JDM

yep, it run in and working, i still have the deltec running as well, so i have a direct comparison. i will tune the aquaC before i make any real comparison judgements, at that stage i will post on what i find.

Normally you will nedd 10+ times turn over an hour, this would mean on a 60ltr setup you will be looking for AT LEAST 600ltrs and hour. i have put the at least in bold becouse this is very low turn over in my opnion. i have 400ltr display, so on that theroy i would aim for 4000ltrs per hour, currently i have 14000 ltrs per hour, but i am adding another 12000ltrs per hour, the main idea is to keep all the crap suspended in the water colium so the skimmer can grab it and take it out, before it settles on rocks and sand to rot and politute the water. so on that basis each tank is differant as it will be affected by how well the water movement can hold the crap in suspension (ie, number of rocks-posisiton of feeding and power heads etc) the lower the flow the more crap will be left in you tank to rot and cause algie and geartly affect your water quality. also i should point out that some speices do not like the high current, but sps do, so i aim for some calm sopts as well as some high flow areas. (sorry about the spelling :oops: )

got the email, thanks steve. but still no go on my work computer, i have fowarded the email to my laptop and will see if i can sus it out when i get home.

i want to download the users manuel for my aquaC EV240 skimmer, here is the link to the page you can download the manuel from. http://www.proteinskimmer.com/products/EV240.htm it is about half way down the page, it is a pdf file but when i open it on my computer it is in computer gibberish. can someone tell me why my computer cant translate it, or if someone could download it and post what it says on this thread that would be excellent. thanks in advance

nice idea evil, but this is the sort of guy you look after, he has offered to pay me for the time i spend on his tank, but i will not accecpt anything. a nice sort of "i owe you one "if you get what i mean.

looks interesting, let us know how it goes.

A friend of mine is on holiday for a while, he has asked me to look after his tank while he is away. he dose not use this forum, so i don't believe anyone on here has seen his tank before, however some of you will know him. sorry for the reflections and fuzzy images but i was sort of in a rush when i took the shots, plus his cat maniged to climb up my back! ouch! specs that i know are: 4ft bow front, corner overflow full syphon 3.7ft sump 2x 150w 14k mh (aquaone fitting) 3200ltr per hour return pump seio and 2 weard looking power heads aquaC skimmer halier chiller zeovit (doses-bac,food7,aminos,vilitizer,start2) Ca and kh are dosed via seachem reef calcium and reef builder, he has seachem mag but has not used any, kalk for top off. NSW for water changes (10% weekly) as you will see in the pics it is a mixed reef, with quite a few of everything, softys lps and sps, he has IMO a high to very high fish load. this tank has been running almost a year.

I have a few lying around, or should that be floating around.

sorry i dont have a pump spare, but just out of intrest, what sort of skimmer is it? seems unusal to have a air pump, unless it is one of the airstone skimmers, but these dont need 2500ltrs per hour.

cool, im into that. he looks great in real life, hope my skills can capture that. :-?

yep, looks like it to me.

true, might take mine out, save me cleaning it evey few days.

looks great tee em, nice to see a well thought out build. i also have the ts1250 and it sits next to my return pump, no micro bubles at all. do you have the sponge on the out let?

cool! well done! ok to answer a few of your questions, yes leathers sulk, the temp should be around 25, you should not need to add anything to instant ocean, however for future referance most people mix it the day prior to using it and airate it over night. i have mixed it and used it srtight away many times with no ill affect. the box of stuff you have will come in handy once things settle after the move, did you get any test kits? just let the softies be for now, maybe try to get a photo so we can have a look at them and make sure there all ok. they are very hardy and a move like this is very unlickly to kill them.

dude, thats sucks! but at least you have some very nice photos to remember him by. :bounce:

