thedude

I'm not saying it doesn't trap particulate, it most definitely does. The reason for a filter sock in Clint's sump (now Andrew's) was to cut down noise and bubbles. Anything after that was a plus. I would have to agree with the other guys here that as long as you have a spare, the maintenance to clean a filter sock is way less than the maintenance to shop vac a sump. John

The sock in your sump is there not really to catch particulate, but to eliminate noise and bubbles from the overflow. If those aren't problems, you don't need the filter sock. John

Although his venture is private, he has a great camera and I'll hound him continuously for pics. This is his home site!

Unfortunately it won't be open to the public and I can't tell you where it is. Matt (the owner) discussed it with several people and the general consensus was, if you aren't going to sell direct to the public, the public should not know where it is. As for what he's going to grow, I'll get Matt to hop on here and talk to ya'll about it. I'm REAL excited because this thing is very very clean and has the potential to do anything he can dream of. Again with the meeting question, the answer is most likely no. As for the hiring question, I'll refer to him but if you really are interested, PM me and I'll get you two talking. John

http://www.meerwasser-lexikon.de/eng/0/0/0/index.htm My personal favorite

Just vacuum the sandbed (ala freshwater gravel siphon) and you shouldn't have any problems with detritus accumulating.

James, We use the magnets from algae free with great success (the same company that makes the easy blade attachment). The only magnet they make that I don't like is the big boy Great White as it sinks and is heavy as hell. For the 110 I would go with the Hammerhead size. The piranha is kind of wimpy and the tiger shark is seriously strong (too strong for your tank long term). http://www.aquariumcleaner.com/products.html The other really cool thing about them is that they sell replacement felt and the scratchy side kits so that the magnet is pretty much good forever. John

I personally feel that if you have the option to purchase an already reef ready tank go that route. I'd had a tank drilled and had standard overflows on tanks and the standard overflow is a nice addition to begin with. I also agree with the guys above that if you do have a tank that isn't reef ready it would be much easier to get it drilled then save yourself the headache of messing with an external overflow. John

For what it's worth, clownfish have been coming in really crappy recently. They usually go through phases where for 6 months you get really strong ones, 3 months of death, then the cycle repeats. This is unfortunately a cycle of death in our case. The clowns seem to have some kind of disease that takes hold of an otherwise fine looking specimen and kills quick. I went through 6 clowns last week and all of them were dead in about 10 days while other fish did fine.

Joe, I feel bad that I haven't complemented you on your tank yet as I've been loving your photographs. Beautiful use of soft corals and a really really unique and gorgeous tank. Again, Nogtastic John

If it catches fire, it probably doesn't belong in a reef tank haha

That coralife timer used to have a problem catching on fire, therefore I don't trust it farther than I can throw it.

The answer is yes and I do. Sand sifting cucumbers in large reefs do wonders but you need ALOT of sand for them to live long term. Would a serpent star please you more? I really do believe those guys help a tank alot. John

Booooooo! He'll keep your sandbed nice and white and eat any leftover food.

Clint's tank isn't that heavy, his stand on the other hand is. Wish I could help ya'll but I'll be in Vegas all weekend for a bachelor party. The offer to call my cell phone if anything comes up still applies Andrew John

Unreal Gabe, those pictures looks like something I've seen on the Discovery channel.

Mike, If you add the acrylic pad between the inside magnet and the tank and make the sure the outside magnet's felt is intact you should be fine. Mag Float incorrectly tells you that their magnet can be used on an acrylic tank without any kind of pad. John

Wow James you really cleaned that thing up brand new. I can vouch (having seen this system in person) that it was a very stable nice system and that James takes care of his equiptment as much as any reefer should do. John

I've had them live for over a week and a half without eating. By moving the rocks and such to look for him you're probably doing more harm then good stressing out the fish. Keep watching and feeding and hopefully he'll feel comfortable enough to come out and eat.

Nope, not in the country yet.

As a maintenance person, the Biomatix controller looks like a godsend.

I vote fairy wrasses (but I'll always vote fairy wrasses as they are my favorite fish).

I didn't know Ezra drilled tanks but I'll second that he is a really stand up guy.

Just as an afterward, the electricity leached into the tank killed all three large turbo snails in Mike's tank. If ANYTHING is tripping a GFCI in your tank, unplug it and assume it is leaking electricity.