JasonH

I would think it would have a ton of beneficial stuff in it - the only problem is the salinity. I know that salt doesn't eveporate, but I'm assuming that skimmate has a high salinity - which would be bad for the plants.

I used to do a bit of rock climbing. At the time, there was this guy (can't remember his name) that was pretty famous for "free climbing" - climbing without a rope. I remember thinking, "wow, that guy is insane. If just one thing goes wrong..." Yeah. That guy's dead now. That was pretty cool to watch, though.

I really haven't figured out the levels of what coral beats what coral. This was a colony sized Sunset and a frag-sized Pink Lemonade - I don't know if that makes a difference. I can tell you that chalice trumps Sunset...

Save the picture to somewhere like Photobucket. Then copy the link location (will be displayed right below the picture). Then paste that into your post and it will show up as a picture. Doh - just beat me.

I've got several - all of the encrusting variety. I've had a lot of luck with mine - been very easy and tolerate a lot of different lighting a flow conditions. One of the easier SPS, in my experience. I would say they tend to like higher light, and will lose some color in lower lighting. I haven't noticed much difference in different flow areas, but others might have different experiences. I would keep an eye out for monti-eating nudies. They went around locally a while back. I think (again, my experience) they tend to be in the middle on carol wars. My Sunset took out about a 1/3 of my Pink Lemonade (acro) frag a while back. So keep an eye on the placement and think about what they might grow into. As will any encrusting coral, they'll keep getting larger. That's about all I know.

I hate to be a wet blanket, but I don't see how you could identify that frag as a specific "named" coral from the picture. The Appleberry is a $100 frag. I would think you'd know if that's what you were getting. http://store.atlantisaquarium.net/atl-original-apple-berry-monti-palawenensis-frg028.html

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned bio-load in this thread. Eric, you've always tip-toes right up to that line - and generally over what most people would feel comfortable with in an SPS tank. It could just be spikes in ammonia/nitrates related to fish... waste or feeding (triggers are dirty eaters). And don't I remember that you had posted some time back about not doing regular water changes? 1.022 salinity is low, but I don't think it's low enough to kill anything (but I could be wrong). However, it you corrected it too quickly - that could be an issue. But is sounds like the die-off started before that. Definitely sounds like the die off was too sudden to be pest related.

Wow - very cool. Thanks for taking the time to post pics. You seems to be moving along at a great pace. Clearly, you have some carpentry/plumbing skills. So, you put the stand directly on the tiles/ Do you worry that the weight of the stand might break/crush the tiles? Would it matter? Just a thought.

Also, it's not just a matter of getting them to eat it - it's getting the food to them. They are very slow, graze feeders. They won't dart out into the water stream to grab a bite. So other, more active feeders, will gobble up all the brine shrimp/other food before the mandarin can get to it.

That's awesome. Thanks for posting.

...Which unfortunately is being ripped out left and right. This thing about alt fuel vehicles, is that they need to be practical and cost efficient. One can hold up a political ideology as a reason to convert. But until it's cost efficient and practical (i.e. don't have to wait 26 minutes while your car recharges) it just won't get widespread adoption - which ironically is one key to making it more cost effective.

Yeah the cost is always the problem. So far, they can't make a "green" car that is a cost benefit vs a gas car. Toyota loses money on every pious (whoops, Prius) they sell. This car is much more expensive than it's gas counterpart (offset by tax subsidies - thanks govt for stealing more of my money to help pay for someone else's car). In this case, the car seems to cost about 1.5x to 2x the price of a similar gas-powered car. It's get's 40 miles for the electrical cost of about $3 - about the same as a sedan going 40 miles on gas. So cost neutral on fuel source after spending 2x for the car. And, as the oregonian surprisingly points out, generating that electricity is done by burning coal. And as has been mentioned, what do we do with the batteries? I'd love to see an honest assessment (not from Al Gore) of the long term environmental impact of this car - including manufacturing, electrical generation, and end of life. Also, as Oregon switches from coal to (much) more expensive green sources, the cost to recharge these vehicles could increase significantly. And, it's not reasonable that a person could own ONLY this car - what if they need to drive more than 100 miles? They have to pull over for 26 minutes to recharge? So, most people that buy this car will have it as a second or third car. There was a survey recently that found the average household income of a hybrid car owner is $113K. These are the people my tax money is subsidizing? (steps of soap box)

First thing that catches my eye is a tank that's ~6 weeks old and already has ~10 fish? Perhaps some cycle problems as things peak and valley. New tank, high bio-load (not necessarily for the tank, but for the maturity).

