LFS in North Alabama?

[Mariner]

Does anyone know of a good LFS up here in North Alabama (Huntsville, Decatur, Florence)? I live near Athens -- there are two shops there -- one doesn't have SW tanks and the other is new to SW. I happened to be in Montgomery last weekend and picked up my aquarium and lighting at Aquarium Fantasies -- nice people, great price. But, I don't plan to drive 200 miles [one way] everytime I need something.
Thanks,
Mariner

[kng]

Mariner,

Hey. I guess you probably know about "The Aquarium Shop". They're OK. I prefer "Wholesale Florists" on Leeman Ferry Rd. They don't carry much but get some good stuff in usually on Tuesdays. These are both in Huntsville.

When I get my sump done I'm going up to Chattanooga to Captive Bred Corals. I called them and they are open to the public.
http://captivebredcorals.shopbt.com/WS4D_Cookie=3.11.03_15,08,59_241852/index.ws4d

C-ya,
kng

[Mariner]

KNG,
Thanks. Tomoko sent me an e-mail about these shops last week. Captive Bred Corals sounds great. I'm planning to go there when I'm ready to do some major stocking.
Mariner

[Mariner]

For others who might be interested in LFS in North Alabama, here's an update.
Since the last post to this thread, I've had some pleasant dealings with the Aquarium Shop in Huntsville. The guy there cheerfully gave me full credit for on All-Glass top and reflector which I exchanged for some equipment I actually need. He seems to be pretty knowledgeable, too.
Pet Depot in Forence and Decatur both have a decent selection of marine fish and inverts. Their dry goods are more reasonably priced than some of the other stores.
In other news, I've finished my DIY stand and canopy for the 75 gallon I'm setting up. It turned out better than I thought it might -- I'm not much of a handyman :hammer: ! I'll try to post some pics before long.
Mariner:

[kng]

Just as an update...Wholesale Florist no longer sells fish or corals. However, I found out that Lucy's Lagoon (533-6255) on 9th street off of Triana has a very good selection of fish and corals. Daryll is great help! I can't beleive I've had a reef for 6 months and didn't know about this place. He said he's been there for about 2 years. If anyone has had any experience with them let me know.

[Mariner]

KNG -- Thanks for the info about Lucy's Lagoon. I spent about an hour there yesterday afternoon. I think it's a great place. It has more stock and a greater selection than any of the other North Alabama LFS I've visited.
Also, I think the Athens shop (The Total Aquarium on Market Street) is improving. They don't have a lot, but their prices on some livestock are a little better than others I've seen.

[yoda]

Mariner: What city are you in? I just bought a house in Toney, Al, which is 15min north of Huntsville. I saw another thread on here from someone in Madison.

I have a 125g system thats in pieces right now, all my livestock in 2 small tanks at the new house. The new house doesn't have a good place for the 125g tank, so I'm in the market for a 4ft length tank.

BTW---anyone looking for a 125g?

:)

[Mariner]

Good to hear of another reefcentral reefer in our area! I'm just west of Athens.
Can't use a 125 right now, wish I could... The wife thought we didn't have room for a 75, but she saw the light once I explained that all we had to do was give away the piano :D
Mariner

[yoda]

coooool! :D


Yea, there are actually many places in the house I could put the 125g, but none that would be compatible with the way my wife wants to decorate. Diplomacy says I should sell it and get something that is, so I guess I'll try some of the LFS in Huntsville and see what they have, tank-wise. Maybe one might take it as trade in credit, we'll see.

Oh well, hope to meet you soon, perhaps at a future meeting of the AL reef club.:)

Jason

[greenbean36191]

Man am I glad to see someone else in my area. I was beginning to think I was the only reefer in town judging by the selection at the stores. I have never been to Lucy's Lagoon, but how do their prices on livestock compare to The Aquarium Shop? The Aquarium shop can be kind of expensive and their tanks don't seem that clean. All they ever seem to have are bubble corals too. The Pet Gallery usually has a couple more types of coral, but they are usually softies. Their prices seem about the same but the tanks are alot cleaner. The staff doesn't impress me though.

Mike from Monrovia

[Mariner]

Hey Mike -- good to know of another reefer in our area.
I think Lucy's Lagoon has cleaner tanks, more selection and slightly lower prices than the Aquarium Shop -- but check it out for yourself. Lucy's is higher on a few fish species -- most all of their stuff is transhipped direct to them, so they cut out one level of wholesalers, but on some things it doesn't help.:(

Where is pet gallery? Don't guess I've been there yet.

Now for the NEWS FLASH. :eek: The family and I just returned from a couple days in Chattanooga (saw the Tennessee Aquarium, IMAX and went to Captive Bred Corals). The news is that Captive Bred Corals is going out of business as of July 12 -- the guy who runs it has an aquarium maintenance business and I gather he doesn't have time to run both. As the 70's reefers used to say, "Bummer, man."

Mariner

[yoda]

Oh man, I wanted to go to CaptiveBred when my system recovered from moving. That is a bummer.

Oh well, it is nice to see a few reefers close to where I'm moving to. I'll be happy to trade fragments and stuff with you all once I start growin them again.

I'd like to go to the AL reef club meeting that is being planned soon, but looks like I'll be too busy working on the new house(and trying to sell the old one.)


here is a link to my old tank....

http://www.geocities.com/yoda3502000/Pics/125g.JPG


Jason

[greenbean36191]

The Pet Gallery is across from Madison Square Mall in the old Service Merchandise shopping center. The sign on the building just says pets in big green letters.

I haven't checked them out in a while so maybe they have gotten a few more stonies, but last time they only had an ugly encrusting porites with some Christmas tree worms and a a fungia as far as stonies go. They have a really nice display tank set up their and a couple of the guys that work their really seem to know what they are doing. If you go there when some of the other people are working don't expect any useful information.

I think I might stop by there and Lucy's today after I go see Finding Nemo :)

[greenbean36191]

Oh ya, I also heard about a place on Jordan Ln. called That Pet Place, but I haven't been there yet. My friend said they do have a few corals. I might check that out today too.

[greenbean36191]

The Pet Gallery is across from Madison Square Mall in the old Service Merchandise shopping center. The sign on the building just says pets in big green letters.

I haven't checked them out in a while so maybe they have gotten a few more stonies, but last time they only had an ugly encrusting porites with some Christmas tree worms and a a fungia as far as stonies go. They have a really nice display tank set up their and a couple of the guys that work their really seem to know what they are doing. If you go there when some of the other people are working don't expect any useful information.

I think I might stop by there and Lucy's today after I go see Finding Nemo :)

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi Neighbors,

So good to see that the number of reef keepers in the area is increasing. We can almost have a meeting of our own up here! A frag swap maybe?

I live in Madison and I have been to all the shops that you mentioned in this thread. Too bad that CBC is going out of business. I wonder if they will have a going out of business sale, especially out of the livestock they have in the back.

The display tank at the Pet Gallery is really nice. It really has a nice color scheme. Too bad they won't sell you anything out of it. I really need more colorful corals in my tank.

I plan to stop by Lucy's lagoon this afternoon, too. I hope they have something small for my nano reef tank. Their tanks are filled with so many stuff that it was hard to find small items last time I was there.

