600 gal display/900+ gal build thread in the Chicago 'burbs.

if you heat up spaflex it will soften up, and when it cools back down, it will assume the current pose as the new neutral shape.

for small pieces boiling water works, but longer pieces a heatgun will do the trick.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14314992#post14314992 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wmilas
Well, I'm going to finish the float work and the cable management then the next step will be to work on on a bubble tower that is more compact. After That I'm going to turn my attention to that whole run you are talking about. I'll probably try the petroleum jelly trick first. Working with that flex PVC stuff is a royal PITA. It stays curled and puts a ton of torque on stuff no matter what you do.

stick it in the oven at 200 degress, I did that on mine and it makes it very easy to work with
 
Ok nightly update. All 4 floats are neatly plumbed in and wired half way across the room to the breakout box. Took longer than I thought to make it neat, but it now is. I'm pretty happy with the final product.

Speaking of happy with the final product, I've been using these Magnum 6's and 8's for about 2 months now. Quite honestly, I don't know why anyone would buy Tunze. Now keep in mind I'm not cheap. I've spent multiples of what normal people spend on this hobby. With that said, I see no reason why people would spend multiples on the tunze streams.

The Magnums are rock solid, IMHO they look slightly better, they don't have the issue where the stem that holds the magnet breaks like the Tunzies do.

They are NOT controllable. That's the only downside I see. They are either on, or off. However the ONLY reason I see the need for controllability on a LARGE tank at this point is to dial down the flow, or to create waves. The wave thing IMHO is moot because a wave box does a much better job. I've seen the Tunzie wave pattern and a real wavebox and there is no comparison. However, alot of large tanks (like mine) simply don't have the vertical space inside for a 6 " (or larger" wave crest. The dial down part is mostly a moot point because the Magnums are so much cheaper, you just buy a smaller unit to meet the correct flow.

You still have controllability because you can cycle them on and off to create reverse flow in the tank, ect.

Anyways, that's my rant for tonight. And no I have no affiliation or contact at all with Hydor. If you are thinking of an ultra expensive stream BUY a Magnum first, even if its just one, and give it a try.
 
Alright alright..alright...

You keep making me want to buy a couple. I recently purchased a few more maxi jet mods and they don't seam as strong as my first, adn it has the big prop. I think I will pick a couple up around summer time thanks for the info...
 
More weirdness. Just tested ALK again. Its down back to 7.9 DKH. Thats a 1.7 DKH drop in 4-5 days. I can't imagine what in my tank could be taking it up considering I haven't done a water change, I have no fish, and no coral. Just live rock and snails. Granted there are hundreds of snails.... Could snails use that much alk? Maybe the base rock and sand is absorbing alk somehow to balance the calcium ions? (Ie is something precipitating out?) I started out college as a Chemical Engineer but that was eons ago.. My chemistry is kinda fuzzy :)

I'm dosing a cup of alk a day to keep moving it up till I get back to 9.5 dkh. PH is at 8.4 so I don't want to dose any more than that. I know I could mix some baking soda and do it that way but I'll take it slow.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14334966#post14334966 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wmilas
More weirdness. Just tested ALK again. Its down back to 7.9 DKH. Thats a 1.7 DKH drop in 4-5 days. I can't imagine what in my tank could be taking it up considering I haven't done a water change, I have no fish, and no coral. Just live rock and snails. Granted there are hundreds of snails.... Could snails use that much alk? Maybe the base rock and sand is absorbing alk somehow to balance the calcium ions? (Ie is something precipitating out?) I started out college as a Chemical Engineer but that was eons ago.. My chemistry is kinda fuzzy :)

I'm dosing a cup of alk a day to keep moving it up till I get back to 9.5 dkh. PH is at 8.4 so I don't want to dose any more than that. I know I could mix some baking soda and do it that way but I'll take it slow.

You add an other GFO reactor. GFO will precipitate alk.

Look under: What else might iron oxide hydroxide do? Precipitation of CaCO3

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.php
 
Ah ha! Damn, I forgot about that. I DID add a GFO reactor. Bingo! Thanks for that.

Updates, Tank is completely clean, I'm totally cycled. Coraline is growing everywhere, have some green hair algae in places, but the snails are keeping it in check.

Picked up 4 fish locally. 3 Chromis, one baby Hippo Tang. Hippo is not much bigger than a quarter.

I Dipped the chromis in a Methyl blue + fresh water dip for 30 minutes. Big mistake. Freshwater was brought up to QT temp, and PH adjusted the same. Chromis were fine for about 15-20 minutes then started undergoing stress. Stress was too much. One succumbed almost immediately after the dip, one after an hour, one after 12 hours.

The funny part is I know alot of people that do this same dip for the same amount of time. I used to use this same dip, although only for 5-10 minutes, years ago.

I feel bad about the Chromis. But I wanted to try the extended dip on them to see what ill effects it would have on more expensive and sensitive fish.

I dipped the Hippo at the same way but watched him very closely. At 10 minutes he stressed out and started playing dead. At 15 he was having trouble breathing. I immediately removed him and got him into the QT tank. He was disoriented for a while and struggling, but pulled through.

Hes fine now. Skittish, but hes eating.

I'm going to continue with the dip in the future but I'm going to have to be careful with the time. 15 minutes is the longest I'm going to be able to do, and I'll probably not push it much past 10.

I see many places advise acclimation of the bag to the same ph, SG ect of the QT before the dip, and I did it this way, but I'm wondering whats the point if they are going right into FW anyways?

I'm going to order 5 chromis and a Scopas Tang via live aquaria and I think I'll just put them into the dip asap when I get them then into the QT after that.

I'm wondering if the DIP is just too much of a shock?
 
Personally, I wouldn't be as concerned when buying fish from LA. I've not heard of people dipping chromis before, I wonder if it wasn't too much of a shock to their system. My experience with Chromis is that they are bullet proof.
 
Followed this guide: http://www.reefland.com/forum/marin...tment/18887-freshwater-dip-marine-fishes.html

Its pretty much the same thing we used to do years ago. The only thing is we used to dip for 5-10 mins. I should probably keep it to 10 mins after the Chromis experience. I know that chromis usually don't need to be dipped, I was trying to get back into the swing of things. The Tang definitely needs to be dipped. Most external parasites will drop off during the dip.
 
Sorry. Been REALLY busy at work. Have 5 chromis, a *tiny* Hippo and a medium/large Scopas hanging out in one of the quarantine tanks. They are getting a nice copper bath :). I've given up on the extended length freshwater baths.. It stressed (killed!) the fish out too much.

I've also been nuking the occasional aptasia that I see pop up here and there. One of the bastards made its way through my live rock Quarantine process.

I want to introduce the fish to the main tank then I'm going to start quarantining a few coral and maybe a few more fish. I'm kinda excited to get some fish into the big tank :)

I'll see if I can take some shots in the next day or two.
 
Had to buy em on line. Couldn't find anything local. BTW, I love them. Some of the best bang for the buck I spent on my reef tank.
 
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