Black Mammoth

Rule of thumb is 1lb of rock to 1gal of water. I would even lean towards 1.5lbs of rock to 1 gal of water. The sand depends on how deep of a sand bed you want. You might have better luck on the for sale board here. You have to be a WAMAS member, but I highly recommend the $20 for the membership. You'll easily make that up with WAMAS discounts at LFS in the area. Too bad I this post just came out. I just traded a bunch of rocks for corals earlier this week. Anyway, I believe that there are people in there selling rocks.

I dunno. On my prop tank I have a 175 MH with VHO actinics. In my display tank (90g) I have a 6x54 T5s. I don't know if I really like the VHO actinics any better or worse than the T5s. T5s have actinics made by...who was it now?...the really popular one for the VHOs....they make one now for the T5s. There is also the AquaBlue++. I have 3 whites (I forget the names right now), 2 AquaBlue++, and 1 Actinic bulb. I'm very happy with the look. With my 6x54T5s, I'm keeping everything (clam, SPS, LPS, softies). If you have 6x84(is it 84?), you'll probably be good. One of the guys I know in Ashburng has 8 T5s on his 125 as well. I know you don't want to add another ballast, but you'll probably be OK with 6.

If you have T5s, why do you want to run VHOs anyway? IMHO it's just a waste of power to you. Maybe you like the supplement light the VHOs give you. But T5s come in a variety of bulbs, I can't imagine you can't find something you like. BTW, I would never mount the ballasts inside the hood or on the back of the tank. That's asking for trouble. I mounted mine underneath the tank initially. After I moved, I had the luxury of putting them in the room behind the tank. Anyway, I bought another set where the person put the ballast inside the hood. He said it was a bad idea. The ballast works, but it was corroded and it wasn't in there very long. In your setup I would probably do either 6 T5s or 8 T5s. But then again I don't know what you are keeping

The heat isn't as much as a problem with the smaller pumps such as the Mag 7s. Don't get me wrong, they do get warm. Mags are durable and are built to last, but that's it with pros IMHO. Mag drives are horribly inefficient. They use a ton of power. Look up the specs on any of the Mag drives. For kicks look up how many watts your Mag 18s take up. Now you had 2 of them in a 5 gal bucket Not really surprising now, eh? Oh yeah, did I mention that they are loud? The Eheim is a superior pump. It is way more efficient. The power consumption for that kind of drive is decent. It's a heck of a lot better than a Mag drive. It also flows more than equivalent mag drive...and it has less head loss. The Eheim does cost more without a doubt, but it is worth it. The Eheim is significantly quieter. However, you may not want an Eheim for your application. I just thought I would mention that one to anyone peering in on this post My wife did her PhD is motor drives...and well I can tell you she isn't too found of the Mags either. Although, you don't need a PhD to see the things I mentioned Just chiming in with my 2 cents....

Second! LOL Red Bug. I don't know who this midget is, but obviously they don't know anything. I've bought many corals from Fins & Feathers and never had Red Bugs or Flat Worms. If someone got Red Bugs, they already had them or got them from someone else. I go there every week looking for corals because they have the nicest stuff around. Red Bugs...LOL. Maybe this midget is upset because F&F sells their corals as cheap or cheaper than private party. Who knows....who cares? I don't know why this thread turned in to a pissing match. There are some great stores, good stores, average, and poor stores. Just go to the one you like the most. Don't expect someone to open up the stores after hours for you. If they don't, don't post anything negative...sour grapes. If they do, then post something positive. When did fish stores become 24 hour service? Geez...Fins & Feathers helped me a few times before & after hours. If they didn't, I wouldn't complain about it. Heck, I didn't even post that they did, but I probably should have. Gee, if you guys want to nit pick about everything we can. I can pick on Marine Scene, BRK, Exotic Aquatics, F&F, Ricks, Roozens....name it and I'll give you something bad. My point is that they all have their ups & downs. My rule of thumb is if someone does something exceptionally bad or good, write about it!

Do you have a circular saw? They aren't too much money if you don't have one.

