BeltwayBandit

Baking soda or washing soda can be used to raise pH. 7.8 is on the low end of acceptable. I wouldn't start trying to adjust it yet. Background reading: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2002/chem.htm http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php

Just so you don't have to post it Jason! :P Seriously though, I saw the article too but Craig beat me to it. Weird fish. Guess I have my 'research' project for the morning picked out.

Just one. But it was really fun, while it lasted. Its not like I can't do it again....without resetting him!

I can't abuse my privileges like that, I reset the man. But it was fun while it lasted!

I'm going to have to set up a trigger in the admin panel to automatically delete any post from you that contains the string: 'will it fit on my 55?' I bet that would put a serious damper on your post count... BTW..check your post count... Muhahahahahahahahahahahahaaha "All your post are belonging to us!"

I have it on my "Nemo" tank!

No, its an error by the user to not post a link or image. I have gotten the same error before, too, because of an improper format. WAMAS does not receive sponsorship from any corporate entities, other than donations of goods or services to our raffles. BB

Helped.

I tend to agree with EricS on the quarantine issue. Thats why I don't buy fish from a certain garden center in Maryland! I buy my fish from only two places, both of which quarantine their fish. I observe the fish carefully, and then acclimate and add to the tank. Also, I might add I don't add more than perhaps 1 or 2 fish a year to my system since getting it fully stocked. I have not had any problems. I did have 1 major Ich outbreak and that happened when the tank params went wacky not from the addition of a new fish. YMMV.

Well actual drip acclimation is a PITA, IMO.. Here is what I do. I have a piece of weed eater twine that I can tie between the hinges on my hood. Here's why I use the twine. It is heavy gage and you can easily poke it right through the bag and then tie it off to the hood. This keeps the bag suspended in one place in the water. I then cut a small hole with a razor near the top. In this hole I inject tank water with my turkey baster. Usually I will give it a squirt or two every 15 minutes (how much depends on the size of the bag usually guestimate between 2-5% volume of water in the bag per dose). Then when I have doubled the water volume I remove the critter and add him to the tank and discard the water, for more sensitive critters I will dump half the water and repeat the procedure. At a a minimum I do this for about an hour. I also turn off my halides when acclimating.

First off, welcome to WAMAS! If you have some time tomorrow afternoon and are willing to take a road trip we are having our winter meeting in DC tomorrow. If not, tell us some more about your 40 bow that is having problems. You mention that the parameters are way off, what are they? What do you have in the system? What is your lighting? and more importantly what do you want this tank to be? BB

There are several small gobys that would do well in a tank that size. Perhaps a goby/shrimp combo might work well. Perhaps a yahshia goby: http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/gobies/yashiagoby/ Here is a wwm page detailing some of the goby/shrimp pairs that are available: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/shrimpgobies.htm

Has anyone ordered from these guys before? I found them in my search for seagrass. I think I will wait 'til spring to order my grass (based on a few posts on other boards that I read). I will probably try to organize some type of group order when I do, since I really don't want to pay $18 shipping on a $12 order. But, for now it is process of elimination in determining which vendor to use.

Home Depot/lowes carries it. But don't ask for egg crate. Go to the lighting section and look for light diffusers for fluorescent lighting.

I've had eggcrate at the bottom of mine and under sand for 4 years. I don't know that it is necessarily helpful or harmful.

My favorite brand is DIY. Go to hellolights and price out the pieces, you will save hundreds of dollars. I prefer an enclosed hood or cap. I think it presents a more finished appearance, plus it helps to cut down on foreign objects in the tank. The downside, is they tend to hold heat more and you have to use fans or other methods to help dissipate the heat. Lighting other than MH? That all depends on what you want to keep. Currently T5 fluorescent lights are quite the rage. I have not used them, but I know several people on here do. Hopefully one of them will pipe up. Even with MH you would probably want some supplementation either VHO, PC or T5. In my opinion the Seios are junk. I have one that I use for mixing saltwater. I won't trust it in my tank. I ran it for a month, constantly no wave timer. Then I unplugged it and it wouldn't restart without tapping it. They have a history of this. Again, others on here have had good results. If you want top end powerheads go with Tunze. If you want cheap, small, and easily replaceable go with MaxiJets. My recommendation would be the maxijets. Even if you decide to upgrade later, the MJ's are handy little pumps to have laying around. All kinds of neat things you can do with them. If you are lookign at external pumps I have been very pleased with Pan World pumps. Also Iwaki and Gen-X bot make good external pumps. For submersibles I like the Mag Drive brand of pumps. Stay away from anything made by Taam (see my Seio comments above).

I have seen other setups like mine. I don't completely agree with the blackout notion, heck the light won't penetrate more than 1/8" or so into the sand, so it will be mostly blacked out.. Anthony Calfo's take: "lighting the DSB or not is a relatively minor issue... and we usually do not illuminate it as a practical matter." And on mangroves in one of these: "delphinus - no problem at all on the mangroves in the short to medium term (simply until they outgrow the bucket... 3 years or so). The deep anoxic sand will be quite natural for them." I like the way my main tank looks now, and don't want to deal with the sand storm. Not to mention, I still need a decent replacement sand since Southdown isn't available anymore.

Does anyone have some scrap egg crate? I'm looking for a 6" x 6" ish piece and don't really want to buy a whole sheet. Thanks.

So, I am in the process of converting my 'fuge in a bucket' to a remote DSB. Of course that entails doing some research. Does anyone have any recommendations for a fine sugar sand? On another note, an interesting tidbit that I found on WWM.. I was thinking the other day that my sandbed in my main tank is looking a bit 'low' from when I started. It turns out I was right. (The sandbed was originally 4" of Southdown sand). " Note: you must be mindful too of the fast rate of dissolution of some sand beds. In most healthy systems, fine aragonite has a "half-life" of 18-24 months. That means that after two years, perhaps, a 3" sand bed will have been reduced to 1.5" and possibly failing in its duties (another unheralded cause for the unfair criticisms of mismanaged DSBs). For this reason, aquarists seeking optimum nitrate control are advised to resist being frugal and apply honestly deep sand beds, and adding more substrate as necessary in time." One other note on this quote (that rhymed.. how quaint) the reason I am adding the remote DSB is that I have seen my nitrates start to climb up as time goes on (and my sand bed shrinks). Possibly coincidental, but I figure the remote DSB will be pretty easy since all I have to do is literally add sand to my existing setup. (I recently added a HOB 'fuge' where I moved my macro and will be growing my mangroves in the RDSB)

Organizing group orders on the forum is a benefit reserved for the members of WAMAS. Please consider joining, the cost is $20 per year and it is well worth it. If you have some questions about joining the club, please come join us this weekend at the National Aquarium in DC for our winter meeting. Thanks for understanding. BB Information about joining WAMAS can be found here: http://www.wamas.org/join.php

I'll bring some of the cap for you. The xenia is a tan color, grows very fast.

I have: (all free) Orange Cap Xenia Anthelia Capnella Encrusting Gorgonian Trade: Green Torch (single head) Cabbage leather Green Zoas Green Sinularia

Yeah yeah.. what they all said. Welcome to the addiction hobby!

I fixed it for you.

I just paint my pipes with purple primer and stick them in the tank.