Lance's 225 gal tank

[Lance]

I've had three Acro colonies bleach out on me in the last month! One from this tank and two from the 90 gal. I put two of them into the QT tank where there is very little algae, in hopes of them coming back. The third is staying where it is to see if there is any difference in the DT or QT as for recovery. All other corals, including the other Acros seem to be fine. :noidea: Water parameters are all fine: The only thing I can attribute to the problem is the recent heat wave we had. Although, with our A/C the tank temps never went above 83F.
Marie and Dave have also been having trouble with bleaching. Must be some kind of a wierd Powell River thing!

[marie]

I've had three Acro colonies bleach out on me in the last month! One from this tank and two from the 90 gal. I put two of them into the QT tank where there is very little algae, in hopes of them coming back. The third is staying where it is to see if there is any difference in the DT or QT as for recovery. All other corals, including the other Acros seem to be fine. :noidea: Water parameters are all fine: The only thing I can attribute to the problem is the recent heat wave we had. Although, with our A/C the tank temps never went above 83F.
Marie and Dave have also been having trouble with bleaching. Must be some kind of a wierd Powell River thing!

Did all your corals stop growing as well?

If only mine had stayed with bleaching I would of been happy, it was the tissue loss from all the tips that really bummed me out. 30g water changes everyday for 10days appears to have fixed the problem though ( I say this while keeping all my fingers and toes crossed)

[Mrfish55]

At least I'm not the only one having issues, I no longer have a reef, looks more like a tank from the 80's with all those bleach white coral decorations, If not for the fact my bubble is still doing fine I would just shut it down, kind of odd we all started having issues after adding the Vortech pumps tho?

[Skimmerking]

my tank is doing really good ,however one of the vortechs crapped out on me.:cry: had to send it to OTTAWA inverts to have thme look at it .

[Lance]

Did all your corals stop growing as well?

If only mine had stayed with bleaching I would of been happy, it was the tissue loss from all the tips that really bummed me out. 30g water changes everyday for 10days appears to have fixed the problem though ( I say this while keeping all my fingers and toes crossed)

No, surprisingly the others are doing pretty well. Good PE and lots of growing tips. Strange.

[Lance]

At least I'm not the only one having issues, I no longer have a reef, looks more like a tank from the 80's with all those bleach white coral decorations, If not for the fact my bubble is still doing fine I would just shut it down, kind of odd we all started having issues after adding the Vortech pumps tho?



That bad eh? That Sucks! I think the pumps are just a coincidence. Can't see how they would affect that much.

[Mrfish55]

That bad eh? That Sucks! I think the pumps are just a coincidence. Can't see how they would affect that much.

I think my problems have more to do with the fact I haven't touched the tank in 8 weeks while doing home renos, water change day today hoping to turn things around.

[Lance]

I think my problems have more to do with the fact I haven't touched the tank in 8 weeks while doing home renos, water change day today hoping to turn things around.


Dave, you've got to get your priorities straight. The house your fish live in comes first; then you can tend to your house. :mrgreen:

[Mrfish55]

Dave, you've got to get your priorities straight. The house your fish live in comes first; then you can tend to your house. :mrgreen:

I think I figured out the biggest problem, the new beer fridge in the new shop! have more water on the go for another change, things may not be as bad as they looked once the glass got cleaned:lol: still, I lost some of my fav pieces, time to visit Marie so I can fill in the newly vacated spots.

[Lance]

...things may not be as bad as they looked once the glass got cleaned:lol: still, I lost some of my fav pieces, time to visit Marie so I can fill in the newly vacated spots.


That's good to hear; not about the lost pieces but that is it not as bad as thought.

[Lance]

Does a dark blue/purple Cali Tort turn green before bleaching? This coral has been losing colour since the middle of last month. Turning from blue to darkish green and now to a lighter, bright green colour. I've been moving it around the tank: less light; more light; less flow; more flow; but nothing seems to help. I've aready lost one SPS colony and several others are not doing well either. :sad:

[marie]

Does a dark blue/purple Cali Tort turn green before bleaching? This coral has been losing colour since the middle of last month. Turning from blue to darkish green and now to a lighter, bright green colour. I've been moving it around the tank: less light; more light; less flow; more flow; but nothing seems to help. I've aready lost one SPS colony and several others are not doing well either. :sad:

There must of been some bad things floating in the powell river air.
I've never had my cali tort turn green but I did have a green acro turn purple when it bleached once. It regained its bright green colour again after a few months.

[Lance]

There must of been some bad things floating in the powell river air.
I've never had my cali tort turn green but I did have a green acro turn purple when it bleached once. It regained its bright green colour again after a few months.



Yeah it's been a frustrating several weeks. Glad to hear your tank is on the mend though.

[marie]

It only took changing out 300 gallons of water and approx 6 cups of carbon but it is on the mend

[Lance]

It only took changing out 300 gallons of water and approx 6 cups of carbon but it is on the mend


Are you OK on salt? I have a couple of buckets if you need some.

[marie]

Are you OK on salt? I have a couple of buckets if you need some.

I still have a little left in 1 bucket and another full one so i'm good

[Snappy]

There must of been some bad things floating in the powell river air.
I've never had my cali tort turn green but I did have a green acro turn purple when it bleached once. It regained its bright green colour again after a few months.
Do you guys not use R/O water?
Lance my Cali Tort is blue/purple but usually has some parts of it that turn green which I quite like as it adds a whole new dimension of colour to the colony, that said it has never turned all green and remains mostly blue/purple and it's just some of the branches in the lower light regions that get the green hues. Sorry to hear you're having problems. Any pictures so we can see what you mean?

[Lance]

Do you guys not use R/O water?
Lance my Cali Tort is blue/purple but usually has some parts of it that turn green which I quite like as it adds a whole new dimension of colour to the colony, that said it has never turned all green and remains mostly blue/purple and it's just some of the branches in the lower light regions that get the green hues. Sorry to hear you're having problems. Any pictures so we can see what you mean?


Yup, I use R/O water. (TDS of 1). Can't get any pics up for a few days as the wife lent our camera to our daughter. Strange things happening in the tanks: Some corals are doing great. Bird's Nests, Staghorns, 2 Milli's, Digi's, Stylo's, Hydnophoras and Pocillopora are growing well, with good colour. All LPS and softies are doing well. It's just a problem with a few Acros. Water parameters are fine; pH; 8.1, S.G: 1.025, Ca: 420, alk: 8 dKH, Mg a little high at 1450 due to inaccurate readings from an old test kit, which has been replaced. NO3 at 5, and PO4 is undetectable. (all on Salifert and/or Elos kits). Haven't changed any lighting or flow, or dosing any different. The strange thing is that I have had some bleaching in both tanks which leads me to believe that it may be the recent heat wave or bad salt. Don't know what else it could possibly be?

[Lance]

I've also noticed that the film algae on the glass seems to need cleaning more often; can warmer tank temps cause this?

[christyf5]

I've noticed this too, so not sure about the warmer temps. My tank is actually a bit cooler than normal usually 79, now 77 and I'm finding I need to clean the glass every 2nd day.

[Lance]

I've noticed this too, so not sure about the warmer temps. My tank is actually a bit cooler than normal usually 79, now 77 and I'm finding I need to clean the glass every 2nd day.


Hmmm, strange. In the last month I've also been getting some of that short, brown, sorta fuzzy, real-hard-to-remove algae growing over the corraline on the back wall. Horrid stuff!

[christyf5]

Hmmm, strange. In the last month I've also been getting some of that short, brown, sorta fuzzy, real-hard-to-remove algae growing over the corraline on the back wall. Horrid stuff!


Yeah I have that too. Sadly, its not growing over my coralline as I don't have any :neutral: On the flip side, my tank is rather ghetto right now as we have it in the basement awaiting the big tank build and its out from the wall a bit so I can scrape the entire back glass with my mag float/easy blade. So I can get rid of it rather easily with a scrape and a water change. Yay ghetto reef! :biggrin:

[Lance]

Changing my plans for this tank yet again........... (SPS Boycott)

It was originally going to be a Fowler with large cool fish: Tangs, Trigger, Tuskfish, Angels, Wrasses etc. Shortly after setting it up I moved a few soft corals over from the 90g reef. Then Marie gave me a large Pipe Organ Coral, and several large softies as well as some mushrooms. Then a little later I thought a few nice LPS would be ok, which of course led to SPS frags and colonies. All of a sudden it became a full-blown mixed reef!
However, as the fishes grow larger and the bio load increases, it's becoming more and more of a struggle to keep nitrates down. I've got 3 reactors running in the sump. One for GFO, one for nitrate sponge, and one for carbon. I also use T.A. Nitrate Destroyer and perform 10% bi-weekly water changes. With this regimen I can keep NO3 at about 5ppm.
I refuse to underfeed my fish; If I can't keep them fit and healthy I'd rather not keep them at all. The livestock in the tank now consists of: 5" Harlequin Tuskfish, 5.5" SF Tang, 6" Kole Tang, 6" Foxface, 5" Bannerfish, 5" Lunare Wrasse, 2.5" CBB, 2x 2" Fire Clowns, 4" LM Blenny, 3" Lamarck Angel, 2.5" Falco Hawkfish, 11x Chromis, many large snails and hermits and shrimp in the sump. My wife has been pining for a Blue-Chin Trigger, which I have my doubts about. The fish are all getting along well, and I'm a little leery about throwing a Trigger into the mix.
All the soft corals and LPS are thriving, but a few of the SPS are not doing so well. I lost one colony and two frags to bleaching, and two other colonies are losing colour. The faster-growing SPS (Stags, Bird's Nest, Montis, Hydno- phora) are growing well and showing good colour, as are the Milli's, Stylo's, and Pocci's. The tabling varieties are not doing as well.
IMO it's only going to get more difficult to keep SPS healthy in this tank as the fish grow, ............. so no more SPS additions for this tank. Those SPS that are doing well will stay and those that are not will go either to the 90g reef, or to fellow reefers. The 90g has few fish in it and corals grow well there. However it's mostly full, so I guess I'll have to stay away from the frag sales, and the LFS for awhile. :sad:

[fishytime]

Nitrate sponge is no good man.....contains aluminum ( I think thats what I read):redface:..... correct me if Im wrong.

