lancer99

And to add to the confusion, I've seen studies that some softies reach photosynthetic inhibition at higher PAR levels than most SPS.... -R

How about aquascaping putty? James makes a good point...I put those intake screener thingies on all my powerheads, then foam sleeves over the intake screener thingies. There wasn't much I could do with my modded MJ1200, so I rubber-banded some fiberglass window screening around it. Ten seconds after I placed the 'nem in the tank, it was stuck to the side of the MJ1200...but seems to be no worse for the wear....now that it has settled I've removed the foam sleeves. Don't follow James' advice if it's an LTA, it won't like that -R

Okay, I *was* dreaming. It's pH that can't be increased, other than temporarily, by adding Kalk, because it quickly goes back into equilibrium. D'oh! -R

newfish, If you have any kind of changing currents in your tank (wavemaker, scwd etc.) I would suggest you turn them off. With the current steady, the nem will be able to find a place it likes & settle. Once settled, you can switch the changing current back on, and it's likely to stay.........at least that worked for me, although it still took my LTA 12 days to anchor itself -R

Bob, I wish I had bookmarked that thread...it was actually Randy Holmes-Farley who explained it....something about the interrelationship between Alk & pH. Or maybe I was dreaming! But the reason you can't use it practically to raise Ca is that there's not much Ca in saturated Kalkwasser, and most tanks don't evaporate enough daily, that Kalkwasser will provide enough Ca to meet their demand. I'll see if I can track the thread down, because I found it pretty surprising. -R

Dosing Kalkwasser can never increase your alkalinity....I forget the details, but it's somewhere on ReefCentral. And because of the low disollution rate of calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide, you can't practically use Kalkwasser to increase your Ca either. That's when the two-parts come into play, when you want to get them up to NSW levels. -R

Marine Scene in Herndon had a sign up recently looking for part time help, but that's pretty far from Lorton..... -R

I don't really have anything to trade, but plan on bringing the following to the freebie table: 1) Lots of Chaeto with pods, mini-brittle stars, and Stomatella 2) Caulerpa x 3 (prolifera, mexicana, and sertularoides fa. farlowii) 3) Kenya tree 4) Pulsing Xenia 5) Pipe Organ babies 6) Neon green GSP -R

Daniel, are you sure that's an Actinia sp.? I thought they were all temperate. Hey, be nice to your Epiphyllum oxypetalum. There's something cool about a family of plants that develops all kinds of mechanisms to deal with drought...then turns into an epiphyte and depends on lots of moisture. BTW, I threw a few leftover pieces of the Halodule roots into my 40G tank, and now, three months later, I'm seeing sprouts! So be patient -R

Here's an interesting thread about the Elos kits. -R

I will second (third?) what others have said about Mexican Turbos. Also conchs (at least "Fighting" conchs)...they love to chow down on the stuff. -R

bob, In terms of the green stuff, you can feed them as much as they'll eat. If anything else, I'd try to limit the amount of meaty food they get (may not be easy!), since it's a smaller part of their natural diet. Maybe if they chow down on lots of greens, they won't be so greedy when it's feeding time for the other fish. -R

Not sure if I can picture the putty/hose problem....the only general guideline for an overflow box is that if you have surface flow, it should be directed at the overflow box, so you get maximum surface skimming. HTH, -R

Is there anything BRK doesn't have? Thx John, -R

Title says it all. Specifically I'm looking for an actinic. Thx, -Robert

Daniel, I have my fingers crossed that the Halodule will grow Garrett, Gulf Coast Ecosystems (www.live-plants.com) sells the anchored variety of Sargassum. They sent me some as a "bonus" and it's doing well, but I've never had any luck getting frags from it to attach to anything. -R

DD, Zoas are usually pretty hardy. Have you inspected them closely for nudibranchs & invasive sponges? Have you tried blowing away any detritus that might have accumulated on their bases? You might want to increase the flow on them, just temporarily. How much lighting do you have? Your tank params are fine for zoas, so I wish you luck....they are pretty! HTH, -R