Rick

BTA, Star Polyp, Acropora, Birds Nest Here is another one of the BTA today which seems to have settled here. The second is the Star Polyp. (The coloring on both are stunning when they flouresce under the actinics) The third shows the Acropora's but they are still too small to really get an idea of what they will look like. I was there when they were fragged though so I have a good idea of what they will look like. (Both are branching corals) The last one is the Bird's Nest. All three of the corals have new buds growing.

Thanks, About 6 weeks now. I'm trying to keep the cleanup crew to just enough that is necessary. Here are some more pics:

Sure, Just be sure to wire them in parallel. I'm running mine with 2.6 amps and most laptop bricks will be 80 or 90 amps so you could probably add 30 fans or more before it exceeded the power supply. If your buying fans look for 3 speed ones so you can adjust the speed.

If I get the plug put on in the next day or so I'll get a picture. Right now it is just temporarily connected since I didn't have the right plug handy. Here are a few pics of the fan and power brick though. Technically the power brick isn't for a laptop but rather this on is from a 10" Touchscreen Monitor I am using for a Car PC system I'm working on. (The monitor will be powered by the vehicle so I don't need it for that) In the first pic you can see the fan off to the right side, the second is the fan on the outside (If my hood was taller I would have put it inside instead and used a screen outside), the last pic shows the power brick. Rick

A PC power supply could be used as well but it is way way overkill just to run a couple of fans. (A regular PC Power Supply has 3 voltage rails that make it harder to figure out and you would need to add in a switch or rewire it to turn it on anyway) PC Fans will usually have either 2 or 3 wires. The third wire if it exists is just a RPM sensing wire so it doesn't need to be connected to anything. I don't recall the color on the third wire (It's one of the outside wires) but you can just use trial and error to figure out which 2 wires turn the fan on. (You can't really hurt the fan with 12V if it isn't right on the first try) For the laptop power adapter I use a Digital Ohm Meter to determine which lead is which. Older ones usually just have 2 wires (12V neg/pos) while newer bigger ones will have more wires. On the ones I have here the extra wires were just an extra set of pos/neg 12V leads. (The brick for the one I'm typing on now is an exception (newer system) with several wires that I suspect have 2 or 3 different voltages much like a regular PC power supply would) These are to push more amps. The fans are not going to require much so I would use an older one that is smaller if you have a choice. (With only 2 wires to deal with it simplifies things as well) The older 2 wire ones will usually have a standard connector and a trip to Radio Shack will usually locate a matching female plug or you can cut the plug off and wire it direct if you want. (I prefer the connector in case I need to move the hood without a power brick hanging from it) If the fan is a single speed fan (No extra switch hanging from it) then you might also see if an old cell phone charger will start it up. (Try to find one around 5 or 6 volts) If it does then the fan will run slower (And Quieter). PC Modders will often add resitors to the case fans to slow them down when they are building quiet PC's which is doing essentially the same thing (It's also what the multi speed fans do to slow them down) and if I recall right they can usually get them to run at around 6 volts. If it doesn't keep it cool enough at lower voltage then you can always swap to the 12V. One other thing to note is that most power adapters (Laptop, cell phone chargers, etc.) will have the output voltage and amps on the label so that may help while searching for one if you have several. (I tend to hang onto that type of thing so I have several to choose from) BTW, Don't stand in the tank while your working on the wiring :eek: Rick

I don't know what you have for lighting but I just finished putting a fixture into my hood a week or so ago with 2 x 175W MH, 2 X 96W PC, and an extra ODNO Flourescent (About 73 Watts). The fixture itself had bad fans in the end so I replaced them with a single thin 4" PC fan (Kamikaze I think). The fan was an extra left over from the last MiniITX Computer build I did. This pulls air from outside and pushes it through the fixture. This alone was not keeping the temperature down though (After 3 days it creaped up to about 80). 2 days ago I added another 4" fan on the opposite end that pulls air out of the hood. The fan is an Antec 3 speed fan and at the lowest speed it brought the temps down 6 degrees within 24 hours. Essentially the same thing Lowman is suggesting to have one pull air in and the other to pull it out. I personally like to use 4" fans instead of multiple smaller ones since the larger fans are generally quieter and move more air. PC fans work great at a reasonable cost and you can use an old 12V power adapter from a laptop or other old broken electronics. (I have a few old Laptop power bricks so that worked for me) I also like the idea of 12V DC running up into the hood when I can get away with it rather than 110 AC. Lowman, I'm going to keep that water bottle tip in mind in case I experience heat issues through the summer. Great Tip - Thanks.

Corals The first pic is the Maze Coral with the feeder tentacles out followed by the Favia and the what I think is an Echino Chalice based upon this thread http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11996

Hitchhikers and Horseshoe Crab Here is a pic of a couple of hitchhikers (tube worm featherduster and the Serpent Star) and a pic of the Horseshoe Crab.

Electric Blue Hermit Crab It's hard to tell in the first pic but in the second you can see this one was missing a leg when I got it. After a few days he hid behind the rocks for a couple of days and came back out with all of his legs. (Apparently he molted) My Scarlet Hermit Crab was the same way and also apparently molted after hiding out for a few days.

Coral Beauty Angel and Crocea Clam Coral Beauty Angel and Crocea Clam

BTA and Clown Here are a couple of the Green Bubble Tip Anenome and the Cinnamon Clown. I've only had the BTA since day before yesterday however it seems to have settled here and the Cinnamon Clown took to it within a couple of hours.

