Marty

Howard, I'll check out your page. I've got a week or two until I can build anything, so a building party may be in order. Yo, the AGA 120 is 2' X 4'. The canopy you have would be too long and too skinny. I've got all the hardware, I just need to rebuild the shell.

Had to replace my bulbs and in doing that found that parts of my 3 yr old DIY hood are rotting. My end caps are also shot and the el cheapo flashing reflector that I put in is so tarnished, the wood probably reflects better than the metal! Time to build a new one. I've got a standard AGA 120g not RR. I've got a mixed reef with mostly fish and tons of shrooms & polyps and a couple softies. 2 X 250 MH's plus 4 X 110W VHO's. 2 X Icecap 4" variable fans. It's a lot, but it fits, kinda. I don't like the design of my hood and I want to make it better/different. Any ideas? Things not to do? Tips? Tricks? I've built two hoods in the last 8 years and each one has been a little better than the last. I'm hoping to make this one the best yet. Thanks in advance for any ideas. Marty

You think that's bad? Go to www.moonbahamas.com

I have them all the time from my ceriths. As Steve says, they're a great food source. Some may survive, but I wouldn't go out of your way to try to save them.

Ok. Peppermints definitely do better in a group. Get 3-4. They most likely did not do anything to your cleaners. I've had cleaners that I don't see for weeks, then they'll appear at night waving around looking for someone to clean. Pistols or more likely mantis shrimp could be the culprit. Do you have any snapping or clicking especially at night? Look around with a flashlight about an hour or so after the lights go out. Also listen for snaps and clicks. Good luck. mc

Also think about how you will be viewing the tank. A really high tank may be good for standing and looking, but if you're going to be sitting around looking, a lower tank works too. I think 32-36" is a good range.

The flame hawk is a voracious predator. Very cool, but limits what you can keep with it. If you want a tank with more delicate inhabitants, remove the flame hawk or start another species tank for it.

My mag7 has cracked the impeller housing twice in 3 years. It causes the impeller to wobble and make a ton of noise. As for a "pad", I use rubber shower and tub liner. It's used below tile in tubs and showers. You can get it in sheets or a roll at Home Depot or Lowes. Look in the plumbing dept. It's about 1/8" thick and you can cut it any size. Plus you don't have a nitrate producing sponge to clean every week or more.

For a 30g, try a pygmy lionfish and/or some kind of hawkfish. They're both pretty cool and don't get too big.

I couldn't find your pictures, but if it is a stone crab, definitely get rid of it. I got two boxes of transshipped Fiji rock and ended up with 3 stone crabs. Several hundred snails and hermits later, I got them all out. I think I may have another now tho. I have a rather large pile of freshly vacated shells accumulating in one corner of my tank... sd

I got tickets last year with connections. This year I too was shut out by ticketmaster. Nissan is the only show in the area. He's not playing Merriweather and he's only playing Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Must be nice to only work 3 days a week, 6 months out of the year! Merriweather is still around, but I also heard the rumor that it was being shut down. Something about a big "town center" type community. Don't know if it's ever going to happen. Ebay sucks. As someone already mentioned, scalpers are everywhere. By noon the day the tickets sold out lawn seats ($36 face) were already $125. If you don't have tickets and really want to go, you're going to have to find a friend, get real lucky, or pay $100+ even for lawn seats. Nissan still sucks to get in and out of. We got there early, had great parking right up near the fence, then spent 2 hours getting out of the lot after the show (I think...) :D