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TJ_Burton Returns - last pics...


TJ_Burton

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Sweet,

 

My Octopus NS Skimmer just came in! Put it all together and it looks fine. I must call www.reefsolution.com and thank them for the sale!

 

I really want to peel this ugly blue SWC sticker off the main body though, as I feel it will probably come off with time anyways...

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Your temporary setup looks great. I see you like acans, huh? I've gotta try keeping some of those later in life. Or perhaps someday soon. Perhaps I can move out the shrooms and make room.

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Your temporary setup looks great. I see you like acans, huh? I've gotta try keeping some of those later in life. Or perhaps someday soon. Perhaps I can move out the shrooms and make room.

 

I do like Acans, but I don't particularly want all the ones I got. I am doing Marte a favor since his tank is looking rough... He spent allot of money on these corals since he got them long ago when Acans first started coming into our market, and he nor I would like to see these corals die. So I know which ones I want to keep frags of, but in the long run I don't want more then 5 nice colonies.

 

Acans are also nice because they grow slower then shrooms. Reef tanks, like gardens will never look the same month after month. Even if you frag etc. your display will always be different, and I find shrooms, xenia and the like to sometimes become too invasive and cause your display to change more then you'd like. For instance, a spot where your acro could have grown into is now COVERED in xenia, or shrooms. I do like propagating corals/fragging and spreading my precious home grown love throughout the reef community, but when I look into my tank I think to myself "ok, in 6 months if I don't touch anything what would this look like" and most times if I have shrooms or clove polyps or something, that’s all I can picture... So basically I try to stick to beautiful species of coral that will grow as "together" as possible without overrunning the tank.

Now, you may be thinking "why would he have star polyps after that speech?" and the reason is pretty simple. I want a coral for the back wall/overflow area of the tank that will grow fairly quickly and be easily removed. I like GSP better then RSX so that was my choice! GSP is incredibly easy to remove from flat surfaces so keeping it trimmed will be very easy and somewhat profitable. But other then that I don't really plan on having any "fast growers" that are not SPS.

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*Update*

 

Wired up my two 6" 7 blade fans and tested them out. HOLY HELL :blink: If they don't keep the tank cool I don't know what will. They are heavy fans with a metal housing, and they blow enough air to push themselves around the floor. They are actually kind of loud (Sound like a bloody jet starting up) because of the amount of air they push... But hey, thats the price of MH for ya! (my current 20L with the 2 MH lights needs a heater to stay at 78.F with no fans, so I assume I won't need a chiller with my 40G setup, but you never know!)

 

I picked out the hardware (Handles and Hinges etc.) for the cabinet, along with the stain. I think I will be going with an Ebony stain and dark grey/silver worn looking iron type hardware. Simple design stuff though. Going for a more modern look. I am thinking the dark cabinetry will compliment the black backround and sides of the aquarium thus making the contents' color stand out even more.

 

Really wish I had some pics alread, but alas, I do not. This project is taking longer then I expected, but I think it will be VERY worth it in the end. I am cutting no corners on this beast! I want this to be my last tank for many years to come. It's hard to get that "well established, grown in" look when your constantly tearing things apart and/or upgrading.

 

Color scheme will be sort of like this:

post-7376-1199921142_thumb.jpg

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*Update*

 

Wired up my two 6" 7 blade fans and tested them out. HOLY HELL :blink: If they don't keep the tank cool I don't know what will. They are heavy fans with a metal housing, and they blow enough air to push themselves around the floor. They are actually kind of loud (Sound like a bloody jet starting up) because of the amount of air they push... But hey, thats the price of MH for ya! (my current 20L with the 2 MH lights needs a heater to stay at 78.F with no fans, so I assume I won't need a chiller with my 40G setup, but you never know!)

 

I picked out the hardware (Handles and Hinges etc.) for the cabinet, along with the stain. I think I will be going with an Ebony stain and dark grey/silver worn looking iron type hardware. Simple design stuff though. Going for a more modern look. I am thinking the dark cabinetry will compliment the black backround and sides of the aquarium thus making the contents' color stand out even more.

