Truckin

I have had good results using Aptasia X.

Oops. Looks like I managed to upload this twice, and I can't figure out how to delete the second one. I hope working with GFCIs goes better than this.

I just installed a couple GFCI outlets a few days ago. (By the way, as I understand it, they protect against grounding problems. They are not circuit breakers which trip when the circuit is overloaded. They are useful when water might be around, such as in the bathroom, or near aquariums, etc.) I got them at Lowes, but I'm sure Home Depot and other hardware places carry them. The package has minimal instructions. First, plug a lamp into the old outlet and turn it on. Then turn off your circuit breakers one at a time to find the one that makes your lamp go out. Mark this circuit breaker so you can find it easily. Leave the circuit breaker off, and unscrew the outlet cover, and outlet screws holding it in the metal box in the wall. Pull the outlet out of the wall so you can get to the screws holding the wires. Assuming it has two cables (each with two wires) and a separate ground wire, disconnect the two wires of one cable. Plug your lamp in and turn the circuit breaker on. If the lamp comes on, you have disconnected the load cable, which goes on to another outlet. If the lamp does not go on, you have disconnected the line cable, which provides electricity from the circuit breaker to the outlet. The replacement GCFI outlet should be marked for line and load, and you just move the appropriate wires from the old outlet to the GFCI. Being alternating current, for a given cable, it doesn't really matter which is right or left. But do not mix the wires from the load cable with the line cable. (It just trips the main circuit breaker probably for the whole house. Be sure you know where this is, and it may be on the outside of the house separate from the breaker box for each local circuit. And don't do this at night unless you want extra fun.) Finally, move the ground wire to the GFCI outlet. If you only have one cable (two wires) and a ground, that one is easy - this is the end of the circuit and the cable is a line. Just move the wires from the old outlet to the appropriate match on the GFCI. If your outlet has three cables (six wires) and the ground, it just means that one of the cables is wired in common with your line cable, and it goes off in another direction providing power to another outlet. My new GFCI outlet, for the line part, had four holes in the back (two for line in, two for line out, where you can place the bare wires and tighten with side screws to hold them). It also had holes in back and also side screws for the load cable. If you make mistakes, be sure you have the circuit breaker off before you go moving wires around. You can test the circuit with the lamp to make sure the electricity is off before you touch any wires. Follow the instructions that come with the GFCI box. If you burn your house down or electrocute yourself, I didn't write this. A licensed electrician might be cheaper (and faster).

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Thanks for the Cheato. That's a good looking aquarium you have.

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Do you know a local source for clear silicone that can be used in aquariums? Most of the clear silicone tubes I've found at the local hardware big boxes say it should not be used in continuous contact with water (or something like that). I ended up with the aquarium safe, non-clear silicone from the LFS. But, I really wanted clear. I like your photos.

From looking at your photo, I'm pretty sure I have the same thing in my tank, and I have had the same question - good or bad? These little buggers are scattered throughout my live rocks and easily retract into a hole. Mine do not have any color, but the center is white. I vote for the Corynactis since the Pseudocorynactis are larger. For the moment, I'm not doing anything - just watching. I have not found any information to determine if they are good or bad. If you find a definitive answer, please post it.

A few thoughts, and I will try to simplify a bit (I used to do a lot of photography): In low light, an automatic camera will select a slow shutter speed to get more light onto the sensor (or film) which captures the image. This leads to shaky pictures if the camera is hand held. Consider using a tripod to hold the camera steady for low light levels (most anything other than bright sunlight or without flash), and a shutter release cable that screws into the camera's shutter button. These can help to steady the camera for sharper pictures. They can both be found for cheap, Craigs List or eBay for instance. Also, to get more light in, an automatic camera may enlarge the lens opening (big lens opening = small f-stop number and vice-versa). Without getting into a lengthy discussion, a small lens opening (large f-stop number) will give your photos more depth of field (where the image is in focus from near to far). When you do macro photography, the depth of field becomes less the closer you focus on something. Some cameras (& all light meters) will show combinations of shutter speed and lens opening that all supposedly work for a given scene. Again, for macro photography, choose a small lens opening (big number f-stop) with its corresponding slow shutter speed. Then use the tripod and shutter release cable to accommodate the slow shutter speed. (Or, depending on your camera, you could choose a slow shutter speed for something stationary and let the camera select the corresponding lens opening.) Finally, check the instructions to see if the camera has a built-in macro mode. I have a slightly-better-than-cheap digital camera that has a macro mode that can be switched on and off. If your camera has a macro mode, then you do not need an additional macro lens (unless you want to spend big bucks and take professional pictures, probably with a different camera). If you go the macro lens route, you might check to see if your camera will accept a macro adapter that screws over the front of your regular lens. This would be a cheaper alternative, if available. I hope this was helpful, and I didn't talk too much. Good luck, and have fun.

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Can anyone help identify this critter? I tried a photo, but the critters are small and did not show up against the LR. They look something like an anemone, about 1/4" to 1/2" across, and they each live in a different hole in the LR. The arms (tentacles ?) appear to be in 3 or 4 concentric circles about 1/4" to 1/2". The arms are clear, but they have an almost-white knob on the tip. In the middle of the critter is a small, light-colored, rectangular thing sticking up. On occasion the critter retracts into the LR hole. Any ideas? I had aptasia once before, but this looks different. Also, is this a bad guy? Thanks.

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Does anyone know a source for pickling lime (calcium hydroxide) in Austin? (Yes, the kind used to make pickles for eating.) The book, The Coral Reef Aquarium by Ron Shimek, Ph.D., discusses the benefits of Kalkwasser and that it can be made as a saturated solution of pickling lime in water. It also mentions that pickling lime is way cheaper than other sources of calcium hydroxide. By the way, this is a pretty good book for newbies like me.

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I used Aptasia X. I worked great and fast. I recommend it.

Thanks to all.

I'm new to this stuff. Can anyone tell me what this is? It's about 1-1/2 inches tall. Is it a good guy or bad? Thanks.

I'm interested in the aragonite. Where are you located, and how can I contact you?