dandy7200

I would leave the skimmer in the sump as pictured and set up your refugium in the next compartment. I t looks like you are getting good flow in that so it will tumble macro nicely. It looks as though you have a bag of media of some sort in that chamber but it doesn't look black enough for my taste (switch it to carbon). Where you have the water entering into the sump into that pvc tube, I would change that to a 100 micron filter sock. You will be AMAZED by how much crap it collects. Figure out what size you want and then buy at least 5 or 6 of them. That sums up my thoughts on your mechanical filtration. As for the saw in your husbands hands, all I can say is NEVER GET INBETWEEN A MAN AND HIS TOOLS! Serously don't you need him to build you a filter sock holder with that saw anyway?

Others have provided information to the value of the club, but to answer you question about it being moved it is mainly because addresses and cell phone numbers etc, are freely posted in the member area. I think it was a very generous offer to volenteer your house for a group party. One of the benefits of doing a group food party is it is cheaper. Lots o people bring stuff and share. IMO you could probably save $20 by going to a food party. And if you hosted it as a member I am pretty sure you could be exempt from adding food because you were providing the location. FYI. Just last week I was talking to someone who had joined the boards but not paid the membership fee yet. He was asking me about drilling a tank. I suggested that if he joined the club I would drill his tank for free just as I would with any member of this club. I would not do this for a casual visiter of this site and no doubt that easily will pay his cost of membership. That is funny you think that most members live in NOVA, I live in NOVA and think most members live in MD . The grass is alway greener I guess. Dan

10k faster growth, 20k colorful growth. 175 growth, 250 faster growth. On the bowfront 1 mh will work fine provided you have a good reflector. Are you setting up 2 tanks?

I think either way 1 light is not going to cover 4 feet the way you want. I would sell the 400 and buy another 175.

Thanks Fab, I have pretty much scoured dynamicecomorphology for all of the free info I can get. I've posted in a couple other places as well trying to get some feedback from people who have tried this. My next step is to go through every skimmerless thread I can find. The problem I see is that setting up a cryptic zone with passive flow in the tank takes up alot of real estate. I am trying to figure out a good passive solution to set up remotely but, due to the lack of available information to me right now I don't have alot to go on. I need to just order the dang book, I was just fishing to see if another member had the book that I might borrow for a bit. I have read that the CD is a little better (newer information). Maybe I can just order that and we could swap when finished? Dan

Wow, this is a hot one, don't all jump at once .

Does anyone have any experience setting one up? I am trying to get a hold of The Enviromental Gradient to further my research so if anyone has a copy or has set up trizonal filtration I would really like to hear about your experiences. So far the information I have found is limited at best but, what I have seen really seems to make sence to me. Dan

Fish poop.

Mixed, usage here I have agronite in the display and silica in the lerge refugia.

The clams and oysters most likely available at the grocery store should be able to be dipped in RO water for a good amount of time (20 minutes) so I think this should kill all of the parasites.

Thinking about adding a few of these mollusk to my sand bed in my fuge for filtration. Just regular old ones from the grocery store. I know they wont live forever in warmer waters but, could I expect 6-9 months? As long as they did not all die at once and spike the ammonia or harbor parasites does anyone see any possible negative effects of doing this? Dan

What: size is your fuge? (gallons) 28gallons gph that flow thru it. * *this has nothing to do with circulation inside. just what passes in and out per hour. 500gph Size tank it's on. 54gallon flow directly into tank or somewhere else. (sump?) tank total water volume of system. 80gallons actual water

Good call! It will likely be 2 weeks before I can come up and drill your tank. Talk to these guys when they come over about differant ways that it can be done, amount of flow you want, overflow or no, where you want it in the tank, durso, stockman, etc, etc. They will surely fill your head with many ideas and things that you have not thought of yet that delve much deeper into this hobby than simply put hole in tank. Then once you have a idea of the direction you want to go I'll make you a plumbing supply list to get and we can geterdone. Dan

Ok, now how about the name of the store?

Acme plastics on General Washington drive is where you want to head. They stock everything you need and cut to size as well.

I've bought from Delray glass.....wicked expensive. My next project I will be using these guys.

I'm going to reccomend GEO as well. Built like a tank and it just works.

kngfisher, it shouldn't require a flow meter, simply measure the number of gallons coming out of your return pipe or overflow pipe (whatever is easier) over a given amount of time. 1 gallon/10seconds=6gpm=360gph. BTW what are your numbers Chip?

54 display > 30 equipment sump > 28 fuge: 500 gph flow. I went 10x display turnover to get 20x fuge turnover and I still actually need more flow in my fuge to get things tumbling the way I want. Display turnover at 30x seems to be working for now but, think I could get it up to 40x without my sand blowing all over.

Wow, I am very jealous! Have a great trip, take many photo's, are you taking request? If so I vote for some galaxea and their pink stylo. As far as questions to ask them, I am very interested in the algae culturing vats and specifcally the air-generated method of tumbling to culture them.

Yep, they are conesnail eggs.....

It's the Cerith's.

All right so your ready to drill. This is a breif overview of what you need to consider (I'm sure others will post their thoughts and help brainstorm anything I leave out so that is why I am posting in the thread). 1.You got the tank used, no brand name is known: OK what size is it and what color is the caulking on the tank. (Black or clear) did you buy it by chance from someone in the club? Is there trim on the tank? The reason I am asking this is because while it is very simple for me to test the glass to see if it is tempered (which in no circumstance can be drilled) you are far enough away that it would be easier to know right from the start and then we can knock it out in 20 minutes if you have all of the parts gathered. (probably $20- $30 worth of stuff based on the next few questions). 2. Are you setting up a reef or fish tank? 3. How much room do you have behind the tank? To the sides? 4. Is the tank located in a place where it needs to run silently or is the sound of water a noise you enjoy? I may have forgotten something but, it can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. FWIW heres a pic of the back of my tank..... There are 7 holes drilled plus a 2" by 9" slot cut for the overflow. I clearly chose complicated .

If you need help drilling I don't mind giving you a hand. I have drilled quite a bit of glass and feel very comfortable doing it. If your tank is already running it is still easy to do. I drilled my 29, that has been set up for 4 years, last month with all livestock in it and it was the best thing I ever did for the tank. Information you need to provide: How old is the tank, what brand, what size. There are a couple methods to determine if the glass is tempered or not, but this information will give us a pretty good idea.

I agree nothing beats the applicators that are made for the job. I have used a coffee stirrer like a pipette in a pinch, it wasn't pretty, but it did work. I read a really good tip today. When the needles clog they can be cleaned out by running a lighter across them. Don't know if it works, but I sure know I will try it next time one clogs on me.