 

Really wish I had some pics alread, but alas, I do not. This project is taking longer then I expected, but I think it will be VERY worth it in the end. I am cutting no corners on this beast! I want this to be my last tank for many years to come. It's hard to get that "well established, grown in" look when your constantly tearing things apart and/or upgrading.

 

Color scheme will be sort of like this:

 

Damn, now that's a stand. Great illustration skills you have there. Makes me want to join the 40G club. "Open" the inside so I can see the guts.

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Damn, now that's a stand. Great illustration skills you have there. Makes me want to join the 40G club. "Open" the inside so I can see the guts.

 

MSPaint for the win!

 

If I have spare time tonight to "draw" up the guts I will do it for you. Otherwise you must wait till I have pics!

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MSPaint for the win!

 

If I have spare time tonight to "draw" up the guts I will do it for you. Otherwise you must wait till I have pics!

 

Get outa here! You did that with MSPaint??? Move over Adobe Illustrator. Microsoft clipart is where it's at. Good stuff, TJ.

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Get outa here! You did that with MSPaint??? Move over Adobe Illustrator. Microsoft clipart is where it's at. Good stuff, TJ.

 

LoL, yeah I did all my pics on paint! I am too lazy to learn some sophisticated program that makes life easier. ;)

Either that or I just don't want to pay for it... :P

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Well, I didn't have time to draw more sketches of the system tonight because I was fooling around with my somewhat malfunctioning Canon POS digital camera.I took some pics of the 20L - colors are a bit strange because I was messing with the settings trying to get it to work again (only wanted to work on Digital Macro, and some weird Custom setting). I mentioned that I changed the return setup because it was too strong with one outlet, I uploaded a pic of that as well as some of the other components of the system. Also took more shots of the Acans etc. Enjoy!

 

(although not all my corals have the best color right now due to stresses of farting around with the system and from getting used to the new light etc. I like to post pictures so I have a reference of what they used to look like once they color up completely ;))

 

Tank Shots:

IMG_0161.jpg

IMG_0149.jpg

IMG_0150.jpg

IMG_0146.jpg

IMG_0163.jpg

IMG_0153.jpg

IMG_0152.jpg

IMG_0155.jpg

IMG_0156.jpg

Acans:

IMG_0137.jpg

IMG_0138.jpg

IMG_0136.jpg

IMG_0135.jpg

IMG_0118.jpg

IMG_0117.jpg

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Looking good, do you know the name of the little zoos, green and purple center 4th pic from the top?

 

Unfortunately I have no idea, but I am pretty sure they are a pally, and they are MUCH greener in person. They are basically purple with bright lime green freckles everywhere when they get larger.

 

I did a video too, quick sweep of the setup, you can hear how damn loud that style standpipe is lol...

th_NANO20L.jpg

 

If anyone wants to ID my Zoas/Palys, go for it.

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How bout you ship me off 2 zoa polyps of those orange bam bams just for kicks? I think they'll make it across the border just fine in a plastic 8oz soda bottle. In exchange, I'll send you a couple polyps of my blue tubs perhaps? It looks like I have 20 now. I've been direct feeding 'em DTs like crazy.

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How bout you ship me off 2 zoa polyps of those orange bam bams just for kicks? I think they'll make it across the border just fine in a plastic 8oz soda bottle. In exchange, I'll send you a couple polyps of my blue tubs perhaps? It looks like I have 20 now. I've been direct feeding 'em DTs like crazy.

 

Which ones are bam bams?

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Which ones are bam bams?

 

Ha. I just took a guess. I'm really not much into brand names and such. These orange ones.

IMG_0128.jpg

I think "bam bams" are bright orange in the center, but I still dig these ones.

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Ha. I just took a guess. I'm really not much into brand names and such. These orange ones.

IMG_0128.jpg

I think "bam bams" are bright orange in the center, but I still dig these ones.

