chimera

breakaway - just for you... http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm

consider no 2m worm a GOOD thing!

I know this has been posted/asked of before but I cant be bothered searching for it :-? What time does everyone's lights come on/off for their reef tanks? I currently have blues on at 10am, hallides on at 11am, hallides off at 9pm, blues off at 10pm, moonlight on at 10pm.

hahaaa, I know exactly where you're coming from Layton, pig of a job! I had to move contents of 4 foot to temporary tanks, then back into 4 footer, then a few weeks later from 4 foot into 5 footer in the wall!!! Part of the reason I got an in-wall - so it would stop me moving house

personally i'd go minimum of 4 foot tank. not alot extra cost but the greater water volume (over a 3 foot) will be easier to maintain water chemistry especially if you're a beginner (or lazy like me ) get a good brand skimmer like deltec. most reefers rave about deltec's. as reef says hangon will probably suit that size tank but if you can get a standalone even better. I have an in-sump deltec and am very happy with it. a good hangon would probably be something like a deltec mce600. if you go external/standalone an AP600 would be a good model for your size tank but if you can afford it, better to go larger (such as an AP850 which I think NickS is selling at the moment?)

got any direct links to DIY streams?

continue with the water changes immediately. you need to keep doing these every day until its fixed. ph solutions will only temporarily fix, still need to remove the acidic water.

Sounds normal. I think you're supposed to do water changes while its cycling too. http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/bionitrogencycle/a/aa073199.htm

Pies? Where you at with this dude? Any more progress?

i picked up 2 x Iwaki 30rxt's today to replace the eheim 1060's on my closed loops. i will be doing the plumbing for this using pressure piping and done as tidy as possible but not until later on as i want to consider my options. its most likely i wont use the SCWD's at this stage due to their design not fitting the needs of my setup (as pies says, great for smaller tanks say 3 or 4 foot). so, for anyone interested in buying a SCWD, Ive got a 2nd hand one for sale for $100 and brand new one for $115. PM if interested (brian, i think you were?) Additionally, I am considering the oceans motions if it can be purchased at a good price. check this out for a professional setup! http://www.oceansmotions.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=222

i was waiting for the xenia king to respond i might slice mine at the base too then coz the stalk has stuck to and is "climbing" up the rock next to it.

thats the emergency "oh crap, my sumps overflowing" pipe. That will also go into the sink. Its basically a maximum fill level on the sump. Should the sump fill up too high, it overflows into that tank valve then down and into the sink (currently just empties into a 3 foot tank sitting on the floor - same tank that the calcium reactor is in)

pic's of the new plumbing between refugium and sump. see above design on how I would have done it if i'd thought about it sooner!!! The handle is removed on the 3-way ball valve, but essentially turning left or right directs water either to the sump or down the drain. The sink isnt installed yet but essentially the pipe going straight down will be to the drain and the pipe off to the right is to the sump. compare this to the ugly and annoying flexible tubing shown in the pic's at the top of this page! Piping that heads off to the right, directed into the sump. The pipe into the water is simply "pushed on" rather than glued incase I need to remove the sump tank. Im picking up two Iwaki 30rxt's tomorrow to replace the eheim 1060's that I have temporarily setup for closed loops. This increases flow from 2280l/hr to 3600l/hr (1320l/hr more each!) Then, its time to start saving for some streams... :-?

"collecting dust?" - fake then?

I added more plumbing and a 3-way ball valve between the refugium and sump on Sunday (will post pic's up tonight) Basically, the refugium tank valve is 25mm and used to go into a 25mm flexible pipe to the sump (about 1.2 metres long) I couldnt make the fuge tank valve larger because the hole drilled in the overflow would only fit 25mm valve max. So I added an expander on so the tank valve steps up from 25mm to 32mm then along a 40mm pipe then back into a 32mm ball valve then out through 40mm piping. The water level in the fuge overflow dropped considerably due to the extra pipe size. I dont believe there is any restriction due to the 25mm tank valve (just by looking at the water coming out it and the water level in the fuge overflow is very low - no standpipe ) The next step is to put in the 2nd hand laundry tub i bought, plumb up a waste pipe and add a water supply/tap for cleaning to it. The 2nd exit from the ball valve will go straight down the sink for water changes. You'll see what I mean when I post pic's tonight!!! Just for anyone else's interest, I would only get a 2 way ball valve next time (rather than 3-way) and still be able to hook it up for water changes. Basically due to cost - the 3-way is very expensive (5 times the price of a 2-way) Here is how you could do it (next post will show photo of how I actually set it up)

Personally, I only bought/have a moonlight coz it looks VERY cool at night (better than a black tank) When turning all the room lights off and just having the fireplace and moonlight on, its a pretty cool effect! Unfortunately pictures just dont do it justice (and very hard to take due to little lighting)

brittle star, cool. give me 5 minutes with a razor blade (meant in the nicest manner possible of course) and I'll take him off ya hands for free! if that doesnt work, starve it.

asian (or any) supermarket here too, cheap as. dont buy from LFS, way expensive!

put it outside, but as close to the tank as possible.

Call Rod, (09) 232-9781. Best to call him at about 9:30am - 10am. He built my tank for me, and drilled the holes. Great bloke, wont cost ya much. Tell him James or Steve recommended you to him.

yeah possibly. i got two (one brand new unused and one 2nd hand) and not sure if i will use either. if you're not in a hurry for one, possibly once the OM come over here or i get my closed loops sorted some other way. will sell the 2nd hand one for $100 and brand new one for $120. seems to be the going rate for them.

??

ok, sorry pies you just aint that cool

water chemistry is probably helped by such a large clean up crew and few fish. Add some decent fish to it and she'll probably go downhill faster

Pies is really cool