Tomoko

[yoda]

Tomoko,

Yea, we need to do a frag swap, or perhaps carpool to the next AL reefclub meeting.

Jason

[greenbean36191]

Well I lied. I did go see Finding Nemo, but I didn't have time to go to any of the stores today. Maybe tomorrow... or maybe not... I planned to go last weekend and I still haven't made it. I'm really looking for platygyra, blastomussa, any colorful open brain, or caulastrea. Has anyone seen any of these in the stores lately? I'm hoping someone can point me to one of the shops that has one of these so I can save a little time (and gas). If I get really lucky I might even be able to find one of those that I can afford.

On the subject of the club, I was going to suggest that too, but I don't think I would personally be able to be involved. First of all, I doubt my parents would like me to meet up with some strangers I met on the net. Yup, that's right. I'm a youngin', only 17. :rolleyes: Second, I don't have anything to trade at the moment because I'm on a veeeeery tight budget (literally my allowance). Speaking of which... anyone have some summer job connections?:D

[kng]

greenbean36191: If anyone hasn't been to Lucy's Lagoon I think they will be pleasanlty surprised. The facility is not the greatest but they make up for it with selection and price. And yes they have plenty of frags for us nano-reefers. That Pet Place rarely has corals although Chris is a great guy to talk to about reefs. I wish he would carry more corals. The Aquarium shop has really gone done hill on their corals lately. They used to just have several high priced corals, now they just have one or two to pick from.

Tomoko Schum: I beleive we met at Pet Gallery when he first re-did the 58 gallon show. I believe you have the 15 gallon right? I have a 10 gallon with a 5 gallon refugium and a 2.5 office tank.

I think a frag swap for our area would not be a bad idea. I made need a few weeks to attach some corals to small rock, but it could work. I have some clove polyps that grow like crazy, some green shrooms, and some various zoos I could frag. I also have some sawblade caulerpa, and some unknown slower growing brown macro algae.

Glad to meet everyone,
Kyle

[greenbean36191]

I finally got out and went to a couple of the stores today. I still wasn't that impressed with the selection at Pet Gallery, but they are improving.

I stopped at Lucy's too. Man, was I impressed. I saw 2 or 3 tanks full of coral and then I just happened to wander farther into the back and found about 5 more tanks full! I only had $40 so all I could afford was a candy cane but they guy sold me an awsome one for $15. It has huge green polys with pink centers. He said that he would normally sell one that was that color and size for $20, but he has too many corals so he needs to get rid of some.:D I wish I had that problem. He said he went to Captive Bred but he wasn't very impressed because he has more coral than they do. He was very friendly and I would recommend his store to anyone. I know I will go back again.

Oh, I forgot to mention that one of the employees there was actually honest enough to tell a customer to avoid a fish they were looking at because they hardly ever survive.

[yoda]

cool beans greenbean

(lame, i know):)

[Mariner]

After a meeting in Madison this morning, I had time to hit the shops around Huntsville. Visited the Pet Gallery and That Pet Place both for the first time. Picked up a 10 gal for QT at That Pet Place for just $8.:cool: Chris does seem like a good guy to talk to; pretty knowledgable. Pet Gallery has some nice looking Ricordea I'd like to get my hands on -- the green is just $10 a polyp.

Kyle, I think a frag swap in North Alabama would be something great to shoot for -- maybe down the road a little. Sounds like your stuff is further along than most of ours. I bought 2 shrooms and a couple of small polyp colonies the other day at Captive Bred Corals -- most of my stuff is just getting established. But hey, maybe you'd swap some of your frags for a BBQ dinner or something :D

Hey greenbean, maybe your folks would let you join in if they knew who some of us are -- I teach at Athens Bible School and preach at a church of Christ. I imagine most reefers are pretty harmless :strooper: , On the other hand, I've got a 17 year old daughter that would be grounded for a month if she went to meet strangers she'd met on the net:lol:

Mariner

[yoda]

Yea, it would be cool to get together and trade frags and such. Greenbean could bring a parent or we could meet in a public place. I won't have much to trade until later, but I like meeting my fellow reefheads. When I come down there next weekend (I'm doing an internship in TN right now), I'll see what all I could frag up now to trade or give away. Probably some sacrophyton and maybe some zoos. The sps will not grow much until I get the big tank goin.


Jason

[greenbean36191]

17 year old daughter?:D

[Mariner]

Originally posted by greenbean36191
17 year old daughter?:D

:eek2: Huh... You're right, you probably shouldn't try to come to any meeting we have.
(JK)
Mariner

[Tennsquire]

Howdy, folks. I'm in Nashville, but get to Huntsville to see my brother every now and again. I usually swing by the place off the Parkway, and am glad to hear that there are more options in that area (we really only have one reef shop in Nashville if you can believe it).

The story on Captive Bred is kinda up in the air, but it doesn't look good. They're 10% off on stuff now. I'm kinda bummed that they're shutting down (if they ultimately do); it's a neat place.

I have lots of hard corals, as well as some softies, to trade. Let me know, and we can work something out next time I visit if you're interested. If you don't have anything to trade, I can sell frags for cheap to recoup some costs.

Scott

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi y'all,

Sounds like we have something nice going here. Since I have only a few items to offer, I would not mind paying for a nice frag. All I can have are frags anyway. As Kyle pointed out, my tank is a fifteen gallon nano reef tank with a 3 gallon refugium.
Here's the list of items that I can offer:

Pink Xenia frag
Pavona cactus frag (very small sps frag - undemanding)
Rotifer culture
Phytoplankton culture
Macroalgae (various type caulerpa, chaetomorpha, etc.)

Tomoko

[kng]

Tomoko,

Would you be intereseted in trading some Xenia for some Clove Polyps? (I still have some mushrooms and the other stuff.) I got them at Captive Bred Corals. I hope they don't shut down!

Here is the link to a pic:

http://captivebredcorals.shopbt.com/WS4D_Cookie=6.9.03_11,14,33_136176/*ws4d-db-query-Show.ws4d?*ws4d-db-query-Show***KHH-BDH-185185185186191190-1457***-eProducts***-***Shopping(directory)***.ws4d?Shopping/results(S).html

Maybe we could meet at Pet Gallery???


Thanks,
Kyle

[kng]

Sorry the link was real long and didn't work. It's Captive Bred's Soft Coral Section (page 2 - Clove Polyps)

I will attempt to attach a picture.

-Kyle

[Tomoko Schum]

Kyle,

I am very much interested in trading my Xenia with what you have. Do you mind telling me a bit more about your mushrooms and other frags you have?

I understand that the Pet Gallery is going to get a shipment from a new supplier on Wednesday. Would you be able to meet me there on Wednesday or Thursday after work?

Tomoko

[kng]

Tomoko,

What I have is some pretty bright green mushrooms. I have about a 2" x 2" piece of live rock with 1 mushroom head about 1" in diameter. This is a frag that I cut. I has been on the rock for about 6 weeks. There is only one on it, but they will divide and spread over time.

I am not familiar with the cactus coral that you have, but I may be interested in that also.

I also have some zoos that are different colors...brown, gray, and a few orange. I don't currently have any attached to rock now.

