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ArtC
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Posts posted by ArtC
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I'm making the drive down from Baltimore this afternoon.
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The complicated part is that I've managed to get a leak on the inside of my tank
which will call for either a simple but risky repair or a complex but risky one.
All ideas welcome!
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I probably do have enough gear around from the old days to do everything the the AIO sump does.
Or find somebody to build me a new tank with the same dimensions.
I see I'm starting to readjust to the hobby's spending logic.
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Buying the panel would be easy, but replacing it would require removing the RSM sump from the back. That's eight other pieces of glass!
On the other hand, because the sump is built into the back of the tank, there is water on both sides of the panel and not much force on it. Maybe I can just glue a new panel over the old one from the fish side.
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After being out of the hobby for a couple of years, I bought a used RSM 250 with chiller and LifeReef sump/skimmer from a guy at work for $750.
bought live rock, cooked it, replaced noisy fans and mounts, checked out the rest of the electronics.
Filled the tank with FW to see how the temperature ran. Cool enough that maybe I could sell the chiller.
On the second day, water on the floor. Back panel of the tank had cracked - in the one area that had not RSM sump behind it, but air and electrical.
So do I find a bare RSM 250, try to replace the middle panel of the tank, or part the whole thing out and buy a goldfish?
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I remember Sanjay giving a talk on backup systems at MACNA (Orlando?). He's an engineer and gave a system engineering failure analysis. Basically said that the more parts you put in your tank the more things that can go wrong. Your backup system gets exercised (tested) very little, so it tends to be the least reliable component. He was using his own backup design as an example.
My suggestion is to keep the human in the loop. Set up your controller, but instead of giving it control over emergencies have it contact you when it detects a problem so you can deal with it correctly. Don't automate the backup heater unless the primary failure will result in sudden death (and the two heaters together can't cook the tank.)
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A few years back I was running GBs for filter socks because my brother is in commercial filtration. I asked him about washing socks, and he said that he only had one customer who washed filter socks, and they were buying two new washing machines a year just for socks.
So my advice is not to wash them too often, and especially not with the washer packed with them. Front loading washers will probably not have the same problems as the top loaders (with the agitator in the middle.)
Definitely no soap - the rinse cycle won't get all the soap out.
Standard bleach is sodium hypochloride (NaClO), so it will just break down into sodium and chloride ions. Of which you already have plenty, if you are posting here. So no problem using it to wash socks.
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It's been a long, long time since there was any business relationship between HOT and Exotic Aquatics. Separately owned and operated.
One issue I've had with HOT was selling fish that really won't make it in an aquarium. Check your fish book first.
If you are in the HOT area, check out Sea Save on Route 2. An interesting place, but don't get them talking about saving the ocean...http://www.seasave.net/ They mostly sell fish to order - you pick them up in the same bag they flew in. Also they raise their own Bangaiis.
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Just an update that as Naga's business has been picking up he has been working to clear up some old issues.
Jeff made another payment on this issue last week. Still a way to go, but he hasn't walked away from it.
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As NAGA mentioned above, he did make a first (cash) payment on the outstanding balance just before Christmas.
Jeff did ask me to remember that my posting about this issue didn't help him develop new business and new income. I appreciate and considered the impact on Jeff and myself before starting this thread, but eventually decided that I also had some responsibility to the other club members. After several months of inaction, I warned Jeff that I was about to start this thread, but that I'd post both the negative and positive developments.
I am confirming that money was received and therefore I haven't initiated more formal collection procedures.
It would take a number of payments equal to the one Jeff made to clear the balance, but it is a start. To try to get this issue off the table, I'll make an offer to Jeff. Any money paid during January 2009 will be credited as $2 for every $1 cash received.
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NAGA did contact me a week ago that he would have some money for me on the 15th - he even faxed the deposit receipt that showed checks deposited and the hold until the 15th.
But on the 15th, he was MIA again and hasn't answered my e-mail since.
So filing bad check charges at the Anne Arundel courthouse is back on my to-do list.
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'Essential' amino acids are those that an organism needs but cannot produce for itself using other amino acids. Therefore an organism must obtain essential amino acids from its food or environment.
