FarmerTy

I have the reef octopus 5000 and it's awesome! I could only imagine the same for the 3000. GLWS.

Could you just use regular PVC? Or maybe gray schedule 80 at either home improvement store?

Pictures would help to diagnose if you can take any. Water changes can fix almost anything so hopefully you've already gone that route.

Beautiful specimen! What did you use to get him in the trap?

I'd still be worried about toxins if you killed them with Aiptasia X in tank. Toxins don't just disappear because you killed the host... unless it was some biological process that causes them to produce the toxins instead of the toxins just residing in their systems. I say sacrifice whatever rock they are one and get new rock.

It's always nice when your reef toys actually work as intended! Way to go!

Oh, Bpb, forgot to mention the CaRX is only hooked up right now for a leak test. I have two spots to stop pinhole leaks from and then once it passes the 2nd leak test, I'll go live with it.

[emoji23]

I still have my old Sicce pump for now but I'll be ordering another Jaebo as backup. I run their WP40s as well so I have a pretty in place Jaebo backup pump plan. Nut? Where'd you think I learned all my awesome equipment swapping skills from? I even have a peristaltic pump sitting under my stand right now in honor of you! The deltec fought me the whole way with effluent flow issues and even minor leaks that I thought I had sealed up properly already. It's going to need some more "sweat equity" to get that bad boy going but I couldn't keep risking my alk levels to it. I've already seen a little STN from the back and forth so far. I am borrowing some ideas from the MTC CaRX unit and will try to modify the Deltec reactor itself to hopefully counteract the non-steady effluent flow issues down the road. Thanks bud! It seems saltwater reef tanks have treated you well in your degree program! [emoji4]I don't follow on the flowmeter. Is there a periodic maintenance I need to know about for the unit? Flow meters will require occasional cleanings to prevent a build up of material that would possible change the characteristics of the meter. In your case soaking the meter to remove any build up might be all you need but I would check the manual to be sure. That's good to know. We always rented ours from the equipment supply companies during sampling so I never had to maintain one. I guess in this application, I'm not so worried about the complete accuracy of the unit. I just want the precision. If it can give me with an eyeball glance that my approximate flowrate is still about the same, then I'm happy. I don't really need to know it's giving me exactly 15ml/min or anything like that. It does have two screw connectors that would allow easy removal so I'll probably do a periodic flush and vinegar bath on it. I'll check to make sure that won't compromise that little rubber flow ball in it at all.

Let's setup the auto water changes on your frag tank and get some practice! Woot woot!

I'm waiting for BRS to get back to me on which size lid I need on that monster. It's in between two size lids that they offer. For now, I'll just have to slum it. [emoji12]

Thanks bud! It seems saltwater reef tanks have treated you well in your degree program! [emoji4] I don't follow on the flowmeter. Is there a periodic maintenance I need to know about for the unit?

As the basis of success, I always preach stability for a system. The less changes/swings that your livestock has to deal with, usually the better off you are. On that note, I went ahead and changed out almost all of my major equipment. [emoji41] I decided it was about time for me to try a DC return pump so I picked up a Jaebo DCS12000 and swapped out my current Sicce Syncra HF 12. They both roughly have the same GPH/hr rating so the swap was seamless. The nice part is the electrical savings and the ability to ramp the pump if needed. The negatives may be quality of the pump and longevity is going to be questionable on most DC pumps as well as we don't have a robust of a history with them. I've run this for almost a month now with no issues so far. I don't feel the need to have it controllable via my Apex as I have no need to ramp the speed up and down since I need the steady set flow as I use a manifold on my return pump and run multiple reactors off it. I also had the opportunity this past weekend to swap out my Skimz SM201 skimmer for a much larger skimmer model. Sure, I pass up on a newer skimmer and one that has the space saving feature of the pump housed within the skimmer body but what I gain is sheer brute force and just about one of the most reliable skimmer pumps in a bubble blaster. I swapped a nice gentlemen in Temple for a Reef Octopus 5000 skimmer. When I installed it, I knew it was going to be tight... but I literally have a 1mm gap front to back and about 1.5" side to side. Wow! Like a glove? This monster is rated up to 500 gals, but really 400 gals heavily stocked, which is still overkill for my tank at roughly 250 total water volume. Lastly, I was running a no name CaRX, probably an old PM CaRX. It worked perfectly for me but I got tired of replacing the media so often and I wanted to run something externally instead of in the sump. Got an opportunity to pick up a MTC CaRX for a good price and I jumped on it. Dual reactor setup, rated for 700 gals, built in pressure monitor, built-in needle valve, and the best part... built-in flow meter! Once I'm happy with the transition to all the "new" equipment, be on the lookout for me to sell off the old equipment.

They always come back! Welcome back to the club sir!

Looks like everything is happy enough to start using up all that alk! That's a great problem to have!

Welcome! Tank looks great!

The diatoms are a direct effect of silicates in the new sand feeding their growth. They'll go away once all the silicates are consumed from the new sand... barring there are no other sources such as from your RO/DI water.

Look up JamesL build thread. He did that and almost wiped his entire tank.

Take out the offending rocks? Star polyps you could probably use kalk paste over them but trash palys just need to be removed. Anything in tank could result in a release of palytoxin and wipe out your tank.

You didn't have to tell me that you got shut down. I knew that without asking! Bwahaha!

Wife shut that down quick! No new fishes for me!

Everyone be safe! Have your straws ready to blow bubbles in your tank if the power goes out!

If Ty buys the big tank, then I'll throw in the DOS. Agreed. Let's get RSC going. Done on RSC. Sounds like the gauntlet has been thrown to Ty. Water changes? Bigger tank??? Never!!! You can't make me!

PM'ed for the anthias and leopard wrasse. I'll text in the morning as it's probably too late now.

My biggest mistakes were using a hydrometer for salinity and listening to people for advice without checking what their tanks looked like first.