Enigma13

I will take the large blowpop rock pictured. Might grab a few others when I am there. Give me a call 925-3574 to set up a time that I can come over.

Jason

I have a bunch of Chaeto that needs thinning. I will wait until next weekend to see if anybody needs some and then I will just trash my excess.

The FOWLR has been set up for about three months now and things are going well. Brian and John from Kingfish provided great assistance with the move and set up. In fact, we have had a 100% survival rate on the fish that were relocated with the system. They include: mated pair of crosshatch triggers (Male 10", Female 8"), Queen Angel (8"), Majestic Angel (6"), Purple Tang (6"), Herbraicum Goldbar Wrasse (7"), Harlequin Tusk (7"), Polleni Grouper (5"), mated pair of true percula clownfish in huge Sebae Anemone (12" +), and 2 (1 pink, 1 green) flowerpot anemones.

Here are some pics:

In addition I have added a Lemonpeel Angel, who was actually the first fish placed back in the system, and a Blue Spotted Toby who was also added early on in the process of replacing the fish to the system. I have had one set back when I tried to add a pair of Semi Larvatus Butterflyfish that died in just a few short days. I am thinking of going with Saddled Butterflyfish on a second attempt.

If I am not mistaken it depends on what kind of reactor you have. Some reactors use the big media. While others work best with the small stuff.

This is true. I know that Geo and Schuran reactors can use the large media. Do not know what others are compatible (I have a Geo). Some like Koralin, etc. can only use the smaller media like A.R.M.

I would volunteer to actually write the articles if the person is at least willing to have a 10 minute phone call to give me the details. I enjoy TOTQ because it is a fun way to actually see other people's tanks in our club.

If you move to a slightly lower light area seeing the demarcation line should be easier.

If semperfimarine1 does not take the cleaner shrimp I will take him.

PM sent.

How is he doing? Is he taking out the hair algae as hoped?

If you want to see some in person, RCA had a number in stock last weekend when I was there.

Diversity is definitely the best. I use some of basically all of the above. Here are my favorites and the strengths and weaknesses of some.

Sand sifting:

Sand Sifting starfish: Seems to work well, but has his favorite areas he works constantly and doesn't really get to other areas of the reef.

Nassarius: Work great. Seems to diminish over time.

Fighting Conch: Don't know how much they add.

Golden Head Sleeper Goby: Best purchase I ever made. Keeps sand bed white and is a ton of fun to watch. One drawback he will get sand on anything low in the tank and can even bury small items on the sandbed.

Rocks and Glass:

Nerites: My favorite. Seem to eat algae well and do not knock thing over.

Ceriths: Seems to do well both at sand sifting and rock/glass cleaning. However, they tend to be popular shells for the hermit crabs.

Turbo snails: Nothing eats the algae better or bulldozes corals more. A catch-22.

Tuxedo Urchin: Eats a lot of algae. Negative: May eat coraline algae too.

Blue Linkia Starfish: Looks cool. Do not know what he eats, but has been grazing the rocks of my tank for 2 years now for something.

Top Crown snails: Pretty red/white shells, eat great. Get knocked over and eaten by crabs easily.

Hermits: Scarlets seem to be good, but expensive. Blue claws are cheap, but tend to be predators as they get larger.

Emerald Crabs: Wonderful algae eaters. No drawbacks I have found.

I have a Geo 618, which is a Schuren type reactor. Did a lot of research before deciding on which reactor to buy and I have no regrets. It is controlled by my ACJr. After struggling to supplement enough to keep up with alk, Ca, and Mg it is a big relief to now easily have everything in the ideal ranges. Took about a month of operation to get everything balanced out, but it is cake now. I would highly recommend.

To be honest I am not quite sure. I purchased the whole system as a package and did not inquire about the age of individual components.

I have an extra Pan World 100 PX-X pump. Got it as part of my 240 FOWLR system, but do not need it with the new plumbing setup.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~idP...1145~tab~0.html

$100 o.b.o.

Plumbing layout will really depend on size and layout of tank and the equipment you plan to use. If you include some of that information I would happily provide some ideas.

I have used a number of heaters: AP Rena Cal Top Light, Jager, Via Aqua, Stealth, and Aqua Medic Titanium w/ controller (this would not be a real choice for a smaller tank like yours). Similar to 'Donkey I have heard complaints about Stealth, but they work best for me. I like that they are shatter proof and mine have kept a stable temperature for over 18 months. I would recommend.

Do you still have this fixture? I am interested in using for a refugium.

I have the Current 1/4 in-line on my 144 reef. Works great to keep temp at 78 or 79 depending on the season. I have had it for two years with no problems. I would definitely recommend.

My solorenis was my favorite fish for about a year and a half until he managed to commit suicide on Christmas day. I am thinking about getting another one soon. Congrats with yours. I know you will really enjoy it.

I have an extra 100 gpd RO/DI system. Shoot me a PM if you are interested.

There are many types of DI resin with different life cycles. There is color changing DI resin that will literally change color when it needs to be changed. It seems that the life cycle is about 200-300 gallons. This resin also has always seemed to me to be lower quality. Then there are semi-conductor, medical, or nuclear grade resins. You determine when these have to be changed by using a TDS meter. When it starts reading more than 1 or 2 it is time to change. I have gotten 500+ gallons out of such resins. I would recommend using a refillable cartridge and using such resins.

Like resins not all carbon filters are created the same. Some of the cheaper ones will not catch all chloramine, but most will.

Steve,

Deposition ran far longer than I expected. I will give you a call Sat. morning. We should be heading up to N. Austin tomorrow.

I've got an extra ballast you can borrow.

I'm curious as to the results myself.

I've had ballast/bulb issues w/XM's.

Give me a call at 512-461-3120 whenever you want to come get the ballast.

Steve

If you are getting equal results out of both sides it has to be the bulb not agreeing with the ballast. IMO it is extremely unlikely both ballasts are going bad equally.

This was my thought on both accounts. What is the chance that all four bulbs are faulty (two from each set). And what is the chance that both ballasts are bad. Also don't understand how they work with one set of bulbs and not the other. I know certain bulbs are not compatible with pulse-start electronic ballasts, but have never heard of bulbs not being compatible with magnetic ballasts (especially XM bulbs). Anybody else ever hear of something like this.

Thanks Steve. I am stuck in a deposition right now (thank god for laptops to kill the monotony), but I will give you a call later this afternoon.

I am having some problems with my MH lights on the reef tank. Changed bulbs to XM 250 DE 10K from the original Current bulbs. The XM bulbs only seem to be reaching 75% intensity. I returned the initial set of bulbs to Hellolights, but the replacement bulbs look the same (only 75% intensity). Starting to think the ballasts (magnetic M80) may be bad and not defective bulbs (though the ballasts fire the original Current bulbs at full intensity).

Is there anybody who has an extra 250 ballast laying around that I could use to run a test? My ballasts are still under warranty so I really do not want to buy another ballast yet, but I would be willing to pay a convenience/rental fee for the hour or two I would need the ballast. In the alternative if someone has a used XM 250 laying around I could test that to on my system to check things from the other side of it.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

BTW- Lighting system is a Current USA Outer Orbit HQI/T5 combo. The one w/ 2-250W DE MH and 4-54W T5 actinics. Has anybody else had any experience with this fixture or heard of similar problems?

Thanks for finding this information and sharing it with the club. I had never even thought of this possibility before, but I think I will be changing all of my non-controller power strips as this sure makes it easier.