Assuming that some amino acids are sometimes a limiting factor in coral growth, that all coral species require the same essential amino acids and that the products actually contain said amino acids...
The other unknown is whether the biology of everybody's tanks are sufficiently similar so that they are deficient in the same amino acids.
Otherwise it's like discussing whether an anti-fungal medication is 'better' than an anti-bacterial medication.
BW Part A will work for Reefer 1 whose tank is deficient in amino acid X and BW Part C will work for Reefer 2 whose tank is deficient in amino acid Y. Prodibio would be the equivalent of a 'broad spectrum' treatment, which still wouldn't work if you didn't have a disease to begin with
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Jeff did contact me last week to say he intended to pay half of the $1200 yesterday, but yesterday e-mailed that he was having some trouble cashing his customer's check and needed a couple more days.
Status: eight months, zero dollars.
I told him I would be filing bad check charges on Thursday if I didn't see some cash by then.
Not happy to be in this position, but $1200 is almost the after-tax value of this year's raise. (Non-profit employer)
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I believe this is what you're looking for....
Yes, we are looking for something that isn't there
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I have to say I agree with both sides on this one.
The tanks look horrible to humans (especially to city humans) but that doesn't mean that the fish are unhappy with them either for chemistry or aptasia. Aptasia isn't a sign of fish disease and not necessarily a sign of excess nutrients. In Roozen's tanks some of those aptasia could be as old as sequoias.
Calfo's coral prop book goes on for a hundred pages about how the most cost and energy efficient structure for commercial coral raising is a greenhouse. And that's what Roozen's is using.
Everybody's book says if things in your tank are good don't change it. Nobody does less changing than Roozens.
Lots of fish die all along the chain, but are they dying faster at Roozens because they've just made a long trip from LA, because Roozens water is worse, or are they doing better than at other places but Roozens is a bit slower at cleaning out the corpses? Probably only the stores that buy from Roozens have enough experience to say. And they must be selling to other businesses, because they sell little in the store and nothing online, yet they've been in business for years. And it's not on dry goods sales - I was looking at their test kits last time and most had long since expired on the shelf.
Personally, I don't buy fish because they are exotics, the live rock in the bins has no living matter except for the aptasia, the experienced buyers play tag team when asking for prices, and if I have to pay an inflated price I'd much rather it goes to the people at any of a half-dozen stores where they treat me like a customer and a person .
But if you are on a treasure hunt looking for an exotic then they are going to provide more surprises than anybody in the neighborhood.
I just don't like the experience of shopping at Roozens - I haven't had trouble with such stock as I've bought.
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Well, maybe I'm not as nice as all that but there wasn't any getting money from Jeff when he didn't have any money.
This thread is my way of reminding him it will remain a public issue until it's resolved. Which everybody would like to see soon.
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Jeff contacted me about getting out of arrears, saying business is picking back up and that he'd be able to make a payment within 30 days. I'll post again then.
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And UV has limited applicability.
It's at its best preventing things from getting from one tank to another in a shared circulation system.
In one tank, a lot of pest organisms don't have a planktonic life cycle that allows all/most of them to get zapped. Think of putting out a bug zapper to kill ants.
On the other hand, if you are using aptasia as a biologic filter...
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Socks aren't designed for reuse, so whatever extended life you get out of them is bonus. The single-ply socks will wash a lot better than the felt type.
Commercially, the labor and capital equipment costs of washing them exceeds the initial cost. (In quantity, washing filter socks is rough on your washing machine.)
As NRehman mentioned, melting any loose threads will do wonders to keep the socks from unraveling.
Bleach probably isn't going to shorten the life of poly socks much - the material was selected for harsher environments than a washing machine.
A little bleach probably isn't much of a danger to your tank anyway -3-6% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) in pure bleach, so after diluting in the wash, rinsing, and spinning, you have tiny amounts of very dilute Na, Cl, and O and will consume a few H+ ions. But go to the Reef Chemistry forum if you want to know how much bleach is safe to add to your tank.
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Whenever Jeff makes any full or partial payment, I will post that information.
