andy

The MJs are 600s. LOL about the unknown. My wife said she thought it was a bit of the Hydnophora, but I waved that off since I thought it was a softie She'll love hearing that...

About 3 gallons of water will make it back to the sump if the power fails. Yes, I made it myself. I made it a little bit too small, if I had it to do over again I'd have made it a little wider and deeper.

Ahhh, excellent. He does look a lot like the Cup Coral pix I've found online, though not identical. Good enough for me, thanks!

Still coming along nicely. I've added a bit more rock and another modded MJ for flow. I had a little bit of cyano, but I think that was as much from the lack of flow on the left hand side of the tank as anything... just vacuumed it up. Have spotted a few new inhabitants... Mushrooms: Montipora? any ideas what this guy is? Also, picked up this little fellow from Lise at SWF: I had to evict the Hydnophora, it attacked two encrusting (what I think are) Montiporas after firing a salvo into my tank wall. It is in isolation right now and not looking too good *at all*. If you have a home for it, let me know ASAP The NH3/NO2/NO3 cycle is stable. Evaporation is a royal pain in the assets, I top up almost 2 gallons of RO/DI a day. I'm starting to see foam in my skimmer cup. My Electric Blue-legged Hermit is MIA. Aside from that, things are going well. Good times!

I spotted this fellow tucked in on the backside of a small outcropping of live rock. His location and apparent nocturnal tendancies makes photography difficult. He's mostly buttoned-up under the halides, opening up under the actinics and really getting rolling in the dark. From what little I could find online, he has a lot in common with Tube Anemones -- except he is living in the rock rather than in the substrate like Tube Anemone normally do. The most distinctive characteristic is the 'compass' pattern on his oral disc. If you have any ideas who this guy is, let me know...

Okay, thanks. FW dip, eh? FW should be at the same temp as tank water I suppose, how long should the dip last?

Thanks, so you don't think I have to worry about those dead polyps on the bottom colony? I'm worried those green/dead ones will rot and maybe hurt their neighbors...

I found two of my trochus snails buried deep into one of my Zoo colonies. They were really dug in, and it made me nervous so I pulled the off carefully. It doesn't look like the did much damage, but I think a couple of polyps got hammered -- you can see some bare rock where you couldn't before. What do you think? Speaking of Zoos, my other colony is looking a bit ragged. A couple of polyps are dead/dying. When I first introduced it to my tank I think I put it in an overly bright spot. I've since moved it to a more shaded area and it is looking a bit better, but... Any ideas?

Ask and ye shall receive. Here's the full tank: This is my DIY lighting. There's 2x 175 10k MH, 1x 46.5" VHO Actinic, 2x blue LED moonlights, 2x red LED observation lights and 2x 12v fans in there. The MH, VHO and moonlights are all on timers. The observation lights are controlled by a toggle switch on the back of the hood: The ballasts for the lighting. 2 magnetic (MH #1 and VHO) and 1 electronic (MH#2): My sump, two chamber -- skimmer section and return. Skimmer is a Red Sea Berlin with Gen-X 3400 needlewheel. Currently using an Eheim 1250 as my return pump, but my Eheim 1260 should arrive from DrF&S today. Return section has live rock fragments since I don't have room under there for a Refugium: My overflow is a DIY in-tank acrylic box and durso-style standpipe: I'm also running a single modded Maxi-jet 600 for circulation. I'm adding a second one this weekend. I had planned on a Refugium in or beside the sump but I don't have the room. Fortunately, I'm clear with the wife (love that woman ) to add a full external decorative/functional refugium with Mangrove, live rock, etc. Gotta start researching those...

Years ago I worked repairing computer monitors for engineering workstations. Most of the units that came through needed new tubes, since they had suffered phosphor burn-in. We'd save them up all week then spend a chunk of Friday afternoon hurling them into the crusher seeking the perfect >CRASH<>FOOMF< Good times

I don't see how you could have a MJ600 or stronger with one of these props within 6" of the surface of the tank without it tornado-ing. Do you guys with the mongo tanks put these dudes lower down? EDIT: Hey, Impur... where are you finding the 2" to 1.5" ABS reducer? My local shops don't seem to stock them. A commercial plumbing supply store maybe (Like George Morland's)?

Wow, that's beautiful -- nicely balanced. I'd be happy to help you out, though you might be better off with one of the more experienced members.

Great Googly-Moogly! I received my Octura 1435 today, and replaced the shaved 2035 I was running on a MJ600. Holy Schnikies! It pushed so much water it would tornado to the surface and blow bubbles throughout the tank! I'll have to shave this one too when I get my new MJ600 from DrF&S tomorrow... I should have ordered a MJ400 instead (censored)

Don't forget control your mind! Oh wait, we have television for that

Amazing where this kind'a stuff turns up: Worm-inspired robot crawls through intestines

That Angler is a very cool fish. Keith'd just splash the water at the top of the tank a little with his fingers and the Angler'd come out to get his meal :-)

This is beautiful live rock, I just bought 70 pounds of it. It's covered with coralline, sponges and even the occasional well-glued frag Ahbrit, I'd like to grab a couple more choice pieces. Can you PM me back about a good time for me to swing by again?

It's been a long road, almost a year since I started putting things together, but I'm finally rolling! Many thanks to Ahbrit, who sold me about 70 pounds of some of the most beautiful live rock you have ever seen.. and then went ahead and gave me sweetheart deals on livestock, too. The tank is a 60gal. I'm running 2x175W MH supplemented with 1x46.5" VHO Actinic. I've wired LED moonlights in on their own timer, and red LEDs for late-night spying too. My skimmer is a Red Sea Berlin driven by a Gen-X needlewheel pump (on the list for replacement). I'm using a 20gal long aquarium as a sump, and have an Eheim 1250 as a return (a bit underpowered I think, am planning on upgrading). I've got one modded MJ600 for circulation -- will be adding another in a few days. Here's how things look right now: Here's a closer look at the left hand side: ...and the right: The coolest, most mellow Blennie you could ever imagine. He started exploring the minute he was done acclimating :-) This Torch is settling in just fine. Scooter the camera hog in the background. The Pincusion Urchin is already cruising the live rock looking for dinner. Zoas: Scooter the Blennie and his coral pal. And my first hitchhiker on the glass. It looks like a starfish... a good guy? Unfortunately, my good camera ran out of batteries before I could get shots of the Xenia and Acro. The Xenia didn't like the spot I picked out for it, so while my back was turned it wriggled free and relocated in a lower-flow area. The Acro (who was attached to a piece of the live lock) really got hammered while travelling. It's pretty banged up, but I think it'll pull through. I'm really pleased with how the tank is shaping up. I may be buggin you for a bit more rock in week or so, Keith (daz)

Looking good. Have you decided how to do the "wrong-way" stopper?

I called all the hobby shop in the PDX phonebook (okay... dexonline) and the only one that had RC boat props in stock was Tammies. I might have missed one, but shipping is cheap enough that it's really no big deal to order exactly what you want.

www.towerhobbies.com stocks Dumas props. www.funrcboats.com stocks Octura props.

Tried them, they don't.

HD has a mediocre selection of nylon hardware. Parkrose Hardware has a much better selection, which is good because I need to buy some to fix the bloody Gen-X needlewheel pump I broke again. You get what you pay for...

I got my Octuras at Tammies in Beaverton, and last time I called them they didn't seem to have restocked. I haven't found another shop in Portland that stocks RC boat accessories. I think you'd have to mailorder.