JasonH

If that's the Tyree BGM, $15/eye is an insanely good deal. Is a sweet deal for a reasonable look-alike. If already got one, but otherwise, I'd be all over that.

Ha ha - I regularly clean the tank and such without a shirt. Over the years, many wet sleeves have taught me that rolling them up doesn't help much when you have a coral in each hand. However... I don't seem to have ever found a need to be pant-less during the process. And I'm sure that everyone is thankful for that!

Yeah, I dated a girl like that once - she was evil, too.

I don't know for sure, but my guess is that it would eat other types of coral. I wouldn't risk it. But I truly don't know.

xanthidae crab. Not a gorilla crab, but definitely a bad player. There are some hairy commensal crabs, particularly on Pocillapora corals. However, the blue eye's are a key indicator. Kill it! Kill it twice!

Thanks again everyone for your input. The sump is now installed and running. I'll get a picture posted soon. It's a huge sump, I think it took about 40 gal to fill. There is no detectible bowing - without top or brace. Unfortunately, I didn't think to sand down the cut edges until I already had it set up. But it's okay, it's not too sharp/rough. There is a ton more room now that the sump is 4" shorter. Thanks, Pantherguy. I know you're a woodworker; I remember the gorgeous stand you built. I'm a very, very novice woodworker, but I'm learning. I really like the sump design. Since the refugium runs the full length of the sump and it's separate from the other chambers, I can have a different rate of flow for the refugium and sump.

I feel your pain. I had some issues recently and lost several of my acros - including some high dollar items. It's very frustrating. I even thought about shutting down until I could get a larger tank running, and then restarting. But as frustrating as it is, I know I'd miss it. The challenge is half of the fun - in a twisted, hammer-to-the-face kind of way.

bandit acro crab - a great thing! <= Look

Ah, oops, I hope I wasn't being rude. I didn't recognize Drew's name and noticed that he had only joined in January. I presumed that it was a typical case of a new reefer jumping the gun. Sorry, Drew.

Ouch, tank set up for 2 weeks? Is this a new set-up, or did you move/switch tanks? A two week old tank stocked that fully that quick is going to fail every time. Did you cure the live rock thoroughly? Honestly, I think there's a real chance that everything in the tank will die. You might want to think about putting things in different tanks - friend's or take back to the LFS where purchased. Once things start to die, as they have, the problem is just going to get worse... quickly. I'm very sorry that your first experience with saltwater tanks is going to be a bad one. But, to be blunt, I feel worse for the fish/inverts that are going to die. You need to get a little more education before re-starting. There are a lot of great people on these boards that can help you get started right, and a lot of great LFS's that will get you started with good advice, and not sell you things until you're ready. You'll have a much better experience in the long run.

Well, it went pretty well. There is one spot where I clearly wobbled the sump as it went through the saw and ended up with a less-than-straight cut, but it's a very small section. And I think the 1/2" sides are plenty thick to keep from bowing. Check it out. Getting ready for the first cut: Second cut, the side: And the top off: Hopefully, soon I can show a picture of the sump plumed into the tank. Thanks for all the advice - couldn't have done it without you guys!

Do I need to worry about getting the top back on, or would it be okay rimless? With 1/2" thick acrylic, seems like it would be okay rimless? I could try to save the top, but it might be easier just to get a new sheet of 1/4" and route out a new top, if needed. Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it.

Okay, here goes nothin'...

I did think of that, but might be beyond my skill set.

Okay, I bought a sump ages ago from a fellow reefer here. It's a great sump, but I think it's too tall (scratch). It's about 20 1/2 inches tall, so it's pretty tall under a stand. I'm not sure if it was a custom made sump or a converted tank. My question is, can I cut it down a few inches, or will that cause structural issues? It has a rim around the top like a typical acrylic tank. The sides are 1/2" thick, so I would think it would be strong enough without the top, but I don't know. There is about 6" between the top of the refugium section and top of the sump. Here are some pics. I was thinking of cutting it down ~4", to still give a couple inches above the refugium, but make it easier to work in the sump under the stand. I know that space is important in case of power outage and water draining from the tank, but I think there is still plenty of space in the sump section. I appreciate any input. And, if cutting it is a good idea, how to go about it. I have a pretty decent selection of tools to chose from; table saw, router, circular saw? Thanks!

What are the dimensions on the 150 DD? I'll be looking forward to seeing this transform into a 400 in-wall. That's a heck of a project.

As someone else mentioned, the concept of "Reef Safe" is tricky. Clearly, an Angler is not typically considered reef safe - not becasue of corals, but because it will gobble up anything smaller than itself. But I really like them and would love to get a cool wartskin when I eventually set up a larger tank. So, does anyone have any experience with them? I don't like to get fish that will always require live feeding; it's just too much of a hassle. So, anyone know if they can be trained to eat frozen foods, like Rods? Will they eat shrimp, too? Are they really good at catching fish - I would like to have dart fish and a blue spot jawfish - would they be instant meals? I know this is probably a non-starter, but thought I'd ask to see if anyone had any good experience. Thanks!

I won't get into the clam-police stuff (but you will have to be very careful with such a young tank), but wow that is a beautiful clam. Good luck, I hope it does well and grows.

I think porcelain crabs will also host on a maxi-mini, but don't quote me on that.

Yeah, when I was down in CA, I rode a '99 Wide Glide - loved that bike. I almost put it down making a slow turn the second or third time I took it out. But once I got the hang of it, no problem - and bikes don't come too much heavier than that (and I'm not a big guy at ~165lbs). I wish I hadn't gotten rid of it, but figured I wouldn't get much use in the rainy Northwest - and I needed a new car and couldn't afford two payments. Congrats on the new bike - have fun!

Welcome. Oh man, now I'm craving Thai food.

And a great big thanks to the coordinator - without whom we'd just have a big pile of stuff and not a fish tank. You should be very proud of yourself, Kim. We are!

As others have said, used to be a high end coral. Tyree has an AE (auction Edition) War Coral which is the typical red/green that used to go for high $$ (when I bought it (laugh)), but as others have mentioned, it grown quickly and is relatively easy to keep - so know it much more readily available. And, like the "superman" monti, every red/green favia is dubbed War Coral. Unlike the Superman (Bruddah), I'm not totally sure if Tyree coined the name "War Cora", or if his AE version was just his version of it.

I've been having troubles with my SPS (acros) lately, and wondered if it was chloromines (or whatever) - been meaning to switch to a RODI system for that. But I've also been splitting time between Corvallis and Portland - and not paying enough attention to my mistress (fish tank). But seems like a bit of a trend going on.

Wow - those are crazy!