Sascha D.

All anemones have found new homes. Thanks everyone!

Prices on remaining corals reduced for the last week of the sale.

Both anemones are pending pickup Sunday.

Great tip! I'll look into it when I add anthias early next month. How many times daily do you feed them? My feeder is set to twice daily at the moment.

I've tried the Aquachef and I would not recommend using it. The drum allows moisture to get inside, ruining the food. It also doesn't hold the program and I had to reset it a few times a week. I've been using the Eheim Digital Feeder with a Feeding Station for the last few months with great success. I fill the drum once a month and alternate between NLS pellets and Formula One pellets. So far I like NLS pellets the best. Each food is a different size, so you wouldn't be able to control the amount in each feeding if you mix foods. Most marine fish will not eat from the sand and I wouldn't recommend using algae wafers. Scavengers like tangs may be conditioned to eat some of the wafers, but most of it will probably dissolve and float away or disappear in the sand. It's been a long time since I've used freeze dried foods and I don't remember how long it takes them to sink. My wrasses and foxface will eat from the surface, but the damsels, tangs and angelfish haven't that I've noticed. I would recommend a feeding station or ring for any foods that float for any period of time.

I checked with him a few months ago and he said they "officially" discontinued group buys due to shipping costs. He said you can still pay separately but shipment will be in one box.

+1 to what Timfish said. You can use limestone rock in a reef set up, but it's not the same as live rock. Texas Holey Rock is dense and not porous like live rock, so it doesn't support colonization of microfauna and you'll have half of the amount of bacterial filtration than a equal size piece of live rock. It also doesn't buffer because calcite dissolves at a much lower pH than calcium carbonate. This makes it good for cichlid tanks, but doesn't help in saltwater.

When I took those corals to Aquatek, the owner transferred them straight from my bucket into his tank. The colors of my frags looked better in his holding tank than it does in my display! You can see from the pictures that my water isn't as clear as it could be, but I think the lights has a lot to do with it as well.

Oh man, do you want to know the real kicker? I had an appointment from 9-11, the guy didn't how up until 6:45 and then he told me he didn't have enough time to complete the work and I had to reschedule.

Thanks for the tip! I asked him about the move and he said they will be moving between now and August 31st. I'm following his FB page so I can see when they get going.

Sale post updated. Two large Pocillopora colonies, Australian Plate, Lantana and Favia pieces left. Also have two more Rainbow Bubble Tip Anemones.

The cable company called to say the technician is running late and I decided to head to Aquatek. I haven't been there in a while and the store was looking well maintained today. They had plenty of healthy looking fish and lots of nice corals. Some of their open brain corals were absolutely huge! I traded in about 15 of my coral frags and had a great experience talking with the staff. I'll definitely be going back to that store again! With about half of my sand bed cleared, it's time to start thinking about putting that fish trap to work! By the end of the month I hope to have the livestock situation under control and I can begin with plumbing.

This is the first time I've seen another fish act aggressively during acclimation. Everything that I had read about them mentioned how docile and shy they are! The Regal is about the same size as my Emperor, so we'll see how that goes.

Cable Man: We'll be there to install your internet sometime before you die. Thanks for your money... Me: Sounds like a blast, guess I'll take off from work and do a water change. So... I'll be home...at 10:30? *pulls out liveaquaria coupon I got in the mail* Day instantly better! Little booger started chasing the little guys and got put in time out! Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Coralife Power Center was all that I used to control my aquarium until I started CO2. It's not very expensive and controls 8 plugs. One thing that I liked about it was that the batteries kept the settings after a power outage. I've also used the one Timfish recommended and it works well as long as you don't lose the start/stop pins. I eventually replaced it with a $15 digital timer that controls two plugs.

My fish health book says that dark coloration in the skin or eyes and protruding eyes are symptoms of deficiency in Vitamin B and Vitamin C.

If the torch is in the same tank with the leathers and mushrooms doing well, then it's probably not the lighting or the nutrients. The dip concentration sounds fine. I only dip my corals between 3-5 minutes because I've had bad luck with extended dips. I did a quick web search and other people dip their LPS for 20 minutes, so it's probably not the length. Nothing stands out to me based on the information you've provided, but maybe someone else can think of something. Is it possible that the receding heads were stung?

Iodine is the oldest dip in the hobby, the hardest dip to use and more stressful on the corals than other dips readily available today, but treats almost everything. Twenty years ago the hobby wasn't as mainstream as it is today and we used what we could. Near everything was done DIY out of necessity instead of novelty like it is today. Part of the reason I suggested dipping is because Euphyllias, bubble corals, and brains are known to get bacterial and fungal infections. How long did you dip your coral? What water did you use to dip the coral?

IME fragging the Euphyllia hasn't made a difference. Sometimes one head can be doing fine while another head immediately next to it can be closed up. I've had the same result when I've fragged the closed head off and when I've left it on. Make sure all heads are closed as much as they go, remove the coral and dip it in Melafix, Coral Rx (they're pretty much the same) or iodine. These dips will treat bacterial infections and kill pests, but don't dip more than 3 minutes. Check the closed head for sand or other particles that could be irritating it. It helps to use turkey baster. If it's some sort of infection or pest, then you will have to dip multiple times at regular intervals. Good luck!