I don't have any clove polyp frags attached to any rock yet. They usually take about a week to fully attach. I do have a piece that is loose with about 2 or 3 heads on it. Is your Xenia attached to anything, or were you just going to cut some off? Is it the pulsing kind?

If you want to wait a week I can get some smaller pieces of rock 2" x 2" and attach some frags to it. I think this would be a good way to trade frags, since they would already be attached to something and would be less stressful to go into a new tank. Also, the size is small enough that hermits can't move them, but not too big for our nano's:)

However, if you want to attach the clove polyps to some of your own rock, Wednesday or Thursday would be great.

Also, I have some sawblade caulerpa, some brown macro algae, as well as a small piece of red macro algae. If you have something different maybe we could trade.

-Kyle

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi Kyle,

I would love to have your bright green mushroom frag!

My Xenia is already attached to a small pebble and pulsing vigorously. It's a small colony that is ready to split. If you put it next to a live rock or the glass wall of your aquarium, it will start climbing leaving some babies behind.

I have two other types of Xenia which I should be able to frag. I would rather let it climb onto a rock on its own, although this process will take longer (two to three weeks.) I have successfully fragged one by cutting a branch once, but on a separate occasion, cutting a thin thread like remnant of a stem seemingly caused a mother colony to go into a shock.

My pavona looks like this one (but much smaller):

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/totm/images/pavonamacro.jpg

Its color is medium brown and have fluorescent green hair/fur like tentacles. There are fluorescent green dots here and there, as you can see in the picture.
The teeny tiny frag is on a tiny piece of LR.
Pavona cactus is very easy sps. It adopts well to different light and current levels.

I would love to have orange zoo, too, when you can frag a few polyps.

I suppose we can frag and trade on a continuing basis. Would you like to go ahead and trade Xenia for mushroom sometime this week? We can trade later again with other frags when they are ready.

Tomoko



Tomoko

[kng]

Tomoko,

That sounds like a great idea! What is a good time for you? Wednesday at 4:15 would be best for me, but I can be flexible.

I am planning on bringing that rock with the green mushroom on it. We can talk more about what we have and make plans for future frag swaps:D

-Kyle

[Tomoko Schum]

Great!! 4:15 pm on Wednesday is fine for me, too. See you at the Pet Gallery.

Anyone care to join us (frag or no frag) ?

Tomoko

[kng]

I was going to say the same thing. I think it would be great for anyone local to meet there! I am already planning to get some small pieces of live rock for future swaps.

-Kyle

[Mariner]

Hey guys,
Wednesday is a tough day/evening for me -- Don't know if I can make it or not, but will try. Pet gallery had some nice green ricordea I wanted anyway.
An LFS in Athens that doesn't do saltwater anymore GAVE me a box filled with bottles of Kordon chemicals (copper, formalin 3, algae nutrient, sea clear clarifier, etc.). I took a bunch of it to the B'ham meeting to give away, but I still have a lot left. Anybody is welcome to whatever they can use. I don't have any frags to swap, but if someone wanted to give/sell me some small mushroom or polyp frags it would be great! :D
c'ya maybe!
Mariner (aka Steve)

[greenbean36191]

I might try to come just because my mom wants me out of the house and I was planning to see the new stuff they are supposed to get any way. I won't have anything to trade though.

[yoda]

Mariner,

How was the b'ham trade?


Scott,

I'll have some stonies to trade you in a few months, my system is being redone right now because of moving.

later,
Jason

[Mariner]

We didn't really trade anything at the B'ham meeting. Mainly chatted, exchanged info and looked over Paul's 200 gallon display and his 55 gallon refugium -- super sharp set up! I'm fairly new to reef keeping, so any chance I have to observe, learn, ask questions is really helpful.
Mariner

[Tomoko Schum]

Scott,

Is Aquatic Critter in Nashville a good source for corals?

Tomoko

[greenbean36191]

Hey, it was cool getting to meet the rest of you and hear about what you have going on. Sorry I didn't have alot of input but since I'm new I was just trying to watch and learn a little. You guys won't beleive what I found on the LR I bought though. I got some of the more common sponges and barnacles and even a little caulerpa.... and then I turned the rock around and saw a little colony of PURPLE ACROPORA!!!! And then it got better. I found 2 more colonies. They all have their tentacles extended already and seem pretty happy but I'm not sure my tank is stable enough to keep them alive for very long. If I get lucky and they survive I will frag them for you guys.

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi y'all,

It was really nice meeting you guys. We should try to get together once a month like Kyle suggested. The Pet Gallery seems quite receptive to the idea of hosting our meetings. If we start an informal reef club, I bet a few more people will join us. We can have fun exchanging info and swapping frags, a cup of sand or what have you.

Kyle, you are welcome to my grape caulerpa anytime. I should trim some soon since my refugium is really getting full. Your mushroom seems to be doing well in my tank. It was looking really green under my actinic light tonight. How's that Xenia doing in your tank?

Tomoko

[Tomoko Schum]

Originally posted by greenbean36191
You guys won't beleive what I found on the LR I bought though. I got some of the more common sponges and barnacles and even a little caulerpa.... and then I turned the rock around and saw a little colony of PURPLE ACROPORA!!!! And then it got better. I found 2 more colonies.

Wow, Greenbean, that's great!! I wonder if they have more of them. Are they a cluster type acropora?

Tomoko

[Mariner]

I really enjoyed meeting everyone too, and a monthly meeting of North Alabama folks would be super (on a Tuesday or Thursday PLEASE :D ).
Great find on the acro greenbean -- you must be living right ;)
The green ricordea I got was attached to a shell and a little rock. I removed it from the shell it, and then it promptly let go of the rock :mad: I didn't have any bridal veil, so I cut the mesh out of an old baseball cap, put the ricordea on a small rock and rubber-banded the mesh around it. Does it sound like this would work? Does the mesh need to be pressing down on the top of the ricordea polyp or not?
Mariner

[kng]

I agree! That worked out great! Glad to meet everyone in person.

Tomoko, the Xenia is doing great!!! It started pulsing about 15 minutes after I put it in my tank. I have wanted some of this for awhile and am glad we were able to trade.

Glad to hear your mushroom is doing good. I'm sure you know this, but I have all my mushrooms in the lower half of my tank. I've had some higher but they won't fully expand and will actually move towards the bottom. (I have 64 watts on my 10 gallon.)

Well I busted up that rock last night into about 2"x2" pieces. I will start fragging tonight for next month's meeting. Steve, I think that should work. I keep the veil kind of loose so whatever I'm fragging can move wherever it wants to. (But tight enough that is stays close to the rock to attach) By the way I'll try to bring some veil to the next meeting for anyone that doesn't have some. (A yard goes a long way:D )

Speaking of next months' meeting...what does everyone thinks about NARC (North Alabama Reef Club) :idea: meeting the first Thursday of the month? I know the first Thursday of next month is July 3rd and some people may be out of town, but we could be flexible I guess. Oh, by the way, my first child is due July 4th, so if I can't make the first meeting you'll know why.:lol:

Talk to everyone later
-Kyle

[Mariner]

Kyle,
A club called "NARC" for people known as "Reefers" :lmao: :rollface: :lol2: It's PERFECT! Of course we'll probably have the DEA and the FBI infiltrating our meetings :p .
July 3rd would be good for me, if it's OK with others.
Mariner

[Tomoko Schum]

Well, well, great minds think alike. My husband and I were also considering the name "North Alabama Reef Club".