 

Yeah I don't know what the name of these Palys are, I will check ZoaID and find out what retarded name they cam up with. They are very hot though, I have a couple 1 polyp frags that may be ready to go in a month or so. these polyps were pretty expensive compared to the others in my area, but they look wicked. Deep purple with metallic orange rim. :) Melts my heart! lol...

 

I wouldn't mind giving that a shot when the months are warmer, the blue tubs are quite nice. Frag the ones for me now, mount them and hopefully both your frag and mine will produce some babies during the wait!

I can see that the larger polyp is already producing another baby only 2 weeks after being fragged. :)

 

*edit*

Ok well, ZoaID has a few that look similar, I will list them in order 1st being most like mine, to last being the least like mine.

Organism Palys

EZs

Lunar Eclipse

X-Lunar Destroyer

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Yeah I don't know what the name of these Palys are, I will check ZoaID and find out what retarded name they cam up with. They are very hot though, I have a couple 1 polyp frags that may be ready to go in a month or so. these polyps were pretty expensive compared to the others in my area, but they look wicked. Deep purple with metallic orange rim. :) Melts my heart! lol...

 

I wouldn't mind giving that a shot when the months are warmer, the blue tubs are quite nice. Frag the ones for me now, mount them and hopefully both your frag and mine will produce some babies during the wait!

I can see that the larger polyp is already producing another baby only 2 weeks after being fragged. :)

 

*edit*

Ok well, ZoaID has a few that look similar, I will list them in order 1st being most like mine, to last being the least like mine.

Organism Palys

EZs

Lunar Eclipse

X-Lunar Destroyer

 

I agree. Oranism Palys would be the closest match. Those EZs look deathly wicked.

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I took a few more pics. One of that colony of speckled green palys, one of the blue zoas and one of the acan I didn't take a second pic of.

IMG_0180.jpg

IMG_0181.jpg

IMG_0168.jpg

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Sooo I stopped off at one of my favorite LFSs today and was just in time for his Aussi shipment... Now I am not usually the type to blow serious coin on coral, but I am a sucker for a nice brain coral, and I completely fell in love with this tri-color maze brain. So I snapped a couple quick (poor quality) shots to show the world my newest piece! The LFS happens to be run by a good buddy of mine so I got to pick up some zoas and clove polyps for free. They havn't all opened yet but I snapped a quick one of those too. Got some nice baby blue zoas with bright orange centers.

 

Maze Brain (From Top Down)

AussiMazeTop.jpg

Maze Brain (Tank View)

AussiMazeSide.jpg

 

Zoas (I mounted them on one large plug in attempt for a mini rainbow rock - because I have no room lol)

ZoasRainbowRockFreebee.jpg

 

 

I think I need to stop buying $#!& until my 40g is ready... But this I just could not pass up!

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As per PurpleUp's request, I have done a sketch of the stand and "guts"

If there are any questions, feel free to ask. (The pink lines indicate tubing from the pumps).

post-7376-1200255970_thumb.jpg

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As per PurpleUp's request, I have done a sketch of the stand and "guts"

If there are any questions, feel free to ask. (The pink lines indicate tubing from the pumps).

 

I was only kidding around at first, but now that I can see exactly what you're up to, the more I want to have a setup just like it. This system should satisfy you for many years to come. Do you mind me asking what your total budget for material and labor is for this entire setup, including lighting?

 

You know I still want my 260G in-wall dream reef. Would you advise building that along the same lines as this one, just bigger?

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I was only kidding around at first, but now that I can see exactly what you're up to, the more I want to have a setup just like it. This system should satisfy you for many years to come. Do you mind me asking what your total budget for material and labor is for this entire setup, including lighting?

 

You know I still want my 260G in-wall dream reef. Would you advise building that along the same lines as this one, just bigger?

 

To be honest I would have to spend some time to calculate what I have spent as I didn't exactly keep track. There are also some parts I haven’t purchased yet, as well as the fact that I will end up with a 20L prop tank in the end as well (since my 20L will be emptied, then plumbed to the system and have it's own halide). I will spend some time after I am all said and done calculating out what I had spent, as well as a list of freebies etc.

