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Cliff, I really don't know anything about "aggressive" fish (I do however have a female premnas bioceleatus, so I guess we can argue the semantics of aggressive at a later date). I haven't read much up on liver failure as a result of FW feeders, though I am aware that it happens. My thoughts is that if mollies can be acclimated to a SW environment, where they are eating a marine fare (marine algae/hufas/bacterias/whathaveyou), then in essence they would be SW fish and no longer FW, ergo no more liver disease. I doubt it is that cut and dry and I'm sure someone has looked at this. EdKruzel is now a member of our board. You may want to get in touch with him. I have a feeling he would be the one to talk to. FWIW I think any calories are better than nothing at the moment, so if you can get him eating ghost shrimp (or big macs for that matter) I say great. GL Cliff and let us know how it goes. Garrett.

I agree with Shawn. G.

Cliff, guppies can be acclimated to salt water. Another option is to get live bearers like mollies which also can be acclimated to salt water (I've done this before). It isn't a short term solution as you need the fish to eat now, but it may be a longer term solution for fish that won't accimate to dry/frozen food. Garrett.

I'll put one aside for you. It'll probably take 2 months though to heal though so you'll have to wait. G.

Hah. I just sent you an e-mail btw. G.

You are killing my Johnny. I just used the remainder of my tax return to pay off a bunch of bills. It is probably a good thing. Garrett.

Clyde, I think some mushrooms, xenia, and maybe some zoanthids would be good to start. They can all be attractive and quite hardy. Mushrooms especially are almost indestructable and great started corals IMO. Xenia can be a bit finicky, doing well in many systems while totally perishing in other well established healthy systems. But it grows so fast that many people give it away or throw it away. Zoanthids are very nice in a nano tank, though I believe them to be more of an intermediate coral. I would avoid kenya tree and/or capnella. Great starter coral but can drop buds and take over a tank, though should be manageable in a nano (I've seen a 120g tank with at least 2-300 buds of capnella... not a pretty site). If you join WAMAS as a paying member you'll have access to the sell/trade forums where many corals are moved between members. Garrett.

... and today I split my mother original half in two giving me four red yumas where once there was one. I need to slice up some more floridas. G.

It's just an opinion from a guy sitting behind a computer. Nothing more. I don't mean to offend. G.

I'm with Erik. Closed loop geo-thermal is the way to go. I think maybe Justin is going to do this on his new system and future green house setup. Option 2 has another benefit - more evaporation means you get to dump more limewater into your system. Garrett. Edit: I looked and I think I was just making that part up about Justin using a geothermal chiller for his new setup. Sorry.

Anthony Calfo can state it much more clearly than I ever could: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/watchgantart.htm A few things: It is easier to maintain stability if the water is constantly being changed out (daily would be better, constantly would be best... I think it's being done somewhere). Of course very few hobbyists are able to replicate the reef this way, though some do live on the oceans and are able to pump in sea water. Less frequent water changes with lower % of tank volume = more polution left behind. You don't have to worry about adding supplements as long as the water you are replacing is mixed to the levels you want. And to me the real kicker is if you can't match up batch after batch of newly mixed water then you have no business keeping a nano in the first place. G.

IME different zoas like different conditions. How's that for cut and dry? Put them where they are happy and they'll be fine. Ha. As with most corals I would start with low to moderate light and low to moderate flow and acclimate them to where you would like them to be. They will let you know when they are unhappy. Certain varieties can't take high light IME: PPE/NG/PD/Tubs (anybody else got any other "catchy" names?). Look here. Snake oils usually aren't my thing, but after a fair amount of research I tried this as a frag of Tubs that I had gotten from Rik quickly grew from about 10 polyps to 25. They then started to not open and then disentegrate, despite no environmental changes that I was aware of. Within a few days of starting with Vitamin C the polyps started to re-open.

If I was starting a new tank I would run GFO 24/7 from day one. I use carbon continuously as I run ozone. I would use carbon continuously if I didn't run ozone, though there are many different opinions on it's application and useful lifespan. Garrett. Edit: I wouldn't adjust the lighting schedule. A new tank will go through an algae cycle just as it goes through a nitrogen cycle IMO. It will dissipate with time.

Thanks for the post Anton. Garrett.

Chip, I got the bike (I ain't paying for gas in the Bronco). It's raining. I ain't going today. Call me a sissy if you want. I'm okay with that. G. But if you want to defer for a week or two I'll definitely be down.

I kinda disagree. It is tough on a 10g, but mostly because of the stress on the fish of being in such a small environment. That is why I would only do a few small fish (a pair of small clowns/cardinals and a small goby would be fine IMO). Nitrates would be easy to keep in check... just do regular 100% water changes. FWIW I don't have a nano... this is what I would do if I did have a nano though. Garrett.

Sean, are these guys all working for you or what??? Sounds like I might have to stop by with all the good press you are getting. Congrats. Garrett.

Not to play devil's advocate but... I order a widget from ACME. I get widget in mail. I *immediately* plug in/hook up/whatever and what have you said widget to verify that it does what it's intended. Garrett.

Steve, are you going to just let the coralline algae cover the back panel or are you going to cover it? You could slide a piece of black plexi cut to fit in there, that way you wouldn't have to look at the sump behind. Would also make a nice contrast when taking pics. Looks good btw. I can't wait for your next upgrade. Garrett.

My experience with ricordea floridas is that they are quite hardy and excellent specimens for propagation. Like most coralimorphs they prefer lower lighting and lower flow, though the can be adapted to higher flow/lighting (though I wouldn't go as far as to say that I would ever place them 3" under a 400w HQI lamp with 2 Tunze 6100s pointed at them). The are known splitters in the hobby and can also be sliced in half a la the Chip and his anemones. Yumas seem to be a different breed. IME they should be placed in low light and low to moderate flow. I wouldn't even bother with trying to acclimate them to full halide lighting. Anecdotally some will say that they can be, I say why bother. If you can, get a captive split/propation/baby as opposed to buying a wild yuma. Wild yumas have a notoriously horrible track record. I know of people that have purchased 6-8 pink yumas (at a cost of from 100 up to 250 per mushroom) all on different occassions, only to have them perish. Ouch! Garrett. Here is a pic of my red yuma that I've been propagating. It was one, it is now three. Here is a pic of a pink florida that I've been slicing and dicing:

Or someone responding to that reaction for that matter. G.

Hmmm.... a Californian with an agenda... whodah thunk it? Garrett.

PH will be lower when the lights go off, so a drop of .2 ph is perfectly reasonable. G.

It's indifferent. I'm non-committal. Just ask my girlfriend. G.

spoken by a true capitalist. g.