Sean

One answer is, if you can combine a sump/fuge, then the bigger the better. More volume = more stability plus the added benefit of more room for adding extra goodies. As technology in the industry grows you may want to squeeze one more thing in that sump too. =-)

Looks like I need to switch salts. It never occurred to me to test the mixture before I did the water change. Thanks for doing this! Better salt mix means less supplementation and less $ and less frustration.

Karen, Some ato's won't stop the flow once it is started. If the supply is higher than the sump, the siphon effect takes over once the flow is started.

If I were doing it over again, I would have at least one 250w. Your tank is much shorter so blending a 150 on one end and a 250 on the other might blend well. You could put your more demanding corals under the 250w.

I have known for some time now that you really play dirty! First the kids, now the wife. You can have the kids and wife, just don't threaten my reef!!! Ha Ha :-)

Also, my t5s give off much less heat than the MHs. A serious consideration in the summer with no chiller... I was able to keep the system under 81 all summer with only 3 $10 walmart fans.

I agree, however I only have 150w MH on each end. (therefore the extra t5s) I would have 250w but the price on the two 150w was too tempting at the time and I wanted to hurry up and start reefing. I REALLY like the shimmer but didn't think I would get so addicted to SPS and want the 250w so badly. Perhaps after Christmas I will upgrade and post the 150w up for sale... But then again, I am also very reluctant to change what is working so well for me now...

No you take him. You need to build up your cleanup crew in that new tank. My snails, shrimps, stars and crabs are doing fine in mine.

Sorry guys, I just dropped off the face of the earth b/c my inlaws unexpectedly came into town Friday morning to stay for the weekend! We had the aunts, uncles and cousins here all weekend... I am sure you understand. As for the urchin, I will pass this time. Sorry again!

I have heard that cats make excellent fish food. I don't know if you need to cook first or not?

I would love an urchin. I can't p/u today though... Perhaps tomorrow after lunch or Friday.

I have been told that lighting is not all about watts anymore... That's just what I have been told by people who know a lot more than me about marine lighting. All things being equal, I much prefer T5. That IceCap ballast WILL work on T5 lamps. I have three different ballasts running my T5's and my favorite one is the IceCap! It runs the coolest, (to the touch) is completely silent, and seems to be the brightest.

Yeah, tell me about it!!! I had no idea why I had so many issues initially and took a sample to an lfs and they told me I had high phosphates. I had no idea what that was so I took another sample to another lfs and they said the same thing. (I am a slow learner sometimes...) After learning about phosphates and reading up on GARF, " http://www.garf.org “ I decided remote DSB (deep sand bed) was what I wanted. I knew intrinsically that it worked well when I kept fresh water fish twenty years ago to have a deep bed of gravel and cringed at the thought of getting rid of the gravel and replacing with a sump full of Bio Balls 15 years ago when I converted to Salt fowlr setup. Now moving up to reef, It was time to get rid of the balls and go back to DSB. I didn't want it in the tank so I set it up in a large sump. That's what I LOVE about this hobby though, always learning something! Unfortunately, I am the kind of person that USUALLY learns from my own mistakes. Sometimes I have to make the same mistake repeatedly but, I guess I will eventually learn something huh?

as far as the micro bubbles go, I have seen a filter sock solve that problem more than once. But only if the bubbles are coming from the sump side of the pump. Also, just raising the H2O level in sump by an inch or two has helped me in the past. You might also try a 90 or even 45 degree on the supply side of the pump to rearrange the angle or location of the intake. Sometimes it like hunting the proverbial needle in the hay stack and only a combination of solutions will work.

I wanted a deep sand bed to help control phosphates but didn’t want much more than half an inch of sand in the main tank. Since adding the sump (after it aged a few months) my phosphates have dropped dramatically. The remote deep sand bed in the sump is working extremely well for me! My water parameters are perfect and seem to remain that way no matter what I change in the main display or how much I vary my feeding patterns.

If it is still available, I would like it... You can call me at 512-673-6633 if you need to talk, as I am not always available online.

Ohhhhhhhh you play dirty! My kids would never eat fish-sticks again! I couldn't eat chicken for a year after I watched my grandmother wring one! Nobody understood why I didn't eat dinner that night... and didn't eat any meat for the longest time. After getting very sick I finally got over it and resumed my carnivorous diet.

It is expensive but I have decided to spend it all before I die because I have never seen a hearse pulling a u-haul to the cemetery! Ha Ha, just kidding... Yeah, "one-step-at-a-time" is the "only-way-to-go" unless you have corporate budgets with large expense accounts. I do so appreciate your appreciation of my sick attempt at sushi humor. =-)

Yeah, 54 watts is the only way to go!!! I have seen cheaper ones but they just don't give the same amount of light... It looks like you have light on one side, you could supplement by adding a mh on the other side. I really like the look of combining MH with t5. You just don't get the shimmer without the mh.

I have 3 of the t5 kits (6 bulbs) centered over my 135 along with a 150w de/mh on each end. You have seen the light combination. The mh gives the shimmer effect and the t5's give good color and great growth. I saved for these lights for a long time though. I bought/installed the t5 kits one at a time over 6 months... then a month later, added the mh for pop. Works for me!

Is there any difference in performance between the blue and white moonlights? I REALLY like the look of the blue ones and the way they make a lot of the "stuff" fluoresce...

I have a couple handfulls ripe with pods that you can have... When you come out Karen, I can show you how I separate my sump... it has worked well for me... I also have some left over screen you can have if you need any...

I can help out with tons of pods... sometimes it looks like the sand is alive and moving by itsself... but depending on your fish, they may not last long.

Is this a recirc skimmer? Can it feed directly fromoverflow?

Just curious, Will a Wrasse do well if I only feed about 5 to 6 times a week? You mentioned feeding often with the horses...