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72/75, lol, basically my point was that the bigger the tank, the more expensive it is! So yeah, you're definitely lucky to get your tank for the price you're getting it!.

As for fish? I barely know much about the freshwater, so I'm not saying a word about saltwater fish! Although, I saw a seahorse for the first time today! It was so cool! I felt bad for him though, he looked sad and lonely.

Btw, what's a sea hare? I saw a sticker for one but didn't see one in the tank, just the seahorse.

You peeked my curiosity. I googled sea hare and got that it's a species of marine slug. Ugly buggers at that! Some of them can be good for cleaning algae problems. But some can reek terrible havoc on a marine tank and be somewhat poisonous.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

I just got back from my LFS, with the tank and stand. They had a deal that I just couldn't pass up, the tank, stand, glass covers, and a strip light for $400. When I factor in gas money, it's only about $100 more than the used 72 I was gonna buy, plus it's brand new. If my math is right, I should be able to start setting this tank up right around Halloween. I'll probably use my next paycheck to build my sump, so I'll let you guys know how that goes in about a week.

Wow, well, they were asking a lot of money for a slug then, lol.

Truestar, that's great! Sounds like you'll have a great tank!

I'm sad. I saw what a 75 gallon looks like in my LFS and I think I might have actually been able to pull it off in the same space as where my new 37 gallon is. I just would have had to move a few more things around. *sigh*

Well, the 37 gallon will just be a good starting tank, lol.

Anyway, good luck with setting up your tank, Truestar!

Thanks Delenn, I'm sure I'll need it.

Okay, so I've decided at the last minute to NOT drill the tank, and go w/ an overflow box instead. I know about the risk of the siphon breaking and the tank flooding, but I'll take that risk.

Anyways, I've been looking into the CPR overflows, and thought they looked pretty good, was wondering if anyone has used one or has anything to say about them? A question I have about them is whether or not you run the Aqualifter pump all the time, or just on start up? If you ran it all the time wouldn't it start drawing water in, or does it have built in check valves to prevent this? It sounds like they're built to keep the overflow from ever breaking, which is why I'm thinking of getting it. Any input is appreciated.

Aqualifter pumps are designed to draw both air and water, so don't worry about that. I personally prefer overflow boxes that don't require an aqualifter pump. My display tank where I work has one and it is a nuisance to start up every time I do a water change. I've actually had the tank overflow on me a couple times. I prefer the old U-tube variety of overflow. I had one of those for a few years and never lost siphon due to power outages or water changes. It would start right back up every time.

I prefer a good ol' hole in the tank over any type of overflow box though. Saves a lot of hassle.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Matty, how many GPH do you think should flow through my sump? I was thinking between 450-600, does this sound okay to you? Also, if you say that the regular overflows are better I'll go w/ those, drilling the tank isn't out of the running completely though.

Oh, do you know of any good in-sump skimmers on the market? I was looking at just throwing a Coralife Needle Wheel in the sump, but have heard there are better in-sump skimmers out there. I'm gonna be building my sump either next weekend or the following one, so I need to order the skimmer to make sure it'll fit in its chamber okay.

Lastly, in what order do you recommend putting the sump/refugium in? Should the skimmer be before or after the fuge, or vice versa??? Sorry for all the questions, but just trying to get as many opinions as possible on this.

Well, since I'm gonna be building my sump soon, it's time to start buying the equipment that will go in it. I'm trying to decide right now which pump to use for the return. I've decided to go with either a Mag 7 or Mag 9.5, but I don't know if the 9.5 would be a little too much flow for the sump. The Mag 7 would give me around 450 GPH, probably a little less, and the Mag 9.5 would give me a little under 800 GPH. I plan on having an algae filter set up in the fuge, and am not sure if the flow will affect it too much either way.

Also, I'm going to be getting a Coralife Super Skimmer for the sump, but don't know if there would really be any benefit to getting the model rated for 220 gallons over the one rated for 125 gallons.

Anyways, I'd like to order the pump and skimmer this week, so any input is appreciated. Thanks.

Just placed my order at Marinedepot. Ordered my skimmer, return pump, 2 heaters, and a digital thermometer. So I pretty much have all the actual equipment that I'll need until I go reef.

Maybe it's the fact that I have everything planned out and am anxious, or maybe it's because I'm just really indecisive, but I really don't know which fish I want to keep in this tank. I know that I want it to be one of the two lists that I posted in the beginning of this thread, but I just can't choose. So, I've decided to leave it up to you guys.

List 1:
1 Pair Maroon Clownfish
1 Dwarf Lionfish
1 Snowflake Eel (added to original list)
1 Flame Angel
1 Yellow/Kole Tang (if necessary, this fish will be cut to avoid overstocking)

List 2:
1 Pair Occellaris Clownfish
7 Blue/Green Reef Chromis
1 Flame Angel
1 Yellow/Kole Tang
1 Yellow Watchman Goby
2-3 Cleaner Shrimp
2-3 Peppermint Shrimp
Undetermined # of Hermits
Undetermined # of Snails

From now until the tank is finished cycling (probably mid November to early December), feel free to cast your vote for one of the stocking lists, the one with the most votes by the time the tank is ready for its first occupants is the winner.

