I owe a number of you a reply, so I'll try to do so now. If any of you asked a question that was not answered, please feel free to write.
electric130, Thanks for the heads up with the IceCap MH ballasts. I was told by one person that they were 'tuned' to specific make of bulb. We have a store locally that supplies bulbs, so I might just take the ballast there to make sure it fires one up.
WifeSaysImNuts, nice username.
Thanks!
Starmanres, the person that showed me the Dawn Scrubber was using it on here acrylic tank. Since this was glass, I was less worried and more eager to use it instead of any scrapers. I know the tank is used, but I didn't want to start off with a brand new scratch! I think it will work fine on acrylic, but practice first on a side panel perhaps.
LVfishguy, the eel ended up in my son's 29g. I love invertebrates and shrimp, and didn't want to have to tear apart the 280g to get it out later. In my son's tank, it can be seen (although it is hiding exceptionally well!) and recaptured if necessary.
danellis06460, JohnSteph10, mane3215, delta, willra, frnorth & carpetride , thanks!
rjwilson, the difference between my 12" deep tanks and this new 30" deep makes me wonder if I'll have to upgrade my camera. Or lose out on some of the Macro Shots I enjoy taking. I have a Fuji S602Z. Hmmm.
xchrisjb, how funny!
I was thinking the same thing. "This reef tank is brought to you by Ushio, the people that bring light into your homes."
Brian Slot, I will do my best to aqua scape in a way that isn't too boring nor a wall of rock. Plus, I don't have that much rock in the first place.
It will be a little tricky since some corals are attached to various rock. I'm not even sure what I'm going to do with all my red mushrooms.
I'm going to use a couple of pieces of black acrylic on top of the overflows. I'm seriously considering removing the grate at the top of each overflow that are acting like teeth. Greg Taylor wrote an article with this recommendation, to avoid having fish end up in the overflows.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-07/gt/index.htm
fixmgood, I did a water test yesterday and there was no ammonia at all. I'll be retesting today. Thanks for the warning.
Dan of NJ, I had to use what I had for now. In a way, using the old sump is a good method to grasp the sheer volume and flow of this new tank. When the pump is off, the sump fills up to within 1" of the top. Really kind of shocking. I took a brief video of the wave motion in the return section last night, that I'll link in this thread later. I want to make a new sump that will fit the skimmer, a refugium, and all the water. It will probably be like the 80g sump on my website.
Knight, I feel less pressure now that the tank is in and running. Still, I have a lot of work to do but things are working out nicely thus far.
Gary Day, thanks - I'll check that out.
DerekW & MikeSheridan, thanks for the suggestions with the Durso modifications. And for explaining the mystery of that pump! I wasn't sure what would allow me to get the impellar off. The skimmer has some hideous accumulation at the top in the skimmate cup, but it hasn't been able to push it out and into the collection area quite yet. What is a Yancy valve? Sounds electric in nature.
The water does look more clear, and the fish are currently roaming the tank hungrily. I dropped in some food, but feeding a 280g vs a 29g or 55g is a huge difference. I'm trying to judge how much 5 tangs can eat, and don't have much of a clue.
And still have enough food for the other fish in the tank.