Lee Stearns

ok I've been tagging because i have a hipo Tang with Ick-suprize suprize- I fresh water dipped 10 minutes and I quarantined two weeks just to try the theory that you could keep ick out. In the dark ages It was my belief that ick was prevalent and just a matter of fish stess if you were to get it. After two weeks and not even one bit of scratching or rubbing or spots of anykind, I place him in the tank. After about two weeks in the display tank the Hipo has ick. So I will lower the salinity a bit- But luckily my hipo is easy to catch for now as its favorite home is a large myrx shell which I just lift out with fish and all. Now the Question. What is the preferred tratment if you can quarantine again the hipo. Fresh water dip- the blue mythel water, the copper treatment? Combinations? how long a FW dip- etc etc Thanks , Lee

Lee Stearns, Burke Va just off the Fairfax county parkway

Could you add: nassarius snails (24) cerith snails (24) Queen Conch Cleaner Shrimp Thanks, Lee

I used to catch and release Morish Idols in Hawaii several years ago- My experience is that about 1 in 8 will eat a mix of flakes pellets, frozen brine etc. I would return to the ocean any that I could not get to eat within a week. I always kept two eating Morish Idols that seemed to increase the success rate of my teaching other new ones. Once I got them eating I seemed to have no problem, and traded new eating specimins to the LFS for supplies. This was during the UGF days of not very good water quality. For example we did not even think of keeping stoney corals. I kept two Morish for a couple of years till I gave them away to the local LFS when I left Hawaii for Japan. Whole different set of species there. An eating Idol in my opinion would have a good chance in todays water quality, but it is very hit or miss. They are mainly sponge eaters. And I also had a tendency to add fresh rock form the ocean with lots of pods and other things on them on a regular basis, so my takn was unique from todays inland version of reef keeping and quarantine. Regards, Lee ild

I am in - live nearby in Burke- besides it gives me a chance to see your tank! Do you want me to bring anything besides my fair share of funds? I have not had the pleasure of doing this yet because I have been procrastinating on getting all the stuff into the wifes' blender. Regards, Lee

John, What are the Macros that you have planted in your refuge. I am in the process of getting rid of any calurpa from my 29 and my fuge. I would love to get some of that macro for my fuge. I have a bit of chaetomorpha, but it grows much slower than the three forms of calurpa that I have. Thanks, Lee

Welcome Chris. I have a 150 that I am slowly adding soft corals to by way of fragging from my Nano, and what I've picked up from the meetings and other members- so I don't have much to trade yet either. Just want to say that for this DC area these guys at WAMAS are truely interested in the Hobby and very generous with thier time, advice, and Frags. Welcome aboard.

I would also be interested in LR and sand-let me know when and where. Regards , Lee

150G Main 50 G Refuge/sump 29 G seperate refuge 13 G Nano

Grav, Peaked your interest in a 150G tank? On the getting rid of salt water you might try along the fence line as it will retard growth of the weeds in the fence, but I'd definitely not run large quantities into your septic.

I thought it was great too- Got a lot done between the Macro encrusted and huge amount of critters on the live rock form the Pres and the live sand trade-and getting to meet some other members face to face- to get nagging little questions asked and responded too. Seeing many of the criters and marine fauna up close with some one to exchange exerience with was very helpful. Thanks Grav and Xeno for getting the Tank in place. Grav my little pink Xena frag I do not believe will make it. Will have some type of event at the house about a year form now to see how far it has come. Will have to get the picture bug-and start at about Christmas time getting photos out electronically. I happen to know Santa is bringing a digital camera. :D Lee

Actually you may be doing yourself a favor by changing out some of the LS. I am beginning to be a proponent of the theory that the sand and LR act as a sump to take out Phosphates and various other elements. They reach saturation like a sponge at the + or - 3 year year mark in most well run systems. By replacing the sand which is easiest or moving the phospate staturated LR to a system that has almost no phosphate the sponge leaches out the phosphate to the system where it can be used by plant material and removed. According to more competent sourses than myself the phosphate and nutrient levels at the surface of these materials are considerably higher than in the water column where we take our readings. Any way I would be glad to get some criter loaded sand- I will bring four baggies myself and am looking forward to getting a little peice of the pink Xenia. Regards, Lee

sorry you got me! 23 Nov Sunday 2PM at the Reef Tank. Directions on line at: http://www.reefstore.com/

