Tank of the Month - March 2004

[Skipper]

This month we are featuring Carl Menard's (cman) beautiful mixed reef tank:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-03/totm/images/fulltankSM.jpg (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-03/totm/index.htm)

More details can be found here (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-03/totm/index.htm) or by clicking on the picture above.

Congratulations, Carl!

[Rock Anemone]

Congrats Carl on a beautful and healthy reef aquarium! Keep up the great work!:thumbsup:

Rock Anemone:D

[crescent1]

great tank carl, congrats on the wonderful system.

[DJ88©]

Kudos.. :)

very nice tank buddy. :) :thumbsup:

[CrystalAZ]

Nice tank!

How long have you been running carbon continuously? I was told it can hurt some tank inhabitants if you run carbon too often? If you have been running carbon continuously for a while, I'll cross that one off my concern list.

Congrats on TOTM... much deserved!

Crystal

[TippyToeX]

Congrats on a well deserved TOTM :D :thumbsup:

The Scolymia's in you tank are gorgeous!

[Tek]

Very Nice. My goal to have a tank like that one day.

[cman]

Thanks everyone.

I'll try to answer people's questions at least once a day. I appreciate your interest in my tank!!

I have been running carbon 24x7 for the last two years. I have a lot of leathers in the tank and find that everything seems much happier when running carbon.

I love Scolymias! For one thing they are pretty simple to keep and secondly they have some really dramatic colors.

Thanks again everyone.

Carl

[rbaker]

Ahhh, a man after my own heart! A beautiful mixed reef...

Congratulations! Well deserved...:D

Ryan

[Trumpet12]

Very, very pretty tank!!!

[SPD52903]

simply incredible. I can only hope to achieve such perfection.

[cwponds]

What kind of camera did you use to take the photos of your tank?

[lebowski]

Very nice tank! Congratulations!

[rjwilson37]

I think your tank looks awesome, Congratulations on Tank of the Month.

How often do you have to trim back the coral battles for space.

I would love to see your tank in it's different stages along the way if you have a web page.

[ddenham]

When I set up my basement sump, I had serious humidity issues and had to get a dehumidifier. how do you handle moisture in your basement?

[Reefdude3]

Beautiful! Brilliant ideas about lowering temp!

[r.mick]

Lordy Lordy! I just read my future. Your story is exactly where I see this wonderful hobby taking me. I can only hope for the same success I see in your set up. Very good!

[Algae Blenny]

Wow. Looks great and much bigger than a 90.

Congratulations.

[reefrubble]

cman,
Beautiful, I won't say tank,but entire system. Anyone in this hobby can easily see the research, thought, and hard work you have put into your system. You deserve this honor.

[John Brancheau]

Fantastic looking 90, I love the way you've incorporated the softies and stonies, makes for a very pleasurable view......

[diablodragon]

beeaauuutiful tank! Looks a lot bigger than a 90 gallon! amazing! :)

[suthrnmn]

nice job, what kind of kalk reactor and doser do you use?

[cman]

Thanks again.

What kind of camera did you use to take the photos of your tank?
It's a Sony CyberShot DSC-S85

How often do you have to trim back the coral battles for space
I don't do a lot of trimming. I just let nature take over.

how do you handle moisture in your basement
I do have to use a dehumidfier in the months of July and August when it's most humid here in the Boston area. It's kid of funny to think of the battle that goes on - I top-off the tank, the water evaporates, the dehumidifier takes it out of the air and then I throw it out on the lawn. I wish I could use it in the tank but I have read enough to know that it's not worth the chance.

[tym133]

nice tank. I was wondering if you could give any sugggestions with my tank. I have a 75 gallon reef ready tank. when I get water from my over flow into my sump, I get alot of bubbles and when the water travels to my return pump and back into my tank air bubbles are coming out. I initally turn my return pump around to where its not facing the return line from my sump and I also placed a valve control on my pump. I have a dolphin 1200 as my return pump and I have slowed down the pressure alot but I also slowed down the current in my tank. Any suggestions. Thanks

[K9]

Wow, amazing tank and article Carl! Very unique, intelligent set-up you got going there. I hope someday my "little" 30gal will look half as nice. Congrats! :D

[ottdid]

sweet!