[marie]

...The 90g has few fish in it and corals grow well there. However it's mostly full, so I guess I'll have to stay away from the frag sales, and the LFS for awhile. :sad:

No longer being in the market for new corals does take a certain amount of fun out of the hobby...I'm thinking of changing out some of the rock in my tank in the new year just so I can start buying again :lol:

[Lance]

No longer being in the market for new corals does take a certain amount of fun out of the hobby...I'm thinking of changing out some of the rock in my tank in the new year just so I can start buying again :lol:


Ha Ha! I may be doing that as well in the 90g. My heart pounds and my hands start to shake when I think of weaning myself off of SPS. :mrgreen:

[Lance]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!
As if I haven't been having enough troubles with my corals lately. I just noticed one of my favourite pieces, (a Pavona I brought back all the way from Calgary last year), was missing. Where do I find it? Smack dab in the middle of my 10" Torch Coral. Yup, it's fried! Poor thing had the crap stung out of it. :(


This is it before the fatal tumble.
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_3071.jpg

[fishoholic]

Sorry to hear about your coral. I've been having problems with nitrates as well. I started using T.A. Nitrate Destroyer in hopes to help keep the nitrates down but it's only been 12 days and so far it doesn't seem to be doing much. How long did it take for the T.A. Nitrate Destroyer to work in your tank?

[Lance]

Sorry to hear about your coral. I've been having problems with nitrates as well. I started using T.A. Nitrate Destroyer in hopes to help keep the nitrates down but it's only been 10 days and so far it doesn't seem to be doing much. How long did it take for the T.A. Nitrate Destroyer to work in your tank?


Laurie, I can't honestly say how much it helps. I manage to keep nitrates down in this tank to about 5 ppm, but I can't tell how much from the Nitrate Destroyer, the water changes or the nitrate sponge. I CAN tell you that since I began using the T.A., the sponge, and more frequent water changes, the nitrates were consistently at 10 ppm; so at least one of the three is working.

[marie]

If it makes you feel any better Lance (you know the saying 'misery loves company'?) this is my montipora setosa...or whats left of it
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/mariesnell/aug2309.jpg

[Lance]

If it makes you feel any better Lance (you know the saying 'misery loves company'?) this is my montipora setosa...or whats left of it
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/mariesnell/aug2309.jpg


Ouch! What happened?

[marie]

It was a frogspawn attack

When the pumps get shut off the tentacles can travel a long, long way

[Lance]

It was a frogspawn attack

When the pumps get shut off the tentacles can travel a long, long way


Damn Euphyllias got both of our corals!

[Lance]

Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!! :bad-word: Sprung a leak in the return line.
I think the vibration of the pump has broken the glue seal around the flex hose where it fits into a true union. I closed the gate valves from the overflow and drained the return section of the sump to allow it to dry out overnight and will fix it tomorrow after work. Any suggestions on how to prevent this from happening again. Should I replace the flex with PVC? Will a glued PVC joint hold up to the vibration better than a glued flex to PVC joint? The pump is a Reeflo Barracuda and vibrates pretty good. Or maybe there is some sort of sealant that I can seal around the glue joint?

[Mrfish55]

I use one of those plumbing boots they use when joining different material (ie: cast to abs etc.) Also helps to cut down on the noise from vibration, Petes has quite a selection in stock, if you need a hand give me a call.
Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!! :bad-word: Sprung a leak in the return line.
I think the vibration of the pump has broken the glue seal around the flex hose where it fits into a true union. I closed the gate valves from the overflow and drained the return section of the sump to allow it to dry out overnight and will fix it tomorrow after work. Any suggestions on how to prevent this from happening again. Should I replace the flex with PVC? Will a glued PVC joint hold up to the vibration better than a glued flex to PVC joint? The pump is a Reeflo Barracuda and vibrates pretty good. Or maybe there is some sort of sealant that I can seal around the glue joint?

[Lance]

Leak is fixed! :biggrin:
Now if I can only find a way to fix SPS growth in this tank. It's very confusing. :noidea: Some SPS have good colour and growth while others are not so good. The weird thing is that some of the corals that are not doing so well are the same species as those that are doing fine. OK, so I move the ones that are struggling to the same spot as those that are thriving. Doesn't help. For example: 2 orange Digi frags that I fragged from the same colony at the same time from my 90 gal. One has grown nearly twice as much as the other and has much better colour. They are in the same area of the tank; same light, same flow. WTH!

[Lance]

My wife bought a new camera (Canon PowerShot SX120 IS) for our Caribbean trip, so I thought I'd take a few random shots of the tank to see if I can work the damn thing. Anybody who owns this camera and can give me a few tips for aquarium pics?

A few of the fishes:

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0545.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0603.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0656.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0657.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0661.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0873.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0451.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0532.jpg

[lastlight]

That's a beautiful Kole! What's the other crazy colorful guy?

[Lance]

That's a beautiful Kole! What's the other crazy colorful guy?

Lunare Wrasse. He drives the Tuskfish crazy. Teases him and then buggers off at Mach 1. The Tusk spends half his day trying to catch it. :lol:

[fishytime]

Always shoot in manual mode....adjust your exposure and see if your white balance has a bright light or florescent settings. Not sure if Ive said it before, but very cool mix o fish.

[Lance]

Always shoot in manual mode....adjust your exposure and see if your white balance has a bright light or florescent settings. Not sure if Ive said it before, but very cool mix o fish.


Ok Doug, I'll try that, thanks. One more fish to add: Male Blue Throat Trigger.

[Skimmerking]

wow Lance your tank looks great man the pic are great too.

[christyf5]

Great pics Lance, love that wrasse :cool:

[Lance]

wow Lance your tank looks great man the pic are great too.

Thanks Mike

[Lance]

Great pics Lance, love that wrasse :cool:


Thanks Christy. And I love your Blastos! :mrgreen:

[Lance]

My new GBTA. It wasn't in the tank more than 2 minutes and the smaller Fire Clown was hosting it. 2 days later the larger Clown decided it wants it and kicked the smaller one out. Then they decided to share it. Now the larger one ignores it and the smaller Clown has gone back to hosting the large Toadstool. Stupid Fish! No wonder they are called "Clowns".

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0415.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0534.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0532.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0478.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0656.jpg

[lastlight]

Thanks Christy. And I love your Blastos! :mrgreen:

It's comments like this that really motivate me to keep my wife just a little educated on a few reef terms. Who knows if she lurks on the board and what she might read into such comments!

[Lance]

It's comments like this that really motivate me to keep my wife just a little educated on a few reef terms. Who knows if she lurks on the board and what she might read into such comments!


Ha Ha Brett. This is the one you don't want her to read:
Quote: "So that's why I wear womens underwear!" :mrgreen:

[lastlight]

Backup a second...that sounds familiar!

Yeah I live pretty dangerously. If she ever DID post here it'd be to tell everyone I hold back on the baords bigtime haha. Randi was somehow involved with that whole underwear thing...where the heck IS she nowadays?

[banditpowdercoat]

Randi's out touring the west here tattooing everyting in sight LOL

ANd if my wife came here, I'd have to disapear, cause she;d undoubtably tell a story or two

[Lance]

Yeah, Just the other day I was wondering where Randi had gone myself.

