mcallahan

what are you trying to do exactly? You might be able to do it cheaper than you think.

Just call epic reef @ (512) 619-8247 and ask for Dave aka "prof". He's the only guy there so you'll get him. If you call fishy business ((512) 284-8090) ask for Shane. He's the only one there too.

After market is fine, but as muddy said, if the glass is tempered, it will shatter if you try to drill it. Usually its marked with a warning sticker, but the sticker could always fall off or get removed. I think prof charges $20/hole, but don't "" me on that.

Sorry...I wasn't clear about that. Yes, avoid HOB overflows. The in tank overflows are fine and very safe.

I went from 175 -> 250W and all I changed was the ballast and wires. I only changed the wires b/c the new ballast was a different brand than the old one so the plugs wouldn't work. I've had no problems at all.

My tank goes through about 60 mL of calcium a day now that my SPS corals are taking off and I'm debating a Ca reactor or 2-part dosing pumps. These are my thoughts right now: 1. Ca Reactor: I'm fear here is injecting excess CO2 into my tank which already has a tendency to stay on the low pH side. And I know Ca reactors really help SPS tanks thrive. 2. 2-part dosing pumps: I've got tons of Ca/Alk solution from BRS so all I'd need to buy is 2 dosing pumps and some tubing and I'm ready to go. I've got room on my AC III to control them already. Can people chime in with their experience with either?

They work fine for reef tank, but they tend to re-sell for less compared to other tanks their same size. Just something to keep in the back of your head

Yep. All I've got left now is 1 Rose Bubble Tip for sale.

gone. thanks for the PM everyone, he has a nice new home other than my sump! I can't believed he lived down there as he was down there for 2 months and the only thing for him to eat was food that made its way down from the main tank, or any pods that he could find.

Avoid overflow boxes like the plague. I've only heard stories of them working out for people and I've personally witnessed many overflows with them - even when they were setup right. A 120G refugium would be killer and I've seen it done it before with great success. Just make sure you have the space for it and your tank! The way I saw it done, the person had drilled a in and out bulk head on the side of the tank. It looked slick and worked well. So, i'd: 1. Take it to shane or prof and see if they can drill it and make it reef ready for you. I'd recommend a corner or rear overflow box. 2. Have the two people mentioned above drill holes in the side and use it as a refugium.

PM sent

you getting rid of some 400W equipment? I also have some 250W stuff if you want it (ballast/cords)

I found him in my sump from a Vivid order a while back (I thought he was dead since I couldn't find him in my tank. PM me if you want him. He's about 3". Im working on the tank now so just leave me a msg with a ph # and I'll ring you when I"m done to work out pickup.

Anyone got any calcium reactor media that they want to get rid of?

I can pick it up for you...

Gotta put a plug in here for the red digi. I bought some last week and it looks bright pink in my tank. I mean bright pink, like candy cane glow. but pink. Its awesome and John gave me plenty of it. Of course everything else in his tank will make you drool as well.

currently pending sale. I'll update the thread if they are not sold

that too. Plus it'll make your cleanup crew cleanup more as they won't have the easy meal

It'll just make them more aggressive eaters the next day. They'll be fine.

One block of mysis or brine a day. I personally only feed mysis but there is no problem with feeding both as long as you alternate them. So your schedule might look like this: Mon: block of algae Tues: block of mysis Wed: algae Thurs: brine Fri: algae Sat: mysis, etc You could probably get away with making Sunday a no feeding day.

That's fine. Go with one cube on the alternating schedule and your nitrate issue will get resolved.

that's probably enough for you to feed a whole cube. Just keep an eye on it to see that you aren't over feeding. The easy way to tell how to feed is if the fish are eating all the food before it can hit the sand bed. You've got a good cleanup crew that will take care of any pieces that get away.

Sounds like you're stepping in the same hole all of us have stepped in before - over feeding. When I first started reef keeping, I fed enough that my cleanup crew could come out and have a whole meal themselves which was way too much. Luckily, your issue is easily solved. 1. Cut back your feeding to 1 cube of mysis/day. Then alternate between algae on one day, mysis on the other. You probably could feed less than 1 cube a day, but I'd have to know what your bio load (fish/inverts, etc) are before I could say for sure. 2. Keep up your current water change amount and schedule for now, you'll need to drop your nitrates to an acceptable level. Once you adjust your feeding schedule, and after about a month, you can back off your water change amount to the normal 10% every 2 weeks as you'll be removing the source of your nitrate issue - too much food. Common mistake, easy fix. And certainly having your own RO/DI system will be of benefit to you!

and what's in there in terms of fish? Sounds like a lot of food.

are you running a sump/skimmer? How much are you feeding? And how old is the tank? That seems like a lot.