albertareef

Nice story Kris... yes, it is always nice to find a group where your obsessions are shared by many. I have had tanks since I was in grade school (and just had my 45th b-day Sunday) and have always enjoyed going to shops to just see what's there. It's great when we find partners that can at least accept this behavior and even better when they can take part. My fiancee just emailed me an article she was excited to find which talked about the biology of Sea Apples - yes, we are in fact geeks!

I've seen a few people on here use a plastic mesh to cover there overflows and powerheads.

Where do I find some at, I looked at HD but couldn't find anything that would work.

Jon

I plan to use some polymer Gutter Guard that came from Home Depot. It comes in 6 inch by 20 ft rolls so it's way more than you will likely ever use but it is only $3 or so. The mesh is much larger than window screen - about 1cm (3/8 inch) square - so it shouldn't disrupt flow too much but still should keep out most fish with the exception of smaller gobies etc.

I think I will get one in a couple of days (payday). I was in the pet store again yesterday looking at them. They have a couple, and one of them is a little fatter than the others. I will try to get that one because he seems to be eating more.

dsoz

Hey dsoz, did you get your Hector's yet? I have had a couple of Rainsford's before and really liked them (which seem to be nearly identical to the Hector's except for the color pattern, someone correct me if I wrong). One eat frozen right away and was fine - the other didn't so, like everything else, seems like there is significant individual differences. I'm sure if you saw him eat in the store he will be fine. Enjoy!

Kris,

I am very sorry to hear about your loss. That is the hardest thing about being a dog owner - knowing that you eventually will loose them. Whenever it has happened to me it always leaves a huge void. I guess that is the price we have to pay for the joy and companionship they add to our lives while they are here...

Best of luck. I hope you find a new companion when you are ready.

Sean

Wow... that looks great Brandon - I still love that stand and the pendant lighting. Your fish and coral (I checked out the macro shots as well) all look fantastic. I wish I had those Wrasses....

Thanks for sharing. Great job!

any updates?

Hey Brandon - I was gone for a while and was just wondering how the new tank was coming along, did you sort out your lighting yet? It's such a sweet looking setup I hope it's coming together OK for ya!

doesnt it have to have something living in it to be a potm?

I think there were still a few things living in it at that point... just nothing you would want to take a picture of!

Looks fantastic Joel! The additional pics and explanations help to get a feel for how it all comes together - I really like the incorporation of the closed loop intake into the overflow box... nice design. BTW - does having the returns on the bottom create any substantial back pressure issues for the CL pump? Just curious....

Also, do you have any additional info (source?) for the fans you used in your canopy? I need to replace some in my stand and they sound like a great option.

Thanks for sharing... it's looking awesome!

Hey Bob, hope you have a great one! Did you get lots of good presents for the new tank?!?!

Austin,

very sorry to hear about your grandpa - hope things improve for you all soon.... you're in our thoughts.

Take care!

Man... that looks great! I love the light pendants. Can't wait to see pics of it up and running....

Happy B-day! Hope you had a good one. Maybe you can give yourself a present and get your tank set up soon!(dancing)

wow absolutly gorgeous ....are the tangs still doing well together?

Thanks! Yep - the tangs still get along great. The Potter's angel will chase the Coral beauty every once in a while and the Sohal will try and play tag with the Rabbit fish on occasion but nothing too threatening. Welcome to the site - hope your tank is coming along well. Did you post any pics yet?

I have a 12 gallon bio cube for sale. It will come with one large rock, live sand, a heater, and a little power head. I also have some new two part additive to throw in. It is less than 6 months old.

 

Asking $125 for it.

This would be perfect for the seahorse tank my SO wants to set up - sent a PM.

I was checking out the blue tip acro I won in the raffle at the last PNWMAS meet and thought it was worth thanking Patrick and Austin again for hosting and organizing refreshments! Also, they provided a lot of support when tearing down Lowman's tank and reinstalling at it's new home - including hosting the high-light corals and clam I couldn't keep alive in my old system during the change over.

