rsarvis

I should add to my last sentence: "...with some difficulty. I (5'10", normal wingspan) can easily grab things on my sand bed right behind the glass where I'm standing, but a) I have a few inches of sandbed, and b) I wouldn't be able to reach across the width of the tank to the bottom, which you may want to do..." That being said, I like the 24". I have a 180g, a 6' long tank, so I think it makes more sense than a 20". On a smaller tank, 20 might make more sense to you. I dunno.

He might be talking about a 30" v. 24"... I agree that it's nice to be able to reach to the bottom, but I have to say, the extra 6" vertically makes a huge difference visually, at least to me. I would love to have that extra space, but I'm fairly new to the hobby and it would be too difficult to deal with for me. I know Chip (flowerseller) likes the extra vertical space, and he just uses tongs to reach stuff. You should talk to him if you're lured by the taller size. If you are talking about 20 v. 24, then I would go with 24, 'cause you can still reach the bottom.

How often do clowns lay eggs? And is there anything you can do to get them to "get it on"? I have a couple of ocellaris; I put a PVC tube in that they're fond of; I'll see one go in and start vibrating, which I read somewhere is a mating sign. But no egg-laying or anything. No bulging tummy full of eggs (will that be visible?).

Thanks, John and Johnny, for getting these!! Can I pay for three of them now (by paypal), but have Johnny keep them in his quarantine system until the social?

Yes, but putting something from the internet on your computer desktop isn't like reposting it on your website (i.e., republishing it to the world), it's more like cutting it out of a magazine and putting it on your wall. That being said, I suppose you could always ask the guy for permission...

I was looking a while back for pics that would make good wallpaper for my monitor at work. Eventually, I ended up grabbing the pics from this guy's site, and I'm happy with it: http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_aquascaping.htm Some great pics, esp. 'cause his tank is so deep (front to back), an aspect that I love...

Sorry I wasn't able to come by earlier in the week to check out your live rock. Can I pick up a hydor koralia tonight?

Shirlington's on my way home from work, I could come by to check out the live rock sometime this week or weekend. PM me with ph# and address and we can work it out.

I'll take a Hydor Koralia. Interested in digital timers and plumbing/tubing accessories, too. Interested in the cardinalfish. Might be interested in some live rock. I assume the snails and crabs prices are per item? Might take some of those, too. Where are you located?

I'm sorry, I don't have much of a stake or position in this debate, but this post below is kind of an unwittingly self-referential farce. Self-congratulatory sanctimony appears to motivate on a par with the diabolical profit motive (gasp!)... *It's not worth arguing with people who disagree with me.* *X is true, and those who disagree are like pigs squealing in their bunker.* *There's no profit motive in taking my [doubtlessly noble!] position.* *Your think tanks are fake, mine are legitimate.* *Your scientists have questionable motives, mine don't.* And the most hilarious... *I'm not reading this thread anymore because the poeple who disagree with me are intellectually dishonest.* You, however, are a paragon of intellectual probity, without a doubt... Very nice.... Keep patting yourself on the back... I'll bet you scored a genius on the IQ test you designed for yourself...

How big's your tank. I know others have better success, but I find even in my 180g, at least given my rock work, it's not always easy to position a high-flow powerhead so that it doesn't blow things everywhere. As much as I hate having to see tons of powerheads everywhere, that might be the way to go, using weaker ones but several of them, instead of one or two strong ones. If you do downgrade on powerheads, though, I'll take the Koralia!! I'm actually planning to buy one, but I don't think I'll get the 4. EDIT: Sorry, I just saw that you do have your tank size in the post toward the end. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm thinkin' a Koralia 3 is a little strong for a 36g. ALthough the Koralia spreads out the flow, a 3 is prob still strong enough to be difficult in that size tank.

I'm heading down to Richmond for the weekend (for Muddy Buddy! ). Any good fish stores down there I should check out?

How big's your tank? If it's big enough, you'll have to replace quite a bit of water to make a major dent...

Does anyone know whether I need to refrigerate this stuff after opening?

In case anyone is curious, or for some future reader's reference, my anemone is on the mend... I've tried feeding him over the past several weeks; it's a hard angle to get at, esp. 'cause i've just been using chopsticks (need to get some tongs!!), but when I'm patient enough, the anemone closes around the food. I've probably fed him 1-2 times per week over the last several weeks. He started regrowing tentacle stubs a few weeks ago and they look like they're continuing to grow. Growing slowly, but growing. So maybe in another month, I won't have to hold the food at the mouth for a whole minute... Thanks for the advice!

