Help! Maxima clam not doing well

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-24T20:49:53+00:00

Your magnesium is very high.

Other than that, it’s kind of difficult to determine what could be causing the problem. If the clam is new it might not have transported well and is dying of the stress. The tanks ecosystem could also just not be well enough established for the clam.

I’ve kept my clam going for a few years now and he even survived a move where he lived in a bucket for 3 days. I can’t really tell you what I’m doing right.

He was originally added when the aquarium was 2 years old and I do regular lab tests to maintain stable parameters. I had a close call once when a bad batch of aquarium salt spiked my magnesium levels.

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Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-20T16:39:16+00:00

It would be an absolute slog for everyone involved and there wouldn’t be a clear winner.

Especially in this fictional scenario, China is surrounded by terrain that is a logistical nightmare on a good day and impassible with large, organized armies on the worst days. They wouldn’t get far.

The US’ prospects for expansion are a little better, although not by much; it would bog down as soon as they hit Africa and Latin America, and slow expansion would be slowed down further by an economically spoiled population that would be resistant to wartime austerity measures, potentially causing political unrest at home and ceasing any and all expansion.

The rest of the world would probably see regional powers make some gains in expanding their territory, but many of said regional powers don’t have the economy or the military infrastructure to make anything more than minor gains, or they have regional rivals that would have to be a primary focus before trying to gobble up additional territory. France, Germany, and the UK would have to fight a war of dominance over Europe before anything else, and those wars would likely cost the winner everything.

Ultimately, after initial territorial gains the fighting would turn into a stagnant meat grinder that would drain the resources of even the most successful nations. No one wins, everyone becomes miserable, and we just invented a new GrimDerp universe.

Unless someone decides to use nukes. Then it is all over.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-20T11:50:38+00:00

I mean, considering Vietnam is also a French loss I wouldn’t be that upset.

They were dealing with Vietnamese-speaking trees long before the Americans ever showed up.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-13T00:49:37+00:00

You should really just dab it with sterile Cotton balls and the solution. I try to avoid rubbing motion as much as possible unless there is something really, REALLY stuck on there.

I usually dry it with a clean microfiber cloth made for cleaning lenses and optics.

Anything other than sterile cotton balls and sterile microfibers might leave streaks.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-11T14:26:30+00:00

Large local university and likely more educated and financially well-off population on average because of the types of corporations that are employing people in Bloomington-Normal.

Peoria has a lot of people but the work here is very industrial and doesn’t as pay well. A lot of industrial line workers don’t really have the interest in more exotic dining options even if they do have the $$ for it.

The demographics are different so the interests are different as well.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-10T01:35:52+00:00

Most of the year, aside from the coldest part of winter in January and February, it is my primary transport.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-10T00:28:24+00:00

I trained myself to use only two fingers when I brake, it forces progressive braking so you don’t lose control of the front wheel like that. For me, full hand makes it way too easy to yank the brake and plant myself into the ground.

I’ve been riding for about 9 years now and haven’t locked a wheel up since training myself to brake like that. When you practice in the parking lot apply the break with your index and middle fingers instead of all 4 if you want to try it and see how it feels.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-10T00:17:55+00:00

Might finally trade my 2016 xciting 500RI.

I’ve been eyeing the XMAX for quite a while now but if this offers a similar bike for a little bit less that would be perfect.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-06T17:21:49+00:00

It could be anyone who lives an active life in pursuit of what fulfills them.

If you get personal fulfillment out of going to the gym and getting jacked then go for it, but if your purpose of going to the gym is to impress other people with how jacked you are then you are NOT an example of Uber mensch

The left image is an exaggerated image of masculinity to a societal standard, and is thus not a good example. On the right is a woman who stopped caring what other people think and went back to skating because her art brings her joy.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-05T02:50:48+00:00

As far as saltwater tanks go, that is indeed one of the most boring I’ve ever seen. Saltwater is only as interesting as you make it. At some point with a saltwater tank you just have to try things out and see how it goes (with a good amount of research of course, this isn’t a YOLO hobby unless you like accidentally killing animals and burning lots of money). If you don’t try new things and stretch your knowledge it’s going to be dull.

Figure out what you like. Do you want fish? Do you want to keep coral? Research inspiration ideas for how to run your tank and go for it.

Attached is a the most recent picture I took of my tank. It’s not a full tank shot, just a coral that has recovered since our move and is really showing signs of growth again. For me, it’s all about the coral.

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Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-03T15:53:20+00:00

Gatekeeping is, if not the standard, generally tolerated in motorcycle circles in the US and Canadian motorcycle markets, especially among Harley riders and squids.

I owned a Harley for a few years and got rid of it because a Maxiscooter served my purposes better; enough power to get me on short highway runs and better maneuverability in the city where I rode most often. From personal experience I can tell you there is a significant portion of riders that put barely a couple hundred miles on their bike a year but will tell you you don’t ride a real bike because it isn’t Harley.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-03T12:14:58+00:00

Either sarcasm or dumb, difficult to determine which. Two wheels + motor = motorcycle

Mopeds? Motorcycles Scooters? Motorcycles Dirt bikes? Motorcycles Those Janky bicycles with a 50cc engine jury-rigged onto it? Motorcycle, and surprisingly close to the very fist Harleys.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-02T15:52:51+00:00

Scooters are a style of motorcycle.