+1 on Guinness, but ever since having it in Ireland, I can't drink the US version anymore. Widmer Hef Widmer Snow Plow

Dennis, I've been meaning to get a hold of you, I've got some more frags to offer the TfT. Not sure when I'll have time to drop off, but I'll PM you and coordinate.

What's the difference between a golf ball and a Cadillac Escalade? Tiger can drive a golf ball 350 yards.

Are they inside? (or you just confirmation that they were delivered and they are sitting on your front porch?) When did they ship? Are they in a styro box with heat packs? If they shipped overnight, are inside, and in a well packed box, you're probably okay. Otherwise, I'd go home during lunch and get them floated. Personally, I wouldn't risk it. I'd at least open the box and check to see that they look all right, and get them floating in your sump or DT - with the lights off.

I know this is a little too broad to be helpful, but it looks like a bacterial infection - maybe from where it was picked on from the other fish?

I think it is increadibly poor form, regardless of the reason, if this thread was how Eric and Brandon found out the Board was putting a hold on (or ending) the GOC.

So I finally made it into WSA today for the first time today. I have to agree with everyone. It's a small shop, but very nice, neat, and well stocked. I talked to Tim for close to an hour and it felt like I had been there 10 minutes - very nice guy. I left with a test kit and a couple frags and felt like I had held Tim up at gun point the price was so low. The best part is, I think I found a coral that I had been searching for for a long time! I definitely recomend checking this new shop out - and we finally have a shop on the west side!

This was a great walk through and very helpful. But when I did the math, I figure that making the same amount of food would cost be about $50,000! (scratch) Let me double check my math: Nori - $4.99 Oysters - $5.67 Scallops - $3.48 My wife divorcing me for using her kitchen to make fish food - $49,985.86 - Oh there it is DOH!(laugh)

Actually, that is not the case by a long shot. I'd be happy to give a detailed explanation, but it would be long and boring (and require an open mind by the reader*) and I don't want to derail the thread. *But (edit: solely) blaming Bush and big corporations is simply not reasonable (edit: both certainly have some level of responsibility). I realize that these are the favorite bogymen of the left, but as long as we are only capable of blaming the "other side" with no real understanding of the underlying cause, we will simply repeat the same historical mistakes - which is exactly what is happening here with these two bills.

Jen and Algae, you guys do noble work and I appreciate that. Jen, I believe that Byrd meant that the govt is corrupt and inept, not your specific NPO. The problem is that the govt wastes so much money, and then when some valuable service comes wanting - the answer isn't to prioritize the budget and take care of our less fortunate/capable citizens - it's to continue wasting money and raise taxes. Jen, your description of 67 makes it sound like it's just going to target those greedy super-rich. But as Steve points out - it's a horrible measure. It will cripple small business in a time when most of them are just trying to survive through to the end of the recession. Something like 90% of American's are employed by small business. This is a tax that will put hundreds of Oregon small business out of business and thousands of workers out of a job - and onto the govt dole - meaning more govt spending and more taxes... The reason the economy is so bad in Oregon, is this exact mentality from our lawmakers. Everyone blames corporations and wants them to "pay their fair share" but when you raise taxes on business, you force them to reduce their greatest expense - labor. When business (large or small) employ people, those people pay taxes - and don't end up on unemployment. If it were up to me, there would be a tax credit for business for everyone they hired. Let them employ more people and pay less taxes - tax the worker - then at least the worker has a job. Look at Boeing - they just went out to build a brand new factory - which will be built in South Carolina. Several states were competing for that business to come to their state. Not Oregon. South Carolina will be getting all the work from building a huge factory, and will then get ~20K jobs, and the business from those ~20K workers, and the construction from the homes those workers will buy. Not Oregon.