dsoz

I do believe that the parasite egg/larva can live in the sand/rock for up to 4 weeks. This may even mean on frag plugs. But I am not an expert. dsoz

oooooh, right next door. But my tank is still cycling for at least another two weeks. If you have more then, I'll take some. dsoz

I am wondering "being so new" if going will be "worth it" for me. My rock will be cycled, my tank will be stable, but I am still excited about getting the same old, same old from the stores around here and later trading with others. Just the thought of a normal old frogspawn gives me chills. I want to try my knives out on a few 'shrooms. Initiate my dremel on some poor LPS. I may someday want to get into SPS, but if that is all that will be there... not too exciting. Will there be presentations? speakers? free stuff? This may be exciting. If I can learn more about what I'll have by then it may be worth the $15. But $15 is a frag of something. If the stuff that they are selling is $40 a frag, that is too expensive for me. I am not really into the LE frag of this or that. It may look cool, but as a newbie I'd probably kill it off. I would like to support this event, but... what would be in it for me? Maybe I can help man the PNWMAS table and give our fearless leaders a break from having to do ALL the work... IDK. dsoz

not a disease. Maybe an obsession. Most likely an addiction. Just like some people use alcohol/drugs to "get away" from normal life. dsoz

Andy- I am already not sticking to the plan. I bought 10 crabs BEFORE I got the rock, and the LS I got had featherduster worms in it (I have found 7 so far and made a little "forest" of them in the front of the tank). And the LS I got from SW F-S had a nassarius snail and some micro-stars. Brandy- The rock is thanks to SeanF at C&S. He made the trip to So.Cal and picked me up a box of rock while he was there. He only charged me the price he paid, no markup. He was able to get Walt Smith Premium for the same price as normal. I think that it had been sitting around a while and they were clearing it out. It was rather dead looking (and smelling), but there are some nice shapes. I know that I can add stuff that I want later. I have done no aquascaping yet, I just threw it in the tank to get it cycled. Then I'll wory about making it pretty. My skimmer would be working overtime IF I HAD ONE. I was planning on buying one this month, but the water heater broke, and let water all over my basement. All of this month's tank money, and some of next two month's tank money went to help pay for that problem. The only filtration that I have are the two powerheads that you can see in the pictures. That's it. One of them has a bag from an old WHISPER HOB filter (still had the pads and carbon, but the filter went the way of the dump years ago) with activated carbon in it to help with the mechanical filtration and the yellow color that is getting better. My plans for the future include getting an all-in-one like the Aquapod or bio-cube. I would like at least the 150w HQI hood, but after listening to the light guy yesterday I don't know if I want to buy lighting that is becoming obsolete... I have at least another month to make up my mind. Keep repeating cycle rock first, save money, buy with cash, NO CREDIT CARD, cycle rock first, save money... I should have made you wait to read chapter 4- my plans for the future. LOL (laugh)

first attempt at pics from photobucket As of tonight here is my tank. Full tank shot. Yes I know it needs a little more water. Why fill the tank when it will just get poluted with waste off the rock. Yes, that is a 4' shoplight with normal fluorescent bulbs. another closer. one of my micro-hermits my featherdusters that awesome nassarius snail that I scored from SW F-S and the rules that I am living by (or at least trying to) If you can't read them. They are from Borneman's Myth in the reef tank series #3. Basically it sais to WAIT FOREVER before getting anything. I guess it is to enable the wallet to fill back up in between trips to the LFS. (whistle)

My son was born on March 17, so it is a double celebration. I can just see the parties that he will be in when he turns 21... Ha, Ha. dsoz

One of the sponsors is a local person that works acrylic, and makes tanks. I think it is James at envision acrylic. Look for him on the sponsor page, and also in the sponsor section of the forums. I have seen a couple of posts from happy customers. I have never done business with him myself. Acrylic scratches too easily for me. I am way too clumsey. One Dropped rock, and SCRATCH, the front is ruined. dsoz

