There are a few local fish stores in Austin, but the one that probably impresses me the most is Aquatek on Burnett. The main reef display tank, as you walk into the store, is a sight to see. Bruce, the owner of the store, is one of the most knowledgeable people you will ever talk to. Ask him a question, and he will explain to you in a very detailed and scientific manner, quoting specific measurements, all off the top of him head. His display tank uses the Polyp Lab Reef-resh system which he strongly believes contributes to the intense colors he gets from his corals. The colors are very similar to the colors seen in full blown Zeovit tanks. This makes perfect sense because both systems are based off of low nutrient, bacteria driven processes. Another plus to the store is their strong ties w/ Tunze and many of their products are stocked here. Below are some pictures of the display tank taken w/ my iphone.

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Check out this thread on Reef Central. This tank is beyond belief and there isn’t even any water in it yet! Hell, he hasn’t even gotten the equipment to run it yet. Still, by looking at his home and the beautiful work in his basement remodel, I can just imagine how amazing this will be. I guess it doesn’t hurt to have unlimited funds too. His place is blinging!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1811725

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It’s been a bad few week for my pumps. First, the Red Dragon pump on my Bubble King Supermarin 250 goes bad, and now my Reeflo Super Dart is out of commission. The Red Dragon’s needlewheel impeller shaft broke and has been replaced by Premium Aquatics and Proline. Comparing the impellers, the old one was defective and was bound to fail at some point. For whatever reason, the titanium shaft looked like it didn’t have a uniform diameter, getting smaller near the needlwheel. Even w/ this defect, the skimmer skimmed like a champ. Hopefully the new impeller will prove to be more durable.

The Reeflo Super Dart’s seal failed and leaked; causing the motor bearing to seize. I returned the pump and Reeflo has  repaired the pump (cleaned the bearings, changed the seals). I’m glad that I purchased these from reputable dealers, otherwise replacement costs would be crazy. A new skimmer pump would cost about 500-600 and the return pump about 300-400 more.

Lesson learned: 1. Clean your pumps regularly, even if they don’t look like they need it. 2. Spend the money on products that are backed w/ a good warranty, you’ll eventually need it! ( salt and motors don’t mix and will eventually fail).

*Update: Reeflo pump is making noise again and Chris is sending a brand new replacement. Good customer support from this company!

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In an attempt to streamline my plumbing setup, I’ve updated my overflow downtubes into one. Before, I had 3 x 1.5″ flex pipe going into my sump from my overflows and into individual filter socks/holders. This caused a big mess of tubes running all over the place. I’ve cleaned up my setup using a single 2″ pvc pipe to handle the 3 1.5″ overflow tubes. This runs into my custom filter box that houses 3 x 4″ filter socks. The setup is much quieter now too! Still need to clean up the return plumbing, but that’s for another day.

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I’ve finally gotten my hands on a bucket of the newly release Seachem Aquavito Salinity Salt. Special thanks to Seachem Technical Support for making this happen!

Here’s my early review of the product:

1. The package is worth it’s weight in gold! Although regular salt buckets, such as the ones used by Instant Ocean, are OK to use, others are just terrible (Brightwell). The Salinity bucket is a god send! A clever lever releases the top and its a simple spin to open and close the bucket (Goodbye rusty hammer!).Also the package is taller than a regular bucket giving it a very sleek and premium look. I’d recommend everyone to get this salt just to reuse the bucket alone! Below is a picture for size comparison.

2. This salt is heavy. I’m not sure if it’s the packaging, but the salt bucket feels much heavier than my other buckets. Seachem claims that Salinity is more concentrated and will yield more saltwater. Based on my unscientific weight test, I can’t argue with this. I’ve read elsewhere that a bucket may yet 220-225g at 1.025. Compared to other salts that mix 150g at 1.021, the price vs quantity produced shows this new salt’s value.

3. The salt contains many different particle sizes of material. Most of the salts I’ve used had a uniform salt grain appearance. The salt in Aquavitro Salinity appears to be a mix of different materials. I can’t quite explain it, but some particles look like regular salt, others look like tiny flakes and others look like tiny balls. This is a good indication to me because these look like some of the additives I use. It appears that Seachem is using different dry ingredients to get the exact ratios they’re after.

4. A batch specific label is attached to each bucket to show what the salt actually tested at the warehouse. I don’t know about you, but this gives me much reassurance that I’m not getting a bad batch of salt and using it in my tank. Below is what my label read. I’ve mixed 5 gallons so far and my Salifert test kits(pH, Alk and Calc) supports the label very closely (A bit of advice: Always roll you bucket around before opening to account for settling).

5. Conclusion: I’m a reef geek! The fact that I’ve been waiting for this salt mix and got excited when it finally arrived proves that I have no life!  The good news is that the wait was well worth it and I’ve found my new salt mix. We’ll see how my tank reacts to this salt, but all indications show it’ll be a positive one.

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