Barelycuda

Be careful when you are thinking about a 1200 gph return pump. First make sure your overflow will handle it. IMO your return pump may not need to be even that large unless you are trying to use it a main source of circulation in the tank which usually is not the most efficient way to go. A gen-x 6000 with a 3-4' head and not many elbows I am guessing will flow around 800gph. That is still quite a bit through a sump. Of course the pipe size, number of elbows, number of entrances, ect. will help determine better. Are you going to have any other powerheads in the tank for water movement?

It is probably pretty similar to using it for artificial live rock and I would think that it would have to be cured.

The tank is really starting to look nice Kim. Let me know when you're ready for more.

Thanks Kim. So if it is at the Pioneer school it will be close to the I-205 freeway.

I believe the first location we have chosen is the pioneer school in Portland where the last TFT tank was set up. I am trying to work on a location in Vancouver but won't know until tomorrow or monday. We locked in the school because it had to be reserved a minimum number of days in advance. We still have time to change but wanted to make sure we had a for sure location. The school will hold 100 people and has a screen and mic for Matt's presentations.

We have secured one place already in Portland but are also checking into a possible second location.

Ya but are there any other managers that you could trade another day with????

John, Not sure we can pull that off but if you make it up here we'll make sure to sing happy birthday to you

Noob, I am sorry about the Sunday meeting. With Matt having to fly out from Minnesota it was going to be difficult to pull off a Saturday meeting early enough in the day. We have invited members from other clubs in the Northwest and some will be traveling to see him. Kim, I am sure you can ask him about the lightning while he is here

Hello All, We have confirmed that the March meeting will host speaker Matt Pedersen. The meeting will be held on Sunday March 27th at 1:00 pm. The exact location will be posted over the next day or two. Here is a quick bio of Matt: Matt Pedersen is an interactive software developer and part-time fly fishing guide originally from Chicago, IL and current living in Duluth, MN, USA. Additionally, Matt has experience as a professional orchid breeder and certified fly rod builder. Matt has been a marine aquarist for 24 years, and an aquarist for 29+. After spending time on every side of the aquarium industry (retail, commercial and private maintenance & installation, wholesale, hatchery), he currently considers himself a "professional hobbyist". Most recently, Matt has currently spawned 23 species of marine fish, successfully raising 9 of them to date including one worldwide first (the Harlequin Filefish, Oxymonacanthus longirostris), as well as attempted another 6 invertebrate species to date. Most all of this was accomplished with less than 100 gallons of total working capacity, and all in closed culture. In 2010, Matt Pedersen was selected as the breeder of choice to work with the now famous "PNG Lightning Maroon Clownfish" from the SEASMART program, and chronicles the efforts to propagate this one-of-a-kind fish online at The Lightning Project. Matt Pedersen is credited with starting MOFIB (Marine Ornamental Fish & Invertebrate Breeder's Association) and writing for multiple publications including Coral, Koralle, Practical Fish Keeping, Marine Habitat, Reef Hobbyist Magazine and Reef Builders. Matt has spoken at numerous aquarium clubs and events from coast to coast. He currently sits on the MBI (Marine Breeding Initiative) Council, a project dedicated to bringing the concept of a unified Marine Breeder's Award Program to hobbyist organizations across the country and around the globe. In 2009, Matt was awarded "Aquarist of the Year" honors by both IMAC West and MASNA in recognition of his accomplishments and contributions to the marine aquarium hobby. Matt will be giving 2 speeches while he is here with a short break in between. I am sure he will be available for questions also for those that attend. The first speech that Matt will be giving will be "Passion Incarnate and the Ultimate DIY Project - Marine Fishrooms... " We will have the poll up til Friday night for the choice of the second speech. (fish)IN ADDITION I WILL BE DONATING ONE PAIR OF PLATINUM CLOWNFISH TO THE CLUB TO BE RAFFLED OFF DURING THE MEETING.(fish) Dave

Unfortunately in my opinion what you are looking for may not exist. There are far to many variables to document what you are asking about. I could be wrong tho but in the years that I have been in the hobby I don't recall seeing it. I think I may have a book or two about the cycling process but can't recall how technical it is.

