KeeperOfTheZoo

I don't see why you couldn't try some of the easier sps. That comes out to 6wpg. That's an admittedly flawed measurement system but its something to work from. I have just over 3wpg of PC lighting in my tank and have two sps colonies growing very well. One is some sort of branching digi that really extends its polyps well and glows under actinics. The other is ORA Miami orchid that has grown from.nothing but the broken off base of the original colony. Its color is very pretty and its starting to branch now. I thought it wouldn't be possible to keep sps with PC lighting and I know the real high light species would fail. I'm doing real good with anything in the moderate light range.

Me? I couldn't have possibly started anything! I am, as always, the picture of innocence. Marks dementia is obviously contagious. I think we should quarantine him at Mama's and remove all her livestock for safe keeping. If anyone's left standing after the appropriate 6 week quarantine period we'll discuss terms for the critters return. I get first dibs on ponies and tangs.

Heya, If the deal with Sherri doesn't work, I'd like the urchin! I can offer you a loose kenya tree frag (or two), my momma colony has been dropping babies. None of them are real big, but they grow quick! I'm just outside of Killeen out towards Kempner. I can meet you, pick up or if you're brave you are welcome to come out to my zoo.

And I *so* totally believe you (hey Robb, mines bigger than yours)!!!

Oh! I so feel like I'm back in high school! I'm just waiting for one of you boys to exaggerate about how big your tank is while pretending you're an experienced reef keeper and my flash back will be complete.

Thank you! Just goes to show if you beg and pester enough you shall receive.

Is your dendro that colorful?

Is it the spectrum of lighting that had the most impact or the quantity of lighting? I know they are not mutually exclusive of course. Gabriel I do believe you are correct in that an actual color shift occurs when lower k bulbs are used. I have corals that have completely changed color and it's not just the way the light reflects off them, though that is a factor for sure. Obviously some things really pop under the bluer actinic or higher k lighting. I guess where I'm going with this is what K will produce the best balance between growth and color? I have been really surprised with how well my corals are doing under PC lighting, given I'm keeping corals happy in the moderate light range. I was thinking about going back to a 10K and 50/50 (10k & actinic) combo. I don't like the super blue light of real high Kelvin bulbs. Seems like that's what most people lean towards though. Is it a must to get the best color out of corals?

Please save me a frag!

+1 to lower K= fast growth but poorer color. I switched my bulbs out a couple months ago, didn't get exactly what I wanted but since I'm still trying to figure out what color I like in my tank (lighting wise) I went with it. I have two 6500k/10k bulbs and two 10k/actinic bulbs. My coral and coraline algae growth has EXPLODED (the back of my 6' long tank is at least 50% covered in coraline and it's all happened in the last month and a half)! Everything from SPS (who are giddy happy even with PCs) to my softies are growing like mad. All my zoas have browned out though and some of my other corals have shifted color as well. I suspected it was the lower K bulbs and this confirms it. I'm going to give the tank a few more months then switch out the 50/50 bulbs lower K bulbs with something else. The growth is wonderful, but I don't like the color of light in the tank or the color of my corals. Blah. Ooops, and I agree with Dave. Lighting ain't everything.

Cyrus, I have a little ocellaris hosting in a large colony of hairy shrooms (they almost look like a carpet nem), clowns are little hussies for sure! My clown is very gentle and the mushrooms don't mind having her even though she burrows and 'cuddles' with them very actively. If your clown is aggressive with the nem or is causing damage I'd pull it. I have talked to multiple people who have had their clowns kill an anemone. Catch the maroon clown and take her to one of the big fish stores in Austin and trade her in for credit. I've taken fish to both RCA and Aquatec. Aquatec acted like they were doing me a favor to take my fish and I got nothing for them. RCA gave me store credit, which I happily spent on another fish!

That's a cool looking coral! Would you swap for cash? I'll be at the meeting, if you have any remaining frags I'd like one. Don't really have much to offer in trade. I have a small frag from Neon Green Palau Nepthea that is currently loose as it was just dropped. It is already branching, about 1- 1 1/2 inches. My camera took a hike while on vacation so I don't have a pic of my colony, but here's a link to what it is/looks like: http://www.coloradocoralfarm.com/true-palau-nepthea/ http://www.atlantisaquarium.net/rare-palau-nepthea-frg132.html

Umm Will, not being snippy but even your links point out a 16g is too small for those fish! A 30 maybe until they outgrow it (eel would be ok), but even that seems to be pushing the ticket a little. I looked at the anglers when deciding where I wanted to go with my tank, it was a predator/large fish tank when I bought it. The anglers are very cool, but I remember reading that 50-70g was the min for any of them, the wartskin will grow to 6", that's a big fish. So you just need to upgrade to a 55g and all will be well! Like I said, not everyone approaches stocking with the idea of giving the fish plenty of space and I've seen some very pretty tanks that were very overstocked but all seemed fairly well. Total tank volume is good and will help with water fouling, but I don't consider total volume when stocking. My total system volume is up over 150g, but when I look at fish I only take into consideration the size of my display (125g). I will admit I'm anal about fish planning though, I'm fascinated with the idea of building a long term reef 'community' vs. constant swapping of stock. I tend to want to create natural environments (or as much as possible) for all my animals. I think with some of those fish your firefish would be very likely to be lunch as well!! I know my snowflake eel would happily eat anything he could get in his mouth, he also did a great job burrowing and moving my rocks and corals around. We generally only saw him at feeding time, or we'd see just his head sticking out of the rocks. For an animal that ate a lot he didn't add a lot visually to the tank (aside from bioload). He was beautiful, and it was amazing when he would come out and swim, but I'm very glad he's in a new home now. Oh... flow is easy to tone down. I'm sure Mama could help you! LOL!! It's good to play with these ideas and work out the kinks ahead of time. I just aquired a second 55g tank which frees up the drilled 55g I was going to use to upgrade one of my freshwater tanks. You know what that means... a new saltwater tank (and the upgraded freshwater, woohoo)!! I'm playing with the idea of creating a TX gulf biotope tank, but I'm not sure how realistic a goal that would be. It'd make a great science project for my kids though. We had so much fun collecting things off the FL coast, gotta hit the TX coast and do the same.

