Rascal

It wouldn't hurt to play it safe, IMO. Even if the bacteria don't die off, you could have a sponge die or even some of the boring animals (meaning they are inside the rock and you can't see them, not that they aren't much fun at parties). In a 20 Gallon tank it wouldn't take much to mess things up, I would think. Might as well stick it in a 5 Gal bucket w/ some old tank water and a powerhead for a few days. If it doesn't smell like death/sickness then, I would go ahead and add it.

I have not seen it personally, but Calfo & Fenner's "Reef Invertebrates" is supposed to have a pretty good section on plumbing. In the meantime, this article and the related FAQs should be enough to keep you busy. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/plumbingmarart.htm Also, take a look at some of the tank set-up threads on this board. Many of them have photos and diagrams which are very helpful.

Some suggestions: Consider splitting the drain from your display so that 1/2 goes to the frag tank and the other 1/2 goes straight to the sump, then simply drain from the frag tank back to the sump as you currently plan. Seems like a waste put in a 2nd pump when you could just let gravity do the work. Also, if you simply plumb the frag tank into your system you will not add any flow to your sump. Not sure if this is a concern for you or not, depends on how much total flow you have, how big your sump is, and how you deal with turbulence in there, but it is something to think about. Oversize or double up the drain capacity on the frag tank to deal with murphy's law. For the input to your frag tank you could make a pvc manifold with multiple outlets, or use locline with some "y" fittings and adjustable nozzles. In either case, you could run it over the top or through a bulkhead. For the overflow(s), you will need diamond coated drill bits, bulkhead fittings, intake screens. For all of this and more, BRK will probably have everything you need to do the job. If not, try Marinedepot, aquaticeco, usplastics, savko.

Another way to do it is to put the T with ball valve on your drain line instead of your return. Then you just turn on the pump from your mixing container and open the ball valve enough so that the flow out matches the flow in from your mixing container. This way you never have to turn off your return pump. To minimize the amount of "new" water that gets mixed in and emptied, I keep my new salt water at a slightly lower temperature than my tank, and turn off all other circulation pumps in the display before I start the process. The theory is that the slightly colder (and cleaner) water being pumped in from the return will sink to the bottom and the water that goes over the overflow -- and ultimately out of the system -- will be primarly the old, dirtier water. Through trial and error I have decided the MJ1200 is the best cheap pump for adding water. It seems to deal a little better with head than some other pumps with similar circulation rates. Also, I highly recommend putting a cord switch on your powerhead if you are going to be using these to move water around, just for convenience. It's really easy to do. As far as getting the last bit out of your mixing tub, just tilt it and keep the inlet of the powerhead submerged in the corner as long as possible. HTH

I have had baby ceriths in my tank.

I just finished making the same decision. I currently run 10K MHs supplemented with T-5 actinics in front and PC actinics in the back. My plan was to eventually replace the PC fixtures with another set of T-5s, but after seeing the comparison b/n 10K MHs supplemented by T-5 actinics (my tank) and the 10K MHs supplemented by VHO actinics (Tri-Bui's tank), I changed my mind in about a half second. Seeing the difference first hand made it a no brainer as far as I was concerned. The T-5s look purplish by comparison. Whatever the reason, the corals just flouresce more -- I mean much, much more -- under the VHOs. Since I already have the T-5s and they do throw off a lot of light, I will still use them, but if I had it to do over again I would have gone with just VHO.

Micro-bubbles: check all of the connections on your return plumbing. It is possible you are sucking in air somewhere. Algae: I think most tanks experience some type of algae bloom as they mature. Sounds like you've got diatoms. Could be worse - bryopsis and hair. Patience and dilligence are more likely to solve your problem than any quick fix. I would not reduce lighting. Instead, I would bring your Alk back up, increase circulation (particularly over the sandbed), make sure you are not adding any silicates via source water (i.e.--check the functioning of your RO/DI), maybe blow your rocks once a week or so w/ a turkey baster. Increase frequency of water changes and siphon out as much of the diatom film as you can each time. Let's see, what else? Macro-algae in refugium? Phosphate remover? As for your clean-up crew, you're not asking the crew of a 24G to do all the work in a 120G are you? If you haven't already done so, get some more snails. That's all I can think of for now. Hope it helps.

For basic info on care, selection, and compatibility of different fish, my research almost always brings me back to www.wetwebmedia.com. Other than that, the only advice I will add to what has already been posted is: 1) in general avoid conspecifics (fish with similar body shapes); 2) add more territorial fish last; 3) if possible add fish that may be competitive with one another (different tangs for example) at the same time.

I thought I remember reading it was better to mount them perpendicular to your tank, but most commercial fixtures I see have them parallel. I currently have mine parrallel, but since I am going to redo my canopy soon I figured I might as well try to get it right this time - the 3rd, and hopefully last, canopy build. I guess my question is really which direction do they throw more light, longitudinally or horizontally? I looked at Sanjay's charts and I can see it is not a perfect square of light distribution but I can't figure out which way the bulbs were oriented in relation to the charts. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jason: Could be your angels are picking at it. You may also want to consider the lighting. Chaeto (and most other Algae, I believe), do better at lower K. I suspect your reef is probably lit w/ 10K and higher. Cheap way is to stick a ball in your sump and light it with a PC spotlight bulb and clip light from HD. Check out this site: http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html , and the RC thread on the same: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...mp;pagenumber=1

IME the dust always goes away after a while. Not sure whether it sinks down to the bottom of the substrate and becomes "mud", gets skimmed out, disolves into the water, or some combination. I just know it goes away. Some sort of mechanical filtration (filter sock) can't hurt, but patience will be the only real fix. Does no harm to anything in the meantime.

Consider this: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...amp;hl=panworld

Yes. Started from a 2 x 3" frag in April '05. I have it isolated to keep it from taking over the tank. Same with the xenia. Both of those are islands. Can't seem to get depth (or colors for that matter) to come across well on camera.

My photography skills, though much improved, leave much to be desired, but here it is . . . From the front: From the side: Some fish: Some corals: