dsoz

Larger hole is usually the drain and the smaller hole is usually the water in. A pool pump may be too much flow, unless you have a whole bunch of tanks that you are talking about. Another thing to consider is copper. Most inverts are prone to copper toxicity. If the pool pump has copper brushings, then you may be slowly killing the crawdads if you use it. Aquarium pumps usually are made with stainless steel (no copper). Just something to check. dsoz

Most people on here are in Oregon and Vancouver, WA. There is another reef club that is more for people in the Seattle/Tacoma area. It is www.thepsas.org (puget sound aquarium society). Olympia is almost right in the middle, but probably closer to PSAS. You are more than welcome here, and I think this is a more active community based on the number of posts a day. However, you may find it difficult to drive to Portland (or further south) whenever you want to meet up with someone for a trade or a sale. dsoz

Good luck with the new job. Now who will be running all the share the love with you back to work? Your time is much better spent while at work. dsoz

I have man-made rock if you are interesed. The price is right at $1.50/lb. I have a bunch in my system and it is doing fine. The rock is now in a tank with a fish and some zoas growing. Use some of this for the base and get some "real" live rock for the top. It will save you some money and you can get "premium" LR instead of just "normal" LR. Located in Oregon City Let me know. dsoz

You know what I have. There are two pieces that are good enough to frag some off. Say $5 per frag. I won't be around until Sunday. LMK dsoz

Cut the hole in the stand bigger. Silicone will not hold plastic in place, and it does not stick to acrylic like Moto said. dsoz

count me in... share the love post #9 dsoz

If the baking soda was cooked properly, it would have turned into sodium carbonate, which when dissolved in water creates a large amount of heat. There is no need to warm the container, it will get hot on its own. I usually have trouble keeping it cool so it won't melt the plastic jug that I mix the carbontae in. dsoz

I know that frogspawn (a close cousin to torch) will both split heads and grow "nubs" from the base. Most common is the splitting/branching. The top of the head starts to develop a second "mouth" in the center then the two mouths will start drifting apart. After a couple of months the mouths have separated so much that they are two different heads and the skeleton starts growing in different directions and looks like a Y. As for "nubs" or "buds" they usually grow at the base of the flesh down on the skeleton. When they get a little larger (1/4 to 1/2 inch and separated from the main flesh), I would usually break them off and glue them to a frag disk and put them where they would get more light so they would grow. HTH dsoz

Ricordia also have a wide range of colors, and can be easy to keep too. dsoz

Don't add salt water to make up for evaporation. Doing so will drive your salinity up. Only use salt water if you take out salt water in a water change. Otherwise add fresh (deionized or distiller) water to top off evaporation. Candycanes are cool and they can grow fast. I like feeding mine freeze dried plankton or frozen mysis shrimp. It accelerates the growth. Good luck Dsoz

All that money and they put in koi... Some people have way too much money on their hands.

share the love. dsoz

Pocillopora is also known as cauliflower coral. It was a good grower in my tank. But then something happened and all of a sudden it turned brown and most of the base died off. Still several branches are alive, but they are not the pretty pink that they once were. This would be a nice score. A large colony for a starting tank. dsoz

Look at the sponsor's section here. I didn't read anyone mention nano reef. It is on the way to Fanta-Seas and Seahorse. Still a starting shop, but still a good place to pick up a deal. dsoz

I have two colors of monti cap (orange and purple), and at least two colors of monti digi (purple, orange, and maybe a small piece of green) that I could sell. I would let them go for $5 for a frag. Send me a PM if interested. dsoz

Share the love. dsoz

Cut the bottom half of a 2-liter bottle and put a PVC pipe in the top hole (find a pipe that the plastic cap will fit inside and epoxy it in and screw it on). Cut a few holes in the pop bottle body. You have just made a shrimp-proof cover for feeding your corals. Feed coral, then cover with the bottle for 30 minutes. If you forget to remove the cover the holes will allow some water circulation to keep the coral alive (try to not let it sit under cover for more than a couple of hours). As for inverts, I would just make sure that the cycle is complete by waiting 6-8 weeks then start adding the coral that you want to have. Of course add snails and hermits (if you want) to keep algae in check. Have a clump of chaeto somewhere in your tank to introduce all sorts of good stuff like pods. I really like the small micro-brittle stars, and small feather-duster tube worms. I also like the stomatella snails (look like a slug with a small shield-like shell on the back). dsoz

That is a good description of the tool that I have. If you can't find yours, let me know. I can find mine in about 30 seconds of searching. I used a fairly large bead because I didn't care how it looked. This is before I bought that stupid tool so I used a plastic bag over my finger to smooth out the silicone (and still managed to get it all over myself). I put a bunch of silicone down, then wiped a lot of it away and wasted a lot!!! It did get the job done. Figure put the tape about 1/2 inch or so out from the corner. Put it closer if you want less silicone showing at the corner. Just remember to pull the tape up before the silicone cures. If you wait for after, the tape just may become permanent (unless you use a razor blade to cut it out). dsoz

Also, use the blue painter's tape to mask off a straight edge. I have one of the silicone tools that you can use. I start back to work tomorrow. :( If you would have been ready earlier I could have helped you do it. Now I am going to be really busy with preparing for a new class to teach. dsoz

Corals can live a few days without light as well. Several people have turned off lights for up to 3 days to kill off algae with no adverse affects to the corals. As long as there is some water movement to keep the coral tissue oxygenated they should survive. Not to say that they will do well, there may be some tissue regression, bleaching, or browning to the corals but they will live. A battery powered air pump is supposed to be enough water movement for most tanks for several days. dsoz

The way that it works is that the pump puts water up into the tank. The amount of water that goes into the tank raises the water level, which causes the siphon to start until the water level goes back down to a certain level, then the siphon does not drain any more. If the return pump is constantly running (it should), then there will be constant water going through the overflow. If the pump stops, the water level in the tank will drop a little bit, but it will not siphon all the water out. You don't need to match the water flow, it does it on its own. dsoz

Thanks Jon and Clay for showing me a great time in my evening in Eugene! It was an enjoyable time driving around and around and around Eugene/Springfield. You guys are a crazy bunch and a hoot to hang around! Thanks again for dragging me around. dsoz

yes, the second one is better. dsoz

Use an overflow. Don't use 2 pumps. You will not get the same rate, even with using the same pumps. There are hang on overflows that use an upside down U tube that makes a siphon. You can get one used or buy one new at a fish store. New they are somewhere between $40-80. Check with Patrick at Fanta-Seas or at Rose City. dsoz