# 75 gallon cube -- 3 feet by 3 feet **UPDATED 1/1/14 with video and pics***



## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Current 1/1/14 (last page has video and more current pics)











What's up all. I have been on this site for many years but I do not recall ever starting a journal. Figured it's about time to post in this section and chronicle my low tech set up. I'll be doing mostly crypts in this tank but at first I'll start off with a ton of hygrophila corymbosa kompakt. I actually had a ton of crypts but many melted on me during the move so I'll need to grow them out again.

I have a ton of top notch equipment that will go in this tank including co2. I am calling it low tech since the light will be dimmed and will shoot for around 30 par (I have an ATI Dimmable that will go on this tank). I will still inject co2 as I did with all my tanks in the past (this is the magic ingredient to having nice plants). I will fertilize but not very much due to the mineralized top soil.

Anyway, I'll probably be somewhat winging it and doing things as I go along since I rarely stick to original plans when it comes to aquascaping. This is why I will not list everything in this first post. Stay tuned as I will be doing weekly updates.

Tank with stand (there are panels that go on the bottom to hide all the equipment:



















MTS from bamaplants.com:










Three 9l powder and two 9l normal:




























Driftwood from Tom Barr:


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Filled the tank with MTS and aqua soil. I just threw in the drift wood without really putting too much thought into the arrangement (will re-do it all over the weekend).


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Sweetness!
The stakes keep going up 
Guessing a custom tank?

I see a lot of crypts in your future and will be checking back and often.

v3


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

great start. subscribed


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## I<3<*))))>< (Jun 10, 2013)

This is gonna be an epic tank... I can feel it already!


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## SlammedDC2 (Jun 4, 2011)

look forward to watching this


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## Jonnywhoop (May 30, 2012)

Nice wood. 

This tank is already epic.


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## alipper (Nov 6, 2012)

Nice progress man. I might have to hit up Mr. Barr for driftwood in my 75G. Type of fauna?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Unbelievably awesome tank dimensions. Can't wait to see where you go with this!


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## trailsnale (Dec 2, 2009)

subscribed.... looking forward to your build.

thanks,


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Thanks all. I ordered some plants to use for my cycle....I guess I should start soaking the driftwood today.

These plants are most likely temporary and will be changed over with "rarer" crypts once I grow them out.


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## Greenz (Aug 27, 2013)

Perferct tank for a beautiful scape, cant wait


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## bitFUUL (May 14, 2010)

Parva? 10 please! 
(That's a standard answer, right?)

Sweet tank, will be following.


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## primo (Jul 28, 2013)

Great tank, really looking forward to how it looks with plants and fish!


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

Nice! I really like the dimensions of that tank. Did you buy that from a member on here? I thought I remember someone on here selling one like that.

Why do you feel like you need MTS with the Aquasoil?


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## ChadRamsey (Nov 3, 2011)

what a great start, subscribing for sure


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## Jack Gilvey (Jun 16, 2008)

Awesome.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

OVT said:


> Sweetness!
> The stakes keep going up
> Guessing a custom tank?
> 
> ...


Yep, the tank was custom made which is why the dimensions are so unique. 



alipper said:


> Nice progress man. I might have to hit up Mr. Barr for driftwood in my 75G. Type of fauna?


Tom is great when it comes to the driftwood..definitely pick some up from him.
In terms of fauna I haven't really given it too much thought just yet. For now it will definitely be a ton of ottos, amanos and a giant shoal of something small such as neons (probably 100+).



bitFUUL said:


> Parva? 10 please!
> (That's a standard answer, right?)
> 
> Sweet tank, will be following.


LOL...exactly. It literally took me 10 minutes to pick out plants and add them to my cart. Not much thought went into it for now....I just need the tank to cycle first with these cheap plants.



ua hua said:


> Nice! I really like the dimensions of that tank. Did you buy that from a member on here? I thought I remember someone on here selling one like that.
> 
> Why do you feel like you need MTS with the Aquasoil?


