Sacramento Area Reefers

[ozmonster]

Hello Sac Reefers:

Just got this forum started to introduce you all to MARS. Its Sacramento's reef society. Check out the website and look for upcoming meetings.

Also this a forum to talk about LFS and set up frag trades.

If your from Sac area, post a reply on this thread and introduce yourself.

My name is Rob and I've been a reefer for almost 2 years. I have a 125g (for specs check sig line) with SPS (my new obsession), LPS, softies, anemones, anthias, desjardini, clowns, flame angel, algea blenny, cleaner shrimps, coral banded shrimp, and tons of hermits and snails.

I also have a 29g with zoos, GSP, shrooms, softies, 2 clowns and a bengaii cardinal.

I am addicted to frag trading so if anyones interested, let me know.

Thanks, oz:p

[beerguy]

My real name is Doug.

I've had an aquarium of some sort running for some 30 years. I started doing saltwater about 3 years ago and have had my 60g reef tank running for almost a year now.

Fish load is a pair of ocellaris clowns, a yellow tang and wardley's wrasse.

Corals include a large hammer, fungia, acropora (2), m.digitata (2), m. capricornus(2), porites(3).

I've also got a 1g nano on my desk at work with some LR and zoos.

Being a nerd for a living, I have a webcam on my tank that updates every 30 seconds while the lights are on:

http://www.hopdog.com/vid/autosnap.jpg

[beerguy]

It would appear that there are a total of 2 of us.....


:)

[ozmonster]

It looks that way, doesn't it? :confused:

I know there are more out there but they must be too shy.

We'll wait 'em out.

oz

ps I like that tank cam. You know what's happening at all times. I'll add that to my already full project list. :p

[jjharrisx4]

There are more than two of ya! Great idea Oz....I'll be getting back to you soon when I can hook up a trade. I replied to you on Nano-reef as well. Have a great Christmas!

[Marc Daniels]

Looks like I can make it 4 of us on the thread.

Myself and a friend from Davis are planning to attend the Jan. 17 meeting. I've been in the hobby about 6 years, and am currently running a 135g reef and a 160g prop farm. I setup the farm after moving to Elk Grove last July.

I've been meaning to attend a meeting and join the club for several months, but something seemed to keep getting in the way.

[ozmonster]

Jason: What's up, my man? Let's do those trades at the January Frag DIY tommorrow. Check the post in the MARS section here or in the special events section of the MARS website. It starts at 6:30pm. Hope to see you there.

That goes for you too Doug.

Daniel: Bring your friend along to the DIY also. Since your running a coral farm, I'm sure you can share some of your fragging tips with other members. Also bring a coral colony to frag if possible. You can sell, trade or take the frags from the colony home with you. Otherwise, just show up. There will be plenty of corals to frag.

Hope you all can make it.

oz

[beerguy]

Sounds like fun, but I don't think I can swing it this weekend. It's wifey's 40th and I don't think that a "frag party" was on her list of things to do. :)

I should, however, try to attend a club meeting or two.

We'll see.

[ozmonster]

Yeah Beerguy, I don't think the wife will be too keen on that. Oh well maybe next time. If you can make it to next weeks meeting, we will have some of the frags from tommorrow there for the raffle and for $5 each.

see ya

oz

[Marc Daniels]

Oz-

Thanks for the invitation to the DIY this evening, but unfortunately my wife is on duty this weekend (National Guard). My, very active, 16 month old son would love to attend though...he can show everyone how fast he can get the "childproof" locks open and share his juice with the sump. I actually think that apple juice cured my tang of ich!

I do have a few things I could bring Jan. 17 for the raffle. I noticed in an earlier post that you, like myself, like trading frags. I'm looking for some nice orange zooanthids. I already have pink, and some very nice yellow one's I picked up at Aqualife several weeks back. I already have a frag of the yellow going, but it's only 4-5 polyps, so it's not very big.

Marc
(that's the "m" in the danieldm)

[TerminalFrost]

Hello all, my name is Joel...and I am fairly new to the Sacramento area. I have been a "reefer" for about 5-6 years now, but for the last several years I have not had a tank for various reasons. I now am cycling my newest 75gal tank, should be ready in the next week, and i am interested in joining any marine groups that are interested in having me join. Thanks for your input!

[beerguy]

Completely off topic.

Anyone know where I can buy URI VHOs locally? I've got a couple patches of cyano that just popped up that I'm attributing to old bulbs and would like to avoid shipping charges if possible.

Cheers

[beerguy]

pmub

[cal3v]

Try Twins Aquarium in Stockton they have some uri vho's.

[beerguy]

Thanks anyway. I ended up ordering them online. It's cheaper to pay shipping than to drive to Stockton.

[TerminalFrost]

Is anything happening this month? Meeting, fraging, ect...just wondering:rolleyes:

[jjharrisx4]

The meetings are the third friday of every month. Hopefully I'll be making them again! See ya all there.

[ozmonster]

Yeah I think the only thing going this month is the meeting.

