SteveA

Yep, had it, or something very like it, for a while and it occasionaly returns. I think it was a bit redder than the one in your pic and I suspect in my case it was a local import. Steve

No, the mechanism that grips them is just as likely to cut fine strands which will lead to the wire falling out and/or fine bits of copper wire floating about. Steve

400L once a month on a total system volume of about 2200L. I have 29 fish (6 @ 10cm+) and feed daily but all food is hoovered in a couple of minutes. Haven't done a water test in several months. Steve

It can be done but keep up the food variety. I feed mine, and consequently now the whole tank: • Freeze dried shrimp • Freeze dried krill • Green nori • Red nori • Frozen blood worms • Frozen mysis shrimp • Frozen ‘marine green’ mix • and my own frozen concoction which consists of (varies a little per batch) o 3 types of unidentified local seaweed o an unidentified dried seaweed o baby octopus o baby squid tubes o cabbage o calcium o dried sea grass o dried wakame o fish o fresh ulva o mussel o nori o scallop o shrimps o sponge (a local variety) o vitamins I found using a food processor to be very messy, noisy and to produce unsatisfactory results. I now use an old fashioned mincer and it works perfectly. Steve

Thanks, they are fast making my tank seem like it is getting too small. Colours aren't up to those in your tank but I will soon get on to that I think. Steve

The males have a long gill spine and the females have a short gill spine, at least this is the current wisdom. I am not sure if this is apparent in young fish like yours (still with eye spot). Try some sponge but it may not be interested, mine ignores sponge completely. The Indo Pacific regals (grey chest) are a lot harder to keep alive than the Red Sea / Indian Ocean variety (orange/yellow chest) and this is suspected to be related to diet. Statistically the grey chested fish have a very poor survival rate whereas the yellow/orange chested ones only have a poor survival rate. You have got past the hardest short term hurdle in getting it to eat in your tank, but do not be fooled into thinking that as long as it eats a lot all will be OK. If you do not give it an adequate quality diet it will be fat and malnourished at the same time and will likely eventually fall to some disease. I suggest you read the following thread, it is both sobering and informative. This link is only to the second ½ of the thread (there is a link to the first ½ on the first page). It is a long thread all up but well worth the effort. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=758598 The lad in February 2006. I have had it for 8.5 months. It has grown about 1cm since I got it and must be about 11cm now. It was picked on a bit at first but unusually for a Regal this did not bother it much. It has slowly risen in the ranks to be about 3rd in command and only really defers to the Blue Tang (about twice it's size) and sometimes the larger of my two adult Javansese damsels. It does not bother any hard corals (but I only have a few LPS) and only once was seen bothering the clam (I think just picking something off it's shell). It does eat Anthelia, which is the main reason I have a lot of it in my overflow and none in my tank and I am pretty sure would eat zoanthids if I had any. I wouldn't mind it taking out a few mushrooms tho. Steve

Then remember to add on the cost of interest on the money to buy the components, the cost of a premises big enough to allow you to build 100 skimmers in bigger batches than one or two at a time, the cost of space to allow you to store sufficient components to make 100 skimmers and to store a large number of completed skimmers, the cost of an extractor system to deal with the large quantity of solvents involved in assembling 100 skimmers, the replacement / depreciation / maintenance on the tools used, the purchase of heavier duty tools, the cost of an accountant to do your books, the cost of packaging and shipping and the additional interest costs or use of money costs you would incur from unsold skimmers. Steve

Maybe you have a special deal. I have been onto the interweb and it (govt site) showed pretty much the same current price for AK and WN.

Your power is cheap. Mine costs $0.16 per unit. I think I might need to research power company rates. Steve

One thing I have considered, an may well do, is put my currently spare 250W MH lights above the 600 and try out various corals in with my 'fish only' fish. At the moment I have some mushrooms in there and the Emperor has ignored them. It will be interesting to experiment as it grows older. Iw will also eventuallty get a clown trigger and some butterflies so working out who is doing what may prove a bit of a challenge. Steve

I am aware of Emperor Angels being successfully kept in a reef tank and even spawning in one. Some of the literature I have read lately suggests that, contrary to common belief, may of the larger angels may actually be better reef inhabitants that a lot of the dwarf angels. This may not be so if you like sponges tho, but the Regal Angel I keep in my reef tank totally ignores sponges. He will eventually take out any zoanthids and stuff like anthelia though. Steve

So do I. I am planning to get a photographic record of it as it changes. I am not sure how long that will take but with it's bottomless appetite, not unlike it's cousin across the room, it is doing it's best. Steve

Interesting pattern to. One day, when I get a big tank to move my reef to, I would like to introduce it to the Regal by moving them both in at the same time. Steve

Sort of, I have a 600L tank plumbed into my reef system and intend it to be a fish only system, or nearly so anyway (possibly also some spare bits from reef that don't require much light and I don't care if get eaten). So far only has a flame damsel and an emperor angel. Steve

In the past I had a period when periodically I would find bald patches on some corals in the mornings. It varied from coral to coral and from location to location. It turned out the problem was a Merulina and a Porites slugging it out, as after I seperated them, the problem stopped. Neither of the two combatants were suffering at all except for the immediate area of contact and it was not at all clear which one was winning. I am beginning to suspect that the occasional, what I have assumed to be bite marks from fish, patch I notice these days may be the same thing recurring. This time i am suspecting a Merulina and an Acro but note the common factor. Steve

Possibly, but it is difficult to test two things at once with one one tank. Steve

Over the weekend I knocked 1 hour of each set of MH. Now at 7 hours per pair, with a 5 hour overlap. I.e. total of 9 hours made up of: 2 hours with 2 bulbs, 5 hours with 4 bulbs and 2 hours with 2 bulbs. Fluorescent lights are still on for 11 hours. Steve

Very nice. Reminds me of my next challenge - to successfull introduce a CBB. Steve

Tank costs $187 + GST per month is average since metering put on power supply to room (239 days at an average of $6.10 +GST per day). Steve

The potential problem with shorter photoperiods is that our lights are still generally not all that intense compared to the real thing. This is why I periodically toy with the idea of replacing my 4 x 400 setup with a 2 x 1000 setup that moves slowly along the tank over an 8 hour period. The current evolution of the plan, largely due to the variety of 400w bulbs available compared to 1000w ones, is to have two sets of 2 x 400 moving down the tank. Steve

After building that and looking at the results, I have pretty much decided to reduce my MH periods from two lots of 8 hours with a 1 hour stagger to two lots of 7 hours with a 2 hour stagger, at least for a while, to see what happens. Steve

Lean some mushrooms against it for a few days. Steve

The Stylophora will loose against an Acro, not sure about a Monti. When I finally get my new camera I am thinking of experimenting with a blue flash (blue filter on flash actually) to see if I can get the flash light to match the tank's lighting and preserve the colours, which tend to wash out with a normal flash. Good pics anyway. Does your clam stay in one place? My one keeps moving and has covered over 40cm since I put it in. It seems to be moving towards the higher current area. Steve