 

As far as a large system is concerned, I would certainly say you could run that system off the same theories that I design my systems around, but there are things you should do differently, or may have to do differently to run it with as much success as I predict I will have with this system. This months TOTM on RC is a good example of how I would consider running a massive system.

 

When you get to the point where you are ready for your in-wall, we can always spend some time discussing your plans and see what ideas/recommendations I may be able to come up with.

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As per PurpleUp's request, I have done a sketch of the stand and "guts"

If there are any questions, feel free to ask. (The pink lines indicate tubing from the pumps).

 

Hi. I got your PM, and thought I would post my response here for all to see. What follows is my response to the plumbing diagram above, and some suggestions.

 

It looks like you have all the basics right. There is one possible concern, however. In order for the pump in your closed loop to not ever aspirate (and thus blow bajillions of microbubbles bubbles everywhere) you need some way to ensure that the water level in your overflow box stays close to the teeth, so that bubbles can never make their way down to where the pump for the closed loop gets its water feed.

 

You could accomplish this by installing a durso in the overflow, thus making your overflow quieter and maintaining a constant elevated water level in the overflow box, or by drilling your drain hole near the surface.

 

There is, however, an even better way which will make your tank and sump nearly silent, and will allow you to control the water level in the overflow box. You could drill two holes in the tank wall inside the overflow box for your drain, one just above the hole for your closed loop, and another very near the top, almost at the level of the surface of the tank's water. Plumb the top drain hole directly to your sump, with the pipe terminating just above the sump's normal operating level. Plumb the lower of the two drain holes into a quality gate valve, and then into your sump, with the pipe terminating below the surface of the water in the sump. Make sure the gate valve is also at or below the height of the surface of the water in your sump, when it is at its normal operating level. You want the gate valve low, because you don't want any of the water in your pipes under negative pressure, which would in turn encourage degassing and potentially microbubbles.

 

Once it is all plumbed up this way, turn on the circulation pump with the gate valve wide open. Let it start run until the overflow is draining actively. At this point no water should be coming into the sump from the drain line plumbed to the top hole. Slowly close the gate valve until the slightest possible trickle of water starts coming out of the drain line plumbed to the top hole. Then open the valve a tiny bit to stop the trickle. This will ensure five things:

 

1. Your tank's overflow is silent, as the water does not fall far after passing through the teeth. No gurgling or other water noise.

2. Where the drain lines enter the sump is also silent, no sump splashdown noise and no bubbles.

3. The water level in the overflow box is high, so bubbles would never get sucked into the closed loop.

4. In the event that the gate valve clogs, the top drain hole will handle the flow but it will no longer be silent in the sump. This is an intentional result of plumbing the top drain hole such that the plumbing terminates above the surface of the water in the sump. Thus, when your sump makes noise, you know your gate valve is clogged or at least needs adjusting.

5. No microbubbles, and less need for baffles in the sump, as there should be little or no bubbles being created in the sump where the water enters. This plumbing scheme ensures that there is no "splashdown", and thats where most of the bubbles in the sump come from.

 

Keep in mind that if you change the flow of water entering the tank from the sump, you will need to re-tune the overflow. Overflows set up this way are generally very stable, and don't fluctuate much. Also make sure to turn on your closed loop's pump only when the return pump is running, so you don't accidentally run the pump dry or blow bubbles everywhere. The beauty of this plumbing scheme is that it eliminates bubbles everywhere in the system, makes the system silent, and provides a level of redundancy for the drain lines in one simple design. Also remember that your drain line will be FULL of water when the tank is running, and will thus be heavy. Make sure it is properly supported so the weight doesn't crack your tank at the bulkhead.