Howver, if anyone wants to do some side trading, let me know.

I have the following frags for trade at the moment:

branching torch coral
branching frogspawn coral
green star polyps
xenia
toadstool leather
sinularia
candy cane coral

also have the following for trade/sell:

large green carpet anemone (14"-16" extended)(trade or $50)
bubble tip anemone (2 available)(trade or $25 each)
coral bueaty (pygmy angel)(trade or $15)
cerith snails (for trade or 15 for $5)

Everything is healthy and ready to go.

And Jason, tell me if you want to do that Ricordia trade at the meeting (or sooner).

oz

[jjharrisx4]

Hey Oz...I plan on going to the meeting! I'm done with my academy now, and have Friday's off so I'm there. In a previous post, you indicated that you didn't have any of the ricordia left. Do you have some, or would you like to trade for something else? I'd be interested in the torch, frogspawn, and toadstool. Also, the xenia (since mine got chopped!). I have a ricordia ready to go for you, and also could trade a frag of pocillopora and I have a couple of colts that are attached and growing. I would have had hairy mushrooms as well but my shroom rock tipped over and I didn't notice it in time. bummer. Oh yeah, I have a frag of brown gorgonian. Let me know what you want, and also prices on other frags that maybe we can't trade for.

[ozmonster]

Jason: congratulations on the academy. Those little punks better watch out.;)

Yeah, I have the orange/brown ricordia mother colony. I just didn't have any frags left. If you want to trade 2 polyps of mine for two polyps of your blue, I'll frag some in time for the meeting.

And I'll trade you a xenia for a colt. (we'll try that again - hopefully with better luck:p )

Other than that, here's some prices:

branching torch coral $10
branching frogspawn coral $10
green star polyps $5
xenia $5
toadstool leather $7
sinularia $7
candy cane coral $5

Let me know what you want. You can pick them up or I can bring them to the meeting.

oz

[jjharrisx4]

OK Oz, lets do the ricordia (2 for 2) and the colt for xenia. I'll let you know before the meeting about the rest. Chances are I'll want something else...:bum:

[jjharrisx4]

Oz...I'll be there! I'd also like a torch, Toadstool, and Candycane. If you bring an extra toadstool, my buddy Jim (also a member) will probably want to pick it up. If he doesn't I will.

[supernip]

hey guys, I'm all the way from san jose but can I join anyway? I'll be internet support and maybe once in a while I'll go to a meeting, if I can dish up enough cash for the gas. so lmk! by the way, anyone have any red frogspawn? I'd pay for that

[beerguy]

I posted this in the trading and forsale area, but here it is again:

I've got 100 nassarius snails coming in today but don't need them all (minimum dollar amount on the order) The are true nassarius vibex from floridapets.com, not the black algea eaters that often get passed off. I'll have 20-40 available for the same price I paid; 10 for $3.50

Local pickup only - tonight or tomorrow would be best as once they go in the tank they can be tough to retrieve.

Cheers

[budgetyourself]

Hi beerguy, just saw your message about the snails and sent you an email. I'll pick some up tomorrow.

[H20ENG]

Hi MARS guys!
Is a guy named Forrest still around? Had a good chat with him a couple years ago at the Western Marine Conference in Sac.
I wish I had the time to join a club. Stuck with RC for now:D
Chris

[Al G Blenny]

My name is Matt and I'm an alcoh..... woops. Reefaholic. I live in Burlingame (near S.F.). My girlfriends family lives in Sac so I go there a lot. I'll probably be attending some meetings. I've heard a lot about the Sac. saltwater club from customers at the aquarium store that I work at. Always good to see a new club. What's up supernip? Did you set up the skimmer yet?

[jjharrisx4]

Chris, Forrest is still around...and informative as ever. He is a definate addition to the club. Hope to see you there!

[H20ENG]

Cool! Tell him I said Hi!
Would love to come to a meeting sometime.
Chris

[ozmonster]

Hey Jason:

How are the frags doing? The colt I got from you is doing awesome. The ricordias seem to be a bit finicky but I'm sure they will come around. What was the light/water flow they had in your tank?

How's the xenia? toadstool? torch? And what did you do with that giant toadstool you won in the raffle? That thing was a monster.

It was good to meet your friend Jim. I kept thinking he looked familiar and then I realized we did a trial against each other (actually I and another attorney defended a guy he arrested). Small world, huh? How are his frags doing?

talk to you soon,
oz

[jjharrisx4]

Oz..they are awesome! My ricordia (from you) are a bit finicky too, but I'm sure they'll adjust. I have my ricordia right on the sandbed in a 15gal tall tank. Lighting is 2x36w pc and water flow is light. Actually, water flow for the whole tank is pretty good at about 200g/h but they are a bit blocked from the main flow in my tank. The ricordia I got from you kinda bounced around for a couple days but now seem to have settled on a pice of live rock.

The other corals are great! I think the xenia would prefer a bit more light though...they are stretching a bit. When I get a chance I'll take a pic and post it here of my 15g tank. That's where all the new frags went. It's really starting to come together.