July 3rd should be fine with me, too.

Kyle, we understand. Babies have a way of messing things up for the rest of us. My three kids still do.

Tomoko

[greenbean36191]

Well after staring at my rock for a couple more hours last night I found a couple more single polyps of that acropora! The squirts are fun to watch too. I'm not sure how many more of the meetings I will be able to make though. I will be in FL on the 3rd so I obviously won't make that one. Once school starts again I really doubt I will make any of the meetings. I usually have soccer on Tuesdays and Thursdays and homework just about every night. I also have hockey a couple times a week so I'm pretty busy most of the year. It might be a while before I see you guys again.
Tomoko, they had some bigger peices of the rock that I bought but I'm not sure if they had any of the acropora on them. I didn't even know mine had it until I got home though. I would guess that if my little tiny rock has that much acro on it then the bigger rocks would have some too. I'm not sure what form it is yet because the colonies are so small. The biggest colony I have is only about 6 polyps.

[Tomoko Schum]

Greenbean,

Feel free to join us whenever you can. I'm sure we keep talking here anyways so you won't feel like an outsider.

As for the live rock, I would like to check it out this afternoon. Can you describe the one you bought a little more? What does your purple acropora colony look like - general shape, size, etc? I suppose BJ might know which one you bought. I think he was the one who got it bagged up for you. I can use another rock in my tank as long as it is not too big. Can you estimate how big the other one might be?

Tomoko

[Tomoko Schum]

Mariner,

You mentioned that you had really bright green star polyps. Is yours as bright as the one in the Pet Gallery?fs display tank?

Tomoko

[Mariner]

Yes,I think my green star polyps are every bit as bright as the ones at pet gallery. In fact, I think they're exactly the same species and color. They are really pretty -- the most eye catching thing in my tank right now. And yes, if they continue to do well and spread a little, I'll try to cut some off in a couple of months for you :) .
Mariner

[kng]

Tomoko,

Can you tell me what you dose again? I got home and the Xenia are not closed, but they stopped pulsing. I think I may need to get some Iodine tommorow. All I use is Kent's 2 part Calcium and Buffer.

Thanks!
-Kyle

[Mariner]

Hey all,
I was looking closely at the pieces of LR I got yesterday (hoping to find something cool like Greenbean did) -- Instead I found about a dozen small anemones (almost sure they're aiptasia/glass anemones) on the bottom of one of the biggest pieces. I took it out of the tank -- I'd rather loose a 4 inch chunk of LR than have my tank covered with something I don't want. Ya'll might want to look closely at what you got.
Mariner

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi y'all,

I went to The Pet Gallery this afternoon to take a look at their live rocks. BJ helped me check out the rocks that belong to the same batch that Greenbean's came from, but we did not find any acropora among them. We did see a number of colonies of reddish brown sps type corals, though. The rocks were nice but I did not pick one up.

Mariner- Thank you for your really kind offer, but I have a small colony of star polyps that belongs to the same mother colony as the one at the Pet Gallery. According to an article I was reading today, very bright green star polyps are getting really hard to find. We might be one of the lucky ones to have such pretty ones.

Kyle - I dose Seachem's Reef Plus according to the instruction found on the bottle. I hear iodine can be really toxic in large amounts. So I play it safe by following the dosing instruction on the bottle. All three types of my Xenias periodically stop pulsing or sulk (knotted up in a tight ball) for no appearent reason. They will be fine a few hours later or the next morning. So don't worry, it's up to its usual antics. Experts are split in their opinions about dosing iodine. I am dosing iodine as a kind of insurance. I suppose my crabs and shrimp benefit from it if not my Xenia.

Tomoko

[greenbean36191]

Tomoko, I'm sorry it took me so long to respond about the LR. I think the reddish SPS you saw might have been the same thing I found. The skeleton is a brownish red color but when the polyps are extended they are light purple. All of my colonies are very small and only one of them is recognizable as acropora. It took me probly 15 minutes of staring at the rock before I even noticed them, they are that small. The polyps are probably only a milimeter or 2 in diameter and the biggest colony is about 1/4 of an inch across and 1/4 tall.
Kyle and Tomoko, about the xenia. I have read that the pulsing is an indicator of water quality. I think specificaly pH but im not sure of this. As your pH (I think) gets more and more out of whack the pulsing slows until it eventually stops. So you might want to test your water. You might read about it and make sure I'm right about it being pH.

[Westpat]

If you guys are wanting some green star polys, I bought a frag in Pensacola over Mother's day weekend. It is a very bright green and is already showing new growth on all sides. I will try to put a picture in my gallery. If it is the color you are looking for, and if they grow like everyone says, I will be glad to share over the next several months.

All of your talking has me interested in coming up. Since I live NE of Bham, it is less than an hour from my house to the southern bypass of Huntsville.

I enjoyed meeting Bro. Steve, and I would like to come up to that part of the country to meet more of you guys.

I also have a candy cane that is growing like mad, along with some green button polys that are trying to take over.

My brother says I am not ready for Xenia, but when I am I would love to talk.

I just enjoy "listening",
David:D

[kng]

Westpat ,We would be glad to have to come up and chat with us!! Maybe you could swap frags with us?

greenbean, You are right about the pH. I've read in several books that Xenia is sensitive to pH changes and will stop pulsing because of it. However, my lights on my refugium are on from 0400 to 1200 and my main tank are on from 1200 to 2200. This helps maintain my pH stability.

Tomoko, Well I fell a little better now. I do think I need to dose something. I us Wal-Mart distilled water and I think distilled water needs more than just the chemical added in salt (I use IO) added to it. What water does everyone else use??

Mariner, Probably not a bad idea on ditching the rock. I checked mine and it was OK, but I wouldn't want to risk an infestation either!

[Westpat]

If you have a refugium then I would reccomend running the light on on an opposite schedule from the tank. That way there is nutrient uptake at night by the refugium plants. This helps control pH spikes we would not normally know about.

(I am not that smart, I have just seen several articles on this method!)
David

[Harbour]

I'm also in the Huntsville area and would be interested in a frag swap.

Good to hear about more Huntsville area reefers.

Harbour

[Harbour]

Forgot to answer the LFS question in my previous post.

I generally always go to Lucy's Lagoon. The owner will also trade frags with you if you have something interesting. The prices always seem competitive for livestock for our area as well.

Chris, at That Pet Place is also a great guy. For Aquariums and stands he's very competitive and I bought my 55 and stand from him for that reason - he even delivered it for free!

Harbour

[Tomoko Schum]

I am glad that we are getting more and more people interested in our club!

Westpat – Can you upload some pix of the green polyps and the ones of your candy canes, too?

Greenbean – Thanks for the tip. I will go and look them over again. There was another small rock that has the same colony of polyps plus some other things. I might pick it up after all so I can experiment with it. What condition do you have your acropora in (light and current levels, etc) ? The tank in the shop is not well lit and the current level is not very high either. Do you think that might be the reason why their polyps are not extended?

