chimera

as brian says, because that is the SG (or essentially the concentration of disolved salts) of seawater.

looking great Pies,... so when is the new tank upgrade happening :lol: 15 footer next?

just a quick update for anyone interested: finishing the tank has been on hold for a couple of months now :-? i've been doing major rennovations on my house with a mate for the last 3-4 weeks. the lounge, kitchen and dining walls have been extended plus a new kitchen going in. the living area is all open plan now which makes the tank looks HEAPS better. it now looks like it belongs there!!! the plasterer is in today and all inside should be painted by the end of the week. this should make the tank look alot more effective than having half-plastered half-painted gib around it! i've decided to get some streams (havent told the wife yet - its her birthday today so i should have bought some streams instead of tickets to 'quidam' :lol: ) the corraline algae has taken off considerably in the last few weeks. still need to regulate dosage from the calc reactor as its on 24x7 at the moment (need a cheap solenoid!) as soon as the living area is rennovated, i'll post some pic's of the 'in-wall' tank as it should look alot sharper! the rock work can then be finished and i can relax a bit and enjoy adding some new corals etc Quite funny, here is a pic of the old 4 foot "in-wall" tank that i found in my archives... looks better than my 5 footer does currently!!!...

heheee, worth a try ok, double it then and its probably closer to a good sale price.

nice! now sell the other half on trademe to pay for some of your expensive hobby :lol: should get a good $40 to $60 for it!

doc - i would have a new tank built too. but no, it isnt impossible to drill a already established tank. i had my 3 foot sump get 2 x 20mm holes drilled in it. the reason why they wont do it is not because they cant - they simply owe you a new tank if it breaks. its not worth the risk for them. I gave the verbal on my 3 foot sump that i understand there is a chance it breaks and if it does, tough for me!!! i got the 3 footer free anyway so i took the risk and it worked out. oh - and apparently there is a greater risk the larger the hole! larger holes need doing on a press to be done properly. something like that anyway

i have about 130-150kg or thereabouts of coral rock for my 5 footer (1/3 is in the refugium). i would suggest that 25kg isnt enough - perhaps 40-50kg would be a better amount for that size tank. remember the more rock the better the biological filtration!

If it were me, I would buy a new tank (or even better, design then get one specifically made) It is surprisingly cheap to do this. My 5 foot tank complete with overflow and holes drilled (550 litre tank) cost me $320 (thats ALL up, including glass and labour). I can provide a contact if you like. You can get the overflow to suit and all holes drilled exactly as you want. Even get ones drilled for closed loops. Once it's done, its much easier to transfer rock & livestock over as you can do it in stages if necessary. Once you're completely done, flick the old tank off on trademe and get a bit of your money back! If you want to do it properly, get a tank made - its really not that expensive.

dont reinvent the wheel, other than drilling this is about your only option http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/overflow.html http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/routing.html http://www.melevsreef.com/sump.html The divider ensures the Weir remains primed.

my bro-in-law is a very good cabinet maker. i can get him to give you a price if you like. custom design it yourself and PM me a plan of approx. dimensions and I'll get you a price.

not my cup of tea either but it certainly makes the coral colours stand out!!!

anyone know of any cleaner shrimps going for sale in auckland? in fact, any shrimps really. i need a couple for my tank.

mine open up and close down all the time (ie: they'll be sweet for a few days then all of a sudden they'll be closed up for an entire day) they appear to close down when i run my calcium reactor 24x7. soft corals dont need calcium reactors but i've read somewhere that they actually have an adverse effect on soft corals. check alkalinity, calcium carbonate levels etc. perhaps its even a coral disease?

pm jetskisteve for snails, he had a few turbo's for sale not too long ago

what sort of tank will the new one be? i've never seen a coral reef with black sand before? depending on how much you need, i have some aragonite sand (very white) you can have. you dont want the sand too fine otherwise it will grow anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that live without oxygen) i think these are good for breaking down nitrates, but if you stir your sandbed up it'll cause problems. Get something a little coarser (like aragonite) then a small layer fine sand ontop of that. i also have some crushed coral sand you can have (alot finer and a little yellower than aragonite) i wouldnt use any beach sand coz its probably too high in silicates.

beautiful bro, once the lighting is sussed, it'll look wicked!

for those who dont know what they look like, colouration may vary slightly:

probably not enough

send a pm to reef

"an error has occured, you're not the owner of this album" page appears.

dont see the pics?

2nd hand you can buy from dudes breaking down their tanks for an average of about $10/kg

not a bad idea, but she will either: 1. scream/yell until february 2013 2. divorce me on the spot 3. say thank you honey, its the thought that counts I'm picking 1 or 2 are most likely scenario's...

ha haaaa, true that! i think i'll just buy them after xmas and THEN tell her

perhaps thats just an age difference thing then? bl**dy younger generation these days