Rob Allen

Very impressive Dave. Nice setup.

I would ask to define what you mean by taking the network down. Are the other machines completely unusable? A couple comments on previous posts. If that machine were the master browser, your network would still function, but it would be slower as the network would either be trying to re-elect another master browser, populate itself and the other machines would be broadcasting their information in the mean time. If the gateway was the DHCP server then it would not give out any additional addresses, but the machines that already received addresses should still work as long as they addresses didn't reach 100% of their lease life. Typically 8 days is a normal lease life. Having said this I would try to unplug the old Gateway from the network. I would be curious as to what OS it is running and is it just one of the PC's or does it play a server role. Also, you stated that you have routers in the network which doesn't really make sense considering the size of the network you are describing. Are these switches or hubs possibly?

I had a left over Koralia #4 that used to keep the top off water moving, but it was too big for the job and heated up the water. The black circle is the magnet on the outside of the bucket. I changed it out for a Maxi-Jet 900 instead.

After the tank had been running with the pre-cured live rock, algae & corraline growth has started. We started introducing some inverts. We also added some coral that was a little rushed, but so far so good. We started adding fish today and it is starting to look better with some movement. Here is what we have so far: FISH (3) Yellowtail Blue Damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema) Sixline Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia) Flame Angel (Centropyge loricula) CORAL Yellow Sun Coral (Tubastraea aurea) Green Torch Coral (Euphyllia glabrescens) Orange Ricordea (Ricordea Yuma)

Well, it's about time. After our move from Pennsylvania the absence of a tank has finally come to an end. Of course living in a condo has its pros and cons. The con is we can’t really have a large tank, so we planned for it and traded some of our live stock for a Red Sea MAX (34g) before we moved. We left everything in the original packaging and never even opened the box until I started building it here. Was that smart? Uhhh, no <-- that isn’t really what I said. The tank was cracked across the bottom. How lucky am I? Lucky. I was three days from the manufacturer warranty running out and Red Sea replaced the tank with no charge. So, we started getting the tank together in the beginning of July. I looked at the Red Sea MAX and talked with some friends that used to work for Red Sea asking what the strengths and weaknesses were. Most said that the skimmer was loud and often did adequately skim. The other item that often came up was the lack of water movement on the right side of the tank. Lastly, the heater has been known to cause problems. With some research I had a decent plan of attack. Here is what I modified on the tank. Added the Red Sea surface skimmer as the stock inlet did not surface skim Removed the stock skimmer and replaced it with a Tunze 9002 skimmer Note: this skimmer’s collection cup is too large for the MAX which requires removal of the access lid or see the “In Tank” solution below Added “In Tank” Skimmer Collection Cup & Media Basket (takes the place of the original skimmer) http://www.mediabaskets.com/Home_Page.html Added JBJ ATO (Automatic Top Off) Controller using a Maxijet 1200 Added Blue Cold Cathode as a Moonlight My reasoning for the changes are: The surface skimmer will drastically help collect floating debris. This upgrade is so obvious that Red Sea sells it. The stock skimmer is poo. This upgrade came very apparent after playing with the stock skimmer for a couple days. This led immediately to the next upgrade which was “In Tank’s” skimmer cup and media basket, which fit perfectly in where the stock skimmer was. The skimmer cup allows you to close the access lid and the media basket is not only functional, but holds the skimmer in place. The Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper lite controller was a decision for a couple reasons. 1) I wanted to make sure the heater would never be a problem. I had to set the heater at 64 in order to heat the water to 78. Hmmm. That’s not right. 2) I wanted to control other items as to when they turned on and off which the stock configuration didn’t allow. Bonus) I can easily keep an eye on pH and have an accurate temperature which is visible. Personally I have never been a fan of constantly filling a tank with evap water, so I will do whatever necessary to automate this. The JBJ ATO unit along with a Maxijet 1200, some hose and a 5-gallon bucket is the perfect solution for this tank. The Maxijet 1200 is needed due to head pressure and is actually the perfect pump for the job. I used one float of the JBJ ATO until in the back chamber of the MAX and the other in the evap bucket. The reasoning for this is that when the water drops in the chamber it will trigger the pump and the other float in the evap bucket is if the water gets too low, it stops the pump. I not only have the pump that feeds the tank, but also run a Maxijet 900 to keep the evap water circulating. The blue cold cathode is actually used in computer towers to light them up – I guess it looks cool. I use it as an inexpensive DIY moon lighting system. You need to purchase a 12v DC adapter (Radio Shack) and rewire the controller that comes with it (see blue box I placed in the MAX hood). The picture that shows the moonlight on appears much brighter than it actually is. It is actually a perfect transition and it allows us to view the tank a little longer.