 

You have put great effort into making what I believe will ultimately be a very full and balanced light field for this tank. Your lighting will be basically the best you can do artificially, both in terms of spread and spectrum. (make sure you use good wide reflectors, lumenarc-styled reflectors being the absolute best) I would suggest that a little careful planning in the area of water flow in the display tank would do wonders for the health of the corals. As i'm sure you are no doubt aware, water flow is nearly as important as lighting, at least for SPS corals.

 

So, in addition, I would recommend installing an SWCD on the return and another on the closed loop. It will contribute randomness to the water flow, and won't cost you a whole lot. I use one on my tank's return, and I love it. Two of them going in and out of sych with each other would be the ultimate in wavemaking, IMO. If you size the pumps properly, you won't need any additional powerheads, and thats a good thing. They detract from the look of a reef tank and use up valuable space in the tank.

 

For a good flow pattern, put the four nozzles (two from the closed loop and two from the return pump) in the four corners of the tank, each pointing at the opposite corner. (front-right points at back-left, etc) This will create a "dueling flow" at the center of the tank near the surface that will result in nearly infinitely varied flow permutations over time. There won't be a dead spot in your tank, anywhere, ever. Put your most current-loving SPS in the dead center of the tank, and watch them thrive. You could of course adjust the four nozzles as needed to move the "sweet spot" where you need it to be, and will probably end up doing so. Your rockwork will divert the water flow in unpredictable ways, and you will need to adjust to that.

 

If you do end up plumbing all four returns through the back wall, make sure two are plumbed low in the tank, and two are plumbed high. (Obviously, the sump returns should be the higher holes to avoid a flood.) This will prevent a laminar flow from forming. What I mean is if all four returns are at the top-back pointing at the front, which I have seen in so many reef tanks, then you end up with water flowing from top-back to top-front to bottom-front to bottom-back, if you know what I mean, forming a gyre. There is nothing wrong with gyres, per se, but they aren't the best flow pattern for the long term health of SPS, IMO. If you have two high and two low, then that pattern won't form, and you will have more random flow.

 

I hope this helps. It is the plumbing scheme i plan to use on my next tank. :)

 

- Josh

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Hi. I got your PM, and thought I would post my response here for all to see. What follows is my response to the plumbing diagram above, and some suggestions.

 

It looks like you have all the basics right. There is one possible concern, however. In order for the pump in your closed loop to not ever aspirate (and thus blow bajillions of microbubbles bubbles everywhere) you need some way to ensure that the water level in your overflow box stays close to the teeth, so that bubbles can never make their way down to where the pump for the closed loop gets its water feed.

 

You could accomplish this by installing a durso in the overflow, thus making your overflow quieter and maintaining a constant elevated water level in the overflow box, or by drilling your drain hole near the surface.

 

There is, however, an even better way which will make your tank and sump nearly silent, and will allow you to control the water level in the overflow box. You could drill two holes in the tank wall inside the overflow box for your drain, one just above the hole for your closed loop, and another very near the top, almost at the level of the surface of the tank's water. Plumb the top drain hole directly to your sump, with the pipe terminating just above the sump's normal operating level. Plumb the lower of the two drain holes into a quality gate valve, and then into your sump, with the pipe terminating below the surface of the water in the sump. Make sure the gate valve is also at or below the height of the surface of the water in your sump, when it is at its normal operating level. You want the gate valve low, because you don't want any of the water in your pipes under negative pressure, which would in turn encourage degassing and potentially microbubbles.

 

Once it is all plumbed up this way, turn on the circulation pump with the gate valve wide open. Let it start run until the overflow is draining actively. At this point no water should be coming into the sump from the drain line plumbed to the top hole. Slowly close the gate valve until the slightest possible trickle of water starts coming out of the drain line plumbed to the top hole. Then open the valve a tiny bit to stop the trickle. This will ensure five things:

 

1. Your tank's overflow is silent, as the water does not fall far after passing through the teeth. No gurgling or other water noise.

