steveweast

Could not agree more with all five.....and....I'd include any visible overflows or returns to the list........any visible plumbing is completely unnecessary and unacceptable....IMO. My old tropical tank was that way and so is my current cold tank. If you design the system around those five objectives, it's quite an achievable goal. You have to realize though that Charles (and me) are more concerned with creating a true display tank....not a grow out tank....or a frag tank. Rows of frags on the sand....or rows of clams....or really any unnatural livestock on the sand is nothing but visual pollution. Most hobbyist tanks these days are not set up with the overall aesthetic in mind....but rather focused on individual specimens. For me.....my eye goes immediately goes to the things of man (pipes,pumps,overflows). I can't stop looking at them. To me...it's like a zit on the Mona Lisa. As for the coralline on the rear panel....it just visually truncates the rear of the tank....looks flat and unnatural.....and has no place in a quality display. He is quite right. For example...my cold system is 400 gals viewable on two sides. The overflow is on the right side of the tank and is completely cropped from view by cabinetry (along with rock that breaks the surface to hide the grill). On each side of the overflow is a wet box that houses a 6305 Tunze. This way, the Tunze is impossible to see ....but, is housed in is own compartment for easy access. The Tunze opening is furthered blocked from view by rock work. The lights are even shaded over this area to further minimize their presence. The two completely hidden Tunzes create a strong Gyre in the tank. The returns flow into the wet boxes to hide them from view....the Tunzes then move the return water into the display. Really easy.

If you guys are really going to give this a go.....I'd suggest that you start monitoring nationally which events are going to be held and when. You need to know when all the other events are taking place to eliminate vendors and speakers from having to choose which event to attend if they are held at the same time. There are big events that you might not want to compete with....like Reefstock, Baymac, Reefaplooza, IMAC, Manhatten Reefs fragfest, CRAZE, AZA, and of course MACNA....but the list goes on and on. The busiest times of the year are Fall and Spring. The calender does fill up though.

Well....there's nothing wrong with that. Your main obstacle is proving to both event organizers and vendors that there exists a sufficient hobbyist population to make it worth their while. The vendors spend a lot to attend an event. Having an easy destination airport helps too....Seattle OK....Portland....not so much. Grouping up all the PNW clubs will be the key......and convincing vendors and organizers that the event will draw from all the PNW regions....not just Seattle (which isn't really that big). The economy has hit the vendors as hard as it has hit all of us.....and they are even more careful where they spend their conference money these days. Trying to attract a known commodity (like MAX) might be the better way to go than creating a new (unproven) event.

I doubt that you mean IMAC (International Marine Aquarium Conference)....which is run by Frank Burr and heavily subsidized by Reef Nutrition. I think you must mean MAX (Marine Aquarium Expo).....which is mostly held in So Cal. IMAC's home has been in Long Beach on the Queen Mary.....but, lack of interest plus internal issues have driven it to every other year (2011 next)....if it continues at all (sad really). The best bet is to hitch all the PNW wagons up with the Seattle group to look bigger and more credible. Another suggestion, if really interested, is to start attending these events to gain incite as to what it takes to put on one of these events. Having attended IMAC (2009), Baymac, Reefstock, and MACNA during the last 14 months, I can say that it was quite educational as to what it takes to put on a dog and pony show (both good and bad).....and I wasn't really trying to garner info about putting on a show. These events don't necessarily attract huge crowds. MACNA had about 1300 (but @ $160 each).....but MAX at the OC fair grounds can attract much more. It just depends what kind of show you want to put on......but, whatever the show, it will take lots of donated time from volunteers and lots of $$$$. The one thing that impressed me about MACNA was how many volunteers they had working the show for three days. It had to be well over a 100. They were everywhere.....heck, they had 12 just manning the check-in booth. It was a well run event. When you think of all the details from lodging and venue negotiations, print material, speaker travel issues, parking, presentation scheduling, audio visual, vendor accommodations......it's just mind-boggling. We even had the MACNA logo emblazoned on our room keys....and they negotiated a 20% discount on all food and drinks for attendees. They did a great job.

