To Whom It May Concern...

[64Ivy]

First of all, let me say that reports of my leaving the hobby have been greatly exaggerated. Secondly, I appreciate all of the pms and emails expressing concern as to my whereabouts (at least, postwise anyway).

So for those who haven't heard, my tank suffered a major crash last spring, taking out everything except the fish, a few Acanths, two Cyphastrea, and a small Pavona. After removing all the dead stuff, I took the summer off and had my service tech change the water, feed the fish, and perform the basic husbandry. I am now in the process of rebuilding; replacing about 75% of the live rock while creating a much more 'open' aquascape. Obviously, given a 500g tank full of fish, this will be a pretty long and drawn out process. But I AM chronicling everything and will be back among the land of the living as soon as possible.

Again, I want to thank everyone for their concern.

[Poseidon]

FANTASTIC! I'll be hapy to see the new and IMPROVED version.

[Reefland]

So sorry again to hear about the loss Michael, but am very glad that you are still in the "game" and working on rebuilding that beauty!

[charlie]

Never heard anything about it, to tell you the truth!!!! Do you have any idea what caused the mess???

Anyways, sorry to hear that, I know exactly how you feel tho. You will make it back, just better!!!!

[64Ivy]

Never heard anything about it, to tell you the truth!!!! Do you have any idea what caused the mess???

My best guess is Par Shock brought on when I changed my lighting system. I thought I had made the crossover slowly enough to avoid any problems but soon afterwards, a few of the uppermost acros began to bleach, then die, speading necrotic tissue all over the tank and that was all she wrote.

[fishgeeksrus]

Michael,

We had seen your post on RC when your tank went down, and both felt awful about it. We did however post there to let you know that when you were ready to restock to let us know and we'd be happy to donate some frags. The offer still stands, let us know if you're interested.

Good luck!

Dennis and Andrea

[Samper]

I don't know you but I've read many of your posts. I also will help you restock and am sorry for your losses.

[Reefland]

You know, the think that bothers me the most is how these wipe outs occur so suddenly and in a lot of cases, without rhyme or reason. In this case we have an absolutely beautiful, mature aquarium with a very capable and knowledgable owner and all of the sudden, BAMMMM; wipeout. So disheartening. The only upside, and I mean the only upside, is the wonderful hobbyist willing to help out rebuild, and the opportunity to correct/change the things you always wish you would have done differently.

[64Ivy]

Yeah, seems like quite a few of the long established reeftanks went down this year; mostly due to human error or mechanical failure. And contrary to popular opinion, I believe that the more mature the tank, the LESS tolerant it is to change. But you're right on with regard to generosity of other hobbyists. If I took up every offer of frags I've recieved since the crash, I'd have to get a bigger tank!

Again, I want to tank everyone for the kind words and encouragement. It'll take a little while but the tank will be back and because of the advice, tips, and lessons learned from folks like you guys, I'm sure it'll be better than ever.

[fishgeeksrus]

Michael,

Your tank, along with Steve Weast's and a few others, has set the bar for what my wife and I are trying to achieve. When we found out it crashed, it was almost like it was ours crashing. I'm sure there are many in this hobby that would say the same thing. You do have the opprotunity to make any changes and tweaks that you couldn't do before. We look forward to seeing the progress, and it would be our pleasure to help out in any way possible. Our offer of frags is a standing offer that you can take at any time.

Good luck

Dennis and Andrea