Urgh seriously.

Okay,

So I tested my water and let’s see
Ammonia is normally 0 it’s at 0.25 now
Nitrate is at 0 but probably between 0 and 5.0
Nitrits is at 0
Ph is 8.2
Phosphate is 0
I did a 60 gallon water change, in the main display. I also drained the entire sump, ( just knowing my nephew used it as a toilet grosses me out). Still running the two canisters and added the proper dose of prime. My critters are mad at me now because of the water change, but they should bounce back.

Overreaction, but doubt anything will be bothered by the pee or the overreaction. ;)

Pee is not dangerous. ;)

I'd read this:
https://nwedible.com/how-to-use-pee-in-your-garden/

It's sterile in a healthy human. And ammonia is a sign of problems too:
https://www.healthline.com/health/urine-smells-like-ammonia

So if anything, your corals were probably "Yum!!!!" until you dashed the party. ;)
 
Hello lol,

Omg guys your just cracking me up today lol. In addition do you think you could have found a bigger funnel? Let’s not try to encourage anything more than just pee okay. If I put that in there I can just see the little light bulbs coming on. Yes lol yes I overreacted to them doing this, but isn’t that what moms are suppose to do when they have fish? Just think this was with fish, can you see me once I have kids of my own:). (No I’m not gonna coach them to pee in my sump, I know you guys are thinking it lol, Calvin it’s time to come pee in the sump hurry up kiddo, yeah no). But on the good side I’m still gonna buy a huge semi water truck. Maybe that would be a good business, Sarah’s Fresh saltwater :).
 
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Urine usually is pretty clean you wont have major problems only ammonia but at very low levels, just teach those kids a lesson... you will be fine i am an MD and i think for sure that the measures you took are well beyond great.
 
In addition do you think you could have found a bigger funnel?
I can't seem to find a way to scale photos. They end up whatever size they want and I never have any control. Some day I'll figure it out!
 
Hello friends,

Lol @Brew12 omg you so remind me of the movie Wally when you say that.:) it’s either go large or go home right:). At least with a funnel in there, it will make water changes easier and I won’t spill as much.

@Giancarlo Reefer lol wow that’s sooooooo awesome:). Thank you very much, I should not have panicked because I know most of that stuff and what’s in it anyway. But, so different when you see your nephew do it, in front of you lol, well nephews per say. My concern was it was not just one time they peed in there. It was lots and lots over a three week period. So that’s why I panicked, but even though I don’t have children of my own, my tank critters are my children, it was mom freaking out.

So another update, I have decided to do look into skimmers. First off, holy jumping green lollipops, are those little devils expensive. I know this tank is gonna hurt the bank but wow, it tripled in cost from my 240. So to find something between medium and heavy bioload, there were not a ton. I wanted eshopps again but couldn’t find one big enough. I already have the s300 which is pretty large.

So as I put my tiny brain to work, I came up with a few and if anyone has used ones similar, or better the ones I’m seeking about well GREAT! Anyway :) here they are:
1.) deltec sc 2560 so silly expensive which is 1359 is 530 to 635 but when I checked they didn’t know for sure.
2.) reef octopus elite 220sss which is 999.00
Or which is the smallest at 300 heavy bio, or 420 medium bio.
3.) Vertex technologies alpha 300 and holy Hannah 1600. This can handle up to 650 gallons at high bioload

I’m not certain on the definitions of the bioloads. I mean what constitutes the stages of bio load when it comes to Coral? Fish I’m okay with but I have always based it on hieny many gallons I have plus 100 to be safe.

Are they any other really good skimmers out there that are just as good but less money. As most of you know I care less about the name. I just don’t have the time or away to stay awake long enough to reslly research them independently. So any info would be fabulous.

Sarah
 
Are you shopping for a 240 gallon or 650 gallon skimmer??

I'm confused by the post above... from past posts I only see your 240 mentioned.
 
Hello,

@mcarroll lol your so silly, my parents bought me a 425
Gallon tank that is being built right now, well it’s in the works. The place is still out forever on building, should be done by mid October. But I’m shopping for my new tank the 240 has the eshopps s-300 in it. :) lol
 
How tall is your stand going to be? I was going to suggest that you look at LifeReef, but for your size tank, the skimmer would be about 36" tall. For your tank, I would likely go with the SVS3-36 IN-SUMP, but your plans for a stand may likely not be tall enough to accommodate it.

These are venturi skimmers (not using a needle wheel pump). They have been making the same design skimmer for over 30 years. They are workhorses, but not glamorous to look at, although Jeff has started using colored acrylics to jazz them up a bit. They are not dependent on one particular brand or size of pump. So, if your pump dies, you can always replace it, even though the one that came with it is discontinued. Not so with some of today's skimmers. They have a loyal (almost cult like) following. There likely will be a wait time to get one, so if you do decide to go with them, order early. LifeReef Skimmer page.

