fishface

http://www.gwapa.org for planted tanks. It's smaller, but worth a look. FF

For a forum, there's either Greater washington aquatic plants association http://www.gwapa.org or Potomac Valley Aquarium Society (PVAS) (this is bigger) You would really benefit by joining either group and meet others "Freshies" to share and exchange with or buy from. For a local store, call Fins and Feathers in Broadlands, and ask for Sean. FF

I used a brown rubbermaid trash bin, and never had that until recently. So I have no idea why is just showed up now. Anyone else know? I assumed that I over salted the mix and it precipitated, but I can't say one way or the other. Once the cheesy swingarm goes shows over 1.030 then you can't tell. Yeah, I should have a refractometer. FF

Bumping this. Anyone interested in a group buy?

Good question! To work that part out, First you install the bulkhead and then fill the tank to the point where it's starting to come through the overflow to your sump. Then add water to your sump to the point that you want the maximum working water height to be, usually 4-5 or so inches below the top (depending on the sump configuration). That will be your normal max water height. When you turn on the recirculation pump, the water level in the sump will drop, because the tank "holds" additional water as the recirc. pump pushes water up into it. Then add water into the sump to compensate. So you need to be sure that you have enough capacity. Turn off the pump to confirm that you really do. Now that you've determined the water level, run the pump and set your top off, or install a float valve to maintain that level. Keep in mind that when you turn off the recirculation pump (or gulp, the power cuts out or a breaker is tripped), the water level in the sump will actually rise above the cut off point or float. So the sump has to have enough capacity to handle the extra water when the pump goes silent. If your sump is big enough to fit the skimmer (and you have enough space to get it out it to clean it weekly) that

Visit Fins and Feathers. Manager is Sean. Call ahead to check when he is in. He keeps only healthy stock and makes sure all fish are eating, and all polyps extended before it leaves his tanks. He can tell you the history of each colony too. He is well established and has actually beat all prices when I was researching a group buy on clams. He keeps some clams but brought in a Gold Teardrop for me. The distributor ended up only with a larger size, and Sean kept to the original price. The Green Mandarin I just bought from him was already eating frozen mysis. Just call him to make arrangements. FF

Nice one. Why is this brand so cheap compared to the others? And has the added battery function. I was always a little supicous when having to fork out 30 buck for a lousy airpump. FF

Hi there: Everything looks great. All of the things you are asking are good questions. I don't have a Nano or Micro because there is a much narrower band in which to work. Due to the small water volume you have to monitor them closely. I would check out the other forums, ie ReefCentral to get some more opinions. I would only suggest that it may benefit if you could add a sump to increase water volume. If they are near each other, add a sump/fuge below the 55 and so they share a skimmer, calcium supply and top off. (Items that you are probably going to add as you go anyway). To mount frags, buy the coral epoxy. It's like a stick of putty, and you cut off a piece that you think would work and knead it to mix the two parts and stick it on a rock and embed the frag quickly. Regards. FF

Thoughful reply: I was about to reply here because I just bought a ballast kit from Hello lights. I thought that it's a T-5 ballast. So I panicked after seeing my e-mailed invoice and realized it's a VHO. Turned out to be a fine choice. Ian at Hellolights was very helpful. I asked him to compare the two, so it applies to your setup. He clarified that the 48" VHO bulbs put out 110w each, and the Actinic -03 bulb is the best for coral growth and visual flourescence. The T-5's are most effective when you configure them with the individual reflectors. For example you can fit 6 over a 18" wide tank. They are 54w, but with the individual reflectors they are more efficient than vhos. And you can taylor the light properties when mixing a variety of bulbs since you are using 6. (This doesn't apply to your case now, but maybe later on when you revisit this on a bigger tank.) That's just one persons opinion. In my experience though with a 75 gal tank with 2x 250w MH HQI pendants, I was still overheating the tank in the summer if the aircon set back to save power and allowed the room temp to go over 75. I just had to keep cooling at a constant tempurature. -I probably never saved electricity anyway. But I understand that many reefers are using vho's and keeping clams and acros successfully. Use the search feature on the wamas forums for more information. You may find that you stay with the vho's, just add more. The posted thread on the PAR meter would answer your question on which light setup would work best in practice. FF

