AquariaUSA

We will be featuring one of Paul's awesome creations at MACNA~Boston next month. I put the Heavy Duty 4Port Unit on the tank in the house to trial, and I can't wait to put a larger pump on it when I have the time. If you are good with plumbing, it is not at all that hard to install. I installed the 8 Port on a client system in Virginia with only a BlueLine100HD pump and it works like a champ. These units are built to last, and the only thing I could see going up (after years of abuse) would be the motor, but that too is easy to replace. As long as OceansMotions are made, we will most likely be converting a lot of our client base over to them. On the big tank we plan to build later this winter, I plan to use at least 3-4 of the OM units on the return pumps. May also add a closed loop or two depending on flow rates through the bigun! I have used just about every product out there (past 12 years) and this is the farthest I think we have come to recreating tidal effects on our captive reefs. (This is our opinion, depends on client budget, etc.) *RF Wavemakers and MaxiJets are the choice for smaller tanks. *Streams if you want more flow than MJs, and more dial-up/dial-down speed control(but the cost...is it worth it?) *SeaSwirls are great, but all depends on application (especially cube tanks and those under 6 feet...but limited gph) *DIY Surge Buckets/systems are great, but can be messy! *On bigger tanks, I would go with OMs handsdown (biased or not, these things are great and can take whatever flow you can plumb through it!) http://www.cmas-md.org/iB_html....rc3.JPG http://www.cmas-md.org/iB_html....bed.JPG http://www.cmas-md.org/iB_html....200.JPG

Awesome logo!!! Last time I checked if the pics were net based (not copyrighted by symbol, trademarked, or blocked with rights permission) and altered substantially (which it now is) there is no issue... Could be wrong, but worse case scenario they usually just ask you to refrain from using it, before litigation ensues. Did the pic have a name to it? Could always just hunt them down and ask permission. But could probably get some of the camera crazy hobbyists out to take pics of the skyline at night for the logo.

Although far from being a Mantis...one of our adult pistol shrimp decided to chase two sally lightfoot crabs around its little tank yesterday. Quite amusing to watch, and the crabs even tried hiding in a diadema I guess it did not like others in the baby tank (lots of little shrimpies in there!). hehe By the way that is a cool mantis pic!

Thanks Craig, hope to see more people help ya out! What booth # is WAMAS?

It will most likely take quite a bit of time to get the eggs, but depending on their size...and feeding you may get lucky enough in no time. Usually the female will open up that can of "whoop a$$" on the male once in a while, and they just can't take the heat, so they travel as far away from her as possible. Some with spouses may have this same issue from time to time, hehe. How much larger is the female vs. the male?

Nobody from WAMAS is planning to go to MACNA Boston this year? A few members may like to carpool with others for those that are not posting they plan to go...I am taking 1-2 people up with me already. Anyone else driving, flying, taking a train or boat?

Howards tank was awesome! Rik, post pic?

Eve, If I can make it, I will bring you a bag of bags Might be out of town though :( Members...Peter and Eve are trying hard to make this work, so pleaseeeeee try to make it out. no fun when someone opens up their house to members, officers, and the like...and no one shows. I saw Eve's tank last year during the tour (which was BEAUTIFUL!!!) and I don't recall seeing anyone else there. Just think if you opened up your house, and no one showed.... be there! (eve, if a 100 people show up, I did not write this)

Oceanic had an issue with their 72 gallon bowfront tanks...but I believe they fixed that (took nearly a year!)

Happy Birthday Matt!

Auto feeders and top offs (battery backups too) Club member that lives near you (and that you trust won't borrow your frags indefinitely) Service Company / LFS (payment & guarantee?) Friends, relatives, neighbors (hopefully they know something about the system)

We have a few battery operated air pumps left (from the WAMAS meetings But..for those that have Costco memberships (or the others) they usually have a great selection of inverters which you hook to the cigarette lighter in your car/truck/jalopy/lemon, etc. Anything over 80 watts can at least run a small pump or powerhead (s). But they did have some bigboys for less than a $100. All you need is the inverter, long HD extension cord, some tape and way to plug stuff in through the house. Run the car every hour or so to keep the battery from losing power. Or...buy a generator ($350+) to run on backup. Don't forget to buy gas A list of who has what in case of drastic measures to be taken always helps: {Rich Watson} If you don't mind the drive...we have at least 5-10 empty breeder tanks in our warehouse in Baltimore, plus 4-5 rubbermaid stock tanks. Also have a generator for emergency use.

Hey Tyg, I have built several bowfront cabinets and canopies over the past few years (for the ones available were plastic or way overpriced~Oceanics line was unbelievable!). If I can find the cd with the pics will post them or email them to you. If you are trying to build a wooden canopy these are the basic steps: 1) Place the tank onto a piece of cabinet grade plywood to take footprint measurement. Allow an extra inch on the back for the bow in the middle front may not be exact, and then you will see the back of the tank. 2) Make your cut for the top of the canopy out of the cabinet grade ply. At this time you can decide whether to hinge the top (leave at least 4" up front for the bow) or make the entire canopy be removable (gets heavy as the tank size increases). 3) Cut your sides and back support. If I remember correctly, you need to cut the front of the sides at a 23 degree angle for a 46 and 72 gallon bowfront canopy. 4) select as much of a "grainless" piece of 1/4 ply (if you want to go cheap use luan) but I would recommend birch or maple for the canopy front. cut to 6-10" depending on what type of lighting you are using. this is the piece you will be bending for the front concave. you don't necessarily have to get into bending (steam or kerfing) the wood front, depending on the flexibility of the wood. 5)using 1.25" screws you glue the concave panel and drive the screws square into the canopy panels. You can also use a nail gun, but you have to be very quick on the clamping (and use 6-12 clamps) or the glue will dry without bonding the two pieces. If you use screws you can always hide it with some of the basic 1/4" bead or case moulding found at lowes and home depot. If you go any thicker, you will have to "kerf" the backside of the moulding and fill in with wood shavings/glue. You should let this curved canopy top dry for at least 12 hours or more if possible to make sure the glue has time to set. 6) sanding...and lots of it will give you a pro finish which you can stain or paint. If you used Luan (although I don't think you get a nice finish), fine sanding should allow a decent paint job, but may take several coats (we hate doing black cabinets for this reason!!!). Paint or stain...then polycrylic the cabinet in matte or gloss finish. hth, will look for the pics

