one after another cause any kind of chemical reaction that I should be cautious of? Just something I've been thinking about for awhile and is a good thing for newcomers as well as advanced hobbiests to be aware of, if there are any concerns.

Use unions. Anywhere you have a long section of pipe use a union. Unless someone has a good reason not to use these (ie they leak, but I've never had a leak problem with them). This doesn't make it easier to rearrange things, just makes it easy to get out the sump and/or pump when time for cleaning (if you have an external pump that is). And I think you can only use these on hard PVC... might be wrong though.

So just out of curiosity, do most people prefer the flex PVC? Can you pick this up at Home Depot?

I'm not getting anything new until I do the change over and have everything settled. The changeover should be this weekend or next. I was thinking about a pair of cleaners as they sound pretty amusing, but wasn't sure a pair would be ok. I got a few peppermint shrimp awhile back but as soon as I put them in the tank the dottyback eyed them up and started picking at them. They didn't last long. That was my first and last instance of adding something to my tank without doing the research. The new tank is the same size, 65 gallon. I'm just excited about it being RR and the lower chance of floods. Never had a flood with the HOB overflows but I am always parinoid about it. Thanks for the suggestions!

Since I'm mouring the loss of my neon dottyback, I thought it would be nice to introduce some critters that I couldn't keep before due to him. Maybe as a way to fill the void. (Ok, I'm not THAT upset that he croaked) So I'm thinking of adding some shrimp. What kind are recommended, and what do I need to know about them to keep them sucessfully? I've read that all shrimp are sensitive to rapid changes in pH and salinity, which I don't have in my tank. I'm careful to match salinity, pH, and temp with water changes. And I know that I need to give them several hours of drip when acclimating. Any other things I need to know? Ooh, another exciting thing... I found out that my mom is giving me a RR tank to replace my non-RR tank for my birthday! Don't know if she got a new sump too, but I can have my husband give that to me and help me plumb everything up. New weekend project!

When I was in my apartment I had the same issue with my 65 gallon. It was never a problem. In my new place I don't have that problem but I had planned to shim if necessary only because it looked crappy.

I tried that DIY calibration solution last night. Either I made it wrong (followed the directions exactly) or my refractometer is WAY off. Like .010 off. I would think if my salinity was that low things would have died long ago. Anyway, I'm going to calibrate against my moms tank instead since she has a pinpoint monitor.

Question about that DIY solution... Does it need to be at temp, 77 degrees F? Or will it work at any temp?

Find someone that has a microscope or get yourself an inexpensive one (from discovery channel store) and check out what the milky white stuff is under the microscope. You ought to be able to tell if its a parasite, bacteria, or neither that way. Maybe... I like looking at things under a microscope and sometimes that gives you all the answers.

Question: Is the bottom acrylic really that thick or do you have a couple inches of water in there?

Their coral selection has improved a bit, but the owner is very set in his ways of how he takes care of the coral tank. He's probably not heard much of t-5s if at all, generally sticks to LPS and softies, and the business is pretty pond oriented so understandibly the staff is trained on mostly pond products and fish. I was in there last week and their selection was pretty nice, at least for one whos interested in LPS and softies. I've always found what I needed as far as plumbing supplies go, and recently their stock for skimmers seems to have improved. I do agree, their markup is pretty substantial, but I guess when you don't specialize in SW supplies you tend to mark it up more. Anyway, just wanted to make sure you knew they were there.

Hey dhoch, Just wanted to say that there is a vendor very close to us that carrys tons of plumbing supplies. Aquatic Creations in Ijamsville, MD, right south of Urbana on 355. They're mostly a pond supplier so they carry tons of unique plumbing parts. But they also have SW fish and a few corals so it can be fun to check out what they have. They sometimes carry high end skimmers but you won't find t-5s there. Here's their online catalog link: http://www.aquaticcreationsltd.com/

Phew, good to know its not just me. I'll clean it out anyway. I don't know what kind of chloramine/ammonia levels Frederick County Public Water maintains, but as long as other people have noticed it and not had problems with it then I won't worry about it.

Alright rioreef, I'll fill up my buckets for the next week and bleach over the weekend. Dave, if after this it still smells funny I'll let you know and borrow the TDS. Thanks everyone!

I work in Rockville very close to Shady Grove. So its right on the way home. They don't have much by way of corals, but they do have a few. Got a leather and a couple mushrooms from them. If you're talking SPS then they have nothing, but softies they've got a few of. I like that they've got several varieties of tank raised fish there.

I gave them a good review a few months ago. Nice store but open at weird hours. I got a rock of zoas from them and unfortunetly it had sundial snails that ate all my zoas. Partly my fault for not dipping... I've learned my lesson. They are super nice and ordered me some Coralife VHO bulbs at not a lot more than URI bulbs shipped.