Blood Red Fire Shrimp A Couple of the Blood Red Fire Shrimp

Here are some details and pictures (to follow) from my 55 Gallon Tank. Some of you here know me already (Especially vendors) as I've done my best to bend your ears for as much information as I could. (Doran and family - Fish Tank People, Pat and family - Saltwater Fantaseas, Woody - Seahorse, Rosecity Aquarium (Don't recall your name but my wife had fun playing with Big Joe ?, I think that was his name), Perry - Ocean in a Box, and perhaps a few others I've met in each store) Now for the tank, Equipment: 55 gallon glass aquarium drilled for drain (1") and return(3/4") lines. (I redid the plumbing 3 times to get it where it is now and will likely do it once more to add another drain line) 20 gallon fishtank sump (about 15 gallons of saltwater) with baffles added. (I changed the sump 3 times as well, the first 10 gal. tank had a leak and I wasn't happy with the plastic tote I put in to replace it) The pump is around 550 GPH One Powerhead used in the tank (Approx. 350 GPH if I recall right) The in sump skimmer I added is diy based on a design found in an Internet search. It uses an Air Pump and one powerhead. I initially started with overdriven 48" flourescent lights (One daylight and one actinic) but then I found a deal on a MH/PC/Moonlight fixture that had a bad ballast on the PC lights. This is installed in a homemade hood and I left one ODNO actinic in there as well. I replaced the PC ballast for the fixture so I have 350 Watts of MH lighting, 192 Watts of Actinic 460 lighting and around 70 Watts of Actinic 420 lighting, (The 420 makes the flourescent colors pop while it still maintains a blue color which I like) and 6 LED moonlights. Substrate and Structure 60 lbs of Aragonite. (50/50 fine and course over a plenum) Several pieces of cured live rock from a couple of LFS. (plus a few hitchhikers) Approx. the same amount of base rock as well both to allow the LR to spread and for the reef base as I add more later. Livestock (Fish, hitchhikers, and cleanup crew): 3 Yellowtail Blue Damsels 5 Chromis (4 Green and 1 Blue/Green) 1 Cinnamon Clown 1 Coral Beauty Angel 3 Blue Leg Hermits (One was a hitchhiker) 2 Red Leg Hermits 2 Zebra Hermits 1 Electric Blue Hermit 1 Scarlet Hermit 1 Emerald Green Crab (To stop some bubble algea from spreading) 1 Horseshoe Crab 1 Peppermint Shrimp (To stop some aptasia that started to spread) 1 Blood Red Fire Shrimp 1 Serpent Star (hitchhiker) 1 Nassarius Snail (hitchhiker) 2 Turbo Snails 4 Astrea Snails A few small tube worm featherdusters in a piece of LR (hitchhikers) 1 Crocea Clam Corals, etc. (Most small frags): 1 Australian Maze Coral 1 Favia Coral 1 Pink Birds Nest Coral 1 Purple Acropora Coral 1 Blue Tip Acropora Coral 1 Echino Chalice Coral (I think although the ID is as yet unconfirmed) 1 Green Star Polyp Coral 1 (Bluish)Green Bubble Tip Anemone (Hosting the Cinnamon Clown) I plan to include 2 more bulkheads so I can add another drain line plus another return line so I can tee it off outside the tank to reduce plumbing inside it (Currently I have a tee with 2 returns plumbed inside the tank to create turbulence). I'm also considering making the lighting and feeding PC controlled with a day/night webcam as well. (I'm a software programmer so I would probably write the programs for this myself) I also may expand to 100/120 gallons or so if I run across a good deal on another tank (Although I'm pretty much limited to 4 foot of length) A refugium may also be in the future as well. For livestock I would like to add a Koran or Emporator Angel and a Purple Tang. (I doubt I'll add the angel unless I increase the tank size though but the Purple Tang will be added at some point even if it means taking some others out since my Wife wants it and I need to try to keep her happy) I'll also definately be adding more rock as well and some more coral frags. (Possibly some Zoas next after I see how well the current ones are going to do) I'm sure I've made a few mistakes (a couple that I already know about) but overall the occupants seem reasonably happy so far. I'm relatively new to this hobby so speak up if you see any drastic mistakes I've made up to this point.

The color looks close but the tentacles (If that's what they are) are much smaller. Basically it has a texture more like 40 grit sandpaper. (That might be a better description than furry is) Does the hydrophoria have a lip around the edges? One of the things I see in common with the chalice is the lip around the edge that looks very similar. The one thing that I don't see at this point is a defined eye in it although there may be one that I just haven't noticed. Or perhaps the eye will become more defined as it grows? Being relatively new to this I can only guess.

I think that may be it. It looks like a smaller version of the one pictured first in this thread http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?act=Print&client=printer&f=8&t=123119

What kind of trade do you have (Other than what is listed)? (I think I have an extra 20 lb. aluminum bottle that might even still be full)

Thanks for the welcome. I figured the first one is a Favia but with all of the searching I've done the second one has me stumped. At first I thought maybe it was a mushroom however it appears to extend many short tenticles giving it a furry appearance. If it helps each side is about 1 1/2 inches and it appears to be round (3/16 thick or so) folded over the arm. Currently I have it mid point in the tank. (2 x 175 MH and 2 x 96 Actinic)

Can anyone tell me what these corals are? I think I have the first one figured out but I want to see what some with more experience have to say. The second 2 pics are of the same piece(s) with 2 angles under different lighting. I think it is a hard coral that is attached to the horn shaped plug. Both corals flouresce under 420 actinics. Thanks in advance for any help determining what these are. Rick