Good Greef

Acetone works even faster! Looking forward to seeing your build. Just spent 2 wks finishing my plumbing, as I can only squeeze in an hr or 2 per day, thanks to the 2 yr old commander ruling our house. But yes, PVC cutters are glorious. I need to start a build thread for my 180g soon. Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

Im also looking for an acrylic mesh top for my rimless. Sounds like yall are happy with the quality. Theres a long thread on R2R with several complainging about the turnaround time and lack of responsiveness. Id rather just order through them, but Its kind of spooked me and I was gonna explore if one can buy pieces from regal plastics for a DIY. But glad to see many here are satisfied.

I'm gonna try and utilize a similar internal Budbox panel for my APEX control area. Did you just screw yours into some plywood then mount it to the stand? If that internal panel is sturdy enough, I was hoping I could just attach it to my steel stand with some magnets?

Question from someone whose never had a controller yet. Besides adding sensors that beep loudly when getting wet, how would someone hook this up to their APEX to shut off their RODI system? And could you do this with any brand sensors or RODI system?

Good idea. Also was wondering... when you transfer all your fish to the tub, do you keep ur GFO and Biopellet reactor online, even if you won't be feeding your display for over a month?

Major Bummer Ty. Sorry about that. Do you plan on painting the back of the tank or leaving it clear?

Always glad to hear your thoughts. You are right, all my comments were pertaining to the 100% "ich free" scenario. Didnt know you believed there was a gray area in the process, and that either its no drops of water or bust. I will also be using a 40g "intro tank" before I introduce any new fish to my new build to make sure they are eating, etc. And ill bayer dip all frags i add like I have been. But if I see a spot of ich in my display, I probably am not gonna catch all my fish and go fallow. Ill just feed alot.

I get what you're saying and QT is obviously considered the "gold" standard in reefing. My final thought is merely that one can spend an inordinate amount of time like you have, on setting up a proper QT and not enjoying your display tank. But even then, its almost likely that at some point there is human error, laziness, or frankly things you cant control that may introduce ich. Having a family and kids are one of those main things we cant control. Also, id be willing to say that doing a QT is also playing russian roulette. You're betting that youll never cut a corner for yrs, youre betting that putting 5 tangs in a tub for months wont stress them to death. Sorry. Not trying to argue anything its just such an intriguing concept with such vast opinions.

So sorry to hear Ty. Not to reopen the QT or not discussion, but its these type of tragic events (to ppl who know reefing much more than me), that makes me wonder if the QT hassle is worth it ya know? All it takes is a drop of water on a frag or invert to introduce it to your tank. Sucks.

Thx for the tips. I saw Aquateks new 48x36 tank that was running a ghost overflow, it also had a ton of salt creep on top. I assume its bc there's a big drop from the weirs down to the external box, causing a waterfall and splashing? If so, would you be able to close the gate valve so the external box's water level rises so its less of a dropoff?

Ty, Ill do my best to be succint in my question about your Shadow overflow; My plan for my 72x30x24h build is to use the Shadow and place the tank only 5 inches from the wall where ill have no rear access. The plan was to make those initial 3 pvc pipes that gets glued outside the external box, like 18 inches long (vs. 2-10 inches like their installation video shows.) Then place the main siphon's gate valve and unionx2 (for secondary and emergency) at the bottom of those pieces, so I can access them easier under my open back steel stand. Ive marked up your photo in blue to illustrate this - the circle is the gate valve and the single lines are unions. My thought process is that worse case scenario if theres a leak or plumbing issue, I can lower the water level below the bulkhead. Detach the 18' pipes from their unions under the stand, and unscrew then lift the external overflow box straight up in 1 piece. The only challenge would be using a ladder to reach and unscrew the overflow bulkhead. Does this sound like a feasible plan? I know you have your fish room (lucky), but I dont have that luxury. Im trying to convince myself that I dont need to get an internal overflow and that I can fix any plumbing issues with the shadow this way. And I dont have the ability to leave a larger gap between the wall and tank. Any advice from you or anyone is appreciated.

^^^ I get what you're saying and agree, but think maybe I couldve elaborated more. I'm luck that I enjoy what i do and get paid quite well as a Private Banker.. it took me 7 yrs to get this gig and I actually have the flexibility to travel alot with my wife and work 35-40 hrs weekly. I was more emphasizing how crazy wealthy my client's are.. alot of them are in venture capital or took their company public, so they have awesome 10mm+ mansions on Lake Austin and are 40. Never gonna get that wealthy and neither are most ppl... but im ok with that! But boy... id get a 10000 gallon tank if I ever did!

Born and raised in San Antonio, went to UT and graduated in 2006 with an Economics degree. Been working in banking/private wealth management for 11 years now. Positives are pay and getting to know alot of high net worth execs/techies in ATX and SA. Negatives are I get to see their ridiculous balance sheets and fancy homes/toys that Ill never get!