[agentb2]

in-freakin-credible! Nice tank!!!!

[Josh K]

Absolutle beutiful, very nice natural look with a variety of colours. Wish mine would turn out even half as nice. Congrats

[Jamesurq]

nice tank man. Makes my 90 look sparce...

I saw Mag 24 and "not throttled back" and was like HUH??? I guess the whole part about it being in the basement took a while to sink in.... How much overall head do you figure you have on that pump?

[melev]

What a wonderful tank, and your commentary was very easy to identify with.

My question is that cute little fish pointing straight up..... what is he thinking? :D

[smiller]

Great tank and great pics! Well done!

[NM reef]

TOTM is one of favorite features anywhere on the web...and this selection is top notch. Congradulations on your selection and many wishs for continued success!

[kbreese]

So what all do you feed your coral's. Just the cyclop-eeze or do you also feed some type of Bioplankton like DT's or Liquid life??

Very nice tank.

[cman]

nice job, what kind of kalk reactor and doser do you use
I use a StoneyReef reactor. It's buit by someone here at RC and works fine. It is connected to a Nurce top-off. The trick is to make sure there are no air leaks in the reactor otherwise the Nurce will not deliver the water to the reactor properly.


I was wondering if you could give any sugggestions with my tank. I have a 75 gallon reef ready tank. when I get water from my over flow into my sump, I get alot of bubbles and when the water travels to my return pump and back into my tank air bubbles are coming out Man, I battled with this when I first started. That's when I had a 20 long in the stand below my tank. When I moved the sump to the basement and had the room to add baffles I was able to get rid of the bubbles. When I was using the 20 I had actually built a wall with some thick foam blocks. I had the overflow spill into on side and the return on the other. The only problem with that is you need to clean the foam blocks often



How much overall head do you figure you have on that pump?
About 9'



So what all do you feed your coral's. Just the cyclop-eeze or do you also feed some type of Bioplankton like DT's or Liquid life??
Other than the cyclop-eeze I really don't feed anything else on a consistent basis. I will feed DT's sometimes when I can find it locally.

[Toledofishguy]

Nice to see a primarily softie tank as tank of the month. Us who love the softies appreciate it. Love the tank.

[Andrewsreef]

Very nice tank. I do have a question about your lighting. I did not notice you having a chiller and want to know how you have your fans mounted to keep the temp below 82. I have a 75 gallon setup with 2X175 Halides and 2 VHO actinics and I strugle with my current canope to keep the temp below 82 in the summer (Florida heat) with the house temp around 78. I can keep it at 82 if I keep the canope open but I hate the look.

What have you found that helps with the temp?

Thanks a lot

Andrew

[melev]

Andrew, his article mentioned the the basement is about 2 degrees cooler all the time, so the water is chilled slightly as it goes to the sump. Plus some of his return plumbing is routed through his airconditioning ductwork, so when the A/C is on, it helps cool the water enough that he doesn't need a chiller.

[MacnReef]

Incredible Tank!

How is your drain handling 22gpm? Man I would think you would need more than a 1" drain. I have a 90 and I am using a Mag9.5 and was considering a 12, but a 24. Man that is a lot of power. Do you think the overflow with a Durso could handle a Mag18 with about 4' of head?

Also, how is the return plumbed? Do you have just one return line or two and different directions. I am finding that the front left corner will get a build up of stuff unless I turn one of my returns down to blow it around.

Mike

[ShallowWaters]

Terrific tank! Congratulations. Your story is one of the most hepful yet because you honestly shared many lessons learned.