[banditpowdercoat]

Gotta come on facebook, were partyin there daily LOL

[Lance]

Whoo Hooo! My CBB is eating Mysis! :Banane01:
I bought it sometime ago from a fellow Canreefer who informed me that it would only eat clams, mussels and oysters. So I was faithfully putting one small clam or mussel in the tank every day. I even rigged up a little feeding station for it: A small plastic box with a snap lid that I drilled small holes in; just large enough for his long nose to fit in, but too small for the Tuskfish, Lunare Wrasse, Hawkfish, et al. This way I was sure he was getting enough to eat without the other piggies getting most of it. Last week I noticed the CBB eating Mysis and then spitting them back out. This was some progress because he ignored all foods other than shellfish. Now he is eating the Mysis with great gusto, as well as Spirulina-enriched Brine Shrimp. I'm not quite sure why he changed his diet, but I'm glad he did; I wasn't looking forward to digging clams in the middle of January.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishJune09/IMG_4051.jpg

[christyf5]

right on, now if we could just find one of those kind for me :wink:

[Lance]

Well, against my better judgement I brought home a Blue Chin Trigger. My wife has been wanting a trigger for some time and seeing as she puts up with a lot of my bull**** (like spraying her with return line gunk), I finally relented. Hopefully I got lucky and he's a mild-mannered guy. He certainly is handsome, I'll give him that. He's about 7 inches long and currently living in the QT.


http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishoct09/IMG_0973.jpg

[Delphinus]

What a great looking fish! Also I really like the photo of the CBB. :cool:

[Lance]

"Sigh"..... She's named him already.....
His favourite food is shrimp and his lower lip sticks out so we have to be call him "Bubba Gump"
Why do women feel the need to name every fish? :silly:

[fishytime]

Very cool fish Lance....always wanted a trigger...."Bubba Gump" huh?:lol: Just remember no cleaner or peps or it will be "shrimp gumbo, shrimp frikese, shrimp salad, shrimp cocktail, butterfly shrimp, garlic shrimp, shrimp kabob:mrgreen:

[christyf5]

Wow, he shore is purty! :biggrin:

[Boomboy]

georgeous fish

[Lance]

Very cool fish Lance....always wanted a trigger...."Bubba Gump" huh?:lol: Just remember no cleaner or peps or it will be "shrimp gumbo, shrimp frikese, shrimp salad, shrimp cocktail, butterfly shrimp, garlic shrimp, shrimp kabob:mrgreen:



The only shrimp he'll be getting is the "dead" variety. He's still pretty shy, hides out in the rocks when I approach the tank; but throw in a small prawn and he's out of the rocks in a nano-second. So far he's eaten everything I've given him: Flakes, shrimp, clam, mysis, pellets and nori.

[Delphinus]

I thought bluethroat triggers were water column feeders? In terms of "reef safe" triggers, I always heard it was the bluethroats, crosshatch, sargassum, and ... um .. I forget what the 4th one is offhand... pinktail maybe?

[Lance]

I thought bluethroat triggers were water column feeders? In terms of "reef safe" triggers, I always heard it was the bluethroats, crosshatch, sargassum, and ... um .. I forget what the 4th one is offhand... pinktail maybe?


You're right Tony. Bluethroats are zooplankton feeders, but I've done quite a bit of reading on them and although mostly reef safe you have to make sure you keep them well fed or they may sample your crabs, snails and shrimp.

[Lance]

I'm mostly concerned with how he's going to get along with the Harlequin Tuskfish. The Tusk is fine with the other fishes in the tank, but goes ballistic when anything new is added. He tore a huge strip of flesh off the Kole tang when it was added. After a few attacks though it settles down.
The trigger is larger than the Tusk though so I'm hoping there won't be a problem.

[Lance]

Well, so far so good with the Trigger. He's been in QT now for a week with a smaller fish, snails, small hermits and some corals and has been a model citizen. Eats like a pig and has been playing in the flow and likes to carry small rocks in his mouth and spit them out. He's pretty smart too. He's learned that if he bumps the powerhead with his nose soon after feeding, Mysis that were sucked into the intake come shooting out. It's pretty funny to watch. He bumps the PH and quickly swims about 12" directly in front and waits for small pieces to shoot out at him. I'll try to get a video of him doing this.

[Delphinus]

How do you have your QT setup? How big? Sorry if the details are already posted (I have a very short memory!!)

[fishoholic]

"Sigh"..... She's named him already.....
His favourite food is shrimp and his lower lip sticks out so we have to be call him "Bubba Gump"
Why do women feel the need to name every fish? :silly:

FYI not all women name their fish. Although I fully admit I'm one of the only women I know who doesn't :redface: I always have other female reefers ask me what name I gave my fish, and they are always surprised to find out they don't have names. That being said though, I do call my Sohal "Scar face" after the name Marie gave him (seemed only fitting after everything he went through with marine velvet) and for the life of me I can't help but call regal tangs "Dori" :redface:

I thought bluethroat triggers were water column feeders? In terms of "reef safe" triggers, I always heard it was the bluethroats, crosshatch, sargassum, and ... um .. I forget what the 4th one is offhand... pinktail maybe?

Pinktail triggers is right Tony. Actually the pinktail trigger is supposed to be the most reef safe of them all. So far my pinktail trigger has proven that, my sexy, peppermint & pistol shrimp he leaves alone as well as my crabs and my sandsifting starfish.

Lance I love your Harlequin Tuskfish, very pretty fish. I was kinda of wanting one myself but I think my lunare wrasse (maybe) and my miniatus grouper (definitely) would pick on it too much, to warrant getting one. Ironically it's one of the few fish my King angel would leave alone.

[Lance]

How do you have your QT setup? How big? Sorry if the details are already posted (I have a very short memory!!)

Tony, the QT is a 30g with a 20g sump. The QT is a functioning tank where I put all new fish and corals for observation and fattening up. If I need to treat a fish I can turn off the gate valve on the drain to the sump and use the sump for a hospital tank. There is nothing in the sump but a powerhead, the return pump and some macro algae. I just take the algae out, put in some PVC pipe for hiding spots and place the fish in there.

[Lance]

FYI not all women name their fish. Although I fully admit I'm one of the only women I know who doesn't :redface: I always have other female reefers ask me what name I gave my fish, and they are always surprised to find out they don't have names. That being said though, I do call my Sohal "Scar face" after the name Marie gave him (seemed only fitting after everything he went through with marine velvet) and for the life of me I can't help but call regal tangs "Dori" :redface:

Lance I love your Harlequin Tuskfish, very pretty fish. I was kinda of wanting one myself but I think my lunare wrasse (maybe) and my miniatus grouper (definitely) would pick on it too much, to warrant getting one. Ironically it's one of the few fish my King angel would leave alone.

Laurie, The Tuskfish (Sydney) :mrgreen: chases my Lunare (Zippy) :mrgreen: all over the tank, but can't catch him as he's too fast. Actually I think it may be as much playing as serious because the Lunare teases the Tusk to get him to chase it.

[Lance]

OK, here's the video of him working the powerhead for some food. This is about 2 minutes after the last pieces of mysis were eaten. Notice how he bumps the PH and then waits to see if any food will come out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKbXa-X2M8

[Lance]

How do you have your QT setup? How big? Sorry if the details are already posted (I have a very short memory!!)



I forgot to mention that if I have to medicate, I drain the water out of the sump afterwards and give it a good cleaning. Then fill it back up with new water and put it back on line. For copper treatment I use Cupramine which does not leave any copper trace.

[lastlight]

Wow what a beautiful fish. You could easily think he's just trying to pick mysis off the powerhead and nothing more. Then you see him dart into position for his catch! Great video...

[Delphinus]

That's a 30g he's in, in that video? Huh, it looks bigger to me for some reason.. is he pretty small?

[Lance]

Wow what a beautiful fish. You could easily think he's just trying to pick mysis off the powerhead and nothing more. Then you see him dart into position for his catch! Great video...


It's pretty funny to watch him. He only does it a few times in the video though. On other occasions I've seen him do it dozens of times and really smack the PH.

[Lance]

That's a 30g he's in, in that video? Huh, it looks bigger to me for some reason.. is he pretty small?


It's actually a 35g. He's between 6 and 7 inches I'd guess.

[Lance]

It seems I was all worried for nothing. When the new Trigger went in the DT the Tuskfish barely batted an eye. (Can fish bat their eyes?) The SF Tang made a show a few times, circling the Trigger and slapping at it with his tail, but no harm done.

That's it. My stocking list is complete:

Blue Throat Trigger
Harlequin Tuskfish
Sailfin Tang
Kole Tang
Lunare Wrasse
Schooling Bannerfish
Lamarck's Angel
Falco Hawkfish
Foxface
Copperband Butterfly
Lawnmower Blenny
2x Fire Clowns w/GBTA
7x BlueGreen Chromis

[marie]

....

That's it. My stocking list is complete:




Sounds like it's time for a new tank :razz:

[Delphinus]

My stocking list is complete:


I say that every weekend.

[Lance]

Sounds like it's time for a new tank :razz:


Yeah, I filled it up pretty quickly. No wonder I have excess nutrients in this tank.
I'm a heavy feeder too. Skimmer is pulling 2 cups of crud a day. Oh well, the softies and LPS are doing well anyway.

[Lance]

I say that every weekend.


I know. We're bad aren't we? Just can't say N-O!

[fishytime]

Hey....good to hear the introduction went well.....I said I was done three fish ago:lol:

[Lance]

My Green Chromis have spawned. On the algae on the end glass of the tank. Ever see a 3" Chromis chase a 6" Tuskfish? Pics soon.

[Lance]

Here you can see the eggs on the glass and the sentry guarding them. Funny to see a little fish send a big ferocious Tuskfish on his way.



http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_1019.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_1021.jpg

[christyf5]

Wow thats awesome!! Little fish can be pretty belligerent when they want to, I think it throws the bigger fish for a loop sometimes :razz:

[Lance]

Wow thats awesome!! Little fish can be pretty belligerent when they want to, I think it throws the bigger fish for a loop sometimes :razz:


Yeah, they're not expecting a little buzz saw.

