Higher Thinking

I suppose this isn't really addressing your question, but I recently went with Dish. Big package (like 250 channels) and locked in the price for $65 bucks/month for two years. Got every sports channel free for a year and a $200 MasterCard gift card. I hate Comcast....hate them. I've been in my new house for almost three months and still haven't gotten internet yet because I hate the fact I'll be going through them. I just don't think there is anything compatible for internet. Anyway, thought I'd throw that out. Most streaming tends to be Hulu and Netflix. I'm sure there are others.

Did you just check the package or ship? Hopefully they don't lose your luggage if you checked it. I've heard of wrapping corals in wet newspaper and carrying them on planes. Seems crazy, but someone wrote an article about doing it....with Acropora nonetheless.

There is definitely aquarium safe epoxy. There was even a thread not too long ago where people were sealing their sand bed in epoxy. I think gluing the metal bar to the rock and then coating in epoxy is the way to go. Without having done much scientific reading on metal in reef tanks, I won't make a blanket claim that it will ruin your tank. I will say, however, that I would never risk that.....ever.

Nice work! I wish I spent more time laying in bed enjoying my bedroom tank. By the time I finally go to bed, I want to fall asleep instantly.

What's Bing? I've only heard of Google.

Thanks for the head's up. I have a dehumidifier and run it during the winter when need be. Don't let the wife know, but slowly taking over the closet is my end game. We'll put jackets elsewhere eventually. I could even install a ceiling fan since the laundry room fan is in the attic just about two feet away, behind the wall. I could probably link the HVAC exhaust pipes. I'm not exactly sure though.

So the closet did not have an outlet which means I needed to put one there. I've never done much electrical, but I watched some YouTube videos and read some articles so I'm basically a journeyman electrician at this point I knew I wanted to hook up a GFCI receptacle, but I learned about GFCI circuit breakers and just figured I'd use that instead. Why? I don't know. If I ever want to run more outlets I can do so and they will all get the same security. I suppose there are pros and cons of going with receptacle or breaker, but the breaker just seems much more solid (no science behind that assumption at all). I wired a 20 Amp so that will handle anything I throw at it. I also purchased an additional 15 Amp GFCI breaker to swap out the breaker which powers the outlets that were already behind the tank. That way I'll have the safety on all equipment. I ran the wire up the attic, across the crawl space alongside the other power cords and down the ceiling behind the wall. That's the single wire on the right side: Here's the 20 Amp. I haven't installed the 15 yet. I still need to hook up and mount a power bar and figured out how I'll deal with wires.

I bought used from a member, gave it an acid bath, then soaked it for a couple weeks. I soaked it in tap though so who knows? Maybe it soaked up phosphates and nitrates. I'm over it though, there can only be so many nutrients, it'll be exhausted eventually either way. I'm not sweating it.

Yeah I definitely considered these points. I will pay a bit more to add extra heat in the winter, but summer will provide a free chiller for the system.

Thanks a lot man! I'm super pumped! Yeah I was really pleased with the positioning in the house. I'll have to get a better room shot now that we have the new table and sofa. Thanks! Thank you. Maybe the next meeting that's in Portland, and you and Robert carpool, you guys can come check out the spot. It's about thirty minutes north of downtown Portland. I appreciate that my friend. I'll be needing some stuff for sure because I'm on almost empty with regards to coral. Yeah, I army crawled the heck out of that area. A few times I just wanted to do a quick look at something, but didn't want to change my clothes so I straight up did the plank for about 5 minutes and traveled 25 feet each way on just my feet and forearms. I considered it my workout for the day. Those were tough inspections. This will be primarily SPS. Although I have an appreciation for LPS and zoas so they'll be in there too. I'll look to have SPS favorable conditions though. There are a few reasons. The first is that these stands just have some flimsy piece of 1/4 plywood for the interior base. No way it can hold a sump with any degree of reliability without sagging tremendously. Next, I want to upgrade sumps eventually and the closet provides much more space. Ease of access is also a big thing. I don't have to tinker with any equipment in a small area which is always frustrating. I also run the calcium reactor with a 20 lb tank so the only place to put it would be beside the aquarium out in the open. Not the worst thing in the world, but not my first preference. Having the sump in the closet means I can also hide the CO2 tank.

I still have more rock to add to the tank, but for now I have the two side structures. I will be creating a center piece structure here pretty soon. I'll post some more later about wiring a new GFCI circuit breaker and installing an outlet in the closet. Spoiler alert: I survived

The plumbing under the house: Life beneath the world:

Well this build has been a long time coming. I have actually been working on it for about two months and it just got filled about two weeks ago. I'm not in any extreme hurry to get things going so I'm exercising what we all don't like to do....patience. Background: I bought this tank from Josh at TPA about 6 months ago. I was trying to close on my house and hit some hurdles along the way. I actually ended up purchasing a different house and Josh was kind enough to hold this tank the entire time. Well I moved in two months ago and finally got to pick up the tank. It sat empty for a month and a half (what can I say? I move slowly) as I tried to work on the plumbing alongside everything else that comes with a new home. At this point, the only furniture we had was a table and a tank. What else do you need? Equipment list: 180 gallon glass tank Small acrylic sump (may upgrade in the future) Stock Aqueon Stand Gyre-150 (probably a couple supplemental cheap pumps) Jaebo DCT12000 return pump 100gpd RODI unit from our sponsor Air, Water, and Ice. I decided on doing a double Herbie overflow. The sump is in the closet across the living room and I ran the plumbing beneath the house. The current sump being used is not the one that will be there. The actually sump is currently housing my livestock in a temp setup. This is the temp setup: The return area: I also reinforced the floor for added security. This is what goes on beneath the tank:

Post pics using the app Tapatalk. Super easy and convenient.

So no go on selling my white rhino horn? Dang.....this was going to be the perfect venue. Everyone here loves exotic things...

Can you post pics of the sump?

So many reefers out there and no one has a spare heater?

I'm looking for some heaters for my system. A couple 250s or 300s. Preferably titanium, but a reliable glass unit will suffice. Hopefully someone can dig something out of an old box or something. Thanks in advance! -Andrew

I'm a manager of a fundraising company and we work with mainly rescue missions and food banks. We have a couple hundred clients across the country. I can tell you for sure that food banks accept money. In fact, donated money has a significantly larger impact versus food. Not that food donations aren't important because they certainly are. But depending on which one, food banks can acquire and distribute 2-7 meals per dollar raised. (Meals are determined based on the USDA standard of 1.2 lbs.) So by all means donate food! It is always desperately needed. But cash of course is better. Either way, fantastic job getting this going and taking the initiative everyone. Community organizations are always in need. You all rock!

He better have some considering I gave him a good amount of these a couple months ago.

I think the OP was asking about siphoning out all the top off water, not the other way around because he mentioned draining the whole barrel. If that's the case, then a check valve or hanging the tube above the water surface wouldn't help. The siphoning can and does occur in either direction depending on how it's set up. To prevent siphoning water out of your tank, follow the above recommendations. To prevent siphoning water from the ATO bucket into your tank, make sure the water level in your ATO reservoir is lower than the water level in your sump. If the water level in the reservoir is higher than your sump, a siphon will start when the ATO kicks on. At least that's how I understand things.

I have the small black netting. I think black is much more aesthetic than white, but that's just my opinion. I can give you as much as you want. I think it's 3/8", though.

Dang man, that's too close of a call...good thing the situation ended like it did and not much worse.

I have dual Herbie on the 180.

You can also use general Rubbermaid tubs from Wal-Mart.