Hilary

Oh, I did NOT need to hear that........

Shame about round #1, Matt, but best of luck as they get the hang of it (and maybe they'll hit the tile next time!). She is absolutely gorgeous!

Reefkeeping the Paul B way! Now that's the kind of schedule I could actually keep!

I may very well take you up on that - thanks! NAGA is making the tank for me, so it'll be a couple of weeks before I'm ready to give it a test run.

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Price is definitely a factor, though I do want one that will run without issues. Another question - do most of you keep your external pumps in some sort of container (like a small tank or tub) in case of leaks? It's going on a wood floor. Any problems with overheating if in a container?

That is actually exactly what I'm doing on this build since I won the chiller at the last meeting. Guess I should have included that info.

I think I have a MJ600 (160 gph), in-tank of course, split to three returns in the 5.5 gallon and that's just about perfect for that tank. Not sure how to translate that up to a 10 gallon with a single return?

So I've decided to upgrade the 5.5 gallon glass temperate tank to a 10 gallon (ish) heavy acrylic with a closed loop so I can better control the temp. I'm not that familiar with external pumps, and looking for suggestions for something small for a 10 gallon.

I'd guess halimeda.

Thank you so much for the ATO you donated for the Spring Meeting raffle! I've read great things about it and have been wanted to get myself one, and this one came just in time for the newest tank build. Thanks!

What can I say? I LOVE the vendor receipt for raffle tickets program!

Wow, top end all the way! Can't wait to see this come together.

Turbo snail (translates into English as "bulldozer")

Come on, Jawfish - go for it! I got in on a group buy on those gorgeous jewel-like anemonies (Corynactic Viridis) - couldn't resist. You could start with those! I'm finding that to keep a temperate (rather than cold-water) tank really isn't that complicated at this size. I may not be able to keep up with the filter-feeders, but the fan, HOB and skimmer should be enough to be successful with fish, macros and a variety of funky little anemonies.

PM sent.

I have three barnacle blennies from Marine Scene - LOVE those fish! And I'm so jealous of the possum wrasse - those are great in a small tank (darn it, I knew I should have stopped by MS when I was out that way yesterday ). Can't wait to see pics of everybody in the tank!

Thanks for the tip about the book! And I saw those little gems the other day and fell absolutely in love!

Thanks Dave! If I remember correctly you can get live clams at some of the local Asian markets? I'll definitely take you up on the iceprobe if I don't see the chiller in the next couple of days (it is now supposed to ship this week).

I'm researching online: - Steve Weast has a wonderful website at OregonReef - There is a temperate forum at Temperate Reef - MSAP has great info on critters Basically I've been looking at what Coldwater Marine Aquatics has available (they also do a good job of describing the critters), then researching to see how they'll do in my small tank. (No use getting a fish that'll grow to be 8 inches, or a starfish that will eat everything else.) As I better understand what works and what doesn't I may try requesting livestock not currently on the stocklist, but with only 5.5 gallons to play with I need to be thoughtful about what I add. As an update, I'm doing frequent water changes (2 or so a week) and the skimmer is working great (I'll probably get some more to try on the other small tanks), but I'm still registering low nitrites and have lost the larger barnacles. The smaller ones are doing well, though, and the little mussels that came with them are also doing okay. I suspect that I just couldn't feed enough to keep the big ones going without killing such a small tank. I also haven't seen the sculpin in the last week. Everything else seems to be doing well, though, and the gobies are loving their new tankmates.

Gorgeous! I've actually been playing with the idea of setting up another 5.5 gallon for a purple-spotted mantis if I can find one. Not as gorgeous, but less likely to sneak out and eat my dogs in the middle of the night.

Hey Stu! Tunicate seems to be doing well (though how do you really tell with a tunicate? ). Still waiting for the microchiller, but temp is now around 64 with the cooler weather and everything seems happy. I've got detectable nitrites, though, so am doing water changes every 2-3 days (easy enough when a 'water change' is 12 cups of water). I installed the Gnome Glass skimmer and it's definitely pulling stuff out but obviously is not enough on its own given the way I'm feeding the tank. The little shrimp you sent me pop out every so often to say hi. I'll see if I can get some new pics tonight! BTW I pulled the "beadlet" (which really isn't a beadlet and isn't an aggregating) - it did NOT like the colder water.

I had a tank absolutely full of aptasia. Also have a couple of clams, two rose bubble anemones, two Borneman anemones and a couple of zoa frags. I absolutely love my filefish. It took out all of the aptasia within the first month or so (which I frankly thought was an impossibility), hasn't touched anything else, eats frozen like a pig, and is an interesting fish to watch. Now if it would only start eating the mojanos..... I'm about to introduce a smaller anemone (a "not really a beadlet") and am not sure if it will leave it alone, but so far my experience has been great with this little fish.

They are gorgeous!

Thanks Matt! I'm excited about the project and look forward to hearing more about what you learn.

Yea - a devotee! And thank you. I'm also an ex-Pacific Northwest girl (Poulsbo and Tacoma) - I just wish that I had been into diving and keeping tanks when I was there! Welcome to Virginia! What is amazing is that before now here in Virginia I really didn't have access to anything except catalina gobies, and those were always a special order with a wait. There is now a source in Oregon that says "hey, tell me what you want and I'll find it (legally) on my next collection trip and ship it to you." How cool is that? I'm just glad that the tank has been up and running for so long before I found the livestock.