Thanks everyone! You know, if I could remember 1/2 of all the sites I've been too, or at least find the bookmark for it, I'd be a happy guy. I was rattling my brain for hours. And a search for Florida Macroalgae gave me articles, not stores. Anyway, who's game for pooling an order? Each site has items of interest. The Floridapets site has coraline clusters, something that I was interested in way before seahorses came aboard. Seahorse farms (thanks Larry-T!) has Oysters and mangrove clams. The macro is too expensive there though. But Bills' stuff is nearly all aquacultured. I think his site shows greater dedication because he cultures it, rather than just collecting it. I believe the price difference on the Macro, etc is fair and worth it. Also, he has aquacultured an Ostrich Plume http://billsreef.safeshopper.com/39/188.htm?863 (they spelled it plum). A photosynthetic Gorg, different to the seawhip. And Sea rod. http://billsreef.safeshopper.com/29/5.htm?487 -for kelp And this is also good for horses to hitch to http://billsreef.safeshopper.com/29/69.htm?487 I imagine this is like the FloridaPets "Sea Cactus" -what do you think? And he has kelp. I'd certainly like that in my tanks!! We may pool orders to both places, and therefore can pick and choose. I collected the pricing from Bill's and FloridaPets. I prefer Bills', but he does not carry calcerous plants which some people may want. I hope this helps, rather than making this a large and confusing post. Also, no items have been checked for availablility. Bills' Sea Grass $4.99 6 Pack of Sea Grasses $14.99 12 Pack of Sea Grasses $24.99 24 Pack of Sea Grasses $39.99 Spartina Grass $2.99 1 Lb. Sea Lettuce $24.99 1 Lb. Gracilaria $24.99 1 Lb. Kelp $24.99 1 Lb. Brown Branch Kelp $24.99 1 Lb. Assorted Algaes $24.99 Codium $9.99 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FloridaPets Caulerpa is sold @ $12.49 per pound. Gracilaria $9.99/Bunch Turtle Grass PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL FOR AVAILABILITY! $2.99/ea.plant $15.00/6 plants Shoal Grass $10.49 for 6 plants $19.49/12 plants Manatee grass $5.49 for 3 plants $10.50/6 plants Caulerpa Paspaloides $7.49 for two shoots Big leaf, really nice. Shaving Brush Plant $5.50/ea. 3 for $15.00 Mermaid's Fan $5.50/ea. 3 for $15.00 Coraline algae cluster $5.49/ea Codium Algae A very desirable macro algae- check first! $6.49/ea. 4"-6" piece Burrowing Brittle Star -These stars are collected from under the sand. They just leave the ends of their long legs exposed during the day. At night they come out to forage the surface of the sand bed as well as finding morsels just below the surface. $5.49ea. Ghost Shrimp $5.50/25 shrimp $ 10.00/50 shrimp These shrimp are an excellent food source for just about everything you have. These are saltwater shrimp and will live and reproduce in saltwater. Many of these shrimp collected are carrying hundreds of eggs beneath their abdomens. These shrimp are not prolific breeders though. The baby shrimp feed tiny seahorses and manderine fish. They are used best to feed large fish as they do consume a lot of pods. We may require extra shipping money for orders of more than 50 as water is heavy.

oops. It must only be on HD. Sorry, can't do it!

Can anyone suggest places to buy Seagrass or Turtlegrass or other items for Horses? I see it only in a few places, and the price varies wildly. Anyone interested in splitting an order? I saw the recent post on the horse tank, and I hope that you can make some recomendations. Thanks All, FF

I'll look to set it up to record tonight. And I have a burner, so I can transfer it. FF

Information/misinformation: I've heard that certain caulerpa is less likely to go sexual than others. I just did a web check however and that may not matter enough to aquarists to make a difference. Two things that help to prevent it though: 1. You can interrupt the cycle by regular pruning. If you prune it back, it takes a while and then rebounds. Just prune it once it seems to be taking off again, however that routine appears in 'fuge. 2. You can leave your 'fuge lit 24/7 so that it never goes dormant. I did it that way, but now I don't bother. It has never gone sexual on me. Hope that helps. FF

