Bill B

Well, I put the bristleworm back in my tank. I once chastised the slogan of "if you're not sure what it is, kill it". So how can I support 'I know what it is, but just don't like the way it looks.' Sorry if a bunch of you wanted my big, ugly, slithery, earthworm-insect lookin' tank dweller Grow you're own. Bill

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I pulled a big bristleworm outta the tank last night. It is about 4" long add 2 or 3 more inches when it stretches out. I know I have read most people think they are good, but it is just too creepy for me. I am planning on coming to the meeting today if anyone wants it. Otherwise I must admit he will probably end up at the sewage treatment plant. Bill

My pleasure on both accounts. Bill

Hey Ric my friend! I think you are tending towards a good set of choices. I must admit I have not be overwhelmed with my success with cheato and caulerpa but I think I just need to clean up and start over as I probably had a bunch of 'nutrients' in my sump. I'm gonna vote no on the rubble = I would still try the cheato again. If you do have any particulates the more rubble you have the more hiding places it affords it. More importantly rubble is pretty much only useful in the Nitrogen cycle and won't do anything to take up Nitrates. If you were gonna change your rock work significantly in the DT then I would say maybe put some in the first chamber coming from your DT where it would get good oxygen, otherwise no IMHO. I am betting that reducing your CC bed, cleaning it out thoroughly and cleaning underneath you rockwork will REALLY help. I sure would start a serious sock program going. If you want to order some socks with me we might be able to save some bucks on postage or somethin'. Maybe you have plenty. I do think the LM Blenny would be a good idea. I am pretty sure 1 is the max. As soon as they percieve that the other(s) threaten their food supply there could be trouble. I had a Bicolor kill my one Lawn Mower although it may have been primarily from harassment stress. Are you going to Dave's? Bill

LMAO ROTF !!! btw - I probably would try to glue the loose zoa polyps. One way or another the shrooms kinda find their own way, except when helpless to 'the look'. Zoas and palys will anchor in the gel. Bill

