dsoz

It looks great! I know it looks even better in person. My wife even said that she liked it (high praise from a woman that remebers my algae monster!) Keep us updated. dsoz

You need to start more like 8:00 or so. Some people need a full night of sleep before getting up early to go to work.

So sad. They are beautiful. Not that I would want one to show up in my display, but a mantis tank... You are getting me interested. PS How is the apstasia/mojano idea coming along?

Another theory shot down... :( Someday I'll have a theory that makes me rich and famous. Oh wait, I teach... nothing will make me rich, and my fame will only be in the students that I work with. That will have to be enough for me.

Did you give it a cigarette when it was done? That's a lot of work for a little worm... LOL

I know it is a long photoperiod, and I'll get a lot of algae. I plan on slimming the time down as I get it going. Today I came home from work and there are bubbles everywhere. I am assuming that the algae that I not abundant is doing photosynthesis overload and making a lot of oxygen (I could be wrong, but who knows). The tank is really warm (88 degrees F). I think I'll turn the lights off for the night when I come home from work so the tank can cool a little. Even the xenia are pulsing faster today then they did yesterday. Maybe the frequency of the pulses have something to do with temperature (like cricket chirps...). Somedays I wonder what it would be like if I didn't think like a scientist... Nah, that would be booring. cheers

Congratulations!!! Get the tank! If a poor teacher like me can afford to sink money into my obsession, then you should be able to indulge a little yourself

Welcome. I have been back in the hobby about 1 or 2 months. I am running skimmerless, and sumpless, right now. I hope to fix that in the next couple of months. I researched this a lot lately. A Coralife SuperSkimmer is good for the price, but the AquaC remora is supposed to be a lot better skimmer, but a lot more money. I am trying to get an AquaC used from another person here. There are people here that have a lot of used equipment laying around. Post a WTB (want to buy) in the classified section and ask for a skimmer. When I did this I had several people message me to offer one. Good luck, and how old is the son that will "own" the tank? Make sure you post pictures of your process. We all love pics!

Rock was put in tank on March 10. So it is just about 5 weeks old. Diatoms have come and mostly gone. Green algae has sprouted a couple of hairs, but the snails took care of it quickly. I only got the lights last night. THey were on from 6pm to 10pm. My "normal" light schedule will be from when I get up (before 6am) to when I go to bed (10 pm). Unless I start getting "bad" algae problems. I have never had lights this intense before. I am going to need to experiment I keep telling my wife that snails are a good thing. I am probably going to need to buy many more snails before my tank becomes stable. As to tank parameters. Ammonia and nitrite are both 0. Nitrate between 5 and 10 (I know this will = algae), and pH is 8.2. I don't have any other test kits. I should probably take some water into a fish store to get it tested, but since I'm not planning on buying anything in the near future (April 30 is payday) I don't want to waste their time. I believe that the rest are OK. I have changed almost 50 gal. of water in the last 2 months. Just to keep the nitrates down. Now is the time my chaeto should be useful. It is just floating around the tank. People on nano-reef.com use a small soapdish as an in-tank refugium. Maybe I'll do that soon. I'm not sure if that will look too tacky. I think I will just end with the statement that I'll just be patient and wait, and wait, and wait. Baby-steps are what I can afford, and I am good with what I have for now. Next payday will be another story. A skimmer, and a sump and pump will be my next "big purchases" We will see. dsoz

chapter 8 (I think)- They light up my life Well, J&Jr came through with the lights for me. It was a great deal on some awesome lights. I only have 4 of 6 bulbs in place (two more next month... the story of my life.) Even with only 4 bulbs, the tank just SHINES! Here are some pics. Before- a two bulb fluorescent shop light (80w of light) With the TEK T5HO, only 4 bulbs (216w of light with reflectors) xenia (I think pulsing) also from J&Jr (what a great guy!) GSP that are not happy (also from J&Jr) A couple of blue/purple mushrooms (from... guess who...) and some brown star polyps. Not from J&Jr, but from another bio teacher at my work. But that is another story. I don't want to get started about how she got the shaft from Carolina Biological Supply Company (sells stuff to schools for science). She spend too much for a "set up" and got a bunch of garbage.(flame) If anyone wants BROWN star polyps (for variety) just ask. As these grow out, I bet I'll have a lot of frags to give away! Update on the clowns. Bubble and Wave are living in a QT. I already did lower the salinity of the water that they are in. (thanks anyway reefhut ) I tested the water yesterday, and ammonia was above 0.5 ppm! And nitrite was at 0.5 ppm. I did an almost 100% water change. I used tank water (diluted to a lower salinity). Then added more copper to the QT. I am cutting back the food to once every third day, and will monitor the water quality more. I can't wait (yes I can... I have will power)to get those clowns back in my display. I am hoping that they will start hosting that xenia. Or maybe once I get a FS, torch, or galaxy coral they will host in that. That has got to be one of my most favorite parts of keeping clowns... Maybe someday I'll try an anemone again. But only if I know that it is tank raised. I don't want to take any more of them out of the wild. That's all for now. dsoz