They would also be a candidate for your sump also. He will do custom builds also and they are excellent quality. When I set up my 140 (2005), I went with a custom sump and refugium. The sump was built around one of his 24" in-sump skimmers.
 
Corals4cheap had some large used skimmers a month ago, you may want to see if they still have any. They were all bodies that needed new pumps.
 
Hello friends,

Lol @Brew12 omg you so remind me of the movie Wally when you say that.:) it’s either go large or go home right:). At least with a funnel in there, it will make water changes easier and I won’t spill as much.

@Giancarlo Reefer lol wow that’s sooooooo awesome:). Thank you very much, I should not have panicked because I know most of that stuff and what’s in it anyway. But, so different when you see your nephew do it, in front of you lol, well nephews per say. My concern was it was not just one time they peed in there. It was lots and lots over a three week period. So that’s why I panicked, but even though I don’t have children of my own, my tank critters are my children, it was mom freaking out.

So another update, I have decided to do look into skimmers. First off, holy jumping green lollipops, are those little devils expensive. I know this tank is gonna hurt the bank but wow, it tripled in cost from my 240. So to find something between medium and heavy bioload, there were not a ton. I wanted eshopps again but couldn’t find one big enough. I already have the s300 which is pretty large.

So as I put my tiny brain to work, I came up with a few and if anyone has used ones similar, or better the ones I’m seeking about well GREAT! Anyway :) here they are:
1.) deltec sc 2560 so silly expensive which is 1359 is 530 to 635 but when I checked they didn’t know for sure.
2.) reef octopus elite 220sss which is 999.00
Or which is the smallest at 300 heavy bio, or 420 medium bio.
3.) Vertex technologies alpha 300 and holy Hannah 1600. This can handle up to 650 gallons at high bioload

I’m not certain on the definitions of the bioloads. I mean what constitutes the stages of bio load when it comes to Coral? Fish I’m okay with but I have always based it on hieny many gallons I have plus 100 to be safe.

Are they any other really good skimmers out there that are just as good but less money. As most of you know I care less about the name. I just don’t have the time or away to stay awake long enough to reslly research them independently. So any info would be fabulous.

Sarah
I use the ASM series with Sedra Pump like the ASM G-5 maybe for your system would work just fine example below:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ASM-G-5-PR...344127?hash=item25dd4914bf:g:IfYAAOSwrY9a61ty
 
As an eBay Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Hello all my friends,

@Fin I am definitely looking at all of those. The vs3-48 seems to be the one I need but is as tall as little me. It makes sense as to why they are so tall, but I don’t have a separate room. I would have no idea how they could plumb this from my garage to my living room. I have a three car garage for no reason. I only have one car lol, may as well think about it. I do like the price of them both and the Nyos 220 is pretty nice as well. The price is much better than I had expected than the other ones I have reviewed.

@Giancarlo Reefer I have been swamped but will totally check that out more. I did look it up, just have not had much time to read more. It has definitely sparked my interest, but sadly was at work when I looked, and suddenly we were silly Busy.

@paphater thanks so much for the info. I have been checking with Bill at fish stuff and (always forget his name) but he is at Aquatic supply. I haven’t gone back to the other place in years, they kind scared me away awhile back. But as of yet neither of the other two had anything reslly eye catching. Bill does have one that will do 650 and it’s a reef dynamics but it sounds like a fighter jet taking off. Since this is in my living room, I hope it’s silent.:)
Have you been to all three recently?
 
Be sure to also take into consideration the footprint and make sure you plan room for the skimmer before you have your sump built, or buy an existing model.

Hey, you need a couple more cars! One to drive to work, a sporty one for the weekends and another one too expensive to really drive, but nice to look at. :-)
 
Be sure to also take into consideration the footprint and make sure you plan room for the skimmer before you have your sump built, or buy an existing model.

Hey, you need a couple more cars! One to drive to work, a sporty one for the weekends and another one too expensive to really drive, but nice to look at. :)

Lol oh my my my, you @Fin should be a stand up comic.
I don’t need those cars, you should recommend a huge water truck, steam roller so nothing stands in my way, and heck why not a great big dump truck like the ones they use in mines and moving heavy rock. (See pic)! Plus I can totally see myself in a nice evening dinner dress, driving this to my first dinner date. It would be super funny if he had a nice huge truck, and I show up in this. He would be oh good grief I can park 90 or my little tonka trucks in the back. (But that in reality will never ever happen). Oh and here is my dream super fast car a stock 1972 ford pinto. (I had to look it up no idea that car existed, reviews show it kinda sucks). Lol.

