yeah i found mine on kijiji, the person mentioned that they had started a SW tank, and i offered some live rock and away we went, glad i could help out another reefer

i got a pretty good price from conceptaquariums, for a 120 edge style tank, still not rich enough though, i should focus on one tank at a time lol.

on the note of gas exchange, doesnt a skimmer just plow O2 into the tank? or is the problem CO2, which i could understand being a little more difficult.

Skimmers need O2 in order to create the flanking action which put O2 into the water returning to the tank.

i dont fully follow, are you saying that all the o2 that the skimmer sucks in with the air usually gets bound to the organic compounds and doesn't end up entering the system at all?

No a skimmer should put a potion of O2 back into the tank, this is the reason you want a bubble trap after your skimmer to break up any micro bubbles that make it threw you skimmer. Bubble = air pocket, popped air pocket = O2 into water column.

oh yeah of course that makes sense. so what about CO2? i understand it can lower ph if it gets too high, does a skimmer help reduce this, or is the only option for CO2 removal surface exchange. and how much does macro-algae in fuge help with this?

Best way to remove co2 is by water agitation, surface movement, sump water falls and so on. Any thing to churn up the water helps remove co2.

allright, ill write that down, now how do you keep it quiet? the sump waterfalls that is.

Sump drop don't have to be big to be affective. If you look at my sump on my 165 each baffle is only 1" lower the the previous.

you see? if it wasnt for you guys i wouldnt have the slightest clue, thanks for the input dudes.

now hopefully this thread can get back on track