[fishytime]

Tre-cool Lance.....a damsel is a damsel....whether it comes in the form of a chromie or a Sgt. Major.....its ingrained into their little pea brains to be nasty:lol:

[Lance]

Feeding time: video


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69sRNKNIwUc

[fishytime]

cool vid lance....how many fish have you got in there? seems like a fairly cohesive group....judging be their behavior just be fore feeding....granted, they probably knew it was coming and were in "happy state", no?

[Lance]

cool vid lance....how many fish have you got in there? seems like a fairly cohesive group....judging be their behavior just be fore feeding....granted, they probably knew it was coming and were in "happy state", no?


19 fish. For the most part they all get along very well. The Tuskfish chases the Lunare Wrasse around quite often, but I think it is mostly in fun, as I have seen the Wrasse tease the Tusk into chasing him.

[Mrfish55]

So much for FOWLR! tank looks spectacular Lance, going to have to drop in and check it out when I'm feeling better.

[TheKid]

sorry dont mean to troll but just doing a test

[Delphinus]

Fun video. :) Couple questions, did you feed and film at the same time or did you enlist a second set of hands?

What software are you using to make your edits?

Thanks for sharing!

[Lance]

So much for FOWLR! tank looks spectacular Lance, going to have to drop in and check it out when I'm feeling better.


We've got another Reef Meet on the 29th.

[Lance]

Fun video. :) Couple questions, did you feed and film at the same time or did you enlist a second set of hands?

What software are you using to make your edits?

Thanks for sharing!


Sorry Tony. I responded to this yesterday but must have hit Preview instead of Submit. :redface:
I fed, the wife filmed. Windows Movie Maker.

[lastlight]

Talk about a quick meal! Beautiful tank Lance. What's that massive round coral at the back? It almost looked like it was pulsing.

[Lance]

Talk about a quick meal! Beautiful tank Lance. What's that massive round coral at the back? It almost looked like it was pulsing.


Pipe Organ I got from Marie. She had it for years.

[Lance]

The tank turned one year old today and I can't say it was easy going. In fact, it has often been pretty damn frustrating. In comparison, the first year of the 90g was a piece of cake. This tank, however was one problem after another. First there was the horrible hair algae bout, then the Ich/Marine Velvet outbreak which led to quarantining all the fish for 8 weeks, followed by a period this past summer where I lost several SPS colonies. And finally a 3 month go with some sort of short, brown very ugly algae that was next to impossible to remove.
Thankfully, there has been some good points: I have a nice collection of fishes that all get along well; some of my LPS have grown like weeds; and then of course there was the very interesting boobies incident; the fugly brown algae is nearly gone and the SPS are growing again.
I sure hope year #2 is a lot easier. :biggrin:

A couple of pics

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_1058.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_1060.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_1063.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_1065.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_1067.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_1069.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_1070.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishoct09/IMG_0973.jpg

[Parker]

Looks great, you have some very nice pieces in there... What hours are you typically not home? :mrgreen:

[fishytime]

wow Lance...great shots....that blue chin is a stunner now that he/she has settled in

[Lance]

Looks great, you have some very nice pieces in there... What hours are you typically not home? :mrgreen:

Sneak in and help yourself. Only stipulation is that you take my wife's Beagle with you.

[Lance]

wow Lance...great shots....that blue chin is a stunner now that he/she has settled in

Yup, Bubba's a keeper! Very personable fish.

[PoonTang]

Sneak in and help yourself. Only stipulation is that you take my wife's Beagle with you.

dont do it !!! the dog is a viscous killer :twised: LOL JK. Lance those pictures dont do the tank justice, it is just freeking awesome. How about a FTS?

[Mrfish55]

Sneak in and help yourself. Only stipulation is that you take my wife's Beagle with you.

Not interested in a Beagle, is it OK if I steal that sterilizer you have? I hear it works real good and even has a new bulb.

[Parker]

Sneak in and help yourself. Only stipulation is that you take my wife's Beagle with you.


Deal, but if I'm taking your wife's Beagle then I'm leaving my wife's cat behind.

[Lance]

Not interested in a Beagle, is it OK if I steal that sterilizer you have? I hear it works real good and even has a new bulb.


OMG I forgot again. I'm putting it in my car right now. Drop it off tomorrow.

[Lance]

Deal, but if I'm taking your wife's Beagle then I'm leaving my wife's cat behind.


Nope. Sorry Parker, already have a cat.

[Mrfish55]

OMG I forgot again. I'm putting it in my car right now. Drop it off tomorrow.

I work tomorrow, if you want to drop it off just leave it on the bench in the carport or I can stop by after work and grab it, no rush, don't need it right now anyway.

[Lance]

dont do it !!! the dog is a viscous killer :twised: LOL JK. Lance those pictures dont do the tank justice, it is just freeking awesome. How about a FTS?


Here you go:

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fishoct09/IMG_0929.jpg



And the vicious killer in question:

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/P1020030.jpg

[Lance]

I work tomorrow, if you want to drop it off just leave it on the bench in the carport or I can stop by after work and grab it, no rush, don't need it right now anyway.

I can drop it off tomorrow.

[Lance]

A word to the wise: If I ever ask to borrow something from you; run for the hills.:redface:
Dave was nice enough to lend me his UV sterilizer some time ago. Being the forgetful person I am I kept forgetting to return it. Finally, I got around to dropping it off at his house. A few days later I pm'ed him to make sure he found it:
"No", he says. "Where did you put it?"
"It's in a black garbage bag in your carport." I said.
"I just made a run to the dump and threw out all the garbage bags in the carport", he says.
:doh: First I keep the thing way too long and now I've lost it!
Fortunately, He pm'ed me later to tell me he went out for another look and found it. :biggrin:

[muck]

whew... that would have sucked. :razz:

[Lance]

My Harlequin Tuskfish and Lunare Wrasse have been together for nine months. From day 1 the Tuskfish has chased the Lunare Wrasse with murder in his eye. I always suspected it was more play than serious. (Surely he would have caught up to him by now.)
Well, this morning he did!
I threw a fresh clam in the tank and after it was eaten the Trigger was playing with the empty shell, swimming back and forth with it in his mouth. When he dropped the shell it landed in a corner, between the glass and some rock. The Lunare Wrasse went in to have a look and the Tuskfish cornered him between a rock-and-a-hard-place. The Wrasse had no escape. The Tusk moved in on him, and the Wrasse froze. Then they touched noses, the Tusk backed up, and let the Wrasse go! Then the chase was on again. It was just like they were playing tag!
I know...........this sounds like I've been dropping acid. I just wish I had had the video camera on them. But here's a couple of pics of the two children.

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0572.jpg

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0661.jpg

[fishoholic]

Lunare's are pretty feisty, mine gives my grouper a run for his money :biggrin:

[Lance]

Lunare's are pretty feisty, mine gives my grouper a run for his money :biggrin:

Aren't they amazingly fast? Quickest fish I've ever seen! Steals food right from another fish's mouth before it even know what happens.

[muck]

Hey Lance... when do you leave for your make-up trip to MExico?

[Lance]

Hey Lance... when do you leave for your make-up trip to MExico?

The end of January. Two whole weeks of sun & surf!...........and some major sucking-up :redface:

[Lance]

I purchased a Jalli JT 1000 Heater Controller & 500W titanium heater. Anybody familiar with these? (I hope they are better than the Aqua Medic controller I threw in the garbage last year).

[fishytime]

I purchased a Jalli JT 1000 Heater Controller & 500W titanium heater. Anybody familiar with these? (I hope they are better than the Aqua Medic controller I threw in the garbage last year).

We've been running one at the shop for over a year....no hassles...

[Lance]

We've been running one at the shop for over a year....no hassles...


Good to hear. Thanks Doug. :biggrin:

[Lance]

Take three deep breaths and count to ten!............. Calm down!............... Otherwise you might do something you'll later regret: Like catch the bloodthirsty little bitch of a Fire Clown and feed her to the Seagulls!
I was mounting a few frags near her nem and she bit me so hard I pulled my arm back and slammed my elbow into the edge of the euro-bracing. SOB that hurt! Her bite wasn't so bad but the elbow throbs.



Here's the little vampire: she's at the bottom of the nem laughing at me. See her evil, crooked grin.


http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_1065.jpg

[banditpowdercoat]

had a Perc that would attack me as well. never drew blood on my hand, but for sure on my elbow LOL

[marie]

hehehe, that's how Dave ended up with my 2 wonderful clowns.

When it got to the point where the tank looked like crap cause I no longer wanted to put my hands in, I knew it was time to get rid of them :lol:

[Mrfish55]

Marie, your clowns are nothing compared to the baby Emporer Angel I just added! as big as the French Angel is he runs and cowers in the corner when the Emperor is in a bad mood, quite entertaining to watch, and I thought it would be the Clown Trigger taking over.

[Lance]

hehehe, that's how Dave ended up with my 2 wonderful clowns.

