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I really don't know about the science here, but I think that as long as you have a full spectrum bulb (like I think most power compact bulbs would be), watts is watts. Just to be sure, you do have power compacts, right (think you just said compacts in your 1st post)? I've got this set-up, and...

I've got 4x65w power compact on a 55 gallon and I've got mushrooms, polyps, xenia, lobo brain, candy cane, plate, pipe organ, bubble, sun, favia, favites, and colt coral. All are well. Lighting is definitely enough for lps's (as said above). I've got one acropora that stays alive and still...

Here's a link to a thread started by a guy who definitely knows what he's doing. Maybe this will help you.

That's what I did with mine 2 days after I got it. I hated those screws too. Suction cups work great.

I caught this hitchhiker crab several months ago using a pickle jar trap. Saw it one night eating my leather, so I knew it had to go. Not sure what type it is, but it was evil (as you can tell from those eyes).

Wait a couple of hours after the lights go off at night. Then use a flashlight with a red lens to look around in the tank. Chances are you'll see a lot of life that you don't see in the day, such as worms, crabs, etc. Look for movement, since things can blend in pretty well. I caught this 2...

The high phosphates are probably from your tank being a little overstocked. You can try cutting back on feeding as much as possible. I'm a bit overstocked myself and use a phosban reactor (and never overfeed) to keep phosphates in check. When I first put it in I had levels around 1.0 and it...

Looks great! Looking forward to pics of the shark. You're going to like ditching powerheads. I just did it and loved the results.

Thanks. I'll have to try the mousepad trick. Unfortunately I only got into diving last year so my wetsuits haven't been worn out enough to be made into shorties yet (hoping to get enough dives in this year to get to that point though). Very nice and a little unbelievable. I had to keep...

Think they're trying to figure out where their escape plan went wrong?

Thanks very much. It really does make the tank look bigger on the sides, probably because you get a lot more reflection off the sides now. The mag itself isn't really loud at all. My problem is that I've got it sitting on a cheap trunk and it's making a humming noise from the vibration on...

Success!!!! Finally got this project done last weekend and am very happy I did it. Assembling, testing, and installing took about 7 hours, although I did also give the tank a good cleaning during it, which I'm sure added a lot to the time. I went with 1 1/4" pipe on the inflow (1 1/2...

I just got a replacement ballast from them yesterday. The phone number on the packing slip is 760-727-7011. If you do talk to them, would you mind suggesting that they start including some :rant2: instructions with their replacement ballasts?

Did you drain and discard all the muddy water in the tank after you finished removing the crushed coral? If you didn't, I'd suggest draining the water from the tank and discarding it before doing anything else. There was probably a lot of toxic gunk that was built up in the undisturbed crushed...

It does suck the water from the tank. The full design on melev's site (the link to his site is in my first post) has a cap on the top of the inflow pipe that you use to prime the pump. That and the perforated pipe that goes in the tank isn't in the designs I posted here because I only had...

Thanks. I'll probably stick with the mag 9.5 and will probably have maybe 1" pipe max coming out of the outflow (still might go with 3/4"). I've been practicing my "I'm completely lost" look all day and plan to go to Home Depot tonight to spend a few hours in the PVC section trying to figure...

Thanks very much for the feedback. I think I'm going to go with the one scwd route. I did check out the OceanMotions site and I think I'm going to pass on those for now. Little too expensive and to be honest, a little intimidating looking for me at the moment (have I mentioned that I've never...

Thanks, it's nice to finally be doing this. Me and powerheads with their little suction cups...we don't get along. That's a very interesting point, especially because for some reason I was going to go with 3/4" without even questioning it (or thinking about it). Thanks for the heads-up...

Major improvements. 1. Much larger tank. Currently have a 55 and would like at least a 180 or so. I'd be looking for a tank that's more wide (I'd rather have a tank 6' long and 2' wide than 8' long and 16" wide). I think this would give me more options for aquascaping a reef. 2...

I'm planning on building a closed loop system for my 55 gallon and have a few plumbing/flow rate questions. I plan on building something very simlar to the one on melev's reef. I'd like a turnover rate in the tank of about 15 - 20x per hour. The return is going to be about a 4 foot head, so...