The Sarcophyton is doing fine. That is really a big coral. So far is is a bit cramped but otherwise it is doing fine. It is a different kind of sarco than I already have so that's cool. I'll probably do some fragging at some point and kick a few back to the club.

I think it'll look really good in my new 100g tank when it is finished. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm glad the colt is doing well, It'll be huge and fraggable before you know it. Take it easy...Jason

[CaptiveReefSystems]

Originally posted by H20ENG
Cool! Tell him I said Hi!
Would love to come to a meeting sometime.
Chris

Would love to have you join us. From last nights meeting, it looks like a move is in store for May. We are moving to the RoundTable Pizza in the Ralph's shopping center at the intersection of Greenback and Madison on the Folsom/Orangevale border.

Forrest travels a lot with his job, so we don't see much of him. I just helped him install a new 400+ gallon tank this past weekend. He says it his last. ;)

[headshrink]

Hello all,

I see this thread is a bit old, but I hope you still look at it.
I wanted to introduce myself... I'm Bob and I am new to the hobby. I am local so I am hoping to become involved with the group. At this point my only experience was with a 10gal freshwater when I was 10YO. A year ago I started a project of furnishing my office and it has gone slow since I am paying for it instead of my employeer. They would have, but it would be garage sale stuff. Anyways... I am young and wanted to feel professional in my first REAL job... which brings me to my point. I started thinking, "wouldn't it be cool to have an aquarium in here?" I always loved saltwater fish and then I discovered reef :rollface:
I am in the process of implimenting this. I have a 55gal acrylic and stand in my garage waiting for a sump/refugium to be shipped. I will need lots of advice and am hoping to make some new friends too. I hope to meet some of you soon. BTW: how do I become a member?

[jjharrisx4]

Hi...To become a member, just come to the next meeting. You can fil out the application and pay dues then. I think you'll have a lot of fun, and learn a bunch. We do a ton of DIY projects like protein skimmers, surge buckets, and calcium reactors, also coral fragging and just great info sharing. We have good speakers too, like Bob Fenner, Rob Toonen, and Ron Shimek. Hope to see you there!

Jason

[H20ENG]

CaptiveReefSystems,
Thanks for the invite!
I am up to my ears in remodeling, but just got a better shift at work, so am finally getting a minute for the toys.
I just dug out the tablesaw and played with some acrylic yesterday!:hammer:
Boy, I miss that freshly cut acrylic smell!:D

What are the dues, these days? And how often do you all meet?
THX,
Chris

[CaptiveReefSystems]

MARS dues are $20.00 for a calendar year. With membership, you get at least a 10% discount at the local stores.

[headshrink]

10%+ discount... sounds like a great perk!

I notice you are in aquarium service... do you work for one of the local shops?

[CaptiveReefSystems]

No, I am on my own. I hope to have my own store some day.

[headshrink]

Excelent, we can use another good LFS! Espectially here in Folsom.

[thedude]

Hello All,
Just found this forum for the SAC reefaholics, I'm in Grass Valley, so I have to come down the hill for critters. Where are your meetings?

Been involved in this obsession on and off since 91. Finally have the time to setup a 75 here at home. Working on the DIY (sump, hood, fuge, etc.) right now, shooting for Mid-april startup.

Also, if you ever need any help with the website, let me know. I am a web developer by trade (unix, mysql, php, perl, etc.). Although I think your site is hosted on a Windows box (yuck).

chris

[CaptiveReefSystems]

hey dude, I may take you up on your offer. I have no idea what it's on, but I'll bet you are right. As the need for more info grows, I am sure a change will be required. My attitude about the site is to just let people know we are here and to get them to contact me. I want people to get to know me and understand what we can do for them. I am not looking for a big web presence. I prefer the personal touch.

Enough about me, the MARS meeting next month will be at Carrows on Watt Ave in North Highlands. For you, the best way would be to come down 80 and exit Watt Ave North. The next exit past Madison. You will turn right and then left at the 1st light. Carrows is right next to the Union 76 station.

In May, we move to our new meeting location. RoundTable Pizza in Folsom. It's located in the Ralph's shopping center where Greenback and Madison meet.

I know it's a drive for you, put we would love to have you. There is a ton of knowledge available to you for the asking.

[thedude]

CRS,
Thanks for the invite. What day of the month is the meeting?

I can help you with your site as well. I was actually referring to the MARS site when I said it was on a Windows box.

I don't know what your site is on, yet, checking....... You are on a Windows 2000 server running IIS 5.0, and your server is in Davis (Davis Community Network). Windows servers are ok, unless your site gets a lot of traffic, is attractive to hackers, or if you don't mind having to reboot it all the time.


chris

[CaptiveReefSystems]

I believe the MARS site is hosted by the web master. The MARS meetings are always the 3rd Friday of the month at 7:30 PM. I think the MARS site needs more help then mine at this time. It just needs some tender loving care. I bet if you approach the board, you might just get the opportunity to take it over.

