SDBDRZ
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Posts posted by SDBDRZ
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I posted in the Ice Cap forum over at RC and they said it sounded like the ballast was either going bad or it was a grounding problem. They suggested sending it to them so they could take a look at it but that would leave me with no light over my 30 cube for an extended period of time. The tank is full of corals, so that probably isn't such a good idea. Stupid thing lit right up this morning when I turned it on. Sooooo annoying!
Can you get a cheap magnetic ballast to hold you over for a few days while it is repaired? Im not an expert but I think that lowes/home depot carry cheap magnetic ballasts that might work as an emergency backup. Not the prettiest or most effiecient solution but it might work for a temporary situation.
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I have an Ice Cap E-ballast that has been having problems for months now. Sometimes it fires right up, other times it takes minutes, and other times (like again today GRRR) it won't fire at all. The ballast was purchased brand new in Feb '03. I put a fresh bulb in to be sure it's not the bulb. Any ideas?
Contact Icecap and send it back to them for repair. Icecap probably has the best customer service in the industry. Andy at Icecap is also very active in the Icecap forum on Reefcentral, you could post a question to him over there and ask him for ideas/suggestions.
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Yeah I've never seen a fish sucked against a power head unless it was not healthy.... (but another reason to have these things on controllers so they go off once in a while).
My thoughts exactly. My purple tang can swim into the stream of a Tunze 6100 while it is at full speed to eat algae off of it. Mostly likely the fish had other health issues that caused him to get sucked against the MJ.
Good luck, hope the little guy makes it.
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You are right, I should have said Welcome to the Club in the first sentence and then proceed with my comments.
I think people need to remember that this is a hobby and a source of enjoyment. You assume that this wasnt addressed by an officer. I leave it up to the officers to deal with the appropriate handling of his website but keep in mind that by your definition of commercial enterprise a number of the people who sell frags on this site should probably be consider vendors.
There is entirely too much posturing and petty bickering on this site. Its no wonder none of the old time club members participate anymore. Some of you need to learn to step away from the keyboard once in a while instead of typing.
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What a way to welcome a new member. Man have these forums changed in the last couple years that I was away.........
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Welcome back to the hobby Tony
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I guess I am just an old timer when it comes to these topics because I think most people overstock their tanks. I have a 180 with less fish than your 90 will have. I have a purple tang and a kole tang and I know I would not put those 2 fish in a 90g together.
Bioload is important but with proper stocking levels overskimming wouldnt really be necessary.
To each his own I guess.
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i'm way overskimming, though, too jason. my skimmer is rated for i think 130 heavily stocked, and normal stocking on a 200... so i can get away with a little more.
not MUCH more, but a little, plus deltec underrates their skimmers even in that situation.Skimming has very little to do with appropriate stocking levels, sure you skim more crap out of the tank but the first considerations in stocking levels should be the potetial size of the fish, swim room required, territorial issues, etc, etc.
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Additionally, the issue of discounts at MS is not germane to the topic of this thread. So, again you are free to discuss their discount policy or lack thereof, just do it in a new thread and let this one die.
It was a part of the initial post and I was just providing what details I knew regarding why her sister did not receive a WAMAS discount. I dont think I expressed an opinion one way or the other concerning the vendor because my opinion is to each his own. I was just trying to add to a civil conversation. Next time ill start a new thread.
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I agree with the prez on this one and the only thing I would add: Marine Scene is what it is, take it or leave it.
I believe (hope) the Prez was referring to the personal attacks in the earlier posts in the thread and not civil discussion about a vendor. I was merely trying ot give some input on the discount issue since it had not been addressed.
We should either be able to discuss the good AND the bad about vendors, or not discuss them at all :wink:
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they wouldn't honor the WAMAS discount even though her daughter was a member (with membership card in hand) because she wasn't on the official list yet.
There was something about that a couple of years ago. I do not remember the exact details but I believe Marine Scene wanted additional information from members to be able to get the WAMAS discount. I dont remember exactly what it was but I think email address, phone number, mailing address, etc. I believe that the people who wanted to sign up and get the discount provided the information (the official list) and the people who did not want to provide the information were no eligible for the discount, not sure how long it has been since that was updated or even if the same plan is in place at Marine Scene.
As far as the rest of this thread, nothing new. Things have been the same since I first joined WAMAS. The people who want to shop there should do so and the people who dont want to have options :-)
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Hey I'm not knocking the places, I've just tried to get, at least aquatic creations, to change even a little, but I understand it's not in their business model, and that's fine and I respect it.... I still shop there when I need something... I do have, as you said, problems with the other LFS (livestock issues mostly)...
