new question...

[verynewatthis]

okay first i want to say sorry for not talking in a bit...im in the army and i have been in the field...sorry...got to stay up to speed and all...anyway my question is i want to get some critters to clean my tank up...so far i am looking at saltwaterfish.com but they are all the way in FL and i am in AZ...is that to far away??? is there anywhere closer so i dont worry so much....any help would be great...thz.....
rich hancock
p.s. i put a pic of my bubble at night up for yall...

[C.Mydas]

Shipping from Florida should be fine in the winter. I would be concerned with shipping in the summer, I don't know about fish but I know most places wont ship any other kind of animal to AZ during the summer b/c they fry in route. (I grew up there, and we could never get frogs in (dont ask :-D ) during the summer) :grin:

They usually ship them overnight with heat packs in the boxes, but I'm sure if you are still worried whatever you are finding at that place you could find at a closer vendor.

[verynewatthis]

the problem with my LFS is hermet crabs are 5$ each...that is why i want to order online...thz...
rich hancock

[C.Mydas]

Yeah, When I went home (AZ) we visited a LFS and were stunned at the prices. They wanted $13.99/lb of 'LR' that was crappy looking base rock. I meant to find a vendor in CA, there are a ton of them and then the shipping wouldn't be so rough. Or you could just drive tto CA and hit the LFS, its quite the drive but it would probably be worth it.

[verynewatthis]

me and the wife talked about it but we have a 2 yr old...and i dont think he would make the trip....
rich hancock

[GaryP]

Rich,

Contact SamIam here. He is one of your members and recently moved to Hawaii and has gone into the collecting business there. He is sending us a big shipment. I realize you are in AZ, but my opinion is that it all gets sent by overnight mail so there isn't much difference between shipping from Fla, CA., or HI. It all stays in the box about the same time. He ships by American Airlines so you'll have to pick it up at the airport. I like picking it up better than having it riding around in a delivery truck for hours and then maybe missing the delivery. Sam is sending me some hermit crabs for .25/ea. Of course if you are just buying a few, the shipping eats up your savings. That's why we go into together on group orders and share shipping costs.

I'm having some problems getting intot he members area of the MASNA site but when I do I'll check and see if there are any AZ based clubs similar to MAAST. That should be very helpful to you if we can get you connected with a group over there. I'm sure there has to at least be a group in the Phoenix area. Where are you located?

Gary

[GaryP]

Rich,

Here you go, here's a group in Tempe. I hope that's close to you. Try dropping this guy a note. It doesn't look like they have a website.

Arizona - Fish & Reef Aquarium Group (FRAG)
An informal medium where any local hobbyists or visitors of Arizona are welcome to attend and share their
collective knowledge and experiences within the saltwater hobby.
mx_tang@hotmail.com

There is another group listed with the same contact email.

Arizona - Propagators Reef Organization Project (PROP)
This organization is designed to propagate corals, provide educational presentations and promote the hobby. PROP meets on the 1st Saturday of the month at The Round Table Pizza, 9920 S Rural Rd # 105 Tempe, AZ 85284 from 2pm-4pm.
mx_tang@hotmail.com

Hope that helps,
Gary

[GaryP]

Here's another group in Phoenix:

Desert Marine Society, Phoenix, AZ
Desert Marine Society in Phoenix, AZ meets the last Thursday of each month. Monthly meetings are a blast! We have raffles, slide shows and wonderful Guest speakers such as Bob Fenner the author of The Conscientious Marine Aquarist. The best part about this "club" may not be the discounts you get at some local fish shops but the valuable information and opinions you get from other members. DMS has been up since 1991, founded and run by people who love the hobby (although not the expenses) of reef and fish keeping. Please stop by and say hello, its a lot of fun!
Eric Amadio
http://www.desertmarinesociety.org/

I see you found the Sierra Vista Area Reef keepers group on RC.

Gary

[GaryP]

Also check here. He's formally from our area and relocated his operation to Az.

http://www.azreef.com/

Gary

[verynewatthis]

thz everyone. i am in the Sierra Vista Area.i live on Ft Huachuca.. i did find a small group here, but they dont talk online much. there is 4 people. i did get to see one of there tanks thu...100gal reef, very very nice....they meet once a month,,,but the next meeting it not tell the 26 of Feb,,,they seem very nice and the guy i found even gave me a frag of some zoos..how nice is that....Tucson is about a hour and a half and Phoenix is about 3 and a half hrs from me. and thats a little far for the little one....i wish i was still at Ft Hood.. that way i could meet all of yall....
rich hancock

[GaryP]

I'll give Rumsfeld a call and see what I can do. How do you feel about Ft. Sam? :)

Gary

[donniekim]

Rich,

Contact SamIam here. He is one of your members and recently moved to Hawaii and has gone into the collecting business there. He is sending us a big shipment. I realize you are in AZ, but my opinion is that it all gets sent by overnight mail so there isn't much difference between shipping from Fla, CA., or HI. It all stays in the box about the same time. He ships by American Airlines so you'll have to pick it up at the airport. I like picking it up better than having it riding around in a delivery truck for hours and then maybe missing the delivery. Sam is sending me some hermit crabs for .25/ea. Of course if you are just buying a few, the shipping eats up your savings. That's why we go into together on group orders and share shipping costs.

I'm having some problems getting intot he members area of the MASNA site but when I do I'll check and see if there are any AZ based clubs similar to MAAST. That should be very helpful to you if we can get you connected with a group over there. I'm sure there has to at least be a group in the Phoenix area. Where are you located?

Gary

Gary do you think Sam would ship to the houston area, I might see about getting a group order with MARSH?

Thanks
Donnie

[GaryP]

Donnie,

I am sure that he would be happy to. He's using American Airlines for shipping. The last time I checked they flew into Houston. Drop him a note here. Ya'll need to get in on some of this Gracillaria (Tang Heaven) we are getting from him. His deals on hermits and snails are hard to beat too.

Gary

[blueboy]

i imagine sam would be happy to ship to you guys down in houston. if he doesn't respond to PM, just go to zeenreef.com

[blueboy]

oops, that's zenreef.com

[verynewatthis]

one more question....i need to learn about overflow boxes...cuz my 125 is not reef ready......how do they work...if my pump is to big will my tank overflow???and if my pump is to small will they loose there siphon???....can anyone help....thz....
rich hancock

[rocketeer]

Hey Rich,

Yeah, if your pump is too big your overflow box may not be able to keep up. You will either over flow your main tank or suck your sump down and suck air first. If you're worried you can put a valve on your return line to regulate the flow. (The line from your pump to the main tank. Don't try to slow down the other one!) I don't like doing that. I think it's inefficient.

If your pump is too slow, don't worry. The overflow box is made to hold syphon. Even if your flow stops, the syphon doesn't break.

Check the GPH rating on the box you're interested in. To be safe, I would get one with a higher rating than you think your flow will be.

Hope this helps.

Jack

[verynewatthis]

thz jack....this is the box i am looking at...it is for my 125 tank...
CPR CS100 Overflow Box

For glass or acrylic aquariums up to 175 gal.
Flow rate 800 gph.
10" wide
1" bulkhead outflow
thz...
rich hancock