Hey Andrew, Do you have pictures? I'm VERY interested in the dragonfly zoas and the Hawaiian Tropics, but I'd like to see the frags before I commit to the drive to pick them up. Are you going to this months meeting?

This is a 16g tank? That's a pretty little tank for most fish. I'd do a bit more research on the space requirements for the fish you have listed, the predator fish would all need a bigger tank. In some cases a much bigger tank. I know not everyone approaches stocking their tanks in the same way and I have seen people put juvenile fish in tanks that are much too small for the adult size the fish will reach. It can work, but you need to be aware and ready to find the fish a new home before it gets cramped and miserable. I personally buy fish with their adult size in mind, regardless of the current size of the fish. I have a small yellow tang right now who looks lost, but I know he's going to get big some day! I'm looking forward to years of watching my fish mature and settle into their home and form a community. I don't want to be having to constantly swap out fish that overgrow my tank (and even with a 125g I have to watch size and stocking) or are not compatible with what I want in the tank. Personally, I think you'd be better off with the smaller community type fish, and even then, check tank sizes and make sure you don't overstock. Realistically you can probably only fit one or two small fish in that tank. I like the firefish, pretty and they stay small. One other idea... what about seahorses or pipe fish?

Ok, will cook the rocks and then rinse/soak/dry. They are small rocks, palm size. I wanted to eventually add them as rubble type rock in my fuge. Do you still have the Galveston rocks in QT? How is that going? I'm hoping to hit the TX coast in the next couple months. I'm toying with the idea of a TX biotope tank with the 55g I'm gonna set up. So, one last question.... How do I explain cooking rocks to my hubby?

While at the beach I picked up a few hunks of neat porous rock, looks like 'live' rock (old coral skeleton) and probably was when I fished it out of the water. I've had it drying out for about a week now. Not real sure what to do with it. Can it be safely put in my tank, or is anything like that too polluted by the time it reaches the shore?

Don't know what it is Corey but it's really pretty! If it turns out to be friendly I want one.

Then there are those of us who see the challenge of tinkering, modification, taking things apart, making them better and never accepting out of the box as part of the joy of any hobby or endeavor. But then, I'd rather build things myself or repurpose/modify something old any day.

I don't think HOB overflows are any more obtrusive than the built in style of overflows. If I had my choice I'd go with a predrilled tank just to streamline things, but really a HOB is not the kiss of death some make it out to be. And if you ever decide to do something other than saltwater the tank doesn't have random holes. I may be the exeption but I like both salt and fresh water tanks. I have 4 freshwater tanks to my one saltwater. Have a drilled 55g and an undrilled 55g that Im trying to find the time to get running. Will be salt and a planted fresh tank. +1 on the aqualifter.

Late coming in on this between vacation and recovering from vacation. Just want to say that with a properly set up overflow you can guarantee 100% that you will never have a flood. It's simply a matter of correctly setting up the height of your overflow drain, the size of your return chamber in your sump and the overall capacity of your sump. Much harder to explain than set up! First, divide your sump into chambers. Have your return chamber with your return pump be small enough that it can't flood your tank if your siphon gets broken and the pump pushes all the water up into your tank. My return chamber holds about 1 1/2 gallons. My DT can take that much extra water without overflowing. On the other end, set the intake of your overflow high enough that if the pump cuts out and all the water drains down to your sump, the sump can handle the amount of water. There are calculators online that can help you figure out what volume of water will drain from x amount of surface area. My 125g drains about 10g of water when I cut the return pump and the water level drains below the level of the overflow intake. I have a 20g sump, holds the overflow no problem. So, if I loose siphon or my return pump there is no way I'll have a flood. Hope that makes sense!

I took the snail in to the LFS (which was very cool!) and the lady there said nassarius but I don't think that's right. I dunno.... As for collecting... going on what the long term natives are saying if something is washed up on the beach and you aren't stupid about grabbing it it's fair game. The 'law' may say otherwise, but I was sure not alone collecting things. There were folks on the beach with clear collection containers loading up and no one said a thing. We went to a different beach today, didn't see as much stuff but it was still neat. Lots of little fish, big horseshoe crabs and tons of differnt snails and hermits. Only came home with a few more washed up mangrove pods.

I know this isn't the best picture, I can get a better one if needed but this one provides the basic shape/color so here's hoping! This is a snail, good or bad? We collected a few because the shells are so pretty. Also gathered a few limpets, cute little guys but not at all flashy. They were chowing on the hair algae growing on a sea wall. Can't beat that!

Well, All went totally well. No problems at all and I think I'm past the danger zone. Good sand. I am now a HUGE fan of converting nasty old CC sand beds. Just wish I was home to enjoy it. Currently in Mississippi en route to N Carolina for a family emergency. I hate leaving the tank. I think I'm gonna sneak in a trip to Florida on the way home though!! Ric, I'm gonna get Koralia 3s. I figured I'd start there and add more if needed. Gee, I'd love to help you change over your cc bed but I'm a couple states away! LOL! It's really pretty easy and so worth it.

I will Gabriel and thank you for the heads up. I'll keep testing and watching. I mixed up more water so if things start to head downhill i will be ready.