FarmerTy

Those two would choke up a lake let alone my tank!

Oh, before you banish me forever for all my considerations, I wouldn't use a check valve either. They have a notoriously high failure rate in saltwater. And he ducks to avoid an object thrown at him from Juiceman. [emoji4]

I don't have a bottom drilled tank. So the only way to add drilled returns is to drill on the back. And no you wouldn't drill in the overflow... They're not big enough.You drill then add a bulkhead the same way you would add it anywhere else. Then thread your loc line and plumbing just like any other bulkhead. Reef savvy tanks are designed this way, same with any other rear overflowed tank. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Just saying, it's riskier than having your return contained within an overflow. If there is a leak, it would be minimal water drained within an overflow. Depending on the height of the return hole, you could lose a decent amount of water out of a leak otherwise.Whether Reef Savvy or other manufacturers do it or not doesn't mean the risk is not there still. Just wanted to point out for consideration as you decide where to put holes in your tank.

You'd risk a leak that could empty a lot of water on the floor otherwise.

I honestly wouldn't drill a hole unless it was located within an overflow. Was that the idea?

I went by the Aquadome today after finishing some work down South and man.... It's like angelfish heaven down there right now. They have one giant bluering angelfish, biggest I've ever seen, probably 9" wide and 7" tall. Worth the trip to just look at the specimen alone. Had a smaller one in the tank as well and it had to be 6" x 5" itself. There was a giant regal angelfish as well, about 6". They literally have 5 adult (5-6") blueface angels and a lot of medium sized ones as well. To top it off, I saw about 3 large adult majestic angels and a lot of juvis. I didn't want to leave that place! Wow! Lest I forget, they had a rare scribbled angel in one tank as well. Way out of my budget... enough that I knew there was no need for me to even entertain the thought of it as Hunter was gently leading my eyes to it. I ran screaming out of Aquadome to avoid the impulse buy. Okay, I may have walked home with one fish but it definitely wasn't any mentioned here.

You got me, mine is bottom drilled. [emoji4]

I'm going to start throwing my dog's poop in the tank for the interim. Gotta have pretty SPS corals... don't mind the smell! It's worth it! [emoji50]

So, let me get this straight. New rock, new sand, new stand, new overflows, new return lines with a drilled hole, new circulation pumps, and new skimmer? And you just bought new light fixtures not too long ago. Just give up already and buy a new tank. [emoji6] I'll give you a nudge in the right direction... http://www.marsh-reef.org/showthread.php?t=51134

If I can't find anyone with any special tools that make it safer, I will do it myselfSent from my iPhone using Tapatalk What special tools? Its just the bit you need. I used some plumbers putty, built a ring around the area cut, filled it with water, and cut away. I placed a towel inside so when I went through the glass, the puck could fall onto it.Just don't force the bit and let gravity apply the pressure. It's like a million times easier than you building that chiller enclosure.

It's easy Juiceman, just borrow the club set and do it yourself.

Nice, I'm sure I read that at one point but the fact that aminos supply nitrogen stick in my head. Thanks for pointing that out. I like the idea of doing both. Keeping a reasonable nitrate level in the tank and also dosing aminos. That's what I've been doing for awhile and I like the results. I think they are just really missing the fish poop these days as well.

Solid advice!

The CUC is in the DT, not the QT.Sorry, read that wrong.Yeah, I try to feed pellets because they sink and easier to grab for the CUC.

That is very likely but I'm not 100% sure the impact of aminos on coloration of SPS.

I'm using it too, though for aminos. My tank has no nitrates still so that's why I'm dosing.

Do you have any easily removable rocks you can transfer from the DT to the QT to supplement feeding? The sea hare is going to be tricky.

I used BRS pukani rock as well. Tend to work well.

Quick note on the marine pure blocks, rinse the heck out of them before using. They tend to leach aluminum over time and rinsing will help keep that to a minimum. Some purple have reported issues keeping leathers with them but otherwise, no other reports of issues. I have two in my sump and my aluminum concentration its 86 ug/l, 20x the concentration of natural seawater. I've had no issues though so it's not a concern for me. I don't have leathers either.

+1, metal and reef tanks don't mix usually. Though on a random side note, my Al level in my tank is 86 ug/l, about 20x the average concentration in natural seawater with no issues. I can't say what form of aluminum it is though but probably an inert one by my guess.

What CUC do you have? I only have conchs, snails, and urchins so I just toss some algae pellets from NLS in there on occasion. I was going to also start using the algae feeder contraption that sandwiches the nori and suction cup it to the bottom for the snails to snack on as well.FWIW, unless you have crabs, I would stop feeding spirulina brine.

Btw, I enjoyed the creeping cat surprise in that one picture. [emoji6]

Glad you're having such success with the T5s and happy you didn't give up on the SPS game. That is quite the long wait time for an MTC reactor. Geo's have a great rep and I would lean to the 618 personally as Eheims are bulletproof. That being said, if I didn't have an overwhelming SPS population yet, I'd just keep waiting for the MTC or keep looking for a used one. I see them pop up on occasion on the larger forums. If you want even richer colors, pop that nitrate level up to 5 ppm and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Oh man, he's probably awesome in real life but his online persona is a little much for me.

Sounds like a good opportunity for a guessing game. I'm going with 88 degrees average temp for the tank in the garage.