180Bob

Does anybody have any pictures for the Picture of the Month? So far we have only one entrant. I was going to start the voting this weekend so that I can post the winner on Sept. 1.

You might also want to pick up a calc, and mag test kit.

I voted not because I feel that we could use our classified section for this purpose. Just add WTB at the beginning of the subject of the post.

We have had similar experiences. A while ago we weren't watching the Mg level and it drifted down to near 1000ppm and my PH was running between 8.0 to 8.15. Recently I have gotten the Mg level up to ~1250 and now the PH runs between 8.15-8.4.

I'm going to wait until tomorrow. At this rate you will be paying me to take it awayDOH!

Let us know what she thinks and what else she would like to see in there.

Post your pictures for the September POTM here.

a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j) k)

Ignore this thread

Sounds like time for a bigger stand too.

If you need help transport it. Let us know, we have a pickup that it should fit in the bed. Bob

One question that I have in general about large in-wall tanks is why people don't use plywood and fiberglass for the three sides that you can't see. Seems like it should be alot cheaper than either 1' acrylic or the option shown above. Maybe there is something that I don't understand?

One other question. Are your tanks glass or acrylic? I wonder if acrylic tank would be scratched beyond recognition in a few months. I guess at least with acrylic you don't have to worry about the glass shattering and dumping the whole tank on the floor.

Thanks for the input. I have a couple of questions: 1) What size tank would you think be the best beginning size for teachers: 10-20, 20-30, 30-50 gallons. 2) Wouldn't VHO or PC lighting be enough for a beginning tank. This should cost significantly less than $500. 3) Would it be better to have a sand for the tank too, or could it sit on a counter? Do you know the standard depth of school counter tops. 4) Are you using a chiller on you tanks? This would be a big part of the cost if needed. 5) Do you have a RO/DI unit at the school? I guess a member could supply this to the teacher. Bob

We use Kent right now for now reason in particular other than it was available. We have about 0-3" of sand in our tank at the moment. For rock support I built a support out of PVC, eggcrate and acrylic. I've attached a picture. It also functions as a return from the sump. The acrylic pieces stop the sand from wandering over time back under the rocks.

Bump; Are there any comments on this ideas from our teacher members?

My quick estimate was something like 75-100. I don't see why we shouldn't be able to draw that many. I think last year we drew about that many to our BBQ. I did a quick Google search and the population of the Tri-Cites area is only about 170K. Greater Portland has almost ten times that many. They did many things to attract people. Included dinner, raffle with great prizes, door prizes, blind auctions. All things that were very entertaining.

Sorry, I guess there are advantages to being color blind(clap) . I guess I wasn't thinking of something so elaborate. I really thought something like MCMAC might be something we could pull off. I really liked there format. Get together for breakfast, do a tank tour, a speaker or two, then a dinner. If we start planning something much more elaborate we may never get the planning done.

I was thinking about the same thing. How big should such a tank be? I was thinking about something like the 30 gallon tank with a built in sump seen here. http://www.northcoastmarines.com/quarantn.htm

I actually didn't take any pictures. There were a lot of people moving thought the homes and we we on a pretty tight schedule. We did get an agenda with pictures of all the tanks. I guess I could scan it in and post a pdf. I'll see if I can get permission to do so.

On our way to MCMAC we stopped by Advanced Aquarium in Salem and we had a good discussion with Mr. S on how our club might help teachers with marine education. One of the ideas that we tossed around was that our club might provide "Bullet Proof" aquarium setups to some teachers. Then at MCMAC I saw the DIY Nano tank that they auctioned off. As far as I understand their club built this tank as a club projects. I was wondering why we couldn't get together and do something like this. We could take the money from the auction and buy a tank for some deserving teacher. Another option would be that who ever wants a tank in their children's class room could chip in for the cost of parts, then the club could get together and build several tanks. I wouldn't be surprised if we could get things like acrylic, pumps, lights etc at wholesale cost. What do people think? In particular, teachers in the crowd, what kind of tank would you like to see built?

Brandy and I also attended the conference and thought they did a great job. I would recommend everyone to attend next year. On the other hand, why doesn't our club arrange a conference and invite them next year???? Lets start taking volunteers!!!!

Pictures never hurt. What does the live rock look like an how much do you have?

I agree with your thoughts