MisterTang

100 watt Tetra. It hasn't been the best, honestly - but at least it has a temperature dial. The heaters with the variable setting between HI and LO give me the heebie-jeebies. Lucky (the cat) tries. I have noticed one or two black hairs in the water in the past I actually built a cabinet for it, but I've had to keep the top off with how warm it's gotten the last couple of weeks, as it was getting a bit too warm for my tastes.

...and so can I

So far, my wife has been very supportive of this hobby... but then again, I've only got a tiny tank! Whilst in the process of upgrading to a larger tank (70-90 gallons), I've been thinking about where it'll go, but no matter what, it's going to end up on carpet. I have a couple of questions that I was hoping someone with a similar setup (or knowledge on the issue) could answer 1.) Will this significantly destabilize the tank? Do I need to worry about it tipping while I'm aquascaping or otherwise leaning into it? 2.) Will the weight of the tank permanently indent the carpet? We just bought our first house, and I'm fairly sure that my wife would become unsupportive REAL QUICK if I ruined the carpet in our brand-new home. 3.) For those of you whose tanks are against drywall, have you had any problems with 'tank spray', or little drips of water that hop out of the tank? As with #2, ruining a wall would hardly be a way to engender continued support from my significant other.

I wish I would've known how much Loudoun sucked before I bought a house here :( <<Political comments removed - Ybe>>

Jack (the fish) loves to taunt the cat.

They're slightly pricier than other LFS'es, but their livestock goes through a rigorous quarantine.

This was a fantastic event - my first at WAMAS. I couldn't believe what some of those corals were going for. At any rate, you have some tail-spot blennies that you had just gotten in, but nobody could find information on them in the fish book, so I didn't want to buy before researching it. I really want one of these for my nano

Hmm, I don't think I have room above my setup for two sets of these... which is why I was looking at the other one that used the 24 watt bulbs. It ends up being cheaper buying one 2X24 watt than 2 2X14. Now admittedly I don't get quite the same wattage out of the 24 watt fixture, but I don't know if the 8 fewer watts would drastically affect my setup. I went to Fins n' Feathers in Ashburn yesterday for the first time, and that guy told me that there's no rule of thumb at all re: watts/gallon that is reliable - which pretty much sucks, because I have no clue how you're supposed to tell what's adequate and what isn't.

Clyde, that's awesome... but the link isn't working. Any chance you can just give me the make/model?

Supplement with what? I had been thinking about a clamp-on light with a screw-in CF bulb, but I read that does nothing. I had originally been looking at Big Al's, but those lights are 14 watts each, bringing my total to 28 watts. The ones at F-S are 24 watts per lamp, which would bring my total to 48 watts, which for ten gallons, seems like a decent amount to at least have a zoa frag or two or maybe some green or yellow star polyps.

I applied to be a full WAMAS member but my app hasn't gone through yet... can I still come?

Arrrg... I'm doomed to be FOWLR forever :( jason, I've read the suggestions of X number of watts per gallon. If I were to get a 72g bowfront, that pretty much means I'd need to get around 700 watts of lighting going by some rules of thumb, right? That's just an insane amount of electricity to use for nine hours a day, seven days a week... at least for me. ***EDIT*** What about this one? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/prod...fm?pcatid=16770

I'm not sure... I've been looking on CraigsList and there are a couple good deals on breakdowns that include RO/DI and sand etc. I wouldn't really want anything less than a 70 because, well, I'd like to keep some yellow tangs (as the name implies ). I guess it also depends on what you guys have for sale in your members-only area. I joined yesterday (AHEM AHEM) but I guess my payment hasn't been processed yet or something. I'm not willing to do the whole chiller thing, so I think that pretty much leaves me with a T5 setup... but once again, I don't especially like the idea of having hundreds of watts of power just to reach the bottom of my big tank, hence I was considering just using my small one for corals etc. It would be a lot easier to light - assuming, of course, that I could find a decently-priced T5 fixture that would go on a 10g! I went to LFS yesterday with my 50/50 bulb, and as it turns out, it's a really weird one?? It's actually a square-pin 28 watt Coralife bulb, which they had never seen before, so I guess my acquired PC fixture isn't going to work for my little tank.

