BMW1600

Thanks!

I'm trying to get a frame of reference for the quantity of food I put into my tank. 54 gal bowfront, HOB skimmer, live rock/sand, no sump, frequent water changes. I have a couple shrimp, a cleanup crew, maybe six smaller fish, and a mix of LPS/SPS. I think when I started I was waaaaay overfeeding. Now my practice is to throw in a frozen cube of something every other day, and on about half the "off" days I'll throw in a pinch of granular, high-quality fish food. Just as an off-the-cuff reaction, does this sound like I still might be overfeeding? I don't have any algae issues to speak of (some stuff on the glass that needs cleaning every five or so days...some fine, very short and grey-ish something/algae scattered around. Nitrates are still not zero but are getting lower with consistent water changes. Thanks! Dave

My daughter and I swung by for the first time on Saturday after visiting the Udvar-Hazy Center. My tank is almost full so I just got a couple frags (nice green birdsnest and a trumpet) and some chemicals but was very impressed with the selection. We especially enjoyed ogling the display tank by the door and the quarantine tank. Dave

I'm a noob myself, only had my tank since this spring. Don't rush to add fish. ASK ME HOW I KNOW. It's sad and expensive lesson.

Thanks for the replies. If I was to get a an Ecoxotic strip, what length? 12"? Keeping in mind, of course, that my fixture is not that long to begin with. edit: also, any options for the transformer? The Ecoxotic one is as much as a strip! It seems absurd for a simple transformer.

Here's a pic I took tonight; in case it is not apparent, my lighting is "cool" and I am not happy with my color "pop." It's almost like a constant camera flash, if that makes any sense. I have ATI Blue Plus (x2), Aquablue Special, and Purple Plus. 24Wx4. What should I swap? I know I am limited with my fixture, but if anyone has a suggestion I would appreciate it. It sucks seeing some of these frags under LEDs where they are almost glowing only to bring them home and see them "flat" :/ Thanks! Dave

I bought a generator earlier this year just to save the tank

So my wife doesn't kill me. The "oh I just happened by" works a lot better for me!

I have to think of a plausible excuse to be up that way.

You guys are fast Thanks. As you can see it's more or less shielded by liverock. I have a corner tank and some Fiji branch coral stretching out (you can see it in the background) from the "front" display pile to the rear of the tank. Think it would be better on that?

Another case of "newbie buying pretty stuff and flinging it in the tank" :o I think this has shrunk a bit, but I completely forgot what it's called so I can't research it and figure out what to do. Any ideas? Thanks! Dave

Thanks I should really spring on a sump before I get another light I suppose!

Thanks for the comments. No hood, just an acrylic cover that covers probably 2/3 of the top. The back is open for air/hang-on stuff. I will try moving the light around in the meantime. If I was to go with a pendant, would you folks suggest a 150w?

So here's my tank. I have a Deep Blue 4x29 T5 on it. (This was all a gift.) The light sits near the wide/front end of the tank near the front. Obviously this leaves a lot of tank without direct light. I also am not sure the light is enough for what's directly below it. Anyway, would it make sense for me to switch to something like a single MH pendant hung over the middle? With a bowfront I just don't know what other options I have. I also want to keep it simple and not intrusive visually since (i) my wife would kill me and (ii) the tank is in the living room near the TV. Thanks, Dave

I'm a newbie member (as of today, finally paid up, lol) and I wanted to echo all these comments.

You can also run Sta-Bil in your gas tank to act as a fuel stabilizer so you don't have to run it dry. http://www.amazon.com/STA-BIL-22214-Fuel-Stabilizer-oz/dp/B000B68V6I

Power inverter can run all sorts of stuff off your car battery if you get a reasonably sized one. I ran my pumps/filters for about 30 each minutes early Sat AM before I got a generator. Of course this is only practical if you have a garage and/or can park near your window or door.

Unless you have a way to cut your main feed to your house I think this is a really bad idea. I believe the power can bleed back up the line and kill any lineman who may be working to restore your power. They are not generally expecting live lines downstream of an outage :/ I sat up a few hours after the storm running pumps with a power inverter off the car battery, then got up early and went to Home Depot and got a generator. Everything came through perfectly. I had a supply of frozen water bottles that I deployed a few times to keep the temps down. Those and fans on each tank saved everything. I don't think my reed tank ever got over 80.3. Dave Manassas

One more for now, after I surprised my brittle star and turned on the lights during his dark morning saunter around the tank.

Thanks! Everything I got from you is doing great. Thanks for the extra line and valve, too, I was able to figure it out and drip acclimate everything a lot easier.

At the urging of the Quantum Reefs guys I figured I'd make a post I stopped by there last weekend and stocked up some more. We were given a 55 gallon corner tank a couple of months ago - complete, running system. The POs had hired someone to advise them/care of it and the guy just didn't know what he was doing, apparently, and they got sick of stuff dying. I changed the substrate, re-arranged some things, adjusted some things, etc. and I think I have a handle on it now. I have made some mistakes and lost some fish (put them in too early) and an anemone (h. crispa, stressed out from Petco, I let the temperature get too high for a couple days and he never got over it) but my corals are doing great Right now for fishies all I have is a cardinalfish and a chromis. I want to get a couple more clowns (I lost my first two :() and an anemone. I have bought most of my frags from Aquatic Obsession/Cozy Clownfish since they are just down the road from me. My kids and I really enjoy popping in. Some random pics. These are from my phone so they are nothing special. Cheers, Dave Manassas