Robb in Austin

Nursing.

I wish, Alice. 5 classes in 10 weeks, then 5 more in the fall. If all goes according to plan, Master's work starts next spring. Pray for my sanity.

PADI Rescue, but again, dry to the bone. No tripping for me though, too much school. :(

Oh. My bad.

I think some let you carry things on board, although I do not have any experience. I think Melev from RC documents bringing stuff from Cali back home with him recently. Check his thread there. That said, I was just saying that companies ship them as cargo, not as passenger carry on.

Seeing as they survive 24 shipping in an airplane, I think a 21 hr drive would be fine. Just tell them to pack them like it's an overnight shipping. I'd also do this at the last minute, just before you are leaving town. Buy a cheap Styrofoam cooler to bring them back.

That Nova unit is the one with the single flat reflector. It might be better than the CF unit he's currently using but I'd wait and get a decent unit. I scored my 4ft TX5 off RC, lightly used, for $350. Keep searching, something will come up.

I might be biased towards a 5 lamp unit. Although, someone on RC posted PAR readings from a Tek unit and a TX5 and the Tek blew my TX5 out of the water. I was bummed. # of bulbs is dependent on what you want to keep and tank size. If money is no object, grab a 10 lamp ATI Powermodule, go barebottom, and keep SPS in the sump. Heck, maybe the other room too! I'd say 4-6 at least, but it depends on how much you want to spend, what you want to keep and where in the tank, how much room you have/can spare, canopy, etc. See, too many variables. In the end, it's your call. If you like the shimmer, MH is the only real option. If you decide on T5, then you have to look at DIY in a canopy vs a fixture(sure, you can run a fixture inside a canopy but why hide what you pay for). DIY will be a little bit cheaper, maybe. The only fixtures I would consider are ATI(Powermodule & Sunpower), Aquactinincs (TX5, Constellation, Solarflare), and Tek. Also, consider used setups because there are some good deals out there.

Be careful what you wish for polarbear.

Individual reflectors(IR) means each lamp has 1 reflector that partially wraps around the lamp. Some fixtures use a flat piece of reflective material, some like the Nova Extreme Pro(NEP) have a single reflector that has bends in it to act like a IR, and then there are the good units that have the IR. You want a unit with IR. The NEP gets good reviews, but is almost the cost of a good unit with IR. A 4 bulb unit will be an improvement, but more lamps=more light=can keep higher light demanding animals=

Can you hitch a ride with someone who lives down there?

Elegance coral?

Good point Daniel.

To quote MC Hammer: It's All Good!! Nice surprise this AM Andrew!

yes.

I wonder if the use of VSV has dropped your 'bad' nutrients enough that the cheato isn't getting enough to eat.

Yes to clipping. You have to remove, or 'export', some to remove the bad nutrients out of the system. I think stirring is ok, some like to have it gently rolling. Ensures even lighting, growth, etc.

I'm no MH expert but, I think it would work but would not be optimal. If it was a 250w or more I'd say you would fare better because you could raise it up to overcome the length limit. With a 150w I think you would have to keep it low in order to get good penetration, but that would limit how much of the tank you would cover.

First, a skimmer is pretty much a necessity on any tank, IMO. But, there are instances of folks running skimmerless so it can be done. If I was going skimmerless, I'd do 10-20% water changes daily. Smaller tanks mean changes happen faster and have a bigger impact. ATO=auto top off. It's an automated evap replacement system. It's a float, rigged to a pump that supplies fresh RODI or kalkwasser to the sump/tank to replace the evaporated water. See: Tunze osmolator, Autotopoff.com, JBJ ATO, aquahub.

Have you checked Craigslist? I saw a 75g setup the other day for $200, came with lots of stuff. You could have your cake and eat it too.

Sure is. Plenty of people run MH with fans blowing across the tank surface. It will increase your evaporation rate, so if you don't have an ATO it will be beneficial to get one.

The 'undefined' looks like green star polyps. Sorry to hear about the nem, looked like a nice one.

Either that or it splits. In this particular case, Jennifer cut it.

Here is a link to his thread on RC. Has a summary about half way down. Also see melevsreef.com http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...mp;pagenumber=1

Lil S and christian, I should be able to accommodate your requests as well. Same amount; 1 or 2 with multiple heads. May have to take a few months off of Xenia farming after all this. Also, for everyone's FYI. To attach to rock: stick a toothpick through the base and rubberband toothpick to a rock for 5-10 days(maybe less). Or, get some netting/pantyhose, place rock piece and Xenia into netting/pantyhose, secure netting/pantyhose around package, wait 5-10 days.