JamesL

Very nice!!

When I had my 24g tank, I use to mix up saltwater in a 5 gallon bucket. I used a small/cheap powerhead and heater in it, and used Reef Crystals. Ideally you want it to mix for about a day to let the temperature stability, and all of the salt dissolve. Now with my 75g, I do the same thing, except with a 34g trash can on wheels And I have used Instant Ocean in the past with no problems, but opinions on brands of salt are pretty much far and wide.

More pictures.. Zoas: My one an only little SPS: More zoas: Aiming for complete top coverage: Mmm... LPS: Hoping these yellow zoas take off and grow fast: This guy: used to look like this (right side of the picture, can click for larger):

I agree with Little_Reef on it being dangerous to add rocks from outside to your tank. They probably won't be porous enough to provide the needed area for beneficial bacteria to grow, they will have contaminates, and they might have some metal traces in them which would be detrimental to your tank. If you are looking for a cheap alternative, you could always just do "base rock" which is normally cheaper than "live rock". Other, you could make your own rocks... another person on this forum was doing that.

Yeah, stop using IE Hmm... would be surprised if it is a pop-up blocker issue, as Firefox also has one.

In the upper right-hand corner where your user name is, click the down arrow. PM's have been renamed to Messenger.

That did the trick. Thanks And a mobile specific skin would be nice. While not a forum, I noticed the other day that the-gadgeteer.com has a very nice easy-to-use mobile version of their site.

Yeah yeah I am holding off for a while before jumping to the 3GS. True... I actually did meet up with some friends last friday who actually had no idea that OS 3.0 was coming, or what it had in it!

Thanks to you both Hmm.. will have to think of what appropriate music would go with the video....

Some more pictures from yesterday. Acan: Another acan: 3rd acan (this was in some higher flow when I took the pic, moved it last night to see if will be happier in a lower flow area): Favia (I really like this): Not new, but I still love my orange brain .. it is growing nicely: And a full on FTS: Still have some more pictures (more close-ups of the zoa collection), but will save those for another post.

For all of you iPhone (and iPod touch) users here, just wanted to remind you that OS 3.0 is available today for upgrade (free for iPhones, $9.95 for touches). This adds a whole bunch of items such as: - Cut/copy/paste!! - Landscape support in all the major native apps (mail, SMS, etc) - System wide search (spotlight). - Voice recording app. - Applications can now "push" data to your phone even if you are not running that program. - Plus more. I have been using 3.0 for a while as a developer... it is nice!

Niiiiice

Can you add a comma between the zip code and the phone number for each of the sponsors? When looking at the site on an iPhone, you can tap on the phone number and it will ask if you want to call it ... except, the iPhone is appending the zip code to the beginning of the number This isn't a result of the switch over, but I just finally remembered to mention it.

Nah, this was just a hard category to get a shot in. At least you tried Of course this is from someone who has 0 votes... and I didn't even vote for my own picture

Yep, looks to have gone pretty smoothly. It looks like cookies got reset for what threads were read, but that is minor.

+1 to the nice clam

Here is my first attempt at video recording the tank. Kinda choppy, crazy zooming, and cheesy transitions ... all for your enjoyment

Shh... don't tell Mark, but I got a shipment of new stuff today. Mr. Coral was having a big sale last week, and I was able to order 12 WYSWYG frags of zoa's and LPS with free shipping. One of these days I will buy something from the Vivid group orders So on to the pictures! Boy, o, boy did I take a lot of pictures. I think I will have to pace them over a few posts/days. And I also have a video I need to edit and get posted of the tank! To get things started, here are the new items from Mr. Coral. I have to say I am very pleased with everything. Most of the zoas were opening in the bags when acclimating, and most are 90% or more open now. Click on any picture for a larger version. Packed very well: Some of the zoas I purchased (still opening): These were freebies (sorry, I hid them behind a gorgonian): One of the favias I got: I think these are a type of african blue zoa (another freebie). I know a lot of people have problems with them melting, thought I would give them a try since they were free. I had planned on mounting these in a different spot but I mixed up the frags. Some red people eaters: More freebies: More zoas I purchased (the picture does not do them justice, the yellow really pops): 3 acans and another favia I got (I already had the orange brain to the left): And to wrap up for now, a different angle on the FTS:

Welcome! There is a meeting this upcoming Saturday in the North Austin (see the meeting thread).

Wow.. when you said DIY, you really meant it! A few things I might throw out there. If you are going to cure your rock in the tank, you can skip the dead shrimp. I would suggest maybe just adding some of your clean up crew, and feed lightly (either pellet/flake or frozen) every couple of days. That should also kick start the biologic cycle. In the size of tank you are looking at, probably only one candy cane pistol shrimp, as they tunnel long and far. Plus, hawkfish are predators of inverts, so it might not mix well with your plans of the pistol and harlequins. And lastly, most conchs I think either get really big or are predators, with the notable exceptions of fighting/Tonga conchs. Just my 2 cents ... but I must say, you are really planning this out, which is the exact way to do it! -James

Welcome! If you thin about it while DIY'ing, document/photograph your process and post it in the DIY section. I am sure people would love to learn about different/new techniques.

All that pink and purple growing on the back wall.

You have some crazy coraline algae going on in your 29g.

The only downside I have found with the more open landscape is you run out of room on the rocks for gluing down corals But then again, there is always the sand....

Yay! Another "open" landscape person. I like what you are planning. And I swear, the size of your sump still creeps me out