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That is the question I asked myself a few years ago, back in 2002. I saw the brochure at the LFS (local fish store), and heard some people talking about it, but I wasn't sure what it actually was. One thread on ReefCentral asked "Who's going to MACNA this year?" and so I finally replied that I wanted to know what it was all about. Duane, one of members of DFWMAS, chimed in that it was being held in Ft Worth, and that I would love it. Skeptical, I decided to do more research.

If your club or group is looking for a public speaker, I'm happy to discuss such arrangements.  Usually it is best to plan a few months in advance to adequately publicize the event and ensure it is well-attended. I've been speaking to clubs for the past five years, and at national conferences like MACNA, MAX, and Reefapalooza.  The talks are designed to be dynamic, keeping everyone interested from seasoned hobbyist to the spouse of a newbie. :)

Marc “melev” Levenson has been in the hobby since 1997, blogging his experiences about his own reef on his website melevsreef.com to help others learn good husbandry skills. Most recently he’s become an online personality with over 67000 followers on his YouTube channel (melevsreef) also geared at helping other reefers through his personal experiences, including a weekly livestream for roughly two hours every Saturday where anyone can hop on and ask a question.

Due to the lack of space, this sump was built in two parts so it could be installed more readily. The skimmer and return zone are in the shorter sump, and the taller vessel is the refugium. The sump is 28" x 14" x 14"( or 23.8-gallons) and the refugium is 10" x 14" x 18"( or 10.9-gallons). When running, the combined volume of both parts added up to about 23g of water.

The first sump I designed was basically a refugium and a return zone.  It incorporated a bubble tower to avoid microbubbles, and kept the sump quiet.  It fit under a 29-gallon reef, and held 16-gallons to the top rim.

I was asked to build a 4' x 3' propagation tank for DFWMAS, and after a little thinking and a little more time building, this is what they got.  This is a durable tank that will last for years, made with 3/8" cast acrylic.  The corner overflow has a 1.5" drain and 1" return, which is plenty for this volume of water.

A sump was requested for a corner tank. Because there was no room to work in that stand, this sump & refugium was designed to be installed in an adjacent cabinet, providing easy access and more volume to the system. By the way, this is probably my favorite sump because of its uniqueness.

Taking pictures of acrylic sounds easy at first, but for the reader online it can be difficult to see things clearly. So, here is a sketch to help you visualize the unit.

Things pertaining to the room's design

Had I known it would take me nearly seven months to build and set up the new tank, I probably would have hired some professionals, but I'd worked in construction years ago, and knew how to do much of the work myself. Plus, I do like to DIY my projects . A lot of blood, sweat and money went into the construction of the fishroom, and I have the scars to prove it.

Topping off around the clock is the best way to keep salinity stable, and doing so from a reservoir avoids any risk of excessive additions of RO water.

The ATO reservoir measures 22" x 15.5" x 32" and is made with 3/8" cast acrylic. The only opening is a sliding access door at the top corner, just above a float valve. The container holds RO/Di water and I am very careful not to let anything pollute the water since cleaning it out would be extremely challenging. The 150gpd Boosted RO/DI system feeds water directly into the reservoir so I never have to lift a jug of water ever.