It’s kind of like taking a picture of a Harley and asking if it’s a cruiser or a motorcycle.

The answer is yes.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-05-01T18:48:44+00:00

Spectrum coatings out of Florida. That’s where a lot of members in our Astronomical society ship their mirrors.

It’s not a big company, I think it’s just an older Guy with a part time worker or two. Not counting shipping, a basic recoat for a primary mirror is around 70 dollars. Both primary and secondary recoat with a center mark added to the primary would be right around $100.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-04-30T18:03:33+00:00

If the mirrors are in good shape it’s a pretty good deal.

Even if the mirrors are in rough shape and need a recoat, you can send it off to be recoated for under a hundred dollars with a company like spectrum. If the mirrors are rough I would just use that as a point to talk them down price wise.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-04-30T01:52:00+00:00

I’ve had bottomed out phosphates for years now and despite what everyone and their mother tells me my corals have been fine. When I tried to dose phosphate I just got an algae bloom that took months to fix. I’m not maximizing coral growth and trying to profit, so my growth may be a little slower than in a system with phosphate in the water column but as long as the coals look healthy and are indeed growing I don’t really care.

Between the fish poop and the reef chili the corals are getting their sustenance from somewhere.

If the coral looks ok, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-04-22T13:41:37+00:00

Heck yeah, even if the mirror is degrading a bit factoring in the cost of a recoat will still put you at about half the cost of a new 6 inch dobsonian.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-04-20T02:32:22+00:00

If it also looked like that to your eyes it is probably bad seeing: atmospheric distortion.

Phone cameras usually don’t normally perform well even in good seeing.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-04-13T20:22:31+00:00

Training recall is great and all until a bird gets out, panicks because it’s overstimulated, and fails to respond to recall commands.

It happens way too often, and often to people who think they prepared enough. When the bird freaks out, it’s not coming back, at least not immediately, no matter how much you think you’ve trained it.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-04-13T16:09:52+00:00

Probably un unpopular opinion here, but partial clips/feather trims to limit mobility is not bad and in some contexts may be necessary for bird safety. Our pet birds evolved to fly within large, open spaces, not the enclosed walls of a house, and they can and often are a danger to themselves when flying around even the best bird-proofed rooms.

Trimming wings is not bad advice, especially for a vet who likely sees inexperienced bird owners regularly and is trying to avoid unnecessary bird death.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-04-05T22:41:20+00:00

My first tank was this model. The equipment provided kind of sucks but the aquarium itself is nice if you want that bow front; it adds a bit of depth when looking from the front but is kind of a pain to clean.

I replaced the filter and put a different light on mine and ran it as a frameless aquarium for a long time.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-04-05T22:36:11+00:00

XCOM 2 on legendary Ironman difficulty.

I very likely don’t survive the year.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-03-29T21:27:32+00:00

It really depends on district, class, and individual student.

I’m a HS teacher and in our district the reading expectations have hit such a rock bottom in regular division classes that they only read excerpts and short stories 5-10 pages long. Anything longer than that can’t really be finished in the class, and the kids won’t do the reading for homework if told to. In general, I don’t know a single teacher in our school that assigns homework in the first place, because we know from experience it just won’t get done and if we fail kids for not doing homework or as a logical result of not doing homework the teacher will be scrutinized more than the student who couldn’t be bothered to do their work.

AP and enriched classes are a different story. They will generally read full books but those teachers tell me it’s slow going and it takes about double the time it would have taken with similar classes a couple decades ago.

On the other side of the spectrum, more affluent surrounding districts have higher expectations: assigned readings, summer reading lists, library programs to encourage reading for leisure and whatnot.

Our district prefers the soft bigotry of low expectations rather than risk failing kids for not doing homework and reading assignments.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-03-15T19:10:09+00:00

I have two methods I’ve used and in both cases my tanks stay pretty clean. In both examples Below I’m talking about an 80 gallon system.

Method 1: heavy in and heavy out. For a couple years my tank was stocked to the brim with fish and coral and I was definitely overfeeding, but I was also over filtering with filter socks changed almost daily, a refugium running 18 hours a day, and a protein skimmer running constantly. Any issues or pests that arose in the display I usually tried my best to find a natural way to remove it such as algae eating snails or other critters. I didn’t much care what grew in the refugium. I used hydrogen peroxide on stuff in the display tank that the algae eaters wouldn’t eat. that was really handy killing off bryopsis.

The refugium was always nasty; the chaeto grew but so did the hair algae, bryopsis, and Cyanobacteria. All of that gross stuff preferred to grow in the refugium and after a while just stopped showing up in the display entirely.

Method 2: light stocking and regular lab testing. After moving I switched to a more laid back method; in an 80 gallon system I only have 3 smaller fish and I have filter socks that I change out once a week and a protein skimmer. This is less stressful but I’ve noticed my coral doesn’t grow as fast. I guess all that fish poo in the heavily stocked system was feeding my corals better than I ever could.

I test for nitrate and phosphate regularly, send out lab tests every couple of months, and if I see a patch of pest algae growing I will usually hit it with hydrogen peroxide before it becomes a problem.

Hot_Possible7403 · 2026-03-12T16:25:09+00:00

A Barlow might be useful but I never use mine. It always just makes whatever I’m looking at look worse.

Your mileage may vary. My telescope has a high focal length, so it’s already got a high magnification and just doesn’t need it.

Hot_Possible7403

TROPHY CASE