Equipment

About a year ago, Apex released their beta Dashboard firmware. A friend of mine installed it instantly and raved about it, but I held off. Beta means it was still in the testing phase, and I didn't know what may or may not happen with it installed. My tank already has a number of areas where things could potentially go wrong (power outage, tornado, house falling in) so why add computer error to the mix?

First of all, here's the old look I've been looking at for two years. ...

Last night, I had a couple of guys stop by and we shared a few beers and chatted about reefkeeping. At one point, one mentioned how he didn't like the Vortech pump because it was too noisy. I looked at him, and asked him what did he hear? He wasn't sure, so I went over to the power center and turned off both skimmer pumps, both Dart pumps, the Coralvue saltwater circulation pump, and the dehumidifier. Then he said "But that's an Mp60." No, that was an MP60, an MP40, AND an MP10 all running simultaneously, ...

Well, we had a good run but we have to break up. You were great for many years... but lately your sputtering and somewhat caustic odor grew worrisome and I don't have room for any of that drama in my life. I'm moving on. With your twin sister. She makes me happier.

From time to time, I've heard of ballasts catching fire and homes being burned in the process. I'd surmise the majority tend to be VHO ballasts, but that's conjecture on my part. ...

I'm making a little progress on my goal to do water changes without having to lift a finger. The idea is to move water out of the tank and into the tank at the same time, and to do so in small amounts daily. From one of Randy Holmes-Farley's articles written years ago, he determined that there was just as much benefit changing 1% of the water daily as there was doing 25% once a month.

About two years ago, I bought this pump from a club member. It's a high end dual-head medical ...

It never fails, when you are traveling, sleeping, or generally busy -- that is when your protein skimmer seemingly decides to erupt like a volcano. The cup overflows with foam and watery solution, and depending on how the system is set up will get everything in the vicinity wet. The protein skimmer I have is big, and even centered in my sump the resulting spatter just gets everywhere: the refugium light fixture, the lip of my sump, the metalwork of the stand, nearby tubing, wiring and cables. ...