My thoughts exactly! I am in for three as well.

Awesome. So when would we need to let you know by? [what kind of fish is that in your profile pic?]

Yea, that would be really cool!! I'm very tempted to do just that; I love the idea of a small school of these. Right now, I have very little bioload (at least as fish are concerned--do you count other stuff (corals, hermits, etc.) when calculating bioload? Even still, it's low) and would like to get some beautiful fish to look at (slowly, I know). I'm wondering, in a 180, would a few angels be okay with a couple tangs and some cardinals as well? (Right now, I only have a clown pair, a lawnmower, a bicolor pseudochromis, a blue reef chromis, and a six-line wrasse.) Would that be getting to be too much, with the larger fish mentioned above that I'm interested in?

Anyone know the answer to this... Thanks.

And also what are you testing for? I have a 180g and I've been in the hobby for about the same amount of time. I have about a dozen or so corals, but they're all fairly small frags, and I got them over several months, so it's been easier to make sure I'm doing things to keep them growing okay. but even with a smaller amount of corals, I found when I started testing for calcium recently that my calcium was rather depleted; I started dosing recently and things seem to be growing better. I imagine if you're putting that much coral into the tank in a short amount of time, there may be problems in that regard. Anyway, I'll let the more knowledgeable folks here help you trouble-shoot, but in my short amount of time in the hobby, I have to say I agree with emissary that patience is the rule. It can definitely be frustrating when you don't know why things are happening, but going slowly lets you get on the boards and ask questions before, rather after, things go drastically wrong.

Why's that?

Agreed! I might jump on the diphreutes bandwagon. Question for all you knowledgeable folks: Can I have both a H. diphreutes and a copperbanded butterfly? Or is it stick to one butterfly species? 180g reef tank. Currently I don't have many fish and they're all small, but I'll prob get a couple tangs at some point, too. Also, do copperbands (or H. diph.) eat feather dusters? I saw somewhere they eat worms, so I'm wondering if I'll be sacrificing my feather duster if I get one of these two fish (or both).

Is it clear this is a starter tank for him? He said he has some saltwater knowledge. Anyway... I started out early this year with a 180, and I love it. It has its plusses and minuses. People told me to get as big a tank as you can afford because a) big tanks are more forgiving (which is true and probably has saved me a couple headaches already), and b) you're going to want upgrade (which is also true, I'd love to have a bigger tank, but there's no way I or my townhouse or my budget could handle anything bigger).\ So that advice was good and I'm glad I got what I did. If I have to move anytime soon, though...... That being said, it would have been useful for me to start with a smaller tank, mainly so that I would know, when I moved to a bigger tank, how to choose my own gear, used or online, to save money. I bought most of the starting-out stuff new at the LFS (chefthomasr on here was my guide to what to purchase, and he did a great job explaining everything to me), so obviously there's quite a premium over what you can get used on wamas or new online. But on the other hand, I don't regret paying more, because I was reading so much that I was getting overwhelmed and discouraged. I ended up shelling out several thousand dollars to get it all started, but I'm really happy with what I have and I might have just given up if I tried to do it all myself. (Also, I had the LFS's people do the plumbing, 'cause I didn't want to mess that up as a newbie. Now, I think I could do it myself.) Anyway, I agree with the recommendation of joining wamas; as jamesbuf told me, the best $20 you'll spend in the hobby. BTW - someone's selling a 50g for a good price right now. I'd consider checking that out. I thought about it for about 30 seconds, but realized my gf would kill me if I brought home another tank. I already have a 29g and 4 10g's in the garage. 50g is plenty big, to satisfy your instant desire for a significant-size tank; and small enough to be manageable while you learn more and wait for a hot deal on a 210g.

dang, didn't know tupperware came that big. supertupperware. so I'm guessing a 20g brute trashcan is still to tall?

I decided to do some tank maintenance and the result is a bucket full of chaeto that's gonna get tossed. If anybody wants some tonight, it's yours. Don't bother writing a PM, just call (510-681-4996). (Also, I have some small pieces of xenia and kenya tree; it's been in the bucket since yesterday, but I imagine it's still viable. Same thing - free but come tonight.) -Rob