Recent content by dieselboy

FWIW, two things that made my application a bit easier to manage was to, 1) set a shorter "periodicity" between surges and, 2) set a smaller total surge volume. Velocity would be a set constant, as this would be determined by pipe diameter and bucket height. This way, it would lessen the amount...

I have a very healthy, robust one right now, but I had 2 for a very short time a few years back. I bought them at the same time under the assumption that they were both haddonis, and would require the same type of care. Unfortunately, while one rooted into the sandbed within a night, the other...

MiNdErAsR, LOL!!!!! [ November 26, 2001: Message edited by: dieselboy ]</p>

I used to run my SPS tank that way for a very long time, although I used to balance that with good lights, religious water changes, vigorous surface/tank water movement (O2 saturation), and a relatively low fishload with minimal feeding.

So glad to see people with a disdain for reef walls! It's always been my thinking to let the corals grow naturally and take up the majority of the water column, and keep the live rock at a bare minimum. LR *walls* just don't leave anything to the imagination or aesthetics IMO. Something about...

Nope, that place on 32nd and Noriega never re-opened. NoriMuncher and trigger, you guys musta been around waaaaaay back in the day to remember that one... that place did have some nice stuff at times...even though the owner kinda gave me hell for trying to run a reef w/o a trickle filter, and...

hi malta, Aquatic Reflections isn't a true LFS...it's a online business owned by a guy named Robert Dalton, who used to work over at Reef Science waaaaay back when they were working in conjunction with Blue Cove in San Ramon. He mostly sells online, but if you're local, you can drop by and...

In addition to those mentioned, you might also want to try Aquatic Reflections out in Dublin...they have stuff you'd only find in L.A....nice SPS you wouldn't otherwise get in the Bay Area w/o resorting to mail order. There's also Coral Reef Ecosystems out in the North Bay (Petaluma or Santa...

FWIW, I also have a baby blue/teal carpet anemone. It is without question my favorite animal in my SPS tank, even more so than the red/pink variant of E. quadricolor, or any Acro I have. I've had mine awhile, and it hasn't faded in color, and has in fact intensifed under the 400W Iwasakis. It's...

I second the two who mentioned *real* waves. A *real* surge machine or wave maker that would be absolutely silent, microbubble-less, powerful, and reliable...kinda like a CSD w/o the noise and bubbles.

I had the same dilemma a few years back, and I decided on a sumpless 40 gal. and it worked out well for the time I had it. Rationale: -shorter in height than a 50, less lighting needed (esp. with a DSB)and less tendency to *stack* rocks -no center brace, more light penetration, esp. if using...

Hmmmm, how to keep more people to stick with the hobby....one thing that jumps out at me is the huge egos prevalent in both LFS workers and established reef keeping folk. Lose the arrogance, be willing to teach and be patient with people new to the scene. I can remember when I first started way...

FWIW, a friend of mine is using those bulbs, and while they are yellow, he tells me that they get whiter over time...but I'm thinking that he's just gotten used to the color. Either way, he's also using 2 URI VHO's to combat the yellow. However, he does get some really good coloration out of...

This may or may not apply to your setup, but FWIW, I used to run a 400W Iwasaki one inch above the glass center brace for over a year, with no problems. The canopy was fan cooled, however. Not the safest route, but it did work.......

I don't know about everyone else, but IME, if you're going the Iwasaki route, the 400W'rs tend to drown out all but the most powerful actinic setup. In my tank you can barely see the 2 VHO's working in conjunction with the 2X400W, and now I'll have to buy another Icecap for an additional 2 VHO's....