I have a 48" six light (with LED moonlight) Aqua Medic unit. It has only been used a couple of months. I was using it over my coldwater system but, I'm replacing it with a smaller LED fixture. I think I have 6 (or maybe 8....some never used) bulbs of various colors. $200. It is currently used as a hanging pendant fixture. It does not have any of the tank rim standing legs......although, you could probably order some if needed. http://www.marinedepot.com/Aqua_Medic_Ocean_T5_Light_Fixtures_36_Inch_T5_Fluorescent_Light_Fixtures-Aqua_Medic_USA-AQ1871-FILTFIT56U-vi.html

Nice on the lack on condensation....but....the summer heat has yet to come. In my old cold system, I frequently got condensation on my PVC piping on hot days....which is why on my new system, I went with all schedule 80 plumbing. 50F is probably unnecessarily low....you'd be fine with 55 - 58. How do you plan to cycle the tank ? and what filtration are you planning ?

Interesting.....there's no doubt that's a great deal. I do have some concerns about the glass though. I've seen grocery store tanks sweating up a storm.....and they generally keep their seafood section of the stores colder than a typical residential home. I hope it doesn't prove to be a problem. What do you plan to keep ? and are you tide pooling or diving ? what rock do you plan to use ? when is water going in ? I spent last weekend collecting rock off the San Juans for my tank. It was quite the chore. If you dive, you might want to tag along with Ryan and I when we collect this summer......and if not, we could always use a Sherpa.

I know a few folks who do have N issues and dose P to keep both values low......and conversely some who have P issues and add N. Every system is different by how it is run, what is being kept, and how much food is added......so, every system has to find its own sweet spot for how much GFO/pellets/additives etc to use. Label instructions are pretty much useless. I will say though....the one thing good about the pellets is that you can't use too much....only too little (unlike vodka or sugar).

I have only been using the pellets for a month now. I upgraded my cold system to 400 gals. When I switched over, my nitrates began to climb and reached 20ppm (vodka had kept the old system at zero NO3). Within the last week, the nitrate level has begun to level off and slightly drop (I may need more pellets). I still have to use GFO to help with PO4 though. The mass feedings create huge P inputs. Every system is different....but, most still have to use a limited amount of GFO to keep P low. You have to remember, in a cold system with native granite rock, I get no natural dentrification anywhere in my tank. Carbon dosing in some form is mandatory for me. My system would not be an example to base your usage upon because of the cold water, massive feedings, and no live rock.

I am running them. It will be interesting to see their effectiveness in a cold environment....but, vodka worked and I expect the pellets will too. There are several companies jumping on the bandwagon as happened when Deltec came out with ROWA (GFO) a few years ago. Prices should drop when they all come online.

The general idea is similar to vodka dosing.....feed the bacteria.....who sequester N & P.....who die.....and get skimmed out. By not removing the bacteria, you just cycle N & P instead of removing N & P. It's analogous to growing cheato in a fuge, only more effective. The benefit of the pellets over liquid dosing is less effort with pellets....along with not having to treat the entire water column with vodka. When running pellets or vodka, the slimmate increases quite a bit from the bacterial die-off. This is why you remove the sponges in the reactor....they get choked quite quickly.

They reportedly work best in a fluidized situation....meaning a need for a reactor. They tend to clump when not fluidized reducing effectiveness. I run 4L in a highly fluidized reactor on my cold system. You also need to remove all sponges from the reactor.....the sponges tend to clog quickly from bacteria.

no....it's in another spot. I'm reserving that spot for when I return to tropical. For now....it's just coldwater.

Tanks are sold to Mike since his was the first response. I need to do some collecting before the new system is photo ready....but, it's really coming together. I have a collecting trip coming up in the next week or so. Moving the stock from a 100 gal tank into a 400 gal tank doesn't provide for the best photo-op.

I have finally upgraded my coldwater system and I have no need for the old tank and sump. The tank is 60" X 24" X 20" and is pretty dinged up....but, it is made from 1" thick acrylic. The sump is in fantastic shape and is also made from 1" thick acrylic. It's dimensions are 48" X 24" X 18". I'm asking $ 200 for the pair....and they are to be sold as a pair only.

that's interesting....according to the state's website, it is illegal to collect. http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/coral_liverock.html Looks like aquaculture may be OK ? I wasn't aware of it.