You are correct about my site. I have been happy with the customer service and they provide my DSL.

[thedude]

Hooooollllddd on there varmint (my best yosemite sam), I didn't want to take over the mars site, only help if needed.

Apparently the company you host with also has unix systems, so you could move if you ever needed to. Looks like a good setup.

I'll try to get to the meeting next month.

[ozmonster]

Dude:

Welcome to the sac/mars forum. Brian Prestwood is our webmaster and I bet he would welcome any help you can offer. His email is at the Mars site.

Hope to see you at the next meeting.

oz

[mdhyde]

We live in Sacramento. :)

We have an 80 gallon reef and a 135 FO. We are interested in trading and maybe fragging. I have a leather that is just dying tobe fragged, but I am afraid. He looks soooooooo healthy! But alas 3 heads are growing into each other and would be better suited as a frag. I am considering cutting off the main head as a frag. It is approx. 4-5 inches wide.

Also have

Candy cane coral
White/ref foot anen
3 Tube anens
Electic green Zooanthids
Maxima Clam
blue and green shrooms
star polyp mat


Janet and Mike

[Dakan]

Just that I would say hellow to everyone in Sac. I am new this year to the Sacramento Marine Society Club. I learned of the club back in Dec. I have to say the meetings are great. Lots of great info and everyone is friendly and helpful. I missed the march meeting so im looking forward to this months meeting. Hope to pick up my membership card this month. Anyway I was wondering if any one in the Sac. area had any Macro Algea they could spare. My new refugium is looking kind of empty.

Thank you,

Jmdakan

[CaptiveReefSystems]

Welcome mdhyde. You might want to consider joining MARS. The 10% discount is worth the membership fee of $20.00 Our next meeting is April 18th at the Carrows on Watt Ave. in North Highlands.

[mdhyde]

April 18th. Hmmm. What time? Send me an email please. We would love to attend. (searching pockets for $20 in loose change)

[mdhyde]

April 18th. Hmmm. What time? Send me an email please. We would love to attend. (searching pockets for $20 in loose change)

mdhyde@hotmail.com

[ozmonster]

mdhyde:

check out the website at

http://www.marineaquarist.org/

There you will find all the info re upcoming meetings.

HTH

oz

jmdakan: I never heard of the Sacramento Marine Society Club. Are you referring to MARS (marine aquarists roundtable of saacramento) or is there a new club out there?

[jennai]

Howdy Howdy,

I'm near Sacramento- About 45 Minutes East of you guys :)

My name is Jennai and I have a new 30 gallon- I'm nearly cycled I believe- been going for about 2 weeks now- I have 20 lbs of LS about 20 lbs of LR (going to be adding more if I can find it for less than $5.99 a lb!!) a skimmer, a skilter and biowheel filter (sounds like a bad nursery rhyme eh?) and coralife 50/50 lighting. I want to do fish, lr with life (algaes like feather and grape etc.) and some inverts- I'm not really into corals as the lighting is WAY to expensive at this point.

My tank readings are as follows

PH- 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite .25
Nitrate 20
Temp 80
1.023

Lights are on about 12 hours a day- I have algae (hair like) that came on the live rock, but that's ALL that is on there- I've seen some live rocks that have TONS of life on them, but that stuff never comes in at my LFS- Anyhow it's nice to meet all of you!

If anyone has some really neat rock for sale, please let me know!!

Jennai :rollface:

[jjharrisx4]

Jennai...welcome!

You can find live rock at many stores in the Sac/Stockton area for about 4$ per pound. If you are adventurous you can order it online and with shipping get it as cheap as 3$ per pound. That's what I did last time I ordered rock. If I don't get it online, I buy it at Twin's Aquarium in Stockton.

You will find that the hairy algae is quite a pain in the rear to get rid of. I have 1 rock with it on it, and I have to take the rock out and pull the algae with my fingers. I haven't found a fish that will touch it. Possibly a tang, but I couldn't recommend it in your 30 gallon.

Let your tank cycle for a good long time before adding any fish. I let mine go for about 8 weeks with just liverock and sand. As a matter of fact, if you're gonna add more live rock, I'd do it before adding anything else. Reason being, your tank will go through another cycle from the die off on the new rock. Speaking of cycle, your's isn't done yet. When the cycle is finished, you shouldn't see any nitrite (NO2) or Ammonia at all. Nitrate (NO3) may buildup over time, and will be managed through waste control and water changes. Personally, I'd bet that if you have more live rock, and keep the fish population down to a minimum you may not have any noticeable NO3 buildup. I don't, and my tank is actually pretty heavily populated. I just feed sparingly.

Do yourself a favor...test your tap water (if that's what you use) for nitrates. if you live in Rough/ready island area, you may have moderately polluted water. If this is the case it may be a good idea to buy water or use filtered water. This will help with algae growth. I know, this is a lot of info, and I'm gonna cut it off now. Feel free to email me with questions, or for local fish store references. jason_harris@attbi.com

[jennai]

Howdy!

