chewie

 

This may sound like a stupid question, but I am going to ask anyway. Are Torts considered to be in the acropora group, or are they in a different family/genus than acropora?

 

 

Dsoz

C'mon, you're a Teacher. There are no stupid questions, remember?

Acropora is the genus. Tortuosa is the species. The blue tort is Acropora.

It is a tough species to keep for some. Myself included. Many other SPS do well even while the torts do not. I had one for about 3 months that encrusted and looked good for awhile but suddenly STN'd.

That was around 3 years ago.

I haven't tried a frag lately, but as soon as I get one it will go in a very high light/flow area in my tank. I will also check CA/Alk, PO4 religiously because I'm sure my Alk dropped too low or something and I didn't fix it until it was too late.

You're welcome.

If you start leaning towards the euroreef, you better hurry. They won't last long at that price. Well worth it.

a 400w ballast will drive a 250 bulb. It may stay lit for a while, or it could fail and possibly cause serious damage.

I wouldn't risk it.

Euro Reef RS 80 for $265 (shipped)

You can get it from euro-reef.com for $198 plus shipping.

http://commerce03.i2net.com/able55new/stores/111/RS80-P-Protein-Skimmer-P400C4.aspx

Out of the choices you listed, go for the euro-reef. They are tried and true, and built very well. I have a few euro-reefs, and I have used ASM, PM, and AquaC. All are good skimmers, but the convenience and ease of use goes to the euro-reef. ASM's are pretty good too, but I would buy a used euroreef instead.

Saltwater Fanta-seas has a few, but they're 48" x 24" x 14" (LWH)

I'd get rid of the first 5 gal of good water and call it good.

He's very sticky. 1 time I accidentally got too close with the cleaning magnet, and he wouldn't let go for nothin. It took about 30 minutes before he finally let go.

I should have paid around $125, but like I said, I know a guy..........

I know a guy who knows a guy.

J/K, I got it from Patrick at SW Fantaseas. I have had it for 3 months, and the greenish yellow one behind it I have had for 6 months. It took me a long time to find a healthy one.

Thanks!

No problem dude.

S. Gigantea, and A. Percula

I think the Nuge said it best.

There are hundreds of millions of gun owners in this country, and not one of them will have an accident today. The only misuse of guns comes in environments where there are drugs, alcohol, bad parents, and undisciplined children. Period.

Ted Nugent

They are good. great part of a clean up crew, and they reproduce quickly in the right conditions.

Years back, I paid $20 for 6 of them.

Good critter.

We are currently building some nano tanks with built in filter using these skimmers. They will be 24" x 20" x 20".

I have one of these skimmers at home that works great. These little nano tanks are going to be sweet!!

That skimmer would be SLIGHTLY underkill on a 40g tank. I wouldn't use one on more than 20g.

Nano = 20g or less

Agreed!

Just make sure that both clones are out in the open and have good flow.

You might consider getting it dialed in off a rubbermaid container before putting it on your tank... just to get a feel for it' date=' if nothing else.[/quote']

 

EXCELLENT advise!

 

Basically, feed the reactor, start the recirc pump, and get the drip rate all dialed in before turning on the CO2. once you're ready for the co2 start off slow, give it a few days worth of tinkering/monitoring before trying to be dialed in.

Jordan,

I'm in SE and could help you out. Shoot me a PM

I hope the tanks will be acrylic.

a 6" bulkhead would probably require a 8" hole. if it were glass, I'd be worried about structural integrity for anything over a 3" hole.

It would be pretty cool though.

start with the waterline right at the neck.

Look for light tea colored skimmate. Adjust waterline up for more watery skimmate, or down for more dry foam.

If this is a brand new skimmer give it a few days for it so slime up for optimal performance.

Saltwater Fanta-seas has both.

106th & sandy blvd.

Threaded is good especially if you have sch. 80 bulkheads. Threaded sch. 40 bulkheads have the tendency to crack if you thread a fitting in too far.

as for other plumbing, Sched 40 is fine. We're not putting much pressure on the fittings so they'll do fine.

Even without sand it still accumulates in the rock. It's just easier to stir up, and get it to the filter sock, and then the skimmer.

Turkey basting consists of using a turkey baster to blow out all the detritus in the nooks & crannies in the live rock.

In the ocean, MILLIONS of gallons of water surging back and forth against the rock keep it clean. It's almost impossible to do that in a square box of water.

Basting the rocks will help keep the rock doing what it does best. If it's all clogged up with detritus, it won't be as efficient at converting NO3 to Nitrogen.

An over sized skimmer doesn't hurt either.

One of the best ways to get nitrates down is to RELIGIOUSLY turkey baste the live rock, change filter socks 2-3 times per week, and skim like crazy.

It's a lot of work but it does pay off.