I just realized that this forum was back up. I used to frequent the old board.
Thanks to my parent's generous birthday gift, I was able to purchase fabulous presents for Dr. Jam. Most notably a Filstar XP3 canister filter. I must admit I was afraid when I first saw it. It looked like a science experiment to me. But it was amazingly simple to set up. And the water looks fabulous. So thus far, I recommend it highly.
So hello to the old and to the new!