Yeah, I purchased it from a member on here who had it custom made in New Jersey. An impulse buy. 
Their website: http://coasttocoastaquariums.com

In regards to the MTS, I like to keep somewhat rare crypts and they always did better for me when I used Aquasoil as a cap. I only used 9l of MTS so it was barely covering the bottom.


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

Perfect shape for a shrimp foraging ground.  :icon_smil


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

hedge_fund said:


> Yeah, I purchased it from a member on here who had it custom made in New Jersey. An impulse buy.
> Their website: http://coasttocoastaquariums.com
> 
> In regards to the MTS, I like to keep somewhat rare crypts and they always did better for me when I used Aquasoil as a cap. I only used 9l of MTS so it was barely covering the bottom.


That is a really sweet tank. I would take that over a ADA tank any day. I think some apistos would look good in there with all those crypts.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

I finally filled the tank today so it should be murky for the next couple of days. I used a ton of old media from a small tank that I have going in the bedroom.

The tank is running two Eheims (2213 and 2215) and two Koralia Nanos. One Eheim is using the regular media that comes with it while the second is running foam with MarinePure (http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=269010). With the two filters and two Koralias, there is definitely enough flow circulating the water.

I also started to soak all the wood. A few more days and it should be ready.

Few random pics:










Soaking wood:


















Koralias:










Filled tank:


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

It's coming along. This is gonna be bad ass man.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Plants arrived today. It literally took me 4 hours to plant it all since they all came in pots with rock wool. I had to rip the pots apart and clean out all the rock wool so it's not scattered in my tank. This was very tough for me since I am an extremely impatient person...had to walk away a few times and come back. This part was definitely not fun for me. I am a multi-tasker by nature and need to be doing 10 things at once instead of just one monotonous chore.

Here are some pics of the plants:



















And a teaser pic of everything planted. Water still murky and the wood is being weighed down by a pot of water, otherwise it would just float up. This tank is pretty low so it's important that the top view is just as aesthetic. I still cannot believe this enormous tank is in my living room...the pictures do not do it justice. Everyone that walked in my house today stood there for a few minutes just staring. The guy that came to clean my fireplace chimney pulled up a chair and just sat there looking. I was like "what the heck are you doing, chimney clean?"


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Nice to see this finally coming together for you.


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## frenchie1001 (Jun 23, 2013)

looks fantastic!


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## thejoe (May 23, 2013)

Nice! Like the use of the Aqua Soil Powder.


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## LICfish (Oct 9, 2010)

Looking great so far. Love the dimensions of the tank. Btw where did you get all those plants?


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## glndrifts (Jun 8, 2010)

This tank is amazing, love the dimensions and wood especially. I'm subscribed.  are you planning on growing anything out of the water?


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

LICfish said:


> Looking great so far. Love the dimensions of the tank. Btw where did you get all those plants?


Plants came from aquariumplants.com. Shipping takes some time so make sure to read their shipping policy on the site.



glndrifts said:


> This tank is amazing, love the dimensions and wood especially. I'm subscribed.  are you planning on growing anything out of the water?


Definitely will be growing something out of the water but not just yet. I need make sure all my plants are doing well before I start dedicating time to a new project. Stay tuned.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Just took this daytime photo. I realized that the water is not cloudy because of the aquasoil but it's the actual tannins coming out of the wood. 

I am also 90% sure that I will be keeping a shoal of harlequin rasboras. Anybody know a good source? I probably need at least 50.


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

Dude! The mini crazydaz tank!! It's so sick. This is my eventual dream tank to have when I'm out of college! Hurray for crypt tanks!!! Booyah!!!can we get some close up pics soon  ?


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

pianofish said:


> Dude! The mini crazydaz tank!! It's so sick. This is my eventual dream tank to have when I'm out of college! Hurray for crypt tanks!!! Booyah!!!can we get some close up pics soon  ?


Thanks. 

Close up pics coming in the next few days. Just waiting for the water to clear up. 

Every time that I walk by this tank I say out loud: "this is ridiculous". 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

This is ridiculous. Great job man. Did I miss the description of the pot on the wood? Is that to weigh it down or??


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

tattooedfool83 said:


> This is ridiculous. Great job man. Did I miss the description of the pot on the wood? Is that to weigh it down or??


