davidm

I gotta agree - all it takes is one drop of water. think of this analogy - if all of us were completely immuno deficient all sorts of diseases would spread like wildfire just from what we are exposed to in our daily lives. But our immune system keeps this from happening.

yeah, same thing happened to me. My battery backup died ~4 yrs after purchase. Now I have a electrical converter which runs off of a car battery (converts the 12 V DC to 120 V AC). It's a good solution for me, but for this to work well you need to have your car within a extension cord of a pump for circulation.

I have some in Vienna. 22181.

welcome to the area. Yes, traffic is brutal - I avoid it by either taking the metro or biking to work. You might want to consider renting for a year to get settled and figure out the best place for you to live after you land a job - and share/split the commute with your spouse. The good news is that there are lots of good housing options/locations, with plenty of good schools for your kids. I work at GWU (George Washington Univ) and collaborate with folk in the Biomedical Engineering Dept. Happy to put you in touch with them if you think it would help. Best, David

congrats - and take your time recovering. Best, David

if your surgery is being done at foggy bottom let me know - I can sneak in some real food and say hi. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery. David

how long do LEDs last for effective light/PAR? The reason I'm asking is I was part of one of the original WAMAS LED group buys DIY projects, and my SPS are not doing that well. We purchased these LEDs back in April 2011.

would also take the fish and frogspawn if meeting with Doug falls through. David

anything else change? Did a temp sensor get moved out of the tank when you were doing this? a powerhead get moved? From what you described I don't see how the Kalk could be the culprit for such a rapid reaction. you might want to calibrate your osmometer if you haven't in a while. sorry I can't be of more help - and sorry for your losses.

On the weight issue it depends where the support beams are, and which way they are running, under the floor (assuming it's not a slab floor). I put a house jacks (from home depot) under each corner of my 180. I"m jealous - setting up a new tank is always exciting.

I have one but haven't used it in yrs.

Paul - How do you avoid spending $ on lighting the tank for corals? When I was using MH lighting it was not only a significant use of electricity, but the bulbs cost ~$100 each yr. Now that I use LEDs the electric costs are low, and I don't expect to replace LEDs except for every other decade or so, but even though I ordered direct and soldered each LED light into my own 'reflector' (which is a sheet of Aluminum) - it wasn't cheap to buy all those LEDs.

sorry to hear about your losses. I hate the risks of adding new fish (which is why my tank is so sparsely inhabited by fish). my advice - do what you can, take a breather, and if it were me, I would put any changes to the tank on hold for a couple of months. David

second the issue of humidity - In yrs past, with MH's over a 180 gal tank + 50 gal sump I was going through 3.5 gallons a day of evaporation - and that caused big problems in humidity in the house and attic. Now I have the tank and sump covered, use LED's and the evaporation is 1/2 gal a day. With a skimmer you don't need to worry about drops in oxygen even though everything is covered.

http://wmata.com/ has a timetable - just plug in when you want to arrive (at Woodley Park metro) and it will tell you which orange line train you need to catch at Vienna - and which red line train to transfer to at Metro Center. It's less complicated than it sounds. Metro parking is ~$5 a day during the week - but is free on the wkends. the metro trip itself costs different amounts that depend on the time (peak hours) vs non-peak and wkend - that site will tell you the cost too. It's a $1 a ride cheaper if you buy a metrocard (not papercard) and that's well worth it - there are machines that will allow you to purchase the metrocard, and add value to it, at the vienna metro stop (looks like an ATM).

Was just at this hotel last night and this morning. Very nice venue, large hotel with it's own full service and outstanding coffee shop, restaurants and meeting rooms. Woodley park zoo (red line) metro stop is one block away. converting the metro escalator into a nice marine waterfall would be awesome eye-catching addition if the organizers are looking for a small last minute idea. getting excited - wish I had more time to spend at MACNA.

so on sunday before the close there might be some deals to be had? just trying to understand the mentality of this - haven't been to one before.

I've got a surface and really like it (don't know which version - but I think it's 2nd generation). I'm in Vienna - you can borrow it for a while if you like. David

take a couple of deep breathes and take it slow. We've all had our share of disasters - it happens. I would echo the advice above, do some large water changes when you can, and wait a month or two to see what you can re-build from. where are you located? Best, David

Welcome!

don't laugh - saw on a news feed today Shatner might be in the next movie.

what type/size is the skimmer? thanks, David

adding my $0.02. Had the same problem, and was forced to cover the tank and sump with plexiglass to limit moisture (dehumidifier was adding heat, using electricity, didn't work as a long term solution). whatever amount of water you put in as top-off obviously adds to your humidity problem - so I think you're right in addressing the root cause, and a mesh cover wouldn't help. On the plus side, I was afraid of low oxygen levels after covering my tank and sump, but that wasn't a problem - I think the skimmer keeps O2 levels at high values even in a covered tank and sump. I thought about submerged LEDs to avoid the air/salt/condensation interfaces, but they scared me both in price and the thought of submerged electronics. Best, David

good thing everyone in Hawaii is vegetarian and never eats any saltwater fish, or I'd wonder if there's inconsistencies there.