Kyle - I use lab grade DI water which I can get from my work for free. Its conductivity is extremely low - practically pure H2O. It's so soft that pH will bounce all over the place with a slight amount of acid or alkaline. Great for the South American dwarf cichlids I used to breed, but no so for a SW aquarium. After mixing IO with it, I add Reef Complete, Reef Builder and Reef Plus to my water according to their label instructions. I am starting to experiment with Aragamite.

As for the water quality and pH issues for xenias, I have not really noticed any obvious effect so far. I just know they love to throw a fit!

Kidding aside, I have the photoperiod of my algae tank/refugium set backward to my main tank so that my NO3 is low and my pH should be fairly stable (that is if I keep a close eye on my salinity and alkalinity levels.) My xenias are almost always pulsing, but I occasionally see that a few on a rock are sulking while others on the same rock are pulsing like mad. Sometimes I find hermit crabs trying to climb on one or a turbo snail trying to bulldoze one out of the way.

By the way, the owner of The Pet Gallery is going to order some corals from GARF again next week. He says he is also getting some real pretty acropora from somewhere (he evidently has one in his tank at home.) If you have interested in GARF’s corals, he said he could add it to his order.

Tomoko

[Mariner]

Kyle,
I get my water from the Culligan R/O dispenser at the Athens Walmart. The unit is located just inside the main entrance to the grocery end of the store. Cost is only 33 cents a gallon to refill your own container. This might be a better deal (and possibly better water) than buying distilled. I also have access to a deep water well in Lauderdale County which tests zero for Ammonia and Nitrate. I used it some when first filling my tank, but have been a little afraid to use it continuously for fear it might contain phosphates or (worse) noxious heavy metals. If I had a good TDS meter it would help. Tap water in Limestone county tests 20+ for nitrates :eek: and has so much chlorine in it that it smells like a swimming pool :hmm4:
HTH,
Mariner

[greenbean36191]

I have been using tap water :eek: and so far I haven't had any major problems. I can't wait to see what the Pet Gallery gets from GARF. It looks like GARF has some pretty colorful corals. I just wish I could afford some more. I'm pretty much broke at the moment. That tiny peice of rock wiped me out. But it was worth it.

Tomoko- I have my rock about 6 inches from the top of the tank in high flow. I am running 2x65w (10k and actinic) on my 29g. The polyps are extended all the time and they don't seem to be changing color so far. I might be going to the pet gallery again today to get some things for my other pets so I will try to check out the other rocks. I feel bad that you keep making trips there to see if you can find what I did. :(

Westpat- You said you have some candy canes that are growing like crazy, what kind of light and flow are you giving them?

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi Greenbean,

Thanks for the reply. I am hoping that I run into you when I go there this afternoon. I live in Madison so it takes only 15 minutes from my house. I have to get some crickets for my kid's lizard anyway, so I can kill two birds with one stone.

Tomoko

[yoda]

Hey guys,

Glad to see so much activity in the area I'm moving to. I just picked up my new 120g last night and am working on the stand today. I will also be drilling it for a sump and a closed-loop pump and it occurred to me that some of you might like to have a tank drilled.

If anyone needs a tank drilled for use as a sump or whatever, I have bits for a 1 3/4" hole and a 1/2" hole. The 1 3/4" hole is good for the use of 1 1/4" PVC, and the 1/2" is the size needed for those Kent float valves.

I wouldn't call myself a master at drilling. I've drilled a 10g, 15g and 60g tanks before with these bits, and the results have usually been a perfect hole, maybe with the worst holes having a slight flaking of the glass at the edge opposite of where I started. I think I know how to avoid that now that I've done it enough. We'll see when I drill the new tank I guess.

Let me know if anyone needs something drilled, be happy to help you out. I don't want money, but I might swap my drilling labor for an occasional frag, especially since I won't have anything to trade for a while. :)

Jason

[greenbean36191]

Well, I found some sort of strange critter that I assume hitch-hiked in on my new LR and I have no idea what it is. It is flat and round and it slides along the glass. At first I thought it was a limpet, but it is too flat and it looks like it has bits of LR and other things stuck to its back. I have only seen it move once. I can't get a pic because it is on my back glass right behind a rock, but I'm not too worried about an ID ne way. Just thought maybe one of you guys could make a guess as to what it is.
There is another mystery in my tank too. My caulerpa was doing great and then all of a sudden when I woke up yesterday it was completely gone. I don't have anything that I know of that would eat it, and I have been watching my tank with a red flashlight every night and I haven't seen anything that could eat it. It wasn't my mystery animal either because he hadn't moved.

Tomoko- My acro is turning brown:( so if you do get some of that live rock and you want the puple acro you will probably need stronger lighting than I have. Did the guy at Pet Gallery say when this week he was getting the GARF corals?

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi Greenbeans,

Too bad about your acropora. I did get one that closely resembled your description of the coral. BJ told me that your rock and mine came from the same batch. Your corals might be something all together different from mine. Mine is still alive, but I doubt mine is acropora. They are no doubt some sort of hard corals. But I have not seen a picture of acropora like these, covered with feeder or short sweeper tentacle like polyps. No terminal corallite as far as I can see. Most of those rocks are aquacultured Florida rocks and the critters on them are Carribean type. I understand that acropora are mainly pacific although there are some that live in Atlantic side.

As for caulerpa, do you think they might have melted down? The melt down is considered its means of asexual propegation. This is what about.com says about it:

Caulerpa spread almost entirely by asexual growth from spores and by fragmentation. A spore producing Caulerpa can often times release such large numbers of spores that it turns the aquarium water a milkly-green color. If this occurs the spores will settle out, be removed by filtration, be eaten or die off in a short period of time. The water becomes clear again, but the spore producing alga can leave behind a white soft tissued husk that should be removed.

As for the mollusk, I have two of them like that, too. One of mine has a thin flat shell and the other one has none. I understand that it is a type of snail and quite harmless. I see them occasionally grazing over rocks.

Tomoko

[Westpat]

My wife and I are going up to the Tennesee Aquarium tomorrow and we are wanting to check out Captive Bred Corals since they are closing soon.
Can anyone give me directions from Birmingham, and or what time they open.

Thanks for the help,
David

[Tomoko Schum]

CBC were open for only part of the week a couple of weeks ago. It may not be a bad idea to give them a call before you go. My friend who lives in Chattanooga told me that a lot of nice things were already sold off two weekends ago.

