jsr

I wash clothes with my waste water. I have my unit on a T with the washing machine. I can make 5 gallons of water and do a load of clothes without wasting any water.

Wow. I am starting to get the jitters over here! I never thought so many people would want to come see a young tank. I look forward to all the advise, suggestions, criticism, etc. Thanks everyone, I hope this meeting turns out great!

I just joined as well. Sorry it took so long! Happy Reefing. James

Oh crap. I did not know that. If there are lots of people wanting to attend the MAAST meeting we can always slide the meeting to Sunday. Saturdays do work best for me, but I not opposed to moving it to Sunday so that people can attend MAAST. Whatever works best for ARC members will work for me.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions and spirited conversation. I see the good and not so good in having a controller. So my thinking is this, I will keep running my lights on a $5 timer for now. I have not had any issues with overheating, yet! Knock on wood. I think I am going to take the money and invest in some upgraded equipment and safety devices. I have not been running a GFCI because I had some electricians tell me they could actually kill you. Hum, need to read some more on that one. Again, thanks for everyone's suggestions. I really appreciate all the opinions. Stay tuned.

Yeah, I have issues buying used equipment from people. I would gladly pay more cash if I get a warranty and someone to call if something goes wrong. If someone on ARC was selling for that price I would buy it! Thanks for the link. I see that controllers really hold their value. James

Good suggestion! Rust never crossed my mind. Heck, even hot glue may work if you have a rough surface to attach the screen.

Marine Depot has them for $270, in stock. Should I jump on this and get it?

Are you trying to keep the jumpers in the tank? Velcro might work, but I think the moisture would kill the tape over time. Are staples out of the question? I will be in SA tomorrow so I cant hep, but thought I would offer some advice. James

I have never made fried pickles. Is this something you make, or buy?

Yeah, I was leaning toward the RK2 but was timid of the price. I dont want an overkill controller, but I also dont want to buy a new one a year from now just because I add something. Does anyone know if the RK2 comes with the outlets, or is just the controller? What about the temp probe? This is uncharted waters for me so I dont want to screw myself by buying a $140 controller and having to purchase all the goodies.

Please be gentile. I don't have much in the tank right now but plan on stocking before the meeting. Also note that I run VHO lighting, so anyone who brings a "gift" SPS frags will most likely suffer under my lights. Let me and/or Mike know about food preferences and we will do our best to accommodate everyone's tastes. I also want to say that families are welcome. We have a play set out back that smaller children can play on. They just need to fend off my 2yr old! I am looking forward to hosting a meeting and seeing old and new faces. Again, be gentile on me. Its not the best tank in town, just a work in progress.

I am itching to buy an entry level controller for the tank. All I want is something that controls lights, temp, and some additional outlets for fans and such. I don't want to spend too much on this. In your opinion, is the AquaController or Reefkeeper better? It MUST work with IceCap ballast as well. What are some of the other features I would really want to control? I don't have a calcium reactor (drip Kalk w/ ATO) so a Ph probe may not be needed. Am I missing anything? Are they a PITA to program, or do they come ready to use? I have seen the charts that compare different models but I really want some personal feedback on which is better. James

I know the pain. I run 4 60" VHO's and can only buy them online. Dang 6 foot tanks!

Here is what worked for my hair algae... 1. Used TESTED RO/DI water (0 TDS) 2. Installed a phosban reactor, using media sold on bulkreefsupply.com 3. Turn the lights out for a few days. Remember, it gets cloudy over the ocean too. 4. Don't feed so much. 5. Consistent water changes. This is what I did, not all at once, but throughout my years. All seem to make a difference. Hope some or all this helps. Jame

Anyone use baking soda to raise the alk/ph in their tanks? Both are low in my tank and thought this would be cheaper then buying some buffer. I have read several articles by Randy, but want a "Dosing Baked Baking Soda for Dummies" version. So after I bake, dry, and blend to a fine powder what do I do? I used to add buffer to my top off water but it left a nasty deposit in my sump. Is there a trick to this? Any advise is greatly appreciated. James

Sold. Thanks Nick.

Pending sale

Looking to sell my old 29G tank and stand. This is best suited for a QT or sump as there are several scratches in the glass. What you see is what you get, minus the stuff on top. There is also a Whisper type filter that come with this. Please PM me if interested. Looking for $25 firm, may trafe for easy coral frags. James

The more I think about it, a virtual machine may not work. If the controller has any USB connections they will not respond in a VM. Have you tried calling the software place and see if they have workarounds?

PM me with specifics and I will try to help. We may be able to fix it or load a VM that will work. James

Cool. Thanks for sharing that. Is it safe to say that you will enable this feature on ARC?

I may have missed this, but have you tried running a phosphate reactor with some GFO? Total investment is about $50 for the reactor, GFO, and a small pump.

Yeah, I put two nice chunks in there, banded them to some rocks, and they were pulsing within 30 minutes. I will keep an eye on them to see if they start stressing.

Cool. Thanks guys. I just wanted to make sure they will make in my setup. Sounds like they will. James