Rick

Anyone else from Vancouver planning to go?

Looking great.

Welcome....

Unless the silicone appears to be bad for some reason then I would not try to reseal it unless it leaks.

Use white vinegar to clean the salt off. You will be surprised at how easily most of it comes off. If it's a glass tank you can use a razor blade to scrape the spots the vinegar doesn't get easily. (Let them soak a couple of hours first to see if it loosens up) Is the light a SE (single ended) bulb? If so then it doesn't need a cover as the bulb itself has one. DE (double ended) bulbs do need a glass cover to keep from killing the corals.

This is what I came up with.

I want to know where I can get some of that blue eggcrate....... Not only is it way oversaturated but the color is way off. I played around with it a little in photoshop using the eggcrate and coraline as a basis for color correction and the best guess I can make is that it is green with orange eyes and rim. (Without being there to see it I can't tell how close my adustments were) It probably is a pretty nice looking chalice in person however it's certain that the picture isn't a very good representation.

Is the snowflake actually 10" or is it a guess? Do you have any pics of it? (I have a couple of clowns that are still small so I want to be sure it's not too big for them)

It's more likely they were cleaning them up after they died. I have a variety of small and big bristle worms (3-4 inches in length). They have never bothered with any of my fish and my red scooter blenny literally buries under the sand at night when they are most active. As Robert mentioned the population will rise and fall depending up the nutrients in the tank. Personally I prefer to have them doing cleanup duty.

How much LR are you looking for?

Inverts will not have much impact on the cycle unless they die from starvation. Inverts survive by being tank cleaners and therefore really need to have some algae and or detritus to clean up. Because of this they should only be added at the end of the cycle and in small quantities. Your tank will have a lot to clean towards the end of the initial cycle but that will clear up and having too many inverts will make them starve. Regarding adding the clowns there are still many people that suggest a couple of damsels (which is what clowns are) to cycle the tank. It is however frowned upon by many because there will be a big ammonia spike which can literally burn the fins off them. If you want this hobby to be successful you really need to slow wayyyyy down. Don't add anything else now. (You might have too much already) It takes several weeks/months to set up a successful saltwater system. If you go too fast then all you will be doing is setting yourself up for failure. It will take a minimum of two weeks to get through the initial cycle however it is more likely that you will think the cycle is done then and the standard LFS answer when you ask is that "it will probably be okay". If they give this answer then ask what guarantee they have on the fish. Look for LFS that will provide a 2 week guarantee because they will have a greater interest in your success and will be less likely to rush you into a bad purchase. (Most fish will survive at least 2 or 3 days so keep that in mind when asking about guarantees) In reality most tanks take 4 to 6 weeks to cycle and 8 weeks is not unusual (2 weeks is). I tell people to wait for the ammonia and nitrite to spike, then watch them until they drop to zero. After they reach zero keep an eye on them for two weeks before adding anything to be sure it really is cycled. Then add one fish at a time (or pairs depending on what they are) every two weeks. The two weeks is to allow the tank to cycle again to match the new bio load from adding the fish. (I.E. The tank needs to slowly adjust to support each new addition) Doing this will keep the new cycles to a minimum. If you add too many at a time then you will get a heavy cycle that can cause the tank to spiral out of control.

The tank probably isn't ready to support the inverts yet. Should have waited until you were on the downhill side of the initial cycle after the algae bloom to start adding them.

The ballast itself is probably grounded internally to the case. Then the power cord is probably also grounded to the case. At that connection it is probably corroded or loose causing it to look for another path (which appears to be through the temp probe). Running a ground from one to another ballast causes the ground to flow through the other ballast and out the power cord on it instead. Yes, this can be checked with an ohmmeter provided you understand how the power should flow. I.E. You will be checking for resistance between each connection. The only catch is that the problem is probably enclosed inside the ballast case meaning it probably will need to be taken apart to fully diagnose and repair.

I run a combination of 1 x 250w MH, 1 x 175w MH, and 2 x 54w T5's. I plan to add 2 more T5's one of these days. I only run the MH about 4 hours and the T5's for about 12 hours. Bith of the MH are also electronic ballasts to help keep the running cost a little lower. (In reality the pumps are generally what add the most to the running cost)

Either the blenny or the trigger could be a problem. If the trigger is pretty small then I'm inclined to think it might be the blenny. Some of them can be pretty aggressive and a week is about long enough for one to stake out it's territory. I have 140g for mine and I still sometimes catch it swiping the other fish if they get around it.

We also need a complete list of fish(I think it was mentioned already). When was each fish added to the tank? Did the fish come from an LFS? Are the clowns wild or tank raised? (You may need to ask the LFS) What are you feeding them? From what you have stated so far I suspect a fish incompatibility. In particular the small tank with the Niger Trigger may be causing it to be overly aggressive. (36g is pretty small for a trigger) Also how big are the clowns? Are they the same size?

It's a good idea to put some live rock in the sump. Many of us also put some macro algea in there also (cheato, caulerpra, etc.). It will need some type of light but not the same as the corals need. I run 5800k daylight cf spiral bulbs over mine. ($12 or so for 3 or 4 at Lowe's) I run my sump lights at night more or less opposite of the display lights which also helps keep the PH steady. (PH drops some in the dark) The live rock and macro algae is what actually provides the filtration biologically. The skimmer just eases the load by filtering out some of the extra protiens. The sump simply provides additional volume to allow more to be used and gives you a place to put the skimmer. It also adds to the volume of water in the system which will also help keep it stable. A well balanced system will require emptying the skimmer cup once a week or two, top offs with freshwater every couple of days (or if you use an auto top off then filling it about once a week), and finally occasional water changes (the frequency is usually dictated by how efficient the biological filter is). Oh, you will also need to feed the tank every few days.

I can't see what your using for filtration however most of us run a sump with a good protien skimmer for filtration along with live rock and perhaps some macro algae. The reason I suggested more live rock is because the more you have the more efficient it will be at processing the nitrates. Canister filters (if that is what your using) tend to require a lot of maintenance and usually turn into nitrate factories so most of us avoid them. 800 x 600 are the maximum dimensions and if I recall right the maximum file size is 380 kb. If you can find someone that is selling live rock cheap (here, Craigslist, etc.) then that is probably the cheapest way to go unless you make your own. If you make your own though it takes 3 months or more before it can be added to the tank. (about half of mine is DIY) Another budget option is to order dry rock and then seed it with live rock. One nice thing about dry rock is that your paying for dry weight instead of wet weight so the mass will be greater. It takes a few months to fully turn into live rock but it can be done at the same time as your tank matures. (Unlike DIY which needs to be cured separate from the tank)

Doesn't really sound stupid. It took me a few times to figure it out myself. If there was a lot of powdery residue in the sand then the reason it will take so long is that the extra calcium in the tank will need to precipate out. 5 lbs. of live rock will get the cycle started but your probably going to want 20-40 lbs. more before your done. If your on a tight budget (I know I am) there are some options to save a bit of money.

Here's a start.

Welcome to the club. I split open a 45 gallon tank I was using as a sump when I tried to add a baffle to it. We mopped up about 6 buckets of water after that one.

New lens, New pics. New lens, New pics. I wasn't very happy with the lens I used for the previous pictures so I returned it and got a different one. So far I'm much happier with this lens now. The new lens is the Canon 70-200mm f4L. As always comments are welcome. (I'm curious what everyone thinks of these compared to the previous pictures)