Rascal

Kill the aiptasia. Injections of Joe's Juice, Kalk paste, lemmon juice, . . . any or all will do the job.

I would also try the following: More and different types (colors) of nori. Sometimes smearing a little bit of freshly crushed garlic on it helps stimulate the appetite. A variety of live macro algaes (especially red gracilaria if you can find it). If it won't go for the algae on the clip, try attaching it to a small piece of rock or rubble (zip ties or elastic bands work for this) and then putting it on the bottom of your tank. Better yet would be to buy a piece of live rock with macro algae growing on it naturally. Not hair algae or bryopsis but the really good stuff. Marine Scene sometimes has this for sale as "macro algae on rock." Pretty pricey though.

Since you are having trouble maintaining Alk & Calc w/ just 2 part AND you are experiencing too much of a drop in PH at night, it seems to me that you could kill 2 birds with 1 stone if you started dripping kalk at night. Even without a stirrer, you can easily set up a DIY dripper from a 2 liter bottle and some airline tubing and valve. Add a teaspoon (or whatever) of kalk and mix it up when you get home from work, then start the drip when you turn in for bed (after the kalk has had time to settle). This should keep PH elevated at night while at the same time help ease some of the burden on the 2-part.

I have somewhat of a different take on this probably. To minimize the chances of any territoriality based aggression in the future, I would decide now which tangs you want to get in the tank and then add them all at once. As long as they are from different families and a similar size you should not have any serious problems b/n them, once the pecking order has been established. If it were me I would add at least 3 and possibly 4 tangs to a tank that size, depending on species and size, but that's just me. If you do add a couple now and later change your mind and want to get another, it's a good idea to make sure the addition is slightly bigger than the tangs that are already in the tank. I think the vast majority of people with yellows (and they are probably the most common tang sold) don't have that experience. For the most part they get along great with everything except species from the same genus. Yellows and sailfins are both Zebrasoma tangs -- so fighting between them would be expected, although I am sure there are some exceptions out there (always are).

I'll add this link to the one Brian already posted, an excellent tutorial if you haven't already seen it. http://www.ximinasphotography.com/lessons/index.html At the end he includes a section specific to reef tank photos. I muddled my way to a similar process that Brian describes. I start in "P" - program - mode so I can manually set the white balance, turn off the flash, and then let the camera pick the aperture and shutter speed. Then I switch to "M" - manual - mode and adjust to get the exposure I want. For maximum clarity I usually go with the highest aperture setting my camera will allow (to get the most depth of field) and then adjust shutter speed to get the right exposure. A $20 tri-pod from radio shack made all the difference here for me, allowing me to use slow enough shutter speeds without getting a lot of blur. Another tip is to set the timer to 2 - 3 seconds so that the picture isn't blurred from your hand shaking the camera. For fish shots I pretty much do the opposite. I set the shutter speed as fast as I can get it without getting too narrow a depth of field. I have read that the best way to shoot fish is to to try to track them as they move and let the camera focus on their eyes. That is undoubtedly true, but neither I nor my equipment is nearly that good. The best fish shots I ever got were taken by setting the camera on the tri-pod pointed at the center area of the tank, and then sticking some nori on a clip and adding some mysis to get everyone out and moving. I then set the the shooting mode to "C" - continuous - and let the camera take a ton of shots. After that it was just a matter of cropping the results to get the photos I liked.

1) The electrician can install a transfer switch. They have both manual and automatic types I think. My dad has one. My DIY solution (which I haven't done yet) is to just install a plug and outlet in the cord running from the breaker box to the furnace. That way when the power goes out I can just unplug the furnace and plug it into an extension cord from the generator. 2) All of those things will have the max wattage listed on them (or at least on the packaging). Just add the watts and you'll have your answer. The only thing to be careful about when doing the calculations is the fact that a 250W MH ballast uses a lot more than 250W when firing up. Your generator probably has a peak rating that is designed to accommodate this sort of thing (really designed more for refrigerators and stuff, but the same general idea). 3) I use extension cords that run through the crawl space and into the house. I then cut the plugs off these and wired them into outlets which are placed next to the outlets that normally supply power to the tank. Conduit would have been a better choice but I had the extra extension cords and didn't feel like spending the $ on a bunch of conduit. When the power goes out it is just a matter of powering up the generator and switching the plugs to the generator outlets. Works for me. 4) A battery back up can supply power for essential life support when the power fails while you are away from the house or even home but asleep.

Twinspot was one of the first fish I got -- didn't fare well. It can be difficult to get them to take prepared food and my tank was too new to have enough infauna in the sandbed. I have also read that they do much better in pairs. I would worry that the 6-line might go after the Rainford since they compete for the same food (pods from rockwork) -- they are cool looking fish though.

I agree, at least at first. Keep testing and see how your levels are with just kalk. If you need more, you can then start to supplement with 2-part as needed. In the long run, the kalk reactor - ca reactor combo really does a great job and is as "set and forget" as you can get IMO.

