lutz123

I agree and laughed out loud! A woman's mind works awfully fast.

Huge thumbs up on my recent order. It wasn't live, but dry goods (plus other pet stuff). The 3 boxes I had tracking numbers for came quickly, but there was no salt. I called this morning and the customer service rep said she would reship it out today. No questions asked except the order number. I will definitely order from them again!

Well, since I just received 4 boxes from Pet Solutions, 3 ebay corals, and have a nice shipment from KP Aquatics on the way, I've probably gotten my Christmas. Even though I can sneak some boxes by under the guise of Christmas orders, it's obvious when the tank gets too full at once. What I really want is a Ghost Overflow and a TB Saltwater Package order for the 75 sitting in my garage, but I'm guessing that will be closer to summer.

I saw them at Blue Ribbon a couple of weeks ago.

Yeah, for the most part. I ended up just temp acclimating and putting them in. I never could find an answer that made me absolutely confident. Thanks for the answer though - even if you didn't know!

Simple question for you... I have a few spiral corals coming today and am wondering if it's okay to dip them in Revive? I assume so, but haven't had black corals before...

Have you tried sexing them using the vent method?

Or you could also go with a nice sleek all-in-one!

Marine Scene shouldn't take that long unless it's in rush hour. I would have guessed half that. I like blue ribbon koi. FWIW, I don't really trust any of them as much as wamas. Looks like you are off to a great start!

I think mine munch on my clove polyps once in awhile...really only if I don't feed them. I try to make sure everyone gets a pellet or mysis.

Blenny...black combtooth or sailfin? By the way, do you have a stocklist anywhere?

Funny headline. Must have been a slow news day!

Gotcha both beat - a five year old and two teenagers at the same time! All girls. Let me tell you...enjoy the early years!

Great start - it's awesome that you are sharing all that you've learned. Imagine the level of expertise you will have with a few more years under your belt! ;-)

I read at one point that because most aquarium pumps have electomagnetic impellers, that they can be finicky with generators because generator energy (i assume portable) is not as smooth. Any experience there, or does a surge protector help?

With the first bit of winter upon us, I was wondering what everyone's contingency plans are for short term and extended power outages in cold weather. I have hand warmers and battery operated air pumps, plus a converter for the car if need be (I have 2 nanos and a pico). Do you raise your heater a bit? Any hints (besides a generator!)?

I agree with all of the advice, but have one more to add...set a budget! It's very easy to get carried away, especially with sps. People will happily suggest gadgets that are "necessary" (and some are). It can be more expensive, though I have seen successful small SPS systems do great with regular water changes and very little dosing. Find out which ones are easiest, or better yet, what you're likely to see growth on within a year. If you're planning to move you may not see many results before dismantling it if you pick a slow grower. A small system can be alot of fun, but I'm sure you know you'll be limited. Not a problem, but think ahead about what you want in the tank. Take into account aggression, both chemical and tentacles. Also lighting. If you like lps and zoas and you upgrade to intense lighting, you will kill it all. What type of owner are you? Do you spend lots of time tinkering and researching, or do you get enjoyment with minimal intervention. Are you fine with target feeding? How much time and effort per week would you like to spend on the tank? It will be much easier to offer advice if you have some initial direction.

Have you had an Oscar before? I mean that honestly, not trying to be rude at all. A 3 1/2 inch Oscar in. 10 gallon is fine for very, very short term. They grow extremely quickly and are very messy. Expect an average growth of an inch a month until 8 or 9 inches - more if it's well fed. The sterilizer is a great solution, but you could also solve your issue by moving it to a much bigger tank immediately. The 46 gallon may get you through another 6 months, but I would expect 4 is more likely, especially with another couple of fish in there (that both also get large). Also increase the filtration capacity and check the filter media more often. Your current lighting is definitely alot of light for freshwater. Nice, but it won't help the algae problem. I know it's frustrating - those algae blooms set in quickly. Oscars are a fun fish to have with great personalities!

Having never run an sps system or one this big, take this with a grain of salt... Wouldn't throwing a refugium at it be just taking care of symptoms? I would think that in an sps system you should be aiming to have the water so clean that macro would have a hard time growing. I think Sharkey is right that something more is going on. 25% water changes should have an impact, unless that source isn't pristine. What are, and have been, parameters? Water source? I agree on the skimmer.

Oscars are just plain messy. I don't know how you have it set up, but I wouldn't attempt anything natural (plants, logs) in an Oscar tank. It takes heavy cleaning and consistent water changes, especially in a 10 gallon. The smallest I've ever had a baby oscar in was a 29 gallon. They grow very fast and the bioload is very high. What's your long term plan for tanks? 200 gallons of 3 different types of tanks is going to take a lot of commitment (and a supportive family! )

Wow. Are you sure he wasn't joking?

Ha! I'd say a marine biotope. The oscar will outgrow a 40 in no time and you'd have to upgrade again (i miss having Oscars!). The bowfront would make a cool planted tank. Just my two cents...

Congratulations! Good choices!

You will always have pop ups if the type of xenia you have reproduces that way - no way to stop that. Does your xenia reproduce very quickly? I have one that is very aggressive - it's amazing how quickly the base heals and starts growing new stalks. I am constantly fighting it. If it happens to be close to another rock it will attach within a couple of days. I have to prune it every couple of weeks. The other type I have is much smaller and compact and hardly spreads at all. Stay on top of new growth - I agree with aggressively using epoxy to cover the base after you cut it off, and make sure you turn off powerheads while you are trimming. It's not fun to have a fragged piece get lodged deep in the rock after zooming off in the flow after being cut. They always land where you can't reach them! I always run carbon for a day or so after fragging if I do it in the tank. Keep your live rock at least 4-5 inches away from your glass if you don't want it spreading there.

Yeah, I thought that too, but it just didn't look like ick. Either way, the two clowns look perfectly healthy and have remained that way for a week or so. So how do I proceed knowing that I will never be positive what it was? Would it be worth it to put them in a bare hospital tank (and treat "proactively"), while letting the tank run fishless? Or just let it be? I may want to add another little fish at some point and am not sure when it would be relatively safe, or when I could transfer corals out of there.