When it got to the point where the tank looked like crap cause I no longer wanted to put my hands in, I knew it was time to get rid of them :lol:


Funny isn't it. The rest of the world thinks Nemo is such a cute little guy, not knowing he would tear your arm off if he could.

[PoonTang]

If she does it again, feed her to the Beagle :evil:

[Lance]

If she does it again, feed her to the Beagle :evil:

Actually, I don't really like the beagle either. I wonder how clownfish prefer their beagle burgers: medium rare?

[PoonTang]

Ohh ya good idea and then just say "honey I dont really know what happened to your dog, I think the Clown ate it, mabey you should get some revenge on that nasty little fish. 2 problems solved. :twised:

[JDigital]

Ohh ya good idea and then just say "honey I dont really know what happened to your dog, I think the Clown ate it, mabey you should get some revenge on that nasty little fish. 2 problems solved. :twised:

That's some evil thinking!! :whistle:

[Lance]

I've been trying to lower the nutrient levels in this tank for months now. Ever since last summer the SPS have not been doing so well. (lost a couple of colonies, and while some are doing ok, most are just sort of existing without really growing much). Softies and LPS grow like weeds of course.
I have a nice large growth of chaeto which I prune monthly, change 10% of the water weekly, (expensive!), and have tried vodka dosing and nitrate sponges. With this regimen I still could not get the nitrates under 10, (usually at 15 to 20). I could cut back on the feeding a little but I like my fish to be fat & healthy. I'm now trying the N-P Reducing Pellets. After 5 days I'm definitely seeing an increase in skimmate and the water is slightly clearer. A small outbreak of Cyano I had is disappearing as well. Very promising so far.

[imcosmokramer]

nice tank, I love the shelves
________
Marijuana dispensary (http://dispensaries.org/)

[fishytime]

what flavor of sponge did you use Lance....I think the phos "sponges" are one of those products that contain aluminum and can actually irritate a lot of coral....might be the reason for your sps not being too happy....just food for thought..

[Lance]

nice tank, I love the shelves


Thanks :biggrin:

[Lance]

what flavor of sponge did you use Lance....I think the phos "sponges" are one of those products that contain aluminum and can actually irritate a lot of coral....might be the reason for your sps not being too happy....just food for thought..



Kent Marine Nitrate Sponge. It doesn't say on the container if it contains aluminum. Melev recommended it so I figured it's probably safe.

[Lance]

I could probably just leave it as a softie, LPS tank as the fish are the main focus in this tank anyway. But the 90g corner tank on the other side of the room mocks me: "Look at me! See how well SPS grows here. LOSER!"

[fishoholic]

Marie, your clowns are nothing compared to the baby Emporer Angel I just added! as big as the French Angel is he runs and cowers in the corner when the Emperor is in a bad mood, quite entertaining to watch, and I thought it would be the Clown Trigger taking over.

Funny how some emperor angels can be mean. For some reason the only angelfish my King angel will allow to live with her is an emperor, maybe it's because they can hold their own.

I've been trying to lower the nutrient levels in this tank for months now. Ever since last summer the SPS have not been doing so well. (lost a couple of colonies, and while some are doing ok, most are just sort of existing without really growing much). Softies and LPS grow like weeds of course.
I have a nice large growth of chaeto which I prune monthly, change 10% of the water weekly, (expensive!), and have tried vodka dosing and nitrate sponges. With this regimen I still could not get the nitrates under 10, (usually at 15 to 20). I could cut back on the feeding a little but I like my fish to be fat & healthy. I'm now trying the N-P Reducing Pellets. After 5 days I'm definitely seeing an increase in skimmate and the water is slightly clearer. A small outbreak of Cyano I had is disappearing as well. Very promising so far.

Interesting, keep us posted on how it goes. I tried the vodka dosing but after 68 days and little results I gave up on it.

[Lance]

Interesting, keep us posted on how it goes. I tried the vodka dosing but after 68 days and little results I gave up on it.


Will do Laurie. Too early to tell yet, but it looks promising. Tony has a thread on the pellets. He's been running his a little longer than mine and he seems to be having some success.

[PoonTang]

Lance, mabey its a chemical warfare thing, are you using lots of carbon?

[Lance]

Lance, mabey its a chemical warfare thing, are you using lots of carbon?

Yup. A full BRS reactor changed monthly.

[Lance]

N-P Reducing Pellets have been running for 7 days now. I measured nitrates with both Salifert and Elos kits before adding the pellets and before a water change. NO3 was 25 mg/l on the Elos kit and between 10 and 25 on the Salifert kit. So, let's say the average was 20.
Today's readings are Elos: between 10 & 25 Salifert: 10 (Avg: 15)
A reduction of 5 in 7 days. Very promising!
Some other changes I've noticed are: thicker, darker skimmate; clearer tank water; and a small outbreak of Cyano has nearly disappeared. Film algae on the glass seems worse though, I'm having to clean the glass every other day.
Although still too early to come to any real conclusions I am happy with what I've seen so far.:biggrin:

[christyf5]

Wow, the info on this is really encouraging! I might have to get me some of this, I have nitrates (about 20ppm I do the test averaging stuff too) that just can NOT be gotten rid of no matter what I try (not that I've tried much other than larger waterchanges). Anyway, I'll stop now :razz:

[Delphinus]

The lentils really do seem the real deal shiznit. (Fo shizzle.) I saw all the same things (clearer water darker skimmate and a small cyano patch just packed up one night and left). I have to clean my glass less often though, that's different. So hopefully yours will go that way eventually as well. Mind you I'm doing a combo zeo/lentils approach and maybe that's the difference. Honestly though I don't see how the film algae will be able to keep up long term with the reductions like that. Glad to hear you're liking them so far too. :)

[Lance]

The lentils really do seem the real deal shiznit. (Fo shizzle.) I saw all the same things (clearer water darker skimmate and a small cyano patch just packed up one night and left). I have to clean my glass less often though, that's different. So hopefully yours will go that way eventually as well. Mind you I'm doing a combo zeo/lentils approach and maybe that's the difference. Honestly though I don't see how the film algae will be able to keep up long term with the reductions like that. Glad to hear you're liking them so far too. :)

Yeah, I'm lovin' 'em so far! The film algae is no big deal. In fact, I may even be imagining it growing faster. It's the pessimist in me. :redface: I've been battling nitrates so long in this tank I'm having trouble daring to think I may have found the cure. :lol:

[Lance]

I forgot to mention I started dosing MicroBacter 7, five days before the pellets arrived to help jump start the bacteria culture.

[Lance]

After 11 days of running the pellets the skimmate is really starting to become darker and thicker. It used to be a greenish brown, now it is nearly as dark as Pepsi, and the crap in the neck of the skimmer is as thick as tar. Here's a pic of skimmate poured from the waste collector into a 2 liter pop bottle. (Aproximately 1 liter in 24 hours). I have the end of the outlet hose from the pellet reactor right up against the bulkhead to the skimmer pump, so most of the effluent from the reactor is going to the skimmer. Maybe I should be letting more of the effluent make it's way back into the system? I don't know. Any opinions on this?



http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/IMG_1255.jpg

[Leah]

It would be the dog house for you for sure if the Mrs had a nice glass of that!!!

[PoonTang]

Better make sure the beagle doesnt get ahold of that or you will be on the missus $hit list again.....

[Lance]

It would be the dog house for you for sure if the Mrs had a nice glass of that!!!

I took the picture and promptly dumped it out. Can't be having any more accidents. :wink:

[Lance]

Better make sure the beagle doesnt get ahold of that or you will be on the missus $hit list again.....


Again? or Still?

[Leah]

Could get rather expensive :wink:

[banditpowdercoat]

24hrs??!!! WOW. My DIY skimmer makes about that much, in 3 WEEKS!!!!

[Lance]

24hrs??!!! WOW. My DIY skimmer makes about that much, in 3 WEEKS!!!!


I was getting about half this much before using the pellets. So I assume they are doing what they are supposed to be.

[Lance]

After 14 days of running the N-P Reducing pellets and MicroBacter7 the results are:

1. nitrates reduced from 20 to 10 on Salifert and Elos kits
2. darker, thicker skimmate
3. clearer water
4. cyano completely cleared up

Very promising so far! :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

[PoonTang]

I never even noticed you cad cyano.....couldnt take my eyes off the amazing livestock long enough i guess :)

[Lance]

I never even noticed you cad cyano.....couldnt take my eyes off the amazing livestock long enough i guess :)


It was just starting to break out when you were here, then got fairly ugly in the next few weeks.

[Lance]

After 3 weeks of running the pellets and no water changes the nitrate level seems to have leveled off at 10. Which is a whole lot better than before the pellets when I was having to change 10% of the water weekly to keep the nitrates under 20. (Saved $25 in salt already!) :biggrin:

[christyf5]

Lance, are you running the full dose of pellets?

[Lance]

Lance, are you running the full dose of pellets?

I am now. I was only running a half dose for the first two weeks because that is all I had. The rest of my order came earlier this week.