A good idea. The real disaster would have been if she started messing around with all of the electrical stuff in there.

I have both a Current 15W and Aqua 25W on my system. Basically when I upgraded I decided to keep the old one and replace each bulb every 6 months. Anyway, they are both very good products in my opinion. I've had no problems with either one. The wiper on the Aqua unit is a huge plus, though. The first time I replaced the bulb on my Current I was amazed at how much calcium carbonate had built up. The quartz sleeve was solid white. The way I have my Aqua set up the wiper is obstructed by my skimmer cup. This way every time I empty the cup (approx. once a week) I am reminded to use the wiper. Very easy and it lets me know I am always getting the full effect from my UV bulb in that unit.

James: Can't speak for others, but this is what I do. For me the calcium reactor handles the bulk of the ca & alk demand. I could easily adjust it to handle all of the demand, but I also use Kalkwasser for top-off, mainly to maintain PH. The only time I use 2-part is when I am dialing in my calcium reactor (ex- after changing media). When I do this I generally start very conservatively (better to underdose than overdose), test every day, make small adjustments, and use 2-part to make up the difference in the meantime. Test. Add a little. Wait a day. Test. Adjust the amount added up or down as needed. Wait. Test. Adjust. Wait. Test. Adjust. Wait. Test. . . . . Get the picture?

All you want to know: "How to select a calcium and alkalinity supplementation scheme," by RHF. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm

You're right. I doubt ich killed your Clown tang. You would have seen a bunch of white spots for a while before ich got bad enough to kill a fish. I was just thinking of the Hippo - white spot and scratching. A little bit of garlic never hurts (I'm Italian, so I'm a little biased), but it's not a cure-all either. It's kind of like chicken soup and orange juice when you've got a cold. I just use regular garlic, in a garlic press. I wouldn't do anything else other than TLC for the rest of your fish right now. Sometimes fish just die for no apparent reason. If you lose another, or start observing increasing signs of ill health, then it might be time for more drastic measures.

I agree. Hold of on the FWE if its not an emergency. Get your water quality back in line first, get a wrasse if you don't already have one, and then give it some time. It's possible the flatworms, like the nuisance algae, have only proliferated because of excess nutrients.

Tree: I have had a couple of emerald crabs that I suspected of picking on zoanthids, but only when they got really big. I wasn't able to catch either one but both died soon after they seemed to develop the appetite for zoas. Never had one go after sps that I know of. I think emeralds are kind of like pygmy angels -- different individuals have different tastes. Some eat corals, some don't. "Reef safe with caution" I think is how they describe species like this.

FYI, you can buy RO/DI water in bulk from Centerville Aquarium and Superpets (that I know of). About .50 per gallon. Of course, you still need something to carry it with. I used 30 gallon rubbermaid tubs, filled 1/2 way, and made several trips, but then I only live about 1 1/2 miles from Superpets. Anyway, it may be an option if you really want to get it done this weekend and just need more water. As far as the sub-panel, I'm curious, what is the advantage to doing this as opposed to just adding new circuits to your existing breaker box?

Tank looks awesome Steve. Looks much older than it is. Very nice work.

Use PVC solvent instead of hose clamps. Look here: http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseac...d/8242/cid/2083 BRK also carries a few different types of these.

Just so no one gets confused here, David is talking about Granular Ferris Oxide (GFO) based phosphate removal products (i.e. - rowaphos, phosar, etc.. . .). They will reduce phosphates to extremely low levels and when saturated will not leach. The old aluminum oxide based products (like phosguard) will not absorb as much phosphate and when saturated will begin to leach phosphates back into the water. Activated carbon which has phosphates in it when you put it in your water will leach those phosphates into the water. They are spherical beads - kind of like the ball bearings you would buy for a sling shot, only a little bit bigger.

You can also acclimate guppies to saltwater and use those. Might be cheaper than mollies.

Had a close call one night cutting palys. They can squirt like a spitting cobra. Safety goggles: <$5 at HD Not being blind: priceless

That's a really good link. I've also read though that it can depend not just on the brand but also on the batch, so who knows. I like the seachem matrix stuff b/c it requires a lot less rinsing than anything else I've tried.

It may just grow up in layers upon itself (which is pretty cool to see), but I think it will probably spread down and eventually onto other rocks. I could be wrong, though. From the looks of it you've got plenty of time to observe its growth and make a decision before it reaches any other rocks. Just don't be like me and watch it overgrow 20+ heads of a 50 head candy cane colony before you finally decide to step in do something about it. :( Glad to here the anemone is looking better. They really do like to eat, don't they?

The only thing to worry about with the mouse pads would be the paint or dye coming off in the tank I think. You can also cut up an old isofoam mat or just zip-tie some bubble-wrap around it. . What I have found works best though is to just use water. If there is a way to shorten your tubing just enough so the pump is suspended about an inch off of the bottom of the sump without touching any of the sides, there won't be anything for it to vibrate against, and the water will absorb a lot of the sound.