55 Gallon Reef Tank

[Achilles]

Your welcome on the cyano stuff, and im sorry to hear about your temperature problem. I hate looseing anything!! Good luck, where ya from, that weather sounds like ours the past week!.
Todd

[Nereaga]

As far as changing PC bulbs I think the lifespan is like 10-12 months or so. I think that is about right. You could do it even earlier, that is up to you.

[Andyoybna]

Achilles, Im in virginia it did end up snowing the other night, but it is supposed to be in the sixties this week.

Anyways I set up a QT tank, put my foxface in it, and I'm still trying to catch my koran to get it in there. Everything seems pretty stabalized now, foxface just has a little bit of ich, I'm not sure whats going on with the koran, its color is just fading, and looks like it may have some sort of a cyst right before his dorsal fin, hopefully I can catch it soon.

Anyways, currently I have malachite green in the QT tank, has anyone had any luck with it? back when I worked at petco a costumer of mine talked to one of the marine biologists at Thatpetplace.com after he used melafix in his display tank and it killed most of his fish, they told him malachite green is reef safe and should he shouldnt have any problems with it. I have used it in my display but only like 1/2 - 1/4 doses, it calls for 5ml per 50 gallons, probably about 45 gallons of actual water in my 55, and I have been using about 1.5-2ML.

Now, what I was trying to get around to asking is, should I keep using malachite green, should I use pimafix/melafix, copper? something else? hypo salinity? combo? what have you guys had luck with?

[Castle]

Andy, where in VA are you? I work in Tysons and live out by Dulles.

If you're in my area, what shops do you typically patronize for your fish & supplies?

[Andyoybna]

Im in harrisonburg, according to yahoo, just under 2 hours or 125 miles from dulles.

I don't know if you ever visit staunton, harrisonburg, or waynesboro, but the shops I visit are

Sylvias pets, in harrisonburg, really good small pet store, although I only completely trust/listen to one person that works there, and usually wait till she is in, also gives me some good deals

Petco, In harrisonburg, I used to work there, the place has really fallen apart, only one person who works there knows anything about either fresh or saltwater fish, however although the tanks are not well kept and the people are not knowlegeable, you can point at just about any fish and be like "i want that damsel" for 3.99, the girl I was talking about above got a Nice little blue Niger Trigger Damsel for 3.99, I got a Six Line wrasse damsel, etc....

In Staunton there is a store called pets n pals, pretty good selection, again only one person there that I deal with if I can help it, lots of corals, large fish section, often have things like giant sabae anemones, 1 foot or more for sale

pets n pals, and sylvias will special order things for you. since I used to work at petco, I can usually get stuff ordered there.


Are there any good LFS around you? I may have to make the trip some day.

[Castle]

I have 4 shops that I frequent up here for anything fish related. In order of my favorite/most trustworthy...

The Marine Scene - Herndon, VA - http://www.marinescene.com - They are the area's only saltwater only shop. Great selection, knowledgeable employees and competitive pricing. They are my go to shop for anything salt specific that I need. I've purchased all my LR & livestock from them. They have weekly e-mails that are sent out with updates on new stock/new items. This would probably be the only shop that I'd drive 2 hours for. Not sure if they special order/ship stuff, but If you see something you want me to pick up for you and I'd be happy to ship it.

Fox Mill Pets - Herndon, VA - http://www.foxmillpets.com/ - I got my tank and other miscellaneous hardware from them. Great prices. Limited selection on marine livestock.

Vienna Aquarium & Pets - Vienna, VA - http://www.viennaaquariumandpets.com/ - Their website sucks (almost non-exitent). The female owner is far from friendly, the male owner is quite helpful. Those are the only 2 people I've dealt with there. They have a huge selection of fish. Their biggest downfall is that they're WAY, WAY, WAY overpriced. The only time I shop there is when I need something in a hurry and don't want to wait for an internet order, etc.

PetSmart - Similar to Fox Mill - Miscellaneous stuff...RO filters, nets, hardware.