capty99

First I've ever heard of them busting a seam, and I've read about a lot of them.

i sorta thought it was bs when the sales guy told me it. (might have been trying to get me to preorder a new one and not keep looking for the old edition)

thanks guys, that solana went from 10 in stock to 0 in 2 days. awesome.

anyone worried about those solana's breaking a seem? I heard that was why they quit making them and the new ones have beveled edges. 34 gallons on the floor wouldn't be fun in an apartment.

The stores up here in dallas don't seem to know when those new solana's are going to hit since they are brand new so I'm gonna keep looking for an older version I think

Hey everyone, very long time no see. I was mostly a lurker here but you guys helped me a ton with my last reef tank (which I had to break down in an emergency family situation where I had to move to Dallas in a weekend). Some of you guys may still have some of my fish flying around in your tanks.

Anyways,

I'm ready to get back into the game and am currently stalking a 34 gallon solana because they're sexy, I like how the package is compete (for the most part) and I won't be doing as much DIY this time. (Not against the DIY thing but my last tank felt a little more hack-ish than I want this one to be)

So, i found this link

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005WZW3QM/ref=s9_simh_gw_p229_d0_g229_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1WDQN0KFE5SJD33TM66B&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

and it looks like the normal solana package but this price is both awesome and really scary . Can ya'll more knowledgeable folk tell me if there is something off with this? The seller seems really reputable and has tons of good feedback. Does this require manual build or something?

Thanks very much everyone , good to see you again

you can use tap water if you like long stringy green algae instead of corals though.

is that part inside dirty? i didn't look but i didn't think it would be. it was running in the sump yesterday and was only sitting out for 24 hours before you got it.

hey polar - i cleaned it after I got it from Bill using vinegar. Last night i sat it in a solution of water/vinegar but had no time to scrub at it today. Bad form on my part to hand it over uncleaned wish I had more time sorry.

.. and of course i left the siphon going as i left the room. its a mess!

..... is hard work. Geeze, I just didn't think about it . If I was trashing everything fine but keeping it all alive and well off for all you fellow reefers to pick up.

And all I can do is think about my next tank, and get mad at how much of my built up collection I'm having to get rid of. I'll be living out of a suitcase for the next 6 months but my pad of paper will be full of drawings of the new tank's specs.

gonna lower the 55 tank to $25

shoot me a pm with a time you can come by saturday

how big is your Pencil Urchin??? I am interested in him and the Damsels if they are still available..

thanks

how do you measure these guys, i would guess about 2-3 inches across from end of spine to end of spine. if you want him i'll mark you down for both.

all the info about the light itself is in the link if you need more, its 36 inches. comes with ballast.

i would like 75 for the whole thing, one of the lights is original in that purchase i made (so about 4 months of usage I believe and one is new about 1 month of usage)

t5 update : its these except with one new bulb http://www.austinreefclub.com/topic/8743-t5-light-setup-and-hood-for-a-75g-sold/page__p__54467__fromsearch__1entry54467

yeah thanks guys, life is crazy. everything was fine and came out of nowhere but we're in a better place than a week ago, so its OK right now.

Lamont - i'll mark you down for those two, like i said, probably saturday is the best day, but i'll give you a call on my way down if that works to make sure

Livestock :

http://www.austinree...9772-breakdown/

Lights - HAMP - 75 MH . It was a home made pendant but I tore that apart to put into the canopy. You probably just want this for the bulb so ten bucks.

t5 light setup - i can't remember whats in there right now i will update when i get info . its only two bulbs and a ballast.

Mag 7 pump - vash - 25 bucks - forgot there is a broken piece on this. dunno what its called, but the side by the impeller had a screw break off when i was messing around with it, and therefore doesn't attach correctly to the rest of the unit. i have it secured via rubberbands and it works fine for my purpose (return pump to DT with a head height of 5 1/2 feet) , but if your a perfectionist its not right. someone with some silicone or diy skills could put it back together i'm sure.

Going to skip the major sob story - but am doing a forced relocation to move back in with the parents and help out a sick dad. I've been gone from my tank for about a month, and have had my roommates doing basic maintenance on it but they just don't have the heart or desire to keep it running . I'm going to list as much as I can remember, the deal is I will be in town this weekend 22nd and 23rd (75% sure --- it may have to be next weekend) and need to get rid of as much as possible while there those two days. IF not, a roommate can help parting it out over next week he just won't know very much about anything so no questions for him.

I don't have pics and can't take any but I live just north of campus and you can come by and look at anything.

Livestock ;

2 three stripe damsels - pending August - 3 months in my tank, these guys can survive anything, I'll give these to whoever wants them (and picks up something else from the tank)

Live Rock - Pending JeeperTy - I have 40 lbs of live rock from the member Truckin, and then about 10 lbs of my own live rock. The 40 is much more established and a dark purple, the 10 is getting there but not to the same level yet. $70 for the whole 50 lbs.

Pencil Urchin - pending August - 5 bucks - Been in my tank for 3 months from reefcleaners, he hides alot but when he is in the open he is cool to watch.

Just watched a video today of a huge octopus taking on a shark in some big national aquarium or something -- this looks just like that.

The evil nitrate pockets seem to be the worst part of DSB.

Is it possible to get the best of both worlds by layering?

that would be the worst of both worlds i think.

if a DSB is mixed up constantly its OK, its just that over time you will look at a tank and see the sand has formed layers, much like in rock, where you can see the lines in it. that is a bad situation for the tank.

you need to commit to one of them full throttle imo to make it work.

I did my research 6 months back, and everyone has a completely different opinion. For example, you go to talk to Fishy Business and he will make you never want sand again, while others love their sand beds. Part of it is just preference I wouldn't say there is a clear winner in this argument.

Quickly :

It depends partly on what you want to put in the tank, you can't have diggers with crushed coral otherwise they will get torn up. (i've heard this - it may not be true in others' experience)

A DSB (deep sand bed) has the possibility for nitrate buildup and if not kept in great shape can cause problems.

A SSB (shallow sand bed) lessens the problems of nitrate buildup but still has to be kept clean.

There are a thousand different reasons for each one obviously, I was just summarizing some big ones. I have an SSB , and I like the look of it, but if I started a new tank I think I would go with crushed coral, it just seems easier.

There is also the option of throwing a DSB into your sump to get the benefits of it without it being such a big expanse to keep up with.

I don't ever go behind my tank. I will when I change my pipes out, but if I had plumbed it correctly in the first place I could have moved it flush with the wall and not worried about it.

gracias guys

it may be . here are pics, finally got iphone to work

how big a tank do they need? i have a pencil urchin in my 55 right now. is a new one too much?

Don't have pictures, but its on one rock, its white, bunch of little tubes coming off the rock. It's covering the whole rock, I just noticed it early this week. Has not spread anywhere else surprisingly even though that rock is touching other rocks . I tried googling for images of common pests and didn't find a page - so if anyone has one I would appreciate it.

Was just about to post about this . The ocean is a weird place. Here is the video :