2. Where the drain lines enter the sump is also silent, no sump splashdown noise and no bubbles.

3. The water level in the overflow box is high, so bubbles would never get sucked into the closed loop.

4. In the event that the gate valve clogs, the top drain hole will handle the flow but it will no longer be silent in the sump. This is an intentional result of plumbing the top drain hole such that the plumbing terminates above the surface of the water in the sump. Thus, when your sump makes noise, you know your gate valve is clogged or at least needs adjusting.

5. No microbubbles, and less need for baffles in the sump, as there should be little or no bubbles being created in the sump where the water enters. This plumbing scheme ensures that there is no "splashdown", and thats where most of the bubbles in the sump come from.

 

Keep in mind that if you change the flow of water entering the tank from the sump, you will need to re-tune the overflow. Overflows set up this way are generally very stable, and don't fluctuate much. Also make sure to turn on your closed loop's pump only when the return pump is running, so you don't accidentally run the pump dry or blow bubbles everywhere. The beauty of this plumbing scheme is that it eliminates bubbles everywhere in the system, makes the system silent, and provides a level of redundancy for the drain lines in one simple design. Also remember that your drain line will be FULL of water when the tank is running, and will thus be heavy. Make sure it is properly supported so the weight doesn't crack your tank at the bulkhead.

 

You have put great effort into making what I believe will ultimately be a very full and balanced light field for this tank. Your lighting will be basically the best you can do artificially, both in terms of spread and spectrum. (make sure you use good wide reflectors, lumenarc-styled reflectors being the absolute best) I would suggest that a little careful planning in the area of water flow in the display tank would do wonders for the health of the corals. As i'm sure you are no doubt aware, water flow is nearly as important as lighting, at least for SPS corals.

 

So, in addition, I would recommend installing an SWCD on the return and another on the closed loop. It will contribute randomness to the water flow, and won't cost you a whole lot. I use one on my tank's return, and I love it. Two of them going in and out of sych with each other would be the ultimate in wavemaking, IMO. If you size the pumps properly, you won't need any additional powerheads, and thats a good thing. They detract from the look of a reef tank and use up valuable space in the tank.

 

For a good flow pattern, put the four nozzles (two from the closed loop and two from the return pump) in the four corners of the tank, each pointing at the opposite corner. (front-right points at back-left, etc) This will create a "dueling flow" at the center of the tank near the surface that will result in nearly infinitely varied flow permutations over time. There won't be a dead spot in your tank, anywhere, ever. Put your most current-loving SPS in the dead center of the tank, and watch them thrive. You could of course adjust the four nozzles as needed to move the "sweet spot" where you need it to be, and will probably end up doing so. Your rockwork will divert the water flow in unpredictable ways, and you will need to adjust to that.

 

If you do end up plumbing all four returns through the back wall, make sure two are plumbed low in the tank, and two are plumbed high. (Obviously, the sump returns should be the higher holes to avoid a flood.) This will prevent a laminar flow from forming. What I mean is if all four returns are at the top-back pointing at the front, which I have seen in so many reef tanks, then you end up with water flowing from top-back to top-front to bottom-front to bottom-back, if you know what I mean, forming a gyre. There is nothing wrong with gyres, per se, but they aren't the best flow pattern for the long term health of SPS, IMO. If you have two high and two low, then that pattern won't form, and you will have more random flow.

 

I hope this helps. It is the plumbing scheme i plan to use on my next tank. :)

 

- Josh

 

Wow, quite a responce! I am certainly going to take all of this into consideration. I really like your idea for the drain. I am going to try and fit a stockman style durso in there, as I have already drilled my 1 1/2" drain in the bottom of the tank. I don't want more then 1" of 'fall' over the box. I know stoney is using a very similar method so I am trying to mimick his. What I didn't think of is a second hole near the top in case it ever plugs up... It's thoughts like that, that take minimal effort and cost that save your @$$ in the long run. As far as the squids go, I haven't had good luck with them lasting in the past, but I may be willing to try another pair of them and see how they work out. I do understand your explination of flow fully, and have always been a fan of powerheadless tanks. I can't wait to get it all set up and post some pics of the real system!

 

Once again,

Thanks Josh - Your input is always appreciated!

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