OK I guess we had better get this going- by the way the reef tank is not open Sturday AM. I will make a command decision since I started this thread and say 2PM Sunday the 22nd of November at the Reef Tank in N Va. Again my sand is relatively young but I will bring 4 bags to trade unless more folks jump on he band wagon. See you there- I will let the Reef Tank know we are coming. Regards, Lee

I felt that the punp was not strong enough- I upped it to the Mini jet 606 and have been running my Nano Cube system since 5 September. It truely is amazing that you can keep the diversity in a mini reef. I was running a mix of about 10 hermits in the Nano-cube but took 4 out yesterday as they were just too much and have read some articles bashing too many hermits. I started with 3 Turbos,3 Trochus, 3Cerinth, 3 Nassarius and 3 bumble bee snails. Only the turbos would I rethink. Bumbling monters rearrange the tank. Will take two of them out today. The Cerith really do stay in the sand most of the time. With the exception of having a silent oversized killer Brittle star that I donated to the Reef Tank, it has been working well and I continue to learn with it. Ashame that some of the learning in this hobby is so tied to having to make the mistakes personally. You read and read and yet it is all nuances, art rather than formula, but it keeps your interest! Lee

I bought the EV120 as well and will run the MAG 5 on it. After much looking on these and other sites it seemed correct. It will be on a 150 with 50 sump, but as I garner form many posts it should be shut down for a couple of long periods each week for feeding phytoplankton and rotifers. So I didn't jump to the next EV-180 size. Glad to hear you are happy with yours! Lee

pink branching Xenia- I love to put a small piece in my Nano- I have a a couple of zoo's that I am trying to get to spread to another rock- It would be small but they might be there by the 22nd. You are right, the directions to the reef tank are tough-though they are on the web site. I'd be happy to give a ride back to the springfield metro to anyone that needs it. Looks like a consensus is building for 10:00 22 Nov, or better Sunday afternoon at the reef tank. I'll be there unless my son's Hampden-Sydney college football team gets invited to the playoffs, which would be a saturday game.

Reef Tank works for me, very near by, but thought it might be difficult for others to get to. How is the following weekend- I'd like to meet the pres at this swap. Lee

Looks like five of us so far-that is four bags each. I am game. Suggestions on time and place? I thought the idea about meeting at a vendor was good. They might even chip in a small bag for each of us from their own LS to get us paying customers to visit the shop. Marine Scene? Rootzens?

Thanks HQI from a home depot shop light? I would be intrigued at what you had to change out- balast? the bulbs fit one of those fixtures? What size bulb double end bulb, and from where? Pics and instructions would be neat.

Ok Lighting Guys, I would like to hear if it is possible to run smaller MH's above glass covers and how high above should they be? 175's, 250's? inside a standard canopy with fan? I have no experince with them at all. I am setting up a 150G H (48-24-28) with standard Cabinet and Canopy but have not procured the lights. I was thinking PCs. I only intend to keep soft coral in a mixed tank and with the excetion of a BTA do not expect to have huge lighting needs. Definitely do not want to go chiller route. I will have a 50g refuge/sump beneath running lights off cycle. Suggestions? Thanks

I would highly recommend a Nano Cube-about 12 gallons with a bio filter in the rear, a punp, 50/50 PC lights and float magnetic glass cleaner. The entire package is 99 dollars at Wally's Aquarium. I started one about two months ago for my office. I have a pepermint, cleaner, fire goby, zoos, mushrooms, snails and some hermits- Enjoy the heck out of it sitting right by my desk--No skimmer, but has not proved to be a problem yet. I just added a wee bit of Kalk to try and boost the coraline growth. It it fun and inexpesive compared to a large tank- But that being said I can't wait to get my 150G up and running later this month-few more fish relationships. But I still refuze to get bit by the LPS or SPS bug.

I would like to know if there are folks out there that would like to trade about a cup-pint worth worth of their Live Sand. If several folks each brought a few bags from his own live sand bed then there could be a great cross polination of biodiversity. I'd be willing to meet at a prescribed place with several bags of my sand to swap out, though as a newbe my beds are are probably the least "criter" populated. I am open to time and place if there are any takers. Does a club officer wat to jump on this? Lee

Thanks- Roozen's was amzing if for nothing else than QUANTITY. I picked up a bit of LR to add and found when I put it in my Nano it was covered with very small aiptasia. My peprmint seemed to have cleared it off last night, and was still crawling over the rock this morning.

OK I have seen Roozens used on WAMAS forums several times- Where is it do they have a Web site and are they local. Been To Wally's Aquarium, Reef Tank and Marine Scene. Thanks