Boxxr

To expand on this, I would comment that the ones that I get from John survive much longer than other stores. From the price, I am assuming that they are wild caught. I've had my four for about a year. -Karl

Thanks for the update. I wish that they had updated their website so I could have found the place today. Next time I guess.

Anyone know where the cozy clownfish moved to? I finally decided to check out the store only to find the place closed. The website is still up and the number goes to voicemail.

John - Any Chocolate Chip starfish? I didn't see any on the list. Thanks, -Karl

I'm not really sure what you are asking, but I have a pair and they are not mated. They are fine in a 120G tank.

While I agree that they are necessary, I think that there are some things that need to be done when using them. As some here know, I lost my whole tank because of a GFCI tripping. I was without power for about 20 hours in December. I came home to a 60 degree tank that was without aeration for the same time period. All my sps gone as well as all but one fish. What I did, or didn't do, is cover the gfci from the splashing of playful fish. I think that one of them splashed on the GFCI and tripped the whole thing. My neighbor didn't notice the problem. So I am glad that you were not hurt when you were working on the tank, I think there needs to be a note of caution too. In my case, I think a non-gfci circuit would have prevented my loss. But, as in life, you live and learn. I never leave home without a cover over my outlets. -Karl

I think this one is defective. It even tells me so After settling with the two different solutions (7.0 & 10.0), the display comes up and says 'probe defective restoring'. This is not starting off well. At least I can communicate to the device via the internet. -Karl

Okay, I will do. Thanks.

After taking the foam out of the box that it was shipped in, I see that the blue fluid is on the bottom of the box. It appears that the stuff that looks like salt is that blueish green fluid and it have leaked out under the cap or something. I just cant tell how much has and how critical that is. thanks, Karl

I am a new user to the AC3 and recently picked up a lab grade pH probe. When I opened the box of the probe, there was a significant amount of salt crystals near the bottom of the probe. Is this normal for a new device? I wanted to get an idea prior to calibrating the device and placing it in my tank. Thanks, -Karl

Bristle worms they will heartily eat, but from my experience they didn't touch the three feather dusters that I have. I really like the arrow crab that I have. He is a peaceful inhabitant. Karl

Everyone: Thanks for the support. The female clown didn't make it, but the male did. All told, 11 fish are gone; one survivor. Nothing that rare, but some I've had for some time. I will really miss the naso blond tang. He (she) was just getting streamers. I really liked the orange lips. It also appears that the all of the SPS I had also have died or are in the process of with the exception of the two montiporas that I have. Luckily I don't have a lot of them. I talked to my neighbor and it appears that the power was off for about 36 hours from the best that I can tell. She feels really bad for not really paying that much attention to the lack of pump noise or no lights. I did roll back the light cycle while I was gone and she honestly thought that the lights being off was something that I had done. Lesson learned on my part - I need to explain this a little better. I believe, but cannot confirm, that one of the fish splashed water on the setup that I have. This has happened in the past and I placed a plastic cover of the outlet area. This was on the floor when I got home. Not sure why that was. I do have two circuits that supply the power to the tank. A non GFCI that supplies the tunezes, the auto topoff, skimmer, and some other ancillary things. The other circuit, the GFCI, powers the main pump, the heater, and the lights. I have a separate heater on the non-gfci circuit, that did kick in, but was way too small for the water value that I have. Other than a water change and testing levels is there anything else i really need to do? Thanks, -Karl

Well I returned home from a 10 day vacation at 1am. It was eerily quiet when I walked in the house, but didn't understand why for a moment and I continued to unpack the car. Went into the fish room and discovered that my pumps were not on. Something had tripped my GFCI that I have installed. Long story short - all of the fish (with the exception of my clowns - and they are not looking good) did not make it. The temperature was 60 degrees, the tank was down by about 10 gallons (?) of water (I could understand that if it was the summer - maybe). My neighbor who has taken care of the fish before several times, once again said that she would do it. In the past she has called for something that wasn't right and I was able to help. But this time I didn't receive a call. Strange. I will have to talk with her in the morning. It appears that the power was out for some time. I guess that I should invest in AC III or something that can notify me when something is amiss. My inverts, and it appears that my coral, survived. So I am thinking that the lack of oxygen was the real problem. I am surprised that my inverts are ok since the salinity must have been very high. I didn't check it before I added my RO/DI. It is still a little high but not too bad. Nothing else I can do tonight (this am) so hopefully the clowns will make it through the next few hours. The temperature is up to 68. This sucks. Karl

My maroon female will nip me too if I come anywhere within about 4 inches of the anemone. Didn't bother me that much at first, but now she is pretty big and it always startles me even though I know it's coming.