How did you extend your canopy vertically and get the stain to match? I have a similar upgrade issue to undertake. Did you think of any alternatives to what you did that can help me short cut the project? (I already own an AGA Modern cherry canopy for a 120G AGA because I figured I could always use it for freshwater in the future.)

Thanks!
Mark

[cman]

Thanks for all your interest!


What have you found that helps with the temp?
Melev, thanks for helping with the answer. I'll just add that I have both fans pointing into the hood


Do you think the overflow with a Durso could handle a Mag18 with about 4' of head?

I'm not sure. You could always put a ball valve on the output and choke it down a bit if your overflow can't handle it.


Also, how is the return plumbed?
I have the return split in two with some loc-line (sp?) This way I can direct the flow in two directions. I sometimes move them around a little to change the water flow slightly.

How did you extend your canopy vertically and get the stain to match?
Think of it as a rectangular box with no bottom sitting on the original hood minus the flap. I used some oak hardwood from Home Depot. I had to buy three or fours different stains in order to match the original hood. I just used a piece of scrap wood and tried the different stains until I got it right.

[Radicaljbr]

OK.....I have been on here for only about 5 months, but this tank is my favorite tank of the month so far. All of them have been great, but yours really struck me. Can you come to Cleveland for a weekend and duplicate yours in my 100? hehe

Thanks

John

[stargazer=2]

very nice tank and set up i have a 125 that i am trying to hook up to a basement fuge and sump i have been working on this thing for two months now i am useing a 150gal cattle feeder and a external 70 blue line pump your finished set up has given me what i needed to stick with it and hopefully get it done i was starting to burnout thanks for the push i needed great job

[Scuba_Dave]

Great tank. My 125g is mostly softies, but I'll have a mix of SPS

[Radicaljbr]

I too have have the Berlin and never empty it but once per month when doing water changes. And even then it only has about an inch of scum. I will look at the skimmer you use now and maybe change.

1. what is a Durso Standpipe? I have incredible noise from my 100 gallon overflow and would love to quite it down like yours.

2. How are youi feeding them with your canopy? Do you have doors on it that you can open to refill your Eheim or maybe I do not know what a Eheim feeder is.

Thanks

John

[BarryG]

great tank carl, congrats on the wonderful system :thumbsup:
Barry

[TheShaws]

Totally awesome tank. I will say as others before me.. it looks way larger than a 90 and it's the way you laid it out that makes it so great.

I have tried the rock along the back wall as well but have been somewhat concerned about the lack of water movement behind. I installed a 1200 PH on a spray bar. What sort of circulation do you have behind the rocks?

I am truely inspired to keep on the mixed reef tank route.

peter

[BigBird]

Very beautiful tank!!:D Definitely an inspiration.

I find it very amusing that you too have made the "berlin to euroreef progression." It seems that many on this board have started with a berlin only to ditch it in frustration & upgrade to a euroreef or similar high-end skimmer.

[melev]

Originally posted by Radicaljbr
1. what is a Durso Standpipe? I have incredible noise from my 100 gallon overflow and would love to quite it down like yours.

John

http://www.rl180reef.com/pages/standpipe/standpipe-open.htm

[Radicaljbr]

Thanks melev!!! That looks super easy to make.

[playa]

Congratulations on TOTM:)

Beautiful reef!!!

Cheers!

Luis

[usagolf]

Very SWEEEEEEEET looking tank.
Nice Job

[Mr. Slippery]

That is one beautiful system. It's nice to see another great(local) tank. Congratulations!

Matt

[cman]

Can you come to Cleveland for a weekend and duplicate yours in my 100?
Sorry but my wife thinks I'm crazy enough! A visit to Cleveland is not in the cards. LOL

How are youi feeding them with your canopy? Do you have doors on it that you can open to refill your Eheim or maybe I do not know what a Eheim feeder is

The extended part of the canopy is attached to the original canopy with a set of door hinges on the back. There's a picture in the article that shows it open. The Eheim is an automatic flake food feeder. It actually sits over the sump in the basement. The flakes get dumped into the section above the return pump and get delivered to the tank via the return plumbing.

