lanman

I received a pair of 14vdc 360ma transformers today. My build will start as soon as I can find some time (stupid taxes... stupid bills... stupid lawn...) bob

I buy it in boxes, too - except when I think I need more buckets... bob

I think perhaps executing the captain live on TV would help. Maybe the next one would be a little more careful. Sheeesh! bob

+1 And - the more expensive the zoa, the more likely it is to just die, while sitting next to a cheap one that is growing like crazy. bob

May I use the photo? (on Facebook)?? bob

OMG!! Almost wet myself laughing at the goat picture. It was a bit... unexpected! bob

Awesome fish, and a great story of sustainable collection. bob

I found the responses, and how to respond. Eric Borneman gives them a bit of a smack-down... Here is a snippet: ... With regard to the octocoral, Heliopora coerulea, I could almost not think of a species in the Indo-Pacific less needed for listing. For the scleractinian genera and species, the species chosen in the genus Pavona are very odd as this is also a genus that is very resilient and common and resistant to stress. In all area I have visited where it occurs, Pavona and Heliopora are highly resilient and thriving with life history traits amendable to continued resilience. Yet, there are some other rare species of Pavona that should be listed but are not. It is a shame that this list is so poorly thought out and only by almost random choice were some species chosen that are good candidates for ESA listing... bob

Pointedly not so - I recall from reading this proposal several months ago that you could own them, but could not sell them, could not transport across state lines, etc. What's more, they want you to register them, and they would be taxed, etc. bob

To whom do I write? I don't have a phd, but I do have a coral farm... of sorts. Legislative idiocy - will make a black market for corals, and force people like J.... out of business. J.... doesn't take corals out of the wild - he keeps corals FROM being taken out of the wild, by propagating them in captivity. On 100th the scale, I do the same thing. That's the part of this hobby I like - the fish are just for decoration. I saw this when it was posted before - but the 'little guy' is pretty much defenseless against thermo-nuclear level stupidity. bob

You're in the general neighborhood - talk to El Cameron, and see if you can't go take a look at his tank. Pretty awesome LED lighting, and locally manufactured lights. bob

Looks nice. I'm a fan of LED's since I saw El Cameron's tank. bob

What is the chalice in the yellow circle called? And is the one in the red circle the same chalice??? Thanks, bob

I reckon if you cut the corners on 45-degree angles with a box cutter, the corners would be reasonably neat after a light sanding. Sound like a good idea for covering plywood edges. And I do have some edges that need covering. Home Depot? bob

Oh, man... find me a nitrate checker and I am SO in... bob

I've found most of my dry side problems are wet side problems. Make sure the wet side is spinning freely, make sure it is aligned exactly, make sure you have the right 'spacer' setting on the dry side. bob

Is Almon going to try to breed some top class picasso's from them? bob

Ummm... trade for what? If you're getting out of the hobby - obviously not frags. bob

Well - all those advantages reduces the risk even further. I think you picked a winner idea. My son bought his house when we THOUGHT the bottom was near. It STILL dropped a little - but he has his head above water because he got a good deal on the house. I sold my 'slum rental' near the peak. But the real winner was a friend of mine who sold her house for $1.2 million - - about one WEEK before things started to crash, and moved to Ohio. I SO pity the people that bought her place; which is probably worth about $700K now. <shudder> Of course - I bought my house 25 years ago - so it's been up and down twice since then. Someday when it's UP, I'll sell it and move outside the inflation zone; like Florida, where you can get a very nice 2-bedroom condo for $65,000. bob

Doubling down - good description! That really is deep underwater. Most people that far under would just walk away from it. You must have purchased very close to the peak of value - really bad luck. But even WORSE luck is that you aren't really happy with the place. If you were living in your 'dream house', then you could just keep on making your payments until you were afloat again. I agree that the odds are in your favor, Chris. Risky, but fairly low risk, barring sudden job losses or anything like that. Best of luck! bob

I reckon most of those put out half-wave rectified 'pulsing DC' current. It's mostly a question of how much filtering it needs. Did you end up using that 'wall-wart' in the picture successfully? I can't imagine anything much simpler. I don't have an oscilloscope anymore - but that little thing can't have MUCH filtering in it. I figured that great big transformer you displayed early on in the thread might. I think I might just have to try this. My display has been in complete disarray, because I need to pull some rocks out to kill those nuisance paly's - that won't fit through the opening. I've been waiting until I could get several people to lift the canopy. If that will kill them - problem solved!!! Thanks! bob

My filter socks live in a little 'tank' in the sump - I have found several fish swimming around in there. Smaller ones, of course. bob

It was fun just sitting in the Germantown Home Depot parking lot, and having a couple of WAMAS'ers drop by for frags. But I think a few more - and Johnny Law might have stopped by to see what I was selling out of my car! I wonder just how strange a 'bread for frags' swap would have sounded to him.... bob

VERY close to my Tyree Alien Eye Watermelon chalice, except the alien eye is smooth - doesn't have the ridges around the corallites. And the eyes seem brighter. bob

Hmmm.... you're closed until Wednesday? I'll try to make it Wednesday afternoon. Would come right now - but I have some people coming over to pick up frags. bob