For anyone that has not yet made it over to Fins and Feathers, you owe it to yourself. Call ahead to check when Sean is scheduled to be in. I added a mysis-eating green mandarin to my horse tank. What a beauty! FF

I have erectus 4 that are going into a 75. Stay tuned for pictures of Frankenstein. I bought a Green Mandarin that was eating frozen mysis at Fins and Feathers to keep them company. I will add some Zoos and shrooms from my display tank for their habitat (and free up space there). I don't see them often enough in posted pics, but they'd have to be fine. The tank will have normal reef lighting 210w vho's, and I will have some clams in with them too. Grass to follow. There a lot of contention back and forth about what corals would live well with them. I bought these horses from Jorge and asked his opinion. He was interested in people experimenting a little with corals. Anything that's low toxicity and not enclined to grab them. Even a Fungia would be fine. Softies are possible too. Meanwhile, I was watching the little seahorse tank at Marine scene and one of the little guys in it sat with its tail draped right on a Torch coral colony. Seahorse can get stung by anything more aggressive than that even though their skin/scales appear armored when compared to a regular fish. For the question of tank size-I understand that the tank height must be twice the adult height to allow for the mating dance. And Ocean Rider vs. Draco.-You can drive to Draco within an hour, and select the exact pair you wish to have in your tank at home.... On the Sea Dragons- Jorge spoke at MACNA and stated that his next challenge is to make Sea Dragons available for the aquarist. So there always hope! FF FF

Well, we work cheap, just a few frags would keep us happy! After all, we're all a bunch of certifiable fish geeks, so just helping someone and getting in up to our elbows in somone elses Saltwater is almost payment by itself. I've got 5 or 6 insulated foam containers at your disposal. You can even end up (cash crunch?) buying the new tank/stand/etc and putting it in place. Club members have a bunch of backup emergency equipment to lend such as heaters and pumps so that you can get the new tank up a week ahead and then move the pumps, equipment and livestock the following weekend. Or something like that... FF

For whatever it's worth: 1. It may not be water quality, but since you aren't sure, a water change can only improve conditions for all inhabitants. 2. If that coral is the most sensitive one, then it's sort of an indicator for you. If it's water quality, others will also respone if their threshold is hit. 3. If it's just chemical warefare, then see step 1 anyway. You would want to keep to a stricter water change schedule to dilute the allelopathic compounds in the water. And place the two condender farther apart. 4. Carbon will help, if you have a sump, place a next to where the water drops in. FF

Here's how I handled it with the cheapo bits Johnny helped get: The only warning is that because the bits are cheap I've heard that many are not properly centered on their shafts. 1. I used a piece of wood with a 1 3/4" hole as a template guide so that it doesn't walk all over. I tilted it slightly to allow it to dig in first. 2. It takes a little bit of a touch to let the bit dig the hole while you hold it firmly, yet loosely. A few times after checking progress, when I put it back in the hole the drill vibrated as any off-centered bit would. Keep adjusting your touch and you find that you can reduce this to zero by letting the bit ride in the groove that it's creating rather than holding the drill tight on the shafts centerline. Disclaimer: My experience with Glass is more related to drinking shots from it..... :66:

Hi guys: I'm in. Howard, let me know what I can contribute. I see garlic is already on the list. Is Super Selco is the recipe, is it part of the plan? FF

I second the over-tank unit. I have a mud sump will macro but will make an over tank one shortly. Someone else just posted on this. Davelyn315 has made a combo 'fuge/surge device that is great...Look for that posting or contact him. FF

