Koe

You can make a cheap ATO by using the "pet" water bottles that hang upside down. Just pull out the ball bearing, fill it full of water, and mount it at the level you want to keep your tank topped off at. The great thing about them is that they work even if the power goes out and they can't get stuck on flooding your tank with fresh water. Check out this thread for details: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/172031-nano-sapiens-12g-mixed-reef/ Pic installed (not my tank) Proof that the tank water and top off water don't mix:

Take a look at this article on what Skimmers pull out: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/2/aafeature/view?searchterm=skimmer Most of the skmmate isn't actually coming from the livestock. Conclusions The chemical/elemental composition of skimmate generated by an H&S 200-1260 skimmer on a 175-gallon reef tank over the course of several days or a week had some surprises. Only a minor amount of the skimmate (solid + liquid) could be attributed to organic carbon (TOC); about 29%, and most of that material was not water soluble, i.e., was not dissolved organic carbon. The majority of the recovered skimmate solid, apart from the commons ions of seawater, was CaCO3, MgCO3, and SiO2 - inorganic compounds! The origin of these species is not known with certainity, but a good case can be made that the SiO2 stems from the shells of diatoms. The CaCO3 might be derived from other planktonic microbes bearing calcium carbonate shells, or might come from calcium reactor effluent. To the extent that the solid skimmate consists of microflora, then some proportion of the insoluble organic material removed by skimming would then simply be the organic components (the "guts") of these microflora. These microflora do concentrate P, N, and C nutrients from the water column, and so their removal via skimming does constitute a means of nutrient export.

Will do thanks.

I'd like to buy a small birds nest coral frag (or two if someone has multiple colors) for $5-$10. It's for a 2.5 gallon pico tank so not looking for anything to huge. I'll be at the ARC meeting tomorrow so priority will go to anyone who'd be able to do the sale there.

Welcome to the best city in Texas.

+1 to pineapple or Qtip sponge. Maybe also called scypha sponges. I've got some in my tank as well. Seems like a lot of people get them and they don't appear to do any harm. http://www.melevsreef.com/id/scypha.html

I had the same issue with a torch coral and some peppermint shrimp. Was never sure if they actually ate any of it but they where constantly nipping at it and harrasing it.