hahaha ouch i think i just got a splinter in my *** looking at the price! lol

Stephen -- Bummer about AZSeabottom, im missing my clowns! But I refuse to buy from him until that is handled. I might just use the 110 bucs on something else in the store (dry goods) and call it a day. I haven't been to Aquarium Arts in ages, I should stop in there, I always liked that store. I normally go to Aquatouch and pay for it, but I can trust their corals and fish.

Reefmack -- lol you are funny! I have to ask what were you doing looking for something like that? :p I was thinking about getting one of these to sit and watch the tank [url]http://www.relaxtheback.com/novus-zero-gravity-recliner-by-relax-the-back-product-6390558-6389767[/url]
I was in that store on the 31st of Dec, spending money before for the first of the year so I don't have to pay it to the tax man! I picked up a new office chair [url]http://www.relaxtheback.com/lifeform-ultimate-mid-back-executive-chair-product-6370260-6389773[/url] and was looking at those zero gravity chairs and thought hmmm.... That would be nice to stair and watch the tank in, now how do I right that off!

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11511847#post11511847 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Iostream [/i]
[B]Tank update... The algae is losing, and the fuge is to thank...

This is an FTS from day86, 3 days before the refugium was added. At this point I was doing water changes once to twice a week and pulling algae as I went:



Here is an FTS from today. Not only is the pest algae under control (still more to go, but much better), but we are on almost 2 weeks without a water change or algae prune due to the holidays (doing one today).



I am certainly a believer in refugiums, my cheato has grown from the size of the soap dish, to almost the size of the refugium, it will be pruned today as well. For the refugium, I have been turning the cheato every 3 days to keep it well lit on all sides. I am feeding my tank 2-3 times per day, and add DTs once per week. [/B][/QUOTE]

Wow, incredible turn around in tank conditions

Y-DesygnGuy - I found that $5 million dollar "RSM Throne" while searching through the fossils up for bid on Ebay. I guess it showed up in that category as it's made from carved mammoth tusk ivory. The recliner you linked to looked nice, but even that office chair you got is beyond my limit! I'll just stick with my Lazy Boy reclining loveseat for watching the tank from. :) BTW, good decision on staying away from any more livestock purchases from AZSeabottom in the near future. Maybe you could talk of of your other lfs into ordering the naked clowns from ORA for you?

Read this on another thread involving the Magfloat glass cleaner.
I don't know if this applies to the RSM. He basically said that the magnet is too strong for the thin glass. ( very paraphrased) . I personally am going to go with a hight end Algae Magnet Cleaner that is safe for Acrylic use to ensure that I don't have a repeat episode

[url]www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=11518104#post11518104[/url]


Marty

Reefmack, How is that light working out? I am leaning toward the Oceanic 45 gallon L 24.5 x W 18.5 x H 25 tank. The Outer Orbit 150 watt HQI/T5HO looks like the light for me

Marty

Marty - thanks for the link on the mag cleaner. I put a reply in there to try to get more information. I haven't seen anything like that on my tank and I use the cleaner every day or every other day on the front. I know picking up a piece of substrate can cause a scratch, but those pictures make me think JBJ may have had a bad batch of glass. I really like the Outer Orbit. I did replace the lamp with a 20,000k though - the 10,000k that most fixtures come with was a bit too yellow for my liking. The Outer Orbit is very quiet also - which was nice after enduring the noisy fans on the RSM hood. If you're considering the Orbit check out the prices at petmountain.com - they had the lowest price I could find when I got mine. They also frequently run a 5% off sale, which made it an even better deal.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11518576#post11518576 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefmack [/i]
[B]Marty - thanks for the link on the mag cleaner. I put a reply in there to try to get more information. I haven't seen anything like that on my tank and I use the cleaner every day or every other day on the front. I know picking up a piece of substrate can cause a scratch, but those pictures make me think JBJ may have had a bad batch of glass. I really like the Outer Orbit. I did replace the lamp with a 20,000k though - the 10,000k that most fixtures come with was a bit too yellow for my liking. The Outer Orbit is very quiet also - which was nice after enduring the noisy fans on the RSM hood. If you're considering the Orbit check out the prices at petmountain.com - they had the lowest price I could find when I got mine. They also frequently run a 5% off sale, which made it an even better deal. [/B][/QUOTE]

Same here. Have also the Outer Orbit from Petmountain and really happy with it. Was the best deal at that time. If you decide to go for it PM me...I just got a 5% coupon again.