What sort of circulation do you have behind the rocks?
The return is split in two and pointed toward the two front corners of the tank. I have three powerheads that are hidden behind the the live rock to create circulation back there.

[MtnDewMan]

Very nice TOTM ... Congrats Carl ...




------------------
MDM
[violation]

[Mantisshrimp248]

Hey cman,

Very Very Nice tank!
As people have said before, it looks much larger than a 90g.
I'm planning on setting up a 90g or sumthing around there, I hope it will be half as good as yours.

I know in the article it said about feeding, but what other maintenance is required?

[daveisrael]

Beautiful tank. I've always been a bigger fan of LPS and softies than SPS. It's nice to see a tank like this recognized! Your 90 looks a lot bigger than my 110. Great ideas on chilling the tank too.

[antpal01]

Carl, Beautiful set up. Congrats. The corals are incredibly intense and healthy looking. You are doing a few things right, that's for sure.

had a question about frequency of water changes and total fish population. How many of the types of fish do you have in total?

I have an AGA 90 as well with a fairly heavy bioload, but need to do @ 20 gallon water changes every week to keep things in check. And I feed only two cubes of mysis or brine/ day. I have only a 30 gallon sump, so I am thinking that may have something to do with it.

Any feedback is appreciated.

Again, beautiful set up. I enjoyed your article! Congrats!

Anthony

[ReefJerk]

At 10' that pump still pushes about 1300 gph. that is amazing that one overflow is handling it. I thought the max was like 1100 gph. I have the same tank and would love to get a 2400 gph pump on my system. You have given me inspiration. Oh, yes, super sweet 90 ya got there, buddy!!!!

[spsfreak]

Very nice, rbaker covered it when he said "a man after my on heart, a mixed reef." I love a tank with a wide diversity of life. Again super tank.:bum: :cool:
Matt

[cman]

I know in the article it said about feeding, but what other maintenance is required
Water changes. Cleaning the front glass every week. Testing your water parameters every few weeks. Other than that, most of time I spend on the tank when I add something new.

had a question about frequency of water changes and total fish population. How many of the types of fish do you have in total?
I change about 35% of my tank volume every 3 or 4 weeks. Most of the fish I have in the tank are not very large. The largest is the hippo tang. I probably have a dozen or so fish. Replacing the 20gal sump with the sump/refugium in the basement almost doubled the water volume. This allows me to stretch out the water changes a bit.

At 10' that pump still pushes about 1300 gph. that is amazing that one overflow is handling it. I thought the max was like 1100 gph. I have the same tank and would love to get a 2400 gph pump on my system.
When I first set up the basement system and added the Mag24 I needed to choke it down with a ball valve. For whatever reason (pump losing efficiency) I no longer need to do that.

[fmuakkassa]

Congrats.....What a beautiful tank!!!

I started like you 3 years ago because my wife wanted an in-wall aquarium and I ended up doing everything and getting in the hobby. Started with FO and dead coral, moved to live rock and corals, upgraded to MH added a refugium (Miracle Mud and caulerpa), added a calcium reactor, added a top off system (Tunze) and finally added a protein skimmer, have an Eheim self feeder with flakes, use 1 cube mysis shrimp and 1 cube brime/or other daily......BUT I DON'T HAVE YOUR RESULTS (Envy).

Two questions
1) What substrate do you have in the main tank and how deep is it (looks shallow and it seems your refugium is your DSB Berlin system)
2) Do you target feed your corals or just thaw the frozen food cubes and drop in the main tank?

[Zig]

What a beautiful and inspiring tank, great TOTM. Looks like a pretty simple setup, with a lot of research we can benefit from.
Thanks for sharing your victories and lessons learned along the way, Carl. Thanks also to Reef Central for featuring another mixed tank. Some of us love the softies and LPS corals.