I also don't like Roozen's. I went there because a fellow WAMAS member (before I joined) recommended it to me. I was still looking for a good place to shop at the time. Now I just go to F&F. Anyway, I went over there to get a Flame Angel. The website said $29 and when I called they said they had plenty and they were $29. When I got there they had about 40 of them...maybe more, I dunno, but they had a lot. However, finding one that was healthy was a real challenge. I found maybe 2 or 3 that were healthy. Some were missing eyes and/or fins. Others had either ich or most likely crypto. When I found one that was healthy it was $69. I was like uhm....that's not what I was told. His response was that's how much it costs. I was told that the one guy likes to make up a different price every day. It's not worth my time & money to go over there to find out he's in a bad mood. I was impressed by the selection & variety. I was disgusted by the number of ill fish and dead corals that were still for sale. I won't return there, especially since F&F and BRK are closer. I haven't bought anything at BRK yet (try to give most of my business to F&F), but everything I've seen in there looks great! The prices at F&F and BRK are very similar to Roozens anyway. I rather spend the same amount or more $ at a place that actually cares and sells healthy animals. I'm curious about the Cuda. They need a lot of water flowing so that they get enough oxygen. They are OK in calmer waters if they aren't very active. I wounder how well it is being treated. BTW, that is something to remember to keep you calm when you are snorkeling around a reef and you run in to a 5ft Cuda!

Sean does rule. He goes out of his way for many people...I can't imagine that he has any free time for himself because he's always going above & beyond what is needed A friendly tip....use two heaters for your tank That way, if one fails, you're good. I also have a couple in reserve. I put them to good use by keeping my top off water and new salt water warm

Every employee I've met there has done a great job. They are very helpful and they know their stuff. They've helped me out in the past. I don't have a single problem with anybody there. I used to shop there because of that. I've been to many LFS in the area. I like to try them all out and get a feel for what is in the area. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. I personally don't get to Marine Scene that much anymore as I found another store that I love. I'll hit Marine Scene every once and awhile to get some things that Fins & Feathers don't readily stock. The people that work there are great.

It's funny what kind of screen names you come up with when you're 15. I've had this screen name for 14 years. I might as well keep it...the only truth to the name is the Mammoth part I will see what I can do about posting some pics. It might be next month before I post as I have been super busy. I've been meaning to get in to F&F to replace my False Perc that mysteriously disappeared and Flame Angel. Sean...I'll be back. Not only do I need a Flame, I need a small False Perc that mysteriously dissappeared. Not unless you already have them, I'll probably wait after I move in 2 weeks.

I've been on Reef Central for a year and half (give or take), but I never joined WAMAS. I recently decided to join because in passing Sean mentioned something about it. After my great experiences with Sean, I decided I needed to join. I'm very happy that I did...but enough about that and back to my good experience with Sean. I bought several items (Magnificient Foxface among other critters). After getting to know Sean a bit, I asked if he could get me a Female Bellus Angel. Sean said he can probably do that and he might have to try out some new suppliers, but he would do his best. Despite Sean having some problems initially, he was able to get this fish. What's the big deal? I had tried for OVER 9 months trying to get this beauty. I tried many times from a "famous" fish store in Reston (technically Herndon) with high prices. They couldn't guarantee me a female and if a male came in, I would have to take it. Obviously this wasn't acceptable. Sean said that wouldn't be his policy. He really came through on finding a tough fish for me. He jumped through a lot of hoops when he didn't have to. I was amazed that a LFS went the extra mile to help out one lowly customer. But wait! It doesn't stop there. A week after I took it home, the fish developed lympho and I thought it was ick. Let me be clear on this, the fish was in perfect condition when I picked it up. It was healthy, eating, and looking great! Anyway, I was treating it the wrong way and nearly killed my beloved Bellus. I freaked out Sean said he would treat it for me since I couldn't do anything. When I brought it in he said it wasn't ick and my treatment was actually causing the conditions to get worse. He cleaned her up and educated me a bit on diseases...then I was on my way. I tried paying for his services, but he wouldn't take a dime for it. He said he help me because he knew how much I loved the fish and I was trying to do the right thing! He is a fish nut like everyone else on here. This is one of many reasons why I will continue to patron his store. For what it's worth I did find some dry goods to buy on that trip Cliff Notes: F&F is a great place. Sean is a good guy. Make the trip to Ashburn, it is well worth it!