Hello, I've been lurking and reading for almost two and a half years and have finally decided to start my very own tank thread.

I, like so many before me, entered this hobby with a small tank. I did not to listen the advice I had heard time and time again, which was: buy the biggest tank you can afford. I should have listened. At the time, I really wasn't sure that I would enjoy reefing and I was afraid that I would be a terrible reefer. Despite these fears, in January of '09 I took...

[url]http://www.aqua-digital.com/index.php/downloads/?did=17[/url]

I have been thinking recently, as I have from time to time over the years, about how to maintain significant planktonic life (both phyto- and zoo-) in my tanks. What I repeatedly come down to is that the conditions that we maintain in our tanks to keep various livestock does not match the conditions needed to maintain planktonic life. It seems that the natural tendency of our systems is to consume available nutrients, including plankton over time which results in low nutrients and bio-diversity....

I have to get rid of all of the Mushrooms, an orange Florida Ricordia, A couple different Yuma Ricordias, a little green Toadstool and a couple zoanthid colonies that came with the rock I got. I had all of the LR in one 100g stock tank and the corals in another 100g stock tank but now that almost all of the rock is in the DT I want to get those stock tanks out of the room and store them in the basement until I switch from the 55g sump behind the DT to using the rubbermades in the basement.
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I think I have about 1,200-1,400gph moving through the sump now! I rebuilt the 7 way manifold into a wider 8 way with the strongest jets furthest away from the overflow. I have 276lbs of the LR in the DT now and it doesn't look too shabby considering I haven't done any aquascaping in 3 years. Lots-o-swim throughs for the fishies. Not that I have any fishies yet and it will be some time before I do get any fishies. The fishies will be a small school of Heniochus Diphreutes fishies along with a school...