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Long long ago on a tank far far away I painted out the trim the same color as the back... I liked the result.

Regular twist bits will work ok but if it's not ground for plastics it's better to use a dull one than a new sharp one. Bits made for wood and metal have a more aggressive cutting angle where plastic bits are designed to scrape the material. Just use a slower speed keep the surface wet if possible to lubricate and cool the bit. If the bit bites the material too hard it could crack the plastic. If you're looking for something over 1/2" I would use a spade bit... they cut acrylic very well. Start with an 1/8" pilot and then use the final size you need. If you only have twist bits... start with 1/8" and work your way up a 1/16" inch at at a time until you get to your final size. Of course if you have some scrap practice a bit on that first.

I just pulled one of these guys from the tank... he was about the size of a quarter and came in on some new rock that had been in qt for about 3 months. After I moved my coral into the new tank my Tyree LE sky blue mille quickly vanished into nothingness... And the starfish quickly vanished into the freezer. No hard feelings on that one. I'm glad you caught yours in time!

http://www.depoebayvacationrentals.com/ We spent a couple nights here when the whole family came out to visit... very nice. They are condos in the Depoe Bay area. A little large for you probably with just 2. You can't beat a hot tub on the balcony overlooking the ocean at sunset though.

I used to replace all my evap. water with kalkwasser through the good old drip method. It grew very tiring mixing bucket after bucket but it was cheap and kept my ph up as well. As my stocking levels grew I had trouble keeping my alk up and turned to dosing vinegar along with kalk. That worked for a while but in my opinion if you don't keep up with religious water changes you run into trouble with the bacteria populations that vinegar feeds. My new tank uses both a calcium reactor and a kalk reactor. The kalk reactor processes all makeup water and is fed with a liter meter III drawing RO/DI water from a 55 gallon drum in the garage. It's the best money I've spent. But you're right... it wasn't cheap...all together the total was around a grand. (both reactors, co2, lmIII, 55 gal drum, etc.) The two techniques really run hand in hand and compliment each other countering the negative effects each possess. You can have trouble with high ph using just kalkwasser and low ph using just a calcium reactor but combined they cancel out. My PH is solid at 8.3 and I never adjust it.

You'll need a large standard screwdriver to hold the shaft of the motor still while you unscrew the impeller. The back of the shaft is visible through the rubber grommet on the back of the motor by the fan... Just stick the scewdriver in the hole and turn the impeller by hand counter clockwise. Ben

This link is to the man himself but I'm not sure what your system is setup like... they only work on drilled tanks for the most part. I would suggest a piece of eggcrate cut to fit inside the overflow tube or a screen attachment to keep critters and debris out... I've started the morning with water hitting carpet too. I know the feeling. (scary) www.DursoStandpipes.com Good luck! Ben

Keep in mind that the only head pressure that cancels out in a closed loop setup is the vertical height of the returns equal to the vertical distance of the drain. Any other plumbing fittings (OM, ells, 45s valves,etc) and plumbing above the drains will restrict the pump as normal.

I use a 8100 btu window unit in a ~350sq ft area with full afternoon exposure and maintain 75deg F or so in 100 deg weather... works for me. I just wish I had one upstairs too. I've been waiting until 1 or 2 am to go to bed. I start up a fan in one window to exhaust the hot air out which draws cool air in another window. Works great... but last night it was still 80 deg here at 1am :(

There was a time... though I'm hanging my head as I admit it... that I used the "free" hours when I was waiting for my DSL installation at a new address. I went through a similar conversation when I cancelled. It took 4 or 5 very clear and very pointed repetitions of "I WANT TO CANCEL MY ACCOUNT" before they finally let me do it. I can see asking once or twice in an effort to keep a customer and make sure they are aware of your services. But when your product really doesn't offer anything to start with, and at an inflated price, pissing off people will get you nowhere. Offer me a free month and maybe I'll think about it. Refuse to work with people and you'll lose twice as many by word of mouth. IMO

I use POP Peeper to keep tabs on all my accounts. It's not a full blown email client but it will check virtually any email provider and allows viewing and replying. Other than that I pretty much stick to Eudora but you should be able to setup Outlook for multiple accounts or set up multiple PSTs. Oh, and Outlook is the devil.

Intel has been shut down big time... happened a couple of months ago and you'll be hearing more about it in the future. Actually, they never really picked up again since I interviewed there 5 years ago. Except for manufacturing techs... As of right now I have a position being offered after the background check clears (unless they find out about that...oh nevermind) but thanks for the updates...

I think in the end the combination of changes will be necessary to get your levels stable. The addition of kalkwasser probably took care of any excess CO2 issues already. That in addition with correcting your ALK levels will hopefully take care of it. The only other thing I can think of is to put your Nielsen reactor on a nighttime cycle to help curb the ph swing. Your ph may still be a bit lower than you want it but stability is better in the long run. Also... I don't know how long you've had the Nielsen reactor running but it may take several weeks to see your levels change and stabilize. I was having a hell of time keeping my alk up even dripping kalk 24/7 until I added vinegar to the solution. After that change ALK slowly came up over the course of 6-8 weeks and is stable. good luck with the detective work, ben

or implode, even... And for what it's worth, you are probably breathing mercury vapor when they blow. Something like 25 milligrams in each bulb. HID bulbs contain mercury, too. And incandescent bulbs contain lead. Great, huh? I was trying to find my link... Metro recycling information: 503/234-5000 http://www.metro-region.org/library_docs/garbage/haz_book.pdf

fluorescent tubes can contain mercury so I wouldn't smash them unless they are enclosed in a container of some sort... In general they are accepted in dumpsters and landfills but you're supposed to recyle them...

I have a 1-year old hamilton 14k...

have you considered running your calc. reactor effluent through the skimmer ... or increasing surface agitation in the tank to aid gas exchange?

*Disclaimer: Advice given in this forum is for entertainment purposes only Maybe James will jump in here but if you just want to clean up the scratch a butane torch should work fine... Just don't get it too hot or it will start to off gas and bubble.

You can get a small kit (sheet of each grit 1500-12000) at rockler or woodcraft for around $20.

Travis at Upscales is who I got mine from... If you come up and buy 3 or 4 pieces you'll still save on shipping costs... I would think.

That'll make a nice QT setup... I would put a cross brace on that light bracket to help support the pendent. It's hard to tell from the pics but I don't get the overflow... how will the siphon be maintained?

How much do you have left Keith? I need more rock but I'll have to find a place to store it until I get my tank up... Ben

Thanks for the info...

My net electric charge (after taxes, fees, adjustments...etc) was $0.084/kWh on a recent bill. NE/SE vs. NW/SW will always be a hot debate in this town. They are very different places and it depends on your lifestyle as to which you would like more. The NE/SE is a bit rougher in my opionon but there is more character and things to do. NW tends to be more upper class and includes downtown Portland. I prefer and live in the SW (Beaverton area). Great LFS on both sides of the river. And depending on your comfort level a two-bedroom can be had for $6-700. Just make sure to shop around and ask for specials... get a special in writing and play it off the next place. The last time I moved it was extremely competitive... Ben

I hate to ruin the party but no change here... :(