Tomoko

[Mariner]

David,
I do not remember their hours of operation. Here's the address and phone number
6148 Dayton Blvd
Hixson, TN 37343
Phone: (423) 510-8100
You might try mapquest.com or Yahoo Yellow Pages for a map of the location.
Basically, you take U.S. Hwy. 27 north off the interstate -- if you're already at the Aquarium, you are only a couple of blocks from Hwy. 27 north. You'll travel several miles on Hwy. 27. You can hit Dayton south of Captive Bred Corals and come up it for several miles -- CBC will be on your right. Another option would be to follow Hwy 27 around to Hwy. 153 and come back to CBC from the north.
HTH,
Mariner

[greenbean36191]

Tomoko- Thanks for the info on the caulerpa. I don't think that is what happened to mine though. There is no trace of it left and no film in the water. As for the acro, I am pretty sure that at least one of the colonies I have is actually acro. It does have a terminal corallite. The others I have are just sort of blobs of polyps right now. I don't know of any other sps with a corallite structure like this so that is how I determined it was some sort of acro. I have seen some acros with tentacles like these but I'm not sure if they live in FL. I know there are some types of acro that live down in the keys but I think they are mostly elkhorn and table. It's hard to tell what form mine are going to take right now though. Who knows, I could be completely wrong about these things being acro.

[Westpat]

Hey guys,
Went to CBC today and had a great time. Picked up some great frags and excellent live rock. For anyone interested in going they will be getting their last shipment on Friday, and they will eventually close the doors around July 12th. They are listed as AquaticWildlife.com. If you call, use the direct number and not the toll free. They will be open from 10-6 on Fri and Sat.(Eastern)

Anyway, just some info for anyone considering. If you go ask for Les, most excellent service!

On a side note, had a close friend from my youth pass away today, she was pregnant. Love those around you, you never know!

God Bless,
David

[greenbean36191]

Tomoko- I don't think it is acro after all. :sad1: I think it is this: http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/562/18377clado001a.jpg It is called cladocora or tube coral. It is a type of brain. I feel like a big doofus now. Sorry. :rolleyes: Apparently it is pretty common on FL rock. It still looks pretty nice though. Oh well.:(

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi Greenbean,

Thanks for the link. The picture looks just like mine! Now I know what they are :) Don't feel bad, we all make mistakes. Our mistake gives us and the rest of the board the opportunity to learn from it.

As for CBC, I would really like to go before they close. I can use some more live rocks. How were their prices on frags?

Tomoko

[Mariner]

Hey greenbean -- personally I couldn't tell an acropora from an acrobat, so you're pretty far ahead of me. All I can really ID with any certainty is the stuff I've bought with labels on it :p
Here's a site that I've looking at though to try to learn a little bit about coral ID Coral Catalog (http://www.rockandwaterscape.com/coral-catalog/RWSI-CC-CommoIndex.htm) Does anyone know of other good sites like this?

I've been busy on my tank. Started dripping kalkwasser a couple of nights ago. Was GIVEN a big bottle of Kent Kalk by my LFS friend, and the pharmacy GAVE me the IV tubing to drip it with (I think when you tell people you need something for an aquarium, it makes them want to be charitable) :D 1
Also, I added a few pounds of bio-active sand, and a piece of tonga branch LR I picked up at Lucy's Lagoon on Sunday. Still have my Gramma in QT. I treated him with copper for two weeks and the ich is gone, but I'm but gonna wait a couple more weeks before I put him back in the main tank.

Are we still planning a meeting July 3rd?

Mariner

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi Mariner,

I am still planning on going to the meeting on July 3rd. Anyone else?

Tomoko

[yoda]

I am not sure if I will be in town or not. What time is the meeting?

Jason

[kng]

Hey everyone,

Haven't been around in a while, we had our first baby Monday. I probably won't be able to make the July 3rd meet (told ya :p ) since I'll be off that day. I'm a little behind on fragging my stuff, but maybe the following week I can meet a few people at their convenience there. Please keep me informed how the meeting goes and anything else:D

C-ya,
Kyle

[yoda]

Kyle,

Congratulations man!


Jason

[Tomoko Schum]

Congratulations, Kyle! Girl or Boy?

Tomoko

[kng]

Thanks:D

Kyle Nathaniel, Jr. (We're calling him Nathan)

http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/hospitals/1336/babypage.asp?URLID=2E9S7W4X7H

[Tomoko Schum]

Wow, he's a big boy! Sooooo cute!!!

Tomoko

[Mariner]

Really great work there Kyle! Congrats man!

Hey, I'm up for meeting both weeks or just postponing it till the 10th if Kyle can make it then. I think he's going to be the MAN with the frags this time. Either way is cool.
Mariner

[Tomoko Schum]

I was thinking about the very same thing, Mariner. It may not be a bad idea to postpone it till the following week so that Kyle and other people can come to the meeting. I will try to get another Xenia to move up on a rock. I still have a Pavona cactus frag, if anyone is interested. Lots of macroalgae to share, too.

Tomoko

[greenbean36191]

Congratulations! (sp?) I think I know someone else with that same birthday but I can't remember who.

What kind of frags do you think you will have? I still can't make it and I wouldn't have anything to trade anyway but I'm curious. By the way do any of you have any unwanted bristleworms you might like to sell me?:D

Just curious, but what kind of corals do the rest of you have? Mostly soft, mostly LPS, or a mix? Do any of you keep SPS? Right now im planning on mostly LPS and a few of the hardier SPS. I'm scared of the softies because I don't want them taking over my tank.:confused:

Wow there were a lot of random thoughts in that post:p

[Mariner]

My tank is still maturing (just about 12 weeks old). But I've seen some pods and several small bristleworms in my tank the last few days -- almost too small to see. Then yesterday I saw this monster coming out of a hole in the live rock -- he was showing about two inches out of the hole, but I think there's a good bit more to him. He's skinny, orange top part, brown bottom half. He was feeding on something on or in a clump of bryopsis near his hole. Don't know if I could catch him... I think I'm too scared to try. :eek2: If I did, you'd be welcome to him greenbean! :D
Mariner

[H@rry]

Hi Folks;

My name is Harry Hooper and we live in southeast Hunstville. My wife and I have had two reef tanks since 99 but have never made the aquantaince of any fellow reefers in the Huntsville area and are anxious to meet some of you people. We'd be interesting in attending whatever get-to-gather you may be planning. I'm attaching pictures of our reefs. (have to do it in two posts because I don't know how to put more than one picture in a single post)

[H@rry]

Here's the other one.

[Mariner]

Nice pics Harry.

I noticed in your other thread that Brad thinks you're a troll. Brad's a great stand-up guy, and well known personally by several on this board. Since you're new, I'm sure you can see why some of us might want to be cautious.

But basically, if you're real and would like to meet with some of us in the Huntsville area, come on. You can read about meeting times and places in this thread. Right now we're thinking about this Thursday afternoon at Pet Gallery -- just across the street to the east of the Madison Square Mall. I'm sure some of us would be interested in your live rock once we got to meet you. And, I'd be excited to meet a real live troll :D
Mariner

[yoda]

JFYI...


If any of you will be going to Chattanooga anytime soon, I stopped at a store called "Bermuda Triangle," and they had a very nice selection of fish and soft corals. They had a nice display for stoneys too, looks like they we're runnin a little low on those this week.

The store was something like 7500 E. Brainered Rd., which was just off I75 sort of near Hamilton Place. It was a small store, maybe the size of Lucy's Lagoon. Might be worth the time if any of you are in that area.

Jason

[yoda]

also...

I called CaptiveBred Corals to see what might remain there, and the guy who answered said to not even bother coming. I was hoping to see it before they shut it down, but oh well. Theres always mail order.....