Now is a good time to revisit my stocking plan from March 21st to see what's changed and where I want to go from here. I currently have 17 fish with a goal of around 30. I really got this tank to house the Emperor Angelfish and Naso Tang, but also want to take advantage of the space. I've been toying with the idea of a harem of Japanese Swallowtail Angelfish since the beginning and they deserve a spot on the list. I really love jawfish, but I've decided not to add additional sand to house one. The cable guy is coming next week and it would be a good time to make an order . This is my short list at the moment. The dates indicate when I added them to the display. I currently have two fish pending pickup in Houston. Angelfish Emperor Angelfish - Africa (Pomacanthus imperator) - August 2017 Regal Angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus) - July 2018 Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula) - July 2018 Rusty Angelfish (Centropyge ferrugata) - July 2018 Japanese Swallowtail Angelfish (Genicanthus melanospilos) 1 male 2-3 females Tangs/Rabbitfish One Spot Foxface (Siganus unimaculatus) - May 2016 Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens) - December 2017 Yellow Eye Kole Tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus) - December 2017 Blonde Naso Tang (Naso elegans) - Pending Convict Tang (Acanthurus triostegus) - Pending Wrasses Melanurus Wrasse (Halichoeres melanurus) - May 2016 Dusky Wrasse (Halichoeres annularis) - January 2017 Red-Lined Wrasse (Halichoeres biocellatus) - March 2017 Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) - March 2018 Christmas Wrasse (Halichoeres claudia) - March 2018 Clownfish Oscellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) x2 - November 2017 Anthias Bicolor Anthias (Pseudanthias bicolor) or Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) x5-8 Damsels Pink Smith Damselfish (Pomacentrus smithi) x2 - January 2017 Azure Damselfish (Chrysiptera hemicyanea) x2 - February 2017 (selling the one that bites) Springer's Damselfish (Chrysiptera springeri) x2 - April 2017 Basslet Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto) x1-3

The coke bottle is an old school trap, but it's tricky. The shrimp avoid it because it's too light and blows around. If your shrimp likes to hang out in the rocks then place the trap at a 45 degree angle with the bottom on the sand and the top sloping up the aquascape towards his spot. If he hangs out on the sand, then face the opening towards his spot and anchor the trap in place using LR. The trick is to get it stationary. CB are generally active all day, so I would leave the trap in at all times but replace the bait each day. Good luck!

Thanks for including that last line! At first I was like , and then I was like, but now I'm like . I never complain about how expensive the hobby is, but I also don't have as nice of a tank as you do. I'm somewhere around mediocre with a goal of slightly better than average and I'm okay with that. LOL! Seriously though, I'm about 40% to my goal with an expiration date of 8/3/18. It's doing okay so far but a lot depends on what gets tweeted between now and then. My landscaping project is nearly complete and then it will be time to start on my list of tank items. Lights - The canopy is too short to work in comfortably, so I either need lower profile lights or a new light hanging system. Plumbing - The new overflow has been working well, but my full siphon stopped functioning after installation. I'm guessing I messed something up? Right now it's working as a Durso and making bubbles in the sump. I need to replace the drain and return lines with flex. I'm waiting to start this project until the frag tank is decided. Stand - I need to install hinges on the stand and canopy doors for easier access. This one has been on my list for a long time, but it's pretty low priority. Frag Tank - Trimming corals is just part of the hobby and you can either throw them into the calcium reactor or create new frags. It seems like a shame to waste perfectly good corals. I would like to add a separate holding tank to my system for fresh cuts to heal before finding new homes. Ideally, I would plumb the tank into the main sump to take advantage of the calcium reactor. Placing the frag tank inside the stand results in the cleanest look, but people would have to get on their hands and knees to see them. To do this I would have to move the aquarium controller and reservoir outside of the stand or replace the sump with a smaller version. Adding the tank on a stand next to the display is the most functional, taking advantage of gravity and allowing easy viewing. The cost is a little bit higher because it requires a separate stand. Corals - I've posted about half of my corals for sale on Facebook and ARC. These are mostly duplicate frags and colonies that I need to trim down. Whatever is left at the end of the month will go to the LFS. The remaining corals that I'm going to keep will find permanent homes in the aquascape.

How do you like the fixture? I'm guessing you use the actinic with the MH? Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

The Reefbrite XHO lights are using 3w LED's and they can be assembled in circuit. For my tank I would need four 36" fixtures for a total of 432 watts of LED power. This is slightly lower than my current fixtures that produce 480 watts. It would allow me to mount the lights to the top of the canopy and reduce some of the shadowing produced by the hanging fixtures. I'm using 50/50 lights at the moment and like the daylight, but I wouldn't mind a little more blue. I promised myself that if my next stock option trade was successful that I would spend the money on new equipment! It's pretty pricey though and I want to do some more research. Does anyone have any experience with these fixtures?

Sale post updated