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This is a tough call in my opinion. With only 9 gallons of total water space not including rock, sand, etc you don't have a very big water demand. You might find it easier to just purchase distilled water from the grocery store in 1/3/5 gallon containers. The RO/DI unit may not be worth the...

Do you have any inverts and corals still in the tank? 80 ppm is pretty darn high for a reef tank but not that bad for a Fish only tank. There are several things you can do to help with the nitrates but it's kind of important to have a rough idea how the tank/system is setup. If you could...

Or you could pick up a DC4HD (heavy duty) 4 channel controller and put that near the tank for the lights and keep the 8 channel in the basement. I guess it really comes down to what you are presently using the DC8 for. What do you currently have plugged into the DC8 in the basement? Carlo

If you have any Mythelyne Blue around and if you can catch it easily and quickly without stressing it out a 20 minute bath helps. If you don't have the MB on hand or can't easily catch it then it's a waiting game. Carlo

It was probably the large blue hermit or the emerald crab. Both of them don't get along well with CBS. Actually most inverts don't get along well with the CBS. Most places/books tell you it should be the only shrimp in the tank but it's almost like it should be the only invert in the tank. I...

Not an officer but man I understand hard times to Steve. I'm just about over the last of my bad luck streak (divorce, moving, mom dieing, tank crash, job loss, car crash, loss of license...) <-- worse then a bad country record. :) I just got my license back last week and hopefully will be...

Shhh, don't tell him that till he buys my old D200 body. :) wink wink Carlo

I've got a bunch of reactors all filled with diffent media. I typically don't run them all at the time time but run them when needed with the exception of the combo reactor mentioned above which I run a slow flow through to just polish the water. I'm not sure if you can tell how clear the water...

GregW, It's a Frilly Orange Rhinopius Scorpion Fish. It has poisonous spines in the dorsal fin. Maybe later on I'll see if I can play with him like the dward lion. Of course he's bigger then my hand. sinkingbeach, you got me, that one's a fish. :) Carlo

Haven't posted anything in a while so here's one of the newer cool fish that's been added to my collection.

The PAR still drops off considerable after 6 months and the bulb should still be changed around that point. Maybe push it to 8 or 9 months but certainly not 12-18 months IMHO. I run electronic balasts and use a PAR meter to determine when I change the bulbs out. Carlo

I'll add something to the above about the reactor. I use a Phosban 150 reactor to run this stuff in powered by a MiniJet 400 with a slight flow restriction but it probably isn't needed. I put the contents of (250ml) Purigen in a fine micron bag and stuff it down inside the reactor around the...

Rich, do you happen to have any Purigen or Chemi-Pure around you can run for a couple of days? Carlo

People use it as a form a maintenance and not because they specifically have a problem. Some people call it "polishing the water". Chemi-pure is nuclear grade carbon resin which is the best type of carbon available bar none. It's the same type of carbon used in re-breathers. To fully understand...

Honestly I don't think there would be a problem doing it either way. I got the feeling Aaron has already been doing it the slow but sure way. Carlo

If you can't find somebody closer, let me know and I'll help you drill it. Carlo

None of my blennies would touch the stuff while I know others had good luck with them. I think it's a hit or miss with them and a couple of other types of fish. I'm sure there are probably a few tangs out there too that wouldn't eat the hair algae but in general they are known to be good with...

I agree with you on the reactions of the salt. I'd also agree you "could" add it directly to the sump in small amounts but do think it's a better idea to pull some water, add the salt, mix and pour back in. At least this way you know it has completely dissolved. Carlo

You guys are making this out to be far more technical then it is. There is almost nothing in your tanks that will have a problem going from 1.020 to 1.025/6 in a short amount of time. You won't shock ANYTHING by doing this. What you need to watch is when you're down in the 1.005 to 1.010 range...

I'd use the Mag 5 pumps for the return and skimmer. I don't think it's a wise idea to return more then your skimmer can process as the overall tank suffers when you do this. The Quiet One 4000 (1017gph) will probably make a better closed loop pump anyway and give you more flow inside the tank...