Obijuan

Yep, Roberto emailed me back fairly quickly. Apparently he lost a parts supplier, and expects to have product back in stock next month. *fingers crossed*

My flight leaves at 6, but I'm carpooling with coworkers a couple of hours before then.

I haven't seen the client yet. I'm still digging into and fantasizing about what sort of web-based things I can do with it. Good point about the amps on the power strip. I saw that on the Reef Angel site. If you had to, I suppose you could run the heater on its own thermostat, but that kinda defeats the purpose :P. I sent an email to the info@ email address. Hopefully they'll ping me when these are back in stock.

This thing is a geek's dream come true. I don't even have my tank set up, and I'd buy one right now if I could, just to experiment! Sadly, they're out of stock.

Thanks for the welcomes, all. One of the things I've discovered (and what prompted me to register) was how friendly and supportive everyone here is. You know, I never thought about using the PC that came with the tank for the refugium. It's a 36" enclosure, and while I'd have to measure to be sure, I really doubt it would work unless I stripped the electronics from the housing. Great idea for reuse, though! I saw the March 27 meeting on the calendar, and would love to attend. However, I'm boarding a flight that night to attend a conference in San Francisco. Hopefully I'll be able to make the April one.

Yeah, I knew as soon as I saw it that I'd be ditching it for a 3-chamber model. For now I'm going to use it while I clean the calcium and scale out of the tank. As a replacement, I'm leaning towards an Aqueon ProFlex Model 3, but that may change depending on my research or any good deals I find.

10 gallons, if memory serves. It has two chambers: One for the bioballs and a return. Pretty basic.

Yep, I'm ditching the sump that came with the tank (edited the OP to note that). I'm planning on having live rock and sand in both the main display and the refugium. I also plan to have chaetomorpha in the refugium for nitrate export (and I think it looks cool down there). And don't worry, the clam won't happen until I'm sure the tank is stable, and the lighting and calcium levels will support the little guy. Probably six months to a year or so. I'm not in a hurry.

I've been taking some pictures of the tank and stand as I've been working on it, I'll post a few of those at some point. I figure a rolling setup diary is always good, vicarious fun. No livestock yet. That probably won't happen for months. I'm still learning about all of the gear, and trying to decide which pieces will give me the best bang for the buck. I also plan on taking....things.....slowly. This hobby is expensive enough without rushing into anything And, as sad as it sounds, reading reviews on lighting systems or powerheads is kinda fun. My current plan looks something like this: * Clean and prepare the dirty/crusty tank. Part of that plan is to replace the taped-on paper backing with a permanent one. * Read and research gear options, plan my budget (all the while looking for deals where I can find them) * Once the parts are assembled and the whole system has been tested, start with live rock and sand, with sand/rubble in the refugium, and let the tank cycle and settle (and look for any nasty rock hitchhikers) * Start introducing clean up crew and other livestock slowly and keep an eye on things, testing frequently * Once the tank is been stable for a few months, start adding soft corals as desired * ??? * profit

Howdy all, I'm John, and I'm a newly addicted saltwater enthusiast. I've kept a number of freshwater aquariums over the years, but I gave them all to my brother-in-law when I moved from Seattle to Portland. Lately I've gotten the itch to get back into the hobby, but decided that it's finally time to try my hand at saltwater systems. Freshwater is boring to me now. :P I'm trying to keep my ambitions in check at this point while I learn, but I already know I'd like to have a system capable of supporting soft corals along with live rock and sand, and perhaps a clam. I'm not sure about the fish yet (not a fan of clowns, would love a Flame Angel), because invertebrates and coral are vastly more interesting to me, so that's where my focus is. I also have an odd fascination with refugiums, so my goal is to create a vibrant one capable of adding copepods to the main display. And one of these days, once I get some experience, I -will- have a dedicated Peacock Mantis tank. *grin* My original plan was to go with a 29 gallon BioCube, but when I saw 65 gal All Glass pre-drilled and plumbed tank with stand on Craigslist for $100, I had to go for it. The system came with a Coralife CF fixture (too weak for my needs, but it cleaned up nice and might earn a couple bucks back on CL) and a trickle sump (no refugium) with bio balls (which I'm ditching in favor of a sump with a refugium). I'm in the process of making some repairs to the stand (center column needed to be reattached, added a rubber mat to the floor) and will be setting up the tank soon for a nice, long decalcifying bath. That'll give me plenty of time for reading and assembling the list of everything else I need (lights, sump/refugium, skimmer, reactor(s)?, control unit, RO/DI system, and pretty much everything else) I'm sure I'll have tons of questions as I get more and more into this habit (seriously, drugs would be cheaper, but far less interesting) but for now, I just wanted to say hello, and I'm looking forward to becoming part of the local reef junkie society. Cheers, - John