NonSequitur

I'd love to take them if nobody has beaten me to them, I've been thinking of trying something like this rather than continually buying bi-onic bottles.

They're great looking plates.. mine was inflated and colorful by the time I got home from work yesterday, and snacked on the mysis that I fed the fish in the evening.

pm sent

Turns out I'm not going to be able to pick it up after all.. things got really busy here this weekend, so if someone else's interested it should go to them.

For now I'll probably want to start with a single 1.5" frag.. I've not had much luck with SPS corals in the past, so I want to see if I can get it to thrive before I risk killing a larger colony. Will you be around some time tomorrow?

Do you have any left? I'm thinking of giving SPS another go.

If it's still available, I'd be happy to take it.

I'd be happy to share some sand from my established 12g (probably a cup or two, since it's a pretty puny tank), and would love to get a bit from the finished product when you get the tank up and running. I also have a few bits of LR rubble with some unidentified green and red macro growing on them that grow pretty well in my sump, but I wouldn't recommend in the display since it tries to take over. If you're ready for it, I can bring it when I pick up my reefcleaners stuff tomorow.

If the above doesn't work out and you're in a DIY sort of mood, the habitat for humanity re-store usually has a few 175 and 250w MH fixtures that you can salvage ballasts/sockets out of. You'd have to build/modify a reflector and something to mount the lamps above your tank, but that's doable. I got my 175s for $10 each (not including lamps), and now I'm eyeing the 250s they had last time I was there.

Just put in my order for $15. Thanks for organizing this group buy!

I'm not familiar with the model you have, but the instructions for my euro-reef skimmer mention that excessive foam is usually caused by something dissolved in the water (water conditioner, ph buffer, etc). They recommend running activated carbon and/or using an airline control valve to partially close the venturi air intake until the skimmer removes whatever is in the water that's causing excessive foam.

Thanks for all of the replies. I'm pretty sure these are b. merletti, since the polyps are pretty small, about the size of a dime when fully extended. I moved them to a lower flow area to see if they like that better. Tonight after the lights went out I target fed some mysis mixed with some reef roids. They didn't come out, but then I did just move them, so I'll try again tomorrow. (The other LPS corals really seemed to enjoy the extra meal)

This past weekend I picked up a small frag of blastos from Aquadome. They were open in the store, but haven't opened since I put them in my tank. Are there any particular conditions I should try to create to make them happy? They had them in the small frag tank under MH lights, but to my eye it didn't look as bright as the lights in my tank, so I put them low. How sensitive are they to water flow? I have a few areas without a lot of flow I can try if that's what they like, but those tend to also be low light areas as well. Water params as of 12:00 today (API test kits): ammonia: 0 Nitrites: 0 Nitrates: 5 (not sure I believe that one, since i'm currently dealing with a cyano bloom) Calcium (seachem test kit): 420 Salinity: 1.025 (two swing arm hydrometers averaged) Temp: 78-82F

I'd love to take some that isn't on the rock, and since I need some more rock anyway, I might be interested in some that's on. Let me know what you'd like for a smaller piece.

I've contemplated doing a similar thing using a bunch of x10 hardware that I have around but got distracted building some MH lighting... need to add it back to the top of the list.

Nevermind, Shane at fishy business is going to order a pair of sps 14k lamps for me. I figured it probably isn't wise to go cheap with lamps.

Have any of you tried the reefoptics metal halide lamps? I just set up my ghetto-rigged dual-175 MH (habitat re-store is a wonderful thing.. m57 fixtures for $10) and now I'm looking for lamps. I'm currently running a pair of way too old ushio 10k lamps that look great, but one doesn't always start the first time. I came across the reefoptics lamps on ebay and was wondering if anyone has tried them. They're somewhat cheaper than the major brands (under $40/lamp shipped on the website), but if they don't work well I'll just spend the extra cash on a major brand.

I'm not terribly familiar with the mj mods: ooks like they move the impeller out of the pump body into a separate housing, but it seems to be a similar idea.. the flow through the impeller draws more water in through the slots in the housing and directs it out the output. I think you're right about diffusing the stream. It's certainly worth a try, just a matter of finding a local supplier of a suitable eductor to play with.

I'd be interested in 10 or so lbs as well if you're willing to sell that small of an amount.

It seems like he's suggesting using eductors on the output of the return line to increase water flow without adding a bigger return pump or more powerheads in the tank for circulation. I've pondered this, but was concerned that the flow might be too direct in the tank, rather than a more diffuse flow like you would get from a koralia or 3. Hmm.. now that I think of it, I wonder how it would work in the sump.. would it be possible to run a smaller return pump to feed an eductor, then feed the return lines with the eductor output? I may try it if I can get my hands on one at a reasonable price, though I wonder how it would work pushing against 3ft or so of head.

I'm looking for some rock, but don't need a whole lot. Would you be willing to sell me somewhere around 10-15lbs, and maybe a cup or two of sand? I'm trying to increase the biodiversity in my new tank by getting small quantities of rock/sand from established tanks.

I'd be happy to help too, can you post some pics of what you're getting now?

I'll take it. Sending PM as well.

Here's a video of a clear acrylic wavebox so you can see how it works.. pretty simple, really:

A wave box is one of the ways you can make your tank water sway back and forth. Essentially it is a box with a powerhead that is cycled on and off. When the powerhead is on, a surge of water is pumped from the box into the tank. When the powerhead cycles off, tank water flows back into the box through the powerhead opening. The whole contraption is controlled by a timer that allows you to adjust the frequency of the cycles. When it's all set up correctly, it can create a pretty impressive wave in the tank. I think there's a thread in the DIY section about building one.