Michael
MAXreefer

Iostream - The Kent brand garlic xtreme is VERY potent, and yes I too added the juice with the shrimp. It says on the bottle "If fish are not eating, Garlic Xtreme may be also added to the aquariumat the rate of 1 drop per 10 gallons." This is because you can use garlic to get fish that are not accustomed to eating frozen food to learn to eat it. They even double package this stuff and when you open it, everyone in the house knows you are using it!

Reefmack - I guess I looked at that chair too late, I had saved up my holiday cash and was looking for something extavagent to buy. Oh well, maybe next time! j/k

I have to thank Michael aka MAXreefer for putting me on to petmountain when I was looking for the Orbit - saved me a good bit of money. I got the 5% email coupon today too.

reefsr4me - I have a feeling that Ebay bid expired with no takers!

Can everyone give an opinion on the salt they use? I use Instant ocean, and was thinking about switching to Reef Cyrstals, but a LFS keeps running a 50 gal( Yes I mean mixes 50 gal) bag special for 11.49 from 16.99 on the Red Sea salt, and I was wondering what the benefits of RS over Reef Crystals are. And also if you change your additive amounts when switching salt.

I also look at pet mountain all the time, I got my 1/15 prime chiller for way cheaper than anywhere else, and it was at my house in three days form ordering.

I also purchased a decent cheap ro/di system, maybe I should have asked if anyone had this one and if they liked it, but the price was too good, let me know what you think.

[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120203402098&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=002[/url]

The point I got was, the glass on these tanks are a little thinner so that makes the connection between the magnets stronger. By buying a mag cleaner for acrylic, which may be more pricy but you have less of a chance of scratching your glass. I don't but the bad glass theory because madfloat is replacing the tank not JBJ.

Marty

href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11518576#post11518576 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefmack [/i]
[B]Marty - thanks for the link on the mag cleaner. I put a reply in there to try to get more information. I haven't seen anything like that on my tank and I use the cleaner every day or every other day on the front. I know picking up a piece of substrate can cause a scratch, but those pictures make me think JBJ may have had a bad batch of glass. I really like the Outer Orbit. I did replace the lamp with a 20,000k though - the 10,000k that most fixtures come with was a bit too yellow for my liking. The Outer Orbit is very quiet also - which was nice after enduring the noisy fans on the RSM hood. If you're considering the Orbit check out the prices at petmountain.com - they had the lowest price I could find when I got mine. They also frequently run a 5% off sale, which made it an even better deal. [/B][/QUOTE]

reefsr4me - I used the standard IO salt to start, and when it ran out I went with the Red Sea Coral Pro salt that came with the starter kit, and when that ran out went back to IO. But, I'm open to getting whatever may be best the next time. I've seen salt discussions and I know some are low in one thing or another, but I'd be interested in what's really best (if any are). I did notice that the IO salt seemed to dissolve faster than the Red Sea salt.

Marty - just my opinion, but I don't think the glass thickness or strength of the magnet have much if anything to do with the scratching that guy got on his tank. I think it's more a matter of the glass structure & quality, and the type of mag scraper material. I still wonder if that poor guy somehow picked up some fine sediment under the scraper without even noticing it. Those scratches he had looked like what you'd get with a fine grit sandpaper. And the fact that JBJ was quick to offer him a new tank indicates to me that they had a problem & knew about it. I would think that if the mag scrapers were so prone to cause the type of scratches he got that we would all have seen it in our tanks & heard a lot about it before now. Just my thoughts on it. BTW he said Transworld Aquatics (Parent company of JBJ) is replacing the tank - not Mag-Float. He also said "I am grateful that they are sending me a replacement which is something that they definitely did not have to do since the it was a standard Mag-Float that caused the damage." The way I understand that is that "They" is JBJ - not Mag-Float!

