CHECK this OUt! If anyone is familiar with Sea Apples, You'll love this...(sea cucumber). I got home and it 3x the size! Weird!?! It literally looked like it was going to explode!
I'm not positive on this, but usually when sea apples start to grow rapidly they going to die. This is very very bad, it will probably kill all your coral. But read up on reef central first so I don't scare you too bad http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=99720&highlight=apple+growth good thread
Cool Just keep an eye on those tentacles and if they start retracting or dissipating, get it out asap.
Yup this was exactly what I was thinking, though I've been out of the coral and fish scene for sometime, so I didn't want to jump in and say anything, but I'd Watch 'em carefully.
Thanks for the heads up...It is back to normal..Just wierd for about 3 hrs it was blowing up like a ballon. I helped it a bit...It happened before as well. I just carried it to a separate container and gently held it and slightly sqeezed and repeat that every 5-10 mins. until it returned back to normal size. I was up until 4am last night eye balling it...*Critical Care* LOL
Back to normal...Just got my new Hailde Lights for my tank...*awesome light, but hate the 10k (Looks more yellow) that came with it* 692W total. I will have to get the 20k ones once this is burnt out...(More BLue)
Go with 14K's. That's what we ran at the fish store back home and they looked awesome. 20's are just too blue and 10's are too yellow (like you said). If I had my lights up here I would sell you my bulb for cheap... but... unfortunately, I'm in Minnesota and not back home, sorry . And post a pic of the tank, I love fts
I'd have to agree with the 14K. I have (1) 10K and (1) 14K on my 125g (don't ask..) and I like the look of the 14K a lot more. Now, the other side to this is that my star polyps and some others like the brighter light, 10K, where as everyone else likes the 14K. So, it kind of worked out but it looks a little lop-sided right now. I'm looking to replace my bulbs soon and I may just keep on with the mistake that I made.
I like my 14k alot. It floresces like actinics and still bright enough to make SPS and Clams happy. The Phoenix 14k's were pretty good 9 months ago and so are the Hamilton 14k's. But it really depends on if its a SE or HQI and wattage. 400w 20k XM or Radiums are nice. 250w 20k is too dimm and 175w even more so. If you have a 400w bulb then 20k would be nice. Otherwise stick with 14k or even a 12k sunburst. Or you can just get VHO actinics for supplementation with your current 10k.
If anybody is interested, I've got an old 45g flat front for sale. It needs cleaning, and it's just the tank, nothing else. $50?
I saw the 20k 250W HQI and I love the blue tint to it...14k is nice but I like the extra blue tint that the 20k shows. Makes everything glow in the tank...
Werd. It all personall taste. I don't like it too blue. But i'm not looking at your tank every night either. Or am I?.... lolz =X
Well, if you want 'glow' get yourself some blue moon lights for the tank. They work really well for that.. On a side note, the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie is well worth it. If you enjoy the cast and the story, well, the first one, you'll like the second one. To go with that, if you listen, you may even recognize some of the voices in the movie, from other movies..
reviving the thread! I'll be making my own Live Rock from home...Got a recipe that I think will work nicely...it is about a 8-12 wk process though...curing process is a boitch If everything works out...I can sell these for $1.50 a lb if anyone is interested...Covers my cost to make them and covers cost of maintenance.
fab takes about a week and culturing/curing takes about 6-8 wks...after I'm done fabbing it...I gave myself another 2-3 wks in case things don't go well... I'm probably getting a small pond tub from Homedepot and I already have lighting for it... From the looks of it...the finish product looks real and very porous and light weight. And not worry about little travelers that come along.
Are you going to be grafting the coraline onto a non-porous material or are you just going to use chemicals to induce growth?
nope using..*purple up* along the way... The process is similiar to some of the guys that sell live rocks...*cement base* and just dump it in the ocean and let nature do it's work...after a period of time gather it out and sell'em Theres other ingredients that you have to add to make it porous and real to the look and touch...not just cement mix
i want a saltwater tank sooooo bad...landlord doesn't want a heavy tank though...guess i'll hafta wait till summer when i move back in with the parents. ok so what would a good starter tank size be?
It is possible to 'create' your own live rock. It's more of a fiberglass mix than anything though. I don't remember all the ingredients but the only time I've come across 'other types' of live rock, that was it. They would graft some pieces of coraline on the rock and keep the water nutrient-flooded and have lighted with some good, strong lighting. Then after a couple of months, it will have attached, encrusted and spread. As for a good starter tank? The best thing to do, if you're starting out, is to save up for it. A lot of people will say a 29g tank or similar size is good. In my opinion (..after working in a pet shop for many years and a local shop until recently) get the largest tank you can afford. If you are truly into the idea of having a tank, once you get started, you'll always want 'more'. In this case, bigger, to accomodate the things you want to do and have.
