rsarvis

I'm going to tag along to see what people have to say. I've heard it said that minor amounts of sand-stirring is fine and can be beneficial, but you don't want to do too much, especially in a smaller aquarium, b/c it can degrade the water quality quite a bit and it might release certain bacteria that can eat up a lot of the oxygen in the water. (That's just what I heard; don't shoot the messenger if the message was wrong...) I stir up small areas every now and then, esp up against the front glass, when the sand up against the glass is a little discolored. I used to do some sand vacuuming with water changes, but I stopped, simply because it doubled or tripled the time it took me to do a water change.

I don't actually know the answer to your question, but I've heard people say they just get it at the grocery store, but I don't know which one. I do know that there's an international grocery story on Little River Turnpike near 395 that has all sorts of good stuff--fresh fruit, fresh seafood (even had live conch last time i went in there), and all sorts of international foods. I'd bet they have dried seaweed. One question I have, though, is whether packaged dried seaweed for human consumption can be used for fish. Are there any preservatives or salts added that would be harmful? Or is it really just dried, and that's it? I have this bag of seaweed, but all the packaging is in Korean. Suffice it to say, I don't know what the heck any of it says. And as for NRehman's suggestions, I haven't had much luck with the spinach I've put in (do you put it in fresh/raw?). I've had good luck with boiled broccoli spears (they love the nubs on the end). And I put handfuls of chaeto now and then and they seem to eat it.

Okay, thanks for your input everybody. I'm going to switch in two new bulbs I currently have and then order a mix of new bulbs. I'll definitely have to pay more attention to people's lights when I'm over... And I'll buy another timer so I can ramp up/down. Are there any timer powerstrips that allow you to set times for each individual outlet? My powerstrip timer has two day, two anti-day, and four always on, so it doesn't by itself allow for ramping up (hence my manual turn-on/off in the morning/night). Peacetypes, are you a rugby player? Where at?

I'm not sure why adding live sand would affect your salinity measurement. I do second the suggestion above about making sure there are no tiny bubbles on the swing arm, that will make it swing up quite a bit, so maybe it was an erroneous measurement?? Re the refractometer suggestion, although more reliable, they're a little expensive, so I wouldn't rush out and invest money in one to start out with. I still use a hydrometer (i'll prob get excoriated for admitting it, though). As noted by others, be cognizant of the weeks-long cycling process; you'll definitely need testing kits to watch that process to know when the cycling process is complete. Where in NY are you? I get up to NYC fairly frequently (probably be there in a couple weekends); if you're in the city, we could meet up and talk fish. As for what the store told you, re reef set-ups taking years and lots of $$, it does get expensive, but hopefully you can buy stuff used from other hobbyists. It definitely doesn't take years, though, to get to a nice satisfying set-up. I started out in the hobby just about a year ago and I have what I think is a pretty nice system for a newbie. (My plumbing was all done for me, though.) But you do have to take time, several months for set-up, cycling, aquascaping, etc. It's a great hobby, but it takes patience. My cardinal rule: don't do anything with your tank when you have to go to the bathroom!

I have a 180 with an Aquactinic Constellation fixture, i.e., 14 T5 36"/39W bulbs (7 on each half of the tank). My tank's been up for almost a year, so I'm figuring it's time to start rotating some new bulbs in... As background, the fixture had some bulbs in them already when I got them, don't remember exactly what, and I've added a couple Geisemanns since then. I've been running something along the lines of 3 actinic+, 3 aquablue+, and a midday. (That's per side, as is everything below.) I usually turn on one switch (with 2 actinic+) in the morning (9ish) and turn it off late at night (11ish); and a timer turns on the rest (the aquablue+, third actinic+, and midday) for about 8 hours. My questions are: 1) What are brands that are good from both a quality and expense standpoint? 2) What are good websites that usually have bulbs for good prices? 3) Any suggestions for changing up the combo of bulbs or my timing? What would you do differently? Is it too much light, or is it on for too long? 4) Assuming lighting is a major factor when it comes to red slime, what do I want to keep in mind in choosing new lighting, given that I have some rocks that always grow red slime, but no other algae problems. Is this more a matter of bulb choice, or a matter of my bulbs being old, or other? Thanks.

If you decide to try the two-part solution, I'd be interested in trading you some two-part for some of that kalk bag. I'm thinking of trying to drip kalk. I have a 180g, and I think I'm getting to the point with SPS, etc., that two-part is a pain. I still have quite a bit left of these ginormous two-part jugs, so maybe we can do some experiments with each other's supplements.

I can't answer your question but would love to see pics of the xmas tree worms!

This is suh-weet! I live about 1 minute from Wally's. It was a decent store before the ownership change, but very expensive. Hopefully it'll become an awesome store and get more competitive on pricing...

My live rock has built up quite a bunch of those tiny little micro-feather-dusters. Will a CBB eat them all?

