AlexKilpatrick

Chris -- in that case isn't it the flapper seal at the bottom of the tank that is failing? It keeps pumping in water because the seal is not 100% allowing a small amount of water to drain, in effect preventing it from ever finishing the fill-up. In other words, if you push the toilet float switch down and hold it down, I think it will overflow the tank (assuming the flapper seal is good)

I have the JBJ auto-top off system and it works great. I set up a 25 gallon rubbermaid container as a reservoir for RO. Yesterday, I set up a mechanical float switch for the reservoir. The main reason I did this was to handle the situation where I forget to turn off the RO water. It seems to work fine. However, the obvious thought is that I could just leave the RO on all the time, controlled by the float switch. Then, the system is completely automated (auto-auto-top off). Of course, the problem is that I am plumbed to an infinite source of water. If the reservoir float switch fails, then I can pump a ton of water. However, this is essentially the same thing we all have in our toilet tank, and no one worries about those failing. If they failed, it would have the same problem. Anyone here running auto-auto-topoff? Any predictions of doom?

Maybe it is just me but those tangs don't seem too big for that tank.

One time a server I was running got compromised as used as a place for a phisher to check email. We happened to get on while he was checking the responses, so we could see everything that came in. It was amazing how much people would share -- account numbers, routing numbers, even PINs! However, if you open a malicious web page you are probably ok as long as your OS patches and virus checker is up to date, especially if you don't install anything from those pages. I don't know of any current malware or viruses that can install just from viewing a webpage.

From what I have read, an anemone should be fed at least once a week. You can feed them as much as once a day if you want them to grow fast.

Wow, do they always sing like that? That would get annoying. Cool xenia.

If you look on the two-part label, it does mention how to dose it if you are also doing kalk. I would suspect people do both because two-part is typically a once per day while kalk is throughout the day. But the fact that they mention it on the label means it isn't all that unusual. Most ATOs will only run for about 15 minutes, after which they will alarm and lock up. That prevents you from dumping a ton of water into your aquarium. I realize you are going the full DIY route, but the commercial ATOs are not very expensive. Worth it for the extra peace of mind, IMHO.

53? My house isn't that quiet. It is usually around 60.

I'm at 70 in my fish room right now. That's mostly generated by a room a/c I am using. Would be interested in hearing other's decibel levels.

It would probably cost you .99 just to drive anywhere to borrow one (and then to bring it back)

You don't want an Apex?

Thanks for a great meetings. It was neat to meat a lot of you for the first time and thanks for all the frags.

Actually, it is pretty amazing that this has never happened for real. I have never heard of a stand collapsing, and even a split seam is *extremely* rare. Given how much weight and pressure are on these things, that is nothing short of amazing. However, as I read your initial description, I was wondering how a collapsed tank would make your live rock "disappear"

Sorry, just $$. I can't afford $$$.

Bringing a Coralife external pump, sufficient for a 120, but never been used. Also a couple of brand new T-5 ballasts. Willing to trade for frags, and will also be bringing $$ for frags.

I have a 150 that has been set up for about 2 weeks now. It has rock that has been fully cycled (via trash cans) for a couple months. Nitrates, nitrities, ammonia, are all 0. I have a skimmer that is sized for a 225 gallon, and I am essentially getting no output. I have a 2" of so layer of "froth" but nothing anywhere near enough to climb up the neck, etc. The only thing I have in the tank right now is a couple of chromises. Is this normal for a large tank so lightly loaded?

Those are awesome. Are you available on Saturday? Please save a few of the big ones for me.

Look online for pictures of aptasia. That's the one you want to avoid. They are pretty easy to spot, and are sort of clear-ish compared to other similar poylps.

I had a full size RBTA pop out of some live rock I bought. Amazing how that happens.

This is for the sump. I basically just want a box that is to a specific dimension so I can maximize the amount of RO water I can store (minimizing the time between refills). I could just buy a simple $20 aquarium, but none of them are sized very well for the cabinet, wasting a lot of space. I would want a top as well to minimize evaporation.

Bard -- I am considering having something built for my top-off water. How much would you charge for a simple box with a top that is about 2x2x2?

Just curious, why are you on the Austin Reef Forum if you are in Chicago? You are certainly welcome, but I always wonder why people do this. Is it because the "national" forums are too big?

From my rough measurement is is about 2X. From what I have read, there is no point in having a flow that is greater than your skimmer. I don't have any easy way to measure my skimmer output, but from what I can feel on the output line, it is a lot less than that the current flow rate of my return pump.

I am planning to be there. Hope it is ok to sell frags as well. I don't have anything to trade, but I would like to buy some. Interesting aside -- I think I started the first Austin reefkeeping "club" about 5 years ago. It started as a bunch of group orders for Flying Fish Express (which I think is no longer in business). From there we graduated to a yahoo group, had a bunch of meetings, etc. I ended up having to do a lot of travel and got out of things for a while and it looked like MAAST took over. I am glad there is an Austin group again, though. Nothing against MAAST, but it is nice to know everyone is local, especially for buying/selling. Look forward to meeting all of you.

In order to minimize noise, I am looking at scaling back my sump pump output pretty dramatically. I am guessing (hard to tell), I might take a couple of hours to turn over all the water in the tank. I have two vortech MP40s for water movement inside the tank, so I think I am ok there. From what I have heard, this might actually increase skimmer performance because it has more time to work on a particular "chunk" of water. Are there any gotchas I might need to know?