Bran-spankin-new (out of box today!) 4 foot TEK T5HO 6 bulb fixture. Over a 45g tank it just SHINES! Even though I only have 4 of the 6 bulbs in place (two more next month... I can't wait, it will be blinding!) Thanks to J&Jr for the great deal! dsoz

Just make sure you label the baggie! And don't let the cops pull you over... Really officer, it is only for my fishtank... I know it happens. dsoz

Ya, it is pretty powerful stuff. The fumes alone will knock you back and damage your lungs if you are not careful. Vinegar should work, but it will take longer. If you go with the muriatic acid, be careful. Don't breathe near it. Hold your breath until you take a few steps away. And don't get any on you or in your eyes! Ask at home depot for the muriatic acid, and they will tell you where to find it. It was less than $10 for 2 gal. I only used one when I was cleaning and etching my concrete. Good luck. Start with the vinegar, and if that does not work, get the MA. dsoz

Muriatic acid is a form of hydrochloric acid. It is pretty potent for just cleaning off coraline algae. Unless you have experience with concentrated acids, I would not recommend using it. In any case, please, please, please be careful, and use protective gear. It can cause blindness if you get it in your eyes. and burns on your skin. Wear old clothes because they will get holes in them (I lose go through 2 or three pairs of pants and one or two shirts a year due to acid). If you want some, I have a partway used gallon of it in my basement that I am not going to use. Let me know and it can be yours. dsoz

welcome to the group. I also did not go, but it sounds like a good time was had by all. dsoz

chapter 7-the QT wait :(- and lights! Well I was able to get some ick cure from Wegotjs the same time he gave me some sand . This club is AWESOME! There are so many people that want to help each other out. I wonder when I'll be able to give back rather than just take. There are some times that I feel like such a mooch. Anyway, the clowns are in the dark under my tank in a QT, and they are being medicated. I figure I'll keep them there until June while the ick clears itself from my display. Would it be better to take the fish back to a store after a couple of weeks, then get new ones in June? Or should I keep the clowns in a bare bottom tank with no lights that is under my tank in the stand until then? My daughter would probably freak out if I returned them, but keeping them in the dark seems cruel. Maybe with my next paycheck (2 weeks) I'll get a small PC light to put under there so they can at least have a day/night cycle. I should also get a small power filter for better flow. I have a powerhead with a filter bag tied to the bottom of it. Maybe it will have enough bacteria for the bioload. I should test the water on the QT. It would suck to have the fish die from an ammonia spike. I am so excited J&Jr is getting me lights for the display. a 6 bulb TEK T5 setup. He only was able to get 4 bulbs for it, but that is perfect because there are two swithches, one for the middle 4 bulbs, and the other for the outermost 2 bulbs. I can run it as a 4 bulb fixture until I get the last 2 bulbs. I got such a great deal from him on that fixture! He got the fixture Friday, and I will have my wife pick it up from him on Monday when she gets off work. I saw that same fixture on J&Jr's 75g tank. IT WAS AWESOME! He has everything that I want to have in my tank to start with sitting in his tank, and it is all doing great. The only thing that I may want later that he does not have is a clam. I am not woried, I'm sure that they will do just fine under 6 T5 bulbs (I think that works out to more than 7 watts per gallon on a 45g tank.). I'll have to post pics when I get it. Again, I feel fortunate for all the people that I have met through this club.

I was very close to getting that same tank. However, I figured that the final cost of resurecting my old 45g would be just about as much with twice the water volume. It is a sweet little tank though. Now I am starting to second guess whether I should have got one. Your setup is awesome. dsoz

Chapter 6: Ick-y tank Well I knew that I was doing things wrong. I should have had more will power. Tonight I came home and Wave (the larger clown) has little white spots all over it, and Bubble is not acting "normal." He is lethargic, and moving rather stiffly. I knew it. I should have waited! Now I am hurting two more poor creatures. They will have to wait until after work tomorow for me to get to the pet store to get some ick cure. I was able to catch them out of my tank, and put them in a 10g that I have under the tank. If they survive until I get home from work, they will get treatment then. They will need to live in my QT for 6 weeks. I gotta give that stupid parasite time to die off from the sand bed. :( Now I have a reason to follow the rules that I started with. No new life for 2 more months. Then up the CUC to full capacity. Then corals, then fish. That is the plan. Now I gotta stick to it.

