lancer99

It does indeed look like (based on the pic) that BZA's "Onyx" snails are Ilyanassa. I was looking on eBay...couldn't believe I could get 300 snails for $36, and did some research, which led to the article bigJPDC referenced. From the article, it sounds like your biggest worry is them attacking other snails, and the infauna in your sand bed. -R

It was my pleasure to meet a lot of y'alls at the Fragfest last month, and I got some great frags. Some from mogurnda and biodork, a few from the "take me, I'm free" table, and some from the frag frenzy in the hallway. A very happy Gorgonian frag from dave: Two Xenia frags...I put them into the bottom of a cut-off Pepsi bottle with crushed coral to attach...and each of them have become two. They had a little battle, but have apparently sorted out their differences. The one with more silver on its tentacles seems happy to stay on the coral, while the browner one has climbed up: And you can see in the last pic that the orange/red mushroom I got from someone, originally one, has become three! Both Kenya trees are doing well: Last but not least, the Acro frag from...someone... is doing great. This pic isn't too good..the growing tips are actually a pale blue....way cool! Happy holidays, -R

Yep, mostly likely Ilyanasty...err, Ilyanassa....., at least from what I've read. True Nassariusseses don't seem to go after anything that's alive. Get some Tonga Nassarius, about 3x larger than the regular ones (thanks Howard!)....it's hilarious seeing them cruise around blindly as soon as I add any food to my tank! -R

Same here...listen closely, and you can almost hear them saying "new frags, fresh meat!" Never seems to be a problem though, they seem to get bored quickly, go back to whatever they were doing (in my tank, mostly picking at the sand), and the frags are no worse for the wear. -R

Yep, *totally* random.....I'm just now getting a handle on how to work my cam. $#$#@ hermits have reduced my Xmas tree worms from 8 to 5...luckily all 4 in the pic have survived. I thought a 1" ring cut from a yoghurt container would stop them, but no luck....now the Porites is sitting on top of the bottom of an inverted plastic salsa bowl...about 4" off the substrate. That should stop the #$#@$#ers! -R BTW thx for the feedback! -R

I vote for dandy's pic and bob's recipe.....skimmate pie, anyone? -R

Treesprite, she has lots of options, but generally, "inexpensive" and "low-effort" don't mix. The absolutely cheapest way would be a tank with an under-gravel filter, crushed coral as a substrate. It would have to be cycled, like any other tank, and she would have to vacuum the substrate regularly, and do regular water changes. Yeah, very old skool, but they do work. If she wants to spend more $$$ and less time, I would suggest a "reef-ier" tank, with a DSB, LR and a skimmer. Much less work (just emptying the skimmer and water changes), and better water quality. HTH, -R

Jamal, freshly-mixed saltwater typically has a low pH, even if you are using aeration, so no worries there. It will up in your tank. And you can ignore the pH readings on R/O water...due to the paucity of ions (sounds like a good indie band name!), any tiny contaminants will give you wacky pH readings. Not sure if you are running a Ca reactor...if so, 7.8 is typical. 7.49 is a bit worrisome though.... HTH, -R

Bob, I got replacement chemicals for my LaMotte Ca test kit about a year ago, in anticipation of setting up a tank that never happened. I just opened them and tried them a couple of weeks ago, and got totally wacky readings, like 180 ppm....panicked, bought a Salifert kit, and the readings were much more in line w/ what I expected. I love LaMotte's kits, but I would suggest you buy new chemicals. -R

Keep an eye on your skimmer! I'm cycling a mixture of Marco rocks and Fiji, and have to empty the skimmer cup 2-3 x per day. -R

Just to add to what Almon said...you should try to avoid covering any of the flesh with the glue/epoxy or whatever, otherwise it will act as a point of infection. -R

My best suggestion...chill! Almost any arrangement of LR will look cool in the end... I had one tank where, after lots of effort, I absolutely hated it. But I had Thorited it together, and couldn't really move anything. Six months later, it was spectacular (IMHO), best-looking tank I ever had.

Dave, I am sorry to hear that. My only experience with them was visiting them once because they had FL aquacultured rock. As you mentioned, the shop and tanks were clean, and the two guys working there when I visited were both very nice...although I could have done without them staring at me as I (admittedly very slowly) picked out the pieces I wanted to buy. They are in an out of way location, probably don't have a lot of capital, probably new to the business game, and (I'm guessing) haven't had a lot of custom orders. But they are running a business, and when you run a business, sometimes you have to take a loss to learn a lesson. Perhaps the hardest business lesson to learn, is that you can guarantee that a customer will come back, if you just say "no problem, we'll refund your money." I genuinely do like their mission statement, their shop, and their enthusiasm.....hope their (assuming) lack of capital won't screw up their customer service. -R PS The gorgonian frag you gave me has overgrown a Syringodium by about 1/2"...that should be an interesting mix!

I have always used one of these http://www.lifereef.com/siphon.html . Because of the much higher flow rate through the U-tube, air bubbles never accumulate, and there's no need for a pump or any other extras. They are pretty much bullet-proof, and after many years of use, I've never had a any problems. -R

Yep, everything is at least 10% off...some as much as 50%. Here's the pipe organ: and a shot from the top, showing the greyish-green (is that teal?) on the polyps: Bob, I must have dithered for at least 20 minutes about the Yellow Toadstool...even had to go outside to have a cigarette (no comments please!) and ponder. Glad to know there was competition It totally blew my "I'm gonna spend $100 on an early Xmas present for myself" budget, but was totally worth it! After the lights went on, it closed up (!), but after about 1/2 hour opened up completely. Can't resist one last pic of it: -R