Recent content by discocarp

Thanks. I was given the same advice from ATI. I've trimmed the mesh and tried every conceivable thing to solve it. No dice. I'm going to switch back to my euroreef.

I am abandoning use of my BubbleMaster 250 because of these pump issues. It skims great - when the pumps are running. They're terrible at restarting though, and sometimes they stop spinning randomly. Basically, this skimmer has just become a gigantic pain in the butt.

Wish there was a greater than 150 option!

Hurricane Charley wiped me out. 3 weeks with no power. The summer heat was the real killer for me I think.

Sponge filter, Power filter, cannister filter... lots of choices! However, with a 4" tang in a 10g tank you might be overwhelming what a single rock can do. The daily water changes won't hurt. Do them as long as you have an ammonia reading and a fish in the tank.

Use a wet dry vac. Only stir whatever you have a hard time sucking up. If you stir it up, the skimmer will get some and your display will get the rest. :)

Also, you can often get complete setups VERY cheap used. Check craigslist and your local reef club. It may not be exactly what you had in mind, but you could probably find something very, very close for much cheaper.

I've drilled many 10s with a diamond hole saw. They're actually harder than big tanks imo because the glass is so thin. They crack pretty easy. Its very doable with a hand drill (that's what I used) but if you have access to a drill press I think it would make life much much easier. Otherwise...

It can be done but its kinda a pain sometimes, depending on the coral type. Things like gsps do well glued, leathers and mushrooms and such are trickier. My favorite trick is to put them in a small container of rubble or CC with netting over it, they will attach to a piece of rubble or cc, then...

I have a lifereef overflow in the garage. I used it for a long time (right now all tanks are drilled so its unused). I can't remember how it works exactly (been awhile since I used it), but it works GREAT. Never had a problem. Peter

Small pieces of rock can be used on the bottom to flesh out some areas. An overhang can be made to look like a cave by just laying rocks along the bottom on front of it. Sections can be made to jut out by using small rocks on the bottom to extend areas that stick out a just a little bit. Peter

It will *probably* find its own spot and do fine. Probably not where you want it though! Future suggestion: Get a small tupperware, topless. Put a small layer of crushed coral in it. Put the shroom in it. Rubberband some screen over top of it. Let it sit (in the tank) for a week or two. The...

You could use more flow IMO, but you don't need more through the sump. In addition to considering the stream, you can also consider a closed loop. You can do a search on them. Basically you get an external pump, run the intake over the top with a strainer, and run the output over the top as...

software engineer - civil engineering (stormwater) simulation software Peter

I had a glass heater crack. I lost everything in my 125g mixed reef. At first, about (guesstimate here) 40% of everything was dead on the spot. The resulting fierce recycle annihilated everything that was left. I might have been able to save some stuff, but at the time I had to work 90+ hour...