chewie

Actinics are up to you. You won't NEED them, but you may want them. If you use a good reflector (lumenarc III) you can cover the whole spread with just the 1 bulb.

As for the HQI vs. regular ballast, You will get a little better growth running the 20k's off of the HQI but you will be replacing the bulb more often. I've ran radiums, ushio, PFO, and XM off of the HQI and I was changing bulbs around the 8-9 month mark.

Look into the M135 pulse start ballast if you're worried about changing out your bulb too often. I run a 400w ushio 10k off of a PFO pulse start and the color/intensity is great.

The 20k/HQI combo is hard to beat for color though.

Whatever you do, don't skimp on the reflector.

I have one that is exactly the size your looking for. I'm unsure of the 9.5" frot to back, but I'll take measurements when I get home and shoot you a PM

I've had pergo for 6 years and I have spilled plenty of s/w on the floor. as long as it doesn't sty wet for long durations, you'll be fine. I use nothing between stand/floor.

If you have a overnight flood, and you don't catch it in about an hour or 2, you will get some warping.

the great thing about pergo is that it WAY easier to replace than regular hardwoods.

Just use redundancy when planning the sump/overflow, and you shouldn't have any floods.

Brute force! There are also Loc-line pliers, but those are for pansies.

Patrick at SWF usually has them in both 3/4" and 1/2" sizes, but he is out of the MPT connectors(cough cough Patrick cough cough)

Woody @ Seahorse usually has them as well.

The lumenarc setup will easily cover the 30x30 area. With 18" depth you could even get away with a 250w in a lumenarc.

I don't have experience with the maristar, but it does look nice and would depend if you wanted to have a canopy or not. If no canopy the maristar would look pretty slick.

I was only kidding about the workshop. But I'll keep you in mind for some custom work.

BTW, your blog is pretty cool!

So, when is the DIY skimmer workshop?

Nice table. Is it 6'?

The last time I was at Saltwater fanta-seas they had them. I'm unsure of the price, but it's less than 2 bills I think. I'm pretty sure they have 2 or 3 different wood/stains to choose from.

The only thing I am looking for in trade is maybe a Aquapod 24G w/ HQI' date=' Tunze Nano skimmer, or Deltec MCE300, 500, 600. Later Ryan[/quote']

 

Did you get my PM?

Have you ever been stung by an aiptasia? I haven't.

I have been stung by euphylia sp. many times. I have never thought of using them for aiptasia control though. Good idea!

On our closed loop' date=' I went with two 1 1/2" bulkheads. I then feed them into a 2' tee and then into our Dart. In your case I would switch to 2" as close to the feed through as practical.[/quote']

 

This is what I would do.

I have a coralvue 10k and a BLV/ushio 10k. I would trade either of them for your xm15k. Or if you want to buy them, how about $60 a piece (both bulbs have less than 2 weeks use).

Let me clarify a bit.

You can use a ball valve on the intake, but only to use it as a shut off device. When it comes time to clean the pump, ideally you want to be able to disconnect the pump without draining your sump, or if on a closed loop.

Just don't use the intake to restrict the output.

A filter sock is a 8" diameter sock with usually a 100 micron rating. all your drain water from the tank passes through the sock, creating less turbulence while trapping detritus. If you don't change them often, you will have nitrate problems.

I need to buy a good(ASM Euroreef clones or diy) within the next week.

Let me know your price or if you want anything in trade.

I am also looking for a sump with no more than a 18" x 16" footprint.

Thanks!

I should be able to get one for you in the next month or so.

i'll make a post when it's ready.

Awesome!

GLad it worked out, it's a very cool fish!

If I decrease my flow (valve is between intake and pump) I increase my bubbles even more. head ache !!(scratch)

 

Any suggestions?

Put a ball valve on the output of the pump to restrict flow. Never restrict flow on the intake side.

Your sump may not be long enough to disperse the bubbles before getting sucked into your return pump. Or you may need more baffles.

A filter sock would help greatly, but you need to change them out regularly.

Salt water fanta-seas sells the socks, and they even have a exhange program for a Dollar. You take in your dirty one, and exchange for a clean one.

If the filter sock doesn't help, then you probably need to cut the flow back on your return pump.

That's pretty sweet. The fuge is awesome. And the clown!

Oceanic.

It's 20" x 18" x 18"

Simmer down now,

I am a hunt and pect typer LOL

I forgot to add, I use Oceanpure saltwater from Saltwater Fanta-seas.

Equipment;

There are no powerheads used. The only means of circulation is from a Mag 9.5 from my sump return. It feeds a SCWD and has 2 90 degree nozzles in the back corners. Tank was drilled with a dremel and O/F box was custom made by myself.

Skimmer is a Prizm Pro submerged in my sump. It does a good job, but there are better skimmers.

Lighting is a SE 250w XM 15k in a Lumenarc mini reflector. Actinics are 2 x 36w PC.

CA/Alk/Mg are added to topoff water as needed. I have been using salifert, and seachem.

I run carbon 24/7 and change it after 3 months. No Poly filters, rowaphos, or other chemicals are used.

That's it.

Maintenance routine is as follows

Fish are fed daily and usually 2x on weekends. RBTA's fed every 2-3 days.

Glass cleaned 2-3x per week. All Parameters tested weekly.

Every other day I use a custom "powerfilter" to blast the detritus off the bottom and out of the rocks. The powerfilter is just a MJ900 with filter floss material wrapped around a 1" PVC pipe that has about 100 holes drilled in it. I let it run for about 2-3 hours. This is THE main reason the tank does well with that kind of bioload.

Once a month I do a 7g W/C which is how much my sump holds. I disconnect everything in the sump, dump the water and wipe it out with a paper towel. No filter sock on the sump.

Lights, reflectors, fans cleaned once a month right after the W/C.

Tank is 10 months old.

Thanks!

List of inhabitants:

Fish:

1 True Percula (soon to be a pair thanks to Lowman)

5 blue/green chromis

1 Flame angel

1 Sunburst Anthais

1 Sixline Wrasse

1 Lawnmower Blenny

2 Purple firefish

Clams:

1 T. Crocea

1 T. Maxima

Inverts:

1 Cleaner shrimp

2 Peppermint shrimp

2 emerald crabs

10 Scarlet Hermits

20 Astrea Snails

3 Rose BTA's (I have had this BTA for 4 years next week, I got it from Reefcam)

There is never a boring moment in this tank.

I know it's alot of fish, but my maintenace routine keeps the water SUPER clean.

The top down shots came out the best. I love my little maxima. Thanks for hanging on to that one for me Austin.

Thanks Austin! They turned out pretty well, but I need to figure out my W/B on my camera. As soon as I do Hopefully I can get a better representation of the color.

Some pics were under 15k, and the others under 10k.

I have been trying to get into my e-mail today to no avail.

Custom skimmer LOL!