prof

I would think that the newer formulations of silicone would provide a longer life than those from 20 years ago.

Glass tanks are held together by the silicone between the glass not the silicone that is smoothed out from squeeze out during assembly. Razor blade cleaning should not affect the strength of the tank unless the person cleaning is over zealous. I would tank life would be from 10-20 years depending on the care it receives. I have setup and run multiple tanks that were built in the early 80's with no problems, so they can last much longer.

Still need a new name. I drill for $25 the first hole, $20 each additional.

Moving = upgrade Any time you drain the water its time for a bigger tank.

Yup, I still have tons. Contact me if you need some. Dry rock is $2.50, dry sand and rubble rock is $1 per lb. I replied to your PM Eric.

They are Mike's cups and boognish has them right now. I think I am available.

Nope. It looks good!

Yup. I built one very similar for another reefer. I thought that might be my work.

Hmmm, that stand looks familiar....

The foam will probably do the trick. Do you trust the stand other than this issue? A sheet of plywood and/or some shims will do the job as well.

The commercial aptasia products work great but are usually very similar to kalc paste. They usually add vinegar and/or some sort of 'food' to keep the kalc in suspension and to make the product more paletteable. I've always gone after the large ones with kalc paste and let peppermints do the rest. Copperbands are great if you can keep them alive. They have a very high mortality rate.

That is not normal. As Mike said, 1/4" is way to thin. It should be 1/2" thick at a minimum and that is really pushing it on a 220. Unless the tank is 12+ feet long.... And it should not have a mix of glass and acrylic. Glass and acrylic are very difficult to bond together. Be wary of that tank.

Yellow sponge, good stuff. Grows in happy tanks.

Mike...get a bigger rock of zoa and drop it on that damsel

Most tanks that I have come across are measured on the outside of the glass. Trim usually is 1/4" on each side. So, outside of glass to outside of glass is 18" and trim to trim would be 18.5". I won't promise that all tanks are this way but they usually are.

I think once the water gets that high you are beyond any concerns of efficiency. Water is always trying to find its own level so the highest water (surface) is going to be the first to pass into the overflow. Think about it as an overflow without any teeth. Once the water is 1-2"+ above the overflow you are still 'skimming' but it becomes more of a drain at that point. So, yes, we are discussing the same thing

Chad, is the higher water level causing problems? I also wonder if your standpipe is to tall. It should be below the lowest part of your weir. Pbnj; It does not matter how high the water is at the weir. Water is being pulled from the surface of the tank. I can see how you would be pulling a little more water from under the surface but that is going to happen after the surface is drawn into the overflow. In this situation you are just drawing a greater volume of water through the overflow. Some return pumps are designed to be throttled back. You can always add a T to divert part of the water from the return pump back into the sump. You will only raise the water in the sump until you remove some of the total water volume.

Giant beer fountain for parties!

I usually fill up a tank/tub/sink with water and add a gallon of vinegar to it. Then I soak everything I need to clean for a couple of days. At that point a rag or soft bristle brush will get it clean. Calcium deposits will turn to mush.

Awesome! I am glad to see it going together. Keep us updated.