gastone

Here are a few pics finally: Blue zoanthids (I probably can get 2 5-7 polyp frags) Green zoanthids (2 5-7 polyp frags) Frogspawn ( I probably have around 20 heads available. I have different varieties as well. I couldn't adjust the white balance in this pic. The tips are neon green and purple) I believe these are radioactive dragon eyes (or something cute like that. I only have 1 small frag available) Red blasto merletti (1 small frag) Yellow polyps (I can get a few 10 polyp frags) I also have xenia, mini carpet anemones, red macro algae, 2 mangroves, and some electric GSPs. I'm mostly looking to trade for other zoas and lps. The xenia will be on the freebie table. Garrett.

I'll check to see if it is tempered or not. If I can't find a manufacturer, is there any other way to tell? Garrett.

Jason, I got in on the last group order of calcium hydroxide that Xeon (Dave) put together. I ended up with like 30# of kalk... more that I'm likely to use in a lifetime. If you'd like a couple of pounds to get you started I could bring it to the meeting. Garrett.

Dave, Looks like excellent policy and I'm glad I got a chance to see it. Speaking of... do we have any vendors that are going to be setting up shop at the meeting? I know that Marvin at Atlantis mentioned to me once or twice that he would be willing bring some stuff up. Garrett.

I've got a 55 gallon tank sitting in my back yard. I've used it for emegencies in the past. Doesn't have any major scratches that I'm aware of. Not drilled. $30. Garrett.

Dave, I'll take a frag of the birdsnest off of your hands. Garrett.

Here are my thoughts and I could be wrong... From Sanjay's website here is a spectral plot of your 20k setup: Notice the huge spike at 450nm and the minimal showing in the 420nm (true actinic). Now here is a spectral plot of the megachrome T5: This also spikes at 450nm. Seems like they would cancel one another out. If it were my tank (and like I said, I've never used 20k), I would use VHO true actinics (420nm) to supplement. And I also agree with Chris that you should definitely get the individual reflectors for the T5. Huge difference in par. Good luck. Garrett. Here's another option (if you've exhausted this route already, I apologize). Keep the 150 and put in an XM 10k. Here is a comparison with the 250 20k: Notice the par values are almost exactly the same. So, for 40% less electricity you only lose 16% output. Now, supplement the 10k with a combination of VHO actinics and T5 blueplus. Overall you gain par (the new T5s) and your color quality goes up, but the electrical load stays the same as it is now. Just a thought. Garrett.

Unfortunately for Wolfman he cannot post in the vendor experience section as he isn't a paid member. That being said, I did not view this as a bashing. What I got out of it was that Wallys is charging upward of $200 for tangs. Now, I don't know Wolfman, and I don't know whether he is telling the truth or lying, but I know that I certainly wouldn't pay $200 for a chevron or a naso tang. If I did disagree with him I always have the option of ignoring him. Garrett.

Off the top of my head I've got quite a few heads of frogspawn to trade. One variety has both neon green and purple tips and on some of the tentacles the purple and green are swirled together. I've got 2-3 golfball size heads of this. The other variety has a bit more yellow but also has the green(not neon though) and purple tips. I probably have upwards of ten heads that I could frag up. I'll put up pics later. Of course I've got some of the Russian's neon GSP, some red blastomussa merletti polyps, some mean grean zoanthids, quite a bit of xenia, a couple of mangroves. I'll have to check to see what else I have. I'm looking for blastos, lords, really any colorful LPS, some blue and some red zoanthids. Garrett.

Sean, I would definitely be interested depending upon the size of the bag. Garrett.

Definitely take the cleaner wrasse off of your list. They are almost impossible to keep in captivity. Better off to leave them in the ocean. Garrett.

Get a used nikon d1. Garrett. Nikon D1 with Sigma Macro 50mm f/2.8 EX lens.

Michael G. moved up to Albany, NY a year or two ago. You might want to try the Southern States in Manassas for Yard Right tropical play sand. I picked up a couple hundred pounds about a year and a half ago or so. Don't know if they still carry it though. Welcome back. Garrett.

If you are going to go hallide, consider using 250 over 150, especially on that size tank. You'll get better coverage, more options for bulbs, more par and if you do decide to sell it will be easier to sell. Garrett.

My coral beauty grazes all day long. Though I don't believe he ever touches the algae. I personally wouldn't get one with the goal of algae consumption in mind. As mentioned, I think a tang is a better suggestion. Garrett.

Since we are talking cheap... Don't get much cheaper than Jebo. http://cgi.ebay.com/JEBO-UV-18-ULTRAVIOLET...1QQcmdZViewItem Garrett.

From one of the good doctors... I'm sure he's much better at this than I am. I suppose I meant to say that calcium and alk as calcium carbonate (usable by corals) exists in an exact one to one ratio. Calcium and Alkalinity Demand: Calcium Carbonate Mathematics Calcium carbonate formation consumes its two components in an exact 1:1 ratio. In the units used by aquarists, this ratio corresponds to one meq/L (2.8 dKH; 50 ppm CaCO3 equivalents) for every 20 ppm of calcium. Not surprisingly, this is also the ratio of alkalinity to calcium that is supplied when calcium carbonate is dissolved, as in a CaCO3/CO2 reactor. Fortuitously for the aquarist, this is also the ratio supplied when calcium hydroxide is dissolved, as with the use of limewater (kalkwasser). You can read the entire article here: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-12/rhf/index.php Garrett.

I don't have a calcium monitor, but IMO it is not worth the expense. Calcium and Alk exist in an exact 1:1 ratio of one meq/L Alk to 20 ppm Ca. So, after your tank has burned through a meager 20ppm calcium, your alk is way out of whack, while the 20 ppm drop in calcium is insignificant. It is much more important to test your alk regularly as opposed to your calcium. I just can't justify spending $250 for something that I will use once a month, when I could achieve the same thing using a salifert test kit that will last for 4 years. I'd never recoup the expense. JMHO. Garrett.

Take your time Chris. You can drop salinity fairly quickly, but you don't want to raise it too fast. If you use a 10g quaratine tank, start with 6.5 gallons @ 1.010 and then drip 1/2 gallon per day at 1.035. At the end of one week your would have ten gallons with a salinity of 1.01875. Now remove 5.5 gallons leaving yourself with 4.5 gallons of 1.01875. Drip 1/2 gallon a day of 1.035 and 11 days later you will have a salinity of 1.026. Of course this doesn't take into account evaporation, but it should get you fairly close. Garrett. ... in fact, you could take the opportunity to lower the salinity to 1.009 for hyposalinity quarantine for a few weeks and then go about raising it. Garrett.

Byron, is the sale on for Sunday or does it end on Saturday? Just curious as I'll be heading to Rik's place and might stop in. Garrett.

Dave, IMO he sounds like a vendor trying to get away with doing a little bit of side business on the RC forums. Check his feedback and go from there. I purchased a truck on E-Bay last summer and that was scary enough. Good luck Garrett.

...and another. Garrett.

Chip, pm me your address. Garrett

I would recommend getting a few good books to read. One that I really like and still look at from time to time is: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/189008702...5507844?ie=UTF8 Mr. Fenner discusses quite a few different methods for starting and maintaining successful reef tanks, giving pro and cons for all. I have a copy if you would like to borrow it, but I'm located in Fredericksburg. Garrett. BTW, Blacksburg truly was the best 7ish years of my life.

I used to use BioAssay, but have switched over to IO. Garrett.