Brian's Aquarium Care

It is a new carbide tipped bit on a corded drill.

Yes, the second bit I tried is carbide tipped. It is just a standard Dewalt power drill.

I have seen a bunch of people use acrylic rods to stack rocks in ways they otherwise wouldn't be stable. I was told by a couple people to just use a wood drill bit but that didn't work. I then ordered a masonry/stone/tile bit which was better but doesn't seem to work as well as I would have thought. Do I just have harder than usual rock or is there a better bit people have used?

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate all the feedback. It has given me a lot to think about. At this point I think I am going to go one last time, have at least one of them sign the form explicitly stating they release me of all liability for any damage if the stand collapses, I have recommended they replace the stand, they will not replace it at this time', etc. They haven't paid for the last visit yet and specifically asked when I could come acclimate the fish they were ordering against my recommendation (they don't know how to acclimate), and see if the release of liability scares them in to no longer using me (it being their decision would make the whole process easier). I will also reiterate the issues with the tank, and some time early next week probably call to let them know I can no longer provide service.

I have given them options, including the nice Marineland Monterey stands and canopies, but wood is 'too common'. Apparently they saw an aquarium with stone cabinetry somewhere (I couldn't see anything on the picture she tried to show me, I am guessing it was a custom built-in in a hotel or something). So I am trying to get some pricing on something like this, and to figure out exactly what they want in the first place. They don't like the pricing for everything (labor for switch out, new whole setup, etc.), yet they are asking for pricing for a custom stone finished setup which I told them would probably be at least 2-3x the cost of the Monterey.

Education is severely needed, part of the problem in why they bought a Moorish idol. Honestly, these people are clueless. He thought topping off was water changes so when I started the tank hadn't had a water change in at least 6 months, probably much longer. This was a hair algae tank. I was pulling out clumps so large I thought they were powerheads, only to find nothing but algae. Same thing on the rocks, I thought it was a ledge that stuck out from the rocks, probably five pounds of rock, it was really just hair algae. The hair algae is sucking up the nutrients so the chaeto isn't growing. Even when their tank leaks he won't walk across the room for me to show him what caused it so he doesn't need to call me in for an emergency visit for something that can be fixed in two minutes. They don't watch their fish eat. The Moorish idol was eating well for me for a few weeks in a row before last week, but he only eats it as it falls. So you have to feed little by little. This guy just dumps it all in at once so the other more aggressive fish eat it as it goes down and once it hits the bottom the idol isn't getting anything. Last time I am trying to tell them both about how I will not be surprised if in two weeks they call me telling me the tank collapsed. They both just keep saying 'we want more fish'. I say to worry about the stand, so she pulls out her iPad to liveaquaria and asks which fish she can get. Even though I have told her twice no butterflies she has one on the list. They just don't listen. Sorry this turned in to more of a rant, it is refreshing to talk to people who actually care and know how this situation should be going. I think another release of liability explicitly mentioning the stand collapsing is exactly what I will do. I will have them sign it this time and refuse to touch the tank from now on if they don't sign it.

Thank you, that is exactly the kind of stuff I like to find. Yes, I am looking for stock type photos. I may not have an amazing shot of a flame wrasse or something like that, but if someone on here does I could still use it on the site as an example of the type of fish my clients would be able to have. Yes, we do the maintenance. Right now the load is getting pretty heavy though so I am looking for either an employee or independent contractor to help keep the expansion going.

They are definitley pushing me in that direction. I am hoping it is just an issue of them actually getting it and getting more realistic expectations (you can't turn around a tank with giant chunks of hair algae floating around in it overnight, especially when you don't tell me you turned off the filter for a week). If it continues this way that may be exactly what happens.

Ideally, yes, they would all be mine. I just don't have enough that are good enough and I know tons of people on here have some amazing things. Even if every shot didn't come out of my tanks it lets people know the kinds of stuff they can have and what I can do for them. So do you have have pics or no?

Alive, skimmy, but alive. I got it eating New Life Spectrum 2mm Thera+A. However, a day or so after my visit last week it somehow started pulling air and rather than topping off or calling me he just unplugged the return pump all week. That on top of apparently someone switched the timer to outlet on so the lights have been on 24 hours a day for at least a week, and of course yesterday the idol wouldn't eat. Of course the guy can't figure out why the tank is still a hair algae farm... Again, it's a shame I can't stop people from doing negligent things. I can only make my recommendations and do what they are willing to pay for. Their stand is literally falling apart but they are insistent on adding more fish, that's their priority. I am scared to stand behind it, but 'let's get more fish in and if you won't bring them we will order them from LiveAquaria, when can you be here to acclimate them?'.

I agree that the best thing would be 2x4s with natural looking tile to finish it off. I am just hoping to get in touch with a couple people who have had or done this, get pricing, and see if that is what the client actually wants to pay for.

I have a client with a 175 bow, but the stand is crumbling out from under the tank (bottom of one piece is twice as wide as it should be from water damage). They don't like nice wood stands because they are 'too common'. They saw a tank somewhere that had a custom stone finish. I couldn't see anything from the pics so I couldn't tell if it was a stand with a stone finish to it or if the tank was built in to the structure which happened to be stone/tile. I am guessing the best option will be a custom wood stand that has stone tiles on it. If anyone has any sources for someone who could do this please let me know.

I am setting up a site for aquarium maintenance and I would like to include high quality photos of fish, corals, and inverts. If you have any photos that you would like included on such a site please PM me.

Update: It looks good so far. I was expecting an emaciated and stressed fish but he looks good so far. The client says it will eat some of the New Life Spectrum, but there are also a lot of pineapple sponges. Either way he is finding something to eat, his stomach looked good. Fingers crossed, we will see how it goes.

I agree. It was my first visit to the client and they had already made the order before I even did the initial welcome visit (I didn't even know a Moorish Idol was coming until I saw it in the bag). I am afraid these people simply want what they want and now (they doubled the number of fish in their tank last Saturday with that shipment and are already asking me to bring more). I was sad just acclimating the poor thing because I know there is almost no chance for it, it has a death sentence on its head just for being beautiful.