Thanks for the great info! The problem I've found with ordering LR online is after the shipping, it ends up being the same price, if not more-

I actually don't live on Rough and Ready Island- I live in the town of Rough and Ready 5 minutes outside of Grass Valley- Only in California could there be two Rough and Readys :)

My ammonia is 0, my nitrites are .25 and nitrates are at 20- I have well water that I run through a standard filter and then let sit for a day-

I have 20 lbs or so of LR and 20-30 lbs or LS with 20 lbs of dolomite- I use a skimmer, a skilter and a filter with a biowheel.

The water has maintained those readings for like a week now- nothing seems to be changing, and when I put the last 10 lbs of LR in, I didn't get a spike of any kind- I doubt it was dead as it's got that stupid hair algea on it-

The tank is still cycling I'm sure- but it's just maintained those readings since about day 3. I was attributing it to LS-

Thanks for the welcome to the forum!! It's exciting to meet up wth "locals" :)

Jennai

[CaptiveReefSystems]

Welcome Jennai. Have you cleaned off your LR yet?:rolleyes: It will need to be done to get all the dead stuff off. You can brush it off in a bucket of old tank water with a soft brush. I use an old wallpaper brush.

Your skimmer is keeping your water on the better side, but you need to give it more time. The longer you cycle, the better off you end up. If you can find a small tang or a algae blennie, you will get rid of the hair algae.

Enjoy your tank and welcome.

[thedude]

Hey it's nice to know there is another reeferaddict here in the grass valley area.

About ordering LR online, you might find that the quality of the rock that you get is a little better online. The rock I've seen in the stores here in gv and down the hill, generally, isnt the really nice stuff.

Secondly, the stores here in gv scare me as to what might be in their water. I could just see one of the employees putting copper or something in the shared systems to treat the fish. The poor fish in this area are almost always sick with ich or other various problems. I would never buy a fish locally. That sounds harsh, but I've been going into the stores around here and watching for the last 5yrs.

I'll be ordering about 3 boxes in the next few days (getting my 75 running as we speak), and I'm going to get the Kaelini rock.

[jjharrisx4]

Yep, online is the way to go for LR. It really is usually cheaper in the longrun. You just have to shop around. Also, I always buy uncured rock online. I figure it'll have to cycle anyway, so I may as well do it myself, and maybe save some cool stuff in the process. I have gotten all sorts of cool stuff that way, one time I even got a small goby from my LR order, It just ended up in my curing tank. That was cool! Tough little bugger.

[Dakan]

Sorry, I have a way of making up my own names for things when I get Tired. I meant MARS. I think I combined the names of other clubs to come up with Sacramento marine Society. Who knows. However, I do kinda like the name.

[jennai]

Hey hey hey :)

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend :)

WOW! Another Grass Valley reefer :) Small world eh? hehe

I'm going to get some more live rock this week most likely- I'll keep all of you guys informed of where I order it from and what it looks like when I get it :)

Thanks for all the help and advice!!

Jennai

[Dakan]

I may be selling some live rock later this week. I had to move my 90 gal tank due to a large water spill, and when I put it back up I will be useing less rock. Most of the rock will be small but it has all kinds of life on/in it. At the moment all my rock, coral and fish are living in large ice chests in my bathroom. I also have extra sand. I want to take some of my sand out. I dont like the smell of the dsm at the bottom. I will be going with a very thin sand bed this time. I am willing to sell or trade the rock or sand for frags etc. Let me know if interested.

[CaptiveReefSystems]

Originally posted by JMDAKAN
I may be selling some live rock later this week. I had to move my 90 gal tank due to a large water spill, and when I put it back up I will be useing less rock. Most of the rock will be small but it has all kinds of life on/in it. At the moment all my rock, coral and fish are living in large ice chests in my bathroom. I also have extra sand. I want to take some of my sand out. I dont like the smell of the dsm at the bottom. I will be going with a very thin sand bed this time. I am willing to sell or trade the rock or sand for frags etc. Let me know if interested.
be careful not to go to thin on the sandbed. next to the LR, it is the source of life in your tank.

[Dakan]

I have extra LR I would like to trade for frags etc. I have about 50 LBS or so to trade/sell. I could really use frags and/or macro algea for my sump. Any one in the Sacramento area intrested in trading?

I know this post belongs in the selling/trading forums but I wanted to get the attention of people in sacramento so I posted it here.

Thanks

[mdhyde]

I agree! I went with a 2 inch sand. Then I added 4 more inches. My 80 gallon balanced out so much after the add! After 6 weeks, there was quite an explosion in pod population and tons of worms and small critters are now more visable through the whole bed.

While it may smell funky, that DSB is processing nitrates! I have been working on my reef for 1 1/2 years now and it is truly a balanced ecosystem. I do few water changes, maybe once a month. I do add Iodine, Calcium, etc, but the water and the tank inhabitants all balance each other out.
I may be interested in trading some frags for LR. I dont have much to offer. I have a HUGE soft leather head I am about to break off. My piece has 3 heads and the big one is impeding the growth of the smaller heads. Also some nice star polyps with neon centers that is fraggable size.

