kendaroo

Oh, that's a good idea! Hadn't thought that it might just be the bottom that's tempered. How much does it cost to have a tank drilled, and where would we take it? Can you recommend someone? Thanks! Gillian

Oh, but here's an idea- the overflow box it came with has a 300 GPH max flow rate, and I assume we'd want more than that (hence the question). Would it be safer to add a second small return, rather than replace it with a single big one? Less chance of both getting blocked? Though, I guess the tank would just take longer to overflow that way, right? How often do these overflow-related overflows happen, anyway? Maybe I should stick to nanos. (scary) I rather like my wood floors... Gillian

I think it's tempered glass. There is a sticker on the bottom that warns not to try to drill it. (scratch)

Do they not get along with gobies? Gillian

Looking for an overflow box with a max flow rate of at least 600 GPH. Thanks! Gillian

nice setup!!

Happy birthday, Bob! Hope you're out there livin' it up saltwater style. Not sure what that means, but I'm sure it's fun.

Oh wow- glad you caught this when you did! We had a similar scene in our 24G cabinet a few weeks ago when we were having all of those storms. Power went out, came on with a huge surge, and Bang!, the power strip under the tank was melted and smoking! Luckily, that was the only thing in the house that was damaged. it tripped our breaker, though. I'm surprised that your power was all still on! Isn't that what the breakers are for? Glad you and the tanks are all ok! Gillian

That's super cute! Our six-year-old is into the tanks, too. Isn't it fun when they get big enough to do stuff like this? What a cool dad! Gillian

PM sent...

I guess it's LED's for us, then.(whistle) Gillian

That's a beautiful little frag you've got there, Alex & Jamie. Congratulations!(clap) And Happy Birthday! Kendra and Gillian

I've heard different opinions about T5s and SPS. As we design our setup, I'm wondering if we can get away with T5s only and still have some happy SPS. What do you think- are halides necessary? The T5 setup I'm considering would be an 8 x 54 watt, 48" long fixture over a standard 90G tank, 48" long and 25" deep. What do you think? Bonus points awarded for photos of happy SPS grown under T5 only. Thanks! Gillian

Jay, that looks amazing! So, don't fear the holes in the bottom, huh? Gillian

Well, then I'm glad I asked again! (laugh) Tell me more! Have any good resources for learning how to plumb a system? I have a lot to learn still! Sumps and skimmers and closed loops, oh my! So, is this a dumb idea? The tank is a TruVu, in good condition, and it's 72 x 18 x 20. I like that it's long and shallower- I might be able to reach the bottom! Pros/cons of going this route? There was a skimmer with the tank, but I don't know anything about it. SeaClear brand? Sump was too small. I'd probably just get the tank only.

How hard is it to seal off the bottom returns on an acrylic tank that's plumbed for a closed-loop system? We saw a tank with dimensions I liked today, but it had more holes in it than I would want to use. (Actually, Woody told us we didn't want all of those holes. Glad I asked! (whistle)) Advice? Thanks! Gillian

gorgeous shots

Awesome! I <3 nanos. That's a lot of light for a little tank, is that where your SPS will go?

Sure those didn't come from Sarcastic Corals?

When I got nudis they were whitish. I don't think they would be on your acros though. As I understood it, montis get nudis and acros get red bugs. My nudis looked exactly like this:

I see a dolphin nuzzling a fire-breathing dragon.

Do you have other montis in your tank? If so, how are they doing?

Hi- Gillian here- I hope you all don't mind that we're taking you tank-shopping with us! What do you think about this one? http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/for/1787708787.html It's 60 x 18 x 20, and it seems to have a decent size sump and skimmer and nice lights. We're going to take a look at it today. Price? I don't know what would be fair. Also, we got an email from someone at Club Reef offering what looks like a 75 acrylic, nice oak stand and canopy, sump, skimmer, and lights (don't know what kind yet) for $400. That might work, too, depending on the equipment. Though, I'm guessing we'll need to budget at least a couple hundred for rock on top of that... Thanks for the advice!

I think it's one of those "by referral only" outfits... high end stuff... won't sell to just anyone, or something. Pretty new though, from what I've heard.

Thanks so much, you guys. I don't know what we would do without this forum. Yeah, the trouble with only having done the nanos is that we don't really know how valuable the big tank stuff is. Like with that 65g, we didn't know if the chiller upped the value quite a bit... $900 still seemed like too much, esp. given the lighting, but I figure that's an easy enough upgrade if the price came down enough. On that note, I read that the icecap 660 can drive 4x54w T5s, so we would basically need new bulbs and to make sure there are good reflectors, right? I'm staying hands off about decisions on this one, but I think G mostly cares about the fish right now (a yellow tang could do a 65g, right?), so I'm not worried about her trying to grow SPS in there... I told her I would build her an LED for that after I'm done practicing with my pico LED build, ha ha. Anyway, thanks again!!! Very helpful info. We still might look at the 65g and see if they could come down in $. Otherwise we'll just be keeping our eyes open!