I'm curious about that good looking urchin. Does he do any feeding on inverts or does his grazing rearrange your landscape for you? I want one of those, maybe :)

[Deb Colella]

Fantastic system, really! My question is simple: How many pounds of live rock do you have in your system? Any particular kind of live rock you fancy?

I'm looking to upgrade my tank from a 55 to a 100+. I've got all softies in there now, but would like to add some LPS corals as well. You have a wonderful mix in your tank.

[cman]

1) What substrate do you have in the main tank and how deep is it (looks shallow and it seems your refugium is your DSB Berlin system)
I had started with crushed coral and over time added about 50lbs. of live sand. It's averages about 3" deep in the display tank. You are right, the refugium has southdown sand and is about 4-5" deep

2) Do you target feed your corals or just thaw the frozen food cubes and drop in the main tank?
I don't target feed any of the corals. They get fed by whatever is in the water column. The anenomes get target fed a few times a week

I'm curious about that good looking urchin. Does he do any feeding on inverts or does his grazing rearrange your landscape for you? I want one of those, maybe
It's a tuxedo urchin. I've had it for 2 years and have never had a problem with it.


How many pounds of live rock do you have in your system? Any particular kind of live rock you fancy?

I have about 80lbs. of live rock. I think it was all Fiji live rock. Can't remember since it was 3 years ago.

[MikeyNice]

Congrats!! Beautiful tank!! I cant believe theres only 80lbs of LR in there. You wouldnt happen to have a pic with just rock??

[juststartingout]

Carl, very nice setup! I am a newbie and I am in the starting stages of curing LR. I think for many reasons the idea of your sump/fuge in the basement is great. I currently have a 125 that was given to us, and after reading your article from TOTM, I would like to relocate that tank into the basement and partition it off to make a sump/fuge, and buy a 135 or 170 for my show tank upstairs. Do you have any advise? I did a search and was unable to gain anything. What would you do differently? PM me if you could,as not to change direction of this TOTM thread.

[Radicaljbr]

Ok I have another question?

I made my own Durso standpipe like the one you are using.

Do you use that space for anything now? I was thinking of perhaps putting some sand in my overflow and add some macro algea. Are you using that water filled space in your overflow for anything of the like?

John

[melev]

Originally posted by Radicaljbr

Do you use that space for anything now? I was thinking of perhaps putting some sand in my overflow and add some macro algea. Are you using that water filled space in your overflow for anything of the like?

John

John, that isn't a good idea. If you ever have to deal with the plumbing there, or the bulkhead, you'll have to get all the sand out just to get a new good seal.

Accept that as dead space, and enjoy your reef. :)

[cman]

You wouldnt happen to have a pic with just rock??
One of the things I regret the most is that I never took pictures of my tank as I was setting it up. Mostly becuase I didn't have a digital camera at the time. So... unfortunately I don't have a picture of just the live rock.

Are you using that water filled space in your overflow for anything of the like?
I agree with melev here. I have had to work in the overflow section a few times and can't imagine if it were loaded with sand. As far as the macro goes, I would think it might get sucked into the Durso and clog your overflow pipe. A bad thing!!

[gwies]

Congrats, Great Tank!

[nancysnuwave]

Hi..
What food do you feed from your eheim?
Chris

[Radicaljbr]

EEWWWWW!!!!!

Good point!

Dead space wins

[ken495]

Beautiful tank....will inspire me as I progress through this hobby/obsession! Someday I would like to add a sump in the basement as you did. What kind of pipe/tubing did you use for the drain and return? Can you hear any noise from the rushing water going through your walls and floor?

Thanks,

Ken

[cman]

What food do you feed from your eheim?
A mixture of Ocean Nutrition

What kind of pipe/tubing did you use for the drain and return? Can you hear any noise from the rushing water going through your walls and floor?
I used the flexible tubing you can buy at Home Depot. If you adjust the Durso pipe high enough in the overflow you can really minimize the noise. The noise from the overflow and return pipes under the tank and in the floor is almost not detectable.

