MrsBret

Love the photos you took!  I would love to add that when you're here there are a lot of really fun businesses who reside on our street you should check out at the same time!  There are clothing stores, an awesome shoe store, a Crystal store, Garden store, Amazing restaurants, Antique stores, Toy store, etc., etc.,  Also, there are lots and lots of street vendors not pictured here.  ❤️    

Jawfish are so entertaining. Love the little homes they make themselves. ♡

Oh my gosh that's a beautiful tank!

12 hours ago, albertareef said:

Yeah - it was pretty painful and frustrating. We were trying to take care of a sick cat at the same time that was going on (we lost him). Definitely a bummer year. Fortunately the peeps here ate always super helpful and generous so there is a silver lining of sorts.  

I'm so sorry you lost your kitty. 

7 hours ago, albertareef said:

Well...

Long time since I updated this thread as life (and reef keeping) have been kind of getting the better of me over the last year.  Had a massive crash which I wasn't able to sort out until I lost pretty much every coral in my tank with the exception of a psammacora, a couple of small lobos, a mushroom and my zoanthids.  What were my acro, stylo, pocillopora, seriatapora montipora, acan, etc. colonies all ended up in the rubermaid bin on my porch so I could morn them whenever I went past...

 Ultimately appears to have been a chunk of mineral in my CA reactor dissolving metals into the tank but by the time I figured that out it was over 😂  After some Triton detox treatments and lots of water changes I have been slowly trying to restock.  Also made a couple of tweaks to the system by adding a Titanium heater with integrated temp probe-style controller (also run through the system controller as backup), a "new" skimmer and a Avast skimmate locker. Picked up a used Aquamaxx ConeS Q3 on a great deal from CnC (thanks Jeff! @CuttleFishandCoral) which allows me to make better use of my limited skimmer compartment in my sump.  Had been using a older Aquamaxx CO-2 which worked well but could never get completely buzz-free.  My wife had to clean up a skimmer overflow the other week that overwhelmed my less than high-tech milk jug receptacle so I also snagged a Avast "Davey Jones" skimmate locker on an awesome deal from Terry at Seahorse @Seahorse Aquarium (thanks Terry and Tewsley!).  I got those up and running yesterday and looking forward to no more messy overflows.  The Avast unit has a really interesting level detector (pressure switch) which I really like the design of in case you have never seen one of these.  There is no mechanical or optical switch on the unit itself but it uses air pressure in a "detector" tube connected to the control box/outlet switch by a section of airline.  Seems to work great and reduce the chance of damaging a sensor.  They also have versions that directly connect to controllers if you want to go that route.  I am using the sensor controlled outlet as a primary shutoff but still running the whole circuit through my system controller so I can also shut off by the sump high level detector.  Feeling much more secure now.

No pics of coral yet as my recently added pieces (thanks Bert, Holly, Jeremy and Brian!  @badxgillen @Gil&Fin @Jeremevans @pdxmonkeyboy) are still acclimating and recovering from some unexplained alk swings.  May set up that spare Koralin CA reactor sooner rather than later...

 

Oh that first picture makes me want to cry! Glad you have friends to help get back in the game! ♡

3 hours ago, Mesamech said:

Dang pump was seized 😡 after the vinegar bath for the pump and lots of scrubbing finally got water running.😐  Time to fix leaks.

Nice job fixing the seize!

I always think of gorgeous clams when I think of Premium Aquarium. We bought a beautiful one there and have been dreaming of starting a clam tank ever since! ♡

On 3/21/2019 at 4:21 AM, freddyk said:

I think the today shot looks better anyway. Don't change a thing.

I agree. It's beautiful purple ♡

Im grateful the club meeting history is told from your perspective, Bert. Thank you for your kindness. We enjoyed hosting and our cup is overflowing. Thank you for coming out to Hillsboro to our little spot. ♡

OMG I love you, Kim!! Thank you so much! I'm feeling like a queen today. 🤩😍

Gorgeous photos! Thank you so much for coming out everyone. It was wonderful to spend time with new and old friends and learn some photo skills. I'm grateful to be a part of this club! ♡

After 6 weeks it must feel like a blessing every second to have a kitchen back. Beautiful!

We had a gorgeous frog fish for several months that I adored, but I was super happy when someone finally bought him because feeding live food is annoying, imo. 

On 3/22/2019 at 5:36 PM, Emerald525 said:

Thanks for sharing. I have a special place in my heart for that tank. It originally came from s fellow reefer almost ten years ago. We set it up at Pioneer school in SE Portland a special needs school.  It then went to the Boys and Girls club until that tank was upgraded. Glad to see it is still around to continue to inspire and touch so many kids lives.  Let me know if you want need anything in particular in livestock. I don’t have a tank up right now but I have considerable credit still at CuttlefishandCoral. 

Oh, what a great idea! We also have considerable credit at Cuttlefish we're glad to donate to the kids club. ♡

Oh, those are so beautiful! 

1 hour ago, viper55 said:

Thanks Brett. Sorry we didn’t get to chat much Friday at Rudy’s 

He would have loved to chat with you too! This is his wife, Naomi. I really should change my name on here, lol, it's too close to his name. 

17 hours ago, viper55 said:

Love this! 

Check out this gorgonian from Rocknreefs we just bought! It's just beautiful. When I mentioned we were having a saltwater meeting soon at our store they sent us an extra gorgonian to giveaway during the meeting!  ♡♡♡

@Mr.Bret and I've been arguing the past week whether we have 3 or 4 seahorses in one of our tanks. I finally won the argument when he found this beautifully camouflaged guy. 

On 7/26/2018 at 1:03 PM, Jeremevans said:

Also @MrsBret are you still thinking about getting some ordered in? It looks like there is definitely interest.

We should talk about this again @MrBret

I don't have any zoas in Salem but had to reply because of your photo and name to tease  @MrBret yup yup

I haven't seen one in person I dont think but from the photo above I kinda like the looks of the gold stripe maroon. (Furtively looking thru store to make sure I dont see one)

Wow!

Only place the little guy cant clean, lol 

Happy bday!