muddybluewater

I run crushed corals, medium and some fine. I don't like any sand in my sump b/c of cleaning. If you disturb it too much it can become toxic. I do like to have snails that turn up the substrate in my tank to help aerate. I bought 160# at RCA sale, 1/2 live 1/2 crushed for a 120 that I am building.

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I keep a 3 snails and a 3 hermits in mine. They keep up fairly good, other than that you just have to clean it. If you have sand try not to disturb very much.

I would suggest 250w for a 24" tall tank, You don't need 400w until you get to 30". The only reason to run 400w on anything less would be if you were suspending them higher above a long tank and wanted to cover a wider area. 2-250w and 2-54w T5 should be enough for a 90g you could use 2 94w pc's in place of the T5's, but either are just going to be for color your growth will come from the MH.

T5 retro Would you check and see if they would include this retro kit? I know that you said retros not included but the T5 retros are not heavy and don't take up much space. I would want the #4803TRU actinics with it. Just thought it couldn't hurt to ask. Thanks

If you still have tanks for sale could you post the sizes(dimensions)? I am looking to build a sump for a 120g.

I use reef crystals, good mag content and good reviews.

Injecting with lemon juice suposidly gets rid of them or "true peppermint shrimp" (Lysmata wurdemanni), but make sure it is the true pep.

They are aggessive towards other aquarium members, not to mention that they can grow to 14 inches.

RCA has sand on sale today until 8:00 buy 1 get 1 free, I just bought 160lbs. If you can keep the live rock completly covered in water during the move and power heads on it as much as possible the bacteria should survive and limit your cycle. I would keep the livestock in a separate container. Use rubber maid tubs or a clean plastic trash can. You can use the water out of the old tank during transit. I would go ahead and put the new sand and at least partially fill the new tank with new water, 2/3 full to allow for the rock. Mix up a little extra, you can use it later if you dont need it. Buy new "live" sand, it will help with your change over also. If it is possible have the new tank ready before you go to pick everything up to limit the time everything is in the tubs. good luck

What kind of ballasts are you runnig the MH lights with? I might be intrested in that also.

I'll take the rio 32hf, fug light and the dry rock.

Washing clothes with the water would be a great use of the waste water. especially if you then use the gray water to water your yard afterwards. For the amount of "crap" in the water, My TDS readings are 225 on my tap water, if you double that to 450 that is still acceptable drinking water in fact TDS must be at 1000mg/L before the EPA considers it unfit for human consumption. Just something to think about. TDS (Total Dissolved Solids): Total dissolved solids (TDS) comprise inorganic (principally calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, bicarbonates, chlorides and sulfates) and organic matter that is dissolved in water. TDS in drinking-water originate from natural sources, sewage, urban run-off, industrial wastewater, chemicals used in the water treatment process, and the nature of the piping or hardware used to convey the water, i.e., the plumbing. An elevated total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration is not necessarily a health hazard. The TDS concentration is a secondary EPA drinking water standard and therefore is regulated because it is more of an aesthetic rather than a health hazard. Acceptable result: < 500 mg/L (A reading above 1000 mg/L is considered by the EPA to be unfit for human consumption).

I use a ro/di from purewaterclub.com. It cost like $125 with the 4g presure tank and drinking water faucet for the kitchen sink. It is a 6 stage filter with 100g per day ro. The only problem with this unit is that most of the pre installed fittings had small leaks that I fixed myself. I thought that the low price was worth the effort to fix. I just use a 1/2" line that fits over the spout to fill either 1g or 5g jugs to do water changes and top off. Not only do you have to consider the cost of the water but the gas and time lost going to and from your LFS to get water. This was one of the best investments I have made for my tank in a long time and we don't have to buy bottled water to drink we just use the unit. TDS readings are consistently 000-001.

Thanks again and it was nice talking to you guys.

If you still have any of the hornets I would be intrested.