I know I need more patience, but I have been waiting a long time to do this again. As to my progress, read my tank build thread in the members aquariums section. Reef Junkie back off the wagon. I just added chapter 3 which is everything that I have put into the tank so far.

chapter 3- The waiting game So I bring my old 45 gal tank from school. The last thing that was in it was salmon eggs that my classes were observing grow and hatch (Thanks to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife). It sat there in my house empty for two weeks before payday came so I could get some stuff. Three weeks ago I got a bucket of salt, 5 lbs of dry sand, and a clump of chaeto from Waves. It went into the tank along with 2 pieces of raw squid (from a package of seafood medley). My thought was that the Chaeto would add a starter culture of bacteria, as well as take up SOME of the nutrients as the cycle progressed. This may prevent the ammonia from spiking too high. I don't know, maybe my theory is flawed. I got tired of watching dead squid float around so I got about 2.25 lbs live sand that I bought from the pet store in Oregon City (at $4/lb) Rip off, but it came with at least 7 small feather duster worms that are still living, and 10 micro-hermits from same pet store. The hermits crawled around, ate the squid, and entertained me. Last weekend I got about 50 lbs live rock from SeanF. It turned my water a lovely shade of Mt. Dew. But it came with at least two amphipods as hitch hikers. Hopefully they survive and there is a boy and a girl... Baby 'pods would be cool. I haven't seen much else, but what do you expect from a system filled with toxic ammonia? And I got at least 2-3 lbs live sand from Austin today at the meeting (Saltwater Fanta-Seas). This came with one nassarius snail and at least three micro-stars. I have not seen a lot more, but the night is still young, and I am going to spend the next two hours watching my tank. Thus ends the history. From now on it is the future in the making.

I thought that the meeting today went well. Several new people, and I got to meet some people that I only knew as a screen name. Kudos to chief, lowman, and the rest of our officers and board for a smooth meeting. With some of the unreast that there has been lately, it could have gotten ugly. I hope that everyone else had a great time as well. Thanks to Patrick, Austin, and the rest of the crew at Saltwater Fanta-seas. Nice shop, and I know I'll be back when my tank is cycled. Thanks Patrick for bringing in the guys from Life Light. I hope someday that I can give their products a test to see if the claims of better growth for our animals are really true. Thanks Austin for the live sand. Just coming home I noticed at least three of those micro-stars that I talked to you about wanting. Now I have some. I feel like I should have paid you for the sand that you gave away freely. THANKS SO MUCH. Again, it was a good afternoon. If anyone can make a tank cycle FASTER, I'd love to hear how. I don't want to wait a couple more weeks before I can put in the good stuff. dsoz

chapter 2- getting the itch (or is it ick?) About 4 years ago I was talking to someone about my old reef tank, and he asked me if I heard about this place in Tualitin called Upscales. He told me to go in and check out their display tank. I resisted for about a month, but as they say in star trek "resistance is futile!" My jaw just about hit the floor when I saw that display. I think I stood there for about 4 hours just staring at it. Ok I exagerate, but I was in that store at least 45 minutes and most of it was looking in that one tank. I talked with one of the workers and decided that I still could not afford to set up my tank again. All was good until January '07. I had to take my son to one of his friend's house in Sherwood, and since I was on Christmas vacation, I had some time to kill. So I stopped in Upscales again. Again I spend an extraordinary amount of time looking at the big displays (they must have undergone binary fission because I remember only one.) But this time I also made it around most of the shop and LOOKED at what there was. I started to understand that I could buy frags of corals instead of full grown corals. Read the last sentence as I could still get coral and not spend all of the inheritance money that I don't have. I also noticed the nano tank that is right by the register. How convenient. Hey, they have corals in there... I thought corals needed huge monster lights... Do you switch them out and replace them often? How do you keep them like that? The questions just started and I am glad that the person that I talked to gave me the time even though I was not buying anything that day. New lighting technology... Nano aquariums... Aquapod... 70w MH... Could keep anything in the store under this light... Including the SPS and clams... OH YAH!!! Saltwater itch was back in full swing. I waited a full week until I mentioned it to my wife... Honey, I think I want to set up a saltwater tank again... Do you think that we could find some money in our budget to let me get a tank... I don't know the exact pricetag, but I can do some research and find out. It just so happens that I am doing some extra duty activities at work that they are paying extra for. I mentor two new teachers an hour each every week, and I just signed up to work with our group of lowest students for two hours a week after school. This gives me some money above our normal budget. My wife agreed that since I was doing the extra work, I would get the extra money. FISH TANK HERE WE COME!!!!

