Just sharing... nothing important

[Kip]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7899745#post7899745 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kreeger1
Whats your favorite coral in the tank if you had to pick just one?

man.... i cant pick just one.

maybe i would look at it like this... if i lost my corals, which would hurt the most.... probably the blue tort since it has grown so large and been with me for so long.

A close 2nd would be the lime/purple delsawii/plana because it is so striking. Mine also grows really slow and went thru many trials and tribulations in the beginning.

3rd/4th would go to the purple/grn latistella table and the bright, pale green with pink highlights table. The latistella because of its color combo. The latter because of its massiveness and how hard tables are rumored to be to keep when they get big.

 

[Kip]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7899729#post7899729 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefWaters
Yeah, but its like you said earlier, it nice when they change into a cooler color, but not when they lose the color that makes them unique. :lol:

particularly sucks when a dull purple prostrata grows into a nearly perfect blue/red superman and you end up with a dull superman. Now a superman prostrata woulda been cool!

 

[Kip]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7899721#post7899721 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by OxInYourBox
That's one huge f'n skimmer.

I forgot to ask you-Did you fill it up on the table or fill it up on the ground then lifted it up?

It was a PITA moving the 44# bag of media up my stairs alone.

big reactor.... big skimmer is still in prototype

filled it up on the table.... reactor by itself weighs around 40lbs... add 60lbs of media.... figure in my health concerns = no i aint lifting it on and off that table full I think it would hold 80lbs easily if i filled both chambers... but the primary chamber was only filled to 60% for discussed reasons.

 

[Kip]

and...... lastly... sorry some of the pics dont work in this thread anymore... i updated pics on my site and it affected those linked herein. I promise I will make it up to yas soon.

 

[OxInYourBox]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7900934#post7900934 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kip
big reactor.... big skimmer is still in prototype

filled it up on the table.... reactor by itself weighs around 40lbs... add 60lbs of media.... figure in my health concerns = no i aint lifting it on and off that table full I think it would hold 80lbs easily if i filled both chambers... but the primary chamber was only filled to 60% for discussed reasons.

Yeah yeah it was early this morning....

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7900858#post7900858 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kip
maybe they've stepped up their fabrication... i got a dual chamber reactor back when they were distributed by coralvue... as said, design was fine, but it wasnt made well... weak joints, flimsy plastic, and a design flaw in the support brace between the two chambers. maybe their skimmers are made better, i dunno. i was just not impressed with their product based on my use of their reactor. As far as your euro... was it extruded economy series or cell cast. I am not saying euros are the best in the world since i am running one. In fact, I'd like to get a custom skimmer made by the guy that made my new reactor... but it is going to be a while before he can do one for me (if ever since he is soon to be father to twin boys)

The older model of the skimmers had a support brace in the middle, so I assume the reactor was the older model two.

The skimmers are cast acrylic, are thick, well made, and a great value. My Euro was a 5-2. I think I spent about $400 on it, and then the $189 new skimmer shut it down in an hour.... ugh.

Maybe their Ca reactors are poorly made, but the skimmers arent.

 

[Kip]

you can go to this site (end of this post) and see the other stuff they manufacture.... plain and simply they are a low cost maker of parts and accessories and if that fits your needs, then great... that's all that matters.

They've basically taken someone else's research and design and are capitalizing off of it. (Happens all the time, to many companies across the world)

It could be different on the skimmers, but the metric PVC could be annoying if repair or customization was ever needed. And only time will tell if those Sho Kosugi pumps are worth anything.

I know some are gonna get really defensive now that I have offered my opinion on a product that they've spent their hard earned money on, but keep in mind it is an opinion. An opinion based on dealing with their product (be it an older model.)

Also... personally, I like to keep my money in the US when I can.

I'd really like not for my tank thread to become a manufacturing debate. If I must, I will concede that Octopus products are the best in the world if it will deter a debate. It all comes down to what you like, want to support, and are happy with.

http://www.proteinskimmer.com.cn/c/cn/product.asp?classid=62

 

[Wiskey]

Hey Kip, I just went back and re-read this whole thread, and man I need to get working on my tank You continue to do great work!