P.S. If any of the above stocking lists needs to be adjusted because of either compatibility issues, or to avoid overstocking and or crowding of the inhabitants, please let me know so I can edit the lists. Thanks.

Oooh, Oooh, list 2, List 2!

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Lol. Kelly's for list two, and I'm majorly for list one. Why? Because you chose an eel (mega cool!), a lionfish (those fish are very neat-looking!), and a yellow tang!!!!!!

I'm all for eels! If I could, I'd get one for my tank, but the eels are too big (hence why I want kuhlii loaches. They are eel-like so that will satisfy me for now, lol).

Besides, aren't lionfish what Captain Picard had in his office on the Enterprise? Yes, I know. I just revealed myself to be a Trekkie geek, lol.

Yes, and Picard's lionfish's name was Livingston.

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LMAO! Wow, I never knew either of his fish had names (there were two. If one was Livingston, what was the other one's name?)

They were both Livingston. http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Livingston

(speaking of which, I recognize the Babylon 5 reference in your screenname )

><>

Oh, OK.

Lol. Yes, Delenn is the one and only Satai/Ambassador Delenn of B5. She was my AbFab character from the show with Ivanova a close second.

I noticed your name too! My husband told me I would be showing my geeky side. So I didn't mention it. I also knew about Picard's lionfish. There was also one in "Deuce Bigalow, Male Giggilo". I've been wondering about the grouping in "Evan Almighty" lately?

Okay back on track! I love both lists, but feel you'd have a larger and more complete ecosystem with the second list. Having actual communities within communities so to speak.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Glad to know I'm not the only Sci-Fi geek! yay!

I finally have everything that I need to get the tank up and running. I'll begin constructing my sump tomorrow and will hopefully be able to post pictures of it by next weekend. My protein skimmer, return pump, heaters, and thermometers are all here, the only thing I need is some live rock to begin the cycle.

P.S. So far the score is all tied up with each stocking list having 1 a piece.

OK, so will it count if I cast my vote a second time?

Okay, so I didn't get around to building the sump until earlier today, but it's finally done! I'm still waiting for the silicone to completely set/cure, so I won't get around to leak testing until tomorrow night. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that I won't have to do any resealing. Excuse the poor pictures, as well as the sloppy silicone job.

On another note, has anyone on here ever used vinyl tubing instead of PVC pipe for plumbing there sumps/overflows? If so, did you find it better or worse than PVC, or was there really no difference in performance? Any input is appreciated, thanks.

Attached Image:

When I used a sump, I had vinyl tubing, but I'm not sure if it makes any difference.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

So, I finally fixed all the leaks in the panels, and now the sump is sitting under the main tank ready to go as soon as I get the salt and rock. I'm a little behind schedule, but I think I'll have the tank starting to cycle within 2 weeks.

Stocking list poll is still tied 1-1.

So this weekend(hopefully tomorrow) I'm finally going to fill the tank! I'll get the tank up and running with salt and dry base rock for a couple of days, then on Monday I'll order my live rock from Dr. Foster & Smith. I was planning on ordering 35lbs of the "Fiji Foundation Rock", I thought this would be a good base for the nicer pieces I'll be adding to the tank later on. Hopefully I'll have some pics posted by Sunday night.

Score is still 1-1, only about a month left to get your vote in.

I just finished filling up the tank and getting the overflow running. I caught the flu and spent the last 3 days laying around doing nothing, so I'm glad I finally got the tank filled up. I'll post pics later tonight hopefully.

Hey, sorry for just disappearing for a couple months, I've been really busy with work and my personal life. It's good to be back on the site.

Well, I finished cycling the tank about 3 weeks ago, and have had a pair of True Percula Clowns for about 2. I haven't gotten a cleanup crew yet, but I'm getting them on Wednesday, so hopefully that'll cut down on some of the diatom/algae buildup on the rocks and glass. I haven't had any problems yet, but I am registering more nitrates than I would like. I'm reading 20ppm nitrates by the end of the week, which I don't think is too bad, but my protein skimmer(Aqua C Urchin) isn't really pulling anything. I'm running it with a Maxi-Jet 1200, but I'm not using the air tube, should I be? I can't really find any info anywhere on whether or not I should use it. Any info on this would be appreciated.

The air bubbles produce the foam that makes the protein skimmer work, so yes, you do need that.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

When I use the air tube all it does is shoot water out of it, it's still not creating any bubbles. I thought the problem might be that it was too deep in the water(about 8-9 inches) so I moved it up to about 2-3 inches from the surface, still not creating bubbles. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong here?

I've never had that problem...? Water shouldn't come out of the air tubing, air should go into the skimmer. Where is the end of the air tubing come out of the skimmer? If I had to guess, the tubing sounds like it is siphoning water out instead of sucking air in, so you should make sure the end of the tube is higher than the water level in the skimmer. If I recall from when I had a SW tank, my air tubing extended to the bottom of the skimmer.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Never mind, I overlooked the fact that the Urchin isn't a venturi skimmer, it's a spray injection skimmer. So apparently I'm not even supposed to use the venturi attachment for the Maxi-Jet.

Also, my cleanup crew got here today! I ordered them from Reef Cleaners, and so far so good. Most of them are already up and moving around, getting right to work on the diatoms in the tank.