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Cerium Oxide is the best thing you can get your hands on. One place you can find it is a place like JC Whitney's website. They sell it for polishing windshields with or without a polishing wheel. If you plug "cerium oxide" and "glass polishing" in google, I'm sure you will turn up a few more options.

I wish it were the weekend too, but my "week time" seems to be my best "free time". We could maybe use more tubs. We did buy some heavy duty Rubbermaid trash cans and various storage containers for rock, bagged corals and fish. I already had some on hand of course. Picking up extras in short order might not be possible, but I appreciate the invitation. I'm also going to run by the grocery to pick up some boxes, since there will be much more equipment with this move. To the previous comment on Advil... try Bextra. I think we have four people(self included) not counting Paul(Jarosh) who also offered to help. Paul, if you read this give me a ring. Yes it is a faux finish, my wife went nuts for a while there with sponge painting. She has even sponge painted a few of her friends walls... "have sponge and paint, will travel". LOL I have even been persuaded into smearing, sponging, toll-painting, stenciling or doing something above the norm with paint on walls... ain't my thing though.

Well... we moved the 72g bow and 45g coffee table yesterday. Between two of us, it took us longer than I expected. Traffic was an added bonus. Thank heavens for 107.7 and their frequent traffic updates. Last night as I was wrapping things up I knew I was about "done in" when I asked my wife if the clothes in the dishwasher were clean... yep I really said it. Still things to do of course, but it is sufficient for the time being. The tank is clearing up nicely and I did not set up the coffee table tank. A picture from this morning....

Well, stuff like this happens... unfortunately. I spent the last two hours doing a water change, fragging some RTN'ing corals, cleaning some pumps while I was at it and so on... after discovering my autistic son had thrown some stuff in my refuge. I had a bag of some shells I picked up while diving on a recent trip he had come across. The smell of them resembles the most "uncured" and decaying rock you could ever lay your hand on. Man, what a smell! That will teach me what happens when I just seal them up and put soaking and cleaning them on the back burner. Anyway, the first thing I noted unfortunately was my pink birdsnest RTN'ing. Ouch! Chip has the right idea, it will take a while... and some patience. If I were closer, I'd come over and help.

I told my friends getting into the hobby about the three tanks for sale in Springfield. http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4239 I called yesterday morning, went to see the tanks last night and we collectively decided to buy them after seeing the lot. The 180 is a bit rough, but savable IMO. My friends will be taking the 180 and I am going to take the 72 and 45 coffee table. I will not be setting up the coffee table, btw. At least I am not planning on it right now, due to not really having a place it might work. Anyway, Tuesday at around noon we are going to move the 72 and 45 gallon to my house. We have and/or will get trash cans for water, bags for fish-n-corals, tubs for live rock-n-sand and some muscle. We also have trucks, vans and a trailer. The real fun should be the 180, which is going to be a real pain. Steep steps and a heavy, long and awkward tank. Anyone have any suggestions there besides brute strength? Unsure on the move date for the 180, but before May 11th. Good suggestions, might want to help... post away.

Phil et al, I will take PayPal, checks, money orders, green backs and change... as long as it equates to usable currency(US$'s). For those who want to send me something other than PayPal, I can e-mail/PM you my address. For those who wish to PayPal me, toss a little extra on since PayPal has its fees which I haven't taken time to figure out. Of the one PayPal payment I received, $25 was sent and PayPal took $1.03. PayPal ID: dsstubbs@globalnetworx.com

Lee, you are welcome of course to come out. I might bring the husband and/or couple to the great food making party. Still not sure if I can make it. Eddi's tank and setup would be a good thing for them to see.

Well, I went over a lot of the suggestions so far. I definitely went over the costs... I'll let them determine what their financial status is. We covered the extra circuits (2x20A), GFCI and loads of other stuff... Got a call this afternoon they bought a non-reef ready 120. The wanted a 4' tank and the 24" gives them nice depth, so not a bad choice in terms of size. Holes can be drilled. So I guess my list isn't missing anything obvious needed for initial start up? I think they are coming by this evening to show me the new tank and their bucket of salt. Of the list of things I will be helping them with, I will probably build them a sump... as soon as the stand, skimmer and other details that will be important get worked out.

