michaelg

As far as the powerpoint presentation, there wasn't one due to some technical issues. The club does have Justin's presentation on dvd from when it hosted MACNA. Anyhow, it was awesome that the workshop fell on this weekend and I was able to be in town. Really enjoyed seeing this tradition as strong as ever, and some new powertools being put to use. I enjoyed catching up with many old friends. Thanks to all who helped fill my cooler with frags to bring back to Albany. Thanks for a great day! Michael

Ali, Please also include me for one of the red ricordias. Scott- looking forward to seeing you at he meeting and catching up.

You can find black bulkheads easily. as mentioned, the piping will be covered in short order. You can get PVC primer and make it purple- don't know of anything black I would trust- except lockline modular piping is black.

Sean, Jason had sent me a PM before you, so I have to give him first dibs. If he doesn't want it, or doesn't show, it's yours. Hope you understand.

I have an ETSS 600 skimmer I can bring down, but only if someone definately wants it. $150.

Hi guys! Looks like I will be rolling into town that weekend as my wife has stuff at NIH to clean out. Dave- still in silver springs area? If so, can you hold frags for me until sunday if need be? I might be heading back here on Saturday night. I'm interested in any pretty corals- acropora, montipora, lps, etc. Won't be bringing anything down with me other than my wallet. I'll let you guys decide what I should take back- please make a list of corals you think should be spread beyond DC. My tank took a hit this summer during a heat spell (no AC in the basement)- so I need some corals. After which I bought a chiller- so hopefully that won't happen again. I see Justin is speaking- that's awesome. Maybe someone can bring a CD player to play his bands CD during the fragging. I'll be happy to get my hands wet as well and help wherever. VERY happy to see this fall tradition continuing. From Albany, Michael

Lots of people use miracle grow. Personally I have been using a 2 part that is made by Kent. The only place that sells it is aquaticeco.com (aquatic ecosystems). It is not expensive- a 16 oz bottle of each (makes 32 oz of media) for under $15 last time I bought it. I only make up about 100mls at a time and that lasts several months. They reason that the shelf life is longer keeping the viatmins and salts seperate. Definately vitamins in it- so there is more than a standard bottle of miracle grow.

not sure if it is what you would consider a lot for a feeding, but I have been growing my own phyto for years- Usually feed a couple cups 4 times a week to a 58G tank. I grow it super dark- totally do not follow the "rules for culturing it. I am fairly certain I derived a strain that is bullet proof and near impossible to crash. Don't feed clumps- they don't re-disperse well. If you are culturing it correctly, there shouldn't be issues with ammonia. Filtering it really isn't an option. Yes, you would need to vacumm line it, it would immediately clog up the filter, and probably rupture the algae cells. Centrifugation would be a good option, but not something most of us have sitting around the house.

If you are going to Salisbury- go visit Dr. Mac. He has a retail store.

I've been getting it from Buckeye field supply when I order replacement filters for my RO/DI. They have DI media as well and refillable cartridges.

Jean-Marie, I made a DIY fixture with one of these housings for a 150W. Get a socket from hellolights- get the more expensive one. You can not do it by simply modifying the existing socket. Some 150W bulbs might fit, but it is close and can easily break bulbs. I needed to clean out all the old "socket" with my dremel tool to fit the new socket into place. Then needed to snip the inside reflector a little to get the bracket- was easy. Drilled a couple holes to mount in the new socket, wire it up and you are done. I was very happy for the $25 it cost total. To mount it into the hood, I used the arm that holds the housing and drilled a hole through the top of the canopy and the used the nut to screw it into place. The fixture seals the light very well from moisture, and I never had any heat problems with it.

for reference, the pics with me and Eric B were when he was pulling out the baby corals from larval settlement. FWIW, when the DVD comes out, make sure to watch Dirk Petersen's presentation. It was incredible- the best talk I saw at the show.

I have to say that it is a bummer they are closing up shop.... They had so much potential for the area- and I like the guys a lot.

As far as southdown- the reef tank can get it in if they don't have it on hand. I found the same stuff under another name at walmart up here in Albany (from thread on RC). Some K-Marts have it evidently as well.

depending on how dense the coral is, it can also be from lack of light, but try the flow increase first. Is the tissue actually dying or is it just bleached?