I'm in a bit of a quandary... I have the cash to upgrade to a much nicer system, but I just can't stomach the idea of paying for some huge lighting array (and then the subsequent electric bill). I don't know what it is, but the lighting thing just really bothers me So because I'm unwilling to go MH or fifty-gazillion T5s, that pretty much means no corals in my big tank, so I was hoping I could make my current 10g a frag tank... only I don't want to shell out a ton of money on it, because I really want to avoid cheaping out on my nicer system. Can anyone recommend a decent lighting fixture that would support zoas and perhaps some green star polyps that won't break the bank? Thanks, MrT

Hello, all! I'm currently running just one florescent 15 watt 10K bulb over my 10 gallon. It actually does pretty good, but like any decent marine hobbyist, I want more A friend recently gave me an old lighting assembly he had, and inside of it, it had a u-shaped bulb with four pins on the end. I plugged it in yesterday, and found that half the bulb lit up blue, and half lit up white. I'm guessing this is a power-compact 50-50? Anyway, I think the bulb says 24 watts or something, but it's really dim. I assumed this was because it was old. Anyway, my question is whether or not it would be worth my money to buy a new bulb. I would like to keep some zoas in this tank, and was hoping that this light might make that possible. If not, I'll just save my money for a nice lighting assembly for my new tank Thanks!

I would love to come visit - unfortunately, Rockville is a hike from Leesburg!

Hey all, I finally took ownership of some nice big tanks from someone getting out of the hobby, but it'll be a while before my bigger setup is ready, and I'd really like to find a way to reduce nitrate in my nano 10g in the interim. I've read through searching Google that some reefers keep Chaeto in a filter sock in a seperate HOB filter to create a nano sump/refugium. This idea really appeals to me... but I guess I don't see how it's possible to get sufficient light in the HOB to keep the chaeto alive. What I'm hoping is that someone else has done this and could offer some implementation detail. Marine Scene in Herndon told me I don't even have enough light with my current 15 watt to keep chaeto from dying out, so I'm hoping someone can chime in and offer some sage advice If it's not possible to do it HOB-style, what other nitrate-reduction grasses/algae (other than Caulerpa - not going to deal with that evil stuff) could I plant in my 10g without making it look like a big green Brillo pad or choking out my critters? Thanks in advance!

Howard, Thanks for the encouragement. Sorry for the confusion - I currently have a 10g, and am getting some freebie tanks that will allow me to move to bigger - 55-75 gallons in the main tank. My incoming tank is not reef-ready, so I will either have to do HOB (yuck!) or drill it (yikes!). I absolutely cannot have any flooding whatsoever (I have to put down painter's plastic when I do water changes to avoid drips!), so was told to avoid HOB altogether. I have never drilled glass before, so am not sure if this is a good option either. I am excited about having a sump/'fuge, and will not consider starting up my bigger incoming tanks without one. I desperately need a way of nitrate reduction that beats super-frequent water changes and manic litmus testing.

1.) I get pre-mixed stuff from LFS weekly. Having such a small tank with no sump and no skimmer pretty much necessitates more frequent water changes. I haven't had any problem with ammonia or nitrites since I got my 10g cycled with my LR, but I'm lacking a decent natural means of nitrate reduction with my current setup. This is the biggest reason why I'm excited to go to a bigger setup, as it will allow me to use a sump, and be a little more resilient to changes in water quality. 2.) I already have a sump design I've sketched out based on one of the freebie tanks I'm getting (29g). This includes a chamber for a skimmer. If I can afford it, I'd like an Aqua-C, as I hear good things about 'em. I know they're necessary for a stable setup, but I think the price these companies charge for a plastic assembly to manage air and bubbles is just rape, so I had also considered the DIY route. 3.) I wasn't exactly sure what you were getting at here, but I definitely am planning to have LR in my tank. I would like to cure my own base stuff in a big RubberMaid container using refugium rubble and some seed material from my established tank if possible, and then get some Tonga to put on my top show layer. I could then use the refugium rubble in the first chamber of my sump. If you have any suggestions on where to get some calcium carbonate material for this purpose, I'd be most appreciative I work in the Reston area, and live north of Leesburg. Have never been to a Hokies game. Guess that's what you'd expect with a computer nerd

Hi all, Just discovered WAMAS, and am hoping to become a full-fledged member later this month. You guys have a great community here! I've just bummed three tanks totaling well over a hundred gallons from a co-worker cleaning out his basement, and I'm totally stressing over the aquascaping job on this. I just don't seem to have a knack for making anything that resembles 'aesthetically pleasing'. Unfortunately, I'm also currently a VT grad student, so I can't just shell out 1K+ for some decent Tonga LR. I need some ideas for some good base rock that nobody'll see, but will still facilitate ammonia/nitrite/nitrate reduction. What I was hoping someone might be able to help me with is (1) Some plans/photos of a PVC frame, because I bought some PVC and set it up like stairs, and it just doesn't seem like it would look good at all with rock sitting on it, (2) Some 'cheapskate' ideas for base rock and (3) A few pointers or methods you use for aquascaping. I've currently got a 10 gallon FOWLR setup, and have attached a photo so you can get an idea of the lack of design ability I have. I know I'll never have the TOTM, but I'd at least like to make my setup look cool, but am at a total loss on where to start :(. Thanks in advance for any replies!