Just saw this thread. I bought a new salifert alk test last week, but still have some left in my old one, so i could give the remainder to you. Looks like you have it covered, though. Let me know if otherwise. I bought the magnesium test kit, too, (from pacific east) but they are out as well. hmmm.

That's really close to where I grew up. Huntsman at Sidenstricker. Jeff, I now live about 15-20 minutes from you, about 5 minutes from Landmark mall (395 at Duke St). Let me know if you want to come by to check out my tank. If you coordinate with me and have a big container, I could have some rodi water for you.

I have some fairly easy newbie corals, monti digi frags, green mushrooms, yellow polyps, kenya/xenia (plague corals to some...). I'm in Annandale, let me know if you'd like some, I can give you some for free. They all grow fairly quickly and are not hard to keep.

salifert's is about $24. i don't see many other test kits on the sites i've checked. is there a reason for that?

Man, that looks great! Well aquascaped and so full of life and color!

I'm coming up on a year in the hobby (bought my tank early December, but didn't have it all set up and running until early February)--woohoo! I've got a decent amount of stuff in there, but most of my tank isn't too colorful (green, brown, or non-bright other colors). My main colorful non-greenish/earth-tone things are a big yellow tang, a yellow watchman goby, a firefish, a bicolor pseudochromis, a couple of red plate coral frags that are growing out nicely, a yellow sps something, and a sun coral. And a staghorn, which is purplish, but it isn't that bright a color, IMO. I'd like to get some ideas for nice bright blue things, corals, fish, inverts, etc. What are your favorites? I'll also take other color ideas if they're inspired.

Hey Lance, I agree with zotzer re: Trochus snails. When I first started out, I had an algae bloom, and I got a bunch of trochus and margarita snails. They were both like lawnmowers, it was incredible; I would move them from spot to spot and they would mow it down. The trochuses were absolutely amazing at their HA-eating skills. The margarita snails were also pretty good, but they died out 'cause they couldn't turn themselves over when they fell onto their backs. I still have some of the original trochuses, which have grown pretty large, and it appears that I now have several babies as well, which is really cool. -Rob

what's all the yellow encrusting in this pic?

Very exciting, Jeff! I know I'm not the only one that wants to check out your tank. Do I smell a tank tour in the making?? (yauger, did Raf get in touch with you about a couple boxes he's held for me for a while? I didn't know you work at Wally's; I live 2 minutes away so I could pick it up from you there. PM me?)

I find that when I'm drip acclimating, the tank temperature being added is easily dominated by the temperature loss of the water in the bucket. So what do people do, put a small heater in the bucket you're dripping into? Or should I just go back to the pouring-water-every-5-minutes-into-the-floating-bag method?

How long did it take to split? Just a couple days or over the course of last week? (wasn't sure which Monday you were referring to)

quick Q about bangaiis. do you have to feed them at night since they're nocturnal, or do they eat when you feed during the day?

I agree that blue reef chromises look great esp. when they're small and especially in a school. For yellow, how about a canary blenny? Beautiful bright yellow, smallish, with a crescent tail. If not, watchman goby is a good choice as well, but not as brilliant yellow.

From what I've read, an anemone that's white isn't in good health; is that true? I have a bubble tip anemone that is white, and that's how it came. It was in decline (you might recall my posts) until I started feeding him regularly, and now it seems to be doing great, although its tentacles aren't as long as I seem to recall them being originally. But assuming the lack of color is a problem, is there any way to get its color back? Or am I needlessly worrying?

Thanks, everyone, for your replies! I really appreciate it. It sounds like it would be least out-of-the-way for Rascal and ChrisS, so I'll work it out with them and if needed, I'll follow up with Brian and David. Chris, I believe I will be available Oct 5-7, but let me verify with my gf. I'd love to see your seahorse tank; I've thought about doing one, but haven't done anything yet. How big is it? If you guys are free Saturday, I'll be at home working most of the day, so if you come by, I can show you what I do. (Mike, I bought my six-line from you, right?). If Saturday doesn't work, we can do it another time; or I can leave written directions for you. Just give me a call, 510-681-4996, or let me know on here. And if you have suggestions for catching my last green chromis, I'd love to hear it.

I'm going to be out of town for 5 days, Thursday 9/20 through Monday 9/24. This is the first time since getting my tank that I've gone out of town for more than a 3-day weekend, so I'm asking for some help in taking care of my little buggers. (I'm more than willing to reciprocate when needed.) Would anyone in the Alexandria/Springfield/Annandale area be able to stop in at my place to feed, top-off, and maybe add some two-part? It should only take you 10 minutes (if that). Ideally, I'd like visits Friday and Sunday (can be different people, of course), but I'll take a single visit on Saturday. I live at the corner of Braddock Road and Little River Turnpike. (see here.) Let me know and I'll invite you over for a drink while showing you where everything is. Thanks!! -Rob