Your right, some of the pics no longer work, but enough do to make it worth the read.

One question I didn't see asked,.. How often do you clean your glass?

You talk about feeding allot, and removing allot, this seems to be the new wave, with remarkable sucess, and how much people feed seems to be meaured by their nutreants. The problem is that test kits are about worthless for that, so many people are using glass cleaning frequancy as a measuring tool for nutreant levels.

Thanks,
Whiskey

 

[Kip]

Wiskey... thanks for saying nice things...

sorry about the pics... if i'd had the forethought to name the new pics the same as the old, there would be no problem.

nutrient levels.... i measure mine by a little patch of light green cyano in the back corner of the tank

I clean my glass at least once a week... sometimes twice. Trouble with glass cleaning as a measurement.... "ready to be cleaned" by me may not be "ready to be cleaned" by you.

I also go by an acro in the tank. A. micropthalma seems to be a good indicator coral of tank conditions. If that connective tissue b/w polyps is nice and light, then all is well... if it gets noticably dark.. the nutrients may be creeping up. (Here we go again... what is "light" and "dark"... purely subjective) Also the micropthalma is a good indicator of dkh. If the axial coralite is white and making a long tip on the end of the branch, I know dkh is suitable for good growth. (and micro/aka scripps acro grows like mad) If the color of the rest of the coral is catching up to the tip, then I know dkh has backed off some. (assuming all other parameters (such as calcification-inhibiting po4) are in check)

I bought a nice, expensive Hanna PO4 colorimeter and it sits on the shelf. Corals, etc are gonna absorb po4 faster than i can get a reading outta that thing. If there is enough po4 to be tested, then i know i have a problem. (i can usually visually tell long before though).

It's all about just getting a "feel" for your system and again... what you are happy with.

 

[Wiskey]

Thanks for the answer Kip, I agree, weather or not the glass needs cleaning is rather subjective,... but it seems to be all we have now. Looking to algae/algae growth for nutreants is a good key I think, maybe not the best, but the best I have found.

I just realized that you have a websight,.... I know, I'm a bit behind.

The sight is great too, well made, good information, and easy to navigate. For those people as slow as I, and don't yet know it exists, you should check it out.

Thanks,
Whiskey

 

[danskim]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7865236#post7865236 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kip
last pic is an octopus c-reactor... i ran it about 5-6months before i broke it. these things are made in korea and very cheaply. the flange edges are sharp enough to cut you.

my k-reactor by PM... i like it... works well... yeah if you overload them you will break the little maxi impeller. I run two k-reactors... one for a stony tank and one for a smaller softy/lps tank. The softy tank had a DIY PM-clone that leaked... so i decided to get a GEO. I really like the GEO... in fact i bought a 2nd GEO for my work tank. Two features i like on the GEO over the PM. The drain spout for refills and the clear lid so you can see the o-ring seal. Otherwise... their performance is the same. (not much tech about stirring powder in a chamber ya know )

Is it really made in Korea or China? I thought Octopus/SWC/Coralvue skimmers and reactors were Chinese made.

And just a side note... not all Korean manufactured stuff is cheap. Korea is a highly developed industrialzed country with the 11th largest GDP in the world (in 1953 after the Korean war, Korea had a GDP equal to that of "third world"/undeveloped African/South Asian nations).
Korean companies like Samsung and LG put out very respectable electronic equipment. The two largest memory chipmakers in the world are also Korean: Samsung and Hynix. Together they account for more than half of the world's memory production - If you know about performance computer memory, the best are Samsung chips.
There are cheaply made German, American and Japanese goods as well (Yes, I am Korean).

Sorry, just a little defensive

 

[Kip]

ok... we've now heard from the korean consulate

yeah... i try not to make blanket statements, but the one i made about "made in korea and cheap" was a poor statement. i also believe you are right... they are made in china... which i believe is where XM bulbs are from btw.

i like to say buy american... but not everything american is top notch either. outside of national pride, GDPs, and software chips... i feel the octopus reactor, even if it were made in my backyard, was made cheaply and prone to damage.

i apologize for my ignorant, offensive statement.