Bill B

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

It is possible this is some form of bubble algae or a cousin of it. I still don't think we have nailed it though (nor do we have to ). It is not green or red it is brown. It is also not a sphere or round bubble - much more of a tic tac shape, at least on the outside edge - rounded corners and bulging a little more in the middle. The other unusual thing is the 'seam' I am trying to describe. It really looks as if the top and bottom portion of the 'tic tac' have been fused together and this white lines is the 'sealant'. Until I touched it I was really thinking it might be some sort of little clam, that could be pried apart - but as mentioned it is not rigid and the white appears to be coloration and not seperation. I have had green bubble algae and it is rounder, thinner and the bubbles seem to grow off of each other. These 'brown tic tacs' seem to be more individual growths, but growing in small groups. Bill

Thanks for the response but it is not the common green bubble algae. If there are others, perhaps. I am amazed I got the close up I did but still you can 'see' it that well. Each little seed/polyp is generally rectangular shaped with rounded corners. Again, hard to discern but there is a white stripe down the middle which almost looks like the two halves had been joined together along that 'seam'. The consistency is similar to bubble algae but more substantial and don't pick off (easily). When pinched through they appear empty, so they may actually be a 'spore' carrier of some sort. They could be some sort of nuisance macro. I definitely do feed too, or have trapped detritus as I frequently have minor outbreaks of cyano. Thanks

each little 'seed' looking thing

Can anyone ID this new growth in the tank. They are 1/4" or less, real color is just a little browner and even though they look like a rigid seed pod (to my eye) they are not as substantial. They are more rubbery and can be pinched through fairly easily. Thanks

I am a bit confused. I thought we always got a 15% discount just for being ARC. I am guessing that the totals that end in 5 and 0 do not reflect a discount. Do we get a discount for any amount? If so I am guessing that 'Austin Reef Club' was supposed to be put some place specifically. Please inform. Thanks Bill

I already asked for 3 corals on your other post, but I am also interested in the auto top off$20, The Bulk Reef 2 pt + for $15 and the 1/2 bottle of Marine Buffer @$2. Still wondering about meeting you. Thanks Bill

Just wondering if you are still coming to the Harley dealership tomorrow and if so if I'm gettin' my 3 requests? Thanks Bill

Hello I would like the 1" cali tort, the green $20 acan. In the last picture right in the middle is a orange ______. If it is a frag I would like it also please. Thanks Bill

I am very curious about ideas on quantity as opposed to frequency. Any thoughts there? Bill

I have a 75 g with canopy running 400 W of MH. Maybe I lucked out with my canopy 'engineering' but I have no problem keeping my tank below 80 using 3-120 mm 12V Radio Shack fans. I have two fans blowing in and one sucking air out. It is a small problem that when the home heater is running in the winter my tank room is noticeably warmer than other rooms from all the hot air being sucked out. YRMV Bill

If that is a Green Brittle Star I believe they do fall into the 'doesn't play well with others' category.

If I was going to have it done commercially I would have Misti at Sea Clearly do it. 600-4779 - seaclearlymaintenance.com Bill

If pbnj doesn't get it all, I would like as much as 50# please. Thanks Bill

I have tried to use clove oil in several instances in the past for FW fish. My guess is you would not have to worry too much about it get absorbed by rock and stuff. When I have used it, it was very hard to dissolve in solution, and much of it floats. My guess is you would be able to skim much of it off. Of course the problem line here would be if you have seen formulas for how much oil you add, does this assume much is not dissolved. My guess is you don't have to worry about after effects but it also may not be effective in a larger tank. Mine was also in a small volume. Bill

I have bought FW fish all over the city and it has always seemed to me that the quality of the 'advice' is dependent on the employee that happens to wait on you, regardless of the store. I used to frequent 4 national fish forums, 2 on FW and 1 on goldfish and 1 on ponds. They all said the same thing: if you don't know the person you are talking to is highly knowledgeable, ON THAT PARTICULARLY TYPE OF FISH, do not assume they are. Unfortunately the answers you can usually trust the most are when they preface it by saying "I'm not sure" JMO I was by Amazonia this week, to check on their SW progress. Obviously they are still gearing up. The store seemed very clean and both of the people there offered to help me. I bought an Electric Blue Ahli at a nice price. Bill

I'm VERY SORRY to hear about your misfortune. I hope you recover quickly.

How many watts? Thanks Bill

Wow I'd figure that out for sure. To my limited knowledge the temperament and 'diet' of a hogfish is quite different than a wrasse. Bill

I am pretty sure, not only isn't the bulb the same length but the actual bulb holder is different, clipping from the ends on the 150 and actually fitting into a groove on the 250. That's the way it is on mine, which I believe is standard. HTH Bill

This listing sez it is 250 Watts Metal Halide Reef Bulb HQI 20000K FC2 DE. As mentioned the ballast is electronic. Does this shed any light (pardon the pun) on any mismatch? edit: Actually now that I have some terms to search I eventually found this. ARO Electronic Ballast-250W It will run any 250 watt lamp.. * Works with all 250W lamps. * Works with 250W HQI double ended lamps. Doesn't this mean it should be the bulb, or is there something else I am not aware of. Thanks Bill

Not long ago I got 2 cheap MH bulbs off Ebay, just perfect for my budget. The first a 150 I pushed with a Sun park electronic ballast and it was fine. I like it. The second a 250, I just tried to connect to my ARO electronic ballast. All it does is crackle right when I turn it own and then 'spark' apprx. every second, but the bulb never seems to 'ignite' and burn. I only let it do this for about 15-20 seconds before I turn it off for fear of some other problem, but have tried 3 or 4 times. I have an old bulb in it which is fine. The ballast wattage is appropriate for each bulb. These are DE bulbs. Does this just sound like a defective bulb, or some other glitch? Thanks Bill