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There was a shared google map that had BAR members. Helpful for finding locals. Like this one we have for LFS. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1c8B3l0pjt88doSM_5MKFyREC4dY&ll=37.71445202609039%2C-122.14903050000001&z=9 But I could not find it. Maybe some other user has it bookmarked.

I have found that modern LED lights do not seem to grow Coraline like the old days. I get Coraline on the front acrylic, which is not directly in the light, and I get a lot in semi shaded spots. But I never the thick encrusting all over like before. The solution .... get some nice encrusting...

They do sell stainless steel hose clamps. Not sure if you can get them at Home Deopt though.

Another tip: Use larger pipe than you think. You might just end up with more than 3 tubes.

Yes, way better. Tip: Use Electrical PVC conduit (grey stuff), not Plumbing PVC for the outer sleeve tubing. The conduit has UV protection and has nice wide bends for elbows. It is not pressure rated, but you do not care about that. The elbows in particular are an issue, since normal plumbing...

There is an alternative to the stand. You buy a cheap ikea/whatever cabinet (or two) that looks decent and is the right size. Then you build the inside super-strong with 2x4 / 4x4 / 2x6 / plywood as needed. It is pretty quick to screw together some boards to make a strong stand, and there are...

Very interesting. I totally believe you, so not arguing. I am just a bit confused on why they would have that large overhead. I do remember some LFS owners complaining recently about customers that would order a tank then bail out, leaving them stuck with it. Maybe that factors in now. Who...

That really surprises me. I talked to Neptunes when I was buying my tank years ago, and prices were almost identical. (Custom non-refundable pre-paid order) Supposedly they get a better wholesale deal, plus cheaper shipping to a business, plus they do not mark up tanks because they hope to get...

Opinions: Brand name glass is not that critical. Cheap low-iron vs true Starphire is about the same. Build quality is always hard to predict. Depends on the person doing it that day. Supposedly SCA has some problems with customer support. If things do go wrong, difficult to get resolved. Price...

What a mess. Definite sympathies. I have tried to make my one tank fairly redundant with limited success. Knowing your semi-outside multi-tank setup, I am not sure I would even know where to start, let alone predicting all the special failures.

There is also the tradeoff on convenience vs safety. Big huge thick gloves will keep you safe, but you are less likely to use them all the time. Me: Injury - stay out of the tank entirely. Cleaning the acrylic - bare hand. Poking around with corals and such - simple latex gloves Moving rocks -...

What you need to make that work well is a lot of what the house builders call "thermal mass" to store and release heat, to even it out. Builders use large walls of concrete and such. The thing is, water has the largest specific heat of all common materials. So what you really need is a really...

I think I will pass. I worry a Foxface Lo will not get along with my large and somewhat cranky yellow tang. Too similar. Plus I have been scaling back a bit anyway lately.

I was curious. Found the first picture, Nov 2012. So 10 years.

In my tank, about 7 years. But it was not a baby when I bought it, so not really sure about total.

Yes, heaters are the key. If you can set heaters to only turn on during cheap times, it might really help. With Apex, that is pretty easy. It gets even more complex if you have TOU and Solar.

Hmm, very tempted. Mine died of old age a year or so ago. Good fish, even though it stabbed me once with the spines. I have a 250G tank, so it can grow no problem. Exactly what type of Foxface?

Put a hook or something on the rim of your tank, and zip-tie the dry side cord to it, so that it mostly holds the weight. You can remove/replace the zip-tie as needed. As a bonus, when you pull out the wet-side for cleaning, the dry side usually stays put.

Yep, tons of great reasons to go acrylic. But every time I clean Coraline off the plastic display tank, using a plastic scraper, I swear never again.... Unless I can build some sort of automatic cleaner. (I actually have 3 designs in mind, but nothing I am excited enough to build)

Weight and a slight visibility difference mostly. Depends on the quality of the glass. Low iron vs standard. I love/hate acrylic. But with the hassle of cleaning it, I will never do that again.