I have calpuera, red stuff too. I have some small rocks that have very interesting growths. One has red bubbles with wierd markings on top. It grows slow and likes low light. They get about 1/2 inch across. Then after they grow bigger, they "flatten" out and look like a mushroom.

You can reach me at mdhyde@hotmail.com

Come look and see what I have. I am not too attached to anything in my tank and I have 23 different pieces. Cup coral, christmas rock, christmas coral, zooanthids, zenia, pom poms, blue shrooms neon green shrooms, bubble coral, a sweet rock flower anen, a HUGE awesome Green carpet, etc......

[CaptiveReefSystems]

Originally posted by mdhyde
I do few water changes, maybe once a month. I do add Iodine, Calcium, etc, but the water and the tank inhabitants all balance each other out.

Why do you add Iodine?

[mdhyde]

I wondered the same thing. Why would you add iodine?

I did a trade with a guy from here. He had a 10 gallon nano with HUGE mushrooms. My mushrooms weren't growing. So I asked him what he adds and all he adds is iodine. No calcium, stronium, reef energizers or anything; just iodine.

So I got a bottle of Kent's...the same kind he used. And lo and behold, immediately my tank improved. Polyp extension is drastically up, shrooms are bigger and the corraline algae seems to like it to.

I use an additive that has iodine in it, but apparantly it is isnt enough. I never would have tried adding iodine separately if I hadnt seen this guy's tank.

So I am not sure why, but it seems to be a good thing. Overdosing is a factor I am told. But I only add 8 drops every day or 2. It seems to make a big difference.

[Dakan]

From what I remember reading iodine helps shrimp to molt. I add iodine because I have a lot of shrimp. I believe i also read that Iodine helps Xenia to grow. I dont remember why though.Sorry.

[CaptiveReefSystems]

mdhyde, I am surprised to hear that the Iodine is making your mushrooms grow, as well as your friends mushrooms. The level of Iodine in natural sea water is 0.05076 as stated by Dr. Ron in his Dec '02 "Down the Drain" article. Your results would be the first in my many attempts to find positive results from the use of Iodine.

JMDAKMAN, I would be interested in knowing where you found that Iodine helps shrimp molt. I would believe that the Iodine is not helping, but causing them to molt. Have you tried not using the Iodine and seeing if the shrimp still molt? I understand they should molt every 3 or 4 weeks on average. What are you seeing?

[cal3v]

IME/IMO too much iodine can and does cause shrimp to re-maturely molt and in many cases a premature death.

[Dakan]

captivreefsystems,
I have read several post on RC regarding the relationship between Ioine levels and shrimp molting. If you do a search for Iodine on RC several dif. posts will come up. You will also notice that people beleive iodine to help Xenia and various Macro Algeas to grow. However I am not saying I am Pro Iodine dosing. I would not recomend it to a friend for example untill I find out for myself that its helpfull and not harmfull. I have also noticed both on RC and at various sites on the web that it seems that there are at least as many people that beleive extra iodine can cause a shrimp to molt excesivly. Possibly to the point of death. I am however dosing small amounts of Iodine to see if I notice any difference. And the only reason I am doing that is because I was given a new bottle of the stuff by a friend. If I come accross a good article with actual scientific research I will post a link.

I wish I could afford to buy a good test kit for every possible trace element found in the ocean. Then I could be sure to keep tank levels at optimum levels.

Here is an article on Iodine
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/chem.htm

[mdhyde]

I too was surprised that iodine made a difference....especially since I use a product that says it has "a correct, proportional amount of iodine in respect to other trace elements..."

All I can tell you is my real world experience. It made a difference. Scientists can rant all they want, but what works in real time is most valuable to me with expert advice coming in a close second.

I NEVER would have bought iodine if I hadnt seen this guys tank. Perhaps they mushrooms are just extended more. I have had them several months and have yet to have any split or mutilpy. but I am hopeful now as the rock they live on is so crowded, someone has to move soon. Some now overlap each other almost completely! (one mushroom almost completely buried by another).

The other thing is the iodine looks just like water, at least my Kent brand does. At first I thought I got ripped off, but the results are there; the tank is better for it.

I will be attending this month's MARS meeting, so maybe we can have a live discussion about this. I am interested to see the frag demonstrations and test my tap water for purity.

We can argue this all we want, the bottom line is try things in small doses and be careful. Go by what woprks for you and take others opinions, "expert" or otherwise, with a grain of (sea) salt. :D

[CaptiveReefSystems]

Originally posted by JMDAKAN
Here is an article on Iodine
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/chem.htm Thanks. Great article.

[gklompen]

Hi! I'm new to the saltwater and reef hobby. My 12 gallon nano reef has been set up since last september. I finally decided to dedicate more time to the tank recently and added more lr and reorganized things. Unfortunately, now I'm going through another cycle. Water changes galore! Luckily I only had some green star polyps and a colt coral in there. Great time to do some more research.