Yeah, that's what i was hoping for too. I have what appears to be a lot of asterina stars, but they are green. Most of the photos I have seen they are brown, white or reddish. I won't worry yet. I wish the little guy would make an appearance. -Karl

Howard, Thanks. I did buy two live ones (chocolate chip starfish that is). I have a lot, and I mean a lot, of little green starfish all over the place. Dime size and smaller. I was thinking they might go after them. I was thinking of taking one of the chocolate chips in the sump and putting it in the main tank, instead of just one arm (or leg) to see if that gets them out and about. I purchased a pair and one of them was significantly bigger than the other. I have seen the large one come out in the evening, whereas the other one I haven't seen since the third day in the tank. I thought that I was ready for them in the tank.... -Karl

I purchased a pair of harlequin shrimp last week along with two chocolate chip starfish. I have seen the larger of the two shrimp several times, mostly in the evening hanging out in the back of the tank. I dropped a leg of the starfish in the general area where I have seen the guy, but so far neither one has come out to eat. Is it advisable to wait until he comes out or should he find the grub on his own I haven't seen much on how to feed these guys other than what to feed them. Thanks, Karl

When I first got mine, it just ate algae on rocks or on my tunzes. It was funny to watch - he'd go up to the tunze nipple on it and then get blown half way across the tank. About 2 or 3 weeks after I got him, he started eating the little pieces of nori that was floating around the tank after the tangs finished. Recently he has started eating mysis. Since you just got him, he maybe still acclimating to your tank. -Karl

I went with the one stop setup by Tunze. Yes, I could have saved some money, but this includes the pump, dual float switches, and all the tubing you need. After I priced it all out for different options, I decided that all the extra work was worth just getting this: On second thought, I'm not so sure I would do this now. I just looked the unit up. The price has increased significantly since my purchase. I tried putting in a link, but its too long to show up properly. The actual device is called TUNZE Osmolator Universal 3155. I know that BRK has them in stock most of the time. -Karl

YBNormal, Thanks for this post; I need to do the same thing. Mine is just a tad smaller, but I was unsure how to cut it down. So what were the sizes of the frags? 2 x 2 or so? Or smaller. I will wait to see how your frags do. My problem is I don't have an area to propagate my frags. -Karl

Why thanks! Another year closer to retirement. -Karl

I'm not so sure I would use the word 'work' Byron. Yeah I am there too. Work in the same lab as Byron and Jonathan (kngfisher). And no, the truck is not mine either.

Thanks all for you comments. A few answers. No I did not add the CB at night. The CB is eating a few pellets, but is eating pods ( i forget the manufacturer) quite a bit. I didn't turn the lights on at all today. Right now the CB is moving about the whole tank. That's the first time that I've seen him do that. The two offenders are a 7" in naso tang and 3" bi color. the Bi color could fit in the sump, but the naso would have a hard time in there. Question, how long should I try and get the tank-mates get along before I throw in the towel and remove the CB?

My tank-mates all seemed to get along until recently. I added a Copper-band Butterfly on Thursday and the Naso Blond Tang and the Bi-Color will not leave it alone. I have reduced the light to about 3 hours a day, but that has not helped too much. Fortunately, the butterfly is eating, not much though. I have seen him eat pellets and pods. He hangs out in the top left of the tank and only moves occasionally. This is the first time that the current fish have displayed any hostility to others. I am at loss what else to try. Any ideas? Thanks

Dano, Sorry to hear about your loss. I lost a powder blue to ich about 3 months ago. I agree with the comments of the other folks also. What I did, and it was effective, was set up a 20 gallon, glass bottom, and added some hiding places. I then added a copper treatment to the hospital tank. I then took my remaining fish and added them into the hospital tank. I kept my fish in the 20 g tank for 7 weeks. During that time, my main display tank only had my inverts and corals in there. After waiting for the 7 weeks, I put the fish back in the display tank and for the last 2 months all is well. When I purchase fish now, I will quarantine them before placing them into the main tank.