Kat's Ol' Max

[Formula462]

I really like pokerstar monti, I might need to find a frag..

 

i gotta whole lotta that and superman.

[metrokat]

i gotta whole lotta that and superman.

How fast can you get to Dallas?

[Rehype]

The hotel graciously gave me a bag of rice last night to put my poor wet phone in. And what do you know! The condensation on the screen has dissapeared. Wow.

 

If you haven't been following the drama on NR today: this post should be titled don't mess with Texas since I'm in Dallas ATM!

 

After reading on DPatrols thread this morning that some contestants and their friends in this POTM contest were sending messages to total stangers for votes, I decided to pull my entry from this contest. I PMd Chris Marks this morning that I had PMd my friends to support me and that I did not want to be in a contest with unethical conduct. I did not mention any names. CM posted in the afternoon on DPatrols thread asking people to PM him about anyone soliticing votes. That got one other contestant removed too. I think the decision was fair.

 

I don't mind the ridiculous hate PM received accusing me of slander and BS, that's normal. What I find amusing is the 'ive never been nothing but nice to you' coming mere days after a very public name calling, suggestions of me being anything other than someone sophisticated. And decent. Not to mention PMing people that you have never interated with to vote, spamming threads, posting for the heck of posting. Whoa. Can't possibly have a fair contest against those odds with my personalized PMs while I'm at a trade show and out of town.

 

So at 31 votes, while the nearest competition was at 35, I made a choice. Did I cut my nose to spite my face? Never. It just wasn't important enough to win a dirty race. Did I inadvertantly expose the game? Yeah.

 

 

Well that was quite classy of you kat.

[Formula462]

How fast can you get to Dallas?

 

come to me! I will be at work at three. 1-20 and Little Road/Green Oaks. You'd be the first to buy one lol. Not because they are OP, just new.

 

I'll have to fress drashionable though if you are coming. You really should check it out! I think you will like it.

Edited March 24, 2012 by Formula462

[metrokat]

Lol, I'm at a trade show, not to mention TSS regulations against carrying liquids in flight. I wonder if corals would get stressed in an X-ray, hmm. Fashion is open to interpretation BTW. Style is important IMO

[banshee]

You don't want to meet me in person then! I am a jeans and tee shirt kinda gal. No fuss, no make up, and usually one cup of coffee shy of actually being awake!

[metrokat]

You don't want to meet me in person then! I am a jeans and tee shirt kinda gal. No fuss, no make up, and usually one cup of coffee shy of actually being awake!

Conservative dresser myself

[Formula462]

Lol, I'm at a trade show, not to mention TSS regulations against carrying liquids in flight. I wonder if corals would get stressed in an X-ray, hmm. Fashion is open to interpretation BTW. Style is important IMO

 

I have taken coral on planes with me several times.

 

you should still come check it out if you get a minute

[ApiratenamedJohn]

Style and fashion are things ive always been told i lack. But then again ive always been a year round shorts and flipflops kinda guy.

[metrokat]

Style and fashion are things ive always been told i lack. But then again ive always been a year round shorts and flipflops kinda guy.

 

That tells me two things: one you probably have great weather year round. And two: you have a killer accessory: Humphrey.

[ApiratenamedJohn]

That tells me two things: one you probably have great weather year round. And two: you have a killer accessory: Humphrey.

hahaha i do not. it gets cold here too. i just dont like pants and shoes.

 

but i did add new pics of the pups for you.

[metrokat]

oh gosh! just saw them!

 

[CarrillXXP]

There should be plenty out in CA no? Do you have a good LFS or do you shop online?

 

Yeah I see it from time to time, I just am waiting to start my new job before I can buy me some . I think I might update my lighting though too since I really want SPS, and I am not too satisfied with the 30's.

[civickm]

oh gosh! just saw them!

 

 

Lucky guy...hehe

[tibbsy07]

Beautiful tank so far! I'll definitely be following this one

[metrokat]

Left the Tank for 5 days with the Tank Sitter.

Came home to some growth in the corals! And other stuff. For one, the anemone walked! And killed most of my RARE and ILLEGAL to trade HitchHiker macro. Hope the rest of it grows more.

It is still not behaving, for such a young-un, it has decided not to bubble for me.

Took this pic:

And an hour later WTF:

 

But here is my picture of the day:

These are called "those Zoos":

 

 

Did a 5 gallon water change with distilled water and my Red Sea Coral Pro. Spectrapure unit is still not installed. I can't get the params on the newly mixed salt to match what the bucket says. I'm guessing because it's distilled and not RODI, and further those levels are tested at 77 degrees etc etc. I haven't started being a perfectionist with my water changes yet, when the tank is where it is supposed to be and I have more outlets and more of everything then maybe. For now I try to match the temperature to the tank, make sure it's mixed for a while, check salinity and pour.

