Thanks Art!

[KafudaFish]

I guess I will be the first to say thank you for hosting this meeting. I am glad that you are not getting out of the hobby. It would be a real loss for the club.
I am sure this was covered at the meeting but could you describe your system. I only got to look at it for a minute or two due to my energizer boy. Also what business updates were there? So basically if someone could rehash the meeting that would be great. Yeah that would be great.

As far as the DIY rocks a few things from my readings on RC and building some myself:
1. One issue with pasta is that as it absorbs the water and expands it weakens the rock and can cause it to crack.
2. It takes about a month to cure in FW but when you place it in salt it goes through another cycle and can drive up the pH. As Chris mentioned vingear can be used to speed up this process but there is some debate about if it really finishes the cycle. Acid base reaction.
3. I have also used hydralic water stop and sand to make rocks. It cures pretty fast and you do not have to cycle for a month or more. You can get 20# at HD for about $15. It is pretty tank ready after it dries too.

Don't know if these were discussed or not but thought it could not hurt.

Thanks again.

 

[fishdoc11]

Thanks a bunch Art

The kids and I had a great time. It was nice to finally see your tank. I hope moving everything around solves the hair algae problem.

Chris

 

[Anchovy]

Thanks Art!

 

[salt newbie01]

A big thank you to Art and his wife for hosting another great meeting. It is always a pleasure to see all my Knoxville friends. And meet some new ones. Art the brisket was great as always!! So was the rest of the food.

Thanks again and I will see ya'll at the swap!!

 

[jettster]

thanks for hosting art, we had a good time. i know you went through alot of trouble changing your rocks out hope it cures your hair algae problem the brisket was great thanks again

 

[cee]

Thanks Art. Good to see you again, it had been awhile. Hope your hair algae is history.

Dave

 

[ct_vol]

Thanks Art!!! Good Meeting and Great Food!!!

 

[EvilMel]

What's the deal with Mike's comment about Art possibly getting out of the hobby? Is that something he's been considering? I sure hope not.

Man...I was mad all weekend that I'd missed the meeting. I am still unhappy about it. I brought the components of cheese dip with me and was going to make it at Art's house. As it was, I didn't even get to eat the cheese dip myself because we didn't get back to the house until like 4:30. Meat sitting in a hot backpack for 5 hours isn't exactly my idea of tasty fare. I threw it in the refrigerator, just out of habit and the next day when I took it out to throw it away...it was all brown as heck...a really odd color.

Neither Nathan nor I could bring ourselves to make cheese dip for just us to eat. We both agreed that we'd feel like complete fat-donkeys if we did.

Anyways...so yeah...completely POd that I didn't get to come to it. My scooter issue is getting resolved soon though. It's old and temperamental.

 

[ct_vol]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12570957#post12570957 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by EvilMel
Meat sitting in a hot backpack for 5 hours isn't exactly my idea of tasty fare. I threw it in the refrigerator, just out of habit and the next day when I took it out to throw it away...it was all brown as heck...a really odd color.

How did the goby do??? Art and Max kept wanting to throw it in the refrigerator... Cottage cheese shouldn't be left out either...

 

[awcurl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12570957#post12570957 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by EvilMel
What's the deal with Mike's comment about Art possibly getting out of the hobby? Is that something he's been considering? I sure hope not.

Yes, I was considering it, my battle with the dreaded hair algae has taken it's toll. Luckily I had enough extra rock in the garage tank that I was able to change out all my rock and start over. The remaining patches are disappearing into the stomachs of my new cleanup crew. I think I've gotten it under control finally and now I wonder how I was ever able to consider getting out.:bum:

 

[EvilMel]

Hey Art, what's your alkalinity like? I found that every time I raised my Alk up really high (not so high to drop my calcium, just really high though), the hair algae stayed gone.

My goby is rockin'!

 

[KafudaFish]

Club business?

 

[Fishboy42]

Thanks Art; great food and company as always. The tank looks good; I can't imagine the work that must go into a LR changeout on an already-running reef of that size. I thought the aragocrete demo was interesting too.

It would be a good way to avoid adding unwanted pests with new live rock or rubble or buying pre-made plugs/disks.

 

[ct_vol]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12578697#post12578697 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by KafudaFish
Club business?

Really we just went over the swap and elections...

 

[Tomoko Schum]

KafudaFish -

Is the hydraulic cement that you mentioned Thorite/Emaco S110? I would like to try to make some plugs if it's completely reef safe.

I still have a good amount of ceramic plugs I made, but they are very hard to cut. I like the way cement ones break apart easily so that I can frag zoa on it effortlessly or break off the peg part from the disc so I can mount the disk on rocks easily.

Tomoko

 

[KafudaFish]

Tomoko,
If you have access to thorite don't use it for frag plugs. Not that it won't work but thorite is no longer made and people who want to cement rocks look for this all the time with no luck. Think Southdown sand. The throite is what people recommend to bond rock together when making a rock pillar. It cures pretty quickly, like 6 hours, and can be put back in your tank so you can use it on existing LR.

The hydraulic cement is Quickrete's Hyrdalic Water Stop. I bought it at Lowe's for $12 for 20#'s. It is in the cement section but it comes in a bucket so look for it with the other buckets at the end of an isle. You mix it with sand dry something like 3:1 sand:cement. Then add 1 part water. The only thing is that it cures and hardens in a few mintues so you have to work in small batches quickly.
I first read about it on RC by Mr. Wilson who uses it for reef walls to hide overflows and returns. The thread has something to do with reef cermics but he was not the OP. He has used it many times and has never had an issue with it.
I have made rubble with it, rock formations using eggcrete as rebar, and on a wall in an aquarium.
Hope that helps. If there is anything else I can do please let me know and good luck.

I forgot one other "advantage" to the water stop. You don't have to cure it in freshwater, only in saltwater. I cannot remember exactly why but the freshwater does something to it such as weakening the cement. If you were concerned about it spiking your aqauarium's pH just put it in some water change waste water.

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Thank you very much, KafudaFish. I will look for a Quickrete version.

Tomoko

 

[Tomoko Schum]

Can you make Quickrete Hydraulic cement loose enough that I can pour into mold (I am thinking about making a mold for a bunch of small reef plugs out of 2" deep sand in plastic container?)

Tomoko