Recent content by anna

I am using tropic marin and the TDS readings are 0. What is the typical life of the MH bulbs? One thing that I am also fighting is scum on the top surface. When I blow the stuff off the rocks I get a scum on the surface of the water. I clean my overflow but it doesn't seem to take the scum...

I am getting a brown slime alge that I have been fighting for a couple of weeks. I have cleaned my skimmer and serviced the pump. It is pulling out a lot. My params are all 0. Alk 9.5 Ca 450, I use a RO/DI filter and just replaced the filter canisters. I have tried more frequent water...

I just (5 minutes ago) installed the osmolator universal 3155 from Tunze for my top off water. What a great product! It installed right the first time, has many failsafes and had enough adaptors to mate onto any configuration of sump/tank. It worked right the first time I turned it on. It...

I loose 2.75 G per day. The unit can only be programmed for a set number of on's and offs. It gets about .6 L/hr max. If I ran it long enough to do the top offs it ran too hot. Also, I should have read the literature more carefully. It is a three channel but all three channels must run at...

I can recommend that you *not* get the Vario 3 pump. It can't run the volume for top offs without getting too hot. In addition, if you damage or need to replace the pump tubes it is ~$50 for a new set of tubes. That is right 1/6th the cost of the pump. I was so unhappy with mine, I returned...

My "male" (the larger of the two) has not eaten in about 5 days and his jaw line is very swollen. He is spending a lot of time in the low flow area of the tank. There seems to be something in his mouth but I can't get a good look. I have been doing a crash course in dealing with the fry (if...

Any recommendations on a dosing pump? I am going out of town for a while. A friend is looking in on the tank but I thought I would make life easier by topping up my water and adding my 2 part buffers with a dosing pump. The tank is 75 G and looses about 2 G of water a day to evaporation (I...

I designed my own based on seeing several on the internet and in my LFS. The basics are the box and the lighting connection. Some people get fancy with doors and hinges. I was in a rush so made it as simple and open as possible.

the hood was very easy. Just cut the four pieces using a table saw and then used a biscuit joiner to mate the pieces together. I have access to long clamps but you can use a belt clamp with four corner pieces. The trick is to keep it square. The trim is just cut on a miter saw and nailed on...

Thanks for all of the help. The two are doing very well, showing their polyps and are very plump.

The light in the LFS was just VHO's and no where near as intense as my lighting. I moved my lights back (they are on a slide) and tucked the sarcophyton back so it still not in the direct line of light but gets a nice shimmer across it from the waves. It seems to have perked up a lot. How...

I bought 2 of the icecap variable speed fans. You will pay a little extra for the "icecap" name but if are short on time, they are easy to get, have all of the "bits" that you need (power supply, thermocouple etc).. They are quiet and designed for the saltwater environment. Icecap buys them...

I have a new small sarcophyton in my tank (2 small mushroom looking pieces) which I introduced at the same time as I introduced a zoanthid. I have it in the bottom of my tank and have had it there for about 6 days. Originally, I had it tucked under a rock to give it shade but it kept rubbing on...

Just as a qualitative comparison, I just set up at 75G with a 9.5Mag in a sump with 3/4" pipes with several right angle bends. When I opened up the pump full throttle, it blew all of my sand out of the bed even when I aimed the outlet valve. I have had to use a valve to cut down on the flow.

It is the ultimate hobby for an obsessive compulsive engineer type. Plus I get great delight when my 14 month old daughter stares at the tank pointing and shouting "ish! ish!"