thedude

Yes it would be essentially the same thing and no, the hydor pumps will not work that way.

I like the Hydor powerheads alot for flow applications between 400-1000 gph. When you start getting near the 1000 gph range (model 4) the pump is the same size as a Tunze and I'm always going to be a Tunze fan. They will not do well on a wavemaker. Prop pumps on general will not work on a wavemaker unless designed to do so (Tunze). John

The CS-80 is more appropriately rated for an 80 gallon aquarium and would work great on a 50 gallon setup. I'd save the extra money and go with the ER personally. John

Honestly, neither. I have tanks with both of those and neither work that great and require trouble shooting everytime we visit. The Coralife pump is very very strange and doesn't work right 50% of the time. We've found that butting it up to a sump wall and offering the intake some resistance helps but it still has a very real chance of overflowing. Gabriel (GKarshens) used one for awhile and I hope he chimes in on the difference between it and his Euroreef. The Precision Marine skimmer is just an outdated technology IMHO. Mag 9.5's are not good with head loss and back pressure, they produce tons of heat, and the amount of air it's able to draw just isn't very good. We have a larger model with an Iwaki 50 driving it and it's never done anything for me. Look into Euroreef as they make some really fair priced needlewheel skimmers. You're paying for reliability, performance, the ability to set it and forget it, and lower power consumption and heat. A RS-80 made out of extruded acrylic is only $178.99 on Marine Depot. http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_protei..._rs.asp?CartId= John

Thanks Andrew!

Haha I deleted all of them but I still have these 91 unread ghost messages. Man, I'm popular. *EDIT I take that back, I have NEGATIVE 91 messages haha

Andrew, My PM's are acting real weird. First, it said I had a PM from you and I didn't, then my inbox was 181% full, and now it says I have 91 new messages.

Fragging for the swap! Seriously though, if you miss this meeting you will regret it.

Shop vac to suck out the crud in the sump. We use muriatic acid to clean all pumps, skimmers, etc. except for tunze streams (the acid will eat through the brakes).

Basically the same requirements as "cooking" live rock. Powerhead or pump to circulate and oxygenate the water, heater to keep it warm, trashcan full of water to keep it wet.

Robert! We've missed you on here man, how's the new baby and tank?

I think that in my experience a 6500k bulb grows chaeto better. Best place to check would be www.melevsreef.com John

What is your temperature doing? Sounds like a pH or temperature swing to me. John

Yes it's true... Clint's new tank actually exists and is in my possession. Yo Brian, pics?

I'm partial to some of the red calurpa's often sold attached to rocks. Something a little different then your normal fuge inhabitants.

We'd need a picture to know anything conclusive but be sure to feed him/her plenty of greens. A vitamin soak such as Kent's Zoe or H20 Life's V2H can go a long way in healing a sick fish. John

I'll give you $200 dollars for the crappy car in your garage

Yes I run a LFS so I get all my salt from secret LFS salt mines. Seriously though, I don't consider Tropic Marin to be a "premium" salt but have been impressed with its batch to batch consistency. I had no problems when I used instant ocean except for low magnesium and my seachem experience was bad. One thing I think puts Tropic Marin above all the rest is their essential element concentration. They put every essential element present in NSW into their salt and I for one, think it helps. John

We switched our whole operation to Tropic Marin and have had excellent results with it. Very consistent batches, good mix time, and great coral growth. I personally at home use Tropic Marin Pro Reef as I run a calcium reactor. HTH, John

The only thing I can see is to monitor your phosphate. With increased feedings, phosphate goes up.

Berghia

Yes Elimi-Aptasia or whatever it is that Tropic Marin sells flat out sucks. You have to inject the anemones base with the liquid. Don't know if you've noticed, but they don't like being stabbed with a needle and tend to retract into a spot you can't inject them.

No way that's true. They have a lifespan way closer to one year in a tank because they are never collected at zero days old.

In my experience, it's more like $170.

If I had to do my first 20L over again, I'd use Tunze 6025 nano streams for powerheads, and T5 lighting.