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  1. mrcolbeck

    1/2 gal tide pool nursery tank

    Final pics: Shelf view for scale close up, fish 1 week older first batch (6 weeks old) returned to 12 gal
  2. mrcolbeck

    1/2 gal tide pool nursery tank

    I'll probably add an airstone soon, but powerhead would be too much for 1/2 gal I think. This is supposed to be a protected tide pool, not the open reef. Any thoughts on smallest, quietest air pump?
  3. mrcolbeck

    1/2 gal tide pool nursery tank

    I'm definitely going to take it slow, ready to say "I meant to do that" as long as it keeps working out.
  4. mrcolbeck

    1/2 gal tide pool nursery tank

    I think next step will be to get a microscope so what's in the tank. Seriously, the cloudiness in the picture is organisms in the water (rotifers? pods?) I often see the fish chasing something too small for me to see. I'd like to keep this as simple as possible ( in contrast to the upgrades...
  5. mrcolbeck

    1/2 gal tide pool nursery tank

    I started this just to hold baby mollies from my 12 gal office tank until my admin asst could take them home. It's just an upside down display box. I added a couple rocks and chaeto for food and appearance. But this was just temporary, right?! And I added a small LED unit I wasn't using...
  6. mrcolbeck

    Do-overs, what to do with an old undergravel filter

    update: no changes, tank stable, clowns spawned. Since I originally posted my question I have done relatively little to my tank. I did re-install the reverse flow to the UG filter and upgraded my other pumps to increase circulation. I shut down half my lights to fix wiring problems and ended...
  7. mrcolbeck

    Do-overs, what to do with an old undergravel filter

    Going BB requires more equipment than I can afford, plus I would miss all the critters in the sand/gravel bed. After seeing and reading about Paul B's tank I may go back to slow reverse UG once the bed is cleaned out. I removed a few pieces of rock to another tank for cooking and syphoned the...
  8. mrcolbeck

    Do-overs, what to do with an old undergravel filter

  9. mrcolbeck

    Do-overs, what to do with an old undergravel filter

    Thanks. I thought the UG filter plate would work as a plenum. I'll look for threads on that. Will a plenum work with gravel (2-5 mm) or does it need sand? If I run a phosphate reactor will I have to move the clowns?
  10. mrcolbeck

    Do-overs, what to do with an old undergravel filter

    I don't have a sump yet. I plan to set it up when I add new equpiment. I wouldn't go BB because I don't like the look. I syphon the gravel in the front of the tank every water change, but there's probably still crap under the rock in back.
  11. mrcolbeck

    Do-overs, what to do with an old undergravel filter

    My tank has been running for at least 10 years with fish and live rock. About a year ago I lost several SPS that I had added gradually including a 8" M. capricornis that grew from a quarter sized frag. I don't know what caused the sudden die off. My clowns and algae scrubbers survived. Since...
  12. mrcolbeck

    Id this anemone, aptasia?

    Joe's Juice works the best IMO. I know immediately when the mojano has been dosed enough to kill the whole thing, and I don't have to worry about neighbors. I've used it to kill anemones in the middle of zoanthid colonies, xenia and sps without affecting them. With other methods I've had the...
  13. mrcolbeck

    What? no razor blades on acrylic?

    I use one of those plastic cookware scrapers, too. It's hard and stiff, but softer than acrylic or credit card plastic, so it doesn't scratch. I found that holding it nearly perpendicular to the tank wall and making long slow scrapes removes most of the coraline algae in one pass.
  14. mrcolbeck

    graf Aragocrete live rocks

    As I recall, the recipe on GARF's website called for Riverside white portland cement. I assumed that was because of possible metal poisoning from regular portland cement. If the only reason for using white cement is to match color of sand, then I will definitely try this with regular cement...
  15. mrcolbeck

    Host anemone under PC lighting

    Thanks for the responses. It sounds like bubble tips are my best bet. I'd still like to know if the spectrum or intensity of lighting is the main factor for anemones. Right now I have 3 actinic A3 and one 10000 K 55w pc bulbs. I don't have much room to add lights, but I could change the...
  16. mrcolbeck

    Host anemone under PC lighting

    Can anyone recommend a host anemone that will do well under PC lighting? I want to get an anemone for my tomato clowns. I've heard that host anemones need MH lighting to do well. I have 220w PC lighting on a 40 gallon tank (50/50.) I had a host anemone several years ago that failed due to...
  17. mrcolbeck

    NW escargot

    I ask this partly for amusement, but partly serious: Has anyone tried garden slugs as a food source for inverts? It seems to me that pureed slugs would have suspension and coagulation properties similar to marine snow, and therefore might be suitable for filter feeders. I haven't seen...
  18. mrcolbeck

    upgrading old crushed coral UG filter bed

    I have a 40 gal acrylic that I originally set up as fish only (almost 20 years ago.) Over the last 5 years I've slowly added live rock and upgraded the lighting and water flow so I can keep corals. I still have crushed coral and UG grid with a reverse flow powerhead. The system is stable with...
  19. mrcolbeck

    Another NEWBIE needs your advice! =)

    What about going from old UG system to live sand? I have thought about converting to LS bed since I first heard about Berlin systems a long time ago. Is there anyway to do this without tearing everything out and starting over? Can it be done gradually? I have a 40gal tank with 3" of crushed...
  20. mrcolbeck

    Favorite Little Tank Gadget?

    I'm a big fan of super-glue and frankenstein rocks. I use the gel type, because its movable and I never seem to get it right the first time.
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