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I love having full access to the reef, and a rolling light rack is my favorite way to create that kind of space.

Here's the blog entry explaining how it was plumbed in: http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php/1304-Aquascaping-and-Sumpology 

From the livingroom side, the refugium is displayed.

Keeping everything organized electrically makes it easier to turn things on and off and plug things into safe dry outlets.

I knew I'd be using the American DJ switches again, as they are very handy for turning on and off specific plugs even if your hands are wet. But where to put them where they'd stay dry and be easily accessible was the question.  It wasn't long before I decided that I wanted to place a Frag Tank on top of this power tower, but wanted to do so in a way that would avoid any water damage due to drips and splashes.

I asked them for my dream tank, and they built it. 

The 400g Starphire glass tank is 84" long by 36" wide by 30" tall, and has a full width external overflow at one end that is completely hidden by a black acrylic panel. All the seams are bonded with black silicone. Black trim wrap the base and top rim of the tank. I wanted euro-bracing and no cross braces. The external overflow has four 1.5" drains.  This is the lst custom-made Marineland tank built. I used a powdercoated steel stand to maximize space underneath for better access.

With the 60g on the stand, leveled and positioned near the wall - I left a small gap behind the tank to avoid salt-creep damage to the sheetrock - I needed to determine where to hang the Radion LED fixture over the tank. Using a 4' level, I placed it across the tank and set the light fixture on top. This permitted measuring the fixture from all four sides to get it centered. Hence, I was able to ascertain the distance from the rear wall and the right wall precisely for the hanging kit (pictured above).

I have a Versa (single head) pump that is feeding my calcium reactor. I've had it running for months. Recently, it appeared that the calcium reactor's effluent was flowing at a lesser than usual amount, and I checked for any obstructions. All was well. In theory, nothing was clogged. I didn't remove the reactor for a full cleaning, I just checked some of the obvious points.

On March 17, this coral (pictured above) turned bright green, after looking perfectly heathly for nearly 2 years in my tank.  When a coral suddenly changers color, it's a bad sign. Usually, they won't surive it.  This colony was a total loss, which was a disappointment. Look how pretty it was. It's called a Seattle Dreamcatcher, and came from Duane's reef.  Unlike a regular tri-color acro, this was a quad-color.

It seems like lately most of my blogs seem to be about the Apex.  I'll try to work on that and add some other things in here from time to time.

The Apex saved my home. Sorta. For the past couple of days, I was getting Power Lost alerts from Fusion, yet everything was on. The reef was normal, tv was normal, internet was normal, the only thing I was seeing was the lights in the bathrooms would flicker a little and I assumed it was brownouts.

Since I started using a calcium reactor back in 2004, I've always had 5lb aluminum or steel cylinders, and I have to refill them a few times a year. For the most part, a local liquor store would refill empty bottles for a nominal amount.  A couple of years ago, the owner got a tad picky about said bottles (from others) and demanded that every sticker be removed or they would refuse service.  This included the brand of the cylinder, any logos, you name it.

Going all the way back to 2005, I've always had a large strainer basket on the intake of my return pump. I have a few, so I can put them through a cleaning rotation.  Originally, you could buy these at Savko, but these days that doesn't seem to be an option.