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I've gotten some emails lately about the LFS (local fish store) page on my site, because people that visit the area like to see what's available to see while they are in town. I made some updates since some stores were gone, others moved location, and a couple of new ones cropped up.

Then a guy on DFWMAS requested that the map be interactive at the top. He wanted to be able to zoom into his area. He even gave me a scrap of code to get me started, and the rest of my afternoon was devoured learning how to make an awesomely colorful map. LOL

Two new goodies have been added to my online shop, so if you want to see what they are, this is the page to visit:

Melev's Reef Shop

And here's a bit of eye candy...

I'll be speaking at the Marine Aquarium Expo in Orange County, California the first weekend in April. And while I'm there, Melev's Reef will be represented as well, with a real live booth! I'll have some of my products for sale there during those two days, and will be speaking about Aquarium Photography on Sunday at 2pm.

To get everyone up to speed, the road trip to Arizona was a lot of fun. I got home Monday morning at 5am. Of course, as soon as I walked through the door, I checked on my reef and did a bunch of minor tweaks to adjust things they way they needed to be. All was well.

For some time now, I've really wanted something that would allow me to check on my tank when I'm out of town. Just a quick peek to see that all is well, although I don't really dread it - I just do whatever I can to keep it happy, and hope for the best. Once I'm out the door, there is little I can accomplish, other than call others to come investigate.

This latest episode is Epic, so it was named Epic Episode 30. It is a video episode, and thus a large download. Be sure to save it to your computer rather than trying to stream it. Downloads page

My reef is doing quite well. Here's the latest image.

A few projects recently completed:

I had to do surgery: Vortech Battery Backup Surgery. ;) That involved drilling out the rivets, reorienting the battery, riviting the aluminum case shut again and mounting it on the wall.

This is what it looked like before I began.

And the wire the feeds the pump during a power failure.

This product has been around a while, but I didn't want to get it until it had its own cleaning magnet... So I finally got one! I try to never use anything that will scratch the glass in my tank, but occasionally a razorblade is needed, and if I'm going to use one, I'd prefer to use this type.

The scraper comes with one razor blade (double-edged), but I also got a 10-pack for back up.

Carbon helps maintain water clarity in my reef, and absorbs some chemicals the corals release as they fight for space on a daily basis. The following shows how I change out the carbon once it has been used up.

First, I disconnect it from its pump in the sump, and set it in the sink. I love the Phosban Reactor's rubber connections, which are simple to press in or disconnect.

Another year has passed, and as usual I'm always fascinated by the traffic my site gets. During 2008: