chimera

then he shouldnt be working there. tank valve is another name for them i think. bulkhead is the yank terminology.

thats been the whole point, they are crap - not accurate enough for a marine tank when you're measuring in 0.001 increments. get a refractometer.

thats no good! but then again whats the degree of accuracy for most refractometers? spot on? +/-0.001? +/-0.002? i guess it depends on the brand?

Im certainly no expert nor do I try to be and I certainly dont believe anything I read first time! so, i take most postings i read "with plenty of grains of salt" and even if something works on my tank doesnt mean it will work on everyone elses. the web is here for us to "recommend based on our experiences" or "what we've read that makes sense to us" and thats how others should take that advice (with another grain of salt ) i think that applies moreso in the reefing hobby where every theory sounds well and good until you try it out yourself :lol: btw, after posting this... my tank "has never looked better"

sounds like one observation of many - in other words i take what the author wrote above with a grain of salt as well as his "story"

im anywhere from between $15k - $20k (that includes building the sump room). its a heap of $$$ for only a 5 footer but i know i can upgrade the display (next year) for very little cost. plus the extra dollars invested means extreme ease of maintenance (tap goes on, tap goes off ) as above, you could easily do it for 1/3 of the price. just dont budget too low because if you do it on the cheap you'll regret it.

that's what i have too, but still get a slow buildup of detritus under the rack - only in areas that the spray bar doesnt quite reach :evil: when i plan to go to a 6x2.5 footer in-wall (next year), Im going to have everything covered. plenty of lessons learn from the first tank design. been looking at other ideas on the web plus a few of my own ingenious ideas that will make my next tank awesome!

NSW in the boot?

who is vanessa susan?

so tell me why my podpulation is so low?! or am i just blind?! i can see plenty in the overflow, but none in the refugium :-? go figure.

some fantastic colours there wasp, get some good aquascaping going and you'll have an awesome looking tank.

a bit high for zeovit i thought steve?

just going through ratemyfishtank.com - i have seen at least half a dozen tanks in nzl that would beat the top 10. so who's going to be the first to put some GOOD nzl reef tanks up?!

hahaaa, classic. pity this photo doesnt do it justice. i wish i wrote down what settings i had to get the shot closest to the naked eye! oh well

once? every day? every week?

having a dirty weekend? the copepods that is

so whats the recommended dosing for vodka?

perhaps a generalisation - eheims are the better quality but a bit more expensive, lagunas are good quality but a better price if i get another pump i'll go laguna purely because I need it to be > 5000lph (eheim only do up to about 3500lph with the 1262 i think)

:lol:

like mine? :lol: The perfect Kelvin rating for unwanted algae growth. I would change this to at least 10k when you get a chance.

in some scenarios a closed loop is preferred - such as less heat, more stealthed install, better waterflow in hard to reach places (sounds like a toothbrush ad) such as under rocks etc

the good thing about a closed loop is it's always 0 head. so, the pump spec you choose you can just with the advertised flow rate! if you want to work out flow rate of your return with the 1060, go here:

...and dont forget head is taken from the water surface of your sump to the water surface of your display tank, not from the pump to the display tank water surface. my sump is downstairs at my house; head height of just over 3 metres. for me a 1060 would be only pumping 100lph at that height!

let me know how many bends etc you have, the total head height and i'll let you know the exact flow. a fluidised filter is one that keeps the media within it under constant movement (not too low that some of the media settles on the bottom and not to high that the media gets pumped out the outlet!!!)

as per ira and sephew's comments, the eheim 1060 i sold you is more than capable. the 1060 is 25mm (1") in and 20mm (3/4") out. if you are using 15mm out, then this will reduce flow considerably. change the plumbing out to 20mm all the way and dont restrict it. bends wont decrease flow that much (not as much as you'd think) but do keep them to a minimum. if it were me i would have the return plumbed back up and over the top of the display tank creating circulation at the waters surface. then drill a hole at the back of the tank, add a bulkhead to it and have a separate pump for the spray bar underneath on a closed loop.