Sugar Magnolia

unbelievable. it sure is gorgeous but I can think of alot of other things I could do with $644.

Wow, only once a month water changes on your nano? I'm one of those people that have always done once a week water changes on my nanos. Heck I still do once a week changes on my not-so-nano 30 cube. Guess that's why I don't get much skimmate eh? Are you interested in parting with a couple of heads of your pink caulestra? I just put a two head green caulestra into my 2.5 nano and it seems to be doing well. I have no shame...I'll beg for corals. hehe

I prefer the Salifert test kits. They are easy to test, easyt to read and very accurate. They are a bit more pricey than some of the others, but I'm quite happy with them so I stick with them.

I prefer the maxi-jets as well.

Lemme know if you want a scoop of live sand to seed your new sandbed. I'd be happy to send you some via USPS ghetto packaging.

I only deal with the emplyees that I know have been there for a long time. When in doubt ask for Tom. FWIW...I've found that buying drygoods online is in most cases cheaper than buying from the Marine Scene...even with shipping and handling factored in. Case and point: Natural Wavemaker at Marine Scene, $94.99. At Petsolutions.com http://petsolutions.com/product.asp?pn=51305700 As far as livestock prices go...still higher than online, but at least I get to see the health of the animals, and what's great is when needed I can paw through the bins of liverock when looking for just that right piece.

Can I make a suggestion? I'd wait a couple more weeks to be sure everything is completely stable. I know you said the readings were down to near zero, but it's not a good idea to rush anything when dealing with salt tanks. Things can crash in an instant for no apparent reason, even with well established tanks. If it were me, I'd wait. Terribly difficult to do, believe me, but in the long run it is well worth it. Since you are on such a limited budget, wouldn't it be prudent (George Bushism there...the elder Bush) to wait rather than rush into things and risk losing expensive livestock? Just my 2 cents.

try Roozens, right there in Fort Washington. http://www.roozens.com/aquaticfront2.htm

You could try a sea hare. I agree about the chemi-pure. works like a charm. I did use the chemi-clean at one point last year and it also worked, but use that as a last resort. beef up the water flow and toss in a few margarita and cerith snails along with the blue and red legs and the astreas. I never had much luck with the astreas. I found the margaritas to be much more productive algae munchers.