Recent content by Ashlar

Found some interesting critters in some sand from Frank's Tanks. alt=""> alt=""> alt=""> alt=""> I believe, based on comparing image searches, that it's a foraminifera.. e.g. -...

I've seen these guys through my fuge cam before, but I've never had a chance to get an up close look at one of them.. alt=""> alt=""> alt=""> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipHnKVmP7Uc

I've noticed these tiny flatworms cruising around my fuges for years, but I've never caught one under the compound scope before now. alt=""> See the little boogie-board shaped worm in the upper right? They're about 0.5-3mm long. They're primarily autotrophic (photosynthetic), though most...

First time I saw this on camera, I thought it was just an ostracod. As I captured more video, I kept seeing more legs and in configurations that didn't match ostracods. (View full-screen and check the upper left.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CcYyxtfwcg Tonight I was able to catch one and...

I'm not at the point in my new build that I need to buy a skimmer, but I thought I'd see what everyone would recommend. I've been out of the game for a while, and I haven't been keeping up with skimmers, especially not ones for a system this size. Here are the criteria I'm looking at right now...

I'm finally getting started on the new tank build, so I figured I'd document this one better than the last one.. In our new (new to us, at least) house, one wall in my office backs up to an unused 13'x12' bedroom. After poking the ceiling with a hat pin and figuring out where the ceiling joists...

We're finally settled in the new house, and I'm starting to think about a new tank. We've got an empty bedroom that backs up to my office / game room, and a blank wall that's not load bearing. So in the wall it goes, with the spare bedroom being a fish room. I'm thinking a 7' long by 3' deep...

I was recently talking with Dr. Shimek on his MD forum about critters I see in my sand / tank, and we got talking about diversity. @Dr. Shimek wrote:

This webcam is one of those handheld microscopes, mounted and pointing at the sand / water interface in a corner of our refugium. If you watch for any period of time, you'll see amphipods, isopods, copepods, bristle worms, spaghetti worms, dorvilleid worms, flat worms, maybe even an ostracode...

Via HawaiiBanFactCheck (A MASNA initiative)- If you don't know about Ret Talbot and what he's doing for us in Hawaii, you should take some time and investigate. He's been one voice of reason in the debate over whether or not Hawaii's waters should continue to be a source of...

So I decided to replace my 3 x 250w MH fixtures and 4x 39w PC fixture with three LED fixtures. My electricity bill in the summer is insane due to the heat that the MH creates- not just because of the lights themselves, but also the fan over my sump to drive the temperature down, the extra work...

In September 2005, a friend of mine who lives in Waco, TX called me. He was on vacation in Las Vegas, and he was freaking out. Hurricane Rita was headed for the Texas coast, and they were predicting it would run through Waco. His problem? He had a 175g tank and he didn't want to cut his vacation...

.. been messing around with this camera for a while, finally got it integrated with stats from my AC III.. http://www.rowelab.com/fish/camera/

I've been thinking about this for a while, but how do you keep your tank from overflowing in case your drain clogs up or the U tube in a HOB overflow box loses suction? The year before last while I was down in Port Aransas on the annual MARSH / MAAST collection trip, my house sitter called me...

C'est en fran?ais, mais les photos semblent bonnes. http://www.recif.be/article/hermit.htm