BeltwayBandit

I bought some live rock today. With the high shipping costs, and only needing one case I decided to buy the rock at a LFS. I ended up getting 40 pounds for about what it would have cost for a case. And I got some cool hitchhikers. (all of the rocks were in various livestock tanks). One of them was in the tank with the emerald crabs, hermits, etc. I wasn't particularly interested in the rock, but I figured I could score some 'extras.' I was right. I got about half a dozen hermit crabs and 2 emerald crabs. I now have about 90 pounds of rock in the tank. I'm thinking I need about 10 more pounds or so. The rock that I bought was tank aquacultured rock. Its not too bad. Crab Tank w/new rock More new rock pics

Ok, I need some opinions. The full tank shot looks awfully blue. Unfortunately that is not a trick of the camera. It is very blue. The lights are dual 65w PC. One daylight and one dual blue actinic. I'm thinking about switching out the dual blue actinic for a 50/50. Anyone else running dual 65's with daylight and a 50/50? Oh and one other piece of equipment that I neglected to mention. I also will be runnigng a large CPR Aquafuge on the back. I kept it from my old tank, it fits, so why not! I had some old corraline algae left on some of the old equipment. Any idea if some of the spores might still be viable?

Ok. 50lb base rock is in. 60 lb aragonite and 15 lb crushed coral sand are in. Sandstorm is subsiding...

From what I understand they will decimate your sandbed critters. Smarsh's experience is typical. They will live for a few months and then when they have exhausted the food supply in your sandbed they die. They just eat more than your sandbed can produce.

Roozens, just across the river in Ft. Washington, Md.

Has this ever actually happened in an auction?

Got a comfy sofa? I have to take a summer school class 1 night a week for June and July.

Funny you should ask. I was just about to announce such visit(s) in the refugium. BB

Yeah and your PM box is full. I got you a temporary fix. I'll let Bob know he needs to fix your profile. BB

I don't think the board will merge your posts if there is an intervening post between them. I'll have to check on that. BB

I'll be up that way later this summer (August sometime). I'll catch up with you then. BB

LFS- Non existant. There are some but most only have FW. The one that I found that did have salt water wants $115 for a 10k Ushio 250W bulb.. All of their other prices are similar. I did find a local club, they don't seem to be as organized as WAMAS. I haven't met any of them yet. BB

Ok, I couldn't stand it. I'm back in the game.... almost Specs: 56 gallon Column tank (30x18x24) DIY Stand: not yet constructed AquaC Remora HOB skimmer, 2x65w PC lights w/moonlight led. I would post pics, but it would just be of the tank. Light, skimmer and some powerheads are on their way to me. Now I have to get the house unpacked so I can find the rest of my aquarium junk. Hopefully stand will be done next week. Rock will be ordered as soon as the stand is done.

I knew that there was a reason that it wasn't generally considered to be a good idea. Thanks Bob.

Quite possibly. I would need to check with those who have more power than I before turning that on. (I also need to double check that IPB actually allows html tags, I think it does but I would have to check). Thanks for the input. I actually looked at enabling the <object> tag, I just need to clear it through the powers that be first. BB

Thank you. I think. I was mostly just playing around with the bbcode to see how it works. I am going to try and implement the table functions as well, they are a bit more complicated than my first attempt. I can get the basic functions in, but it would require a knowledge of html programing to write a table. I'm trying to work on making/finding a script that will make it more user friendly.

I was doing some digging on this. Tables have not been defined in the bb code for this board. I do not know about enabling html code. I don't know that we will do that. I can create the code for tables, however I don't know that it will be all that useful. I'm sure there are people who know how to code a table in html, but I would guess that most don't. on another note.. I was playing around and did add one new feature! Yes it is annoying and silly, but I'm sure folks around here will have fun with it. [move] insert moving text here [/move]

Title says it all. Is the additional cost of a lab grade PH probe worth the expense. From John's reply in the GB thread it appears the only difference is an extra 6 months life expectancy and less frequent calibrations. Thoughts? BB

I know galaxia is known for being rather potent, and under the right conditions (high flow) can have sweeper tentacles that go 6" or better. Also, while not a coral.. the nuisance aiptasia anemone wins all battles.

Excellent coral. I had one that grew prolifically in my old tank. I had it in moderate lighting (side of a rock pillar partially shaded). It was in a moderate flow area of the tank. I spot fed it with mysis, cyclopeeze, and cut silversides. It exhibited a very fast feeding response and quickly grew from 4 heads to almost 20. Spot feeding with a turkey baster was the most effective method I found. I would dissolve some frozen mash (mysis, cyclopeeze, silverside, shrimp, etc.) and give a quick shot to the tank (to distract the fish) then I would target feed all of my LPS corals. You do have to watch out that your shrimps don't steal the food from them. I would spot feed ~3 times a week. I also noted feeding response when I fed the tank as well. BB

Heck we're up to 77 replies now. Its moving along nicely. Granted at this rate the frags are going to be colonies by the time we get to 100 posts. Perhaps next time, set the post count higer, but only limit posts to 1 per day. That might make it interesting too..

Yes. One in the tank and one in the reactor. By monitoring the PH in the reactor you can optimize the reaction in the reactor. BB

That almost makes me want to drive 5 hours, just to see them. Maybe when I get my tank set up down here I'll order half a dozen or so for the new tank. BB