I would like to publicly apologize to Art as I am emabarrassed and sympathetic for what Art has had happen to him. I clearly owe Art the money and I have little excuse for having bounced a check other than it was not intentional. I will make Art whole in this matter and hope to do this very soon. He has been more than patient and I have not been able to pay him what he is owed. My PM box is full and I did not get his PM but, that does not change the situation as he has been very patient.
I have simply overextended myself recently taking on some expansion and have fallen short. There are other people I owe money here too but, not involving returned checks. I have been trying to keep in touch with those that I still owe money to keeping them informed of payments to be sent and my situation as a whole. I am attempting to scale back down to where I was before liquidating assets I have recently acquired. It was a gross error in my judgiment to have been doing this expansion so close to the financial edge. I will slowly get back into things but, for now I am limited on what I can do. Those that need to get in touch with me that have not heard from me can contact me at 410-703-5383 and I can address your needs then.
I would like to say in addtion to all of that that WAMAS has been very good to me in helping me and my company grow and thank the organization as a whole as well as the individuals I have worked with. It will take a while for some folks to forgive or forget what is read hear and can only say that I am doing the best I can and will work hard to restore some sense of credibility here.
regards,
Jeff
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My 39g CAD just arrived, and I'm wondering where's the best place to get LR.
Previously I got most of it at Dr. Mac, but he's cut back to just Walt Smith Fiji.
I'm in an apartment now, so it's probably better if I get rock that's at least partially cured!
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When I broke down my tank in preparation for moving, NAGA bought all my LR and livestock for $1200.
That was in April. I haven't seen a dime yet. His check bounced twice, I went by his shop several times since then, and each time he promised to deliver at least partial payment at my nearby home on some specific day. On which day I wouldn't see him, and after which I wouldn't hear from him. He did try to sign some customer checks over to me (about half the $1200), but when my credit union wouldn't take them without Jeff present I had to give them back to him to deposit himself. And I never saw anything from that.
I finally gave him a week's notice (by voice mail and WAMAS PM) that I was going to post a review and file in small claims court if he didn't get back to me by yesterday. And again I didn't hear from him. (You can check that he's been on WAMAS today via his member info.)
I hear he's had other complications, and if I can't get by without $1200 for a couple of months then I'm in the wrong hobby. But the combination of not making good on any of the the debt and repeatedly not showing up when he told me to my face he'd show up is too much.
NAGA has never made any objection as to the condition/survival of the livestock, or made any suggestion that the transaction wasn't good.
He does make nice tanks - maybe he's overextended due to the big CAD/CAM system he bought to cut them. But for now, I recommend you not sell anything to him unless you get cash up front.
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Cliff,
Why not try it since several people believe it works.
I'm planning to do it AGAIN tomorrow just to put this (or me) to rest.
I'm a 12.5' run and I have everything to do it.
Plus, being a HVDD skimmer, mine really draws a ton of air so actually pulling it that far will not be an issue.
Randy believes it works, and that's usually good enough for me!
But he describes a test you can do to find out if your living space has higher than ambient CO2 (which is more common than not.) So you can tell if there's a potential benefit before you run the pipe.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php
"The Aeration Test" section
Job posting for aquarist in MD - relevant degree needed
in General Discussion
At Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, posting 21299
https://tas-jhuapl.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=21299&tz=GMT-04%3A00&tzname=
• Have a B.S. in marine biology, zoology, aquaculture or a similar field.
• Have demonstrated the ability to establish and maintain marine environments.
• Have basic proficiency with wet-lab techniques (e.g. pipetting, solution making, autoclaving).
• 1-4 years of experience in a laboratory setting.
• Are able to obtain a Top Secret security clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified information. Eligibility requirements include U.S. citizenship.
You'll go above and beyond our minimum requirements if you...
• Have experience with marine invertebrate biology and cultivation of r-selected marine organisms.
• Have experience setting up new facilities focused on saltwater environments.
• Have experience growing marine plants and marine microorganisms. (You can grow algae, can't you?)
I have no idea why the security clearance is needed, and I won't guess in case I'm accidentally right.