Sorry went on a tangent but yes I plan to get the skimmer first then build the stand and tank around it. But if it’s 48 inches tall, lol I will need a stair case to do anything. I really like the Nyos so far it’s by far winning. Im super interested in the custom skimmer, but have to call or email on Monday. I’m sad eshopps doesn’t make a larger one, they are sooooo silent

2F8114CE-AA06-4B19-99B6-E27274E677B0.png


E7EBCB19-17C7-47F0-B5E5-751E06C6628D.png
 
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@paphater thanks so much for the info. I have been checking with Bill at fish stuff and (always forget his name) but he is at Aquatic supply. I haven’t gone back to the other place in years, they kind scared me away awhile back. But as of yet neither of the other two had anything reslly eye catching. Bill does have one that will do 650 and it’s a reef dynamics but it sounds like a fighter jet taking off. Since this is in my living room, I hope it’s silent.:)
Have you been to all three recently?

No I really only head in to the local shops when I need to stock up on food since I've been ordering most of my live stock online, though I wish Bill would carry LRS. I've got a trio of female Hawaiian flame wrasses coming in next week, I only want one though so if you've ever wanted one let me know. They are spendy but I got them for a better price with the trio.

I think you should look in to an algae scrubber. My tank is only half the size of your future 400 but with a combination of an algae scrubber and skimmer, I haven't had to do a water change since last October.
 
Lol oh my my my, you @Fin should be a stand up comic.
I don’t need those cars, you should recommend a huge water truck, steam roller so nothing stands in my way, and heck why not a great big dump truck like the ones they use in mines and moving heavy rock. (See pic)! Plus I can totally see myself in a nice evening dinner dress, driving this to my first dinner date. It would be super funny if he had a nice huge truck, and I show up in this. He would be oh good grief I can park 90 or my little tonka trucks in the back. (But that in reality will never ever happen). Oh and here is my dream super fast car a stock 1972 ford pinto. (I had to look it up no idea that car existed, reviews show it kinda sucks). Lol.

Sorry went on a tangent but yes I plan to get the skimmer first then build the stand and tank around it. But if it’s 48 inches tall, lol I will need a stair case to do anything. I really like the Nyos so far it’s by far winning. Im super interested in the custom skimmer, but have to call or email on Monday. I’m sad eshopps doesn’t make a larger one, they are sooooo silent

2F8114CE-AA06-4B19-99B6-E27274E677B0.png


E7EBCB19-17C7-47F0-B5E5-751E06C6628D.png

I think you should kill two birds with one stone and solve all of these problems:

BEB6882F-75F8-40B8-86AD-96F3CCB8A9C3.jpeg

7EA30651-825F-47BC-9A91-8966ADAFB54B.png


Think of it, you could bring your tank to work with you!
 
Miss Sarah, Back to the generator noise. there are a bunck of ways to quiet the thing. You tube has clips of using vented plastic storage bins ,Big one.
 
Lol oh my my my, you @Fin should be a stand up comic.
I don’t need those cars, you should recommend a huge water truck, steam roller so nothing stands in my way, and heck why not a great big dump truck like the ones they use in mines and moving heavy rock. (See pic)! Plus I can totally see myself in a nice evening dinner dress, driving this to my first dinner date. It would be super funny if he had a nice huge truck, and I show up in this. He would be oh good grief I can park 90 or my little tonka trucks in the back. (But that in reality will never ever happen). Oh and here is my dream super fast car a stock 1972 ford pinto. (I had to look it up no idea that car existed, reviews show it kinda sucks). Lol.

Sorry went on a tangent but yes I plan to get the skimmer first then build the stand and tank around it. But if it’s 48 inches tall, lol I will need a stair case to do anything. I really like the Nyos so far it’s by far winning. Im super interested in the custom skimmer, but have to call or email on Monday. I’m sad eshopps doesn’t make a larger one, they are sooooo silent

2F8114CE-AA06-4B19-99B6-E27274E677B0.png



This is how people see me when i get out of my work van at Lumber yards and so on.. I had someone recently ask me if i needed him to back my Trailer up to loading dock for me... I almost never drive our mini van. If feels so tiny Compared to my 3500 HD Express ... My wife says she needs a extra step.
 
You would look great in the big truck, as for skimmer I second the Life Reef if you can make it fit, they are fairly large have one now, but put a Deltec on my new build. Life Reef are set and forget drain when needed and yeah you do have to clean them every so often. But that being said this was the first skimmer I have ever bought that was broken in it 2 days
 

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