jenna

Got it solved . Idk what was wrong but somehow the siphon broke. We added about 1.5 gallons and it started up again...phew.

Just took out the in-tank plumbing to check for clogs and there is nothing, but as soon as we removed it the tank started draining again. We replaced the plumbing and it quit draining once again...

That's about it. Woke up just now and our tank isn't draining into the sump. The power is still on but we can't figure out why water won't drain. Ideas?!

Funny, I've been thinking about this a lot the last couple days. Being really new in the hobby there's so much up front cost but at some point I'm going to HAVE to pace myself...

Oh my...after a couple glasses of wine tonight this has me cracking up (laugh)

Oh I know you were! LOL yea it'll definitely be nice to upgrade the lens if we need to, but I have a feeling it's going to work just fine We'll see!

Ha! I think the regular ones were all my heart could handle for one day lol.. but he said that they were upgradable to pro

I'm totally geeking out over it right now haha :p

Lighting has been ordered! We went with 6 EcoTech Radion XR30w's (clap) I'm really excited!

Nice chinook! When I was 9 years old I brought in a 50 lb Chinook up at Neah Bay...no joke. Sadly we had to release it :/

I'm gonna go into the store tomorrow and talk LED's Hopefully I'll be able to make a decision

Ah calcium level- that's another question I have. Mine seems to be too high! We have been dosing the right amount of trace elements but we're also using Purple Up (I know, people have mixed feelings about that stuff) but now our calcium is above where it should be. Everything else is at the proper level. Should we quit using the purple up? Are there consequences of the calcium being elevated?

No we don't have metal halides yet. We have T-5's over our 90 gallon and I have been planning on using 400w halides for the new build but I don't have them in my possession yet. Nate, I know you're not trying to steer me away. You make a good point. That's the biggest reason that I'm nervous about LED- I really know nothing about them other than they're new and starting to catch on and that some people say they look great and work well. On one hand, I feel like well, I'm just gonna end up wanting LED anyway; may as well just go with them from the beginning and figure it out now. Get any issues worked out right away while we don't have too much coral in the tank. But, on the other hand, I know MH works well and I like how they look...

Ok. That's good to know. I'm really tempted to just go LED. The heat and power consumption of MH has been nagging at me since I've been trying to make a decision.

What about coral color and growth? I've done some reading that says that it's about the same, but what about your personal experiences? How long have you had your led's set up and how has your coral reacted?

We will have a hood. That's another reason that I'm considering LED...much cooler.

I've never seen them over a tank. What sort of effect do they give? Do they give off a shimmer like metal halide or more of an intense blue like T-5's (which we currently have).

Now I'm sitting here mulling over LED vs MH vs T-5's!! I was gonna go w/ 400w MH but now I'm thinking more about LED...

GOOD POINT! K, I feel a little better about it now I do prefer a quiet tank

Yea, in hindsight I kinda wish we would have made the baffle height difference a little more significant between the compartments, but I think it'll work!

Thanks! At this point it's a matter of waiting a bit til we get the skimmer & pump in this week, and the tank the next week. I can't stand the suspense! (scary)

Test run of the new (to us) sump/refugium ) So far no leaks! And btw the stains on the bottom are on the outside.

Yea it seems to be growing pretty fast. When I first noticed it it was just a few polyps pretty flush to the rock. I'd say it's doubled, possibly tripled in size in the last month or so.

Is it ok where it's at??

It does look a LOT like pocillopora damicornis from the photos I saw. THANKS!!!