Exactly. The pot was there just to hold the wood in place as it kept soaking...otherwise it would just float to the top. 

Coincidentally, I was showing the tank to a friend yesterday and the pot just suddenly fell over. The wood stayed in place so the pot is no longer there.

Aside from the cheaper plants that I purchased for the time being I've added some rarer ones:
Crypt Nurii
Crypt Bulossa
Crypt Ideii
Anubias White
Anubias Nana Petite


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## Positron (Jul 22, 2013)

Is this sweet tank about 12 inches high?


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Positron said:


> Is this sweet tank about 12 inches high?


14 inches. 

It's nice since I never have to stick my hands in the tank --- tweezers do the job. 


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Received a useful book from Malaysia today. Should help me out with all these crypts in this tank. 




















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## oldpunk78 (Nov 1, 2008)

Oh man, I can't waite to see how this progresses. Nice work.


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## rickztahone (Jul 20, 2009)

Very nice work. I would like to know if you plan on doing something about the fixture power wire? As it stands it distracts from this gorgeous set up. My advice, from experience, I have hung a few lights and one of the options is to run the power wire UP to where you are hanging it from and then have an extension cord going up one of the poles through the backside. This way it isn't as distracting. You can also go straight back to the pole but since you are sitting side view of the tank it will still be distracting. This isn't too say that it looks ugly as it stands, by no means, it is just that something so simple as tucking and hiding sets of set up like this. TFS and great build.


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## Whiskey (Feb 15, 2005)

hedge_fund said:


> Thanks.
> 
> Close up pics coming in the next few days. Just waiting for the water to clear up.
> 
> ...


That really did make me laugh out loud!
I know how you feel - I said the same thing when I was setting up my 180G tank in my 700 SQ Foot apartment!

Whiskey


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Hello. Took some quick update pics today after adding some fish. At the moment all the fish are somewhat test dummies but they seem to be doing great since they are eating.

10 Ottos
8 Tiger Barbs
10 Rasboras
5 Buenos Aires Tetra (these are pretty large)
handful of random endlers

This is a very low maintenence tank with zero algae. I essentially just do 30% water change weekly and that's as far as the maintenance goes. No fertilization, no cleaning, no scraping etc. I do add co2 for the entire time that the light is on. The water still has a slight yellow tinge to it from the large amounts of driftwood...it's getting better though. Plants were not growing due to about 20-30 par so I decided to lower it a bit and now it's hovering around 35 par. 

I am really enjoying this tank. It's literally a half hour conversation when someone walks into my place for the first time.

Terrible iphone photos (the tank looks great from all sides, pics are mainly from the front).


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## Big O (Jun 28, 2011)

*That's just awesome!*

Love it bro!
Sooooooooo jealous !:icon_bigg


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## tithra (Dec 1, 2012)

Just came across this thread. I remember seeing this tank up for sale here and thinking that I was incredibly jealous of whoever got to look at it every day lol.

It's absolutely gorgeous and definitely ridiculous  I will be following this thread, very curious to see what you do with it!


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Very nice! Any plans for emergent growth?


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

Looking good broski!!


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## zetvi (Jun 12, 2013)

Its an amazing tank. Its like an indoor pond that you have side views.


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## Aikidoka (Sep 5, 2013)

Gorgeous!! Thanks for sharing


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## xxUnRaTeDxxRkOxx (Jul 12, 2011)

Subscribing!!!!!


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Updated pics from today (I added 50 tiger barbs a few minutes ago so most are hiding).

My favorite seat in the house. Fireplace in the back makes it even better.




























TOP:


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## CaptainSlow (Apr 15, 2013)

That piece of wood is amazing. I like it. 
Please upload few zoom photos


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## Mizuhuman (Mar 16, 2013)

wow. absolutely amazing. That driftwood just gives it so much appeal


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Looking good!