Well I'm not sure if they fell in love with my tank or what... but some friends ours want to start a FOWLR and admit to wanting corals. One could equate that (or son of a gunize) it to the first step in AA/NA. Some signifigant others probably want us in some sort of 12-step program... but let me jump back on track. So they came over the other night after stopping at Petco and picking up Aquariums for Dummies and another book. Neither book would I recommend after flipping through them. I did recommend Bob Fenner's book along with Eric Borneman's on corals. I spent at least two hours talking about the ins-n-outs of biological filtration, cycling, tank choices, equipment, costs, livestock issues, coral care and the list went on. I think they jointly appreciated the fact that I was pretty thorough, but at the same time I think I may have gone overboard. LOL So I open the following question; what is a good suggestion for the essentials to start a successful tank? I realize there a different way to be successful in this hobby. I would like to get them a good base and let them decide how they want to run their tank... not how I might do it necessarily. Here is my list: tank 90-125 range- (reef-ready) AGA Megaflow, Oceanic RR, Glasscages RR, TRT/self drilled stand hood lighting- VHO & MH's RO/DI - they are on well water (TDS and water quality unknown) live rock (some base rock to save $$) sand- Yardright (I am a DSB fan) salt heater - appropriately sized thermometer - digital powerheads - mj1200's (closed loop optional) sump return pump skimmer w/ pump (ER/or clone, Beckett style, AquaC EV-XXX) hydrometer or refractometer test kit - ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH misc. plumbing parts- tubing, pvc Any obvious things I've left out... or might want to take out?

There is a guy on Reefcentral who drilled his 20g that he just lowered the water level in. Other people have done the same thing, especially after his saga unrolled. The people with bigger tanks and thicker glass are much more safe... but it does take longer. Since you are grinding, you end up with glass dust, which should not be problematic. You could devise something to catch the dust if you wanted though. FWIW, I think the guy lives in Winchester, I offered to give him some frags, live sand and etc. when he was starting out. If you could get your hands on 1 3/4" diamond hole saw, that would be ideal. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=234382 http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=445481

Jeff, you could also attempt to drill the tank where she sits. A tank of your size with thicker glass is somewhat safer to drill (as opposed to say a 10 or 20g)... something to think about.

With the 1" bulkhead, the most flow you can hope for is 600gph on the overflow. I've seen a chart before, but I can't remember where I saw it. I do remember the 1" though, since that is what I was looking for and have. Your 90's reduce this number a slight amount. The loss of a MAG3 and 5 at around 3-4 feet is pretty close to 600gph, so you are on the hairy edge. The only way to get more flow through there is to either add another bulkhead, install a larger bulkhead/s(drill) or use an external overflow. The durso is a good idea, but I think it primarily reduces noise. If you use a durso, you might also want an internal overflow box to help you with water level control. You might even think about building a new sump that fits exactly what you want while you are at it. Trying to silicone under water wouldn't work too well either.

As a reminder, Chip is not collecting money. I will post info for checks/money orders to be sent to me. We can do PayPal too. Cost is $24.15/bag Half-baggers: $12.08

Eddi, I'm shooting for sometime before noon to pass through there. Shoot me your phone and/or cell and I'll buzz you.

Well, I got good news... it was delivered already. I can/will cart it up to Chip's this afternoon. Eddi, I may drop off yours and chideloh's since you aren't off the path by too much.

Howard, I have 2x110W VHO's (URI actinic white) and 2 x 175W MH's (20K XMs) on a 75 gallon tank. I use the Fulham WH7 with the VHOs and a PFO with the MHs. I may upgrade to 250s at some point, but for now I'm happy. Initially heat was a concern, but I've since "bit the bullet" and bought a chiller. I might also go back to 10K MH's and 03 VHOs at some point, but that is a growth vs. aesthetics issue. That is my lighting in a nutshell. Another option I seem to recall is hellolights.com has the ARO ballast for 2x110 VHO's on sale for $35. The sale might be off, but worth checking I guess.

Another option is the Fulham Workhorse 7 ballast. You can find them for around $30, plus a few dollars for shipping. If you buy them from a reef site, expect to pay about $20 more. Try http://www.affordablelighting.com/ if you want to explore that route. One WH7 will run 2 x 110W VHO's.

