tunicate

You can do away with the basket if you install an overflow comb on your last baffle.

Agree with you on its lighting coverage.(The rear corners look a little dark.) Video camera needs better focusing though.

Just a random thought,...thinking if a UV would help in your situation.

...and most people use grade 0 or 1 sand for DSB.

Bro, are you using UV Sterilizer in your tank?

Thanks, you're welcome.

Day 2

Thanks for all the info & advise bro. Looks like I need to start saving up for my next camera.

Did you mean water goes into your chiller, then out to your canister filter, before going back into your display tank? If so, your chiller may get clogged up over time & will reduce its cooling efficiency. Then, cleaning its internal will be a tedious affair. Water should instead go thru' your canister filter first, then to your chiller, before returning to display tank. Either way, your canister pump will be under extra load due to the added chiller in your flow path. You may want to replace it with a stronger pump to get the whole system back to correct flow speed. Hence, if you choose this route, selecting a pump that runs with little heat will definitely help. P.S. Run your current pump in a bucket of water for an hour to gauge how warm it feels to the touch. This heat is what your chiller has to deal with in addition to cooling down your tank.

Surprisingly, not warm to the touch at at all!! I'm really surprised with this one.

Wow.. You're definitely speaking from experience here.

Thanks for the compliment. Happy to report that it started skimming after about 24hrs. A flurry of bubbles rising up the collection tube.(I'll try to set the skimmate as dry as possible this round.) Notice the blue dot on the adjustment pipe? There's no reference point for this dot, so one has to 'guess-timate' the setting is at 3 o'clock, or 4, or 5,...for individual ideal setting. BTW, it's not easy to turn this adjustment pipe as there is a rubber ring at its base creating a good seal with the outlet T-joint. Don't know if this is necessary cause my NAC5A does not come with a rubber ring & it's much easier to make adjustment. I don't see any micro-bubbles near the outlet sponge. ...so I lift it up for a better look. Still no bubbles from water gushing out of the outlet slits. But the sponge do serve the purpose of eliminating the splashing sound. The only sound I hear is the air tube, although it's not too loud.

The Fujifilm FinePix X100 looks good. Lots of manual control, including a more intuitive manual focus on the lens ring. Something that is quite rare on a non-DSLR. But at about $1,200 it's not cheap. A Nikon D3100 kit probably cost less.

Below are some examples from Micro Four Thirds which I find very well taken. Olympus PEN E-PL1: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1041&message=36383646 Panasonic DMC-G1: Panasonic DMC-GF1:

Due to my sump orientation, I'm looking thru 4 layers of glass. Lucky I can see the skimmer, let alone the water level within. The closest indication, would probably be the bubbles surfacing at the base of the collection cup.

It seems that SAF has raised its standards, or did I confused it with SAR80's timing. Hmmmm....

"Pipefish will be harmed by anemones and corals with stinging tentacles or corals that are large enough to consume them, such as brain corals. Pipefish can also be harmed by invertebrates such as crabs and large shrimp." -http://www.liveaquaria.com under topic "Janss' Pipefish (Doryrhamphus janssi)"

Below is example of nano fishes. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+2124 When you click on the individual fish species, you'll get a box of "Quick stats". Take note of the fish's "max size", & "minimum tank size". This will give you a rough guide to what kind of LS your tank can accommodate. You can also click on those fishes in this website which you currently keep, & understand why some are not suitable for your tank.

Below is an extract from an article "5 Situations When Manual Focus is Better than Auto Focus" by Darren Rowse. "Shooting Through Glass/Wire Fences If you’ve ever shot through anything like a window or a mess/wire fence you’ll know how cameras will often get confused on where to focus your shot. Whether it’s shooting out of a plane window, taking a shot of an image at a museum or photographing animals through fences at the zoo – you might find your camera is confused. Manual focusing will avoid this completely and allow you to get things just right – focusing upon the subject behind that glass or fence. If you do this in conjunction with a large aperture (which decreases depth of field) and get in close to the fence or glass you might well eliminate it completely from being noticeable in your shot." I think that may very well be what's happening to my compact point & shoot when I try to photograph my fishes. It just dosen't allow me to manual focus.

How about Micro Four Thirds? Do you think they're good enough too?

Hi All, Just aquired the above nano skimmer from a fellow reefer, & would like to share with all on this new experience. I'm planning to upgrade my office tank & would like to make use of this QQ in it. Background: I'm currently running a BM NAC5A in my home's 2ft cube. The plan is to shut down the 5A & have QQ take over during this review period. The bio load in the 2ft cube is as follows. - A pair of Ocellaris - 1x blue tang - 1x tomini tang - 1x yellow tang - 1x yellow tail damsel - 1x flame hawk - 2x trochus snails About 18 inches worth of fishes excluding the snails. ok, here we go... The packaging comes in a nice box with proper labeling. Foam packing, warranty card, receipt from DE-Lighting,... Assembly instruction. (I didn't really read that.) I see the skimmer cup. Solid acrylic material Rest of the skimmer body. Atman PH500 needle wheel pump with 3-pin plug adapter.(How thoughtful.) Be extra careful when detaching the pump's inlet nozzle lest you break the ceramic impeller shaft. Needle wheel impeller Assembled skimmer. (probably took me only 2 min to complete. Definitely easier than an M16. ) Managed to squeeze into my skimmer compartment. (I've shut down the NAC5A) I'll give it a few days to break in. Will update you as we go along. Cheers

The only possible location for skimmer is your middle compartment because you need constant water level. (BTW, what's the baffle height between 2nd & last compartment?) Nope, MCE500 has footprint of 21cm x 9cm. It's not going to fit. I think a Bubble Magus NACQQ would fit in there. Check with our sponsor Dr evil.

Bro linus, It's important to ask yourself: "Will I be able to sleep well at night knowing it may crack open dumping 127L of salt water over the floor?" I've said this, & I'm going to say it again. My cousin converted his arowana tank to marine & had it cracked open in the middle of the night a few weeks later. He lost the tank, live stocks, water, carpet. Suffice to say, no one in the family slept that night. What don't you sell your current tank in a fresh water aquarium forum, and do this from a clean slate. Then you can really plan this out the way you want it. No need to compromise.

...or upgrade to a much bigger tank. (( But seriously, quickly do more research. The time invested to pick up all relevant knowledge in this hobby is much worthwhile if you intend to go long term. I find the search utility in this forum especially useful. Happy reefing,

I'll go ahead & list a few current models. - Canon's PowerShot S95 - Olympus' XZ-1 - Panasonic's Lumix DMC-LX5 - Samsung's EX1 - Nikon Coolpix P300 If any people have use the above model to photograph their LS, I'd be most happy to hear what you have to say about them.