Dave
I never thought you were knocking them Dave, heck as a hobbiest I would love to see a store that had what I want without having to drive 1+ hour in metro area traffic. I have talked to Bill at AC years ago about reefkeeping, ask him if he ever considered setting up a tank to sell SPS corals, etc he just isnt interested in that. I have talked to the owner of the "other store" many times and in the case of that store I think it stopped being a hobby a very long time ago. I am just long winded sometimes when I post :-)
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Aquatic Creations SW fish is very good (especially when compared to the "other" local store), their coral selection is slim, and they won't do anything to improve it... I even tried over a year ago to bring them sunlight slupply (teh T5 supplier that BRK now has).... I borught them the distributer information and card and brouchure, and they did nothing with it... (after that my opinion of them dropped)... They don't have any true high end skimmers (might carry a turbofloter, but nothing really high end), and teh prices.... I can order a skimmer from That Fish Place, have it shipped, resell it at 20% profit, and still under sell them....that to me means a little too much on their markup.
Dave
In all fairness to Aquatic Creations they are not catering to hardcore reefkeepers and dont really have any intention to. I have known the owner since he first opened the store. In fact I was one of his first saltwater customers and probably bought the first coral he ever sold out of the store back in the mid/late 80's. The majority of his saltwater customers are fish only. I gained a lot of respect for Bill a number of years ago when he dumped his fish supplier because of DOA and poor handling/health issues. He switched to a more expensive supplier that had better success on the health and overall quality of the fish. I have a ton of respect for any store owner that has the ethics to go with a higher cost supplier for healthier fish as opposed to doing high volume and sarificing health/qualiy. Reefkeepers are not his target market for his business and he has no real desire to expand into the high end reef market. I can respect that. The livestock he carries is very healthy and his store has remained largely unchanged since he first opened it. I still talk to the owner and buy fish from him, I know hes not catering to me as a reefkeeper but I respect him as a business owner who has a nice clean store with healthy livestock and relatively knowledgable staff. His markup on saltwater supplies is high but in the area of his business that is his main focus he is competative.
I have known the owner of the "other store" since the early 80's when they use to be located in downtown Frederick. My first reeftank was bought there when there was no online vendors, reefcentral, etc. No real comment other than the store has been in Frederick for a long time and I have seen many come and go in that time. They arent really catering to high end reefkeepers either. They have some better equipment over the last several years since the current manager started but their markup is really high on a lot of things and I have some personal issue with the store cleanliness and overall quality of the livestock. They have a business model that is working and that is unlikely to change.
I have helped a friend sit up a full line pet store (not one of those 2) and the problem with getting a local store to cater to higher end reefkeepers is that the customer base just isnt there to support a storefront. They would never do enough volume to offer competative prices. Without getting into too much detail and boring everyone to death the market really isnt there and the costs of having a storefront are way to high to have such a small target market. It has been tried within the last 5 years or so and has failed. The only way I could see someone doing it would be to have a storefront and an online component but even at that there is a ton of online competition and a new online venture would be hard pressed to beat PA, MD or Drs. F&S on price. For Livestock an east coast online vendor would have a hard time beating vendors like Reefermadness or Dr. Mac for high end rare stuff unless they were going to LA handpicking every couple weeks. And if they tried to do volume retail on common corals they will have a hard time beating the 3 vendors I mentioned earlier on price. There is a reason that Drs. F&S bought some other online vendors a few years ago.
I have to say in all honesty that I have been to BRK and F&F for the first time in the last month or so and I was pleasantly suprised. I have been in this hobby for a very long time and I have seen a lot of fish stores, both good and bad, both BRK and F&F where great because the people running them are hobbiests. Good selection of livestock, reasonable prices and both are very knowledgable about the hobby. At the same time neither is depending solely on the high end reefkeepers to keep there doors opened. They cater to WAMAS because they are hobbiest not because WAMAS is keeping them in business :-)
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You cant go wrong with MH or T-5's in my opinion. However if you do go with 2 halides over a 75 you need to make sure you can address the heat issues. If you go with T-5's read some of Grim's threads on RC, reflectors and bulbs make all the difference in a T-5 setup.
Lighting is but one component to a successful tank.
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Hello,
I am currently designing my future system as I play around with a 20 gallon set-up to make sure I like saltwater before making a big investment. As this is my first "big" aquarium (90 gallon reef tank), I am not really familiar with sumps, etc... I have been doing plenty of research but the options are overwhelming. The fishstore that is selling me the setup recommends simply using a 30 gallon glass aquarium with an in-sump skimmer. I would like a more complex acrylic set-up but do not know (a) where to get it in the Baltimore area and (b) which one to get. Here is a list of some things I would like to see in the sump and would really appreciate opinions.