[Marcelo_Brasil]

Really Great Tank,
It´s Awesome how it looks bigger than 90!!!
With your permission i´ll duplicate your photo on a Brazilian Fórum, with the link to people come see the post here.

[cman]

Marcelo - No problem

[Jay4Robin]

Great Tank!!! unreal what you have done!!!

[DensityMan]

To echo the sentiments of all those posting here before me: Awesome tank.


I'm a bit late to the party, but after reading the bit about your basement upgrades I find I have a question regarding your 75/25 split before your skimmer. Any chance you have any pictures/diagrams of this little gem?

[wrott]

Outstandingly beautiful, unbelievable diversity, your creative management has really paid off!!
Rodney Ott

[Blindmelonbob]

Congrats, Cman. Great tank. Have you had any fighting between your clowns? Are they on separate ends of the tank? Also, does your porcelain crab get along with the clowns okay? Thanks, Bob

[aquamanlou]

WOW! Absolutely beautiful. I want to know what in God's name I am doing wrong. I have so much less in my 55 AGA tank. Less LR, more room, less bio load, lots of water movement, and I still have CBA problems, algae problems and every other kind of problem. Someday soon my tank may be as beautiful.....i'll keep day dreaming.

[reef379]

Very nice, I really like the montipora's how big of a piece did you start with? Did it start out without MH lighting. Any pointers on keeping the monti's would be great. Did you buy your skimmer online, if so where from I have been researching skimmers for my new 150 for about 2 months now and have read alot of good things about Euro-reef.

[joshuasamuels]

Wonderful pictures and fanatastic setup. I agree that it looks larger than 90 gal. Makes me jealous that we don't have basements here in Houston...

Joshua

[melev]

AquamanLou & Reef379,

[welcome] :D :D :D

Getting algae under control is usually done by reducing nutrients in the water. Zero Phosphates, low Nitrates, replacing old light bulbs that have shifted their spectrum, increase flow and the use of a good clean up crew all help battle the various algaes.

[cman]

Any chance you have any pictures/diagrams of this little gem?

Sorry, I don't have a digram. I'll try to post one this weekend.

Have you had any fighting between your clowns? Are they on separate ends of the tank? Also, does your porcelain crab get along with the clowns okay?
The Pink Skunk defends it's BTA more than the Percs defend theirs. The percs are in the lower right and the skunk is in the middle. The anemone crab has had no problem with the clowns.

I really like the montipora's how big of a piece did you start with?
The monti was about the size of a quarter. I got it from Greg Hiller, a member of the Boston Reefers Society. Monti's are pretty easy to keep.

Did it start out without MH lighting.
No. I had VHO for about a years before adding MH.

Did you buy your skimmer online
Yes. I think I got it from Premium Aquatics

[karburn]

The photos are truly great. I've got to know what camera you used, any special lighting/settings, and if you used a tripod. Clarity of that kind is usually only achieved with a tripod. Great job. Those are "book quality" shots.

[reef379]

I was refering to the monti, how long has it been under the MH and how long did it take to grow from the frag to what it is in the picture?

[Angelfish]

Hello Carl:

Could you explain in more detail how you modified the existing hood to hold the additional lighting ?

Tks.

[4sleds]

Very nice. Great job. Excellent thought on the cooling using a heat exchanger theory. I also started with the berlin in sump skimmer and just recently switced to a Euro Reef es6-2. And to think I suffered for 7mths with the berlin. If only I had known! Every time I open up the doors to the sump it brings a smile to my face to see all that dark stinky gunk. (my family thinks I am nuts). All the best cheers.

[MGD]

Carl,

Wonderful tank. I'm just starting out, also with a 90g. How have you managed to keep anemones with the corals? I would like to keep anemones with corals but I understand it can be a problem. I'm at that stage of trying to figure out what critters I what to keep.

