JamesL

My cucumbers (I have 2 in my 75g, one black and one yellow) don't really dump sand on my sand sitting corals. My main problem is they seem to like to curl up around them, which sometimes knows them over (I noticed on of my frogspawn was knocked over this morning, and they love curling around/under them).

The bow front might also reek havoc on trying to get a real wave going, as I suspect the curved glass would deflect the water in all sorts of directions.

Ric, How do you have the powerheads positioned in your tank? This is something I have been thinking about doing in my tank also at some point.

So far, yes they have. But like Zarathustra2 said, they might change again if I switch the type of light... which I kinda hope they do, as I bought them because I wanted some yellow centered zoas. Right now I have a growing green back from the center of the colony going outwards

I had also heard about this method... and I even heard of someone who tried it on another forum. You would have to take things like filtration and powerheads into account, and probably set up a special "gorw" out tank with a sponge filter for the mushroom soup. This is an ingenious idea to creat a rock with multiple mushrooms on it! But how do you get the veil off after all of the new mushrooms have formed? I would assume the mushrooms would grow up through the veil openings.

Nothing wrong, just the corals adapting to your tank and lighting. I have some zoas that do this also. They start off yellow, and eventually turn to green.

In this fifth installment of the fine art of saltwater tank keeping, we turn our attention to the amount of time you devote to said tank. As with all hobbies, interest varies from time to time. You are super in to it one week, and then another you are distracted by something else. Fish tanks are no different. In the beginning you are all gun-ho: reading as much as you can, researching the newest and coolest equipment, playing mad scientist with test kits to check the water parameters, window shopping for what new fish/coral to add, keeping a regular water change cycle, etc. But as the tank matures and you will generally find that you start slacking off. A missed water change here and there. Weekly water parameter checks become a thing of the past. Fish get fed every couple of days. Well, I am here to tell you that is this is A-OK. New fish tanks require all of that attention to get them up and running. But a mature tank kind of takes care of itself. Oh sure, you still have to feed the fish, do some water changes, and the algae generally does not scrape itself off the inside of the glass. But a mature tank gives the the freedom of sitting back and enjoying your hard work. Seeing corals grow and flourish gives one a since of accomplishment. Plus, as the corals grow out, the tank takes on a more "natural" look. I personally love seeing small little corals I have purchased grow into larger ones (oh yeah, take lots of pictures along the way to help see the changes). But beware of this idle time. If you do not have another hobby or activity taking up the extra time, you might start getting antsy. And this, much to a significant others chagrin, generally turns into upgrade fever. You start looking at a larger tank to set up. Or possibly start looking into setting up another tank (speciality tank such as seahorses anyone?). Here, I really have no advise for you .. as each person has to deal with these tendencies in whatever way suits them best. In short, I am just trying to emphasize that keeping a saltwater tank is not all work. There is definitely lots of enjoyment you, your family, and friends get out of it once it is up and going.

Read through this entire thread, I think someone already answered this (fishing license, saltwater stamp, something else?).

Great suggestion ... I was actually thinking about this and started some basic research last night.

Very nice description of the process Christian

Hey, you read my mind ... I was thinking about this same thing with my tank. I currently have just metal halides over my tank, and after seeing Mama's tanks, was thinking about adding in supplemental actinic. Now, to those suggesting upping the K on the bulb. Yes, you get more blue with the 14K and 20K bulbs (I am running 14K phoenix bulbs), but you don't really get the color "pop"/"glow" that actinics bring out in corals.....

I already sent you my info ... will resend.

Great visit, fantastic tanks, and thanks for the duncan! Can't wait to get it into the tank. And I definitely do see me setting up a seahorse tank down the road... loved looking at the horses you have. (And is was nice running into Ric there also ).

Like Robb, I have never had a quarantine tank ... and there proabbly has only been once that I could have used one. Since I don't add fish much (haven't in quite a while), I guess I just don't feel the need for one. But this thread is generating some great ideas for having stuff handy!

I didn't realize they were local... I had perused their site a while back.

Love the pipefish.

Was worth asking ... any starfish? I think I will just window shop when I come to get the duncans.

In my experience, most Ocellaris and Percula clowns tend to stay "happy". Seems like a lot of the other clowns get meaner as they grow bigger.

Oh, and if you are planning on selling any anemones, I wanna put in a dibs

Maroons and Tomatoes are probably going to have the same issue as your cinnamon.

I would be interested in 3 heads of the duncans .. could swing by tomorrow.

That should change in the near future to a large patch In my 24g tank, my GSP took over most of the tank. In my 75g, it doesn't seem to be as invasive.

We have another member, caferacermike, who has (still has?) kept octopii in specialized tanks. He would probably be a great source of information if you needed (though I believe he has been working a lot, so haven't seen him post much recently).

I was going to say, we just had a meeting last month where our gracious host talked about his stand/canopy building experience

Looking very nice! That mushroom rock is awesome with how full it is.