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As a general rule of thumb, I try to put the intake for the skimmer as close to the place where water enters the sump/refugium so that the skimmer has a chance to clean the water before other processes in the skimmer/sump have their effect.

The big question isn't whether they are eating, but what they are eating. Many butterflies are coralliovores, and will not survive lonb-term unless you provide coral polyps for them.

aduvall: LOL! I've been in the hobby for 39-40 years, and I still feel like a newb sometimes. Will: You will got lots of conflicting advice, but remember-nobody on this site makes a cent from selling you stuff, so you are getting their honest, unbiased (at least financially unbiased) opinion.

Flower: The exact message from the CDC was that the shot used this year only covered 50% of the viruses out there, but that even for the others the vaccination reduced the intensity of the disease. For folks like us (old and wearing out) the flu is a potentially fatal disease, and whatever will...

I can't really say, since it hasn't been tried. But in rodents, insects, worms, primates (some debate about that, but at least one successful experiment in rhesus monkeys), etc., caloric restriction has worked, but nobody has tried it in fish. Similarly, just limiting the intake of the amino...

Actually, a 60% reduction in caloric intake is known to extend lifespan in a variety of species by up to 45%, so from that standpoint we probably overfeed our animals. This is a different issue from growth, which is stopped by such diets.

Nice review, Snake. I have used Mag pumps for many years, and I concur that they do run a little hot, and would not make them my first choice for submerged use. That said, the only one I ever had fail was one that was submerged in an unreachable location in a sump. Whenever I turned it off...

Puffers aren't "little guys" - they can grow up to 18" or more.;)

It sounds like you are planning a reef system. It so, do your research on lighting first so that you don't wind up buying several sets of lights as your tank's needs change. You will be better off investing in lighting initially than going through progressively more expensive lights later...

Removing the plastic extensions on the rear of the lid may not be sufficient. Most of us get rid of the lid entirely and prevent jumping by covering the tank with eggcrate, which can be gotten at any big box hardware store.

You mentioned that you were using natural seawater. Where did it come from? Water taken from close onshore is frequently contaminated, while studies have shown that the seawater you buy is usually collected well offshore, but may be contaminated with fuel from the very boat doing the...

We have all had this "problem". The water will be cloudy for a few days, then it will clear, and not be a problem, even if wrasses and clownfish disturb the sandbed. Don't worry.

Take a look at live-plants.com. They have pretty much every variety of macro there is, and, according to Flower on this site, they are very good.

I think Flower is on the right track. A 60 gallon will fit your space, but get a pre-drilled model and install a sump in the cabinet. The sump will give you some extra volume as well as non-display space for hardware like heaters, the chiller and skimmer as well as a home for some macroalgae.

Just a follow-up on my earlier post about API nitrate tests: To convert from the API nitrate test to a "standard" nitrate nitrogen test, just divide the API result by 4. This is an approximation, but is close enough for our purposes in saltwater fishkeeping.

The API test kit must be used with their recommended ranges, not those usually posted. The difference is between measuring just the nitrogen in nitrates (most kits), and the total nitrate (which is a larger molecule than just nitrogen, so produces different numerical values, as in the API kit)...

We really need a photo, since there are many pest anemones that have varied coloration. The rate of spread is a little alarming, though.

The wolf dottyback is very agressive, but I expect that the anchor tuskfish can handle that. But, what are you going to do when it gets to be a foot and a half long?

Take a look here at the third posting to see what happens when an invert comes too close to a RBT.

First - congratulations on keeping a newcomer in QT for an adequate time period. I always get very excited at about the 1 week mark in QT, and my wife has to restrain me from putting the fish into the display. I really can't think of anything that you haven't already done to ease this fish's...