trble81

I've got the same problem as you and have the same gloves that James describes above. I notice my skin being sensitive and I'm afraid of putting my hands in the tank during the winter (moisturizer on my hands not good for the tank). If you do get these gloves, make sure you clean them properly prior to use (mine looked like they were oily). --Mike

You can get some snails to help with that problem....can't remember which ones will eat them though (easily solved by going on to liveaquaria.com and just reading some descriptions). Welcome aboard! --Mike

Plus adding any new equipment to the tank could cause the skimmer not to skim for a period of time (oils and stuff from new powerheads, for instance). --Mike

I believe it's live stock only....

trble81 was what my wife came up with...it stands for trouble (which I guess she was called when she was younger) and 81 is her birth year. Had I not been lazy and set up an account instead of just sharing one (because we have a family membership), I probably would have come up with something real creative like mzaiter (m for Mike and Zaiter is my last name)...like I said...real creative... --Mike

You could get a pair of aqua gloves. The hand part is prett thick plastic and might give you the added piece of mind about sticking you hand in the tank. --Mike

Welcome!

We have a set of these aqua gloves seen here: aqua gloves Before the mocking begins, I got them for a couple of reasons. First off, the salt water destroys my skin in the cold weather. Two, I don't want to worry about what is going into the tank because it's on my skin (like soap residue, for instance). And three, I've seen bristle worms in there and I really don't want that kind of surprise... Any way, the question is what is the best way to clean them prior to using them in the tank. The actual hand part is made of heavy-duty PVC material and you can tell it has manufacturing residue on it. Is water enough to clean it? Something else? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks in advance. --Mike

I had a conversation with Andrew a while back. I mentioned to him that he was the closest LFS to me and that I'm all about supporting the locals and was wondering that once we set up our larger tank, is it possible to get them to order fish that they either didn't have currently or don't normally carry. He told me that it was no problem to special order and that they would hold the fish to make sure it was eating at least frozen food, if not something more "processed". I don't know if this applies to corals as well but it wouldn't hurt to ask him if it were possible (if you know exactly what you want, as opposed to "something pretty"). This, however, eliminates the thrill of just browsing a store and coming across a piece that you must have

Andrew, You said that the standard dip method didn't remove them and that the freshwater dip was very effective but risky due to coral intolerance, what do you suggest as a treatment prior to the addition of coral into a home aquarium? --Mike

PM AndrewB (vendor member from Scales) and he'll let you know what's in stock and what has come out of QT. Definately worth going to Scales.

You can always ask John at BRK. He had one in a display tank (that I saw) when we were over there for the social.

Don't you think that in order for the skimmer to "function properly", you'll need to have a pump that's rated at ~350 gph (like the mag 3 or Rio 1400)? I have no experiance in the matter but just looking at the specs, it seems that if you don't use a pump that's rated at that, the upper limit of the skimmer would change (i.e., from 120 gallons to something less). --Mike

I had a couple of astreas in my tank....then they started falling off the glass and rocks and whatever else they were on and I would pick them up and put them back...then they started falling off during the night and by the time I got home from work (the lights are off still when I take off for work), they were on the sand and not in their shells anymore. They cleaned the crap out of whatever they were on....however, they became a delicious treat for something else

with credentials like that, how could you not join...? Congrats to the officers!

Every one has a cool looking one except for me :( That reminds me that I need to get some Joe's Juice as well...

Bob, I'll PM you the next time I need some fancy wood working skills on something for our house Can't wait to see how this turns out. --Mike

We've got a pair of Azure Damsels in our tank (bright blue on top and their belly and tail are bright yellow). They're pretty inexpensive fish where ever you go (we bought ours from another member). Now, I know what you're thinking...Damsels=meanies. The reason why we got those is because we read up that they were reef safe and that they're the most tame of the damsels. Now do ours behave all the time? No. But they learn (tried to nip at our smaller perc, and the big one came up and showed it who's boss...got a royal gramma and after a couple of days, they left it alone and any time they come close to the royal, he opens his mouth real wide in a display of aggression sort of way and they leave him alone).

I just have to say that yellow striped maroons are awesome. A good person to talk to is Raf. When we were at his house, we were talking reef and he told us his story about his maroon clowns. He had one in the tank prior to getting the second one. I'm sure you can imagine what happened next (but all worked out well in the end). When we set up our 90, we want to get a pair of yellow striped maroons. The whole getting the bta prior to the clowns sounds like a good idea. I'm sure whatever way you go, you'll be happy. We got into the hobby because of clowns.

Who needs a dining room table any way That thing looks monsterous. Glad you were able to round up a bunch of people to help you out. Can't wait to see the thread! --Mike

We use an Aqua C remora on our 35 gallon hex and it works great. For your 29, it should be more than enough (I believe they make a model for smaller tanks but not too sure if it's a HOB kind, but aqua c is). We got ours from Marine Depot. --Mike

Thanks Dave. He's still hiding behind the pump but I saw him actively going after food floating by him (eating=good in my book). I swear, I'm like a new parent with a sneezing baby, "He sneezed....OMG!!!!....what do I do??!??!?!?" You guys are awesome! --Mike

Is it worth getting one of those little breader boxes that hangs off the side of the tank to put him into (protection and ease of feeding while allowing him to be seen by his tankmates)?

Cool. I kind of feel bad. He's behind my MJ1200 pump that feeds the Aqua C Remora. He kind of looks at me and I swear he mouths the words "Jerk-store" every time I walk by. I'm sure everything will work out in the end. Good to know that everyone has had a similar situation with theirs. I wish I could enjoy the great colors on him but I'll just have to let nature take its course.

Yeah, my concern when we were first staring to stock the tank was compatibility issues due to similar looking fish (the whole your shape is the same as mine....DIE!!!!!!). It's always disappointing when someone is says, "I heard you got a new fish" and you respond "Yep....he's definately in the tank....somewhere" Thanks for the info, bud! --Mike