 

Side note for Alto and Miss Pink: See the feather duster? Got that from reef cleaners, it has a small tube, and the worm seems to be longer than the tube so even when you disturb it or pull it out of the water, it can't retract all the way. The duster/head stays out. Despite all this obvious stress it hasn't dropped it's crown. Must be the live phyto I feed the tank. It might also be that this species is hardier than my yellow duster.

Edited March 27, 2012 by metrokat

[Nano sapiens]

Coming along nicely

 

I used to be a bit blase with my params since I thought I had things 'buttoned down'. Mix up some saltwater the night before, match temp and throw it in

 

Then I got an unexpected roque bucket of salt and calcium went north, alkalinity went south, in a hurry Noticed the problem when a few Montis started to lighten up for no apparent reason.

 

SPS are like the proverbial 'canary in the coal mine' to let you know when something is off.

[metrokat]

SPS are like the proverbial 'canary in the coal mine' to let you know when something is off.

I will keep that in mind. So far the SPS have been pleased as punch, I think the high Ca in the salt makes them happy.

This tank was started on Christmas, and I already have coralline appearing on the glass, pastic parts of equipment etc. Is that normal?

[Nano sapiens]

I will keep that in mind. So far the SPS have been pleased as punch, I think the high Ca in the salt makes them happy.

This tank was started on Christmas, and I already have coralline appearing on the glass, pastic parts of equipment etc. Is that normal?

 

Sufficient calcium along with proper alkalinity levels and Ph. The trick is to consistently keep them all where they should be, which can become more challenging as the tank matures past a year or two.

 

Oh yes, coralline algae can really take off when params are good. It seems to have a real affinity for plastics. When I first started up this little nano I had coralline growing every where. Over time, growth has slowed down, especially after my SPS started growing out a bit. The more growing SPS/LPS you have the closer you'll need to watch params since the corals and calcereous green algae will tend to out compete the coralline by using up the available resources.

Edited March 27, 2012 by Nano sapiens

[TheNordCelt]

oh gosh! just saw them!

 

 

Who's the other chick in the picture?

[jedimasterben]

oh gosh! just saw them!

 

Let me see your.... oh, wait. Nevermind.

[iball1804]

Distilled water ftw!

[jedimasterben]

Left the Tank for 5 days with the Tank Sitter.

Came home to some growth in the corals! And other stuff. For one, the anemone walked! And killed most of my RARE and ILLEGAL to trade HitchHiker macro. Hope the rest of it grows more.

It is still not behaving, for such a young-un, it has decided not to bubble for me.

Took this pic:

And an hour later WTF:

I'm having the opposite problem - I can't seem to piss my RBTA off enough to get it to move off of the PVC endcap it's sitting in. The LFS told me just to bring the cap back when the nem walks out of it, but he hasn't yet. I've had a powerhead blasting him in the face for the past week and a half and he still hasn't gotten the hint. lol

[altolamprologus]

What's this rare and illegal macro you speak of?

[metrokat]

Sufficient calcium along with proper alkalinity levels and Ph. The trick is to consistently keep them all where they should be, which can become more challenging as the tank matures past a year or two.

 

Oh yes, coralline algae can really take off when params are good. It seems to have a real affinity for plastics. When I first started up this little nano I had coralline growing every where. Over time, growth has slowed down, especially after my SPS started growing out a bit. The more growing SPS/LPS you have the closer you'll need to watch params since the corals and calcereous green algae will tend to out compete the coralline by using up the available resources.

It makes sense and also explains why some tanks have a delayed appearance of the purple coralline.

 

Distilled water ftw!

To be honest I don't think distilled is all that great compared to RODI, something about it is off. My dKH has been low from inception, it is possible that this is one of the reasons that the salt mixes don't perform the way they are supposed to.

 

I'm having the opposite problem - I can't seem to piss my RBTA off enough to get it to move off of the PVC endcap it's sitting in. The LFS told me just to bring the cap back when the nem walks out of it, but he hasn't yet. I've had a powerhead blasting him in the face for the past week and a half and he still hasn't gotten the hint. lol

Try blocking the light?

 

What's this rare and illegal macro you speak of?

Caulerpa Polifera....

j/k

The anemone walked on Caulerpa Verticillata. Not really illegal except in California as you know, but so fragile, I am surprised that it survived as a hitchhiker on my rocks from Florida. The runners and roots are very delicate making it impossible to rip out. Some have had trouble where this macro has taken over their rocks like GHA or worse. I had it growing nicely on one rock, we shall see if it grows back.