GKarshens

What color did you get? I have the 10k and didn't really like the color. I am thinking about trying the 12k.

I will come by tomorrow. I will be working right around the corner. Thanks again for your great support of our club!!!

I use Tropic Marin Pro. I was discussing it with the rep at MACNA and he said to make sure that you never let your mixing get over 1.030. Once it does the calcium will crystalize and not be usuable anymore. Maybe that is what is happening to you guys. That maybe why you are seeing sediment.

I got it a River City when he did the group buy. Make sure you tell him you heard about it here and he might give you a discount.

Jebo has a terrible reputation. In my opinion it is worth it to splurge on your skimmer. Buy bigger than you need so that if you upgrade you already have it. Plus you can't overskim.

I'll take a dozen Turbo snails and 2 emerald crabs.

Glad you finally found us. I told you it was great!

Glad to have you!

You might want to hold off until your Alk is back down. The Tropic Marin guy said that the Germans are having better success staying at 6-9 rather than the higher numbers most people try to have here.

I forgot about that! Good call.

The only thing that seems out of whack to me is your Alk. Are you using a kalk reactor or dosing something to buffer that would cause it to rise?

I actually missed the salt speech. However, I heard they didn't test Tropic Marin and that is what I use (pro reef version). I did get to talk with the head of Tropic Marin USA for about an hour. That guy was Awesome! He explained the composition of how calcium is used by corals and why Chellated calcium is not useful to them. After hearing the research that went into their salt that is all I will be using. As for the 25% water change. My setup allows me to do a 25-30g water change at one time. That is about 25% of my volume. Therefore that is what I will do each week. If I had a better way to do larger changes I probably would. I am glad your Monti is doing good. Mine is growing fast and I will probably be able to Frag again soon. I can't remember who else was wanting a piece of it though.

I am so glad that you talked me into dipping all my corals about 6 months ago! I did a 15 min. Lugols dip on all my corals too. I didn't even look at the water to see if anything came off though. However, I got my corals from other vendors. Thanks for the reminder!

No problem! That is what this whole forum is for. I only wish I had found places like this and Reef Central when I first started!

18-20 inches would be plenty. If you wanted very nice looking tanks I hear that Hobogato or hammondegg on here are very good with Acrylic. If looks don't matter the right size rubbermaids would work just fine.

I am assuming that the tank is not reef ready (overflows). If so a hang on the back overflow would be needed to feed the sump. This would be another benefit of the sump set up as the overflow takes water from the surface thus keeping it clean. In the meantime a power head aimed up toward the surface on that end would help.

Another possible option would be to have 2 basins plumbed together. One on each side of the cabinet. Have one be the skimmer area and the other a refugium/return area.

1. Don't feed anemones large pices of food. Mysis is the largest they should get. Even when they seem to eat the large chunks we give them, they spit it back out in the middle of the night. Also the darker they are the healthier thay are. White or yellow Sebaes are bleached. A healthy anemone can be sliced in 2. 2. Most MH light bulbs can be used longer than one year if you just lower them a couple of inches closer to the water. See Sanjay's site for the PAR on your bulbs: www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com 3. Acro frags should be glued laying down and you can even cut them long ways and glue both halves laying down. Plate corals can be broken into pie shaped pieces and each one will grow back into a plate. 4. Vitamin B12 is good for fish. Crush a tablet and dissolve it in some tank water that you can then soak your food in before feeding. 5. I am going to start doing weekly 25% water changes. All in all it was an incredible event and I am really glad I went. 13 frags and a colony of acro help too!

My opinion is that if you are going to do corals then you will end up adding a sump. They are great! Not only does it add water volume which is nice, but it also allows you to hide all your equipment. If you can't add one look at the Coralife super skimmer. It is possible to hang on the back and works much better. Just be very careful especially the first week or two as they have a tendency to overflow every once and awhile. As for the Filter, I am not sure but I would say at least weekly. There is a reason that most reefers don't use them.

My guess would be the Eheim. Unless you keep it VERY clean it can become a nitrate producer. Also in my experience the Prizm can't really handle a tank that big even thought it is rated for it. I was never happy with mine even on my old 29g tank.

I will bring some drinks. Do you want beer too or no?

It is in the Westin. The hotel that is in the Galleria.

I thought I would post a couple pics of my trap. I made the obvious box attached to a hooked end to hang it in the tank. I then cut a slit in the bottom at the open end and drilled a hole at the top. I then strung fishing line to the door that would bring it up to close the opening. It has worked twice already! So much easier than chasing the fish around the tank with a net!

Here is a description on what to do: http://www.austinreefclub.com/forums/viewt...topic.php?t=193

I am sure it would be more than I could ever afford! happy3.gif