Anyway, I've been debating joining the Sac area club. Does anyone know about how long it takes to get to the new meeting place from Stockton? Any chance there is a similar Stockton club?

Thanks in advance!

Gina

[jjharrisx4]

Hi Gina, I'm a member and also live in Stockton. It takes about an hour to get there but it's worth it. There isn't a club in the Stockton area, but maybe we could carpool to save $$.

Jason

[gklompen]

Hi Jason,

[gklompen]

Hi Jason,

[gklompen]

Hi Jason,

[gklompen]

Hi Jason,

[gklompen]

Hi Jason,

[gklompen]

Hi Jason,

[gklompen]

Hi Jason,

[gklompen]

Oops! Let's try this again. Sorry all, I'm not quite sure how I managed that!

Jason,

I'm going to try and make the meeting tomorrow night. If I do, I'll track you down and we can discuss carpool options.

Thanks,

Gina

[CaptiveReefSystems]

Gina,

Remember, we are at a new location. The Roundtable Pizza on Madison Ave in Folsom. It's on the end of the Ralphs shopping center. Let me know if you need better directions.

[gklompen]

Directions would be great. An address would be even better. I can mapquest the directions.

Thanks for the help,

Gina

[CaptiveReefSystems]

Round Table Pizza
9500-1 Greenback Lane
Folsom, CA

I know I said on Madison Ave. The shopping center is in between Greenback and Madison. The Roundtable faces Madison Ave.

[mdhyde]

So I have a question. Can my girl and I attend this meeting without being members?

Can one of us be members and bring the other as a guest?

Sorry just trying to weigh spending the money on dues to the club or something new for our tank! :D

Best scenario for us:

We attend this meeting and if we like we join for the $20 fee.

[jjharrisx4]

Yep, this is a try before you buy kinda club. That's how I did it. I think the raffle/frag sale may be for members only though.

Also I think one member ship will cover the family. It's definately a great investment for your hobby. After all, what local fish store will sell you coral frags for 5-10$? Definately the way to go.

Gina...I plan on being there. I'm the big blonde guy. See ya there!

[headshrink]

I would like to try too... not sure when I am getting off work yet though. What time is the meeting?
Although no one has mentioned it I assume we bring $$ for pizza and beer???
I'm the average looking guy ;)

[jjharrisx4]

Check out the website

www.marineaquarist.org

there you'll get the time/address/topic, all the best info.

[headshrink]

Cool. I will definatley try to make it then. I hope it is ok to bring wife and kid (6mo.), it is normally our date night and they are itching to get out. I can send them home if she gets fussy. She is the cute one.

[jjharrisx4]

Bring the baby, it won't be the only one there most likely. Besides, Babies are the best!

[mdhyde]

Originally posted by headshrink
Cool. I will definatley try to make it then. I hope it is ok to bring wife and kid (6mo.), it is normally our date night and they are itching to get out. I can send them home if she gets fussy. She is the cute one.

If who gets fussy? the wife or the baby??? :D

[headshrink]

either I guess :p

[headshrink]

Thanks for a great 1st meeting guys! I personally met 2 new people and one I knew from a couple weeks ago. Already got my dues worth from the raffle :) Looking forward to learning lots of new stuff (and hopefully winning more stuff too ;) )

[CaptiveReefSystems]

and by the looks of things, the baby and wife had a good time too.

[headshrink]

Originally posted by CaptiveReefSystems
and by the looks of things, the baby and wife had a good time too.

:)
they did.
I forgot to add my apologies if anyone had difficulties hearing over her during the slide show.:fish1:

[jjharrisx4]

It was nice meeting you too!

Jason

[tfp]

well, it was nice meeting you bob. pm me if you'd like to swing by sometime since we are pretty close. but our kids are sick or have allergies right now.

the mars meeting was a little on the slow side this time as i was expecting a coral frag demo and swapping galore :(

it'll happen soon enuf though.

ok, O Street Aquarium appears to be under new ownership! i stopped by today and picked up 3 bags of 50g IO salt for $9.50ea and the store was re-stocked and looking good. they are setting up a couple reef displays. also, i picked up an SPS aquacultured frag for $30. i'll post a pic later tonight.

this tuesday, they are having a huge tank blowout sale. new tanks for pretty cheap.

tim

[mdhyde]

I have posted a thread specific to Sacramento. I was curious to find out experinces people have has with Capitol Aquarium downtown and specifically issues with Shane. Here is the post

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=191315

[mdhyde]

oh and I too had a GREAT time at the MARS meeting. I am told next month a great speaker will be coming. Janet and I will be coming again soon!

The baby was very well behaved based on my past experiences with kids!

:rollface:

[CaptiveReefSystems]

If you are thinking about Bob Fenner, the MARS web site has him in November, not June.

[mdhyde]

:confused:

"Some guy from Indiana" is what I was told. I cant recall the name.