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## trailsnale (Dec 2, 2009)

enjoying your build!

thanks,


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## alipper (Nov 6, 2012)

Epic.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Had a few minutes before heading out so here is a quick video of the tank. Water is a bit cloudy since I did a major water change earlier in the day. Plants are finally starting to grow ever since I lowered the light closer to the surface. I was having major melt issues for the first 2-3 weeks but new shoots are coming out all over the place. Tiger barbs are doing great! Just today I also added a few red and albino bristlenose plecos from a forum member here. Tank continues to be very low maintenance with no daily fertilization. A weekly 50% water change does the job and that takes less than 20 minutes. Lights are on from 1pm to 11pm coinciding with the co2. Next goal will the to put some type of emersed plants on top of the driftwood. At the moment a couple of leaves from my anubias nana petite are starting to come through the water on the driftwood. 

Enjoy, let me know what you think. Be sure to set the video to High Definition before you watch it.


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## kylehca (Oct 15, 2011)

Wow!! Beautiful


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

I love it!


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Thanks for the compliments all. A few more months and the tank will really start coming together. 


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## Psiorian (Jun 23, 2013)

Oh man awesome job!

Missed the thread until now, super nice work on the tank. Subscribed.

I only wish I was allowed to have one of these in my living room.

I like how your chair is positioned in the middle of the living room facing the tank and away from the TV


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## second (Jan 31, 2005)

Very cool, more video please


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

Amazing tank! That water is looking so dangerously high!


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## tithra (Dec 1, 2012)

beautiful! I love the tiger barbs they look great


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Love the video!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

now that's what i call a coffee table.


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## cownose-ray (Sep 28, 2013)

Is this the same tank as vincenz's "Spawning Pool"?

I love the dimensions, and the 'scape is nice.


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

Loved the video. The tiger barbs were a great idea for that tank!


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Quick pics from today. Definitely seeing some growth. I've replaced the dwarf sags with blyxa and I also took out some crypt parva (replaced with stauro).


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Tiger barbs were an excellent choice. Looking good.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Some changes to the tank over the last 3 weeks. I decided to switch over to LEDs and get rid of the best lights that I have used (ATI Dimmable). Reason for the change is that the ATI lights were a bit too powerful and I did not utilize them to the full potential. Instead, I picked up the Finnex Planted+ fixtures that sit on top of the tank. Decided to go with three 36 inch set ups. Not sure whether I like it yet since the tank looks totally different with lights sitting directly on top instead of hanging like it was before. At the same time a large piece of driftwood was taken out since I needed more space for plants. To be honest this thing sort of runs itself and I barely pay attention to it. Only time when I do anything is the daily fertilization which takes 2 seconds and the weekly 50% water change.

Quick pics...still waiting for everything to grow in before I take really nice closeups. The water looks murky but it's really all the pearling happening after the water change.



















Pearling:


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

Beautiful and filling in very nice. I envy you and Don with these big cube tanks. Great dimensions and wish I had a place to put one.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Thanks. There is always room for a big cube....who needs a couch anyway lol. 


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## Klinckman (Dec 1, 2013)

This size tank is one i'm dreaming of right now. It is looking good.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Video (make sure to change to HD)














Some fisheye pics to show the whole room and how the tank is situated (ps. Don't mind my Home Depot curtains...everyone gives me crap about them already...I purchased them to make a point with someone so it's an inside joke).


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## UDGags (Sep 13, 2009)

Looking good man!


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Tank has been sold to a member here....I am sure he's going to get it up and running soon. It has been a fun journey.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

aw man, i was gonna suggest you to hang the lights for broader top view


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

Pretty sure I know the guy who owns this now. I feel like this is the ceremonial tank of TPT since its now been owned by 3 different users if I recall correctly yah?

Hey, maybe it will be my turn one day (doubtful)


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## agro (Nov 29, 2013)

HybridHerp said:


> Pretty sure I know the guy who owns this now. I feel like this is the ceremonial tank of TPT since its now been owned by 3 different users if I recall correctly yah?
> 
> Hey, maybe it will be my turn one day (doubtful)


The people of NY know all too well.

Also I called dibs!


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## core212 (Feb 23, 2009)

agro said:


> The people of NY know all too well.
> 
> Also I called dibs!


That must be one lucky guy!


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