Frags of what ? IIRC, it is illegal to keep anything but fish in Hawaii.....and only the local fish at that....there's no importation of anything to the islands and I believe that it's also illegal to personally keep any local coral (soft or hard). You can understand why.....if an Indonesia wrasse is released in....let's say.....Kansas, there is no impact to the local environment.....but, releasing an alien critter in Honolau Bay on Maui....well, that's a problem.

You might want to consider these....which integrate into your car's stereo's functions.... http://indashpc.org/new/ipod_adapters2/index.html There are even youtube videos on how to install them. Like the one for my truck...

I originally had planned to go to Denver to see this tank in person: since it was designed similar to what I want to do with my next warm water reef. After arranging a visit through a Denver buddy of mine ( Jake Adams ), he suggested that I just come for Reefstock. I'm glad I did. Prior to the show, I went on a tank tour of the large local tanks....a 1200....a 1500....a 1000.....etc. Denver is quite the hotbed of reef activity. The tank linked above is a 1200 SPS dominated reef owned by Steve Hurlock. As a homebuilder, I'm seldom impressed by a house.....but, his was the exception. His house is at the 9000 foot level in the Rockies overlooking the entire Denver mertro area. There's snow on the ground pretty much year round. The tank was quite exceptional....certainly one of the best SPS tanks I've personally visited. This tank was only two years old and it had several coral heads that were in the 24" range.....I couldn't believe the growth !!! Jake was saying that all the "Mountain Folk" experience the same growth compared to the lower elevation Denverites. He thinks that the lower O2 levels and higher N levels at that elevation might be the reason since elevation is the only difference. That would make an interesting study. Anyway....Reefstock itself was small; but, quite impressive. There were about 15 coral vendors and each had fantastic stuff (and I'm a coral snob). There were also about 5 different lighting vendors and about 10 Misc vendors. Featured were four speaker presentations......each was quite good (especially Paul Whitby's on Aquascaping). The event was one day.....and I'd say maybe 400 people attended. There was a $10 entrance fee. If our local club ever has ambitions to put one of these on.....they should try to attend this event next year. It was fairly well run with a good diversity of vendors. This event was held at the Downtown Aquarium of Denver. I've been to many public aquariums around the country....and although small....this one was really nice. It puts to shame our OCA. I was fortunate to get a backstage tour too......very impressive. The best thing though.....was a Mexican restaurant across the street that featured 60 (Yes 60) ounce margaritas. Unfortunately, there are pictures out there somewhere of that afternoon.

That event really surprised me as to how popular the event was. There was a constant crowd throughout the day watching the two contestants. In the beginning, I thought the event was a bit odd......but, it really turned out to be a really worthwhile and popular. event. I was drafted to be one of the judges......and although I was pulling for Scott, he made a couple of key blunders that cost him the title. During the after party, we had a long conversation about it.Oh well....maybe next year.

I think Upscales has several too.

Unless you're creating a PNW coldwater marine biotope, our local rock is a poor choice for live rock. It is heavy, non-porous, and difficult to aquascape with. The local basalt rocks are like granite-like bowling balls and provide minimal space for colonizing bacteria (hence the common use of submerged bioballs in coldwater tanks)....and no significant denitrification. Moreover, none of the sea life....including coralline....will survive in warm water. In fact, the coralline is very difficult to keep alive in a coldwater system. It is very susceptible to being over grown by nussiance algae. The rules linked in prior posts are correct....I collected my rock in about 90 ft of water off of Anacortes, Wa......and no where near a reserve. Since coldwater aquarium keeping and rock collection is such a niche activity, the rules are quite vague....or non existent. The deeper the water.....the better the coralline growth. The coralline continues to SLOWLY spread in my system. Next month, it will be time to collect rock again....as I'm upgrading my small cold system to 400 gals. It's no easy feat....you need a chase boat....lift bags.....lots of air....coolers.....and strong arms on the boat. A single 12 inch rock can weigh 25 lbs.

These will retail for about a grand.....but, each unit only pulls 2.5 amps......needs a new bulb after something like 16,000 hours.....and has more PAR that two 400 MH. As the units are dialed back....the spectrum shifts to blue....but, it loses PAR.