Thanks a lot guys - I (really) couldn't have done that without your help! (rock2)

Way to create a controversy Sean!!(wife)

Oh man.... and I didn't even post that pic! Geeze, it's just like being at work;)

Wow... sweet little tank! Looks like you have some really happy coral in there. What is the setup and how long have you had it going?

No prob. It has 3 votes [language filter]? Would be funny to see that pic on our club front page. POTM! (laugh)

Yeah... there might be some explaining to do in that case! Not that anyone here has a sense of humor or anything...(laugh)

What the heck is up with #E?

E & G kinda went together.... Bob posted the pic of his old tank under "out with the old" after he emptied it out so I posted the pic of it in it's new home under "in with the new". Sorry... didn't mean to confuse things.

Wow... that is going to look awesome. I love the deco paper with the crackle finish. Too bad the local artist thing didn't work out the way you hoped but this is going to look really sharp! Hmmm... wonder if it's too late to tear mine apart and start over... nope, my SO would kill me!

Sweet! I would love some of that...

I had a '71 that was in my family since it was new.... got rid of it in '85 but it was a great little car. 1600 cc inline 4 putting out about 90hp but the car was light so it didn't seem so bad. MacPherson struts in the front. Super reliable. I think we put one radiator and a water pump in it over the 14 years we owned it... not bad. If you can find one enjoy!

Hey Bob,

Sorry to hear you are stepping down, but I am guessing you will probably be enjoying life a little more without having to bite your tongue all the time...

Enjoy your new found (or rather rediscovered) freedom!

The one thing I see you getting in food grade vs mag flake is consistancy. Mag flake could change in every batch, I would guess that food grade mag would be more carefully monitored.

Interesting point... I honestly don't know the details on food testing so well (anyone out there?) but for many reagent grade chemicals, you can get batch or lot specific analysis that list all detectable trace elements and their levels - which is one reason they can be rather expensive - vs. more generic lab grade chemicals which simply guarantee the presence of the listed chemical at XX %. So... with the latter, you could indeed have some pretty big lot variations in terms of the composition and not know about it. Hopefully, someone else can comment on the standards for human consumption items (testing frequency, parameters) but I think it might be more a matter of guaranteing what isn't in there (eg. toxic chemicals, harmful bacteria, etc.) than defining what is. The complication being "toxic" defined by human standards.

I really have no axe to grind in this - just thought it was an interesting philosophical question.... and one with no clear cut "right" answer from my perspective.

As for the topic of harmful additives, if a substance is "food grade", or "consumption grade", it is free of certain toxic elements and production residue, and must be labeled as such. "Lab grade" is generally the most pure, but may be in a form or concentration that is less desireable for use in our aquariums.

Wow... I missed all the excitement!

I think this point by Ryan is an important one to follow up on. As he indicates, lab grade is, in fact, more pure in terms of chemical content (typically % by weight) while consumption grade indicates freedom from toxic (for humans) components - or rather their presence below certain thresholds.

Unfortunately, the higher purity of lab grade does not necessarily translate to safe usage for hobbyists since the remaining impurities, although at very low levels by percentage, could be very toxic to certain organisms. This is compounded by the fact that, in order to reach the desired level of purity, some chemicals are subjected to purification schemes that introduce highly toxic elements as a byproduct - albeit at very low levels (by weight). So... while lab grade might be great for insuring fidelity of chemical reactions in a lab setting (what it is designed for), it might be bad news in a reef because of it's particular "contaminant". Likewise, while consumption grade might be generally safe for us to use in food, its relatively higher levels of impurities could increase the risk of adding something you will regret!

Unfortunately, this means there is probably no good rule of thumb to go by other than other peoples' experience with individual products or a manufactures' willingness to certify a product for expressed purposes.

Apologies for the lengthy disrcourse but I think this is an important and interesting question.... and obviously one that generates some strong opinions! Skimmate anyone?!?!?