Penny, 

How is it possible that you are ALWAYS right?  It is incredible!  I used 2 of your Reefing Tips in the past 2 days! 

1. The mysteriously missing 6 Line Wrasse ...Guess what....I found a Mantis Shrimp in my tank!!  I had heard some clicking..but I always thought it was my 2 Pistol Shrimps.  I have a feeling that a sleeping 6 line would be no match for a Mantis  I saw him a few days ago...and I had NO idea how I was going to catch him.  I was showing (okay bragging) about the tank to a friend of my wife's who was visiting. At that moment, I saw the Mantis sticking out of a hole in a small piece of base rock. I immediately ripped off my shirt asked my wife and her friend to hold the light up. I quickly put my arm in the tank...picked up the rock as fast as I could and threw it in my refugium. I then saw the mantis come out of the hole...I got him! Hopefully no more missing fish.  The new Wrasse is doing great.

 2. My Skimmer was making an awful noise....it wasn't doing a great job anyway...so I turned it off and would deal with it after work.  When I got home, I pulled the skimmer out to see what that problem was.  Since I had to pull it all out...I figured I would clean it...since I have only cleaned the collection cup since I got it.  I rinsed it and used a maxijet prefilter sponge to scrub in the inside...It was filled will ickies and silt!I pulled the pump out and took it apart.  The noise was a piece of Plastic Bag the got lodged in the impeller...cleaned up pump.  I put the skimmer back in....and I am getting skimmate like I have NEVER seen before.  I had to put the adjustment bar all the way down or else I feared the cup would overflow.  It is working better than it ever has. 

Just wanted to thank you for your weekly reefing tips!  Keep them coming!  It is a wonderful service you give your customers! 

Hi Steve, 

All I can say is...Wow!....& thank you for sharing your stories!  You were so VERY lucky to get that
 Mantis in one shot!  I'm so glad you did too!

Subject: My Tank 

Hi Penny,

Just letting you know how much you have helped me with my tank. when I started with saltwater the LFS told me I would need 2 inches of sand. I had problems with nitrates always running around 20 ppm. After talking with you and putting in a deep sandbed my nitrates are at 0 :). This past week my tank leaked I put everything into totes and 5 gal buckets. After trying to repair the leak and having to buy a new tank 3 days passed. I did not loose anything. My Zoanthids, clove polyps, cabbage corals opened right up, my xenia took 2 days to start opening up :). Think you for all the help. I enjoy talking with you and looking at all the corals. I learned a lot from you.

Carl Creamer

Subject: Proof sand bed works 

Hi Penny:

As I was telling you in your store the other day, I am now a firm believer in a deep sand bed.

We set up our 90 Gallon tank in 2000 and have spent the past 6 years battling Nitrates.  We had mechanical "over the back" filtration and not even an inch of crushed coral for our bottom.  Even with water changes, we have battled with losses greatly over the past 6 years.  About a little over a month ago, we bought the supplies for a six inch deep sand bed from Penny, and that in addition with the live rock we did already have, along with taking the top off......... we dropped our Nitrate levels greatly over the past month!!!!!!!!  It truly is the way to go!!!

 Kristina and Mark

To: penny@aquacorals.com

Hi Penny,
I must say you were right about those little green pest anemones being a potential problem, like I said to you today in your store, they definitely stung my neon green BTA to death. I've decided to get rid of them and try my luck with another green BTA. Either way, so far in my tank I've got a four different types of sinularia, one very large toadstool, nothing like yours but it will be in time, I've got four bunches of green star polyps all about 3 inches across. some blue striped and mint green striped mushrooms that are spreading like crazy, also some neon orange, solid neon green and some orange/green zoanthids. I have a bunch of dark green/brown zoanthids that I believe are called button polyps that are growing a lot too.

Some of my pink anthelia has survived the recent salinity spike and seems to be growing back quite rapidly. I must say your suggestion to use coral vital has definitely improved the health of my corals by a lot.  As far as fish go, I have a nice fat blue hippo tang along with a nice yellow tang. A true Percula from your store and a larger clown that have formed a pair, hopefully to lay eggs in the future. A mated pair of scooter dragonets that flirt every night as soon as the lights go off. also I have one baby ocellaris clownfish, and 4 inch lawnmower blenny and a six inch engineer goby.  Its a fun setup and I find myself glued to it every night not to mention I have to go over and look at it ever time I go downstairs. I've definitely learned a lot about this hobby and have become greatly addicted to it in a short time much thanks to you and my time spent oogling over everything you stock in your store and talking to you. In time I hope to have a tank as beautiful as your 220. 

Thanks again for your help so far
Ryan Sweatt

Subject: Aquarium Pictures and Thanks 

Penny, 

I have enclosed some pictures of my recent 90 gallon upgrade from my 40 gallon breeder tank.  The 90 gallon is SO MUCH BETTER!  Size does seem to matter with Aquariums....I hope I can convince my wife to upgrade to a 220 gallon in a few years.  I have implemented most of your teachings in this tank, and it is working out wonderful!  I have a nice 6 inch sand bed with Agaramax on the bottom and Seaflor on the top, which should start helping take care of nitrates.  I set up a sump in this thank with 2 overflows feeding it and using a Mag 18 for circulation, and I am getting at least 12-13 turn over rate though the sump and add the 2 Maxijet 1200....I am getting between 15-18 turn over rate in the tank.

My sump is a 30 Long Aquarium, separated out with the overflow and skimmer in 1 section, some baffles to decrease bubbles, the large return pump area, and a refugium that is fed from the return pump and flows back down into the return area.  I have used your advice and have my RO/DI water using a float valve for automatic water top offs, and also have the RO/DI going into a 13 gallon kitchen trash can under the tank for saltwater mixing.  The automation you recommended has been GREAT...and has saved me many trips up and down into the basement to get top off and mixed salt water...my back thanks you.  And weekly water changes are a breeze...and only take about 10 minutes.

I have a open top...mostly.  I have a 260 Watt Compact Florescent fixture that I had when the 90 gallon was a freshwater tank, and changed to 10K bulbs.  I also had my old regular florescent fixture that I fitted with 2 x 40 watt Actinics (with just 2 small pieces of glass to protect the bare bulbs from water splashes)...giving me a total of 3.8 watts per gallon...not the best yet...but I hope to upgrade to metal halides in the future.    I also have the tank set with dusk to dawn lighting with reverse lighting in the refugium to help balance out the pH changes that occurs at night.

The clean up crew I bought from you is doing a great job...I could use a few more emerald crabs though.  The sixline wrasse I bought last week is doing great...and has as big a belly as when you had him.   He is eating very well.

I was so glad I could stock up on the Tropic Marin Pro Reef salt during the sale.  I have been using that salt since you introduced it to me 1.5 years ago.  Before that I was using a "less reef friendly" salt mix and had to add a lot of Calcium and Alk increaser to keep things at bare minium.  Since switching to Tropic Marin Pro Reef, I have not add much for additives at all...unless I get behind on my water changes.

I would like to thank you very much for all your help and expertise is helping me set up my tanks.  They are doing wonderful and are low maintenance with all your suggestions and advice.  My wife and boys really enjoyed their visit last week and your new store and it is wonderful for kids to enjoy.  The boys really liked watching "Fish TV" in your wonderful tanks while I looked for purchases.  I have enclosed pictures of my 90 gallon...the tank looks even better in person that with pictures.

Thanks again for all your help and I hope I get to visit Fairfield a little more often.
Steve Charles
Greene, Maine

Dan Small's 155g Bowfront Reef
Lighting is a Hamilton 3-250w 10K & 2 VHO Actinic System