Minh B.

I bought 2 tigers from QR and they hide in the sand around morning & come out to munch late afternoon. I've seen them climb my rock work on very rare occasions signifying that they're starving perhaps bc they've already cleaned all the sand. So then I'd drop in a small sheet of nori (preferred) or algae wafer. But I find the snails tend to get to it before the conchs do.

Kyle & Amy, this thread is a list with great ideas & suggestions. But suggestions that your son can read and decide for himself if he wants to experiment on brine shrimp, coral frags, algae, what have him. He may have already chosen to work on paper airplanes so this thread becomes a mute point. As parents, you guys are his supporters & sponsors. If Copernicus conducted experiments on topics his parents or others deemed worthy, he would have died trying to prove the sun revolved around the Earth. PS, just suggestions from an actual tree hugger (I really do hug trees) & scientist. :o)

I used to judge these science projects for high schools and I'm a fan of Steve's idea about global warming and its affect on coral growth, viability, etc. This has mainstream ecological significance and judges are always looking for something that is both visually appealing (as there's also local area science project competitions beyond the school -although I'm not sure for elementary/middle schools) and addresses global issues. Dan does have a point with long term temperature differences affecting reefs over-time and that it may scream "my parents did my experiment". During my graduate school days, I had friends in our PhD program that were looking at long-term biodiversity in reefs and rainforests with respect to global warming or habitat change, and this was a 6-8 year endeavor. But honestly, the majority of the great science projects from 6th graders required adult help and supervision. It wasn't until the high school science projects that I had students contacting us to join our lab for a short period of time to conduct research on our cancer cells, in which case, their parents were not around. To limit the "my parents did my experiment" syndrome, I suggests helping him choose a topic (i.e. coral bleaching commonly observed in acros, coral growth...) and reading books and such on the topic. If he's interested in the topic in terms of temperature or light intensity, have him come up with a hypothesis on his own and write it down (e.g. Null Hypothesis: temperature has no effect on coral growth/bleaching). And even if his hypothesis is wrong (e.g. Hypothesis: corals will bleach at lower temperatures compared to high temperatures), it doesn't matter. As hard as it may be, don't change his hypothesis! His job now is to test whether his hypothesis is rejected/accepted, and he can say so on his report. And the experiment can be as complicated (looking & measuring biodiversity by providing several types of coral for each condition and having him count the number of corals that died or measure the total weight overtime) or as simplistic as he wants and as much money you're willing to give him. Not sure how much time he has, but he can setup a simultaneous short- and long-term study where one tank has temperature graduations that were 3 degrees apart and the other tank 6 degrees apart. He may observe small changes but over a longer period of time in the long-term tank and may see coral bleaching overnight in the short-term tank. Either way, he can have a lot of fun with this and who knows...he may want to become a scientist one day.

I picked up the conchs from QR too once my tank was cycled last month. They are doing a great job of keeping my sandbed pristine.

That's really cool. What's the growth/maturity rate for that baby or how long will it take to get to its mama's size?

Have you tried flushing the line with acetic acid/vinegar and then doing several thorough washes with RODI water? It's possible that if your CaCl2 concentration is high enough, it can be slowly crystalizing and clogging your lines.

Thanks everyone for the wonderful suggestions. I'll keep this in mind for the next anemone addition. Jan, Happyfeet suggest we put together a group order once Fantastic Frags update their list. The website is currently under Demo mode. I'm up for a group order to save $ on shipping & I think you or Happyfeet are more familiar w/the process than I am :o)

Thanks Jan & Tom. I did the Revive as Jan suggested but feel bad trying to mount him on superglue :o( He seems happy and opened up today.

Jan, have you thought about selling some of your Miracle Organic Fish Food? I'd be happy to buy a small pack from you next time I see you.

Woohoo, awesome! Checked out their website. They have some cool stuff. Only thing I noticed was that the website says at the top it's a demo site & no purchases would be processed. Guess we'd have to email them?

Hey Jan! Thanks. Sounds good to me. I'm thinking in the next week or so, maybe? Before temps start dropping/freezing too much? PM me on your plans and we can arrange something. -Minh

I had the pleasure to sit in on the first WAMAS meeting today and was the nerdy one taking notes during the lecture on 'expert fishes'. As you all can see (picture #1), my 90G is pretty barren as I started with the hobby about 2 months ago when I ordered my tank, learned how to plumb it and cycled uncured LR (a pain but definitely worth it in the end). The majority of my equipment was purchased through Steve & Vince at Quantum Reefs. I am thankful for their wealth of knowledge during these last couple months. Now, I'm enjoying the stable water conditions and having fun slowly adding new critters. I was pleased to have won the raffle for the $200 gift certificate to Fantastic Frags (will be using it very soon), the mixture of yummy coral & fish foods (I assume it's yummy, haven't tried it myself) and the softie (picture #2 below) which I forgot the name of and cannot identify. If anyone can help me out, it was one of the red ones given out at the raffle, I'd very much appreciate it (I like to keep a detailed record of all critters I add to the system). I tried to mount it (it probably wasn't meant to be mounted in the first place -yes I know, mistakes from a newbie) and it got all slimy on me, so I put it into a crevice which it seems to be happy in. Anyways, looking forward to the next meeting and I'll try to introduce myself and talk more...I tend to be shy around unfamiliar settings so please don't take it the wrong way. And if there are suggestions, I'm all ears & thankful. Cheers. -MB

Whew [breaths a sigh of relief]. Thanks everyone! Looks like the Aiptasia X won't be used afterall.

Hi everyone. So I'm fairly new but have been cycling my 90G tank with 90 lbs of Vanuatu LR (uncured) for about 2 months now. About a month ago, I notice some life forms start to pop up including a lot of reddish forams and also 3 suspicious lifeforms (pictured below). #1 (about 5-6 mm in diameter) completely retracts into its hole at the slightest shadow, movement or vibration. #2 (about 7 mm in diameter) is not as sensitive but does retract but when it does, its tube is still sticking out (feather duster?). #3 (about 7-9 mm) doesn't seem to retract. All of these so far appear as solo specimens and have not formed colonies (at least not yet). But any thoughts on the ID would be great because I have the Aiptasia X and I'm not afraid to use it. Thanks :o)