Daniel

Mama, I've used Melev's suggestions with good results in the past for phyto: http://www.melevsree...toplankton.html Basically, he uses salt water made with TAP WATER, liquid miracle grow, and Kent's Essential Elements. The tap water all but eliminates bacterial contamination without adversely affecting the phyto. Daniel

Of course, caulerpa has that drawback of growing like a weed, taking over display tanks, being inedible for most fish, and the high risk of "going sexual".

And also, while some folks will disagree, you might consider decreasing some of the LR. Less LR should improve the overall water flow, which is, in my opinion, an overlooked area in many aquariums. Doesn't sound like you have a sump, but if you have one, toss some of the extra rock in there. Daniel

GHA doesn't always go away with cutting the lights; in fact, it is very resilient. In my experience, nothing works better on GHA than a few mexican turbo snails. I had loads of GHA in my 90g before I had setup my RO/DI and these little guys ravaged all the algae... I kinda felt bad... I started missing that fuzzy green demon. Seriously though, your tank specs look very good, but as the others have mentioned, try not to go crazy on the dosing since your tank still has young corals which are unlikely to deplete trace elements between your relatively frequent water changes. I would add one or two medium/large mexican turbo snails, let them do their work, and get rid of one snail when the algae is gone (and keep one just to fight any attempts by the GHA to return). Just a warning though, these snails are very annoying bull dozers and will knock down anything not secured to your LR. If this $3 solution doesn't work, try cutting the lights and/or some other combination of warfare as attempted by others (refer to some of Mike's older posts on his tanks). Daniel

Bump

Bump

How long is your photoperiod?

I'm assuming this only refers to those individuals who wait until Saturday to pick-up? I'm actually not expecting any die-off...but I'll be coming by Friday and I believe we're getting it shipped overnight...?

Hey, post the original picture! I remember seeing it somewhere with all of the scratches and what not. Looking good!

I may also be interested...depends on if I can get one locally.

Skimmers need a constant water level, otherwise they go crazy whenever conditions change. bump

Well, I'm not going to do this as planned anymore. I'll go with the time-tested route and fill up a large vat to water the lawn. My only question at this point is how the retail system works-- does it simply operate under the idea that only a small volume of waste water will be produced since it will be filling a small RO storage tank? So would this only be practical if small amounts of RO are produced (less than 5 gallons)?

Would a glass shield mod be possible? Would there be room to add one, maybe on the inside? It doesn't have to be a perfect fit, but as long as it filtered the light entering the tank, it might be worth a shot. I hate that you have to limit yourself to just two bulbs...

Why not restrict the output on your pump a tad?

Okay, I'd like to sell the following: First fixture: SOLD $120 250w ARO Ballast, ARO reflector, 3 month Phoenix 14k Second Fixture: SOLD $100 250w ARO Ballast, ARO reflector, 4 month Plusrite 20k, plus a new, unopened Plusrite 20k New 250w Phoenix 14k Lamp: SOLD $50 I also have a brand new, unused, unopened 250w Phoenix 14k lamp. Prefer to sell to someone purchasing one or both of the retrofits above. Nearly New 250w Plusrite 20k Lamp: SOLD $10 I ran this for under a week while I was waiting for my original Phoenix 14k lamp to come in. I'll have to double check on whether it's this bulb, but I believe there is a small chip near one of the bulb's terminals. Ran fine while I was using it and shouldn't be a problem as long as you have a glass shield. I will sell all of the above items together for $250 (2 retrofits + new Phoenix 14k bulb). 48" VHO Retrofit: $100 Bought this from Reybeast. Worked well. I only used it with Super Actincs. This is a 48" 4x110w retrofit kit including an ARO ballast. Two bulbs are 3 months old, the other two are probably about 6-8 months old. I also have 4 additional bulbs that I'm not really sure of the age or exact kelvin, but two of them are probably 6-8 months old and the other two I'm unsure of their age. Thanks for looking, Daniel

Dang-- I was looking forward to this. But I guess I better confess... I stole them. My weed has been growing like a weed.

Aren't poly filters a little expensive to use for that purpose? That's actually the type of padding I used for my Mag. Hopefully it works better for you. Also, if you're looking at a filter pad that removes the same stuff as the Poly filter, except more effectively, check out the PURA Filtration Pad (http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.aspx?idproduct=MN3311).

You probably want something that is pressure-rated...

If you have a good quality bulb and your water conditions remain high, you can probably keep anything in a standard 29g with proper specimen placement.

To answer some of the questions... This chiller helped me keep my 90G aquarium between 79.5 - 80.5. I was running 2x250w MH and 4x110w VHOs in a poorly ventilated canopy, and a 150w Mag 18 return pump. Most people probably don't have that much heat being dumped into their tank. I also used a clip-on fan as a my primary cooling. The chiller only went to work if the temperature rose above 80.3. As I mentioned above, I had it looked at by a technician a few months ago and everything looked good.

Bought this about 8 months ago from eBay. It saw little use from me since I primarily used evaporative cooling when I had metal halides. I had it serviced when I first bought it to ensure there were adequate levels of coolant-- everything was fine and it still runs great now. I'm looking for $180. Here are the specs: Titanium Heat Exchanger - Corrosion resistant titanium backed by a lifetime warranty offers the peace of mind High BTU Compressor - Energy efficient 1485 BTU compressor delivers more BTUs than any similar size chiller on the market - providing more coolling power while requiring less electricity Fits Anywhere - the small size (10" L x 11" W x 14" H) make it easy to fit under almost any size aquarium Ultra Quiet - compressor runs virtually silent; rubber feet eliminate vibration noise Integrated Dual Stage Thermostat - controls both the chiller and an external heater up to 300 Watts (heater not included) Stylish Design - molded cover looks sleek will not rust What`s included: Each Prime 1/10th HP Chiller includes an integrated dual-stage digital temperature controller, 1/2" & 5/8" inlet/outlet barb fittings, 6 ft. power cable and complete instructions. Chiller Sizing Guide Temperature Difference from Ambient Degree Pull-Down 10°F 20°F 30°F 40°F Aquarium Size 80gal 60gal 30gal 15gal Note: Accessories such as metal halide lighting, submersible pumps, etc… can add a great deal of heat not considered in the above chart. Decrease volume by 25% to determine the horsepower needed to chill that amount of water. Horsepower: 1/10hp BTU: 1485 Volts/Amps: 115V/2.15A Inlet/Outlet: 1/2in & 5/8in Temp. Range: 60-80°F Thermostat Type: Dual w/ Thermal Expansion Valve: No Dimensions: 10in x 11in x 14in

$240?

Asking $30. It's very healthy. About 2.5"- 3". I'm only selling because he doesn't like my other Ocellaris clown He's in my QT tank and ready to go. If you keep it with another clown, make sure they're different sizes. Thanks, Daniel

If you find some of the good stuff, I'd be interested too. I'm going to try my hand with a small scrubber. What type of plastic screen are you using?