Pickup scheduling (dates added upon reply): Paul(Jarosh) - 2 Thursday, April 21st - come by the house since I have it Bob & Tamie(cowrie) - 2 OUSnakebyte(Mike) - 1 eddi- 1 GaryL - 1 wirick21 - 1 chideloh - 1 (eddi picking up?) Half Bags (kalk/lime buddies color coded): Phil(Grav) - 1/2 rocko918 - 1/2 Friday, April 22 Beltway Bandit - 1/2 Ghazanfar - 1/2 Thursday, April 21 scott711 - 1/2 dchild - 1/2 Saturday, April 23 ctreptow - 1/2 flowerseller aka Chip - 1/2 krish - 1/2 Thursday, April 21 steveoutlaw - 1/2

Ok, I just got the status. Delivery will be this Thursday, April 21st. Chip will be busy the following week with Secretary Week (early part of next week mostly), so anyone that cannot pick up on Thursday to Saturday... let me know. The final order was 14 bags... and the total I show in the tally is 13... so there is an additional bag. I will go back through the thread later today and figure out who wanted the additional bag. As a little tip, keep in mind that some of the bags delivered may be ripped. A large trash bag, rubbermaid container or something along those lines will help you make a clean trip of it. Keep your wallets and pocket books in place. I will not ask for any money until I get a final invoice from them. Don't worry it will not be more than the estimated pricing. (Date corrected from 18th to 21st)

Eric, My answer isn't Achilles specific, but more along the lines for tangs. I think if you get some nori sheets and put a piece in a clip... it should be very happy with that. If anything, it is a stationary item it can figure out... LOL. If you don't have a clip, your algae magnet can double as a clip. An oriental grocery should bag you a pack of 10 sheets or so for less than $5. You want the plain roasted variety. I think the Achilles is a sensitive fish along the lines of the Powder Blue, so soaking the dry algae (nori) in some Selcon occasionally before hand might be helpful to the fish healthwise. It should also eat the mysis... of the tangs I've had, (powder blue, hippo and yellow) all of them will accept meaty foods but algae is their primary food. If you don't already, growing some macros will give you some natural feed. My ytang would readily accept both chaeto and feather caulerpa in addition to Nori. Perty fish btw.

Phil, I currently have you down for a half bag per the uneven number we were at... if you really want a full bag "holler" and I'll take the half bag. That is if its not too late to add any to the order...

Chris, I had a feeling I should have added a bag or two... I'll see if I can get one added in the morning. Shouldn't be a problem as I doubt things have moved from Greensboro today.

The order was placed today, delivery should take place next Tuesday, the 19th of April. If for some reason the dates slip, I will hold it over so we do not impact Chip's two busy weeks. I will be the one receiving funds. I will post how you can pay me and exactly what you should pay me. I am not hurting, so we can wait until I receive the final invoice and paperwork, so I have an accurate number.

Ideally, I would think raw would be the best bet. Theoretically, if you are running a skimmer with a pretty good turn over rate... all your water is being skimmed at some time or another. That would make all your water skimmed. Maybe I'm missing something though. IMO for phyto feeding purposes you can shut your skimmer down for a short time or if you don't want the hassle dose the refuge directly.

For LED's, ebay is tough to beat. You can get a lot of 50 blue LED's (5K mcd or above) for ~$10 + shipping. LED holders and resistors can be picked up at Radio Shack. Depending on how you wire them and how many you use... you may have an old supply around the house that will do the job. In regards to wiring, serial is generally better in terms of the diode. On the other hand you need a fat enough power supply to handle the 3.4V (average for blues) drop through each diode. Ideally you want an 80% margin in the power supply. If you run 5 LED's ideally you'd want 21VDC on the supply. For "moonlighting" usage, I'm not really sure fluctuating currents due to the diode heating up will have much impact... so parallel is another option of course. The advantage to parallel is you get equal voltage on each leg and the current split among the legs, essentially the inverse of a serial circuit. I also threw a wire wound 1500 ohm variable resistor into my setup to dim my LEDs. I have 10K mcd LEDs which are pretty dern bright. There are LED calculators on the net if you need help finding the right resistor/s to use.