[christyf5]

Ah ok, good to know. Be interesting to see what happens when you add the other half :biggrin:

[Lance]

After coming back from holidays I was pleased to see the tank in good shape. Three weeks without a water change and the nitrates measured out at 10 ppm. The N-P reducing pellets are working better than I had hoped. :biggrin:

[fishytime]

Welcome back Lance.....good to hear the tank did well while you were gone......Its also good to hear about the bio-lentils.....*I wonder if I could add a couple more fish if I stared using them:mrgreen:*....thats a pretty dramatic improvement you've seen.......sounds like its kinda like time realeased carbon dosing huh?......We will be getting them at the shop soon:twised:

[Lance]

Welcome back Lance.....good to hear the tank did well while you were gone......Its also good to hear about the bio-lentils.....*I wonder if I could add a couple more fish if I stared using them:mrgreen:*....thats a pretty dramatic improvement you've seen.......sounds like its kinda like time realeased carbon dosing huh?......We will be getting them at the shop soon:twised:


Thanks Doug. It was nice to come home to healthy tanks. 17 days away was the longest stretch to date and I must admit I did stress a bit from time to time, but the Dos Equis and tequila mellowed me out again. Are you thinking of trying the pellets?

[fishytime]

mmmmmm tequilla:wink: (cabo)..........Im not sure I really need to, but they do intrige me.....Tony tested my trates awhile back with his fancy gadget and they tested out at 5......but like I said....if using them could mean readings of 0.....then I could probably add a fish or.....um three:mrgreen:.....you must be excited about your results!

[Lance]

mmmmmm tequilla:wink: (cabo)..........Im not sure I really need to, but they do intrige me.....Tony tested my trates awhile back with his fancy gadget and they tested out at 5......but like I said....if using them could mean readings of 0.....then I could probably add a fish or.....um three:mrgreen:.....you must be excited about your results!


Yes, very much so. I've been battling nitrates in this tank from day one. Very frustrating. All SPS are now doing much better. Even seeing some decent growth now. :biggrin:

[Delphinus]

Lance how are you running the pellets? You should be closer to zero by now. Let me know how you have them and let's see what can do to break through that 10 barrier. Mine levelled off at 10 too as you might recall but literally FELL to zero within days of fixing things.

To give you an idea of what's going on in my tank: 14 fish, fed 5 times per day via autofeeder, plus nori once or twice a day, plus mysis once per day, PLUS frozen krill or whatever the eel eats .. and zero nitrates.

[Lance]

Lance how are you running the pellets? You should be closer to zero by now. Let me know how you have them and let's see what can do to break through that 10 barrier. Mine levelled off at 10 too as you might recall but literally FELL to zero within days of fixing things.

To give you an idea of what's going on in my tank: 14 fish, fed 5 times per day via autofeeder, plus nori once or twice a day, plus mysis once per day, PLUS frozen krill or whatever the eel eats .. and zero nitrates.


Tony, I'm running the pellets in a Phosban reactor with an MJ-1200. 18 fish (65") fed twice a day plus nori once per day. 70g sump with live rock and chaeto, MR-3 skimmer with dual Becketts, Phosban Reactor running Rowaphos and BRS Reactor running carbon. I was dosing MicroBacter7 to jump start the bacteria growth but haven't dosed since I left for vacation.

[Skimmerking]

Lance how are you running the pellets? You should be closer to zero by now. Let me know how you have them and let's see what can do to break through that 10 barrier. Mine levelled off at 10 too as you might recall but literally FELL to zero within days of fixing things.

To give you an idea of what's going on in my tank: 14 fish, fed 5 times per day via autofeeder, plus nori once or twice a day, plus mysis once per day, PLUS frozen krill or whatever the eel eats .. and zero nitrates.


holt crap Tony you feed alot i thought that i was bad 3-4 times with flakes and brine

[kien]

Lance how are you running the pellets? You should be closer to zero by now. Let me know how you have them and let's see what can do to break through that 10 barrier. Mine levelled off at 10 too as you might recall but literally FELL to zero within days of fixing things.

To give you an idea of what's going on in my tank: 14 fish, fed 5 times per day via autofeeder, plus nori once or twice a day, plus mysis once per day, PLUS frozen krill or whatever the eel eats .. and zero nitrates.

Holy mother of pearls!!! Man, and I thought I was overfeeding. Compared to Tony I am virtually starving my fish! :lol: that's it I'm cranking up the autofeeder! Thanks to the pellets my nitrates ran to zero pretty quick. I didn't have a lot of the clumping issues that people are having but running the pellets in a TLF phosban is kind of annoying and I will be getting a bigger reactor.

[Delphinus]

You don't need to seed them with bacteria. I took mine offline, cleaned them in tapwater and let them dry out for 3 days and then put them back online and the reactor was emitting zero nitrate effluent within a day.

How much are they moving in your reactor, and do you have any foam or enkamat on the output?

Tony, I'm running the pellets in a Phosban reactor with an MJ-1200. 18 fish (65") fed twice a day plus nori once per day. 70g sump with live rock and chaeto, MR-3 skimmer with dual Becketts, Phosban Reactor running Rowaphos and BRS Reactor running carbon. I was dosing MicroBacter7 to jump start the bacteria growth but haven't dosed since I left for vacation.

[Delphinus]

They don't dump a lot in at a time but enough to keep the fish chasing the pellets for a minute or so.

I didn't used to feed this often but I wanted to see how far I can push the pellets. Smaller feedings more often is a more natural approach IMO.

Plus with the flukes thing, I wanted to make sure everyone was eating so that their immunities were fully charged, so to speak.

Holy mother of pearls!!! Man, and I thought I was overfeeding. Compared to Tony I am virtually starving my fish! :lol: that's it I'm cranking up the autofeeder! Thanks to the pellets my nitrates ran to zero pretty quick. I didn't have a lot of the clumping issues that people are having but running the pellets in a TLF phosban is kind of annoying and I will be getting a bugger reactor.

[Lance]

You don't need to seed them with bacteria. I took mine offline, cleaned them in tapwater and let them dry out for 3 days and then put them back online and the reactor was emitting zero nitrate effluent within a day.

How much are they moving in your reactor, and do you have any foam or enkamat on the output?

They tumble pretty good, all the way from the bottom to the top. I took the top foam out and replaced it with fine plastic mesh.

[Delphinus]

How high up the reactor are they running when moving?

If it were me, I'd take the filter right out, and take out enough pellets so that it can run full bore without burping any pellets into the sump. No more than 1/2 - 2/3 up the reactor.

And save up for a MR-1 reactor (actually it's pretty cheap all things considered).

They tumble pretty good, all the way from the bottom to the top. I took the top foam out and replaced it with fine plastic mesh.

[Lance]

How high up the reactor are they running when moving?

If it were me, I'd take the filter right out, and take out enough pellets so that it can run full bore without burping any pellets into the sump. No more than 1/2 - 2/3 up the reactor.

And save up for a MR-1 reactor (actually it's pretty cheap all things considered).


They run about 2/3 of the way up the reactor. Where can one get the MR-1 reactor?

[christyf5]

Oceanic Corals sell them http://www.oceaniccorals.com/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=131

[Delphinus]

Got mine from Oceanic - http://www.oceaniccorals.com/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=131

There's also a slightly larger version for $20 more (http://www.oceaniccorals.com/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=132 ) if you really want to go nuts (actually I think there are 2 to 3 sizes up technically).

I think one could already easily run 2litres of pellets without any output foam in the standard sized one though.

[Lance]

Ordered the MR-1 last night.

[Lance]

:laluot_08: Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!
I've been running the N-P Reducing Pellets for awhile now and can't get the nitrate level below 10 whereas Tony and some others have seen their levels drop to 5 and lower. Although 10 is much better than the 20 to 25 range it was at before the pellets, I want it lower yet. Out of curiosity I tested the saltwater in the 32 gal Rubbermaid trash can I mix it in: Nitrates = 10 (WTF!) So I then mixed up 5 gals of SW and measured it: Nitrates = 0 I mix my saltwater 2 days before I need it, so in 2 days nitrates go from 0 to 10! :surprise: No wonder I'm having trouble with nitrate levels in the tank. I better find myself a better water container and throw this trash can in the trash can. I have a 50 gal food safe container for the RO water, so I better get another one for SW. For those of you who are using Rubbermaid containers, it might be a good idea to check the nitrate levels in your water.

[Lance]

Whooooo Hooooo! 3 weeks with no water change and the nitrates are still under 5. :whoo:
Cyano is gone; turf algae is almost gone; over-stocked tank and fat fish. Man, I love these pellets!

[Leah]

:mmph:Lance where did you pick up the food grade container? All mine are Rubbermaid. And I need water and lots of it. :sad:

[fishytime]

Whooooo Hooooo! 3 weeks with no water change and the nitrates are still under 5. :whoo:
Cyano is gone; turf algae is almost gone; over-stocked tank and fat fish. Man, I love these pellets!


Thats great Lance.....time for another fish?:biggrin:


:mmph:Lance where did you pick up the food grade container? All mine are Rubbermaid. And I need water and lots of it. :sad:

Most UFAs will carry schtuff like that Leah.....I could say something here about rubber but.....:tape2:

[Lance]

:mmph:Lance where did you pick up the food grade container? All mine are Rubbermaid. And I need water and lots of it. :sad:


Leah, I got it from a local water supplier. It wasn't cheap though. $150. :sad:

[banditpowdercoat]

:mmph:Lance where did you pick up the food grade container? All mine are Rubbermaid. And I need water and lots of it. :sad:


Nothing wrong with Rubbermade, Leah. Give em a rinse and good to go.