FWIW, the RSM is actually thicker glass than most of the other tanks this size. I am not so worried about using a mag float with the tank, just keep the sand out.

I just started reading "Algae: A Problem Solver Guide" by Julian Sprung. It's a great book for anyone wanting to understand why we get nuisance algae blooms and the steps to take to prevent or rid them.

Hodge - while my Bryopsis is now all gone (thanks to Magnesium & the Foxface) if you learn anything good on preventing or getting rid of that crud let us know.

Your RO/DI ?
 

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11518932#post11518932 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefsr4me [/i]
[B]Can everyone give an opinion on the salt they use? I use Instant ocean, and was thinking about switching to Reef Cyrstals, but a LFS keeps running a 50 gal( Yes I mean mixes 50 gal) bag special for 11.49 from 16.99 on the Red Sea salt, and I was wondering what the benefits of RS over Reef Crystals are. And also if you change your additive amounts when switching salt.

I also look at pet mountain all the time, I got my 1/15 prime chiller for way cheaper than anywhere else, and it was at my house in three days form ordering.

I also purchased a decent cheap ro/di system, maybe I should have asked if anyone had this one and if they liked it, but the price was too good, let me know what you think.

[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120203402098&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=002[/url] [/B][/QUOTE]

[B]reefsr4me -[/B]

I got this RO/DI off EBAY from the filtersdirect.com folks in California.

[url]http://filterdirect.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=29&osCsid=96a3bd2ec4cb0fec7801f317794d162e[/url]

Won my bid (a real farce) for $ 95.00 + $ 25.00 shipping, handling & insurance = Total $ 120.00..... I am scheduled to receive it Tues. 1/8. I liked the idea of extending the life of the filters because I own a very good Hague water softening system in my home that uses salt regenerated ion exchange and High Performance carbon filtration. My city water is 139 mg/l per the water department report.

We can compare notes on our RO/DI's once they are up and running!

Did you also order a TDS meter? I am still shopping for one.... I am looking at the one that's $ 22.00, with a carrying case and temp. compensation.
[url]http://www.thefilterguys.biz/tds_meters.htm[/url] 3rd one down the page - HANNA Instruments TDS1.

Any opinion?

Just to clarify... Your 1/15 HP chiller is the Current USA Prime... correct?

Regards,
Kent

reefsr4me - I can't get to Ebay from work (it's blocked) so I can't comment on the RO/DI unit posted.

NaCl - I got my HM3 TDS meter (also on that page link you posted) on Ebay at a really nice price - built in thermometer, etc. At times the shipping is also lower on Ebay, so that can be a deciding factor also. In fact I have 2 now - one came free with the RO/DI I later got from Air Water & Ice (it even came with a pressure meter built in - that was the really nice surprise).

Kent, Yes, it is the current USA Prime, and I think it works great, I had a fan out in the hood and did not realize it, my tank was getting up to 88 F so i invested in the chiller, since found this thread and realized the fan, and ordered 2 new ones(one was loud) and replaced them, the chiller only comes on about 5 times a day for about 5 minutes. But I am looking at the outer orbit fixture and the chiller will come in handy.

About the RO/DI I purchased the same DO/DI from a different source for $102 including shipping. this link may work [url]http://cgi.ebay.com/6-stage-125GPD-RO-2X-DI-Reverse-Osmosis-Water-Filter_W0QQitemZ120203806367QQihZ002QQcategoryZ20684QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]

I did get a TDS meter from a different place on ebay, they had the HANNA Instruments TDS1 and I ordered 3 calibration packets for 24.90 including shipping it came from "thesilvergenie"

I too have a water softner from Purionics, and have had good water quality without adding anything to it just putting it straight into the tank for top-offs. I was looking for something cheap since my water is good already, just trying to get rid of diatoms and maybe get better coral growth.

Reefmack, The outer orbit seems to be the light of choice. But how is it mounted on the tank. I believe the RSM is 20", the Outer Orbit 24"

Marty


But I am looking at the outer orbit fixture and the chiller will come in handy.

