HI all- been away for a while

[acer]

Hi local reef people - Have been away from the community for a while initially due to family responsibilities and recently due to some personal health issues.

Really miss the aquarium scene and thinking about getting back into it.

I see there is little to no action on the local PMASI website - what is up with the club? I see Dave and Amanda closed up and moved out of the county- what did you guys do to offend them?? LOL- Just kidding - Wow really = they moved to Fiji.

Is the club still going and just not updating the website? I could not post on that website as my email changed over a year ago and I never got that taken care of on the PMASI website.

Let me know

thanks,

Ted

Ted

 

[vlangel]

Hi Ted, I (Nate's mom in case you don't remember me) also had been out of the club for the last 3 years while I cared for my mother in law in hospice care here at our house. Mom just passed in February and I too would like to be active locally if there is anything. Dawn

 

[acer]

Hi Dawn, sorry to hear about your mom. Do you have a tank laying around that you will be setting up? Or will you have to find /purchase? I lucked into a fairly new 65 reef setup - with Led lights, a Vortech, pumps, canopy, etc I will be moving it and setting up in my house this weekend. So, I will have to find my other equipment in the shed/garage and hopefully will be up and running soon. What's Nate up to now a days?

 

[vlangel]

Thanks for the condolences. I still have tanks, I just haven't been to any club meetings in 4 years. I did downsize to a 36g bowfront in 2011 when I was overwhelmed with Mom's care, (she was completely bed bound). As addicted aquarist's do, I added a 30g seahorse fuge using the same sump. I raised 15 fry to adulthood this winter but have since sold them. I kept the mated pair and I have 2 pipefish in that tank too.
Nate and his wife live south of Charlotte and teaches social studies to 7th graders. He and Krista also foster 2 boys so at present he does not have any tanks. I doubt he will stay out of the hobby forever though!

 

[acer]

That is great news- knew Nate had a good future- nice kid ( compared to us anyhow) with his head on straight.

The seahorse/pipefish sound very cool. I am not sure what direction I am going to go with the new setup. I really like SPS and will have the flow and the lights now with the vortech and the LED's - but with that kind of flow you cant have neat fish like the pipe or the Seahorse. I am going to start a new thread with the new setup - let em know your opinion on stuff.

 

[vlangel]

I will be watching for your new thread. Yeah, seahorses are a very high maintenance fish, which I knew before I bought them. They need excellant water quality with low DO. I bought a honkin' skimmer rated for 180 gallons even though my system is only about 70 gallons. Even at that I still do 20-30 gallon water changes every week. They need to eat twice a day also. None of this is problematic for me as I don't work....that is until we go away. I have worked out a way to vacation even with the ponies.�� I will post this link to a video I took last Friday of Adam and Eve's courtship dance. Their son DeVil was being a pest (actually it was much worse than that) so I sold he and his brother later that night. They will get good homes.https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5EJNVAD9coY

 

[acer]

Very cool!!

 

[MondoBongo]

welcome back! just saw your other thread in the new to hobby section.

you planning on doing a reef or fish only? if you go reef, let me know. i've got some SPS/LPS in my tank i'd be happy to give you some free frags of to get you started once you're ready.

 

[acer]

Definitely will be doing reef setup- Thanks - I will take you up on the frags when I am ready.

 

[vlangel]

Ted, I also have some hammer coral, frog spawn, mushroom and probably some other frags you can have for free, if you want.

 

[acer]

Awesome - when I am ready I will take a look. Much appreciated.

 

[acer]

Well- I got a email yesterday from the PMAS current president ( John Kovacs) from my Inquiry I left on the website. I emailed him back so I can get info on next meeting. Lets try and get this club going again - used to be a lot of fun and beneficial to all. Even if at first it only 6-7 people meeting at a restaurant to talk, have a cup of coffee or beverage, and maybe trade a frag or 2. It was always nice to talk to fellow reefers, help each other out, and feel like others are sharing in the journey. Wow, that really sounded "corney". LOL

 

[vlangel]

Well- I got a email yesterday from the PMAS current president ( John Kovacs) from my Inquiry I left on the website. I emailed him back so I can get info on next meeting. Lets try and get this club going again - used to be a lot of fun and beneficial to all. Even if at first it only 6-7 people meeting at a restaurant to talk, have a cup of coffee or beverage, and maybe trade a frag or 2. It was always nice to talk to fellow reefers, help each other out, and feel like others are sharing in the journey. Wow, that really sounded "corney". LOL

I agree Ted. I only stopped going because I had family obligations that are no longer there. I would love to talk to real live aquarists, as opposed to only sharing on a forum.

 

[acer]

Got all livestock to a LFS who will give me credit - better than nothing. I hated to not keep some of it ,but was afraid I would just loose everything anyway in the move. Got the new RODI working - 0 tds= Yeah...

Ok Isolation and/or hospital tank is running well, moved some of the old rock into it= 45 cube with a 20 sump. 2 x 24 T5HO lights. Had several old heaters malfunction and it is now at 87 degrees. LOL - good thing I did not keep livestock.

Took down 65 reef tank and moved it to my garage today for a good cleaning/wipe down, etc. and all the pumps and the skimmer are getting a vinegar bath= 4 cups to 20 gallons of water. . Figure 24 hours in that and then into RODI for a few hours. Not sure if I am going to try to get the coralline algae off the internal overflow (Marineland tank) or not. Any idea on how to do that?

 

[Misled]

No help on the overflow, but I was wonderin bout you. I found you a smaller RBTA. Let me know.

 

[acer]

Super - figure a 4-6 weeks before I am ready for that or corals. Have not yet gotten a full compliment of test kits to even test the water. The live rock I kept is really good, completely covered in coralline algae. The sand was not good, the media reactor was not working at all, the plumping was nearly plugged with slime, the skimmer was in a bad way as well. I will take out the LED fixture today and find out what gen Radion it is. Also clean the wet side of the Vortech. Got the isolation tank temp figured out and now at 78 degrees - I used to run my 90 reef at 80-82 what are you guys doing for temp now a days?

Hopefully will get the 65 in the living room this week- I am going to clean and maybe touch up the paint on the stand/canopy while it is in the garage.

 

[MondoBongo]

I usually run just a hair below 78 degrees. Gives me some breathing room during spring and fall when HVAC isn't on keeping the house constant. Also a bit less work for the heaters.

 

[acer]

That is interesting- I wonder why I kept the prior tank so high? Specific gravity is at 1.026 and am now testing Alk and Ca+ . Cant wait for test kits to arrive.

 

[Misled]

Mine runs 80 to 82. I got a chiller so I could drop the temp for the new tank.

 

[acer]

Is anybody using a pH probe locally. I have a Pinpoint PH reader- but no probe- so I don't know if it still works. If anybody wouldn't mind me stopping by with my pinpoint reader and plug your probe into it and see if it works I would sure appreciate it. This way I know if I just need a new probe or the whole reader/controller and probe. I also have a old AC3 unit that I never set up ( bought used just before having to give up the hobby for a while) and it is now considered ancient tech - so I guess i could use it to just read the PH if I bought a probe - I will post on how to do that in the Neptune area.

Let me know....