Coral Hind

Make sure to wear gloves! Zoos can be highly toxic.

For those that have been on the board for awhile you may remember the cutting of my extremely large BTA years ago. I emailed Anthony Calfo looking for the pics I sent him for his research as I have lost my disk and they are no longer on the WAMAS board. Here is an email from him with some really great links for anyone wishing to propagate anemones. I pasted two of the better ones below but they are all worth looking at. "cheers, David... good to hear from you my friend. I do in fact remember our chats. I may have your pics stored in a site backup, I will check when I get back home (In NY til Friday). If you are thinking of getting back into the game again please check out my extensive list of archived info (the threads/data on anemones is considerable) at: marinedepot.com/forums go to my forum and tag the sticky near the top called "Fav links" then slide down to the post entry called "discussions" Therein you will see an alphabetical list of most anything you can think of. The anemone info is quite good if I may say so. Thank you for your service to our country too, my friend. Anth-" http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic30156-13-1.aspx http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic24714-13-1.aspx For the board admin - Why are these post dates out of order?

Have you seen anything like a snow storm in your tank lately? Sounds like your calcium might have precipitated out.

Rascal - Great info! Hey do you do divorces? I am thinking about getting a bigger tank and I might need your services. So when is the club road trip to Folly Beach, South Carolina.

I would do a retest, that is a very big drop in one week. What are your PH readings?

BB - With all respect and I do not want to start an argument but I do not think that law applies to a few rocks off the beach. That federal law was to protect the gulf and caribbean reef from commercial harvesting of rock for the hobby trade. If there were a law covering the collection of this rock it might be a local or state law to protect against erosion of the beach. Madmax - IMHO I would hose off the rock, ensure it is calcareous, and place it in the tank. If you want to check on the laws give the SC State Department of Natural Resources a call. If you are scared then PM me and I will take it off your hands

rsarvis - Flowerseller recommended him to try a 45 degree plumbing fitting on the pipe or try a "durso" style standpipe. Search the web for "durso" to find plans on making it. Vatbrew said he cut the 90 degree fitting and the "tee" fitting to allow them to fit in his overflow. I hope that clears it up for you.

I agree with what Zoozilla said. I had the same thing a long time ago with my 135gal O'Dell. The stand pipe was screwed into the bulkhead and when the power went out from hurricane Opal the overflows slowly drained and overflowed my sump. I used teflon tape and it fixed the problem. If your bulkheads are slip then I would glue a female adapter into it and use teflon on a male adapter thats glued to the stand pipe. If the tank is siphoning back through the return lines you can drill a small hole just below the water level. When the pumps are turned off air will go in the holes and break the siphon. You can also install check valves on the returns but I do not like them myself. They reduce flow, protiens can builds up them causing them not to seal properly and they can make some noise from the water flowing through them.

I have been on the WAMAS boards for over seven years now and there has always been complaints about the "MD greenhouse". Nothing has changed and I doubt anything will. The low prices and large selection keeps the customers coming back and they have out lasted many other LFS in the metro area. It may not be as fancy and clean as other stores we visit which kind of gives it the appearance of being a death trap. I have worked in a fish store and fish deaths are common when new shipments come in. It is the morning routine to go around and remove the fatalities. Roozen's gets more shipments then most stores around here and I do not think the deaths you see there are above normal. The fish I buy there have better survival rates then any other LFS. The copper in the fish only tanks helps to ensure that. I feel like i am at an AA meeting. "I am a reefer, and I shop at Roozen's"

That is right. "660-009" is just the full model number but it is just referred to as the "icecap 660"

Perfect timing of this tread! I just got one last night from Josh Pabon who lives up in PA. He sells them on Ebay under the handle "falcon41176" I traded him a Ranco temp controller for four frags and the Superman was one of them. Really a nice guy to deal with. I hope it grows fast!

Zac, Sorry it took so long to get back with you but I forgot about this post. I just PMed you with what I think you need to do to wire this up. Let me know if it works.

Welcome Todd, It's nice to see a fellow PM on the board.

That is not really a reading that requires an "!". I would not remove anything from the sump since that is on a reverse light cycle. It is actually helping to prevent a larger PH swing. What is you dKH reading?

Yeah but I said "cheap" damsels. Ones that cost $5 or $6 instead of $20+. Just my recommendation to a newbie that hasn't mastered water quality yet.

Sweet looking corals! What type of lights do you run and for how long?

If this is a tank that has not really gone through a cycle and you are new to the hobby then I suggest starting with some cheap damsels or green chromis. After a couple of months when the tank settles in then get the clowns or what ever else you want.

Some retailers run copper in their fish tanks to prevent diseases. I think it is a good idea that they do but that makes #6 above a very important step. Do not put their water in your tank. If you do buy from the MD "green house" they do use copper.

Eliminate if it is the bulb or a ballast/wiring problem. Put the problem bulb in the other three sockets and see if it lights. If it does then the bulb is good, if not then get a new one. Put the good bulbs in the socket that flickers and see if it lights. If not then check the socket, some times the fingers in the socket do not grab the bulb pins securely and they arc. This causes the end sockets to burn up/stop working. You will usually see some black coloring around the holes of the socket or on the pins of the bulb. If it looks good and the wires look good then it is propably the ballast.

You didn't mention how old the bulbs or ballasts are. I would try changing them out first. Borrow from a club member if you need to for testing. Since it is an electronic ballast try unplugging the ballast for seven minutes to reset the safety built in to the unit. It protects against the capacitors causing a massage voltage spike. Also check and see if the unit has a fuse on it. Also DE bulbs are more stubborn to light then SE ones. Make sure the cord from the ballast to the bulb is not longer then 8 feet. The ballast should have a two year warrenty. Is there a grounded reflector above the PCs? Flourescents may not fire if there is not a grounded piece of metal/reflector above them. It helps the arc flow through the tube. If the bulb only lights when you touch it then it needs the grounding.

I have the 2X250w 14K combo over my tank too. I like the color and the corals seem to grow great. A DIY may seem overwhelming now but if you stay in this hobby you will be a plumber, carpenter and an electrician in no time. I doubt you will have any problems getting club members to help you. They never miss a chance to share thier knowledge and drink your beer.

The Ronald Reagan Building is on the other side of 14th street from the National Aquarium. I always pay $9 to park in that garage on the weekends when I play tour guide to out of town family members. That price is a day rate and not an hourly rate.

Something else to think about. It isn't just the extra $36 dollars but an extra 300Watts of power to pay for each month and more heat to get rid of. If it was me I would stick with the 250's and use 14K bulbs which were already mentioned. I just went from 20Ks to 14Ks and I actually had to lower my photo period. Just my opinion.

PVC glue/primer is quite toxic when it is liquid or vapor, but leaves no toxic residue when dry. It cures fast and stops off gassing fast. I have redone plumbing on my tank and within ten minutes had the water flowing again with no ill effects. Put some carbon in the system for some added security. The MSDS for teflon tape shows zeros for health hazzard and says "no acute reaction if ingested". I wouldn't try it!

Zac - Post an end view pic of the ficture or a pic with the cover off so we can see were the wires are going.