1 year ago

[Howieytown]

I just learned how to post pics on here so suffer the wrath!
My tank one year ago,
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c332/howieytown/DSC01418.jpg
and the tank today, a little difference, hard to see all the frags
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c332/howieytown/tank1year.jpg

[Howieytown]

both of the tree sponges have passed on and i cant believe the fish are so camera shy, theres about a dozen of them in there.

[Steven Pro]

The tree sponges were to be expected, but it looks like your gorgonia is still hanging in there. What are you feeding it?

[Howieytown]

Both gorgonians are still hanging in there, the one on the left behind the clam was close to death at one point and has grown all the way back and then some. I use DT's and marine snow, sort of switch between the two every other day.
I started out target dosing the sick one with isolated feedings but it didnt seem to help infact i was about to give up on it but my wife wouldnt let me throw it out, lol, here it grew back and is effectionetly known as "Georgie"

[STACKER]

Here ya go Howie, cropped, sharpened, and blurry blues cut way back. Took about 2 min. fro stealing the pic to reposting thru photobucket.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/stackr/tank1year.jpg

[lori7973]

Very nice Howie!! We have a gorgonian that my husband bought me quite some time ago from Tropical Pet House, the majority of it died but we still have a nice piece that is living. We don't feed it nothing at all, in fact, we don't even use DT's anymore.

[Howieytown]

Thanks for the touch up Dale and thanks Lori. I got the gorgonians from John also, LOL

[STACKER]

I've been in that shop 3 times and he never had more than an old beat up sponge and a few snails. Guess you Y-town folks cleaned him out.

[doody]

He never has much. I personally don't like the guy.

[STACKER]

Howie, you need to host a tank tour!!! hint...hint...

Doody, I only spoke with John once and he never let me get a word in and was pushy. I don't have alot of room to talk but I've never treated a customer like that. Since I get everything salt related online or from Rich I really hav eno reason to drive to Boardman to listen to John talk about his "plans" for his store. BTW, did he ever install all the 30 gal. tanks he was yapping about? His reef was pretty nasty looking when I was there too, looked like everyhting was either dieing or really struggling.

[doody]

Not sure. I quit going there about a year ago. Rich and fellow reefcentral people keep me supplied. Youre right about him talking about his plans for the store. It's all he talks about.

[lori7973]

Speaking of John... well I stopped in there today, just for something to do and I haven't been in there in forever. Turns out he has started with his expansion of the saltwater. I was also really suprised on how extremely nice he was to me. This has NEVER happened before. Gave me a 25% off coupon, just was unbelieveably kind, and not to just me... to everyone who walked thru the door. Maybe he is trying to change his ways, surely all the bad talk gets back to him and you never know, he may frequent RC and read it for himself.

[STACKER]

There is a GOD! How 'bout dat? Now if ew can get him to give some club discounts... Ya, I'm pushin' it huh?

[lori7973]

Ya Dale, you may be pushing it there!! lol... But you never do know.

[doody]

Lori, How was his livestock ?

[lori7973]

He had some stuff, not much of anything to run there for, some big clowns and oh ya... these weird things I have never seen before, he was pushing them. Called it an anemone, but it was kinda tubular and had polpys coming out of it, reminding me of a pipeorgan or gonipora. I can't even remember what he called it now. I have never seen anything like it before, something strange/different but not real colorful, kinda pinkish, like a xenia or kenya tree, maybe not even that much color.

[doody]

Looks like I'm of to Rich's shop after work.

[lori7973]

Rich is still and always will be my first place to make a purchase. Of course I need no new fish or corals right now. Kinda focused on my seahorses and fry right now. So Rich is gettiing ready for ME!! :)

[doody]

I stopped by his shop Saterday and he had some good looking stuff. I promised that I'd be in monday to buy something and I forgot. Ohh well. Looks like I'll have to make it up by buying two things.

[Howieytown]

John at Tropical Pets was acutally my mentor when i first started in saltwater, after some research on the net I went back to him and told him "from what i read on the internet, my tank wasnt done cycling yet" He told me "those guys dont know a @_cking thing!" LOL!
"Yes John has started his "enlarged marine tank area" and he can be very nice at times, lol but most of the time you just need to take what he says with a dose of sea salt. I usually just stop in there if I'm in the hood and my kids like his store.
As far a a regular consumer Rich gets most of that bussiness.
John does get some different items at times but most of the time I feel sad after visiting there due to the "die off" or lack of stock and i like to check on all the stores! Hopefully things might be changing there?

Last Xmas break I dragged my kids to just about every LFS in a hundred mile radius, lol and i bought a little bit of live rock from just about every place, good way to mix up the soup!

[doody]

He told me the same thing about the internet.

[STACKER]

I hear about everything from Nixon to Vietnam to how nice a boy Omar is to he'd have 30 new SW tanks up in 6 weeks. That was almost year ago and I was back once when in town to see nothing had changed. John wasn't here, some girl was minding the fort.

The internet can be as misleading as it is helpful, same with many so-called "experts" at LFS. Logic usually wins out if you can sift thru the impractical crap, emotional attachments, and sales directives.

I don't buy much of anything but salt mix but having been around the salt water trade for a while I've heard some real BS. Norl=mally I listen, grin, and walk away but sometimes I just have to stop the idiots and say ***? Where did you come up with that?

Oh ya, you'll find that many older folks are scared to death of technology, convenient change, and computer related anything... John may just be resistant to the web because it makes him uncomfortable and maybe a bit vulnerable not being the local sage anymore. Or he might just be a PIA like me! LOL