wayneb

Bill, so far parameters have checked good, nitrates and nitrites peaked abit but partial water changes brought them back down. Will be monitoring them frequenty as I keep expecting them to spike. Am curing only about 40 lbs of rock at this time (10 lbs dead rock, 13 lbs of live rock and about 17 lbs of holy rock). Will be slowly adding more of all 3 types as time goes by. Overall only plan on going with a total of not more then 50 lbs of holy rock as base rock. Any extra holy rock I obtain, I'll use to waterscape my koi ponds.

Luke, Have a TV console that I stripped the tube out of and put in a 20 gal freshwater aquarium plus put a couple of ten gal ones on top. The overall size is 30" x 14" x 31" tall. Free for the taking. Probably can put 3/4" plywood on top. wayneb

Update on the holy rock. Contacted Jakedoza's neighbor about coming up the 19th of Feb. to get about 25 lbs. She said no problem and that she could make me a good deal on a larger quantity if I wanted it. Thought I would check with other members to see if anyone else would like some and we can split the cost. PM me if interested and the quantity you would like. She made it clear that the rock will need to be cleaned, etc. before using. wayneb

Got me thinking - my first born won me 8 cases of coors. As one of a group of nine couples who were stationed at Mather AFB in Sacramento, worked together, and basically ran around together established a pool for the first born male. It seems as if we were all expecting about the same time (we think it was the wild weekend we spent a few months earlier camping out on the beaches in Monteray{this was the early 70s}). Out of the nine, we were the only ones to have a son. Made for a good party, however soon after we all shipped out to different parts of the world. wayneb

To all: We add our congratulations. wayne and lynn

Okay, thanks for the answers. I'm going to go ahead and try to add mangroves and chaeto and of course cucs, but will wait until our Reef Cleaners group order goes out around the 19th. This will give me two more weeks to increase the lighting time, see about fixing up another light fixture with more 6500K bulbs as recommended, and adding an eggcrate rack to support the mangroves. Don't know if I'll increase from a 200g powerhead as it seems to be doing a good job of agitating the water. One thing I did do when I originally set it up was put a top on the tub consisting of a 1/8" 2'x4' light difussing panel used for overhead fluorescent fixtures. The panel was flexible enough that I could bow it inward to allow any water splashed up or condensation to drip back into the tub and not down the sides. Also added a wood frame to hold the light fixture and keep the tub from bowing outward (it wasn't as tough as the ad made it out to be). Main thing is it works and was/is cheap. again thanks, wayneb

Have the 50g tub up and running to cure the rocks and holy rocks. Never got a definite answer on the lighting requirements except "not too long" so went to Petco and picked up a couple of 6 inch bulbs - 1 being a 15 watt clear bulb and the other a Coralife 10 watt 50/50 fluorescent. Turn them on at 1400 and off about 1800. Seems to be working okay as so far no algae bloom on the holy rock. Due to the cold weather, did have to add another heater. Want to monitor it another two weeks or so before adding more live rock etc. Have been doing the water changing every 3/4 days. My newbie question of the day is: Can I add mangroves and chaeto plus CUCs to make it a fuge type configuration/holding area until I can actually transfer them to the sump/fuge once it is set-up?: If so should I increase the lighting period and/or do I need to add more lighting? thanks, wayneb

Got me wondering now on how it would look on the back wall of a 55g long. Also what about using crushed coral and/or rubble instead of sand to fill in the gaps? Overall it appears that the final look is going to be more natural then the foam forms that can be purchased. wayneb

I vote for the 19th also. wayneb

Looks good, definitely keep us posted on progress, especially the canopy. wayneb

Liz, I'm ready for the group buy when ever you decide to go with it. Figure my order will be about $30-40 toward the free shipping requirement. As stated, since I work part time- I can act as gofer for any of the south Austin/Bastrop/Kyle area members who want to join in. wayneb

Yes, but will have to wait until middle of Feb. before I can drive up there (cataract surgeries) to get it. From your description of her yard, don't think it will disappear. Appreciate if you will give her a heads up for me and my thanks. wayneb

Don't forget Ebay and other such auctions. wayneb

Good point, and one I thought about. It is one of the reasons for curing it first, so that I can check it out somewhat. Realize that there still might be problems down the road. Have also thought about making a sacrifice to the water quality gods by first introducing a coral or critter susceptible to water conditions. Might sound cold, but after going thru one crash and loss of critters coupled with disposing of the live sand and rubble that I could no longer rely on, economically worth it. wayneb

Would like to buy a small quality (15-30 lbs) of live rock this weekend or next. Looking for someone in the South Austin area, as my driving ability will be limited for the next month or so (cataract surgeries) and want to avoid the traffic congestion of North/Central Austin area. Please PM me with details. Thanks, wayneb

Think you can talk her into selling a couple good size holy rock pieces at a decent price? I would like some more as base rock to build on. thanks, wayneb

From my experience - nuke the holy rock first with a vinegar/water solution. Use a toothbrush to scrub it to make sure all algae spores, etc. are gone. The one I used in my first setup was removed from a freshwater set-up about 5/6 years ago and sat in a box in the garage. wayneb

Have set up my 50gal container to cure live rock with heater, pump, and saltwater. All parameters look good. Have nuked my holy rocks in vinegar/water solution and am ready to add to container tomorrow. Need to know what is the best lighting K factor to use. Using an old fresh water lighting fixture with the screw in bulbs that need to be replaced before adding the live rock. Hope to pick up live rock Sat or Sun. Thanks, wayneb Also trying to change my avator - first post did not have it.

Colorado Coral Addiction also has coral on ebay. Usually adds new frags on Thursday with auction finishing Sunday nights. They don't appear as fancy as the web site frags, but they do combine ebay wins with site buys. wayneb

Muddy, if this is directed at me then after the big crash in Oct/Nov ( after initial fill-up with declorinated tap water), I went to Aquatek for 20 gal of salt water and then to HEB for RO water. Got more live rock from Aquatek and Fishy Business and algae eating snails out the zazoo. Have to retake the tank picture. I did this one for S&Gs using Paint software to show water flow. wayneb

Tizzite: The final decision is yours. You don't say how big your Nano is going to be or what supporting equipment (filter, skimmer, etc) comes with it or how much time you want to spend with the maintenance of it. If it is small (under 29 gal) then I suggest at least getting RO water from HEB, Walmart, or the many little kiosk set-ups that are now all over the place. If you do decide to use tap water, then at least add a water filtration unit to what ever sink is going to supply it. Or look into getting a small RO/DI unit to put under the sink. To be honest, even one of those Brita units would probably be better then straight tap water. Finally read the past posts on this site, reef central site, some of the sponsors sites, and afterwards as I said- the decision would have to be yours. wayneb

Jason, excellent photos. At Dave's request I am reposting my photos taken with a Kodak Easy Share M341 camera to this forum. Was having too much fun playing with the mode dial to remember which photo went to what mode. Again with Dave's advise, I posted all on photobucket.com. Anyway here's my efforts. http://s740.photobucket.com/albums/xx48/waynefb/ARC%20JAN%20meeting/ wayneb

I'll be d*****, it works. Thanks Dave.

Okay Dave here goes. I'll download all from photobucket and also pick the one I like for the contest. wayneb http://s740.photobucket.com/albums/xx48/waynefb/ARC%20JAN%20meeting/

Just down loaded the ones I took with a Kodak easy share M341. Look good, and besides that it also takes video action, something the higher price fancy jobs usually don't do. wayneb Now if I can just figure how to download them from my PC album to this site. Dave & Andrew: that was one of the questions I forgot to ask. Old age and having too much fun I guess.