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Folks, I don't mean to be a pain but please do send me a PM if you are planning on coming this Saturday. I am trying to get an accurate head count so I can get the correct amount of food and so far only 5 people have PM'ed me. Thanks.

Ok folks, here are the details: Party is this Saturday starting at 11 AM. There is no rain date as I will leave the following day on a business trip and have prior committments the three weekends after I get back. Please call prior to coming if the weather is questionable. Address: 5001 whisper willow dr fairfax va 22030. Phone: 703.815.8963 I am not sure where everyone is coming from, please Mapquest my adress or PM me for specific directions. I will get all the fresh ingredients that morning, my recipe is very similar to Michael depending on what my local stores have in stock, and make sure to keep all receipts. Linda is bringing our frozen food so that's taken care of, what I do not have are all the additives, such as Golden Pearls, Selcon, Garlic oil, etc. In order to have an accurate head count and ingredients list, please PM me by Thursday, this thread has already gotten way too long. Finally, Lee Stearns and Scott711 had agreed to come early and help out. Lee has been called on a business trip and will not be able to attend. If you have time to come early, around 9 or 9:30, please let me know. Any extra help would be welcome. Thanks.

Dave, Thank you very much for dropping off the bags. I don't care what anyone says about you, you are ok in my book.

Dave, I would certainly appreciate if you are able to drop the bags off at my house, but please don't go out of your way. If you do make it, let me know when you plan on coming by and I'll make sure to be home so I can pay you right away and thank you in person.

Timely topic for me as I am about to resetup my 125 and am trying to figure out how to position my rocks. I am looking for more sand and open space than I had before, and hope to build some arches. I am not nearly as motivated as Lee so the plexiglass thing is out, I will have to settle for good old design tips. Do the ***** eye guys do reef tanks?? I will post pictures once I am finished.

Sure you can join, you are in.

I think the current count is at 22, three of those being maybes. No, I don't think we need any more advertising! I think the frozen food order, if it does take off, should be separated in a new thread. Please note: I have two large German Sherperds. They are friendly but please take that in consideration if you are afraid of dogs or have allergies.

Micheal, Here you go: Adapters

Does anyone have, or know where to find one locally, a true Y adapter? I can use 3/4 or 1", slip or thread. HD or Lowes don't have them and neither do plumbing supply stores. I know I can find it online, I thought I would try WAMAS before ordering it. Thanks.

I think one or two people should buy the bulk and have others bring in those items not commonly found in local stores. I have a list of ingredients at home that I know I can find close to my house, I will post that tomorrow or the next day. I will also include a wish list of the other items so people can speak up if they have them. Lee and Scott711 have volunteered to come earlier and help me buy everything we need, so I think we are covered for now. I am sure a few things will come up at the last minute, I will post as needed. Zprface had kindly agreed to coordinate the frozen food order but she understandably needs some help. If anyone is willing to assist her we can have the order here well before May 7th. BB, I appreciate the offer but I don't mind paying for my share. However, I will charge admission so I still come out ahead. I will also sometime soon post directions to my house, or maybe just have everyone follow the aroma.....

It is starting to sound like we are going to have to hold this party in a nearby park! If people are willing to bring food and/or drinks I can certainly fire up the grill and we can feed ourselves as well as the fish. How about an 11:00 start time, we can blend away until 12:30 or 1, then switch to people food.

Eric, sorry to see you drop out. Is anyone else willing to coordinate the frozen food order?

ok folks, here is the current list of participants in the food making event. 1) Beltway Bandit 2) Lee Stearns 3) Eriks 4) Clownfish4 5) Rocko198 (maybe) 6) Dchild (maybe) 7) Scott711 8) Mogurnda 9) Garyl 10) Xeon (maybe) 11) Jarosh 12) Craby 13) Tom (maybe) 14) Zprface 15) Ousnakebyte 16) me I have never had a party this big so I am not sure about how much to get, but I am willing to take a stab at it. Better more than less. Clownfish4 had also volunteered to host, if some people are closer to him maybe we can have two groups. I live in Fairfax, right off 29 and Stringfellow Rd, behind Fair Lakes and 10 minutes from Fair Oaks Mall. I have a number of oriental markets close to me that carry all kind of fish, crustaceans and the like. We are placing a frozen food order, we now only need things like Spirulina, Selcon, Golden Pearls etc. If you are willing to assist in going to pick up all the ingredients and prepare for the event early that morning, send me a PM and I will coordinate with everyone. Beltway Bandit had suggested a 9 or 10 start time. That's a little too early to inhale the aroma of blended fish food for me, but if everyone wants to start early I'll wear a clothes pin on my nose.

Dave, I have no problem holding them, however to ensure matrimionial bliss (or something along those lines), let's schedule the delivery as close to May 7th as possible.

Dave, add one for me as well. If it works out and we can get them here by our fish food making party (see the DIY forum), I can hold the bags at my house to relieve Chip.

Lee, I think that is a great idea. I know I would like some in addition to the food we make. I will do some of the leg work this weekend and compile a list of the various foods I think we need. I will post it on monday and everyone can add to it. We can then place an order for any frozen food on Monday the 18th. Everyone ok with that?

I am in as well. I have a decent sized deck and a fish food dedicated blender, if no one else volunteers.

Steve, I have somehow always been very lucky with Copperbands. They are one of my favorite fish so I have had one in every tank I have ever owned and only once I remember struggling to get him/her to eat. Dumb luck. The bigger one is more of a yellow than orange color, I think that means it's from Australia, and the other one is from the Red Sea so maybe that's one reason they seem to be doing fine. Another is that they are both in a large tank, 360 gallons. It is rather fish crowded now with the new occupants, but everybody is doing well. I live off Stringfellow Rd, you are welcome to come by anytime. Just let me know.

I have a Copperband in my downstairs tank and one in my upstairs one. I had to take the upstairs tank down, I am in the process of resetting it up, so I moved the Copperband downstairs. I was very hesitant, the one downstairs is much bigger and I was afraid they would fight I was very glad when not only they did not, but often swim together. Maybe I got lucky and they paired up. So I started wondering what the chances of mating are. Not so much for Copperbands, which I know are tricky, or for the more common ones such as Cardinals and Clowns, but in general. Anyone ever have two tangs mate in their tanks? Angels? Wrasses? Is it simply out of the question? Just wondering...

I would not choose cooltouchlighting again if I had to do it all over. Yes, I have had problems when changing bulbs but I have not been able to find the cause so I can't put the blame on the ballasts. The main reason I would stay away is because they regularly blow a capacitor due to overheating. They are easy to replace and not very expensive ($10 + shipping), but they are the only ballast I know that has this recurring problem. I have talked to the company and tried to get an explanation, but all they tell me is that it is normal. All my lights are run by their ballasts and in three years I have had to replace 8 capacitors. If you end up going with them save yourself a lot of heartache and buy several capacitors in advance.

Garrett, That is awful, I am very sorry. I have had some problems as well, but nothing like this. As Dave asked, do you know what happened? When you are ready let me know, I will help you out as much as I can.

I am not aware that they are hard to keep, but they are among the most poisonous of corals. They can have feelers several inches long and they will kill pretty much anything in their way. Put them in moderate flow and away from other corals. I had always heard they prefer sand but I had one that did very well in the rocks.

Just seeing if other people have had problems with them.

If you are using a cooltouchlighting ballast, preferably 250W but I would be interested in any, would you mind sending me a PM please? I have a few questions. Thank you.

Wait.. your sump is 280G? How big is your tank??