milesmiles902

I Think I'm going to keep it simple on the food side of things. Pizza and drinks will be supplied for lunch. If anybody wants to bring something to supplement, that would be awesome!

Simple is great. Plus, I didn't even expect there would be food.

Is this the miracle tank you were talking about last meeting?

I remember you pointing out that your son has a tank that anything can survive in. Even when stuff is dying in your main tank, if you put it there it will live on.

I am using HW Marine Reefer salt. Not sure if it's just my setup or what, but after about a week in my 32 gallon brute it smells like a skunks rear end after a recent encounter with a dog or 18 wheeler tire @ 55 mph[emoji37][emoji37]. I'd like to premix as well but this is preventing me from doing it now.

 

 

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That seem very reasonable after the results I have been getting. The last set of buckets will get pulled Wednesday and I will probably report on Thursday, but I wouldn't use Reef Crystals after two weeks, especially if it is warmed. That's what the data is at least showing. I haven't been opening the buckets either. They have been sealed the entire time and the bad things continue to rise. Hopefully the trend continues with the last set of buckets.

What are the water parameters looking like? I am sorry to hear that your tank crashed. No one wants that. :/

I thought it was going to be beautiful coralline covered rocks. Still I am happy to offer some corals for coming through Corvallis. Thank you.

I've posted this before somewhere, but here's my situation directly from my Country Financial Rep regarding my home owner's policy.

 

If something catastrophic happened (tank giving way), they would cover all property damage. This includes the tank itself, any equipment, any water damage to the house, AND coral. He had to get some clarification because he initially did not know, but he found out that while they wouldn't cover the loss of fish because they are just animals, they would cover the loss of corals because they see them as property, not animals. He's been in the insurance industry forever and is certainly no slouch with intelligence, so I take him at his word.

That is so crazy that people think corals are not animals. Maybe that is why I never have to put a pet deposit down for my aquarium. :P

What is this insurance called? Home owners insurance? Pet insurance? Maybe it falls under many categories. I don't know.

Also, I feel that even with years of growth some corals could even be more expensive than the equipment you run. I would definitely want it to be covered.

Hey everyone,

This thought rolled through my mind on the walk home. Who has insurance on their aquarium? Don't get me wrong I didn't even have car insurance for five years of my life, but now I have it and it doesn't seem too unreasonable to have aquarium insurance. After my car, it is the next most expensive thing I own.

So, I was wondering...how expensive is it? Is there a good place to insure your aquarium? Is there any added benefits in the case of an earthquake? Who is your insurance provider?

Insurance or not, I would love to hear what you have to say.

PM sent.

What are you end goals? sps, lps, softies? A mix?

do you have the ability to test your alk, calcium, and magnesium? Phosphates, things like that?

If youre near oregon city im sure i could cut you some beginner corals if youd like. Id suggest a good test kit, then you will know where your levels are and can find issues if you ever run into them, which its guaranteed you will at some point lol nature of the hobby.

If youre planning on keeping mainly softies and zoas, you have much more wiggle room, lps and sps are not nearly as forgiving.

What is your setup? Size, lights, etc.

 

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I think PowderBlue said it right. Have an end goal in mind. The path your tank takes really depends on your willingness to test, monitor and care for certain animals. Even the equipment depends on the type of animals in the tank.

Large Polyped Stony coral are great places to start. I don't think it would be a bad idea to head to a local fish store and just start looking around. Start looking at the type of corals you want and design the system around them. Also, talk to the owner. They always have wisdom to give.

I don't have an apex, but these tips are very realistic. A power outage can kill a tank and the whole purpose of the Apex is lost. I hope if people are willing to put in the money for an apex, you are willing to try these out.

Hey Zwickm,

I use Reef Crystals salt, which has a dKH of..11 something (It is on this forum somewhere). I keep my alkalinity of my tank around 9.8-10.2 most days. I want to lower it down, but I am in the same situation of using a salt that has a very high dKH. All in all, it doesn't bother my tank at all, since I dose in the morning and afternoon. Whenever I do a water change, I just don't dose the night of. The new water makes up for my dosing and probably more. If you are setting up a new tank, I would at least do 50/50 until they become acclimated. A new tank AND new salt might cause problems. I'd eliminate one variable.

Also, don't add muriatic acid to the saltwater. It will lower your alkalinity, but I could definitely see someone adding too much. It would also upset the buffering capacity of the salt causing drastic swings.

Lastly, I think each aquarium has it's own niche and you need to find that. Just like every salt has their own niche. Make any change slowly and everything will fall into place.

What type of fish is this anyway? Damsel?

I would love to take a poll to see how many reefers garden. There are so many of us that enjoy doing both. Maybe because they are both somewhat similar.

I have a 30 gallon, 30 inch tank. If you like the idea, PM me.

Whoo! You have such a beautiful fish.

I got one of those clams yesterday and it is very healthy. Opened up fully this morning and has some great colors. Thanks Jeff!

Gary!

What company are you talking about? I am was looking at local acrylic/plastic businesses.

Is it this one?

http://www.innovative-plastics.com/

They are based in New York, which makes me doubt it. This was my search...

https://www.google.com/#safe=off&q=innovative+plastics+oregon

http://www.pnwmas.org/topic/37510-diy-led-stuff/

That one has been around a while. Contact them and see what they say.

I imagine Robert and I will have the tank up at or before 1:30 pm.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up. Can't wait to see those corals!

I already let you know, but just a heads up. It's nice to have it all in one place.

Oh and I love walks on the beach in the rain and snuggling up naked next to the fire to read a good romance novel.

Oh Baby!

Just scrolling through this post, I didn't realize that you 3D-printed a face plate for the wall and had an arduino controller on your old tank. You did an amazing job on both. I love it.

THe

Kind of interesting to know as most reef keepers have another hobby or skill.

 

I used to salmon and steelhead fish like a maniac, but those times were mostly replaced with reefkeeping.

 

For the day job I am a software engineer going on... whew... allot of years now.  

 

For those old computer people... I was writing production software back when Windows 3.11 came out and thought a 486Dx2 was pretty amazing!  

TheClark,

Commonly, what language do you use for your job?

1. Saying the alphabet backwards
2. My teaching
3. Brainstorming
4. Looking at a periodic table.