[Mariner]

OK, I'm planning to be at Pet Gallery tomorrow (Thursday) about 4:00. If anyone else can come, we can chat, etc. I'll bring some of these Kordon chemicals again in case someone has decided they want any (I've got copper, formalin 3, algae nutrient, etc.). I've used the chelated copper for ich on my royal gramma and it worked like a charm ;) .

Anyway, whether or not you can make it tomorrow, why doesn't everyone shoot for being there July 10th at 4:00? Do you think you can make one of these times Harry?

How's the fraggin' coming Kyle? Hey man, you're up all night with the baby anyway, might as well frag :D

Mariner

[Tomoko Schum]

I find the Bermuda Triangle very nice, too! A bit pricey but they have very very nice livestock, both SW and FW. I understand that the shop owner quarantines his livestock for a couple of weeks prior to putting them into the retail tanks, so you can expect healthy animals there.

By the way, we really need to agree on the date and time for the up coming meeting. Are we still meeting on July 3rd (tomorrow afternoon)? Do you all find 10th a better day? Would 4:15 PM like last time work for all of you? Or shall we start at 5:00 PM?

I now have a pulsing pink Xenia frag ready for trade (my frag looks more peach/orange than pink in The Pet Gallery's display tank). I also beheaded my light pink pom pom Xenia this morning. I will know in a day or so if this one makes it or not. They are both very pretty varieties.

Kyle-
Your mushroom is doing very well in my tank. How's that pink Xenia performing for you?


Tomoko

[Tomoko Schum]

Oops, I'm afraid that I was a bit slower on the draw here.

So far one vote for July 10th at 4:00 PM. It's okay with me, but is this late enough for everyone else? I suppose some of you cannot leave work that early...

Tomoko

[H@rry]

4:00 at Pet Gallery tomorrow will work for me. See you folks there.

[Mariner]

Oh hey, I had forgotten that our first meeting was actually 4:15 or so -- so Kyle could there after work right? I was thinking 4-ish. Most may not be there tomorrow anyway, but I do want to accomodate as many as we can time-wise on the 10th. It really doesn't matter to me, as my schedule on most Thursdays is very flexible. Sooooo, 4:15 or later would be good for me, whatever is good for others... Anyone with a conflict or other preference feel free to chime in.
Mariner

[Tomoko Schum]

A little pom pom Xenia I fragged this morning is already pulsing well. I think this one should be fine for trading in a week. If anyone is interested in Xenia frags, I will bring both frags with me on 10th.

Does anyone want some caulerpa or chaetomorpha?

Tomoko

[Mariner]

What kind of caulerpa? -- I've got some grape caulerpa starting to go pretty well, but would like some of the feathery kind if anyone has it to spare. I also have some halimida that's just started on some LR in the last couple of weeks -- I'll be happy to share some later on if it thickens up.
Also (not afraid to show my ignorance here) what be chaetomorpha?
Mariner

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi Mariner,

I have a lot of short feather type caulerpa. I think it's C. mexicana (http://www.gettysburg.edu/~rcavalie/bda_i/068.html). You're welcome to them. Chaetomorpha is sometimes called spaghetti macro. It looks a lot like a Brillo pad. It is very good at nutrient export like caulerpa. However, it does not go asexual and melt away like caulerpa, which is why some reefers prefer them.

Tomoko

[Mariner]

Well then, can I get both with a coke and a side order of fries? :D

[Tomoko Schum]

Sure! Want Ketchup with that?

Tomoko

[kng]

Hey everyone,

July 10th at 4:15 ish sounds great to me. I have some mushrooms cut already and plan on fragging some clove polyps and maybe a few zoos. I'll probably bring some macro algae in case anyone wants some...it's gotta be prunned anyway.

Tomoko,

The Xenia is doing a lot better. I figured out what the problem was: http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=209205

Glad to hear your mushroom is doing good! Has it started to spread yet?

Also, I put up a quick homepage so everyone could get a little better idea about my setups:
http://home.hiwaay.net/~kgoble/

See ya'll later,
Kyle

[kng]

Tomoko,

If any of what I have interests you I would be interested in a cactus frag. I would also like some of that spaghetti macro...I think I may have some macro that you don't have (that brown kind I was telling you about.)

Thanks,
Kyle

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi Kyle,

Nice pictures! Your baby and the little yellow goby are so cute.

I will bring both Pavona frag and some spaghetti macro for you. I'd be interested in your cloves. What color is the mushroom you fragged this time? Do you have any colorful zoos? (Sorry it was kind of hard to tell the color of the zoos in your pictures.)

Your mushroom has gotten bigger but not producing offspring yet. Unlike my Xenias all my mushrooms are rather slow in multiplying. I recently found a few baby mushrooms from my green stripe one, though.

I'm glad you have solved your Xenia and yellow polyp mystery. I heard a lot of damsels are rather pugnacious, but I love their beautiful blue color.

Tomoko

[Mariner]

Hey all,
Well I went to Pet Gallery this afternoon and who should be there but Harry Hooper, and guess what -- HE's not a TROLL! He might possibly be a wizard, maybe a wood elf, but he's definitely no troll :D . Actually, he's a very pleasant gentleman with a good bit of reefer experience -- he'd be a great asset to the club.

Harry and I and Tomoko had sort of a mini-meeting a week early. Thanks for the algae Tomoko. I got it in the tank (wrapped most of it arround LR fragments) -- it looks good :) .

For those who don't know, Pet Gallery is going to give NARC members 10% off purchases of live stuff on meeting days, and 5% off all the time. Today, they gave each of us a sample of "Black Powder" -- said they'd do the same for those who came next week.

The meeting next week is shaping up to be a swapping good time. :rolleyes:
Hope several can make it.

Mariner

[Mariner]

I got it figured out -- Harry could be Santa! Got an e-mail from him today saying that he was thinning his halimeda and trimming his xenia. He offered to give it to me, so I high-tailed it over to his place. HOLY HALIMEDA! It was Christmas in July! Handfuls of halimeda & at least two dozen xenia frags. Got most of it in my tank this evening -- ran out of superglue!

Thanks much Harry. The xenia is looking good so far -- all of it is pulsing nicely. If any NARC member would like some, let me know. I glued about half the frags to small rocks and put them in a tray in my tank. I'll be happy to bring them to the meeting Thursday if anyone is interested.

Mariner

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi Mariner,

Wonderful! Sounds like you now have an assortment of macro growing in your tank besides a bunch of Xenias. I will bring you another type of grape caulerpa on Thursday.

I'd be interested in a small Xenia frag. Do you mind trading Xenia with Xenia? I am always interested in a differnt type of Xenia. You'd have a couple of different varieties that way, too.

Tomoko

[Mariner]

I would definitely be interested in trying another type of xenia. What Harry gave me is Xenia elongata. It is all still looking good, and I'm planning on bringing a good bit of it Thursday. Anybody else want some? Kyle? Yoda? Greebean? Anyone?
Mariner

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi y'all,

How about preparing a flyer or something to put on a window/door/bulletin board at Pet Gallery and other shops to let more people know about NARC? I bet there are more reefers in this area who do not know about our club. The more the merrier, don't you think?