Yes...start with what you can afford...In this case it isn't "go big or go home" it is "patience" and lots of it... I.E. - for every gal. for a reef set up (basic setup) it would range around - $13-$15, (gravel/sand, live rock, coral (of course depending on what you want price varies), in tank powerhead for water flow and some sort of filteration system, price goes up depending on what u get) not including tank...
ok so for a salt setup i've heard that you need a second tank for the filtering and stuff, is that the way it works or whats up?
depending on how big the tank is...for a small tank or Nano setup w/o built in filter...I'd recommend the skilter back filter...it has a built-in skimmer too, good for small tanks..I'd say 29 gals. and under how big r u think'in gran0393?
50 lbs. of live rock, tidepool sump tank filter, and a couple of powerheads (in tank) for water flow. *basic* that should get you by for fish only...Reef setup (better lighting, supplements, better filtration, Skimmer) optional for both...UV sterilizers (keeps your tank clear, algae control) and skimmer I would recommend for both setup as well...but depends on perference...some like it for fish only and some dont...
similiar to this...results this company calls it Eco RoX fuji Rock...sells for $64+ shipping for 25 lbs.
While all the equipment you mention is nice, you can get by with a good pump/ filter combo setup and some power compact lighting to get yourself started. Once you get an idea of what you want, then you can go full into better lighting and filtration. I've got a 29g with some low output T5's and a Fluval pump/ filter. On the other hand, I also have a 125g tank, 75g sump/ refugium with 'a lot' of live sand and live rock. I even have the sump stocked with 3 different types of macro algae and mangroves with a light on a timer to offset the lighting in the main tank. Each area has it's own 'clock' it runs on. Daytime, the main tank, night time, the sump, my own way of making a natural filter. The main tank has 3 metal halide bulbs and the sump has a 125W flood light. As you can tell, there are big differences between tanks and setups, it all depends on which way you want to go. My 29g tank is a 'stand by' for mini-sps tank. My 125g tank is a mix of fish and coral, otherwise called a reef with fish. The 29g is pretty much fish only, with a few corals here and there. The sample you showed looks pretty good for man-made live rock. It looks so much like the real thing, I almost want to throw the b.s. flag on it being man-made. I have some pieces of lr that look just like that. Good on them for making imitation so real.
^I'm planning on building a Refigum for my next setup...We should talk a bit more when the time comes..this is actually my first refugium setup...previously I was old school with my wet/dry... Refugium = Natural Filter (wanna give that a shot) I may also keep do a wet/dry setup to compliment each other...I'm still undecided to have a UV setup as well...due to the refugium having macro algae, I don't want it to affect anything with the bio cycle of the refugium. I also got the coralife MH 2x - 250wt and 4- 96W atinics, way to bright for my 75G...my old 9wt UV could not keep up with the algae growth...and also bleached my corals...lol It should be perfect for a 210gal. 6ft L have it hanging over the tank should spread the lighting better over another 2 ft. hopefully... waiting for All-glass to put a special on their 210gal. tanks...hopefully Dec. is the month, currently it is on the 180 gal. @ $450 I believe...
A refugium has pro's and con's to it. It does take maintenance, weeding things out from time to time otherwise you'll get 'all kinds' of algae going on. You are right on the lighting, that is kind of overkill unless you have good spacing and levels in your water. Then again, the most you could work with would be sps. Anything else would just 'cook off'. That kind of lighting would be 'ok' for 210g. You'd be right around 'mid-way' (no reference intended). A UV sterilizer is alright but you can also kill off 'benefits' in the water as well. Things like that are a 'preference' and not a necessity in my opinion. As for 'when'.. you need to watch and wait. They do rotate their sales. Another possible source is TCMAS, a lot of times, walk-ins to local stores get referred to sell their items to the club. You can sometimes find a really good deal. I don't want to plug the store I worked for but check out Ocean Devotion in BUrnsville on Black Dog Rd (they moved). Talk to either Grant or Ed, they're both good people. If there are any questions, hit me up and I'll answer what I can.
thanks for the connection... always good to know people involved in the same hobby :cheers: I'm waiting for my tank at my local fish store, because I have store credit, pretty much pays for the entire tank... :woot:
People always say it's not about who you know but sadly, it turns out that way. I'm never one to turn down helping out though.
just joined...TCmas.org go'in back to the world of aquarium...hope to see u guys there too, unless your already there lol
Anyone looking for cichlids? I have some young convicts, A BUNCH of Yellow Labs cichlids, a few Rustys, and some orange (forgot the name) Cichlids. My 20 gallon is full of babies, and my 55G is growing a huge population of young ones to! I gots horney fishes! Dave
