SnowboardKid26

hey mister crabs... i live here in central oregon and have built 4 or 5 sumps... id help you out if you'd like.

A very beautiful and easy first fish would be a Yellow Tailed blue Tang. It won't outgrow your system, and in my experience it is one of the easier tangs to care for.

If your planning a full blown reef, I'd rethink the Lion fish thought. They are very large fish, with a very high bioload. Plus they will eat just about anything.... shrimp... pods... clown fish.... you get the picture. I'd personally only keep lions in a FOWLR tank, and a large on at that.

Phosphate reactor, rowaphos, and some snails kicked my hair algae problem in two weeks. Just keep up with the water changes, and removal of the dead algae as stated before. Rowaphos took my phosphates down from 0.5 to untestable in 1 day. Been running for like a week now, and the phos is still untestable. I haven't seen any undesirable reactions since I began.

Ive got a bit if you got a drill. :)

Heres a link with some easier corals and their care requiremtents.... http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/coralcareprop/l/bleasycorals1.htm and www.liveaquaria.com is also another good resource.

Yeah, the eye protection is huge, I always seem to get a rogue squirt in the face.... ok that TOTALLY doesn't sound like I meant it to, but you know what I mean.

Not to discourage you, but I wouldn't order any live rock until you have your sump, pump, skimmer, lights. The advice you've been given all ready is the best advice ever... SLOW DOWN! The biggest mistake you can make in this hobby is to be overly motivated. I've noticed that is when I make my mistakes. Nothing in this hobby comes quickly. That being said, I just ordered this sump http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=BS1111 with a little modding, and an external skimmer you can use this as your refugium. I'm going to use it on my 72g bow front, so it should work for your purposess. Hope this helps.

Corralife all salifert except Seachem reef staus Ca Refractometer Glass therm

Do you think that 2x 250w Venture 10K bulbs, and 4 t-5 lamps would do the trick over a 72g bow front SPS tank that is 22" deep?

is it better to just run a kalk reactor? I know its definatly cheaper.

Why run a Kalk reactor, and a calcium reactor... just for backup? or are there other percs?

Hey rich, are you happy with the color of the actinics? I've been considering using T-5's to supplement my halides on my new tank, but I've only read bad things in connection with the actinic color. Ive been reading that most people arn't happy with the color, or the "flourecing effect (sp?)" of the t-5s. If you are liking the color, what brand of actinics are you using?

Lets just say I don't know if i'll be going that route after reading that thread, and the many chemistry articles attached....

Yikes Steve..... is it the borate that caused the colony deaths, or just the alk problem?

I guess my tone was a little off after reading my post and I apogize. My main concern was with the mortality rates quoted. Seems like the reason that these fish arn't collected is because we (humans) can't figure out how to ship them to hobbiests with out losing 60% of our attempts. It seems to me that by buying these fish for "hormonal experimentation" we are fueling their destruction. I'd think that we, (humans) would have felt that with the rape of our planet and the decline of our enviroment, ie the reefs, that we would take more care than to keep using resources that are in short numbers. Maybe the sultan of Oman has good reason for not allowing the collection of omanensis until we can get a better system figured out. Hopefully he's just trying to protect the species so his childrens grandchildren can know the joy of watching a beautiful clownfish waggling in the oceans current. Again, just my opinion. SBK

Steve... do you have a method on how to do the math for the borate? Is there any links explaining borate and synthetic salt mixes you know of?

Just my opinion, but instead of trying to force drugs down the proverbial throat of fish, how about leaving these species of clowns in the oceans, and in the hands of scientists until their care needs, and yes breeding practises are known. why put undue strain on an already distressed planet to try and keep populations of fish up, just for the wants of aquarists. If you feel as if you can keep these species of clowns alive, and thriving in your system, do it. But do it in such a way as the fish are the #1 concern, and not bragging rights. Just my .02 cents. Sorry if it came off pissy.

Anyone using Seachem Reef? I was using Oceanic for a long time, but then I started being a responsible aquarist and tested a few batches of freshly mixed water.... whoa. i switched to Coralife just because my options are limited here in bend, IO, Oceanic, or Coralife. I've been considering buying a bucket of Seachem to try..... anyone have experience(sp? i tried 4 times.. shouldn't have failed english )

No seachem either, and ive heard really good things.

where do i sign up?

Ive been drooling over a couple of pieces of your SPS lately.

(laugh) (laugh) (laugh) Thats hillarious

oh yeah... and by the way.. DRILL IT!!!!! Joel at Waves drilled my 72g bowfront... no problems.