Rascal

That is how I found my microbubble source recently. It was really hard to tell where they were coming from because once they get in the system they get sucked through everything, right? I couldn't figure out if they were coming from my CL or return, and if the return was it the plumbing, turbulence in the sump, skimmer . . ., etc.? Well, you obviously know the drill. I finally noticed some salt creep on the outflow of my return pump just below the threaded fitting on the union valve and thought, hmm. If something (salty water vapor) is making out, might it be possible that something (air) is also being sucked in? Made some adjustments and applied a generous helping of silicone and no more microbubbles. Turned out to be a much easier fix that any of the other options I was considering. Hope your problem turns out to be as easy to solve.

You can add ORA to that list. http://www.orafarm.com/corals.html And here's a quote from Reefkeeping's October 2003 TOTM winner: "As an added bonus, the tanks also receive some degree of direct sunlight, since I live in a 10th floor apartment that is very sunny with the tanks situated near a large picture window." No unwanted algae growth in that system. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/totm/index.php So in theory, and in practice for some, it seems that sunlight is a good thing. On the other hand, the experience of others is that it has lead to uncontrollable hair algae. Maybe the physics boys are on to something, and the color temp. depends on the glass used for the windows & tank + the angle of refraction; or maybe it is just all about nutrients. This last is what I had previously thought, but that doesn't seem to explain the experience of those who have had algae blooms. There must be more going on there than just an increase in light. An interesting topic.

Have read the same. Also in Paletta's book "Ultimate Marine Aquariums" there are a couple of examples of phenomenal tanks using natural sunlight. One uses a "light chimney" to bathe 1/2 the tank in nothing but sunlight, while the other 1/2 is lit with standard MH/VHO lighting. The comparison is unbelievable. The growth on the side under the light chimney dwarfs that of the other side. Another tank owner credits his success to the three hours of morning sunlight that hits his tank every day. I thought the rule about not letting sunlight hit your tank pertained to freshwater, not reef tanks. In other words, there are some situations in which you might seek to control nuissance algae by limiting the amount of PAR that hits your tank, but a tank in which you are trying to grow corals is not one of these situations. Instead of reducing light, most reefers dealing with algae problems try to reduce nutrients, right? I would be more concerned with controlling temperature than worried about excess PAR hitting your tank. If you can avoid temp swings, I say let the sun shine in. Now, this is all just based on what I have read, and seen (in pictures). If others on this board have different experiences, I would love to hear them.

Yes. I don't let my toddler or my dogs eat corals or play with "fish towels" or defrosted frozen seafood mush . . All things considered though, I believe (1) 30 Amps of electricity and bundles of wires in close proximity to approx 200 G saltwater; and (2) 1500 pounds of water, sand & rock incased in 1/2 in glass sitting 2 1/2 feet off the floor on a homemade stand in my living room, are both much greater threats to my children than anything living IN my tanks. I will also say though, that it never ocurred to me to wash my hands AFTER working on my tank before my son was born, but I do so religiously now. Some things you just don't want to find out the hard way, and learning that I have one of the rare toxic types of palythoa sp. in my tank is one of them.

Jason: I have or have had many of the fish you are thinking of, previously in a 54G. My comments: 1) Sixline's are great fish. Supposed to help with pyramid snails on clams. I don't know about that, but they have beautiful coloration and it is fun to watch them gracefully navigate through your live rock picking at stuff. Mine have occassionally chased some rival fish but never did any damage, and things always settled down after a day or two. 2) Beware of blenny vs. goby interaction. I had a bi-color for 1 year before I tried to add a watchman goby. The blenny harassed 3 of them to death before I finally decided to remove it (other methods failed to stop the aggression). I now have 2 yellow watchman gobies and then added a new bicolor -- no problems with aggression (although my blenny loved sps polyps so he too had to find a new home). Don't know if lawnmowers would be the same but if it were me I would add a blenny and goby of around the same size at the same time, or add the goby first and blenny later. I would also be careful of adding a mandarin to a tank that already had a watchman goby in it. Don't know for sure but since they compete for the same real estate I would think there might be some aggression. Maybe wait until you get your pod population up and then add them at the same time? Just a thought. 3) Neon Gobies are another great choice. Mine actively clean my tangs all the time. I also have 3 cleaner shrimp for this purpose -- I am a big believer in biological cleaners. 4) I agree with the choice of the Yellow over the Hippo Tang. Partly b/c the YT won't get as big, but also b/c of behavior. I have both in a 150 and even though they are same size, it seems to me that the Hippo uses a lot more the real estate. The Yellow is much more content to kind of "float" around. They are also very hardy and seem to eat virtually any type of algae available. 5) Royal gramma? You didn't list it but if you are looking for a nice looking reef-safe compatible fish for a 55G, it would compliment your list nicely IMO.