1. Live rock/sand/snail area
2. automatic freshwater topoff
3. in-sump skimmer area
4. pump area
5. something to block air bubbles before returning to tank
6. Capability of adding calcium reactor, denitrifier, UV, ozone to the system at a later date
7. an area where I could put mesh filter bags such as for phosphate remover
Just about anything that can hold water could be used for a sump. If you use a 30g glass aquarium and intend to have a live rock/sand area you will have to baffle sections off. The other option would be to build or have someone build an acrylic sump. The benefits to building an acrylic sump is you can get it built to fit whatever space constrictions you have and have it sectioned off for the various things you want. My personal preference would be to not have your refugium (Live rock/Sand area) in the sump.
Whatever you decide to use as a sump make sure it will be large enough to not overflow in the event of a power failure :-)
Also, is it harmful, or just unnecessary to use a canister, trickle, or in-line filter with a reef system? Just transitioning from freshwater, I am apprehensive to do away with mechanical filtration.
Unnecessary and potentially harmful over the long term depending what you put in it. Canister filters can be used for occassionally running a variety of media (carbon, etc) but in a reef tank continuos mechanical filtration is not necessary
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Thanks for all of your help!!!
Brandon
If you ask 10 different people a question you will get 10 different answers, it can be a little confusing and overwhelming. There are many opinions on how to best keep a reef. The books recommended in an earlier thread are a great start.
Best advice, read, read, read. And remember, nothing good happens fast in a reef tank, be patient and your patience will be rewarded :-)
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Asaleem91,
I would like one of those ricordia polyps as well if still have any available.
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Not sure how many of you remember me since I havent been involved with the club for a year and a half or so but I am planning on coming to the next meeting and I have some hardware if anyone is interested. If interested send me a PM or email me at scottdblackburn@gmail.com I probably wont bring the stuff to the meeting unless its sold here on the board.
Tunze 6010 steam pump with single controller $225 (SOLD)
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m...gory_Code=TUNZE
400w Eballast with a PFO horizontal pendent and a 6 month old 10k bulb. The pendent has 2x28w power compact built into it, it all works fine but the PC bulbs need replaced. $225
72" aquaspacelight. I have retro fitted the fixture for remote ballasts and I have 3x250w EVC ballasts and 3x14k hamilton bulbs. I think the ballasts and the bulbs are about 6-9 months old I will have to check the receipt as I cant remember exactly when I bought them. The magnetic MH ballasts, PC ballasts and the PC bulb holders have been removed from the light fixture. It is a nice looking fixture one of the ballasts inside the fixture went bad and I decided to use remote ballast to reduce the heat in the fixture. I am selling it because I am switching to T-5 lighting $350
(note my new lighting should be here in time for me to bring this to the meeting, if by chance the new lighting is not here by then I will deliver the fixture to whoever buys it assuming they live in the Baltimore/Washington/N.Va area)
Ampmaster 5600 (6000gph) pump. I used it for about 6 months to power 4 1" sea swirls and then decided to go with stram pumps instead. I never had any leaking seal problems with this pump $150 (SOLD)
Amircle sump (cant remember the exact dimensions will measure it tonight) $20 (SOLD)
If you think my prices are too high on anything listed just make me an offer.
I can post pictures later if anyone wants.
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Well I only have one so whoever got frags of mine got what originally came from Sanjay.
People also must remember that lighting and flow have a significant effect on color intensity and growth pattern. Having said that it is my experience that the purple rim cap in question holds its color very well under a variety of lighting.
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The colony I have started out as a frag from Iceman who got it from Nemo who got it from Sanjay.
I have put frags of this in the raffle numerous times, traded with other WAMAS members and sold some frags to WAMAS members. I would suspect it is spread through the club pretty well.
Having said that I have a pretty large colony, if anyone wants frags let me know. I am not sure how much they are selling them for on the west coast but I dont think I have ever charged a WAMAS member more that $10 or $15 for a frag of anything.
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I can help you out. Email me details at scott.blackburn@rsmi.com
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so this is macna in VA, why do we list it as wash dc?.
Technically yes the hotel is in Virginia but it is just across the river :D
We looked at a lot of hotels in and around DC and this was the best option for size and price. When marketing the show to out of town attendees we will still be focusing on DC as the destination.
Heck around here I can never tell whether I am in MD, DC or VA anyway.
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try www.leisurepro.com
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hopefully the club will not support, bash, exclude, or offer any "special" cases in the future regarding any stores, retailers, etc. in the future. Being inclusive is what the club should be all about.
wndr As stated in my last post WAMAS does not endorse and never has endorsed any vendor. We would like to develop mutually beneficial relationships with all vendors.
Whatever Tom chooses to do on this issue is up to Tom. It is then up to the individual in question to decide whether he is satisfied with the outcome.
Fraggle Reef
in Vendor Experience
I have ordered from him once. The only complaint I have is the frag plugs that the stuff was mounted on had some nuisance algae on them.
Good pricing and I got what I expected. I will probably order from him again in the future.