Hey Ric This is more my 'do as I say and not as I do' take: Generally algae needs three things to grow, heat, light and nutrients. Heat is fixed. Light you can vary to some degree but mostly in duration. Generally it seems to me corals benefit from light as much as algae does so any changes here must be temporary So the key is nutrient control. There seem to be some tips on food that may help some. But I am voting on trapped and decaying food and waste being the big problems. I don't know but yes I would look more into the CC. It certainly makes sense, right or wrong, that stuff could work further and further down into it and decay. Even more obvious though may be your live rock. Try to arrange you rock so there are fewer places where water flow cannot carry away detritus. Also arrange you water flow so it is working it to your overflow. I have taken portions of my rockwork down from time and often find an obvious fine layer of decaying crud (Remember DAISANAID:) Mike DelGado mentioned the huge amounts of detritus that collected down and behind his rockwork until he put a power head or two beneath it to blow it up and out a couple of times a day. When I was at Garrett's the other day I notice that he had two power heads at the back of his tank blowing straight down, presumably to dislodge any crud from accumlating there - this even though his rockwork is not densely stacked at all. I think filter socks can be very important so when detritus is carried out of you main tank it does not go down and accumulate in your sump, which typically are not designed for optimum water flow. If you don't use them and do have macro I believe the macro can just trap bad stuff as well perhaps creating as much nitrate as it is taking up. Of course the socks need be changed out very regularly. I have heard weekly regularly. In my tank I can see obvious signs of 'decay' after just 3 or 4 days. I believe my sump would benefit greatly by a good vacuuming or cleaning but I resist because I don't want to lose my elusive pods (and some minor CUC). I think removing algae is good because it removes another way for contaminants to get trapped. So even though removing it will not really much affect it's ability to multiply, it might be reducing nutrient levels. When using algaecide type treatments dead and dying algae cells become nutrients for other algae so vacuuming and water changes must be performed more (and wet skimming). Remember that nitrate readings are a percentage. I grin at those who say they did a 10% water change and their nitrates went from 40-10. No, as a function of the water change, nitrates would be reduced at best by 10%. I know more about ponds and FW but generally while large water changes will by definition reduce current nitrates in your water they also more dramatically affect the 'stasis' of your water as well, often in more negative ways. This just means again that nitrate reduction is more about prevention than water changes. Phosphate systems should help. Macro's should help. I sometimes wonder if I have enough watts in my fuge. Mechanical removal should help when maintained regularly. At this point this is probably waaay TMI but if I was as exasperated as youI think I would: 1) Clean my fuge/sump really well. 2) Get 5 or more filter socks and change them out religiously. 3) Get some more macro and an appropriate light. I understood there are some who say run your light 24/7 to prevent sexual reproduction, if your aren't just using Cheato. Cheato only, the reverse cycle. 4) Get or make a phospate system. Honestly me I'm not sure I would add one untill I investigated the ongoing costs of running one, but that's just cheapo me. This seems like a polishing aspect. 5) Again, I don't know about the Crushed Coral, Sand Bed, Thick/Thin/DSB arguements, but I would consider reducing the depth and definitely systematically cleaning it. 6) I would definitely systematically take down portions of my rock work, vacuum out from under them, and then scrub the heck out of the algae rocks in some RO/DI water. Consider rearranging them. Consider changing or enhancing your flow some, especially towards the overflow. I think I have about 40 or 50# of rock that is now drying. Many pieces aren't really showpieces. You could systematically switch out some pieces if you wanted to, especially if you started cycling it again. I would eventually want a similar amount back but no hurry. 7) I would shoot for 10 gallon water changes once a week. 15 might be better, but again El Dinero (or is it La). 7a) After I had changed cleaned and changed out the rock and substrate and maybe even did one chemical treatment I think i would do one 40 or 50% water change, just vacuuming the heck outta everything as I did it. 8) Learn more about CUC. To me it always seemed like hermits clip algae better, but don't clean the glass and eat snails. Snails sometimes get in smaller areas and clean the glass. The bigger the snail the more work they do the more they knock over unless you putty it down. How about a cucumber or two - lettuce nudibranch or a sea slug (uggglee). 9) Buy a lawnmower Blenny or maybe a BiColor. Lawnmowers eat more but are not attractive and eventually run out of stuff to eat (hopefully) and get huge. If your Tang is not eating your algae you might want to consider catching him and trading out for something else. I had a FoxFace and Doctor Fish Tang who ate anything that was green and moved. I have a hippo tang and a different Fox Face now and ... not so much. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Bill

To me mushrooms are like women. You can suggest to them what you would like them to do, sometimes they will do it, but usually it's because they were going to anyway. Okay, okay. Women you may substitute 'men' in my first line:) Translation: the odds are no, but you can try and occasionally it will work. Usually you just need to set them in a little tub of rubble or rocks and let them attach to whatever they feel like, usually within a week or two, but I typically give them even more time before I put them in good flow. You can sometimes just kinda wedge them around a few rocks and let it take it's pick. btw at least for me it is much easier to try to glue the shrooms/rics with the tweezers. JMO Bill

To be a bit more specific I: dry off the rock where I am going to apply the super glue GEL, if it's wet. Apply the gel to the surface. Pick up the zoa with some long tweezers. Suspend in the gel for 5 seconds or so. Put it back in the water away from direct flow heads for at least a little while ... done. For me the tweezers keep the slime and to a lesser extent, the super glue, off my fingers. I got mine from Fry's in the computer repair aisle for about $5. There are probably better choices as these rust pretty easily. HTH Bill

You bet! It was nice to meet you. Bill

Wow I'm starting to like this extra space and response has be great. Thank you! I have picked out some more stuff to see if there is any interest. These are all the actual pieces you will receive. Corals picked up have been deleted Birdsnest - $15 Teal and Brown Candy Canes - 3 Sm heads - $2.50 Green Pocillopora - $15 (This should be a standard green, again was under pc's but will color up better) My address is 1913 S West Dr 78641 . I am pretty flexible, including some of the day. 784-4475 Thanks for lookin'. Bill