150G display 1 Yellow Tang (3.5") 1 Hippo Tang (3.5") 2 ocellaris clowns 2 yellow watchman gobies 2 blue neon gobies 6 green chromis 4 purple chromis 2 pajama cardinalfish 1 sixline wrasse 1 royal gramma (4") 125# LR 4" DSB in display 55G sump incl 3/4 fuge w/ 8" DSB & chaeto ASM G4+ w/ recirc mod rowaphos, purigen, polyfilter continuously

Jason - You can find those kind of check valves at usplastics.com or aquaticeco.com, BUT . . . I agree with the others -- I wouldn't trust my system to a check valve. If you are dead-set on having that type of flow pattern, I would suggest (1) a closed loop; (2) place your return bulkheads near the top of the tank and use pvc elbows to get the outlets where you want them, then drill an anti-siphon hole in the side of the elbow coming out of the bulkhead; or (3) just route your return lines over the back wall of your tank. Howard: I guess I just don't trust check-valves. I have the tubing coming out of my (DIY) Kalk reactor suspened about an inch over the high-water mark in my sump. I keep it in place with a zip-tie threaded through a hole drilled in the plastic bracing of the tank. That way it just drips in and when the powerhead feeding the reactor shuts down, there is nothing to be siphoned.

I'm the one who suggested he share this idea on these boards. For those interested, check out the full thread here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...t=pan+world+mod. Woops! I posted before I realized that Dandy had already provided that link. Anyway, this is a GREAT mod! Easy to do and it makes a huge difference in terms of sound reduction. Jason: The fan/heat sink combo runs approx $20. You will also need a DC adaptor to run your fan, if you don't have one already. As for the cost of a pump, do a search for Pan World or Blueline pumps -- they are the same thing. I got a PanWorld 100 PX-X (same as Blueline 40HD-X) for about $160. Runs my CL.

Brian: Internet sites can be more confusing than enlightening if you don't first have some basic background knowledge of what you are reading about, so I would start with some good books. My recommendations (somewhat in order): 1. The Concientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner (http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/bookreviews/fr/conmaraquristbr.htm) 2. Natural Reef Aquariums, by John Tullock (http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Reef-Aquariums-Simplified-Microcosms/dp/1890087009) 3. The New Marine Aquarium, A Step-By-Step Stocking Guide, by Michael Paletta 4. Reef Secrets, by Nilson & Fossa (also somewhat helpfull to get stocking plan started) After you've read at least one of the first two, and you are ready for some corals: 5: Aquarium Corals, by Eric Borneman All of the above are books that I have and would be glad to let you borrow (although Borneman's book would have to be on short loan). I have also heard good things about: Book of Coral Propogation by Anthony Calfo Reef Invertebrates by Calfo & Fenner

My experience with a related coral: I had a torch in my old tank that went from 1 head to 8-10 in a little more than a year. After a combination of stressors (9 hr pwr outage and then an overly active cleaning lady), it got a brown jelly infection and I lost all but 2 heads in a matter of days. While it was healthy and growing it would sometimes expell zooxanthellae -- which looked to me like what the picture shows coming out of your Hammer. The difference was that the zooxanthellae would come out in a string which would eventually be released and that was it -- there was no "brown stuff" left on the coral. The brown jelly infection stays on the coral and spreads. It doesn't come completely off of the head until there is no tissue left to infect. If you want to quickly set your mind at ease, siphon some of the brown stuff out with a turkey baster and then squirt it into a cup and smell it. If it makes you gag -- it is probably the brown jelly infection. If I had this again I would immediately frag the coral to save the healthy heads. To me it looks like all you have is zooxanthellae expulsion. I would follow Dhoch's excellent suggestions on assessing the health of your coral in order to determine if this is just routine or perhaps an early warning sign of some sort.

Interesting. My ideas were more along the lines of a reserve gas tank that would gravity feed into the generator's tank, . . .

I figured somebody must have cracked this nut. Care to share how you did it? Maybe open up a new post for "generator mod"?

I got the Troy-Built 5500 from Lowes a month and a half ago. Haven't had to use it yet, but I fired it up to make sure it worked (it did) and it did sound loud to me. I guess it's all relative. I found a consumer reports site (that I can't seem to find right now or I would give you the link) that rated this as a best buy--quieter and better performance than the Honda. My tank runs on 2 15 amp circuits, so this is way more power than I need, but I didn't want to have to explain to my wife why we couldn't use the toaster or make coffee until the metal halides went off.

