chimera

Artificial SaltWater (made up from plain water and salt mix) or Natural Sea Water (from the ocean!)

thats coz the weather was so crap I was surprised you went collecting at all!!! too much run-off from the land after all that rain. I think you'd be surprised at the difference in water quality of NSW before/after heavy rain... all that iron from rusty cars polluting the sea but seriously, heaps of pesticides and all sorts of other pollutants i certainly dont want to add to my tank!

for a skimmer? I thought about the same thing, but then the venturi pumps will only suck as much as they need to. typically you need to shut the valve down to a smaller opening on these intakes to reduce get finer bubbles and thus better skimming - so I'd say an airpump on it would be worse, bubbles would be too big. skimmer manufacturers would have most certainly R&D'd this idea already

if you ever plan on upgrading your skimmer pies, i'll buy yours off ya unless I get an AP902 before that happens!!! still looking, just hellishly expensive. prefer cheaper 2nd hand if anyone has one for sale

craig - you got water last week huh? if you plan on going this weekend (which apparently the weather is looking good) let me know as im going to collect some myself (but would rather use you for your large container instead oh, and get some of my egg-crate back, or i suppose you used it all on your tank upgrade?!!! )

speaking of which, pies i see a coralline build up in your skimmer. i'd clean that thoroughly (after your testing) if I were you. the smoother the surface the better the bubbles can attach to it.

same, if i had the room i'd go to that shape next for sure! oh god, did i just say 'next????' it appears im subconsciously planning a tank upgrade in my head already, doh!

that is insane growth chris!

nice shape tank. are you putting in a perspex overflow box?

good job mate, interesting to see the differences. make note if you do any water changes etc between tests it is alot - must be wellies seawater however, as pies says how thick is your skimmate reef? do you run more wet or more dry? i run about half that "wetness" although the build up of "sludge" from the neck is similar consistancy. :lol: didnt think deltec made any bigger!!!

thats the best post on this thread. i just drill a hole too if you use an air valve, be prepared to maintain it - salt build up etc. air valve is a waste of time. if you drill the right size hole in the first place the water will stay level. http://www.dursostandpipes.com/

golden section, golden ratio, golden number, Fibonacci number/sequence or the (greek) word Phi - they are all the same thing!

cool, tell her she looks like a number then

Just tell her Phi is a hot new catwalk model

The "golden number" Phi (yes Phi, not Pi) equals 1.618. An irrational number used in many famous people to create historic architectural buildings and artwork etc. Also used in the formula of beauty. Using "Phi" the perfect size tank (assuming 600mm height) would be 1341mm in length and 970mm in width. maybe an idea to use should someone be designing their next reef tank Go to 700mm in height, then you'd have 1559mm in length and 1132mm in width. http://people.bath.ac.uk/sny20/maths.html

bright, colourful, good growth,... ahhh black sand, its just like free zeovit

I dont know about any beaches in tropical areas that have black sand?

i tested my (aquamedic) refractometer with RO/DI water, temperature adjusted to the same as my tank (25 degrees) I found it read 1.000 EXACTLY. interesting that the ATC side of it is based on the temperature of the refractometer, makes sense I suppose as you're only using a drop of water which is so small it would adjust to the temp of the refractometer fairly quickly anyway

if you want to keep it that way, dont get a regal angel :lol: my rocks half gone the little bugger is always nipping at them

i'd go a couple of M1100 or M1500's, waste of time with the M820's. The 1100's that were on my 4 foot refugium only just kept it happy! i seriously doubt the M1100 rating of 1100gph stays at that after a few months use.

:bounce: more pics!!!

nice acro, there is some definate colour up, even though the first photo is overexposed harder to tell growth though since the second photo is zoomed in but you can see the tips are certainly larger. good work! more photo's!

i was. sold for free, ghostface grabbed it, chucked in a leather too

"sold"

sheesh, you cant even GIVE corals away these days!!!