extreme_tooth_decay

Didn't you see the attack in the video? It didn't last long. I don't believe I'll be putting my hand in there again

I did not bleed, but it hurt. I had intended to pull my hand away and then put "Yeah, Right...I'm not THAT stupid!" on the video...but the guy was just too fast for me. I think I had already started pulling away when he hit me.

It was just paint chips (I asked in the first message "How many paint chips do you think came off..."). To me, watching 100 paint chips fly off that thing, underwater, from a single strike, is about the most impressive feat I've seen these guys perform. I would need to use something at least as powerful as a mousetrap to replicate that. I don't even think a mousetrap would do it.

This video is suitable for everyone (no crustaceans die or are eaten in it). The G. Chiragra is supposedly the hardest hitting and most bad-tempered of all the mantis shrimps. If you watch to the end, you will see a most unfortunate clip that caused my girlfriend to laugh for a long time. tim

My girlfriend laughed for about a half hour after watching that one.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Below are a couple stills I captured from the video. In the second one, I circled 6 places where there are 10 or more noticeable fragments. There are dozens of other fragments not circled. I believe there are at least 100 pieces. You can see this more clearly, and several other amusing clips of this new guy doing strange and evil things in

I've been using one for ATO for years and never had a problem. Only maintenance-free part of my system. Love it.

Hrm, I screwed the poll up since "3" "5" and "10" are all in 2 categories. Ah well. I'll just state that the correct answer is not "3", "5", or "10".

I got a new mantis shrimp (~4" Gonodactylus chiragra) and got a good video of him hitting the feeding prong. Below is a picture of the feeding prong. You can see it has suffered multiple mantis strikes in the past (I often use it to antagonize them). How many paint chips do you think came off when the new guy hit it? The first person to guess the right answer will get, well...nothing. It'll still be fun, though! I'll post a video later.

Sorry I missed your question. I'm sure it is too late now but what the hey! In my own experience, I noticed a big difference when I did the mesh mod. I did not notice any difference when I did the recirc mod. I wished I had not drilled those holes in my skimmer afterward. YMMV. tim

Here is a thread showing pics of how to do the mesh wheel mod on a Sedra pump. I don't know how different it is for whatever pump you are using: LINK

If you need muscle when dealing with them, I can rent you my mantis shrimp.

I cobbled together a clip show, mostly from previous Crustacean Wars videos, but there are clips of a few new meals in there (the emerald crab that shanked me, an arrow crab and a crawfish). I was very surprised what a good fighter the arrow crab was. Don't watch this video if you are distressed by watching a mantis shrimp hunt and kill it's prey. That is what they do. I am now busy setting up a new mantis tank to conduct glass-breaking experiments. I bought a large (and super aggressive) Gonodactylus Chiragra, which are supposedly the hardest hitting mantis shrimps there are (they are supposed to have the striking power of a peacock twice their size, and the one I got is the same size as my peacock). He was striking the bag he was in all the way home. Smack! Smack! Smack! He will be going in a tank with extremely thin glass...will see if he can break it.

+1 (From a guy who had a crack on a drilled bulkhead that did not seem like it was going to spread, then did spread) In my case, I think my problem was overtightening the bulkhead nut though.

Very cool. I had a cleaner in with a shark for a while. The cleaner was half inside the shark's mouth several times and was never attacked. The only thing I ever fed that shark was shrimp, too. And he would often bite me.

Yep. 100% silicone is 100% silicone...

I wonder if painting or sealing the wood would keep the bad mojo from getting out of it.

The impeller mod does improve performance, but would improve the performance of any skimmer that uses the same pump, it has nothing to do with ASM's particular cylinder of acrylic (which seems very similar to the cylinder of acrylic used on "high-end" skimmers to me...I am still confused). The gate valve does not, it only allegedly makes the skimmer easier to adjust (though it did not in my case, the stand pipe worked just as well) tim

If you have it connected correctly and you are getting 245 TDS out, then your membrane is not working. I don't believe replacing the prefilters is an effective way to reduce TDS BTW. Especially the carbon filter. tim

I think they're the best deal going. I had two for years (2 tanks) and loved them. I'll never understand why people pay more. It is generally agreed that ASM overestimate the tank ratings (and that euroreef underestimate theirs). A 700 ASM rating on your 333+100 sounds "about right" to me.

"100 Mixed Sized Turbo {Astrae}" Am I confused (as usual), or are Turbos and Astrea not the same things?

The best stuff comes from WAMAS members, but if you can't find it, A long time ago, I bought big pieces of tonga from Dr. Mac at $2.69/lb. That was great. Don't know what it costs today, but you could find out.