AlanM

I've added two more fish. I got a tailspot blenny from Reef Escape and a royal gramma from monkiboy at ERC. Both are doing great. Both are a little cryptic and like their caves, but I'll try to get a shot soon when everyone is out. I think that's about it for fish. The clownfish seem to have paired up and decided to share the same bubble-tip anemone. They spend a lot of time in it and as a result the nem is getting bigger and looks happier. Less bubbly and more spread out, though.

I did a 30% water change last night and added carbon. The water is beautiful today and the sand and rocks are very clean. So far no visible losses. Now to see if the clean rocks last. 8) I'll do another large water change this weekend just because I have it. I made up 50g of water before doing the chemiclean just in case. I keep considering adding a display refugium next to it to put the mantis shrimp in with some macro algae and rocks to get it out of my sump so I could actually see it. Aqueon makes inexpensive 14g frameless cubes that would fit right on an end table I have which could look nice. I'd drill it for an overflow, put the supply over the edge, and light it with a daylight spectrum planted tank light.

I would not do it. There are rimless 40 gallons and higher, but they are specifically designed to hold that way with thicker glass and higher tolerance on the seams. It would probably hold for a while, but it's a big risk.

I'll take one of those emperor angels. It will be fine in my 20 gallon right? (kidding, of course. They're beautiful)

Yeah, I don't know what all the Erythromycin will take out. At least that seems to be the consensus for what chemiclean is. So far all of the (visible) inverts are fine including zoas, LPS and SPS corals, sponges, bristleworms, porcelain crabs, hermit crabs, one remaining gorilla crab (just saw him months after I thought they were all gone), cleaner shrimp, urchin, nassarius, cerith, astrea snails, etc. And the clowns seem like they don't notice either. I don't think lots of bio diversity can prevent the cyano bloom. Honestly the TBS liverock was pretty dirty and surely had a lot of die-off and is much more full of nutrients than "clean" dry rock would have. It does add some fun fauna and gives you a jump start on a variety of aspects of the new tank cycle, but it doesn't create a pristine healthy environment to immediately start having success. It's possible that I could have worked it out over time with some combo of what people try to prevent it: live phyto, MB7, low-dose peroxide, lanthanum, tons of flow, blackouts, UV, constant siphoning out for months, the list goes on.

After struggling for a month with daily sessions with the turkey baster to get green cyano off the rocks and sand I broke down and added the recommended dose of chemi-clean yesterday afternoon. I'm not doing a blackout, but did dim the lights way down. As of today nearly all of the green cyano is gone. Nothing else seems affected. I took the cup off the skimmer and opened the valve all the way and even with that it's still rising up and spilling out of the body. I also opened the gate valve on my drain all the way so that there's a bunch of agitation as the water descends from the pumps and turned the vortech powerheads up higher. The ORP plummeted through the night but seems to have stabilized today. It's not decreasing anymore. Tomorrow evening will be 48 hours. I have 20 gallons of water prepared for my 30 gallons of total water. I'll do a few 20% water changes one per day and then see where I'm at with the cyano. Fingers crossed, but so far it looks pretty good.

Looks great Mike!

Event: WAMAS Summer 2023 Meeting (in person, not streamed) Saturday, July 22, 2023 Time: 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM (Speaker starts at 3 PM) Where: Green Acres Center, 4401 Sideburn Rd., Fairfax, VA WAMAS members get in free. Guests are $5 each (paid at the door). Join WAMAS at this link. Refreshments provided by WAMAS. Note that this meeting starts a little bit later than our normal meetings. Officers and other volunteers will not have access to the facility until 1:00pm to begin setting up (we normally arrive at around 11:45am), so anyone arriving before 2:00pm may have to wait outside or may be put to work inside. Please be patient at the start because everything may not be ready at 2pm. Speaker: Dr. Sanjay Joshi, Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State Sanjay Joshi has been an expert voice in reef aquarium lighting for over 30 years, online and in person. He was a pioneer of aquarium lighting from the early days of LED lights, is the keeper of the 500 gallon Penn State reef tank as well as a 500 gallon tank at his home. He regularly gives invited talks at conferences such as MACNA and Reefstock, publishes in Coral Magazine, Advanced Aquarist, and others, and comes to clubs like WAMAS to share his knowledge. If there is a question you have about your tank lighting and it's ability to keep your livestock happy, Sanjay will likely have the answer. We're very privileged and happy to have him here for our meeting. Topic: LIGHTS, CORAL, ACTION The talk will discuss the basics of lighting as it pertains to reef-keeping, with a focus on understanding light, both in terms of quantity (PAR) and quality (spectrum) and how these are measured and evaluated. We'll discuss how corals use the light and the implications to reef keeping, along with some experimental data collected on my system and recent research results. Agenda: 2:00 Sign-in / socialize / frag sales 2:50 Club business 3:00 Speaker: Sanjay Joshi 4:00 Break 4:30 Raffle! Directions to the Green Acres Center: Green Acres Center is next to George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Here's a map from Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/neGSWGJ2G8APuh5k8 Special thanks to theses sponsors. Please support them & say thanks next time you shop with them. You can find their website address by visiting their forum or the sponsor page on the WAMAS website. WAMAS Platinum Sponsors - Air, Water & Ice - AquaHaus - Avast Marine - Blue Ribbon Koi - Capital Aquarium - ChemiPure (Boyd Enterprises) - Coral Magazine - Dr. Mac's Pacific East Aquaculture - Exotic Reef Creations - FishnReef.com - Frank's Tanks - ICP Analysis - Maxspect - Premium Aquatics - Puddle Aquatics - Reed Mariculture (Reef Nutrition) - Reef eScape - Reef Nerd Aquatics - SaltwaterAquarium.com - Supreme Reefs WAMAS Banner-Only Sponsors - Cobalt Aquatics - Jellyfish Art - MASNA - Two Little Fishies 2023 virtual meeting support provided by Eureka Strategic Consulting, Discover the Extraordinary. Raffle Prizes $50 Gift Certificate for Reef Nutrition products (with $40 bump-up for shipping). (2 chances to win!) $100 Gift Certificate for Reef Nutrition products (with $40 bump-up for shipping). $25 Gift Certificate for fish from Exotic Reef Creations. (4 chances to win!) The Plank Autofeeder from Avast Marine. $209 value. 1 chance to win! VorTech MP40wqd powerhead. $430 value. 1 chance to win. Handmade soap from Silverbook Soaps. $15 value. 2 chances to win! Acropora coral frag. $40 value. 1 chance to win $75 livestock gift certificate from Blue Ribbon Koi. (3 chances to win!) Many frags from members selling to win in raffle! More raffle prizes to be announced. Sponsors On Site, Selling AquaHaus Avast Marine Members On Site, Selling @copps @SkiCurtis @Samayoa @ReefdUp @ECreefer More to be added. Stay tuned!

