Mon, 07/10/2006 - 00:15

The Hidden Treasure page has been modified to put all MACNA-related information at the very top for your viewing pleasure. This year's three-day conference will be in Houston, Tx (Sept 22-24), and you won't want to miss it. Be sure to find me if you go. Oh, and enjoy the conference, I guess. Seriously, I can't imagine not going so if you are on the fence or simply unsure, bite the bullet, commit to it now and go. You won't regret it. The pages linked about MACNA should give you a taste or preview of what it's about, but you have to be there personally to grasp what a benefit it is to us reefkeeping hobbyists. No book will come close to providing you with the information you'll walk away with during the conference. I keep going back because there's always more to learn. The raffle is another reason, plus all the eye candy: new equipment and livestock! And then you get to meet people you've spoken with online forever, face-to-face. Do it! DO IT!

My site will have a new look soon. Evan (Quiksilver) and I spent some time yesterday discussing the basic layout, and I think you'll really like the new changes in the works. I'm excited, that's to be sure. All old bookmarks will work, but if you find something doesn't, please be sure to email me with the details about what you were trying to access so it can be corrected.

Yesterday, I spent a few hours cleaning out the Calcium Reactor and refilling it with new ARM (Aragonite Reactor Media by CaribSea). Some have complained about phosphate leaching out of the media, so I presoaked it in RO/DI water for a week before using it. The idea is this will allow it to leach out, so I thought I'd give it a try. After 48 hours, I changed the water with new, and let it soak for several more days. While dissassembling the reactor, one thumbscrew broke off. I was able to remove it fortunately, and replace it with a new screw. It is back in action, sparkling clean.

I've seen the Harlequin Starfish quite a bit lately, as well as the Tiger Cowrie. At night the Harlequin Shrimp come out, and I'm seeing less and less asterinas on the glass. The mated clowns laid eggs again today, in the middle of the anemones' tentacles. Cyano continues to plague my tank in specific spots, but I think this is due to way too much Golden Pearls in the current batch of fish food. I don't feed as much as I have in the past, but I think each dose still packs a whallop of nutrients. I wish I could buy a 500g container of ChemiClean. ;