See you all on Thurdsday!

Tomoko

[kng]

Hey all,

Good job on the discount Mariner! :) Everybit counts in this hobby!

I am planning on being at Pet Gallery Thursday, and even though I am behind on my frags I will have a few things. I will have 2 of pieces of rock with 2 small mushroom frags on each. (I would love to trade one for some of that Xenia Mariner.) I didn't get the clove polyps fragged in time, but I am going to have a small orange zoo polyp frag in case you want to trade the cactus frag Tomoko. (They are not neon orange, but they are orange.) Oh yea, I do have some other shrooms, but just one of each color...I haven't been brave enough to frag those yet, even though I've fragged my green several times successfully.

Richard will be with me (the guy who came last time) and he will have a clove polyp frag. He said he would be interested in some Xenia also.

I guess we'll get it all sorted out Thursday:) I will also bring some of my macro algae for anyone that wants some, as well as some bridal veil if I can remember. (Imagine a non-reefer read this post...they would think we were crazy! :bum: )

I think a flyer would be a good idea, but I am behind on my fragging now...so wouldn't have much to trade at this point. I would like to make sure that all of you have a frag of what I can first. It would still be good to talk to other people and check out there set-ups and see what works/doesn't work for them.

Well, C-ya'll later!
Kyle

[greenbean36191]

I can't make the meeting because I'm in FL, but maybe I will buy some neat stuff here to trade at the next meeting. I've already caught lots of neat critters but I don't have anything to keep them in until it's time to go home. I found tons of the tiniest hermits and some nudibranchs and even a live conch and looooooooots of macro. Time to go to the beach again.:rollface:

[H@rry]

Folks;

Don't know if I can make the meeting this afternoon because we've got an electrician installing a new breaker box today and I don't know if he be finished in time. I'll try though.

[Tomoko Schum]

Greenbean,

Sounds like you are having loads of fun. What part of Florida are you at? Do you think you can bring back some macro and hermits to trade in the next meeting?

Harry,

Is the new breaker box for your new big tank?

Tomoko

[Tomoko Schum]

Harry and other club members,

Here is the web address for Glass Cage in TN who builds and sells aquarium tanks inexpensively:

http://65.197.157.223/newto/pages/main.asp?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=2

Sorry it took so long to get back to you with the info.

Tomoko

[greenbean36191]

I'm in Melbourne which is in central FL so there isn't much in the way of coral here but I have found a few coral skeletons so maybe there is some around. The water is 79-83 degrees though so most of the critters I find shouldn't mind reef temps.
There was apparently a stream of cold water that came through the past couple of days and shocked a bunch of macro which is why I was finding so much. The hermit crabs and other things I was catching were attached to the macro, so now that the cold water has moved on I'm not finding anymore macro or hermits. I do still have one piece of what I think is some sort of macro and if that survives the trip home I will share that. I also have several mystery animals I caught today. I haven't the slightest clue what they are so they aren't going in my main tank until I get an ID. They look like some sort of purple shell-less mollusk with tube feet or tentacles. I might be coming home tomorrow so I probably won't be able to collect anything else but if we stay an extra day I might get another chance.

[Tomoko Schum]

Hi y'all,

You know this thread is getting rather long. More than 100 messages under "LFS in North Alabama." Don't you think it's about time we start a new thread about our club? A "NARC" thread maybe? I suppose we can still talk about anything relating to NARC on Alabama Reefers forum. Or do you think we should even consider our own forum in the Reef Club Forum section?

Just a thought.

Tomoko

[Mariner]

Well, there goes my dream of starting the longest thread in the history of Reef Central (JK) :D
I think for now a new thread entitled North Alabama Reefers (NARC), or some such thing would be good. Personally, I'd like us to stay connected to other Alabama Reefers, and I think that keeping our own thread(s) in the Alabama Reefers forum would be a good way to do that. My suggestion would be to give Tomoko the honor of starting the new thread, since it was her great idea ;)
just my two cents,
Mariner

[Tomoko Schum]

Well, I need to rise to the occasion, don't I? Here goes. (See you there at the new thread.)

Sorry to bust your bubbles, Mariner.
I would also like to maintain our ties with Alabama Reefers Club. I guess we can maintain a few NARC related threads on the forum till we get so active and wear out our welcome there.

Tomoko

[Westpat]

Just trying to help Brother Steve!

David

[mawv1]

Originally posted by Mariner
Hey all,
-- HE's not a TROLL!
Mariner

Are you sure?

[H@rry]

OK Folks;
I have been in denial but nows the time to lay the cards on the table. You people saw right through me. I REALLY AM a troll! (Is this the same as coming out of the closet?)

[Mariner]

Uhhhh.... I think trolls come out of caves, don't they? Or maybe they lurk under bridges -- I'll have to check with my daughter the mythology expert on this. Anyway, I'm pretty sure they don't come out of closets, even in Monsters Inc. :rollface: And IF Harry is truly a troll, he's a troll who can really propogate some xenia.
FWIW,
IMO,
JME,
LOL, :lol:
Mariner

[Mariner]

Here's a pic of the press conference and quote that made me think Harry wasn't a troll.

http://homepages.nyu.edu/~th15/images/nixon2.jpg "I am not a troll"

Mariner

[mawv1]

Are you sure??????????????

[Mariner]

OK Mawv, you're a troll, aren't you? Low #of posts, cryptic comments to bring out more posts... all the classic signs. I've been had by a troll :rolleyes:

[mawv1]

Are you sure???????

[Westpat]

Guys,
I grew up on the coast of Florida, and am fairly new to the hills that we all live in, so I am not yet versed in Troll ID. I could help if it were a mermaid or a water nymph, but alas I would not even know if one was under the bridge near my house. Is there a creature that stares all day at a glass box filled with water. If so then that is what I am!!!! :rollface:

[H@rry]

Don't go there Westpat. I hold the singular distinction of being THE troll on this forum. As you remember is was Brad that called everyone's attention to that fact so don't you even think for a minute that you're a troll!:dance:

[Westpat]

I do not think I am one. I was just saying that my inability to distinguish caused me to hesitate and miss out on meeting a goodly troll. Even though I respect Brad's opinion I will find out for myself in the future.

My point was that not being from this area I am not very versed in troll spotting.

I am not trying to claim your title Mr. Hooper,
David

[H@rry]

Maybe we could hold the joint titles of "Co-Trolls". No, no, no, I want to be the Troll! You can be Vice-Troll if you want to; but only if you can grow Xenia!

[snipes2]

Hi all Alabama reefers. I'm originally from Tuscaloosa, but went away to college in Boston..and now I live in Manhattan (I'm 30 y/0). I go back to Tuscaloosa about twice per year. Are there any other reefers in Tuscaloosa?

I'm wondering if any of you fellow, benevolent southerners would be willing to help out someone breaking into the reef-keping aspect of the saltwater hobby.

I have been keping a FOWLR, but I'm now going for the reef. I have Live Rock, but I'm looking for easy to keep corals and mushrooms. Now, before anyone flames me, I KNOW that corals are not "easy."

Anyone have any colorful frags that would help me get started? Name your price, and we can discuss. I'm looking for bright colors. ANyone?