Coral Hind

How's the tank doing? Were there any other clams in the tank? Normally when one becomes active they all start to go. I've even had small 1.5" clams join in. Subspecies doesn't matter, once on type starts they all join in. Here is an old bad video of mine. https://youtu.be/3trYwrAzsVQ

It's sad that greed has affected so many historical threads. I had hundreds of pictures linked to several sites and the threads are all useless without the photos. I might have paid $40 a year but $400 is insane! I just closed my photobucket account completely.

I remember that metal trash can flying down the aisle. There were no beatings for me but like zygote2k said, they had other ways of making your life suck both mentally and physically. I think we have become a soft overly cautious and sensitive society and it has carried over into our military too. No disrespect intended to the younger vets and I thank them when I see them just like I do when I see a guy wearing a WWII hat. As for hating my drill sergeants, yeah I think we all did at the time but I totally respect them now and I'd buy them a beer if I saw them again. I actually bumped into all three of my drill sergeants while I was still on active. I was stationed at Rome, NY when Sgt. Cola pulled me over for speeding on base. A couple years later I was in Florida and went to the base hospital to visit a troop and Sgt. Powers was getting on the elevator as I was getting off. Then a couple years after that and I was in Korea running power for an A/C unit in a guys office who turned out to be Sgt. Robinson. Times have changed and us old dogs might say that basic isn't what it used to be but I think there is still some very valuable life lessons learned in basic and the military that every young person would benefit from. I think this country would be better off for having every young person serve two years after school.

How is it breathing; slow, fast, or normal? vlamingii are usually tough fish.

Very cool article. Thanks for sharing that.

That's a new way to propagate anemones.

How's the tank build coming along?

As a paying member you have access to the "auction" section of this site. You could just list it there with a starting price that you feel comfortable with and see where it goes. If you want to reach a larger local audience you could use Craigslist and price it at what you feel comfortable with. If it doesn't sell after a week then lower the price in increments until it does sell. Per the forum rules you are allowed a one time listing of a tank setup sale in this "general discussion" area if you are leaving the hobby for good. But you will need to have prices on your items if listing it in this section.

Nice colors on the corals. What are you using to maintain calcium and buffer levels?

I've done it several times, having two clown pairs in a tank that size. There might be a little aggression at first but it normally goes away. It helps to rearrange the rock before adding the new pair so everyone is a little more focused on establishing a new home and not focused on the new additions. It helps to limit the line of sight by arranging rock so it comes out and is also taller in the center of the tank more than the sides or corners so when the clowns are in their corner or spot they can't constantly see the other pair. Placing larger coral colonies in the center can help to achieve that. Make sure the environment is suitable at both ends of the tank. For example, if the flow is too strong on one end of the tank it may force the clowns to establish homes too close to each other. When feeding, spread the food out so the pairs can keep their distance and don't need to confront each other. Depending on the age of the clowns you get there might not even be a problem since they are all Ocellaris. If you are getting juveniles of young males then they may just form a shoal. If a shoal is formed there will always be very minor aggression as they confirm ranking in the hierarchy.

So sorry to hear about your cat's health declining. It's been a few years since I've seen him but I remember him being a very nice social cat. I'm sure people will be understanding about the situation.

Thanks for sharing. I'm going to have to add them to my wish list.

So does the second guy also come out a good bit like your first one does or does it act like what sounds like the norm and hide a lot?

It's been way too long without an update. I want pictures too.

What type of extruded aluminum, tubing or slotted channel? Will the feet be tapped into the aluminum or secured with steel nuts?

I can help if you can do it during the workweek and be done by 2:30p. I have a truck.

Is the water level where you want it at now or do you still have to adjust? What SG are you at now?

They sell a silicone remover at Lowes in the caulk area and that would soften the old silicone and help with removal. Once silicone is removed, o-ring cleaned and re-installed, I would apply new silicone as they had it and bolt it up. Just remember Confucius say, "anything past tight, is broke."

So what happened to the cleaner wrasse? I would observe the tank at night and watch for sweeper tentacles as some acans can have them around 6" long and can really cause some damage if underestimated and placed close to other corals.

You can add fresh water pretty quickly as the dropping of SG is not as stressful as raising it. Giving you a time or SG level to define quick is hard without knowing where your tank is at now. What you can do to get the water volume increased without adding water is to temporarily add more rock and I've even filled 2 liter bottles with water to add volume. Then as the SG and water level gets closer to where you want it you remove the temporarily added items.

I'm confused because you said you were trying to get it "back up to where it was" so I thought you were raising it and had therefore turned off the ATO to allow it to rise. Lowering salinty can be done much safer and faster than raising it. I've taken inverts quickly from 1.025 to 1.015 with no issues. It's coming up where you need to take it slow.

A rate of .001 SG every two hours is safe but I would not do more than .003 within a 24 hour period. What SG are you at now and how did it get low? If it is not dangerously low I would just take your time and let it slowly come up.

Sounds cool, I'll be following along. The cooler walls, windows, and garage doors can form condensation on them during winter which for me started to cause mold issue. Granted my 600g and large sump had more surface area than what you have but humidity still might be an issue. Besides a de-humidifier you can leave a door or window open to reduce humidity build up but you'll have to use more heaters to keep the tank warm. The best part of having the tank in the garage is spills and overflows were always easy to clean up, just let it run outside.

Tom, you are in my thoughts and prayers. I know you probably already have a network of people lined up to help out but let me know if you need help during the recovery phase, such as snow removal or lifting anything.

I wouldn't consider .6 to .8 as high nitrates but that's just me. Post a picture so we can see how bad the issue is. How long has the tank been up and running? For me cyano is just an early stage of a new tank and goes away unless the water quality stays nutrient rich. Algae scrubbers have always worked great for me and the only drawback I had was that there was some smell of seaweed in the room since the algae is exposed to the air. It does require some maintenance as you have to thin out the algae routinely. The Santa Monica type scrubbers I've seen used an air pump which seemed noisy, something to think about. Bio-pellets can be a little pricey depending on the type of reactor you get. You might also need an additional pump to run it and it takes time for the bacteria to become established. How big is your tank? If it is a small tank I would suggest trying to just use Purigen for nitrates and a GFO or Chemipure Elite for phosphates.