PK3

Check with Jeff at Pimped Out Aquariums, one of our sponsors. I think he's out in the Annapolis area, so somewhat local. The colored PVC definitely looks pretty cool. http://www.pimpedoutaquariums.com/pvc.aspx

That whole area is becoming super nice. I used to live in a condo right across the street from the new Halstead buildings and moved out right before all the new restaurants and retail shops popped up. I kind of wish I still lived there. Dip, love the tank. Do you remember what kind of sand you used? It appears to be a larger grain sand or even a crushed coral? I have a very fine sand and wished I went with something a little bigger like yours.

I know chloramines are used in fairfax county water.

Nice meeting you and talking to you today. This looks like a really interesting and unique build. Following along to see the progress.

Wangspeed and L8 2 Rise are exactly right. It's not always just about the size of the wood, but the way they are put together such that the load is transferred properly down to the ground. I think you might be alright given that you have 5 4x4 posts running the length; however, I'd be nervous about this design with how much weight will be on top of it. And regarding the suggestions to ditch the center post, I would suggest the same but only if the 2x6's (or 2x8s?) were sitting on top of the posts, not under the current construction.

It's been a while so I thought I'd post an update and some pics (sorry for the poor quality iPhone pics). I've added a few fish and corals. Currently 6 tank inhabitants (in order of introduction to the tank): - 1 Bicolor Blenny and 1 Flame Angel (added together) - 2 Onyx Clownfish - 1 Yellow Tang and 1 Six-line Wrasse (added together) New coral additions: - RBTAs (3 of them due to splitting) - Neon green GSP - Pulsing Xenia - Green w/ pink tip hammer - White finger leather Time has been limited so the tank is currently on cruise control. It's been a little more neglected than I'd like, i.e. there are a number of maintenance to-do's I need to take care of like performing a much needed water change, changing out the RODI filters, getting a larger clean up crew, getting a new pump for my ATO, dosing supplements, etc. I think most of these items are combining to cause some of the unsightly junk growing on the top of my sand, but other than that, everything seems pretty healthy and happy.

Interested in the hammer and toadstool. PM sent. Edit: just to specify, I'm assuming the toadstool is the whitish/tannish leather at the top right behind the clown.

Sending you some more love. PM sent.

Another possibility is that the clown died and your cleanup crew got rid of the body. You'd be surprised at how quickly a small fish can disappear.

I am interested in a green toadstool. What other soft corals do you have? I would be interested in a regular toadstool and other leathers.

That tramp. So scandalous.

While it sounds like a great idea, think about how each of you view the forums on a daily basis. There are some that you frequent often, and others that you haven't clicked in weeks (if ever). I would venture to guess that the two most popular forums are the "for sale" and "general discussion" forums. If you really had an emergency, wouldn't you want to post in the forum that would be exposed to the most number of people/views? If so, then post in the "general discussion" forum. Emergencies don't occur that frequently, so the forum would result in infrequent new threads and be generally unused outside of a flurry of posts whenever an emergency does arise. This lack of new activity would cause people not to check in on the forum frequently, thereby defeating the purpose of getting the thread in front of the most number of people possible to help out. Just my opinion.

PM sent.

Cliff is one of the few members I've met on these boards and I can vouch that he's a great guy. I'm not surprised he came through for you.

Sam

That's what I figured at first too and was about to get rid of them, but I kind of like the look of them now (maybe I'm being sentimental since they are my "first corals", which is totally weird because I am NOT a sentimental person haha). I'm willing to take on that battle if the time comes, but I definitely appreciate the advice. Just tell me "I told you so" a year from now when I'm ripping out my hair trying to get rid of these corals.

On the equipment side, I bought a Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO, which was far more expensive than other more commonly used ATO units, but the reliability of the technology and peace of mind it provides me justified the cost. So far, I am very happy with it. Now, I'm on the hunt for a nice ATO reservoir. I also ditched the Hydor Slim Skim Nano and bought a Bubble Magus NAC 3+ protein skimmer, which has a very small footprint and fits perfectly into the tiny skimmer section of my sump. It is a little louder than I would like, but it creates a ton of bubbles and has been skimming very well. So far, I am happy with it, but I will have to figure out a solution to reduce the noise level. Lastly, I bought a Neptune Apex Jr and VDM module! I have never used a controller, but the prospect of controlling the temperature of my tank and dimming my Kessil LED is exciting. The main problem is I have no clue how to set it up and it's been sitting on my table for a week. Haha.

The tank has been cycling for the past couple weeks, but the cycle was very short/small as I used a lot of live rock from a long-established tank. The tank naturally went through a diatom bloom and massive amounts of hair algae. I'm still combating the hair algae, but the trimming has helped. I added a bunch snails and an emerald crab, and other than a few snail deaths, they've been doing well for the past week. I plan to add a larger cleanup crew and perhaps a fish or two this weekend. I also have a bunch of hitchhiker Kenya Tree corals and what appears to be a group of fairly large-polyped Palys (?) that have been doing well from Day 1. Not sure if I really want these in the long-term, but will keep them for now considering there's nothing else in the tank right now.