Melev's new 280g Starfire tank thread

[Hop]

Originally posted by melev
A new thread in the photography forum about a spider:
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...4#post10941294

Another reason to scratch Texas off my places to move to. Yuck!

[melev]

Glad it helped Phil.

Reef Discussion is my favorite forum. Crazy, huh?

[Lunchbucket]

Originally posted by Hop
Another reason to scratch Texas off my places to move to. Yuck!

I'm w/ you!! I HATE spiders. South Dakota gets a nice hard freeze to kill all the real nasty bugs....thank God

Lunchbucket

[chris wright]

You bunch of sooks

[tor101898]

you know,good thing I don't live in Tx. For Holloween last year my 2yo son was a spider, just imagining a tarantula hawk trying to drag my kid away for a snack gives me the willies.

[jnarowe]

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
I'm w/ you!! I HATE spiders. South Dakota gets a nice hard freeze to kill all the real nasty bugs....thank God

Lunchbucket

yeah, but what do you do with all those cows' ears when they snap off in a stiff wind?

[Alaska_Phil]

Spiders are cool! As long as their not the venomous kind. I can do without Black Widows and Brown Recluses.

Hey, could you guys recommend a good book or web site on basic coral care? I'm looking for something that would list various types of corals and their requirements, light, water quality, feeding, current etc.?

Thanks
Phil

[melev]

The ID page on my site gives some basics for each types of corals, but it isn't detailed like you'd probably prefer. I can't think of a specific book at the moment, because......




















My new wireless wave drivers just came in!

[Lordhelmet]

i smell a video a com'n

[jnarowe]

that dance is killing me...just throw it in my face Marc!

[Alaska_Phil]

Wireless?! Since radio waves don't propogate worth a darn in water...are we going to see a bunch of little antenna's sticking out of your tank?

Phil

[bmwaaron]

Ahh you got your new toys... Explains what you have been doing all day.

[melev]

Last night, I ended up taking down my calcium reactor and setting it up with fresh media. The circulation pump wasn't able to flow through the old media for some reason, and after checking that the pump was in good order, the solution was getting rid of the old media.

The VorTechs are running with their new controllers. I don't have a wave in my tank, but a very slight 1/4" lift & drop. The anemones are swaying gently. I still have to fine tune them, but I'm about to go to work.

[jnarowe]

You won't have that problem if you switch to Gen-X media.

[TCU Reefer]

Originally posted by jnarowe
You won't have that problem if you switch to Gen-X media.

This is what I did Marc.

ARM is just too compact and makes the recirc pump work too hard.

You probably already dumped in more ARM, didn't you? I know because you probably have a whole closet full just for backup don't you?

[melev]

Yep, I had more.

Remember when your reactor had that meltdown, Steve? I had a mini-melt about a month ago, and thought I caught it in time. However, that apparently wasn't true. I'm in the market for some new media for next time, so if you have a link to this other product, that would be helpful.

[jnarowe]

I get it at Custom Aquatic (down near the bottom) and it is also available in 50 lb bags if you can find a wholesale to the trade source...and I know you can!

[melev]

50 lbs! I don't know how much is in the ARM container (10lbs?), but I only need two a year.

[original-reefland]

Originally posted by melev
50 lbs! I don't know how much is in the ARM container (10lbs?), but I only need two a year.

I use the 50 lb bag as well, I get a more than a year out of it.

[JeffDubya]

Wow... That's gorgeous Marc.

[crvz]

I'm needing some new media for my reactor as well... but I've never changed it out. I used ARM with my MRC CR-2, and dumped about 12lbs in last August. It's still about half full, but I think it wouldnt hurt to replinish. What's a better choice?

[jnarowe]

hamburgers.

[jnarowe]

Originally posted by melev
50 lbs! I don't know how much is in the ARM container (10lbs?), but I only need two a year.

Maybe, but the bag looks cool and you don't have to deal with the stupid containers. Just pop it in a salt bucket and you 're good-to-go.

[melev]

Originally posted by crvz
I'm needing some new media for my reactor as well... but I've never changed it out. I used ARM with my MRC CR-2, and dumped about 12lbs in last August. It's still about half full, but I think it wouldnt hurt to replinish. What's a better choice?

I don't know what My Reef Creations recommends, but Jeff at Lifereef told me the media needs to be changed every 6 months. I was surprised, but on my tank, the media barely lasts 6 months. Last time I changed it, I had 2" of media left and it looked pretty ugly. This time I had about 6" left, but water wasn't going through it. The circulation pump was making noise and the flow in the upper section was almost non-existent. I never like wasting anything, and at first started to save the used media but once it was dumped into a bucket, the water was milky-white and I knew it was beyond salvaging.

It is possible to use up the media and it still look fine. It can hollow-out so to speak, and look normal. As you scoop it out, it can crumble away or collapse. I'd think 12 months is more than enough time and would clean the reactor and refill it. Watch your levels for the next few days so that you don't spike the tank with higher alkalinity.

[jnarowe]

with Gen-X/Schuran media, you don't have any clumping, channeling, etc. and you can use it right to the end. But better than that, you can just pile the new media right on top, keeping your media volume more consistent.