[Leah]

Thats great Lance.....time for another fish?:biggrin:

Perhaps a couple even. :wink:


Most UFAs will carry schtuff like that Leah.....I could say something here about rubber but.....:tape2:

Doug, do people really still use rubber anymore. :redface: Do YOU??? :wink:

[marie]

Leah, I got it from a local water supplier. It wasn't cheap though. $150. :sad:

$150 :eek: ,

I picked up my 50g food grade container from rainbow valley feeds for $20

[Leah]

Thanks Marie!... much better price :biggrin:

[marie]

Thanks Marie!... much better price :biggrin:

I went around all the feed and plant stores looking for rain barrels. The feed store had these food grade barrels available....I had to cut the top off though.

Mine used to contain caramel syrup....

[Lance]

I went around all the feed and plant stores looking for rain barrels. The feed store had these food grade barrels available....I had to cut the top off though.

Mine used to contain caramel syrup....


I went there asking for food grade containers and they told me they didn't have anything. :sad:

[fishytime]

I went there asking for food grade containers and they told me they didn't have anything. :sad:

Your just not pretty enough Lance:razz:.....maybe send someone with.....um ......other assets next time:wink:

[Lance]

Your just not pretty enough Lance:razz:.....maybe send someone with.....um ......other assets next time:wink:


Huh! My wife tells me I'm pretty quite often ............. "You're pretty stubborn!" or her favourite, "You're pretty single-minded!"

[Leah]

Huh! My wife tells me I'm pretty quite often ............. "You're pretty stubborn!" or her favourite, "You're pretty single-minded!"

Was that before or after or during the little incident? :wink:

[Lance]

Was that before or after or during the little incident? :wink:


No the incident was: "You're pretty _ _ _ _ _ _ _ stupid!"

[Leah]

:lol: Can't believe she really said that.

[Lance]

:lol: Can't believe she really said that.


Actually, she didn't say anything that I remember. She was too busy running to the shower! :lol:

[fishytime]

that was pretty freakin funny:lol:

[Lance]

that was pretty freakin funny:lol:


No Doug. That was pretty freakin expensive! 14 days in Mexico.

[Lance]

In the last two months, I've noticed significant growth of sponges, fan worms and other filter feeders in the refugium section of the sump. I'm attributing this to the use of the N-P Reducing pellets. I think the filter feeders are finding the bacterial effluent from the pellet's reactor to their liking. (sort of a coral snow effect). Has anybody else using the pellets noticed more filter feeders in their sump or tank?

[Delphinus]

Yes. Funny you should mention that. I was just thinking about updating my own thread with a picture of my sump. It's always been a little crowded with feather dusters but I noticed last night that the area where my reactor drains into is insanely crowded with them at an epic density level. I was just about to go try get a picture of it.

[Lance]

Yes. Funny you should mention that. I was just thinking about updating my own thread with a picture of my sump. It's always been a little crowded with feather dusters but I noticed last night that the area where my reactor drains into is insanely crowded with them at an epic density level. I was just about to go try get a picture of it.

Some of the pieces of live rock are virtually covered in sponges. These pellets are too cool!

[kien]

Some of the pieces of live rock are virtually covered in sponges. These pellets are too cool!

ditto! Actually shut down my refugium a few days ago and while I was taking out the rocks I noticed what you've noticed, I had this little patch of orange sponge that has literally taken over the entire 'fuge! I even have a couple of snails in there with their shells covered in sponge :lol:

[Delphinus]

Hmm I haven't noticed sponges myself, but will take a look for them now. For sure an increase in feather dusters at the moment (sump only, the b/f's in the main display would take care of any of those up there). I wonder if someone in the tank might be a sponge eater (one of the tangs or angels maybe?? not sure).

Anyhow I did score some pictures, not as clear as I would have liked . but will upload them anyhow.

[Lance]

Hmm I haven't noticed sponges myself, but will take a look for them now. For sure an increase in feather dusters at the moment (sump only, the b/f's in the main display would take care of any of those up there). I wonder if someone in the tank might be a sponge eater (one of the tangs or angels maybe?? not sure).

Anyhow I did score some pictures, not as clear as I would have liked . but will upload them anyhow.


Same here. Before I got the CBB, I had quite a few small feather dusters and small sponges in the DT. He gobbled them all up within a week.

[Lance]

Just did my weekly testing: S.G: 1.025, pH: 8.3, Ca: 420, dKH: 8, Mg: 1330,
PO4: 0 and...............(drum roll please)........................................... .....

NO3 out of the pellet reactor: 0
NO3 in tank: 0 :Banane09:


Over a year of battling nitrates using: nitrate sponges, vodka dosing, Tailored Aquatics Nitrate Destroyer, macro-algae, and every other damn thing; a few silly-looking little white beads does the job! I love these little lentils! :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

[fishytime]

*fanfare* "the crowd goes crazy!".......thats great Lance....congrats on winning the battle:biggrin:

[Lance]

*fanfare* "the crowd goes crazy!".......thats great Lance....congrats on winning the battle:biggrin:


Thanks, Doug. I was so stunned to see "0" I tested twice with both Salifert and Elos. Damn near peed myself!
Now I can get a dozen more Tangs and half a dozen large Angels. jk :mrgreen:

[lastlight]

You're kidding now but let's check back in a few weeks shall we? lol.

Just show us the new light already dammit.

[marie]

Yea lets see the light


I'm waiting for you to say ....Holy crap that lights way to bright for my 24" deep tank, Marie do you want it?? :razz:

[christyf5]

New light?! We need photos man!! :mrgreen:

[Lance]

New light?! We need photos man!! :mrgreen:


Sorry kids.I don't have the new light yet. I can't get down to the city until early April. :sad: and I don't trust our local freight company to get it here without breaking it.

[christyf5]

Aww man I missed the boat on that, didn't even see your posts on a new light, thats why I was all confused (new light?! when did he mention that??). I was just in vancouver last weekend and could have picked it up for you. Phooey! :neutral:

[Lance]

Yea lets see the light

I'm waiting for you to say ....Holy crap that lights way to bright for my 24" deep tank, Marie do you want it?? :razz:



Nice try Marie :lol: Actually, I'll probably be begging for some frags after I fry all my corals. Increasing the wattage by 570 watts (942 watts to 1512 watts) I'm going to have to really watch the corals and acclimate them slowly to the new light. With 8x T5's in the fixture I'll probably only run the MH's for a couple of hours a day to start.

[Lance]

Aww man I missed the boat on that, didn't even see your posts on a new light, thats why I was all confused (new light?! when did he mention that??). I was just in vancouver last weekend and could have picked it up for you. Phooey! :neutral:


Not to worry Christy. Going to the city gives me an excuse to buy more stuff! :biggrin:................... (like I really need more stuff)

[PoonTang]

new lights? wow what did I miss? your fish will need shades now.

[Lance]

new lights? wow what did I miss? your fish will need shades now.


Yup, they will. It's a Sfilgoi Infinity XR4 (3x 400W MH and 8x t5). Plug it in and watch your hydro meter go crazy! :mrgreen:

[christyf5]

Not to worry Christy. Going to the city gives me an excuse to buy more stuff! :biggrin:................... (like I really need more stuff)

LOL I'm with ya on that one :wink:

[Lance]

LOL I'm with ya on that one :wink:


We are terrible, aren't we? :redface:

new equipment: "gotta have it"
unusual coral: "gimme gimme"
cool fish: "can i squeeze one more in my tank?"

[christyf5]

We are terrible, aren't we? :redface:

new equipment: "gotta have it"
unusual coral: "gimme gimme"
cool fish: "can i squeeze one more in my tank?"

yeah I'd say thats about right. Sometimes it doesn't even have to be unusual or new. Sometimes its just about spending money :razz:

[Lance]

yeah I'd say thats about right. Sometimes it doesn't even have to be unusual or new. Sometimes its just about spending money :razz:


Out of curiosity I just added up the money I've spent on the three tanks over the years and I'm just shy of one billion!

[Lance]

Picking up my new light next week. It comes with 3x 400W 10K MH. Any suggestions on the configuration of the 8x T5's? There are 4x 36" T5's on each side of the MH's. I'll be running the MH's for probably 5 to 6 hours per day and the T5's for 12 hours. So the T5's will be on for 6 to 7 hours per day without the MH's. The question I have is: the T5's should have enough colour to offset the brightness of the MH's but not too much blue when the MH's are not on. I prefer just enough blue to bring out the colours in the tank without casting a blue tinge over everything. Suggestions?

[marie]

Hey Lance, when you go to the city next week you wouldn't happen to be stopping by ocean aquatics would you?.... I need a Salifert alk test kit




*Edit* Out of curiosity I just added up the money I've spent on the three tanks over the years and I'm just shy of one billion!

You have 3 tanks???

