OK! Enough chat...Starting a 1000g+ Reef

[ReefingBuddha]

I know one of the custom aquarium guy in my area and he also does maintenance for hotels and they request lab tests so I'm sure you can track down someone like that in your area as a reference for a lab. Good luck bud.

 

[steve the plumb]

You can do your own tests with this but I don't know what are all the tests it can do.http://www.customaquatic.com/customaquatic/itemdetail.asp?SubCatID=di-cdm&offset=30&itemid=DI-HIC200

 

[ReefingBuddha]

or you could hook yourself up with on of these babies and you can test everything you will ever need yourself.

http://hannainst.com/usa/prods2.cfm?id=030003&ProdCode=HI 83200&test=1

I'm thinking about it but the price is pretty steep at $799.99 but it can test 36 different parameters.

 

[ReefingBuddha]

haha... you just beat me to it... I was just looking up the exact same page.

The link above has all the tests listed.

 

[jnarowe]

no lead test.

 

[jnarowe]

Just got in two packages of corals, one from UltimateFrags and one from Gabriel. They both arrived at 67.5F even though Gabriel's was much better packed.

All corals look good though and I will take pictures when I get a chance. Thanks Gabriel!

 

[Micki]

67.5??? Ouch!

 

[jnarowe]

The last shipment from Ultimate was like 62F...4 out of the eight corals were DOA. This time no apparent DOAs.

 

[Micki]

Hopefully these all make it.

 

[mrcrab]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11623197#post11623197 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
The last shipment from Ultimate was like 62F...4 out of the eight corals were DOA. This time no apparent DOAs.

Think you would have learned from the last one, it might be better to wait for spring...slow learner!

 

[steve the plumb]

Crab is right(but he doesn't get a karma point here).Its risky to ship in winter unless the box is well insulated and they use 2 or 3 heat pack depending on the size of the box and how long it takes to transport.You are better off waiting till its mild or giving special instructions.

 

[Sparkss]

I am surprised that Rommel didn't pack a bunch of heat packs. I need to stop down his way to see his new setup, I hear he has some crazy awesome corals these days. We used to trade with him way back when we had a full prop system. Kind of neat to see my name next to a coral on his web site (but that was well over a year ago).

 

[jnarowe]

Rommel is a good guy. He did send the replacement corals and that's good business. His shipping method needs a little tweak though. His boxes and water volume are much too small IMO, and the heat packs heated up AFTER I opened the box, which means they didn't get enough oxygen while in transit.

I suggested he punch a couple of holes in the box to allow air to flow through it. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but if you are going to ship with the mini boxes and so little water, air becomes a lot more important.

When I ship snails, I use 1 - 2 qts. of water volume whether or not the snails are actually in the water. This water stabilizes the package temp. and I have had very few DOAs.

His prices on the other hand, will make you cry like a baby! :lol:

And for those of you who think I am an idiot for ordering in the Winter, I resemble that!

 

[mrcrab]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11624034#post11624034 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe

And for those of you who think I am an idiot for ordering in the Winter, I resemble that!

Not an idiot for ordering in winter but for doing it a second time after problems the first!

A useful idiot none the less.

 

[jnarowe]

what's funny about it is that the coral I wanted the most, and the entire reason why I made the purchase in the first place, arrived DOA the first time and it was the most expensive one at $80 for less than a 1/2" piece.

 

[steve the plumb]

somebody has money to spend .$80 for a 1/2" frag ouch.

 

[jnarowe]

Yeah, you wavebox boy! :lol: And it was more like 1/3 inch...

It was actually $150/1/2" frag but I talked him down since Atlantis had the same coral @ 1" for $80... It's so small, I can't get a picture of it! :lol:

When I do, you will soil yourself.

 

[steve the plumb]

Well I don't have rare and expensive frags.Maybe I will start when the system is mature.

 

[jnarowe]

they really aren't rare for very long anyway. It's just a flavor-of-the-month thing.

 

[chris wright]

Sounds like an expensive and high risk adventure to me. Buy the frags and try to get the store to either hold them until it warms up, or ship the corals at your specifications. I'm sure they wouldn't mind you telling them more water and put a few holes in the box to ensure the heat packs work