DChemist- Try 1-888-A-dumas1 It is a secondary line to the same office BTW- are you really a chemist? Where do you work? What exactly do you do?

If they are pin-prick size they are copepods. The larger ones (the size of one of these letters) that you think you should have are amphipods. Both are good. My tank is only a month old. I did see one of them swimming around after adding my LR. If I don't see a lot more of them when summer gets here I am going to order some. If a LFS can't get them from me, I'll probably go with IPSF, and do a 9 for $99 special. I would probably super-size the order to get some of the freebies (micro-stars, sandbed clams, leather corals, etc.) Right now is too soon. Dsoz

If the arms are clear colored with a little white dot at the end, they are like mine (see post "is this mojano") I think I determined that what I have are called strawberry anemones. I don't remember the scientific name. Oh let me go find my post.... Here it is. They are called corynactis, or maybe pseudocorynactis Look here for what was said about mine. Then search coryactis. Compare pictures. http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?p=36119#post36119 If you really want mojano, I found a "dealer" that will sell you LR with them on it. Biomekanic is interested, the nice small rock with about 15 of them. It will go soon, if you don't respond quickly... (I should have been a high pressure salesman ) The "good" thing about them is that they grow and divide quickly. If it apstasia that you want, I can get you them for a low price. Free for any that can be scraped off the glass/plastic of the display tank. But this is a limited time offer. Call now at 1-800-I-M-STPID if you want in on this deal. (ya, my true talents are wasted on teenagers) Hope all goes well. dsoz

Hey Dewzap! How are you doing? I'm glad that you found it to the local club! It is kinda ironic that we both found a local club through the national forum... LOL Welcome home dsoz

It may be easier to get a glass hole saw and drill it that way. But, if I were to do it using tools that I have on hand, and it is only one or two holes, I would use my dremel rotary tool with a diamond bit. Check out this thread http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=110571&hl=drill+glass You can get a Cheapo dremel knock-off rotary tool from Harbor freight for as low as $7, and diamond bits are also inexpensive (less than $10 for a pack of them). The only thing that you need to wory about is to go slow, keep water on the glass (keeps it cool, and washes away the ground glass dust). I have not drilled a fishtank before, but one of my other hobbies is making stained glass. I have drilled holes in pieces of glass before so I have the piece-inside-of-piece look (for eyeballs and other things). If you want some help, I'd be more than happy to show you how. I even have a dremel you can use. You can get a diamond bit (there is a Harbor Freight near my house), and come on over (I live in Orecon City). We can make an afternoon of it. Drilling a 10 gal should not be too hard. The glass is only 1/8" thick. and You are only going for a 1" hole. PM me if you are intersted. dsoz

Many of the suggestions have been implemented. Being new in Feb. I felt sort of the same way. I did talk to a few people, but mostly because I stood around and listened to others talk. Feb was a strange meeting anyway with Borneman there to begin with. The focus seemed to be on him (go figure... pay a lot of money to the guy and then not listen to him.) The march meeting went a lot more newbie friendly. There were several new introductions (I included myself). I also met several new people, one or two that I have talked with outside the meeting. IMO, some newbies either don't have a tanks up yet, or their tank is in such a new state that they don't want to talk about it. Who wants to talk about a tank like this "Well, I added LR a week ago, my ammonia is about 4ppm, I have some nitrite- about 1 ppm, and my diatoms are just starting to bloom... It looks great!" That is how I would be if put on the spot and asked about my tank in March. In February, my tank was just a dream. When people asked about my tank, and I said that I don't have one, yet. It seemed to be a converation killer. But when people asked about what I wanted... That was a different story. I agree, this may be an old, resurected post. But it is a good reminder that we need to keep including newbies. My experience is that this happens. Cheers

If you WANT apstasia and Mojano. I know where I can get some... "But they are very rare, and EXPENSIVE" If you want me to get you some... You better be willing to hand over your first-born.... (music plays, evil laugh here) Seriously. Let me know and I'll tell you which "pet" store has more little "pest" anemones than any 10 people in this group. (not hard, they have some grody looking tanks). FYI- it is not one of the "fish stores" that I have been to. Joel, Patrick, Travis, and the rest of you are all off the hook. Any pest anemones were undetected by me when I was in your stores. It is a "pet store" that sells dogs, cats, birds, and everything else related to pets. They just happen to have a few SW tanks. Cheers dsoz