Great Info Guys!
 

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11520460#post11520460 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefmack [/i]
[B]reefsr4me - I can't get to Ebay from work (it's blocked) so I can't comment on the RO/DI unit posted.

NaCl - I got my HM3 TDS meter (also on that page link you posted) on Ebay at a really nice price - built in thermometer, etc. At times the shipping is also lower on Ebay, so that can be a deciding factor also. In fact I have 2 now - one came free with the RO/DI I later got from Air Water & Ice (it even came with a pressure meter built in - that was the really nice surprise). [/B][/QUOTE]

[B]Reefmack -[/B] Just to clarify.... Your HMS3 TDS meter came from the filtersdirect store on EBAY? Great heads up about Ebay vendors lower price and shipping costs! Although I have found some questionable handling charges....

[B]reefsr4me-[/B] Thanks for the clarification on the chiller brand. I am very pleased to hear that it only runs less than an hour a day to maintain your RSM's temp! The boss of the house, my better half, has me placing the RSM in our Florida Room on the south side of our house... tends to be warmer than a more interior location!

Since I live in SE Florida, my major concern in making the decision to set up an RSM was being able to maintain the LIFE in my tank if I had an extended power outage due to a major storm! Hurricane Wilma caused a 6 day power outage... fortunately she was followed by cool weather, so we were able to open up the house!

I have an emergency diesel generator to maintain the Refrigerator, some lights and a small TV for info, etc.... But I am counting the load the RSM would require in Watts!

Thanks!

reefmack,

You had a foxface in your tank?

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11519473#post11519473 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hodge [/i]
[B]I just started reading "Algae: A Problem Solver Guide" by Julian Sprung. It's a great book for anyone wanting to understand why we get nuisance algae blooms and the steps to take to prevent or rid them. [/B][/QUOTE]

Thanks, Hodge, ... another addition to my 'buy' list. I received my "Corals, A Quick Reference Guide by Julian Sprung" today, too. Wow, it's a very nice book with tons of great pictures & easy reference guide for requirements of A LOT of different corals.

Reefmack, I also received the "The Nano-Reef Handbook by CR Brightwell" and I'm pleased you recommended it. It's an 'easy-reading' book with good info & the only nano-reef book in my library, so far!

BTW, I was going to bid on that chair, but, .... could you believe it ... it didn't come with a cushion! :eek:

NaCl+H2O Fish - I worry about power-outages, too, but so far, have not done anything to protect my tank against that kind of disaster.
Have any of the rest of the RSM club got any input, or recommendations on a back-up power source?

On another note, my acans, etc. will not be here until Tuesday sometime ... we had a bit of a dilemma shipping. The airline that the vendor uses lands in Calgary, which is a 6hr round trip drive from our city. However, the shipment is now coming by Purolator with 48hr heat packs in with the corals.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11503420#post11503420 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MAXreefer [/i]
[B]This one works pretty good. I got mine from Petsmart ([url=http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754084&cp=2767036.2769123&pg=4&fbn=Taxonomy%7CAquarium+Maintenance&fbc=1&clickid=topnav_dropdown4_link3&parentPage=family&keepsr=1]Link to the product[/URL] )

The product description says: "Quick-start feature gets the siphon going. Nozzle is designed to easily reach into corners. Features a bucket clip, non-kink hosing and an exclusive gravel guard feature."
And it works as described. No substrate gets sucked up. The bucket clip is very handy (no more acrobatics holding one end of the tubing in the bucket with one hand and the vacuuming with the other.). The bucket clip can also be used to restrict the flow a little so the water flows slower.

Michael
MAXreefer [[/QUOTE]

Thanks Michael! I bought the substrate cleaner yesterday and did my water change today! It does work much better than the one I had. I had a problem getting the water to start to syphon, but I'm thinking I bought the wrong size cleaner ... it is too long. I'm going back to get the shorter one tonight. I like the way the substrate doesn't get sucked through the hose ... or at least, very, very little of it did. Also like the bucket clip/flow rate adjuster, too!!:D