[Lance]

Hey Lance, when you go to the city next week you wouldn't happen to be stopping by ocean aquatics would you?.... I need a Salifert alk test kit




*Edit*

You have 3 tanks???


Oh probably. If not O/A, J&L. Wherever, I will pick one up for you.
Yup, 3 tanks. The (33g/20g sump) frag tank and QT in the basement.

[fishytime]

Picking up my new light next week. It comes with 3x 400W 10K MH. Any suggestions on the configuration of the 8x T5's? There are 4x 36" T5's on each side of the MH's. I'll be running the MH's for probably 5 to 6 hours per day and the T5's for 12 hours. So the T5's will be on for 6 to 7 hours per day without the MH's. The question I have is: the T5's should have enough colour to offset the brightness of the MH's but not too much blue when the MH's are not on. I prefer just enough blue to bring out the colours in the tank without casting a blue tinge over everything. Suggestions?

you could try the aquascience duos?.....they are around 18000k so arent too terribly blue.......next option would probably be something like a KZ "new gen" or an aquascience "special", both of which are 15000k( appear closer to white).....problem is, you will need quite a bit of blue to offset the yellow that the MHs will throw, when on

btw, very envious of the new light......sweet units from what I've read.....

[Lance]

you could try the aquascience duos?.....they are around 18000k so arent too terribly blue.......next option would probably be something like a KZ "new gen" or an aquascience "special", both of which are 15000k( appear closer to white).....problem is, you will need quite a bit of blue to offset the yellow that the MHs will throw, when on

btw, very envious of the new light......sweet units from what I've read.....


Yeah Doug, this is the problem I'm facing: I need enough blue to offset the yellow glare of the 10K MH but not so much that the tank is blue without the MH. When it becomes time to change the MH's I can go with 14K or 15K and then no problem.

[Lance]

My CBB has to be the dumbest fish I've ever seen. He's too stupid to be afraid of the bigger, badder fishes and doesn't hesitate to steal food right from the mouths of the Tuskfish or Lunare Wrasse. Tonight at feeding time he topped himself though. He was chasing a piece of mysis and it went down the overflow. So there he sat and waited for it to come out again. Meanwhile there are mysis swirling all around his head and the other fishes are gobbling it up. Duhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Here's a pic of "Dumbass"

http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/fish%20pics%20new%20camera/IMG_0657.jpg

[lobsterboy]

thats a good story, i know some of my fish can be challanged at times.

particular my tomini, he swims around and around the power head for 20min at times.

[Lance]

thats a good story, i know some of my fish can be challanged at times.

particular my tomini, he swims around and around the power head for 20min at times.

My Kole does laps through a cave and up over the rock. Always goes the same direction and comes out upside down. Makes me wonder sometimes how these guys survive in the wild.

[lobsterboy]

My Kole does laps through a cave and up over the rock. Always goes the same direction and comes out upside down. Makes me wonder sometimes how these guys survive in the wild.

true, maybe its just captivty

[bauder1986]

haha just watch the movie, "Finding Nemo" again and pay attention to the first scene that Nemo is in the fish tank with the other wild caught and captive bred fish hehehe it would totally suit your guys fish.

[lobsterboy]

haha just watch the movie, "Finding Nemo" again and pay attention to the first scene that Nemo is in the fish tank with the other wild caught and captive bred fish hehehe it would totally suit your guys fish.

ahaha, NEMO.

[Lance]

So I went to the city Monday and picked up my new light. It is a Sfiligoi Infinity XR4 (3x 400W MH, 8x 39W t5, and 8 LED moonlights). This thing is a beast; it must weigh about 200 lbs.


http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/lights/IMG_1719.jpg


One nice thing about this fixture is the venting system: no noisy fans
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/lights/IMG_1721.jpg


The ballasts with locking cord connectors.
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/lights/IMG_1723.jpg


Nice reflectors. They're made to direct the light straight downwards with no spillover to the sides.
http://i371.photobucket.com/albums/oo151/lancefishtank/lights/IMG_1720.jpg

I'm undecided how I'm going to mount the fixture. I was originally going to hang it from the ceiling, but it turns out Joan is not totally sold on the idea of two or more cables coming from the ceiling as the tank is in the family room. If I can't change her mind about that I'll have to come up with a different approach. I've got plenty of time to figure it out though because I have to build a new entertainment-center cabinet I've been promising her. :sad: If I start on this light I'll never hear the end of it. :blah: So I'll build her the cabinet and make her happy. :kiss:

[Skimmerking]

where in the heck Lance did you get the money for that beast wow nice looking light

[banditpowdercoat]

where in the heck Lance did you get the money for that beast wow nice looking light

Ya, you venturing into Male prostitution or something??? :razz::surprise::mrgreen:

[Lance]

where in the heck Lance did you get the money for that beast wow nice looking light


Hehe. It's not new Mike. I got a good deal from Dan (Aquatic Additions). It still set me back a few though.

[Skimmerking]

Addy boy its all about the money we spend.

[Lance]

Ya, you venturing into Male prostitution or something??? :razz::surprise::mrgreen:


Oh oh. My secret is out.:redface: You can just call me Deuce now. Might have to change my avatar to "BIGalow"

[Lance]

Addy boy its all about the money we spend.

Yup! Can't take it with me. Also have a new skimmer coming for the 90g.

[Skimmerking]

Oh oh. My secret is out.:redface: You can just call me Deuce now. Might have to change my avatar to "BIGalow"


I dare ya

[Delphinus]

200lbs!

[Lance]

200lbs!

I'm just guessing Tony, but I'm usually pretty good with my guesstimations. If it's not 200 it's close. Brett might know. He had a similar light.

[banditpowdercoat]

I'm just guessing Tony, but I'm usually pretty good with my guesstimations. If it's not 200 it's close. Brett might know. He had a similar light.

Get on the scale with it, Mr BIG!!!!

[Lance]

I'm just guessing Tony, but I'm usually pretty good with my guesstimations. If it's not 200 it's close. Brett might know. He had a similar light.

Dims are: 71x22x7 (all metal, no plastic) Marie was over for a look and lifted one end. She now has a hernia. :mrgreen:

[Mrfish55]

where in the heck Lance did you get the money for that beast wow nice looking light

That would be the light I funded via his bloody liquor store down the street from my place. P.S nice light Lance, suppose the price of beer is going to go up roughly the same percent that your Hydro bill will :lol:

[Lance]

That would be the light I funded via his bloody liquor store down the street from my place. P.S nice light Lance, suppose the price of beer is going to go up roughly the same percent that your Hydro bill will :lol:


I wouldn't do that to you Dave. Cheapest cold beer in town!

[banditpowdercoat]

OOOHHH So you robed a Liquor store to get the light LMAO!

[Lance]

I think I might need to work on my image somewhat............. Brett bought a Sfiligoi for his tank and everyone called it a nice, classy tank build. I buy one and in twenty minutes I've gone from a male prostitute to a liquor store robber! :redface:
I better not buy that new skimmer or I'll be pimping next. :mrgreen:

[Skimmerking]

I think I might need to work on my image somewhat............. Brett bought a Sfiligoi for his tank and everyone called it a nice, classy tank build. I buy one and in twenty minutes I've gone from a male prostitute to a liquor store robber! :redface:
I better not buy that new skimmer or I'll be pimping next. :mrgreen:

hey how do you think that I feel as a skimmer Whore. lol you get used to it,

[Lance]

hey how do you think that I feel as a skimmer Whore. lol you get used to it,

Yeah, but I bought 1 light. You've bought 100 skimmers. :lol:

[banditpowdercoat]

I think I might need to work on my image somewhat............. Brett bought a Sfiligoi for his tank and everyone called it a nice, classy tank build. I buy one and in twenty minutes I've gone from a male prostitute to a liquor store robber! :redface:
I better not buy that new skimmer or I'll be pimping next. :mrgreen:

What can I say, I'm good at what I do LOL :razz:

Really, I think I may be a little jealous?? I mean, I would never own one because I think they are overpriced, I think ALL reef lighting is over priced. But it WOULD be nice if I COULD afford one LOL For now, I'll stick with my mismatch used and DIY reflectors......

[Skimmerking]

Yeah, but I bought 1 light. You've bought 100 skimmers. :lol:
Oh shut up Lance you you you YOU YOU YOU YOU

I'm going to bed.:eggface:

[Lance]

Really, I think I may be a little jealous?? I mean, I would never own one because I think they are overpriced, I think ALL reef lighting is over priced. But it WOULD be nice if I COULD afford one LOL For now, I'll stick with my mismatch used and DIY reflectors......

I hear ya. Everything in this hobby is expensive. (That's why reefers eat KD and weiners 5 nights a week.) :lol:

[Lance]

Oh shut up Lance you you you YOU YOU YOU YOU

I'm going to bed.:eggface:


Night Mike. Me too. Gotta get up early and go to work to pay for the new light.:mrgreen:

[marie]

Dims are: 71x22x7 (all metal, no plastic) Marie was over for a look and lifted one end. She now has a hernia. :mrgreen:

Correction, Marie tried to lift one end of the light and now has a hernia....I didn't actually get any air space underneath to say for sure it was lifted