Be careful how much you trust the ratings on skimmers, 1 of the cheap skimmers i had was that via aqua, they require consitant adjustment, and they leak at the motor seal (had mine replaced twice and all 3 leaked, gave up in the end) i am still using this skimmer on a little 2ft tank i play around with, this tank would hold about 45ltrs, and the skimmer is still rubbish, its more the time spent keeping it skimming that is the issue, i adjust it every day! it pulls out a reasoniable amount of crap givn for most of the time this tank has no fish. i guess i should retract from my last post a bit and say A skimmer is better than NO skimmer, it really comes down to what you want to keep in the tank and how much money you can spare will possiable make this decision for you. my mum has a biostar skimmer on her 90ltr tank, this skimmer uses a kneedle wheel pump and is a great hang on skimmer, her tank is excellent, and her anemone and clowns are very happy. i got the skimmer for about $300? as a present for her, it was second hand and in good nick, i still would like to see her tank skimmed more, but she is happy with the corals she has and dosnt see the point in spending more money.

there are 2 items you cannot buy cheap, if you do you will buy twice. skimmer and lighting, both of these need to be very good quality, no way around this, they WILL cost heaps for what seems to be a big lump of plastic or metal, but they do make a differance and are the back bone of every good system. be prepared to spend around $1000 on each one of these (more or less), compared to the cost of livestock this is not unreasionable, (i.e. 10 fish or coral @ $100 = $1000) when i started i went through 3 cheap skimmers before i brought a decent one, the cheap skimmers are rubbish, they might look like they work but they are not powerfull enough to get anywhere near a well designed quality unit. just my 2 cents, but i wish somone had told me this before i started. all in all its money well spent for a fasinating hobbie. good luck and welcome, hope to see you around here.

nope, just let them be, they seem to stay in one end of the tank, i assume this is where there food sorce is. i have not heard what to feed them???? not even sure if you can?? some one may be able to shed some light.....

nearly a week down the track, i am having trouble tuning it to skim dark, it is skimming very well, but only as dark as tea, this dosnt worry me too much as its a good small water change each day, it pulls out quite alot, at first it was 6 ltrs in 11 hours! but now its more like 2 ltrs in 24 hrs, i have the cup feeding into a 10ltr waste drum so no problem with catching the skim. also, my deltec has basicly stopped skimming, prioir to the aquaC in 48 hours it was fulling the collection cup with about 35-40mm, i had been monitering this for well over a month, now in 48hrs it is pulling 5mm with no noticable color change, this is with no adjustment to the deltec. the smell in the deltec has changed, it is noticably stronger smelling, so together i think these skimmers complement each other, but i will need to get the aquaC skimming dark before i am totally happy with it. dose anyone on here use an aquaC skimmer? where to you set the air valve? (if it is an air valve???) on the top of the chamber there is a grey tap the seems to adjust the amount of air interduced?

i have 2 in my tank that have been there for quite a while, i would estimate about 8 months but cant be sure. there both growing slowly. no sign of being unhappy. no idea whats causing your problems though :-?

sounds right to me, best to check against a knowin sorce such as NSW as tee em said.

this seems like a good buy to me, (second pic down) http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/equipment-clean-out-vt17456.html you will need to get the correct bulb but its all brand new gear, i would think that you could get a 150w 14k mh lamp for around $50, i saw some on trade me for $35 but not sure if there still there, or what sort of quality they are. even when buying a second hand mh light fitting you would be best to replace the bulb, this way you can guarantee the amount of hours the bulb has done as they lose there spectrum over time and this is not something you can pick up with your eye, unless you compare it with a new bulb and even then it can be difficult. most good quality bulbs are good for about 12 months. hope this helps

Tom Gunner, that looks great, but 8ltrs what are the tank dimentions? cube? what lighting? skimmer? sorry for all the questions, but i reall like it, so much so i might just copy it.

looks good rossco, you must have been busy!

excellent new evil! i will follow this with intrest. i have been thinking of doing a cube as a nano also, will be very interested to see how this takes shape.