hypertech

I wish they made a nano pint sized one. Even the smallest one is quite large. I don't need much GFO for a 75g.

For what? BRS reactors are basically a filter housing with a bigger pipe to connect to a pump. They work well but I didnt really care for it. TLF is a basic up flow reactor. It works ok but I wish the flow were more evenly distributed. I'd like to find something better for GFO. Plus, it is really much much bigger than I need for GFO.

That is such a terrible analogy. If you tip your mechanic or barber it is in appreciation of service you hired them to do. Do you walk into the auto parts store and give them parts to sell? Fwiw, the LFS I went to was not BRK. I have heard nothing but good things about BRK and would like to shop there but it's really far from me and I haven't been able to make the trip yet.

I read a bunch of complaining from someone who needs to figure out how to adapt. Seriously, trade ins as donations? If its an item they can sell for profit there is no reason they should not offer store credit for whatever they can get the item at wholesale. Thats actually adding the item to inventory below wholesale because store credit costs them less than cash. And yes, I bought a car on the Internet. Here's the deal from today: Saw a two spot goby at the LFS. $35. I would have bought if it ate but it didnt and they offer no guarantee on saltwater fish. Same fish from live aquaria: $13 with a 14 day guarantee. Granted I have to pay shipping, but if I buy two fish, it's cheaper, delivered to my door, and comes with a guarantee. What reason do I have to go to the LFS for a 300% markup and no guarantee?

Yes they are built in sometimes. On some units they are installed directly into the output of the housing. Sometimes inside the housing and sometimes looking like a right angle adapter. If you have one of those rather than the more obvious inline type, you need to find it, remove it, and replace it with one that matches the flow rating of the membrane.

Sometimes the flow restrictors are built into the housing. Are you sure you still have the appropriate flow restrictor installed in the right place after you replaced the housing?

That's why I said you need to know what you are looking for/at when you go in. They move a lot of quantity, so there is good stuff in with the not so good. Also, you need to know fair prices and sometimes you get different prices from different people. I got a great deal on a pair of nicely colored true percs - less than some shops sell one for for the both of them. I've also gone in several times and left with nothing because there wasn't anything in at a price I wanted to pay that day.

In general, I like buying fish from other members too. When I was looking for a tang, I took a bunch of heat for it for some reason. For the most part, a fish from a hobbyist has gone through the initial acclimation process following shipping and has acclimated to tank life. As a result, losses tend to be lower than from a store that is usually selling fish that were imported not that long ago.

Perhaps people are misunderstanding what I am saying. I want my corals to be colorful and I want them to pop. Although most don't do that in nature, some do and those unique ones are the ones I like to keep. What I don't go for is the super crazy glow paint look from a ton of blue LEDs with maybe a couple whites thrown in. Some are even lighting their tanks with nothing but blue LEDs. For whatever reason, there seem to be more supporters of the glow stick look in the LED crowd.

I've been there. I've seen it. The corals don't glow psychedelic colors.

Prop the outlet up so its about half way down the baffle. That way most of the bubbles go up and not underneath the baffle. You may find that's all you need to do.

I like Roozens but it's a little strange. I don't recommend it for new people to the hobby. You need to know what you are looking at and what it should cost. There are good fish and good deals to be had there.

i guess its all in the objective. I want my tank to look like a reef. I don't want it to look like a black light 70s disco party. LEDs, particularly blue ones, just don't do it for me for main lights. I think I will add a string to supplement my 2 metal halides though.

I'm ordering from Reeftopia next week if you want to join the order, although it might be a bit of a drive to pick up. I'm in Alexandria.

He's not being an ass. He's trying to help. Its nearly impossible that an emerald crab took down a healthy tang. Often, things are not as they appear and something like a picture of the crab might help get to the bottom of it. Its far more likely that the tang wasn't as healthy as thought or that the crab was something else than an emerald crab catching and ripping a healthy tang to shreds.

I've thought about it. Wife likes the clam especially because we've grown it from about 2" to over 4" now. Eventually when it gets too big for us I'll sell it and reconsider the fish then.

I've done a lot of reading on that fish because I really want one, but I haven't worked up the nerve to get it. Many larger inverts including cleaner shrimp seem to be mostly OK. Smaller inverts like snails are probably toast. There are many reports of them being good reef inhabitants though there are also several that report they will raise mayhem. Actually, the mixed reviews are very similar to what you read about dwarf angels and I've kept many of those in reef tanks with no problems as long as they are fed well. I've almost convinced myself to add one to my reef tank several times but keep changing my mind because I've got a clam I'm worried it might go for.

Whats wrong with a Toby puffer? They stay small and are supposed to be pretty mellow.

I'm suggesting it for the rock she wants to dry out and reuse. As far as live stock goes, you don't dip anything you want to stay alive in acid. It will kill it. I do use it for cleaning equipment sometimes as well. Its faster than vinegar and doesn't smell as much.

If you decide to come by on Saturday, I have a signal generator that can be used for testing. Its been a while since I've brought it out, but I think it has standard settings for a pulse width modulated signal. It'll do a square wave for sure so at a minimum we could test 50% and 100%.

If you aren't running a reef, one of these would definitely be on my list: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+39+232&pcatid=232

Jan, do a muriatic acid bath instead of a freshwater soak. Faster and more effective. I've only had trouble with these in small tanks that are difficult to filter (read high nutrients). They will grow to plague proportions and choke out the corals. FWE will knock them back. I generally dip with revive and I'm pretty sure it killed them or at least stunned them enough that they fell off. Anyway, I could put an infested rock in another bigger tank that had better filtration and they would disappear. So, my approach with these is FWE to knock down the population and then focus on water quality. I had no luck with control by predation. The fish just seem to decide that fish food is better and if they eat them at all, stop after a few weeks.

I'm in Alexandria and available next Sat. I could help you if you bring it here.

An emerald crab will not hurt a healthy tang. It more likely was on its way out and the crab was being opportunistic. If you don't have corals, there are many angels and butterflies. Toby puffers have striking color variations too. It's tough to make specific recommendations because you havnt said anything about your tank.

I'm thinking about building a shelf in the stand to sit it on in an acrylic box that would drain down to the sump.