[Dakan]

I have been working with some one in LA who has offered to pick up a large order from the wholesale warehouse and ship it to us for a small fee. Problem is that inorder to keep the per item price down I would need to order alot of items. The shipping charges are outragous. Would anyone be intrested in putting together an order?

[mdhyde]

I would be! We need to form a Sac Co op. Order once a month or so. But now I dont have much room in my tank. I would need to get rid of somethings to really fit in anything big.

But I am looking for pink zoos or a nice squamosa! So I would be interested!

Mike

[mdhyde]

I would be! We need to form a Sac Co op. Order once a month or so. But now I dont have much room in my tank. I would need to get rid of somethings to really fit in anything big.

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/mdhyde/lst?.dir=/Reef&.src=ph&.order=&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/

But I am looking for pink zoos or a nice squamosa! So I would be interested!

Mike

[ozmonster]

JMD:

I might be interested as well. Can this guy get hard to find SPSs? Also, If you don't know the guy that well, I'd be hesitant about giving him lots of cash. Let me know.

oz

[Dakan]

For now I was planning on ordering just fish, inverts etc. Its hard for him to quote prices on Corals since the Wholeseller changes the price based on each individual Corals shape, color, size etc. Also he never knows what they will have in from week to week.

He did offer to take me in with him or to Walt Smiths to pick out items myself. Problem is he lives in LA. That would be an all day road trip. I don't have the time for that. Now if anyone else has some free time......

Oz, your right, I don't know him well. But I have a feeling he is honest. He just comes accross as being a fair person. Plus I have spoke to him a good 20 or more times and he has been holding a check of mine for $250.00 for the past week. I put a hold on the original order due to shipping costs being more than expected. He has offered to cancel the order and send me back the check. Seems fair.

Who knows, this may not work out due to the shipping cost. At the moment I only have two other people ordering. We are getting about 30 items alltogether. If I can one or two more people involved it should bring the per item price way down. I would guess that inc. shipping we would be spending half what things cost at most on line retailers. ( maybe less tan half)

If anyone in the area is intrested let me know.

[ozmonster]

JMD:

I think I would be interested if I could get some corals. How much of an investment are we talking about?

oz

[Dakan]

At the moment the order is at about $250. In order to make the shipping worth while I was thinking we would need about $500. However, the overall cost is not as vital as the number of items.

As an example I am ordering some Bangaii Cardnals for $6 each, But with shipping etc they end up costing $12 each. If I was to order another 20 or 30 I could cut the per item shipping cost way down. Then we would only be out $8 or $9 each.

As far getting any SPS, it would be a gamble. Never know what they would have in. We would have to give him a list including acceptable color varieties and substitutions. I wouldn't want you to be diapointed. I would be willing to take a gamble if we could get several people to order 2 or 3 each. We could divide up what we get, frag some pieces whatever. Less risk of one uf us being unhappy with what we get.

[budgetyourself]

If you want to order some sps corals and frag them, I would love to be a part of that order.

[ozmonster]

Yeah let's do that. I'm sure we can get at least 5 people to go in on the corals. We can frag em and then take turns choosing. I've got a buddy who would be interested (that's 4 right there).

oz

[Dakan]

Ok, it seems as though every one wants corals. No one wants fish huh? I will have basic price list for corals tomorrow. Everyone think about what you would like to get and also come up with some alternatives. If I am correct wholesale price for (good) SPS coals are from $25 to $35 for med to lrg size colonies(not frags). If several people go in we could each end up with several nice size Corals.

[mdhyde]

I want fish!!! I definately am looking for a Purple Tang and maybe an Angel. I'm open. :)

[tfp]

hey guys, count me in for some SPS corals too.
i could spend about $75 for my share. if thats not enuf, please let me know.

tim

[Dakan]

I have the list for corals and Anemones. Anyone know what you want?

[Dakan]

Things are not quite as cheap as I was hopeing. I listed a few below.


Medium Bubble anem. Colored $12.95
medium LTA colored 10.95
medium hammer coral colored 21.95
m. acropora colored indo. 36.95
m. acro figi 24.95
m. acr 1st grade 19.95
acro super colored figi 29.95
m hydnophora super 29.95
m merulina figi 16.95
monipora brown figi 6.95

lots more let me know

The exact names are not listed so its a gamble as to what we could get.

Is it worth it?

Also let me know what kind of fish etc anyone might want.

[budgetyourself]

I would be willing to try to get some of the acroporas if several of us could get some and then frag them. This would give each of us a few more corals and spread the risk around. Did I see somewhere that these may be Walt Smith corals?

[thedude]

Bummer, my tank is still cycling :mad:

Those prices don't look too bad

[CaptiveReefSystems]

Hey Sacramento, we need to get behind this: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=191770

Check it out. We should also get the club to make a donation as well.

[Marc Daniels]

Since everyone seems to be looking for items that are a little rareer than you can find locally...I just posted that I have tank raised Amphiprion nigripes for sale in a thread at
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=192779

Marc