Soitenlee - I always enjoy seeing you two! Bill

Double posted sorry

Okay, I understand. There have been a number of things in your area for sale lately, but I wasn't willing to make the drive for a small purchase either. Bill

Sorry, no that means that I was waiting to hear back from someone else who replied earlier. I don't know if it is worth your drive but it looks like only the Green w/Pink Tips $15 mother is available. Please let me know when you can. Thanks Bill

Maybe it's one of those memory devices where they know it's too many numbers but the first 7 will dial???

Purple Digi - apprx. 3" tall, numerous branches - $5 ea Electric Green Pocillopora - mother in back $15 - smaller frag in front $5 Green w/pink tips Pocillopora - left side $15 (Red digi in front of 'group pic' not for sale) Sorry but I am VERY busy today. I will get back with you as soon as I can. If you haven't replied already all the SPS are probably pending. Tuesday - all PPU. Thanks for lookin' Bill

Yellow Polyps - [Colony 30-40 polyps (actually pictured)- $15] [9-15 polyps - $5] People Eaters - Lousy pic - Color? - typically these are kinda orangish brown, but they seem to turn more purple when in less light. They always have the flourescent green slit mouth. Thick fleshy skirts [apprx 10 polyps - $10] King Midas - Bought these from Mike DelGado for $5/polyp (although I'm sure he gave me a few 'free one's) - [This is around 15 polyps - $30] Armor of God - This is 5 or 6 polyps including a couple of babies (pic won't upload)- $15 Pink Zippers - Can't get an even decent picture - $5/polyp Sorry but I am VERY busy today. The King Midas is spoken for (tate) but I believe there is at least one frag of everything else still available. Thanks Bill

WOW - Congratulations to everyone involved in the TOTM, especially Robb - a really nice tank and first rate presentations of it!! Bill

For the tank or yourself

I am not so hasty to totally discount canister filters. First of all I assume you have no sump which is where most of the 'super' skimmers are going to go. I have heard of people using them for charcoal and I can imagine using the sponges just like others do their sump socks. The only thing is just like the sump sock the sponges and filters would have to be cleaned every 3-5 days to prevent becoming a collection point for nitrate food. On the other hand if you don't have any mechanical filtration that detritus is going to grow nitrates anyway unless you have a good clean up crew. The thing I have never been absolutely sure about is if a CUC eats all your waste, don't they turn right around and put some of it right back in the tank as their waste? IF I was going to try to use a canister I would make it a Rena and not a Fluval. They are MUCH easier to get the tops off. The easier to empty the more you'll do it. In the final analysis I would be hestitant to spend full retail for a canister. I agree it isn't ideal. But if you could pick one up cheap it might be worth a try. JMO Bill

If you can wait long enough you can usually find something at least reasonable. However, my rule of thumb is if you know you are going to need it eventually, snag it now if the budget permits. It seems like frequently either 'my' items just don't come around when I am looking for them, or they just got sold 2 minutes before I signed on . Of course, if you are not absolutely sure you're going to stick with a 4 ft tank, I can understand the hesitancy. Bill

Hi Garret Depending on shape and size I am interested in 10-20#. When could I come by before the GONE gavel strikes. (and where to you live) if you wanna still mess with it. I know it is 29 west of 35 but I will need a little more info than that Thanks Bill Brister

Well we don't 'have to keep trying' but it was not slimey. It had very little texture at all, except kind of rubbery?? Bill

hmmm - that sounds very strange. While you should mix the salt overnite I believe this is to let the pH balance out, or something of the sort. Normally all my salt has melted within an hour or so. It would seem to me that unless you are just waay high in salt it should have melted. If you are using a hydrometer with the floating arm perhaps it just aint working. How much water and salt have you mixed. 6 cups for 10 gallons doesn't necessary sound ridiculously high, having never used that salt. It seems when I was using regular Instant Ocean it took around that much. Bill