Non-members can't be a part of the raffles.... Oops. I bought some raffle tickets at Borneman's lecture and I'm not a "member" (yet- get tank up and going, membership by summer). Do I get a refund on the $5 I spent on raffle tickets? Just kidding.

I would love to do it, but my tank is still in the cycle stage, and won't be ready for at least 5 or 6 months. :( dsoz

What is this brown stuff all over my tank??? Oh ya- it is diatoms! (voice in head) Don't worry it is completely "normal" it will probably clear up in a few weeks, and get replaces with green hair algae, bubble algae and all sorts of other nasties. YAY! My tank is "normal".(clap) even if I'm not. (nutty) Does anyone want to share in the diatom fun? dsoz

As an educator, I can see some possibilities in this. Research based class in Aquaculture... Need more info. dsoz

Let's get this meeting started. I'll start. Hi, my name is dsoz, and I am a reef addict. I was clean for about 11 years, then something happened to get me back onto reefing. This is my story. PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE Bits and pieces of this story have been posted in other sections, and in other people's threads. I just felt like I am getting to a place where I need to put all of this down on (paper?) screen. My parents were fish tank addicts, keeping fish from before the time I was born. I was raised in a home where the entertainment was "let's watch the guppies give birth." This type of show won over television any day. I am not blaming my parents, because there is only one person to blame. Me. I remember the day that I got my "own" first fish tank. I was in high school, with a job (McDonalds... GO RONALD!) and a lot of extra cash in my pocket. I was tired of the communal guppy, molly, and swordtail tanks in the house, and I wanted something different. I went to Cayes Pets on SE Division in Portland (still there by the way) and they became my first dealer. I got a 20 galon hex, with African Ciclids. They were pretty fish, and the first step into my distruction. I took the tank and fish with me to college, Southern Oregon State University (now SOU) in Ashland, Oregon. They lived with me in the dorms for two years. When I got married and moved into an apartment the wife said that if I was going to keep fish, she would like something more attractive... SALTWATER!!!! So we sold the 20 hex, and bought a 45 long from the fish store in Medford (I wish I could remember the name of the store, and whether it is still in business 15 years later.) We had the under-gravel filter, we had the crushed coral, we had the plastic plants. I think the only thing that we did right was to use powerheads instead of air stones for the UGF. For lighting I made a hood out of oak plywood, and had 4 normal output fluorescent bulbs. Three coralife 10,000 k and one actinc. For the next two years I kept putting livestock in my green algae tank of death. Everytime a financial aid (loan) check came in, we would fix the car, buy some fish, and pay for tuition. Usually in that order. I can't even remember how many poor unsuspecting animals died in my care. The tangs, the anemones, the featherduster tubeworms, the snails (even though there was so much algae), the clowns, and even a couple of corals. I am so sorry.(sad) In the meantime I kept learning more, and more. I replaced the crushed coral with sand. Not wanting to get rid of my bio-filter I put the coral in the feet of panty-hose and hung them from the back of the tank, and removed them one a week for a couple of months. Try explaining to someone WHY there are pantyhose hanging in your tank... Ya, right. I added LR slowly (one uncured piece at a time). No wonder I had so many fish suddenly up and died. It seems that the only thing that I could keep alive was green star polyps (still one of my favorites) a couple of mushrooms, and a small toadstool leather. Finally graduated from college, we moved back to Portland area. Once I got my first job, teaching chemistry at a private high school in Portland, I found out about the reality of reefing. IT IS EXPENSIVE! With one child already, and another on the way, and a starting salary that qualified my family for food stamps, I could not afford my hobby any more. Especially since I had to start repaying the student loans! I had to dismantle my tank. It was a sad day. I gave away, sold, threw out almost everything that I had related to fish. I only kept the bare tank and stand. Also a box of stuff that has since disappeared (probably to the dump when I was not watching). From that moment, just about eleven years have gone by. Two different schools later we come to present day. But I'll save that for chapter 2.

