fishyman1957

I'd reccomend the reticulated (open pore) sponge. It should hold far more debris before cloging up. The dacron (blue) material will really clog fast. Oddysea has a fine blue filter pad (10x18") that stays open a long time. But the open pored sponge will actually start to pull even harder when it is partially plugged. Fish may even feed food from it. We use them when changing water for fry and growing Brine Shrimp. I have also learned that food particles will enter those normal screens on intakes and thes pump will blend them into gravy. Not producing those ultr-fine particles sure does cut back on red-slime algae and hair algae. If they require cleaning, great, that is because your normal system was not getting it done. Our baby clowns are often feeding from the particles against the filter sponge. Our Lettuce Nudibranchs and snails feed there too reducing cleaning the sponge. Lettuce Nudies should be about $9.99 at any outlet. We had them last week for $3.99 and 3/$10. The blue material is normally Kapok or Dacron 88 and available at dealers and fabric store too.

I grew up with kids that were proud to bring their guns to 'show and tell' in elementary school. If I had said what if a kid starts shooting people, even the parents and teachers would have looked at me as if I were a crackpot. It never occurred to us it could happen because it didn't. Kids in my shop that witness livebearing fish go through their sexual activities get all excited and crazed when from town. Those from a farm in the country simply explain what is going on. I do not belive farm kids cause more problems with rape and so on. I think they know the facts and that is all. We don't here of farmhouses being broken into as much as in the city. Possibly that is because most homes in the country have guns with people that are proefficient with their use. Excepting hunters that so often mix drinking and hunting, guns in the country seem relatively safe. If every attendant at 7-11 and Circle K had a gun, there might be fewer robberies. There would also be many more accidents with guns. It would possibly become a nightmare. If you ever had a gun pointed at you by an excited drunken or drug crazed perpetrator, I know how helpless you felt. It is not the same as well trained Police pointing a firearm. I believe guns in more well trained hands would be a deterant. But never in untrained or out-of-control hands.

That Pacific Coast Nano Skimmer should be $59.99 or less. WE hav'em for under $50. $44.99 with your PNWMAS card. We've had'em for a while. They do look simple. Then again so did the ealier units out of Eugene 15-20 years ago. They too were simply 'dimpled' PVC. But many people paid out big bucks for Top Fathom. In fact Steve at PCI carried them.

We at Albanys Amazing Aquarium normally have a few to loan out. Used to have a dozen, but like the book library, they diminished somehow. They also took some of our better customers in the process. I try and always have a couple for those contemplating addittional lighting. Rog

Curtis just called from Hawaii. He went snorkling yesterday and the day prior. He was as excited as a 'newbie reefer' with a new tank. He saw a huge Unicorn Tang. A beautiful Longnose Butterfly. And swam with schools of Racoon Butterflies at Hanamaha (or something like that) Bay on the north side. He'll be with the other Beavs on ESPN tonight (Saturday) at 9 pm live coast to coast playing Hawaii. If you watch it, I am sure you will see #98 a lot. You'll also probably hear the name Coker some too. I'm not sure if he is stocked more about the game, or the fish in the sea. I figure he'll get another QB sack. Rogl

Oooh Wee! Whoa Nellie! Put our the kidz and bring in the mutts! If ya didn't like that game, you don't like football. All the fans were treated to a really great show. Home team wins ten years in a row. I'm only partly closed three days per year. Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the Civil War. Curtis Coker got the QB early in the game. A few plays later hit the guy so hard his helmet blew off. All the fans got their blood pressure up. Beavs are going to really have to up the ante to win at Autzen next year. Ducks really played hard and came on strong. The Civil War in Oregon is a great rivalry. Roger

We here in Albany wish to welcome the visitors to this part of the valley by being cordial. Duck fans may well be a little discouraged following the game this Friday. We will of course be closed in honour of the traditional battle. But we will re-open at 5. If the Ducks loose, I do not wish their fans to feel so bad. So we will have a 'Mini-Meal' Free of Charge; 'Duck Soup' complete with feathers. And in the rare case the yellow birds prevail, we will have 'Beaver Stew' with brown fur. Not quite sure what we will get that brown fur from. Either way it is the 'Civil War'...And always a great game. I might state that if the birdies win, 309 pound Curtis Coker #98 might not be in too good of a mood. You can try and rub it in the next time you two are side by side. Ducks eat slugs. Beavers eat trees, and ducks that get in them to hide. Rog

If you ever get to Albany, I'll exchange it for another brand of similar price. No matter where you got it. I'd also appreciate some of that residue that won't dissolve. It is posible the batches are too large for complete mixing. I did use it for my 280 gallon lowboy. The extra particulate was gone overnite. We started right of with over 100 coral and have encountered no problems. We have also used and sold Oceanic with no problems. The residue often thrown out was what made it a better grade salt for reefs. Albany water is now vittually RO, with the new filtering plant. So pH drop is much quicker than prior. Rog

The manufacturer reccomends mixing the water 24 hours ahead of use. I have used a lot here and figure the buffers are important. With a powerhead it is clear in hours. I do use close to 80f water for mixing. Oceanic is a similar formula that mixes almost instantly. Rog

Many divers use small rocks already drilled with nice holes. Anemones often rush into the new rocks, not realizing they can be picked up and moved. The rocks are then hing upside down, which they don't seem to like much, so they leave. The curator of the Rarotongan Marines Zoo was doing that in Raro when we were there on '85. He is known as a 'turtle wrangler' and managed turtles for the movie 'The Silent One' filmed when we were on Aitutaki. Many fish instantly flee into little shells to hide, not knowing we can pick them up and shake them out. Old bottles are collected and used to catch octopus. PVC tubes are also used. They are sunk to the bottom. Anemones soon crawl into their ends. Simply remove that tube, and blow the anemone out with air from the airtank. Rog

We used to call them 'Lemon Damsels'. They get good sized quickly if I am correct. The specimen looks a little strange though. Rog

I don't think many hobbyists realize he costs involved in operating a store. I have to sell $500 per day just to break even. The typical guarrantee I get is none at all, called a 30/30 sometimes (thirty feet or thirty seconds - whichever come first). There have been over a hundred different tropical fish dealers go out of business in this area since I started in 1957. Most were opened bu well meaning hobbyists. Rose are featured several times per year ar $29.99 or 4 for $100. Bubble much lower. Neon Green Carpets of 10 to 14 inch diameter are often priced at $29 from the bag on bag days, $49.99 from the tank. The Condys are often loved by anemone fish and most often of a good size (4" plus) and sell for $2.99 to $6.99 if with great colour. I buy a gross and have a 33% margin on the whites, more on others. I aim to double my price. Just as frag trades are one for two of same value. I have to have a margin or I will not be here next month. I also have to draw from a hundred miles to carry what I do. It is somewhat of a juggling act. Some hobbysits wish an LFS that is as cheap as a mail order discounter, yet get shipped in merchandise repaired free at the LFS. The LFS should be a showplace, yet have every used part ever desired. Our shops policies are set by the hobbuists that answer questions on our website. Hours, retail prices, policies and so on. They normally get a two dollar credit for answering those queries. Rog