I'd run the water level in the external box higher so that the entire passthrough bulkheads are submerged. It will be quieter that way and even if the steady state flow is up pretty close to the top of the external box it will never overflow because both of those emergency drains will convert into siphons first. I'd also put two 90 degree fittings on the full siphon drain instead of just leaving it pointing up at the sky like that. So make kind of a U shape coming up from the bulkhead and then facing down. That will keep it from making a whirlpool in the box when the flow is going good. You should be able to run a silly amount of flow through that one full siphon drain with the adjustable gate valve on it.

You're killing me with these great fish. I should have set up a bigger tank.

shim city. 8) Wonder if you could get some self leveling compound to pour in the middle of it now that it's leveled all over so you wouldn't have to worry about the shims getting loose. Or maybe some sanded grout or thinset shoved under the bottom 2x4's.

I'm not sure. I did it all online. He has a system where you send measurements and drawings and then someone contacts you and sends a CAD file for you to approve.

Still just feeding the cleanup crew here. The hair algae all went away on its own. Coralline has started on powerheads and other areas so I assume that's what is happening. I am still getting a layer of green cyano on all of the sand because I have very little stirring of it that happens. As I add livestock and things to move it around a little more I bet that will subside. The big news in our house is that I'm now ready for fish. I got a Clearview lid delivered today made by Adam (formerly Artfully Acrylic). It fits absolutely perfectly with about a 1/16" gap on both sides of the frame, so I don't have to worry about jumpers (or nerite snails) on the floor. It even has a cutout for the overflow box top that still lets me access it. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

One more additional raffle item: 4kg of REBORN Calcium Reactor Media ($40 value) Donated by Two Little Fishies!

Also for the raffle, we have two 2-packs of 120 gram jars of Maxspect Professional Coral Putty. That's a $40 value. A 100% reef safe Coralline Algae Colored Coral Putty that can be used underwater. This two-part silicone-based coral putty cures in 3 minutes. No foul odor, will not cloud the water, and will not cause the protein skimmer to overflow. Can be used for both marine and freshwater aquariums. The color of the putty allows it to blend in with its surroundings making it easier to hide than other forms of adhesives used in aquariums. It is recommended to use a minimal amount since most corals will grow over the adhesive in a matter of weeks.

I'm happy to drive up there to help, at some point Mike. I'm not that beefy, but I bet we could hoist it up there with a bit of discomfort. I'm down the road in Gaithersburg and in office 5 days a week, but can duck out at some point or come on a weekend.

Donation by platinum sponsor SaltwaterAquarium.com: TLF Coral Dip & Foods Pack ($40 value)

Lynn at Reef Nerd Aquatics is donating two coral packs worth $150 each for the raffle. Thanks, Lynn!

If a member or sponsor wants to sell on-site at the meeting please send me a PM @AlanM to help us coordinate. We also plan to have a table designated at the meeting as a "Meet up spot" for advance sales to meet each other and exchange items.

Reef2Rainforest Media has just donated TEN one-year subscriptions to CORAL MAGAZINE to our raffle! Each subscription is a $37 value and includes both a print copy mailed to your home and access to their current Digital Edition. Hailed by critics as “the world’s best reefkeeping magazine,” CORAL is written by leading aquarium experts and marine biologists, lavishly illustrated with breathtaking images, and filled with ideas and inspiration for beginning to expert reefkeepers. Every big issue brings information about • Fish & Invertebrate Species • Reef Life Rarities • World-Class Aquarium Systems • Marine Aquarium Advice — Beginners to Breeders • Tropical Travel & Discovery, Thought-Provoking News, Portraits, Interviews, Technology Updates, and much more.

Raffle items are starting to come in for the meeting in less than a month! First up, is 5 boxes of Fritz Blue RPM Salt, 200g size from ERC. These were very popular during the recent group buy, so I imagine they will be popular choices in the raffle.

Maybe you aren't waiting long enough when mixing NSW before measuring SG to add it and it isn't fully dissolved. Then when you put it in it would be higher than you thought.

Right! I kind of don't miss them yet. It's more casual to just feed the cleanup crew. Just for my own reference I started seeing coralline algae on the plumbing Tuesday. It has been growing on the rocks for a while which came in with it already. I'm not taking heroic measures against hair algae yet a side from physical removal in spots. In my experience once coralline grows on an area it pushes out the hair algae.

Hey, while you have it open you could consider installing white FRP on the back instead of just painting it. It's nice to be able to splash stuff all over and not worry. 8)

Nice stand. Looks very sturdy.