I would recommend taking the drive up 95 to 695 to check out ExoticAquatics off Perring Parkway. To date, I think they are the first class store in the region, but everyone is entitled to their opinion

Just wanted to get a head count of the WAMAS members who plan to go to MACNA in Boston on September 10-12th. If you plan to go, have you registered? Do you have lodging? Did you sign up for the free exhibit admission (which expires August 10th?). The trip is about 425 miles via car, taking only about 6.5 hours. Flights are pretty cheap if you book in the next week or two. See ya in Boston!!!

nope, I don't do L-shaped tanks Last one I did was 5-6 years ago, and I hated it! I like large rectangles, bows, cylinders, etc. for they look soooo much better IMO

Yep! Weekly he must spend 5-10 hours, and maintenance per month should be at least 20 hours+ depending on how automated he has the water changes, etc.

Great find Tony!!! A tank that is 1700 gallons, a sump that is 700, the first frag tank that is 300 gallons! There is no way this guy has come even close to making him money back from selling frags (after buying all the Schuran, Deltec, and AM products for that tank, much less fish food, salt, and additives!!!) but awesome to have that addiction and still enjoy it That is a system to see when in England (?) Especially the Conspic angel he has in the pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Might be able to add one or two of these as well, depending on how well they test OceansMotions by Paul

Glad to see you getting on the boards Ken! Keep up the good work organizing trips too

I am suprised he only did 6 lumenarcs? Have any idea on the dims of the tank? Pretty low price on the tank and stairs (any idea who the maker is?). Looks like lots of rockwork to contend with off the back wall. I wonder if this is in NC!!! Hassan and I are both going to be building big tanks down there (well techinically ours will be in SC, 4 minutes from South Charlotte/Ballantyne). Once it is up, we will let everyone know in WAMAS and CMAS for possible tours (also close to land purchase for warehouse, showroom, and greenhouses!!! finally!). Some of you saw our post on RC, but this is the preliminary quote/idea I plan to do for a "sitting room" in a house we are building. 10'x6'x3' (maybe 4', want to do both sps and deepwater species) on 9' wall height. (Qty.10) 21" Lumenarc3s with 400 watters on horizontal suspension for maintenance run off garage door motor. Thinking about heat channels to pull the heat from the reflectors. (Qty.5) Blueline HD100s each running through 4 and 8 port Oceansmotions (all black pvc) ~ may go with other brands, but so far impressed with durability and strength of these iwakilike pumps. Will be adding several extra pump returns in case we go with more pumps, or larger pumps. (I like redundancy which is why I don't mind smaller pumps). 750lbs. of select Tonga Red Branch, Kaelini, and Ewa rock (5-6 structures) Climate controlled room with open air exhausts to outside/inside. May add chillers as needed. At first...no skimmer (worked so far for a year here on a 420 gallon system). Not trying to hijack the thread, but big tanks are cool

Key points ... and I loved the last post! 1. Educate yourself and others in the club prior to buying any equipment or livestock. 2. Research what you plan to buy, before buying it! 3. What does the receipt say? If it says "VHO" and not "PC" then the store should have fixed this issue at once. 4. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to the store owner. If they are not willing to fix the deal, hopefully they lose the customer permanently. Any retailer can take back a light, sell it as a "used fixture" (which usually recoups what they paid anyway) and even put in new bulbs (which are dirt cheap!). 5. ETSS skimmer quote. priceless 6. Purchasing products online does not always give the hobbyist the best price (look and ask around). Except for this issue, what kind of support do you get in person from an online shop? Can the online company tell you about product specs and applications or do they just sell products to make a quick buck? I know personally, that every product we sell, we have used or use on client systems (unless someone requests something we do not use, which at that point we give observations (pros and cons) of the product in question). I would have to think Tom would want to fix this, and hopefully he will contact your friend on or off the boards. Goodluck to everyone involved, and hopefully the club will not support, bash, exclude, or offer any "special" cases in the future regarding any stores, retailers, etc. in the future. Being inclusive is what the club should be all about.

Most of the Home Depot stores in the area should have 1/4" acrylic panels (12x24" ; 18x24", etc.) that you could cut with a 80 tooth plus ($8 blade) circular saw with no problems. You could use a different blade, but much easier with more teeth. This project should run under $25 (acrylic, silicone to glass, blade). Although silicone will not bond the acrylic to the glass it will help keep the baffles snug (make sure the panels are cut tight). Pic below of simple 30 gallon divider using acrylite. The space in the middle is for a small refugium/dsb area. Oops, no upload feature (just email me and I can email you back two pics). Goodluck, and take pics as you build the sump

We tried separating a few clownfish pairs with 1/2" eggcrate in 33longs...they still managed to squeeze through (especially the bigger clowns!). Have no idea how they did it, but they did. Tomato, Maroon, and Clarkii clowns are pretty determined to get their way so best to keep them separate from more docile species.

Sent you email.