kriswaters

Perhaps you should obtain a little more info prior to making such a rash comment. My TANK is perfect. It is the DIY rock, that is kept in a seperate container, that ISN'T. Seriously. Kris

I don't know about the rock...I haven't even tested the calcium in it yet. Still struggling with the PH. I am trying to do water changes everyday...I have been bad with that lately. As for the fish pics...here they are... The Wrasse and the feather dusters "Nemo"...yeah I know, but my daughter had to name him that! Closer shot Right now, the clown is hosted to the bottom of my overflow box LOL! He is a little guy, but both him and "Grumpy" the Wrasse are eating well. I will try to get some better pics of the clown...these are a little out of focus. Kris

After 70 days (give or take a few), I took the plunge and bought some fishies. 1) Six Line Wrasse 1) Percula Clown (waiting for another to come in) 1) Feather Duster (that turned in to two...what a bonus) The tank is looking good. I am still waiting for my DIY rock to stabilize. The PH is still off the charts. I am hoping to get the fuge going here in the next few weeks. The snails and hermits are doing a great job of keeping things clean, but still waiting for some Nassarius Snails from my LFS. All the params are stable...and I am (slowly) on my way! (whistle) Kris

Hey dsoz...I live in Newberg and am interested if you still have. Kris

yikes...500$...yikes.

how much was it?

Brandon...if you have any leftovers that you want to rid yourself of....let me know. PS...The live rock is awesome.... Kris

(clap) I will avoid those fishes that tromp, kick and buck you off....hopefully the ones that bite as well.. As for the MH's...T5's for me for now. I couldn't afford the electric bill on those puppies!!! Kris

Cool...still researching. Kris

I finally got all of my lights. I will definately need to add a small fan in the sump area during the summer! It heated the tank up quite well with all four going. The snails are well...just picked up a few more margarita snails. I know they aren't suppose to last in warmer water, but they clean the rocks so well!!!! Along with the 2 mexican turbos and another "conch" type and 4 little blue legged hermits...the tank is looking better. I am researching livestock to "clean my sand" now. I have had alot of people say that gobies do well. Any imput from you all would be great. On another note, my first batch of live rock is nearly done. I did a water change today and will measure the PH tomorrow. If ok, I will move it to some RO water and retest it again. Hopefully, it will add some depth to my aquascape. I just refinshed my bathroom and made about 50lbs more with left over mortar. It is soaking as of today. Hopefully it will turn out as well. Will update with a few pics soon. Kris

By the way, my daughter Rylie, who is fourteen, posted the last reply for me!!!! she is totaly a better typer than me!! yes its the truth!!

My lights arrived today, but unfortunately three out of the four were broken. You would thinik that with all the fragile stickers they would be a little more careful. Anyways the moon lights look "totally wicked".(squirt from finding nemo)"fin, noggin, dude!!!" I requested, nicely, for replacement ASAP, we'll see what happens! TTLY

Had the same problem as you. Tank looked soooo bad. Bought four snails for a 55gal about a week ago. The rocks are sparkling! They are working on the acrylic now. I think two are the Margarite snails (I've heard they don't last long) and two are small guys with black bodies and very cool green stripes. They are workers! Kris

1/2" or less. That's for me! Kris

Oh the money....I used to show horses and drop 1k easily at a horse show. This is a much cheaper hobby....trust me. Plus the fish don't kick, tromp, run you over, step on your foot, buck you off or dump you in a huge jump! As for the time and patience...."it's in there". Kris

Find a pump store like Pearson's or something, or a store that sells pond suppliesor Home depot. They carry "spa flex" which is flexible PVC. I have been told that it will lessen the noise from vibration as well...unlike the rigid PVC. The nice thing is that the Inside and Outside diameters match the ridig stuff. One day, I will re-do with that! I like the fact that I drilled on the top. It gave me a little piece of mind should something fail. Kris

I just emptied out some nasty guck from the skimmer today. For now I will hold off on any mods. I would like to find that balance between under and over skimming! For now it is working wonders. The snails have contributed greatly...albeit the only realize there is rock on one side of the tank LOL. They have eaten as well as kicked up alot of junk and the tank is looking pretty good. I ordered my lights the other day. Hopefully GOOD lighting will improve the situation. Kris

My hubby works metal fab at Davis Tools in Hillsboro. They have a cool facility. There is also Ecklund in Tualatin and Crystal Lite Mnf. in Tualatin. Kris

http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3742 I drilled two holes in the top on each side of the tank....I love the workability of acylic. I then built two overflow boxes and DIY durso overflows. All I hear is the Mag7. Kris

Multicraft in Tigard has huge scrap bins as well. Kris

Cool...I notice that if I tap the input two or three times it will start back up again. I will see how it goes. Kris

Do either of you have trouble with restarts??? BTW...Got 4 snails today...those puppies have gone non-stop. The already have half of my rock clean!!! I pumped up the skimmer to "wet" and the junk the snails are letting loose is making some nice (if you can call it that) skimmate. Hopefully, in a day or two, I will have some nice clean pics. Its been 22 days.... Ph 8.2 Alk 4.0 Nitrite....00000 Nitrate....2 Ammon...nil...and has been since the start temp 79 salinity 1.025

Interesting about the venturi....I broke it off one day while fiddling with it. I then super glued it back on and wondered?? This doesn't get much air! I will try that one. What type of mesh did you use for the needle wheel? How did you attach it? As for the elbow from the pump to the skimmer...elaborate on that as I don't quite understand. Thanks for the info. Kris

Well, let's have the skinny on those mods!!! Details, details and pictures if you have them! Kris

Impur, the rock was extremely light weight! I pick up a piece today and though wow!!! I actually used Quickrete. I ran it through a sceen first and pick out most of the bigger stones. I then mixed in some water until it was "a little" wet. I then added a some water softener salt. I didn't measure exactly, but maybe a 1:2 ratio (cement/salt). I added a little more water as needed to get it to a pudding consistency. I then ploped it ontop of some piles of salt on a little piece of plexi-glass. This helped limit the "flat bottom" plus the salt brushed right off after drying. I also made a mold in a cardboard box with some plain ol' dirt and plopped some in there. After it set up (30 minutes or so), I ran a stabbed it all over with a thin piece of wire. This made tons of tiny holes. I was able to pull the rock out of the mold the next day. I through them in a bucket of water about 3 days later, but then pulled them out to let them cure a bit more. It turned out really cool. I will try to get you some pics. As for the cycling...I agree that it is normal, and I am not stressing at all at the ugliness LOL. CCR: The rock in the tank is LR. Bought from one of our local members. I wanted more, but didn't want to pay the premium price. It cost me less then $10 for a bag of quickrete and salt. It takes about 30 days to fully mature before it can go into the tank, but I am in no hurry. I would love for you to send me plans on the recirc mod for the Octopus...may be a future upgrade! As for the sump...here are some pics in action. Skimmer section Return Fuge in process And (I may regret this) the ugliness Enjoy!