$ Pit

[saltwatercoral]

If you are in the area again you should check out Rick's they are less than 5 minutes down the street from MrCoral.

Thanks! I wish I would have known that when was there buy it's all good. Do they have a website?

[Mr Pants]

Not an active one: http://www.ricksfishandpet.com/

 

Are you familiar with exotic aquatics? (much closer to you)

 

The other shops of note in the area are Congressional and Aquarium One (both near each other in Montgomery County)

[pschom]

Here's my experience with local spots to get corals:

 

1. Aquarium One - Paul and Phil are great, but shrewd businessmen. They have nice pieces which they care for and don't just throw into the tank and wait for some bloke to come along and but it. Their shop is pristine and their assortment is awesome. Especially their new dry goods section with the propagation equipment. Plus I live accross the street! Tell them Pete sent you!

 

2. House of Tropicals - Ok, the reason this is #2 is because of the assortment. There are TONS of anything your looking for. And I mean anything. From octopus to anemones to LR and corals. The list of fish would never end. That said, their customer service is retarded cause they don't usually know what they are talking about. I've tested this theory...

 

3. Today's Pet - While this is not a fish store, they have saltwater and corals. Most of the time I find something I like and there are a couple of guys who know more than the average 19 year old knows about corals. They ate expensive so don't expect to get a deal.

 

 

4. Mr. Coral - As you said, they have a lot of frags and they're cheap, and you can always walk out of there with cool stuff. The only reason it's low on my list is cause everytime I go there they are late opening, closed, on lunch, etc. That is unacceptable.

 

5. Only #5 cause it's like 2.5 hours away...That Fish Place. This should be #1 but they are in PA... This place is awesome and IMO the staff is great and the selection rocks and I want to build a shack in the back and sleep there sometimes. If you make the trip take $200 plus if you can. You won't be disappointed.

 

6. Congressional Aquarium - This place is 1 block from Aquarium One. They need to get their act together regarding reefs. They usually have some cool fish and others that you don't normally see in other LFS. They are clueless sometimes depending on who you talk to. They overcharge on certain things and fluctuate pricing a lot. Seems like if they sell one, the price goes up. If they sell another, again. And so on.... They have corals, but they have no clue how to deal with them and their lighting and maintenance sucks a$$.

 

I don't think I've been to exotic aquatics. That I can remember.

 

That's it. From my experience anyway. There's some lfs in VA but I haven't found one without crappy selections, or flatworm infestations.....

 

Hope you don't mind mr puting this on your thread. I may copy it to mine cause I wasn't planning on all that, but I couldn't help it.

[saltwatercoral]

I dont mind at all. Thanks putting all together! I must agree with Exotic Aquatics comment. There selection is good but the staff is not helpful for the most part. It's almost like your a bother to them when you ask a question.

 

That pet place is top on my list! It is a good hike away but it is the best and most selection and a very nice and helpful staff! I think it's looking like it's going to be Mr. Corals and That pet place for me!

 

Thanks again for the well put info pschom!

[saltwatercoral]

Here is some quick pics on the setup as it stands now. It has been the clearest its been so far since I have added the live sand.

 

Clear water (its an iphone pic...)

 

Rock Scape

[pschom]

Wow looks great. I like how the sand is blowing over the larger pieces. Looks like a desert. Lol a desert with no coraline or corals. Your lights come today or tomorrow?

[saltwatercoral]

Wow looks great. I like how the sand is blowing over the larger pieces. Looks like a desert. Lol a desert with no coraline or corals. Your lights come today or tomorrow?

They arrive on the second (Thursday). I'm still waiting on a tracking number for my pc4 power strips though. Without those I cant connect the SOLS because I ran out of ports. On a side not we have started to get a dedicated cable going and it's going to have a 4 port GFI outlet just for the system. I am going to have 4 pc4 power strips running my setup off of it!

 

EDIT: when the sand started to move and mave that little hill it revealed some small nice looking snail shells. It gives it a nice look! I cant wait till this gets some color!

 

Can I put "Purple Up" in just yet or somthing to start the coraline? Or do I need to wait for the cycle to be done?

[Mr Pants]

Purple Up is snake oil.

[urbaneks]

+1 Never used Purple Up nor have I had issues growing coralline. You'll be wishing it wouldn't grown soon enough when it's on your tank walls.

