thedude

Dipping and QT'ing would be a GREAT workshop EJ. Actually it might be a great thing to start with by going over the different pests available to us and how they get in and how to stop them. Anyone else think that perhaps the best first step would be going over coral predators and methods to prevent their introduction?

Day 1 Report: Water is clear, but my water is always clear

Gabe, Just go ahead and order froms finsreef. They have free shipping on the roids anyway and I don't see us carrying them anytime soon. John

The waving motion from the shrimp that you're referring to is to actually inform the fish that they are indeed a cleaner. If they didn't wave back and worth they would be eaten.

Got them in and started dosing them today. According to Polyplab's website this should run my tank for over a year! Nothing really to report yet but I will say that all kinds of small life went nuts in my tank when I fed reefroids. I had worms crawling out everywhere! Dosing schedule is as follows: Everyday: (Before lights on) -2 drops RF Genesis (dormant bacteria strain) -1 mL RF Fuel (bacteria fuel) (After lights off) -2 drops RF Amino Acids (amino acids specific to coral building) -2 drops RF Plus (SPS specific food) Every week the only thing that changes is how much of the of the RF Fuel I use. Seems to be very straighforward and I can't wait to see some results. Also www.finsreef.com was great to deal with and called me today to make sure I got the package. John

That's about dead on for what instant ocean should be adding into your tank Mike fyi. We'll have to ask these other guys what the Tropic Marin Pro runs.

Rics and mushrooms are very easy. the key is to take your time. Most prop methods say to take a razor blade and cut them which I feel is way way way too harsh. A rubberband on the polyp applies enough light pressure to encourage the polyp to split down the rubberband. Acans are also quite literally bulletproof. Dremmel and a diamond wheel works the best but I've taken 1/4 heads of lords and grown them into colonies before. Joe- Those are exactly the plus I was thinking of and I think we should do a large buy of them if we indeed do a workshop. So corals that we'd like to see fragged so far include: -Acros (this is more my preference as I'd like to steer away from mounting with 2 part epozy) -Leathers (joe this is all you) -Xenia (I've got quite a few friends who prop xenia) -Zoo's -Acanthastrea -LPS in general

I almost feel like we'd need more room honestly Robert. Any suggestions?

Joe, That sounds great and it also sounds like you have way more soft coral fragging experience than I do. I don't think acropora are self explanatory though mostly because people mount frags vertically instead of horizontally. You want to maximize the surface area touching the plug so it has a chance to encrust faster. What kind of plugs have you used as I was thinking of getting some agro-crete ones in for this? John

All, I've been toying with the idea of doing a fragging workshop for the 2nd meeting. It could correspond with another frag swap and also a group buy on some quality fragging shears or even dremel tools. We could even get some big corals in, have everyone frag them, and get to take home some corals at the same time! Let me know if ya'll would be interested in something like this and I'll start working on it. I also would like to know what kind of corals ya'll are looking to see propagation techniques with. John

Clint, My chem test starts at 2pm tomorrow and it's 60 questions. I estimate that it will take me between 1:30 -2 hours to complete but the minute I finish, I'll be giving you a call. Hope that I can meet at least a few of ya'll. John

NO the distributor won't call me back. I don't know if they're too busy or what but it's super annoying. I doubt we'll carry the refresh in store unless I find it to be amazing. I would like to carry the reef roids but the verdict is still out on how much I like them. I'll report all of my findings back to ya'll. John

Look at www.maast.org or www.marsh.com I love CB Pets outside of SA

This the thread on RC discussing Reefresh http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=826607

Well I've heard good things about system reefresh so I bit the bullet and ordered the complete package. Due to a little mishap with my starboard, all my corals are completely browned out and I'll let you know how I like the growth and color that this stuff adds. BB mishap was that when they say silicone the starboard to the bottom of the tank, they mean it. I took mine up to find huge yellow sponge colonies and 1/2 icnh layer of crap.

Yeah my salinity is right at 1.026 and haven't had a problem so I don't know what that's about. As for corals, I don't acclimate as much as I dip. Every coral going into my tank gets a strong strong lugol's dip in 1/2 bag water, 1/2 tank water. I let it sit there for around 30 minutes and when I say strong, I mean the water has a strong yellow color. I then take the coral and turkey baste it to make sure that anything creepy falls off. Also depending on where I get an SPS from, I'll interceptor dip it. John

I'm going to be real honest.... When I get fish into the LFS, they go through at least an hour rip with an ammonia neutralizer because the PH in the bags has dropped and they are filled with ammonia. When I get fish from the LFS and drop them into my tank, I do a temperature acclimation then dump them in a net and put them in. The difference is salinity doesn't seem to be an issue in the slightest. Inverts are acclimated even more loosely and I've never had a problem. John

How long are the t-5 bulbs?

We always love to recycle styrofoam containers as they can be reused time and time again, anytime you purchase something new. It's is very polite to bring one back in but we'll never mention it if you don't. That's a GREAT questions and as Robert said, your quest for knowledge and patience in yet again refreshing. These should give you success in the marine aquarist hobby in the future for sure! John

Carbon is really the key. I'm sure we would all be amazed at what corals can release. John

Glad to see you here EJ. I hope that live rock looks great in your tank and I'm sure you won't receive any lectures from us. We've all had to get into this hobby at some point and working with experience is the best way to do it right!

Glad to see you on here Bruce! If you make it to the meeting you'll be truly amazed at how beautiful Clint's tank is.

We lost power at the store for 24 hours and it sucked. 10 pm Tursday to 10 pm Friday. 3 generators managed to keep most of the livestock alive but I shudder at what would have happened had it been hot out.

Robert I know a bunch of people that have it, including myself. Mine isn't ready but I can definitely hook you up with someone who is. Discus - That's a really cool coral but not the green slimer. The slimer (a formosa I believe) has electric green polyps and corallites.

Leather corals, especially sarcophytons, do release a toxin into the water continuously. It's a major growth inhibitor that allows the leather to flourish and the other corals to wane. Running carbon in a tank with leathers is always a good idea as it soaks up many of those toxins. Leathers and SPS DO NOT mix.