lancer99

Stainless? Back in my day, we had to clean the stains off with grease...elbow grease...and we liked it! I still have my old under-gravel filters. Wonder how many tickets they would get at the next WAMAS raffle. -R Forrest, you aren't old enough to play -R

I'm curious as to what got us more mature gentlemen (and ladies, if there are any) interested in reef tanks...those of us who remember the days before there were reef tanks. For me it was an anemone (had to be a Condylactis) in a fish store in Milwaukee, WI in 1974...I thought it was the most beautiful/coolest thing ever. Yours? -R

I bet both those sponges and small Asian person will die when the tide comes back in. Maybe not -R

I couldn't find any textured...in fact Michael's had the black hidden behind the green, and I was starting to worry... It's actually for an overflow. Once I get things swapped out, all the gear (powerheads, overflow, return lines) will be black to match my black tank back. Yippee! -R

Cool pics! It's amazing how different zoas look in the wild when they grow in huge colonies. -R

You guys are fast! Thx all...I'm off to Michael's! -R

Does anyone know where I can buy black Krylon Fusion spray paint locally? Neither Home Depot nor Lowe's carries it. If it's close to Falls Church or Herndon that's even better Thx, -R

Any luck with Halodule sprouts? Are those zoas typical of the biotope that you started out with? -R

I've noticed that under less light, they grow more elongated and pulse less, so Tom may be on to something... Forrest, do they get less light in the tank at work? -R

Garrett, And you say *I* have the oddest taste? -Robert

Have you thought about yellow or clown gobies? Both very cool, tiny mellow fish, but both are "perching" types, and may irritate SPS it they decide that's their favorite hangout. -R

Thx vaironman and everyone else for the advice....doesn't seem like there is a good, cheap solution. Maybe if I get a big tax refund I'll go for the Tunze Cheers, -R

James, I did the MJ mod as suggested on CPR's site...and what a difference. Brought a crappy low-rent skimmer into the modern age. Txaggies, with all that savings, maybe I can buy a bigger sump, and a bigger stand, and a bigger tank. Seems like good reefer logic to me -R

Once again I misspoke...I was just quoting Tom with the message thread title *sigh* I am hoping to find a decent skimmer for less. My 75G seems pretty happy with the cheap-o BakPak. So why fix what's not broken? Inevitable urge to upgrade, I guess. -R

Nope, this is my "display" tank, in the living room....everything has to go under the stand. I would love to go with GSA, have heard nothing but good things about them. A Tunze 9010 seems ideal, but it's a bit out of my price range. -R

Any recommendations for a good in-sump skimmer, suitable for a 75G? The one major constraint is that is has to have a footprint of 6" x 8" or less. Any advice appreciated, Thx, -R

I am certainly no chemistry major, but wouldn't silica dissolve more quickly in freshwater than salt, since it has less ionic competition? There have been a number of threads about using silica sand recently on RC, and the general consensus seemed to be that it's fine...but you have to pay attention to the type of sand. Some of them consist of shards, which don't support the development of infauna, like sugar-sized aragonite sand does. My 2 cents, FWIW (2 cents ) -R

Dave, just curious how much carbon you used? I found this article to be very useful/informative. Even Albert Thiel (I'm sure some of the other oldies remember him) has recanted, and agrees that his previous recommendation of three pints per 50 gallons was excessive, and now recommends three TABLESPOONS per 50 gallons, which seems to be in keeping with other recommendations I've heard. Far be it from any manufacturer to recommend that you use more of their product than necessary -R

Daniel, Tank looks great! I'm glad to see that everything is doing so well. Those shots of the cowry are awesome....when fully extended, it really does look like a being from an alien planet As for your zoas not spreading, as you mentioned in a previous post, IM(limited)E, they take a while to adjust in a new tank, but then take off. -R

I've tried lots of brands of heaters over the years, and have NEVER found one where the temperature setting was accurate. Steve, just curious as to what you checked the temp with? I have one of the Coralife digis (a replacement for one that didn't work too well after I dropped it in the tank ) and it seems to agree, within a degree or two, with the rest of my thermometers. -R

(Hijacking Josh's post a bit....) Forrest, from reading & asking questions on RC, two Dottybacks will be okay IF they are both TR, IF they are similar in size and IF they are introduced together. That's a lot of IFs Does anyone have any experience with that? I'm hoping it's true...I have my heart set on both a Neon and Fridmani/Orchid dotty (75G tank). If not I will probably have a Neon dottyback for sale soon! -R

Daisy, Was it a wild-caught or TR Pseudochromis? Either way, they will definitely eat ornamental shrimp, but from what I've read, the tank-raised ones are much less aggressive. Josh, yellow watchman gobies feed by picking up a mouthful of sand, extracting what they can, then spitting out the sand....and the sand ends up everywhere, so it irritates corals. This is just from what I've read, so no personal experience, but they don't seem like the best reef inhabitants. -R

Yep, I did. I wanted to get a pair of 'interesting' clowns for my LTA, and was totally sold on Naked False Percs, but then fell in love with the black misbars....spent waaaay to much time staring at them, and had to go outside for a cigarette break before I committed. I have never been much of a "fish" guy, and since 1989, have only ever lost two fish...one, a purple firefish who jumped, and a beautiful yellow puffer who got ich, and because of my ignorance at the time, didn't know that they don't tolerate copper. I hope that explains why I was upset, and John is right, I just felt the need to vent a little. Thx guys.... -R

Proving myself wrong again John has pointed out that the message thread title is misleading. I wasn't so much disappointed by BRK as upset by the death of my fish. So for the thread title, I apologize. Looking back, on one occasion the more dominant clown literally pushed the other one away when I put food in the tank. Maybe part of the reason he wouldn't eat, is that he was just too cowed/frightened. And I'm happy to say that the new clown from BRK is doing great & eating well. He's in the same tank as the other one, but they are separated by a tank divider, so he can adjust before they get to say their hellos. I think I've been to just about every LFS in the metro area, as well as many in other cities (Mpls, London, etc.), and BRK is definitely the best. -R

Josh, I am going through the same thing, the fun of picking out fish! Be aware that clowns vary a lot in terms of agression. Perculas, Ocellaris and skunks are the mellowest, all the way up to Maroons, which are extremely aggressive. The Onyx and Picasso are both percs/ocellaris (I forget which), so those are good choices. Other fish you might consider are Pseudochromis/Dottybacks. The wild-captured ones are holy terrors, but the TR ones are pretty mellow. Others I like are Cardinals and firefish, although the latter are jumpers. Can't comment on the rest of your choices, since I don't know much about them. I'm sure the fish experts will chime in though -R