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LCDRDATA

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Posts posted by LCDRDATA

  1. 8 hours ago, Jon Lazar said:

     

    I would research their natural depth and environment to help narrow your search,

     

    I've tried, but haven't had any luck. Maybe I'm not using the right search terms or looking in the right places, but "Caribbean / St. Thomas" is about the level of detail I can find (which really isn't any help). :why:

  2. On 4/19/2019 at 11:43 PM, KingOfAll_Tyrants said:

    Thanks for this thread.  If I'm able to escape to the USVI anytime soon I will keep this in mind.......

     

    You're very welcome. We had a trip planned several years ago that we ended up having to cancel at the last minute, and this is the first chance we've had to try again. I just hope I can find those mushrooms ... :scuba::bluefish:

  3. 1 hour ago, DFR said:

    I’m from St.Croix and can personally recommend Buck Island if you are looking for snorkel locations.  It is one of the few places that you can still see Elkhorns in all their glory.  Since you are staying in St.Thomas, this will however take a plane ride (preferably the seaplane) to St.Croix then you will need to charter a boat to Buck Island. ... I have been to the Baths in Virgin Gorda, and would also recommend it as a tourist attraction.

     

    I think I'm moving Buck Island up the list. I've seen a couple listings for tours there from St. Thomas, although I think those are via boat vs. seaplane. Virgin Gorda is sounding better, too. Any ideas on where to find those mushrooms? Thanks! :bluefish:

  4. My wife and I are going to be vacationing in the US Virgin Islands in early May and are looking for opinions / experience of the best locations for snorkeling (or places to avoid). :scuba: We're staying on St. Thomas (near Coki Bay) and plan to make at least one one day trip to St. John, possibly one to Buck Island, and probably one day trip to the British Virgin Islands. We've got the typical travel books and done some looking on line but would like some advice from experienced folks on the best places to snorkel. We're planning to operate mainly from the shore / beach vice a tour operator's boat, unless there are places (such as Buck Island) that we can't get to any other way. 

    In particular, I used to have St. Thomas mushrooms in two of my tanks (courtesy of Jan's group buys), and would like to see them in the wild. I would also like to see sea horses and gorgonians. So if anyone knows good places where those could be found, that would be especially appreciated. Thanks in advance! :bluefish:

  5. My personal favorite rebuttal when I politely declined the offer for water was "The fact that you haven't sold your tank yet and I sell 1000G of water a month tells me all I need to know about your crappy tank.  I didn't want to buy your tank anyway." 

     

    So, is this "super special water" supposed to be good for drinking (alleged health benefits, etc) or for your tank(s)? And how did this guy come to be the "exclusive" vendor of this wonderful stuff? :why:

  6. I've sold a few tanks on Craigslist and have not run into this phenomenon. However, they've all been standard sizes, fairly small (the largest being a 55) and pretty inexpensive, so it probably wasn't worth trying to get me to bite on the "magic water."  :wacko:

  7. Makes sense. Chalices are in different genuses. I guess they can have all kinds of care requirements and growth rates.

     

    Next question: what chalices grow fast?

     

    I used to have an alien eye chalice that grew so fast I was constantly fragging it. 

     

    gallery_2631918_925_103990.jpg

  8. I don't remember which of your threads discusses it, but I seem to remember reading that part of your general tank maintenance procedure includes periodically stirring up all the detritus and loose junk and vacuuming it out with a diatom filter. Feel free to correct/clarify if my memory is off (as if you'd need my permission :tongue: ). My point is, I think many/most of the objections to your defense of mulm would stem from the potential increase of nitrate/phospate levels, etc. and a (mis-)perception of the holistic approach you're taking. I'm going to guess that you lose some mulm when you do your cleanings, but it's probably welded together well enough that you don't lose too much. So the junk that remains an active component of the various nutrient/food cycles in the tank becomes mulm, and the stuff that doesn't gets removed at intervals such that it  doesn't become a "problem." And it seems to me there's an important distinction between mulm and general crud buildup from inadequate maintenance/poor husbandry - which I must admit is something not entirely unknown in my own tanks on occasion. So perhaps not a good idea for those unwilling or unable to draw that distinction and stay on top of it, but otherwise something worth considering, if that makes sense. 

  9. I am glad that I found a new reliable source for clams to feed my tank. They sell clams all over the place here on Long Island but sometimes the larger ones are hard to find.

    I ran out of them for a week and my fish were carving Human Racial Slurs at me on the glass. But now they are happy.

     

    My wife used to volunteer at the National Zoo's small mammal house. Down in the area where they prepared the different diets for all the various critters, there was a big bank of stainless steel refrigeration units - and off to one side, one with one door labeled, "Human Food."    :lol:

  10. ok and can i change the topic name? lps no good for seahorses may hurt there skin and the queen has  been my favorite fish but will get big fast i have had them before. I just want 2 small islands of coral and mostly sand I also like horseshoe crabs and there are 2 in there that are also getting big, youre tank looks great

     

    I'd second the recommendation for pocillipora and montipora. Monti digitata will give you more of the branching look I think you want, but tend to be fragile, at least in my experience. I've personally never had good luck with birdsnest corals, but that could just be me. Heliopora would be another possibility, and there's a SWAP thread for that. 

     

    Having said that, I think it is/would be a mistake to try to keep horseshoe crabs with any of these. Their respective temperature requirements aren't really compatible, as the horseshoe crabs like significantly cooler water. If you try to keep both horseshoes and these corals in the same tank one or the other -- or both -- are going to be stressed and unhappy.

  11. I am wondering ig I could use my 48x18 stand for a 48x24 tank if I just put a 24" top on it.

     

    I don't want to have to build or buy a new stand, so I if I can't just put on a top, I might build onto the front and back of the stand and put a new shell over it, so it will be like a new stand but the inside space will still be narrower.

     

    So, essentially, a 120 gallon tank on the stand for a 90.  I would think that, provided the bottom of the tank was completely flat to distribute the weight evenly, that shouldn't be a problem on a good, heavy top (although I can't say how thick/heavy it would need to be). If, however, it's like my tanks where the weight is really just along the edge, I'm not sure if I'd chance it. I'm by no means an expert carpenter, so hopefully there are better informed opinions out there. 

  12. As above, you'd be surprised at how much pressure loss you get with just a single elbow (or even an open valve). My DT is also a 75 with an overflow box (CPR 102), and it was originally running off an Eheim 1260 (rated 635 gph). I'm now running a MAG 12 (1200 gph), but taking a significant chunk of that off for media reactors. So I'd suggest something of at least 600 gph.

  13. Is alginate made from seaweed?  If so, it seems like it would be fine for a reef. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alginic_acid

     

    As it turns out, you're correct - one of the main components of the alginate/hydrocolloid impression material is sodium alginate, derived from seaweed. I also heard back from my dad, and while this is what he used for his impressions, unfortunately he didn't have any real insight in whether it would be reef safe. However, according to Alginate impressions: A practical perspective, one of the other components is trisodium phosphate. Although it reacts completely while setting to product calcium phosphate, I think there's at least the potential to leach phosphates from the final product, although I can't quantify the likelihood. I should add that based on the mixing requirements I don't think this is the same material as the original post linked to. Still waiting on input from my brother.

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