Kevin Garrison

Hilary, remember to account for cooler space for everyone for purchases Might want to change that to up to 2!

Been there... had this happen... only mine literally split the plastic apart. Their customer service was great, I read them the numbers off the heater, they said my replacement was on the way. No hassle, no arguments, it seems like they at least own up to issues revolving around defects and try to make it right.

I have 2-3 5g water jugs I can mix up as well.

Sorry for your loss, Blue Spots have always been a fish I'd like to own. As for how it'd get along with the snowflake, how big is the snowflake? Biggest issue you might have is the eel trying to turn it into an expensive dinner. According to LiveAquaria's compatability guide they are listed as not compatible.

Stand: 2x4 frame with 3/4" plywood for sides top and base, doors are 3/4" wood. The spacing you see is indeed the doors under the front lip of the top. The stand is based off an image provided as a model. Wood filler is to smooth the seams where the wood comes together or to cover screws. Structurally there is no issue with the 1/2" gap where the doors are mounted as it does not affect the integrity of the structure. Plywood is secured to the stand using waterproof screws (or at least that's the manufacturer of the screws claim). Anyone in the Manassas area doing DIY stand projects beware the saw @ Lowes, it is not cutting straight and caused me a bunch of grief.

I would think a fish trap with some bait in it should work, lobsters are scavengers and should go for whatever food you put in it.

What Sam and Forrest said

Marissa is THE BEST!

Morning Sean, I'm by no means one of the experts on this, but I have been doing a lot of research on it. I don't remember the height of the lights over the 8' tray, but a lot depends on the penetration depth needed. Once you have the depth you can make a decision whether 40 degree or 60 degree will better suit your needs. You said the tank is only 16" deep so it just depends on how high above the tank the lights are mounted, I would think 60 degree would work and give you a wider spread, but that's just from my research and not practical application. For example: On my 150, because of the penetration depth required 60 degree optics will not work well for me because I would lose too much PAR at the bottom of the tank. Either way, good luck on the LED upgrade, I'm sure one of the LED experts will have more insightful input for you.

From Centreville it is roughly 2.5-3 hrs just in distance without considering traffic.

+1 on the BRK suggestion, I got my bits there.

If you change the ballasts to properly power the T5 HOs then yes, you can easily re-use the fixture by converting it. I agree with Dave that the PC ballasts, if they power them, will not be sufficient to push the T5 bulbs properly and give the light you are looking for. Dave however is the by far the expert on ballasts, so I would definitely go with his suggestions.

Okay, looking at the department managers actions from a different perspective here. I spent a very long time, 10+ years, in retail and retail management. I have seen people fired for raising their voice to a customer, it is very bad form and reflects poorly on the manager and the company. Retail is about customer service, there was nothing customer service oriented in her reactions to the problem being expressed. She acted like it was a personal attack against her instead of simply a problem that needed attention. It is likely she is new to management and cannot separate store from personal, which is a training issue. Mind you I am in NO way defending her actions, in fact if I were the store manager there I would be embarrassed and feel the need to give you at the minimum a verbal apology if not a written one. In the end I guess I have to quote Mrs Boucher(The Waterboy) "She doesn't have what we call, the people skills" Like others have said, I have been in some Petsmart stores where the people are great, this is an example of one that isn't so great. I'm just glad in the end the result was achieved and the tank is being/was destroyed.

another reason to replace some of the water with fresh saltwater, someone may have said it and I missed it, is because as you get to the bottom and start stirring up the sand you will release some of the nitrates, etc in the sand, you will want to lose that water and replace it with fresh. Otherwise you're going to have to deal with spikes in your chemistry. Now if you are running without sand, just disregard this, but I remember my move and the tank was considerably bigger (150g). I went sandless, though when I switch tanks I will go back to using sand again, I just don't like the sandless look. Also, something I learned when I helped Dave (Mogurnda) switch tanks is take a few pieces of base rock and put them in the bottom, then put the sand in as it gives you a solid foundation for your aquascaping that won't have a shifting base under it.

Nice pump, I'm going to guess and say it will be pricey.

with slight modification to the mounting, it may be possible to mount the optics properly. It is definitely worth playing with, I can solder and I still don't like doing it.

You could always do wood and tile the top of it, not granite, but a LOT less expensive and there are some pretty nice looking tiles out there. Then you could carry it over the edge to make it match the surface as well protecting the sides of the top. Let it hang slightly lower than the would and you help prevent the down facing wood from absorbing water as well. Once you have the tiling down, you can coat it with polyurethane to seal it and prevent grout, etc from mildewing due to water exposure

Welcome back, congratulations on your new family member and your impending arrival of your newest family member. Though I'd say just start carrying around an 8-10Lb bag of dog food beings you probably already have that

There is a Habitat for Humanity Restore in Chantilly, they sometimes have that kind of stuff. There are also several granite sellers right in that same area. I've never drilled granite before, but I'd image the technique would be similar to drilling glass, slow and steady, don't force the bit, etc.

Your lead continues to grow, I cast my vote as well.

I think it looks great, not sure if it's the site or my connection here at the office today, but pages are loading very slowly for some reason. I like the fact I fall into the zone 1 shipping option too!

My golden dwarf never went after my fish, I miss him, he was a great addition and I could hand feed him.

As far as I know it is a natural part of the tang diet and they should eat it at any size, it might take a little coaxing when they are smaller, but I still think they would eat it. I said scopas because unlike the other zebrasoma he stays smaller.

A small tang depending on the size of the nano, definitely need to make sure it stays on the small side though, scopas maybe.

My copperband started in on the aptasia almost right away and annihilated all of it. The only place I have any left is in the overflow box on the back side. Now if I could just find a majano eater that wouldn't eat my corals...