TheGooseWhisperer

I have an icecap ballast (SE 175W) that I was originally running a 20k bulb on. When the 20k bulb got old I decided to go for more growth and got an XM 10k bulb. The 20k bulb fired 100% of the time over the 15/16 months that I ran it, but the 10k bulb wont fire reliably. It only lights about 1 in 3 days when the timer comes on. When it doesnt come on with the timer I will cycle through until it does ignite. Sometimes it takes 6 to 10 times, sometimes it comes on in the first try. I got frustrated with it and gave up and got another 20k bulb (brand is escaping me right now, but not an XM).

Any ideas on what I can do to get some use out of this bulb? The store I got it from gave me one free replacement in case it was defective and the second bulb behaved exactly like the first.

The tentacles are branched so it cant be majano..right?

Man you had me all excited' date=' I was ready to pay top dollar for a zoa eating conch. If anyone has sundials Ill take em, i have a couple polyps here and there that need to be eatten before they take over the world.[/quote']

 

Bummer man...I had a bunch of sundials living in my waste bucket. I kept wanted to offer them up to someone that would want to wipe out zoas, but they starved before I got around to it:( I got a ton of empty shells but I would guess any eggs or whatnot have been gone for some time, if they were ever there.

Pic please!

heat it in the oven at 180 for 10 min ontop of a 2x4.

Does this pretty much work regardless of thickness in the 1/8" to 3/8" range? Neat trick though...last time I made a bend in acrylic I used a butane lighter. It got the job done eventually, but was a pain and it looks pretty crappy.

Really pretty setup. Can you get a top down view on this tank? What and how often do you have to feed the stars?

Could you please post a link of the 2 that you are looking at? (MarineDepot and BRS) Thanks

My Red People Eaters have an alternating skirt....can I start calling them Red Hornet People Eaters?!?

I know a pistol shrimp and watchman go together. I had a pair for about a year.

My watchman goby doesn't really stay in one "den". He's dug a network of trenches under all 3 large pieces of LR in my 29g. I see him popping out from one end of the tank to the other. I would totally be interested in a pistol shrimp, but is this a less than ideal situation for adding one to my tank?

Bout a year ago I was starting to get a population increase on these guys...went from seeing one once a week to being able to glance at the tank and find 3 or 4. I had forgotten all about it cuz now they are gone. I didn't add anything to the tank to deal with them...they just disappeared. I got a boat load of mini brittle stars now though...every time I move a frag or something 1-3 of them go scooting off the bottom.

I'll have an extra pint tonight in celebration!

Just had this happen to be after my last WC. I just pulled the plug, waited 10-15s and plugged it back in...Kenya trees started blowing around again so I knew it was taken care of.

You need to get a frag rack in that overflow...its the wave of the future!

Very nice stand...I like the detail around the top edge.

I have some short nosed stainless steel clippers that I got from the drug store. Got a little pair of stainless steel scissors in the same area. They are nice for clipping things in the tank.

First off decide how much of you rock you want decorated with mushrooms. If you just want a few then keep the isolated to an individual rock surrounded by sand. If you want them to go nuts then just stick that frag plug on your main rock. They will multiply quickly under high light conditions, but I find they "inflate" and grow largest on lower flow/lower lighting conditions.

Last time I "frag;d" a shroom I was placing a frogspawn stem on a main rock by kinda grinding it into a hole...there was a shroom in the hole and a few days later there was about 5 separate heads poking out. They are insanely hardy and can be frag'd by any means that involves a blade or even just blunt force trauma.

MH 8AM-6PM, Actinics 7 to 7. Main reason I run the halides so many hours is that I work from home so have lots of time to enjoy the tank.

My wife bought me a bunch for my birthday when I first set up my tank and I ended up cycling the tank with it. Only thing I can really say is to watch your alk very closely. It doesn't have as much buffering capacity as most salt mixes in my experience.

IMO CUs in general are better than big chains, but downside is fewer locations for ATMs/tellers.

Ive seen those at Rose City and Upscales lately. When I was at Upscales this week I think i saw a frag in there, although at both places they could have been hornets too...I never look close enough to tell the difference.

The other thing that I did was to cut the stalk at the base with scissors then skewer the stalk with a toothpick. Then secure the toothpick to a rock with a rubber band. That way it definitely stays put. After the stalk attaches to the rock then remove the rubber band and the toothpick. This works like a charm ---- but it is quite slimy and very stinky.

Be careful not to secure BOTH sides of the toothpick with any significant amount of pressure on them...the toothpick will end up slicing thorough the frag just like what happened with the rubberband here.

Thats pretty much the opposite of my Chailce experience. I got a 2 eye frag the size of a dime 2 YEARS ago (purple with green eyes) and now its 3 eyes but pretty much the same size. Looks like you are doin things right!

What brand of reflectors do you have and how many? Getting a plating shop to do em is gonna be spendy.

 

I can get a replacement bank of 8 reflectors 48" for my Tek for around $85.

Is there much work done to the ends of those or could they be cut down to 24"ers with something as simple as drilling a couple mounting holes?

Last time I got something chromed it was the bumpers on my 72 maverick...cost me about 120 a piece, but that was almost 20yrs ago.

Grats on the sale. Its nice to hear that it is staying together!

They're much thinner than 3/8", but TAP sells little colored boxes in all sorts of sizes for pretty cheap. If you are testing insulation the plastic thickness shouldn't really matter in a head to head test.

I dont even do SPS and I still get pissed on a regular basis. Usually its only over 2 zoa polyps melting down though:p