From 10pm to Midnight I run a moonlight. We just recently set our tank back up after moving here. I have used Cold Cathode tubes for moon light and think it has the best look. Alot of the LED moonlight technology can burn/bleach LPS coral, so I avoid using it. I will do a DIY article on how to get the cold cathodr hooked up later. Cold cathode is essentially the lighting that people use in their computer cases to make the computer look cool. You can get them on eBay for low cost and they last a long time and are low energy (12v). Here is a pic of the cold cathode on (it looks brighter in the pic than normal - also remember this is new tank **don't pick on all the fish & coral in the tank **) This is a pic of the cold cathode and how I mounted it: And here is where I tucked away the power module which is fed by a Radio Shack 12v adapter:

A few years ago Eric Borneman and Kim Lowe did an in depth study on salts that were run for a long period of time. After releasing the first part of the study, the second more detailed part never made it to publication. Personally, I think it revealed too much from someone with some credibility and the manufacturers didn't care for it. This is good info to have, thanks for posting it. My personal experience is that I used to use IO (Instant Oceans) for years. It was fine at first, but over time something happened. I was having all kinds of stability problems with Calcium, pH and Alk. I thought it was my tank, but after doing some analysis I found it was the salt. Using 80 degree 0 TDS RO and mixing IO to 1.024 I found that the Ca was in the low 100's and occassionally lower. So, overtime with this problem (before discovering it was the salt), I added a Calc Reactor and an automated Kalkwasser doser. With both of those cranking I couldn't keep my Ca above 320. The Alk was off too, but I forget the actual numbers. I quickly dumped IO and went to Red Sea Coral Pro, which was night and day. Our Ca never dipped below 450. Pricey? Yes, but worth every penny. I had spent so much money attempting to work around the problem that I could have fixed it in the beginning by switching salts. I never thought it was the salt because it was great in the beginning and you wouldn't think that salt would change that drastically. What it proved to me is, if you are having stability issues, test A to Z starting with the salt you add to your system.

Glad everyone had a good time. I am sorry I couldn't make it. Work got the better of me, yet again. I wish the BBQ was today.....oh well.

Lobsters aren't too bright actually. Have you ever see a lobster trap? Basically a box, with netting and a hole big enough for them to climb through on one end that sits at an angle. Put bait inside, they climb in and can't figure out how to get out. I would be a the hobby shop buying some balsa wood, netting, some weights and drop that puppy in there with some Rod's food wrapped up so it doesn't dissolve in water. Overnight and I would bet you have him. Then start melting butter.(whistle) Here is some reference material - lol http://www.k12.nf.ca/roncallips/projects/lobster_trap/ http://www.rktman.com/rlh/boothbay/steps/step273.html

Take a look and see if it is working. Let me know.

It is kind of funny to hear that people are bashing IE8 and that Firefox is the fix. IE8 is actually now a Standard Based Browser, just like Firefox. The problem you will be seeing for a period of time is the code, not the browser. The problem is that people have been coding "work arounds" for IE for years because it has not been a standards based browser. Now that the internet standards have matured to the point they are, Microsoft has decided to jump on the Standards band wagon. By doing this, when sites are coded to look for IE they act differently. Since IE8 does not respond the way it's previous versions did, it often messes with the formatting. So, before you go install another browser, try the following: - To the right of the URL there is a button that looks like a piece of paper ripped in half. This is a compatibility mode button. This is made for the sites that have been coded poorly and do not look for a specific version of IE. It will make IE8 act like IE7 and format the screen properly. Now, having said this, I have done extensive testing on this site with IE8 well before it was released to the public. If you come across anything that is not formatted properly, please let me know so that I can correct it. Thanks, Rob

I disagree with doctoring unless it is a last restort or to keep things in check while you find the problem. I can't imagine too much fresh air raising pH that much. I used to have the opposite problem with a pretty tight house and the pH would drop when the windows were closed and rise when they were open. So, just to be sure you can test by closing up the house or at least the room where the tank/sump resides to see if there is a change. Can you provide readings on everything?

I liked mine cryptic as it exposed another world of marine life. I had quite a few ball anemones that just popped up out of no where after the RDSB had been in place for over a year. I will have to dig for pictures to see if I can find them.

Thanks Steve. Sounds like your fish are drunk and happy -- just kidding. Seriously, that is good news. If you encounter more positive or negative affects, please keep us posted. Rob

A link to the PNWMAS online store has been added to the main header between "Forum" and "User CP"