[siwelk]

Purple Up is dissolved aragonite powder and ionic calcium.

It contains traces of Mg and Ca among other elements.

 

It can accelerate coralline algae growth by maintaining high levels of these elements.

You can also achieve similar, if not more consistent results, by using alternative dosing methods.

 

You need a source of coralline algae in your system however, in order to accelerate it's growth.

 

Unless you have some live rock in there now, covered in coralline, you won't increase anything.

[saltwatercoral]

Gotcha, so without live rock with coraline on it already I won't be able to grow it. Makes sence... I guess I need a few smaller pieces with some good coraline on it then!

[redwhiteandblue]

throw a couple pieces of live rock in there. maybe grind up some pieces to rubble an sprinkle it everywhere. i did this an my back glass is getting covered quickly.

[saltwatercoral]

throw a couple pieces of live rock in there. maybe grind up some pieces to rubble an sprinkle it everywhere. i did this an my back glass is getting covered quickly.

Sounds like this is what I might be doing! Thanks!

[Lawnman]

Is your sand the sand marco rock sells?

[saltwatercoral]

Is your sand the sand marco rock sells?

Yes and no. I have the original sand that I first put in is from MarcoRocks (not live). I then purchased some live sand and then put that in (not mark rocks). I believe that this truly what helped clear the water up even more!

 

Side note: I still have 100lbs of the mark rocks sand available for sale if anyone is interested. Only

Local though. I don't want to ship 100lbs of sand,lol. I'm Bel Air, Maryland. Also willing to trade as well.

[saltwatercoral]

I just recieved an email saying that the 3 Black and Blue SOLS are going to be delivered today!!! Ill post pics when I get home!

[pschom]

+1 Never used Purple Up nor have I had issues growing coralline. You'll be wishing it wouldn't grown soon enough when it's on your tank walls.

Lol yea. When it starts growing on your glass and when you don't have a clean overflow anymore you'll be cursing purple up. I tried using this in a 3G pico once. I didn't see any increase.

 

Sounds like this is what I might be doing! Thanks!

Stop by House of Tropicals. They have some CRAZY live rock with sponges and corals (not decorator corals) and all kinds of filtration stuff growing. You just need one piece of that and your system will take off. Like $9.99/lb.

 

Oh yeah I've been waiting to say this on your thread...LET THERE BE LIGHT!!

[saltwatercoral]

Lol yea. When it starts growing on your glass and when you don't have a clean overflow anymore you'll be cursing purple up. I tried using this in a 3G pico once. I didn't see any increase.

 

 

Stop by House of Tropicals. They have some CRAZY live rock with sponges and corals (not decorator corals) and all kinds of filtration stuff growing. You just need one piece of that and your system will take off. Like $9.99/lb.

 

Oh yeah I've been waiting to say this on your thread...LET THERE BE LIGHT!!

 

lol

[iball1804]

LET THERE BE LIGHT!!

Holla. Did they arrive?

[saltwatercoral]

Holla. Did they arrive?

They did! Im just not home yet. Im still at work I wont be home for a few more hours. The one late night I work and its killing me!!!

[MrReefMan411]

all you need to do is get a small piece of LR with coraline on it and take some water out of your tank and put it in a bowl then take th LR and put it in the bowl and gently scrap it off with a hobby knife and pour it back into the tank if you have a uv turn it off for a few days. now your tank has been "seeded" keep your water quality were it sould be and in about 1-2 mounths it will be every where especialy if you use purple up

[21093r53]

all you need to do is get a small piece of LR with coraline on it and take some water out of your tank and put it in a bowl then take th LR and put it in the bowl and gently scrap it off with a hobby knife and pour it back into the tank if you have a uv turn it off for a few days. now your tank has been "seeded" keep your water quality were it sould be and in about 1-2 mounths it will be every where especialy if you use purple up

 

 

purple up is a gimmick and for n00bs

[SouthFlorida_Tron]

Money pit still dry???

 

Money pit still dry???

[21093r53]

Money pit still dry???

 

Money pit still dry???

 

 

if it is, why?

[pschom]

Money pit still dry???

 

Money pit still dry???

Not dry. Just no light. He's gonna be up all night hooking those up. Hey man get some Monsters on your way home!