[cman]

I've got to know what camera you used, any special lighting/settings, and if you used a tripod

It's a Sony Cybershot. No special settings other than using macro mode. I didn't use a tripod, just a steady hand.



I was refering to the monti, how long has it been under the MH and how long did it take to grow from the frag to what it is in the picture?

It's been under MH since I got it about 2 years ago.

Could you explain in more detail how you modified the existing hood to hold the additional lighting ?
This is a tough one to explain. Basically I remove the flap that comes with the original hood. I then built a box to house the VHO and MH. I lined it with reflector material and drilled holes out the back for all the wiring. This box sits on what is left of the original hood. Think of it this way. The original hood acts as a riser to keep the new box elevated off the water surface.

I used two door hinges with removable pins to connect the new box to the original hood. By removing the pins I can lift the box off the tank to get it out of the way if need be.

Hopefully I have helped to explain it better.

How have you managed to keep anemones with the corals?
I have been lucky because my anemones have never moved much from where I first put them. One moved a bit and I just repositioned the coral that it got close to.

[MacnReef]

What did you make the top part of the hood out of, i.e. 1"x4" or 1"x6", oak or pine.

TIA,
Mike

[cman]

What did you make the top part of the hood out of, i.e. 1"x4" or 1"x6", oak or pine.

It's made out of 1x6" oak. I had bought some small pieces of pine,oak, and another wood (can't remeber what it was). I then bought three or four colors of stain and the oak ended up being thje best choice.

[MacnReef]

Thanx! I will probably do the same thing! What is the top made out of?

Mike

[BobB]

Hi Carl,

Great tank! I really appreciated reading your write-up describing the tank and equipment. I have a question. I'm preparing to buy the lighting for my 90G. I noticed you managed to fit 2-250wMH plus 4-48 inch VHO bulbs into the canopy. I was planning on 3-46 inch bulbs plus the twin 250MHs. My question: was it very difficult to get the 4-48 inchers in that canopy? Does the canopy hang over the edge of the tank?
TIA,
BobB

[Joboo]

Great Tank!! A couple questions:

1) what size Maxi-jet pumps did you use?

2) where did you end up placing the Powerheads in the Tank? I can see one near the overflow but am unable to see the others due to all the livestock!! LOL

Hopefully I'll have a tank like yours someday!!

Thanks
John

[agarom8]

Beautiful aquarium. Of the best thing that I have seen

The skimmer Turboflotor 5000 Shorty feeds directly of the drain of the aquarium.

The aquarium characteristics that I am installing are similar. These truly satisfied one with this skimmer?.

[melev]

agarom8,

[welcome]

[Radicaljbr]

Hey Cman,

Hope your still up to anwser a question. I had asked you about how you feed your fish and you replied that you set your Eheim right over top of your return pump in your sump. I tried this and my flake just rest on the water and end up falling to the bottom later no where near the pump. Any suggestions?

thanks

John

[cman]

John,

My feeder sits over my sump but it is also where the water is spilling in from the refugium section. The flow of water pulls the foos of the surface and into the water column to get pumped upstairs.

Do you have a small powerhead that you could mount to break the surface of the water? You could put it on a timer so it goes on right before the feeder drops the food and stays on for 5 or 10 minutes after. I think this would do the trick.

Carl

[Radicaljbr]

Thanks a ton!!!

[lazluvtoo]

Carl...What a beautiful tank, and I especially admire your filtration setup in the basement. What a great idea!

I also have a 90 gl reef...I have a question for you. What size pump are you running from your sump? I have a 1/10 hp chiller and a UV sterilizer and am very confused on how big of a pump would be efficient. I currently have a mag 12, and my LFS is telling me that is way to much.

Thanks...and congrats on your tank...it's beautiful!

Cindy

[shepa89]

how many pounds of liverock do you have in your tank?

[cman]

About 80-100 lbs