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LCDRDATA

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Posts posted by LCDRDATA

    Very friendly Goldenback trigger

    in General Discussion

    After saving my Goldenback trigger from a nasty battle with ich, he's in my 72 gallon QT with a small female crosshatch that I saved as well, I can't believe how calm and friendly this fish is. He likes to be touched when I do tank maintenance and he eats jumbo shrimp from my hand. To my surprise, he's very gentle as if he's making sure not to bite me. I can't wait to put him in my main display late January.

     

    Glad to hear he pulled through - sounds like we should just call you "Androcles"

    Demise of a 300 gallon display

    in General Discussion

    ... I have started the process of bringing public display tanks to the Children's Science Center Lab which I run. If all of my plans come true we will have way more water volume in the Lab than I have (or is it now had?) in my house. Hoping to build a partnership with WAMAS on this project, details to come! That said, a bit of a melancholy day for me knowing that the beast in my basement will soon be gone. :(

     

    As with the various school/educational tanks elsewhere on the site, let me know when you need frags for your Science Center tanks. I'm sure I'll be able to provide a variety.

    Small leak in pvc

    in General Discussion

    Would running a small thing of super glue around the rim work? Thanks.

     

    It might work - I had a slow leak at the top corner joint of my 30 cube, and a bead of BRS thick super glue has kept it from leaking for about two years. That being said, it's arguably still a "temporary" solution, and there's very little pressure on my repair location. So, before you try it, decide whether and how much that bead of super glue will add to the pain of redoing everything if it doesn't work. If you decide to go ahead, make sure you monitor that location closely, and be prepared for a re-do.

    Need to Qt ORA or tank bred?

    in General Discussion

    I think it's a matter of trust in the vendor and risk tolerance. On the one hand, the fish "should" be healthy and disease free, and so quarantine "should" be unnecessary. On the other hand, it only takes one sick fish (and not necessarily symptomatic) to cause major damage. I don't know that there's a single "right" answer in all cases. 

    Why do so many people leave the hobby?

    in General Discussion

    I think it's generally a combination of unmet expectations and/or life changes. For short-timers, the hobby turns out to be more [difficult | expensive | complicated | time-consuming | fill-in-the blank here] than they anticipated, and then something causes a tank crash or similar trigger, after which they decide to hang it up. For people who have been doing it longer, they've made it through the expectations vs. reality phase, but evolution on the home front creates a situation where it isn't "fun" anymore. The enthusiasm falls away, the negative aspects begin to dominate, and they decide to take a "no-fault divorce" from reefing. These folks, judging by what I've seen on the boards (and occasionally felt myself) are more likely both to depart gracefully and come back in the future.

    Water cooled LED fixture

    in Do It Yourself

    I've skimmed through some of the thread, are you just building this because you're bored and retired? Because a water cooled LED fixture might by the most pointless thing in reefing equipment. 

     

    I disagree. An AMMONIA cooled fixture would be significantly more pointless.  :tongue:

    What lights can work with this particular tank?

    in New to the Hobby

    I don't think you need to worry too much about shadowing from the center brace. What kind of tank are you looking to keep (i.e. FOWLR, mixed reef, SPS-dominated, etc.)? That's going to have a major impact on the intensity and distribution of your lighting. For example, I've got a pair of AquaticLife 8000164s on my FOWLR. They're low-profile, sit right on the rim of the tank, and very inexpensive (~$100 for both) - but they would be wholly inadequate for anything other than fish.

     

    Dream build

    in General Discussion

    · Edited by LCDRDATA

    You mentioned an XL biopellet reactor - I'd suggest going with the large model of Avast's new Spyglass reactor. 

     

    Additionally, you will probably need some kind of screen top - if AA would do a version of what they're putting on their new AIO line, that would be really sweet.

    Water cooled LED fixture

    in Do It Yourself

    Looking good!

     

    One question, though - given the higher heat conductivity of copper, and assuming there's decent air flow around it, do you even need the water flow and heat exchanger? I understand in some ways that's the whole point of the exercise, but just curious. :why:

    too much light, too little light, or something else?

    in General Discussion

    fluctuating water chemistry isn't good for corals. I suggest regular scheduled w/c, testing and recording of w/c, and a dosing plan where small amounts of 2 part are dosed accordingly.

     

    +1. If the problem is in your parameters, and they're not so far off as to be immediately lethal, rapid changes will likely do more harm than good (especially if you over-correct and have to back off). Test so you know where you are and where you want to be, and spend the time (say, at least several days to a week) to get there gradually. 

    Thanksgiving weekend New product launch!

    in Avast Marine Works

    All I can say is,  :eek: WOW!  I know what I want for my next media reactor!

     

    One question - for setups with limited head space, how much vertical clearance do these need to allow for removing the reaction chamber to fill/change the media? Obviously you can start tilting it when you pull it off the pump, but that only gets you so far. Thanks! :bluefish:

    Gorgeous creature - "Blue Dragon" nudibranch (Glaucus atlanticus)

    in General Discussion

    If its so dangerous why are they holding it?

     

    You've got me there - because they're not very bright? There are protective skin coatings, so maybe they are using one of those. Either way, It does provide a nice scale of reference. 

     

    Wow! That is really cool. This kind of stuff is why I love this hobby. Thanks for sharing.

     

    You're very welcome - my wife thought I'd appreciate it, and I thought others would as well. :bluefish:

    Gorgeous creature - "Blue Dragon" nudibranch (Glaucus atlanticus)

    in General Discussion

    This just showed up on my wife's facebook (original URL here)- what a gorgeous creature!

     

    dragonmollusk1.jpg

    Depending on your tastes, this bizarre little blue creature may inspire either aww-worthy shrieks of excitement or a bit of discomforted shock, possibly a combination of both. Meet the blue dragon, one of the weirdest and most wonderful little-known animals in the world. The proper name of this mythical-looking creature is Glaucus atlanticus, or blue sea slug, and although it is much smaller than its fictional brethren of lore (only about an inch or two in length) it has a host of nasty tricks up its sleeve—er wing?

    They spend their lives upside down, attached to the surface of the water and floating along at the mercy of the winds and ocean currents. Blue in color, they blend in with the water in order to camouflage themselves within their environment. And though petit, these baby dragons are also dangerous: they predate on venomous cnidarians, such as the Portuguese man o’war. They store the stings cells collected from these cnidarians within their own tissues, and use them as a defence on anything that bothers them. Handling a little blue dragon could result in a painful, and possibly dangerous, sting.

    Although rarely spotted by humans, one of these alien-like specimens was caught on film after washing ashore in Queensland, Australia.

    dragonmollusk2.jpg

    dragonmollusk3.jpg

    dragonmollusk4.jpg

    dragonmollusk.jpg

    via [The Dodo]

     
     

    "E5" LED - New Option to Mix/Replace T-5 with LED?

    in General Discussion

    Almost since I got into the hobby, I've been wondering when someone would make an LED that would swap 1:1 with a T-5 bulb. Well, per this Marine Depot blogpost, it looks like someone has. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot more info yet, but especially with a fixture with greater than, say, four bulbs one could hypothetically mix and match pretty well. Or just move to all LED without getting a new unit. I expect availability is still rather limited - has anyone in the club tried these yet (or have an inside line in information)?

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