Bluecheese- why are you so blue? Fish tanks always relax me... Joel at Waves has aragonite sand for $1/lb but it is dry. You can get some live sand starter (about a cup) from almost any LFS if you ask. (SW fanta-seas offered me some at the March meeting). Also SeanF from Ciclids&Salt said he would bring a bunch of sand from one of his old tanks (still wet and "alive") to give out to people at the meeting as well. (no I am not getting paid to advertise for the sponsors, but it would be nice.) Calurpa has the disadvantage that if it gets nutrient poor, it will think that it is dying. When macro's are in a dying off cycle they will do things to help preserve their genetic material. One way to do this is to "go sexual" and make gametes. The gametes will then be carried by the currents to other places on the reef that may have more nutrients. The big drawbact to this is often the parent puts all of its energy in making gametes, so it dies. This creates two polution sources (the gametes themselves, and the dead parent mass) that will really foul your tank. Some people have had their tanks crash with calurpa. The other downside with Calurpa is if you do want to get rid of it, it is nearly impossible (unless you have a tang to eat it all). The "root" tenderals (not true roots) will stay on the rock and sproout new shoots that will grow like crazy. Chaeto does not do the whole sexual thing. Therefore, as it grows it will take nutrients out of the water, and you take it out of your sump/refuge. Simple. Hope this helps with the calurpa/chaeto delema. I'd go with Chaeto myself.

So is anyone going to bring sand??? I can bring some but I only have sand that is in the middle of my live rock cycle. Not a lot of diversity (starting to get diatoms). I was also hoping to get some diversity as well. dsoz

Is the HQI the 70w or the 150w? I am looking for a similar setup. Great looking tank! dsoz

I am kinda the opposite of Bemo. I had NOTHING but water and a powerhead in my tank just 4 weeks ago. I still sat and watched the waves. When I added a little sand and a piece of raw squid, my wife thought I was crazy for watching the squid decompose. Now that I have some live rock and a couple of micro-hermits I am watching the hermits crawl all over the rock, pick off stuff, and I can do this for hours... It seems the only other thing that I do that relaxes me is reading about other people's tanks. (does not even come close to sitting in front of my own tank) It is a nice way to unwind at the end of the day. I can hardly wait for a frogspawn, or a bubble, or *someday* an anemone and clownfish pair. Let's just get through the cycle first, get some good lights, and I'll be good to go. My wife thinks that the tank needs a tang (tank is too small), and about 34 different fish. I'll just have to keep telling her no :( 3 small fish in a 25-30 gal is plenty. dsoz

Thanks Sean. No extra filter, just a couple of powerheads. I do have some old (10 years) Whisper Bio-bags with activated carbon (in sealed pouches). Would it help to just float the bags and carbon, or should I try to jurry-rig something to a powerhead? I was thinking of putting one filter bag over the inlet of the PH, then putting a second bag with carbon OVER the first bag. Holding it all together with a rubber band... I'll try it. Dsoz

Well life is strange. I got home from work today and the water heater is leaking all over my basement. I now must spend my reef tank savings on a new water heater :( I will be looking for a skimmer again in a couple of months. I guess the rock can cycle in the yellow water for a week or two, and then get a water change... It is only rock... Cheers

I just got a load of live rock, and my tank water is about the same shade as Mt. Dew. I would like a cheap skimmer- about $100- to get rid of some of the waste before it becomes ammonia. If you have small skimmer that works, but is collecting dust, let me know. Larger skimmers would work for cycling the rock, but I would need to put it in the display tank. It would need to come out when the cycle is over (no sump to put it in). dsoz