Hi Skipponator: The posts here were all really good, so it leaves me little to add. I hope that you enjoy your visit here. This area has the best of two worlds because it is more laid back than NYC or Long Island (my home turf) and you are still near to the city. Also, the influx of people from all around brings you into contact with a great variety of people that have moved here from all points. I have had a few different contracts so I've driven around and also used public transport at various times. I now commute into DC from Herndon, which is near to Dulles airport, roughly 24 miles from DC. Something that's pretty unique to this area is commuting by way of "slugging". We have HOV lanes the require 2 or passengers, so drivers stop by the Bus depots known as a "Park and Ride" or other unofficially designated locations and just pickup up passengers. It's an interesting Phenomenon! Oh, yeah, and about the "snow storms" they have here. Figure anything that threatens to exceed an inch, people rush to the stores, buy bread and milk, all schools close, madness and mayhem ensues. And then half the time, nothing happens. ....I didn't even wear a winter coat until Feb for the last 3 yrs. The WAMAS members are a great bunch. See the posting here: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=6099 The suject is that a friend of a member-not even a member, was selling their tank due to a injured infant needing full-time care due to a head injury. First, everyone posted in asking them not to give up. Then JMAquarium (Jean-Marie) decided to take charge and ran an auction to help raise money for the brain-injured infant. This was in December. Those of us that attended had a ball! We brought frags and bits of equipment in and for it. We completed and cheerfully outbid and overpaid overpaid for whatever was up for grabs. Jean's dog even got into the bidding and bid 10 bucks for a cheapo plastic hydrometer! JM helped us raise just over $1000 bucks..... FF

Hi Larry: I have a basement sump, and have some experience with it. Yet I don't really expect them to all be set up the same way either. I have a few points or observations. I think that Howard meant to say to "Do Not put all pumps on the same line" in case of a circuit tripping. Also, apply that to heaters too. Very important! And check that you really are plugging things into a different circuit by tripping the breaker. I found that I have 1 circuit that goes around part of my basement and then up to the kitchen, causing tripped breakers! So even devices being on different floors is in no way a guarantee that they are on a different ciruit. You can buy a 100 gal rubbermaid horse trough at Southern states for 70 bucks. It would catch all overflow when/if pump shut off, and offers greater water volume. The bulkhead is cheap and need to be siliconed. That dump can even be used for propagation and you don't need two separate tanks, pumps and other complexities. I agree with Davelin's comments regarding flow, but he forgot to tell you about his surge/'fuge! I have a mud sump and plenty of critters, but the amount that makes it past the impeller must be greatly reduced on the larger amphipods. Look for the post by Davelin315 that has a great gravity fed 'fuge, that encorporates a surge. He built it for maybe $20. I will do the same after having seen it! I will add a small 14 x 6 'fuge over the display. The water then pulls the pods as the surge triggers so they are not being frappe'd(sp?) by a pump. A related thought is that either way, don't put the skimmer in the same tank as the 'fuge. I believe that you'd primarily want the fuge to feed critters to the tank, so again, the over-tank or hang-on fuge is theoretically a better setup. You might still end up keeping a fuge in the basement for nutrient export too. That's up to you-as is everything. And my story: After I installed the raised horse trough in Feb, etc. in Nov my wife and I decided that we need more room in the living room and also wanted to install hardwood floors. And I had corals bleach in August due to the heat, even with 50 gallons of volume in the basement. So I wanted to move the 75 gal display downstairs. The raised horse trough was too high to allow proper drainage once the tank was in place! So you can Never tell what the future brings, but do expect to need a larger tank anyway. Seems like you have given this a lot of thought. One thing that everyone wants is a larger tank! Good luck! FF

What if we helped you move it? (did I really say that?)

Hey Alex: Two points -or what did you learn from this? We've all been there. 1. We all have had bad experiences with buying livestock that dies for no good reason, but it was hard to determine the health of the animal. Read. Do your research first. One helpful site I mentioned before is WetWebMedia. Lot of help and information on everything reef, including anemone health. 2. If you are going to spend money, spend it in the right place. You came down from Pa, and in the end it was a waste of time. Going forward, change your approach: Ask reefers here if they can advise you before you buy something. b. Ask reefers if they have the animal that you are interested in! c. Bubbletip anemones may need more light than your setup currently has - I don't know what lighting you have. But many of us have them and there are a couple of people who (dhoch up in md for example) has a Bubbletip that splits regularly. He can discuss your lighting and if it's appropriate, maybe put you on a wait list for when the next anemone is available. Anemones that split are clearly tank-happy, and you'll have a better chance for success. -Oh, and while waiting for it, again, try WetWebMedia for info on Nitrate reduction and work on that. Review your books too. Just ask for help before you put your money down. FF