My stepdaughter is in 5th grade and my son is 1 1/2 yrs old, and I can't wait for sciene fair experiments! What about designing an experiment to answer one of the many not-fully-resolved questions in the reefkeeping world? I remember a study not to long ago comparing the effect of "reef safe" medicines on xenia. Ahh, here it is . . . http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-06/sp/feature/index.php. I'm not suggesting that she simply copy that one, but that type of thing seems like it wouldn't be too difficult to replicate. I'm sure some equipment could/would be donated from within the club for a worthy cause such as this. Here's a thought: compare the growth of hair algae under (1) different color temperature bulbs of the same wattage; (2) different salinities; (3) different alk levels; (4) different temperatures; etc. . . Just pick a variable and test for it. I thought of hair algae because it is cheap and easy to find and you might be able to measure its growth by weight as well as observation. She would have to do some research to generate a hypothesis, then design an experiment with appropriate controls, variables, etc. . . . Sounds like fun to me!

Ditto on the nassarius - they are awesome; and the caution re: sand-sifting stars - they eat microfuana; and making sure you have enough current to keep detritus in suspension rather than settling. This last can be a difficult balance to reach with a DSB I know -- too much and your sand blows all over the place. Cucumbers also work great. As for worms, if you think you might need more consider an order from www.ipsf.com. Probably not necessary w/ live rock + time but doesn't hurt either.

Dandy: I have no experience with those bulbs, but about three years experience with that exact same tank & lighting fixture (24" Outer Orbit HQI/PC combo?). I ran a Ushio 10K in mine and had good success w/ LPS but not so much with SPS. The only way to get enough light on them was to keep the fixture fairly low, which meant that the light was concentrated towards the center of the tank. It seems to me that if you raise the 400W high enough, you ought to be able to manage the heat issues. I also think that, given the shape of that tank, you almost have to raise the fixture fairly high in order to light the back and front corners of the tank, especially without using supplemental lighting. Good luck and let me know how it goes. I still have the 54 Corner sitting in my carport and will probably be setting it up again some day, either for myself or a family member, so I am curious to see how your idea works out.

Yeah. Sorry about that. I got my first set on ebay from Lau** and they have worked great. Good luck with the project.

BRK has the bits and the bulkheads to match. Good prices too.

Unnair: I have tried it. Can't remember the name but it was the stuff that has to be kept refrigerated. I don't think it did any harm but I would probably not do it again. At best I think it's just unnecessary. I think you get all of the bacteria you need just by adding live rock. If you really want a bacterial bloom, just add some fresh, uncured stuff

I have nowhere near the construction expertise of a lot of these other guys, but here's my advice anyway, from one dad to another. I made the stand for my 150 out of 2x4s & 3/4 plywood for top & bottom. Front & sides were skinned with 1/8 birch plywood. Even though ErikS and others are probably right about the amount of lateral stability added by the sheathing, I put a 2x4 diagonal brace on all the legs and corners, top and bottom, so that the stand has plenty of lateral support both front to back and side to side. It was the easiest thing to do - just a bunch of quick 45 deg cuts with the miter saw, then glue & screw. I just didn't want to be at work and have that nagging fear in the back of my mind that I was going to get a phone call telling me my 10 year old daughter or 16 month old son had just been killed by my falling tank. With an in-wall I guess the risk of some kid banging into it isn't as great, but you never know. It is in a kids play room, right? Overkill = Piece of Mind. Just my 2 cents. Good luck on this and keep us posted.

I think we are really talking about two separate issues here. The stand supporting a tank must be BOTH planar (flat) and level. You can fix the "unlevelness" problem with shims, but if there is any concern with planarity, a lot of the manufacturers recommend a thin layer of foam placed between the tank and stand to prevent pressure points from forming on the glass. I agree with EricS that a tank supported only on the edges (most glass tanks) does not need foam or support in the center, but in that case I would still put foam under the supporting portions just in case there are any imperfections there. I DIY'd my stand recently, and in the process learned that making a stand perfectly planar and level is not as easy as it seems. It really needs to be as flat as glass. I used a sander to eliminate any imperfections that I could detect (using a the side of a 5-foot steel ruler as a straight edge), and then some 1/2" closed-cell foam to account for the imperfections I couldn't detect. I ended up filling my 24 x 60 space with strips cut from 1/2" closed cell foam sleeping pad mats purchased at a military surplus store. I also used the composite shims from HD to level the stand in spite of the downright wavyness of my floor. I chose composite over wood because I was concerned with the wood ones compressing over time, especially if they got wet.