You can get in a LOT of trouble and be financially responsible if damage happens to the utility or worker by illegally backfeeding a panel. IF you are doing this I would highly recommend installing a generator panel that can isolate the loads that you are connecting to the generator. I would not recommend this to anyone.

Just a quick question Roger, why can't it be drilled???

Looks like fun

make sure to hold on to that book. I don't know if you realize it but that book is out of print and going for over $200 now new. starts at about $55 used in average condition.... I know Doran will take good care of it but definitely not something to go trade in at powell's now

If you are willing to put in the time you asked about you should have plenty to look at. It should be a really nice looking tank once you get it back up and stable Do you have any pictures of the setup?

That is still a pretty big temperature swing. I don't know that a controller and heater is really necessary?? A nice heater should more than do the trick. One thing to consider is that your live rock is a considerable part of your biological filtration. When you remove it you are also removing your ability to filter and process the waste from the fish. Sorry it was posted that you had. Fish coming in and out of a wholesaler sometimes need extra TLC from their journey from the wild and sometimes even with everything else perfect they still will not survive. 20 minutes daily and a couple hours a week should be more than enough to have a healthy 60 cube. The latter amount should not be necessary.

Welcome Rich. First of all if there is one thing that I can say to you with over 20+ years in the hobby is slow down. Saltwater tanks can not be rushed and if you try to you will not be happy. It sounds to me that you have bought decent equipment so you are off on the right track. I will have to tell you that the problems you are having are not all your fault. I am going to put some of the blame on the store that sold you the fish and did not do their due diligence and help you make wise decisions(being that you are new in the hobby, you are relying on them to help you make a wise choice.) I have a few questions and maybe suggestions for you. 1. Do you have a heater in the tank other than relying on the light for heat? If not get a heater and regarless get the light on a consistent schedule of about 8hr on and 16 hr off. The exact time really doesn't matter, just choose a cycle that allows you to enjoy the tank. 2. How much live rock did you add to the tank? I know you had mentioned adding cycled LR to the tank but did not say how much. 3. In the beginning you weren't feeding nearly enough. You had mentioned every 4-5 days, not nearly enough especially since you had a tang/tangs. 4. Never add more than one fish at a time in a 60g tank unless you are adding maybe a smaller pair of fish like clownfish. Any addition of fish to a small system is going to take some time for the biological system to adjust and adding to many fish a one time is going to cause the tank to cycle. Some of the fish you are mentioning are pretty sensitive and topped off with adding to many in a small environment along with a small cycle and not enough feeding leads to problems. That is enough for now. Slow down and ask questions. There are a lot of very experienced hobbyists here locally that are more than willing to help you out. The club also hosts monthly meetings, try to attend some of them if you can. It will get you a chance to meet people, ask questions, and see other tanks. Dave P.S. If you decide to sell your tank put me in line. I'm thinking about downsizing to a 60g cube

No problem. Seemed the easiest way to cover it all

Yes it is possible. That is correct.

The clowns pictured are percula's. The easiest way to distinguish is the eyes as stated above. With that there are a variants of the percs. One being the regular percs with varying degrees of black around the white stripes and the other being the onyx variant which will usually fill in completely black between the 1st & 3rd stripes. From what I can see I would say that the pair is a captive bread pair and most likely will color up more as they mature. One thing about the true percs is that they are about the slowest of the clowns to develop their coloring with it not being uncommon for them to be 2+ years old before the color has finished darkening. Nice looking pair. Dave

Perry, I have some picasso's that over time will blacken up like the ones in the pic. My broodstock are a F1 generation from ORA and are very black. The ones in Tim's display came from me. He got them about a year ago and they are coloring up nicely. Dave