Ron

I would put the gate valve on the 1" as well. I have my 70 gallon reef with a 1" main drain and 1.5" emergency drain.

I got LPS frags today, gold hammer, green and pink frogspawn and Duncan. I cycled and cured my rock for the last month in bins. As you can see in the pic, used much less in the display than I have and I have another 4 pieces still in the bin. Going bare bottom, I want to have less places any pyramid snails can hide.

Thanks for following along. Tank is salty and I got my first frags today. Here is a pic of the tank last night

Well I hooked up my second reactor. I went with NextReef as I don't trust TLF reactors not to leak. For the extra $40 per reactor, it was an easy decision to upgrade to these. They will look funny with the less than cup of media that will go in each. Concept's got my skimmer in today so I rushed on over so I could get it home and give it a bath. I guess next I will get my water to temp and add salt. Thanks for sticking around. Ron

Well I got the sump cleaned up and hooked up to fill up the system. Found a couple leaks, one was the emergency drain. I thought it might be a problem joining the bulkhead, which I think is ABS, to the PVC. The other was a very small leak on one of the returns. The system ran for a couple hours and there wasn't enough built up to flow off of the elbow. So I've drained the system, I'll fix the leaks and move it into it's place. Almost time to fill it up with RO/DI water and get salty. Thanks, Ron

Here is a pic of with the drain pipes, I like the bigger stand so I can slide my sump back and have the drain pipes come straight down without any elbows. I was planning to put the main drain valve above the union but I rushed the last couple connections and screwed it up. I was seriously considering hacking it off but them I would have to get another bulkhead and use up another union and valve. I prefer the look of CNC'd teeth I really like the transparent silicone, pic to compare to unsiliconed eurobrace Thanks, Ron

Thanks. Thanks. Not sure, have to look into them soon, any suggestions? I think because of the clams I am planning it will end up being a LN to ULN system.

Got my tank and my sump today. 70 gallon (40" x 20" x 20") DT, 3 sides Starphire, one piece Starphire eurobrace, CNC black acrylic background, transparent silicone and black vinyl bottom. 55 gallon (36" x 22" x 16") custom sump. I got home and got to plumbing it. Herbie Pretty simple underneath I haven't cleaned it yet but here is a FTS Big thanks to the guys at Concept Aquariums, they definitely made emptying my wallet seem like it was the right thing to do....LOL. Bigger thanks to my wife who helped me get the tank downstairs so I could start working on it. Next I'll clean up the sump and get the reactors plumbed in, hopefully wet before the Super Bowl is over. Thanks, Ron

I will probably get a variety of crocea, squamosa but mostly maxima. I have a buddy with contacts in countries with agreements with Canada for export/import, CITES and CFIA approval should only be a waiting game.

Thanks. Pretty standard stand with plywood that was sealed, painted and sealed again. Once I get everything running I'll get it skinned. Thanks for the suggestion. After seeing Dave's tank in his office at Concept Aquarium, the ATI hybrid is at the top of my list. I've heard commercially available plama lights should be out soon and I won't need lights for quite a while so I have some time to decide.

Gonna be.......already am, LOL. This is the one of two things I've ever gotten for myself out of my bonuses so I don't feel too guilty but this set up has already cost more than my first car and I still need a controller, lights and livestock .

They are ~$10 USD but after shipping and other landed charges, paying Concept's price isn't very much more. Mostly clams but I'll have a couple fish and some coral but I am undecided at the moment. I have a 55 gallon custom sump and I am still deciding on lighting. I am leaning towards an ATI hybrid but Dave got my curiousity going on plasma.

Ordered Thanks. Got most of my plumbing online and shipped from the States.

Thanks. It sure costs a lot more than FW, I wanted to build a 450 - 600 gallon Arowana tank but I didn't think I could afford it so I went this route....I think this SW tank will end up more expensive.

Hello, In December I got the idea to try my first saltwater tank and gear it towards clams. I went to Concept Aquariums on Boxing day and they gave me a great run down on what I would need but also what options I had to upgrade. I am a pretty easy sell and I chose to upgrade myself on a lot of the items. I originally went in with the intention of buying a 90 gallon RR tank they had on special and ended up with a 70 gallon Starphire tank with a one piece eurobrace. I should be picking up my tank and sump this weekend so I thought I would start off my journal with the gear I have. Here is a shot of my 48"W x 26"D x 32"T stand. I got antsy so I put my manifold together and attached it, I sure hope my calcs are right on the location...LOL That's about all I got for now, I'll cover all the details of my gear as it get's flanged up. Thanks for looking and wish me luck. Ron

Thanks. They are the only neo in the tank but there are a couple Amano and Vampire shrimp in there along with a couple Panda loaches. No pics of them but I'll see if they'll cooperate. Both the females are berried in the pics, There are probably 4 berried females in the tank.

All those were hatched here, I didn't really pay attention to the tank when I first got them but a couple clutches did hatch. They are producing now, evident by the 2 berried females in the pics. I won't have any available for quite a while but I can get them from Ebiken.

They are cherry shrimp and they aren't. They have much better red coverage than your average cherry shrimp but yet translucent unlike Painted Fire Reds. They say they actually have red flesh, if I see one die I may scoop it out and slice it open to see for myself. I don't think they are for everyone as some can't tell the difference and therefore cannot justify the extra cost.

Some pics I snapped of my Bloody Mary shrimp. Pic of lower quality Bloody Mary male Pic of lower quality Bloody Mary female Pic of high quality Bloody Mary male Pic of high quality Bloody Mary female Thanks for looking.

If it's bare bottom and she has nothing to hide in, she probably doesn't feel comfortable enough to berry. When mine berry, they either stay in breeding tubes or cram themselves under the driftwood. What temp are you keeping her? Heat isn't really needed, mine are at room temp 68°F to 72°F. When she does berry, expect a lot of babies. My smallest batch was around 40 and my largest female is berried now and I bet there will be 150 - 200 babies.

New tank or new driftwood? I think it is a bacterial bloom and it'll usually sort itself out.

It was good to see you again and you must have looked like a hero, driving your daughter and her friends to Calgary for Boxing day shopping. I may have some other stuff for you when you're ready as I may scale down the shrimp to concentrate on my new marine tank.

No, they do make some with heaters but the 2076 and 2078 models I have do not.

I like the ability to turn down the flow if needed. I usually oversize my filters so it's nice at feeding time not to have the food get blown all over the place. I have my 2078 Pro 3e on a 40 gallon tank and according to Eheim it's sufficient for up to an 185 gallon.

I called them this morning and they actually did reply yesterday but it was marked as spam by gmail. So non of my 6 were noted as affected. They said no Pro 3e filters were ever affected however they recommended that I send in 2 of my older heads (07 series) in to have the primer device replaced free of charge. I will probably send in the one that has been running for 5 or so years but the other I just starting using a year ago, I had it on the sitting on the shelf after I bought it second hand BNIB.