Looking for Reefers closer to SO. IL

[Kandlelight]

I live in the Southern Illinois area... in the Olney area. Anyone else close to me? Had my reef tank set up since Oct. 2001 and so far so good... doing lots of reading and listening.

Looking for other reefers that would be interested in trading frags (when I have the ability to do so) and information.

[honeybee]

Hi,

How about Hutton??? Eight miles southeast of Charleston. Two 55 gallon reefs, one VHO and one Power Compacts. Oldest is about four years. Brian is in Mattoon. He has two 180 tanks and is conveting to a 500 gal.

Frank

[Kandlelight]

Like I said previously, I still don't have any frags to offer. But when I do I will make them available. Mattoon is only about an hour and a half from me I believe. I know I don't consider it too long of a drive. I have a couple of friends in Olney that also have reef tanks that are doing quite well. All of ours are 55 currently:) Would love to have bigger;)

[honeybee]

I used to go to Sparks & Sons for jeep parts (1957 CJ3B). Are they still in business? I have just started SPS (have four) so it will be a while be for they can be fragged. I have a large Frog Spawn that will have to be divided but it is such a common coral that I will probably take to Inland Aquatics for credit.

Frank

[Kandlelight]

I think they are still in business.... I think I hear ads on the radio for them still. Will have to look at your pics online and see your aquarium. So I can be as green as Kermit:)

[honeybee]

Sorry, old retired guy has very slow rural connection and no money for camera. It is all in the reefs. I am the oldest person is this club.........the rest of them are just "kids". I have some nice film pictures but I have nevered try a post.

Frank

[Kandlelight]

Well, I'm a beginner here. I've kept freshwater for a long time. Ventured into reef tanks just last year. Have always wanted one since I can remember. If you ever get the chance I'd love to see the pics or see for real. My pics are online on my website. Link provided in my signature.

Perhaps we could meet up sometime at Inland Aquatics? Or do y'all have local meetings?

[honeybee]

Interesting web site. Yes we have local meetings, check out "next meeting" and "I got next". I think the next meeting will probably be in Homer.

How much light do you have under that hood? I have 520 watts of VHO and NO on one system and 260 watts of Power Compact on the other. I like the VOH look but my wife does like the radio interfence produced by IceCap ballats.

If you would like some macroalgae I have some interesting reds and two kinds of calcified greens. None of these spread to become a problem.

I am planning a trip to Inland next week, i am looking for some more SPS frags.

Frank

[Kandlelight]

Because I work full time, I only get to go to Inland on Saturdays or Sundays.

I will take a look at those posts and see what times/dates the meetings are for.

As far as lights:( currently I just have two 10000K lamps under there:( I have ordered a couple of actinic lights to hold me over until I get my new stand and hood made. In the hood, I'm going to put together a kit that I'm going to purchase from AHsupply.com

[honeybee]

Kandlelight

I have never tried to post a picture but let's see what happens. The four year old reef.

Frank

[Kandlelight]

VERY AWESOME! THANK YOU!! :thumbsup: Do I see some flowerpot coral on the left hand side of your tank? and is that a clam in the middle part of the pic?? That's the next thing I want to get is a clam. I think they are just so awesome!! I got some actinic lights today. Only put one in today, so that it wouldn't be such a shock to the fish. I figured in the next couple of days I'll add the next one. (since I only have two:( ) But what floors me... is how can actinic lights be better when my tank seems so much darker with them than the 18000K lights I had... I think I said previously they were 10000K but I looked at the light when I took it out and it was 18000K.

Thanks again for going the extra mile to post that pic!!! I do truly appreciate it!

[hcs3]

is the 18000K a coralife? it isn't 18000K....

actinics are more for your viewing pleasure than the health of the animals. if you want to keep light-loving t max or crocea you will need a MH. i learned the hard way. 800w of VHO and my clams bleached as they aged until finally they died :( however, my derasa is 4 years and counting.

HTH

henry

[Kandlelight]

Well,... honestly I don't have the setup for MH... I honestly heard they put off too much heat. And the VHO's.... are you saying that gave off too much light and it bleached the clams or what? View my pics of my current setup and you'll see why I can't right now use the MH's or any other lamps for that matter. The 18000K is called a PowerGlo from http://www.hagen.com.

I am in the process of planning a new setup though. I am going to have a friend help me build a new tank stand and hood.

<Remember, :) I've only had my tank set up since Oct. of 2001:)>

[hcs3]

I honestly heard they put off too much heat.

false. they put out equal amount of heat compared to VHO or PC. with VHO you have the luxury of the heat being spread across 24", 36", 48", or 60". not so with MH where the heat and light source is centered on the much smaller bulb (when compared to VHO or PC). chances are good that watt for watt, lumen per lumen, that MH's run cooler than VHO. just don't touch a MH bulb ;)

are you saying that gave off too much light and it bleached the clams or what?

exact opposite. it didn't come close to supplying the clams with the needed amount of light.

[w2]

I don't have much to trade, also being new to reefing, but I will be near Olney several times this year. We race at Summner and Flora a total of 10 times throughout the summer. Maybe we could get together at the track for a frag swap? Just a thought.

Cheers!

[Kandlelight]

Hmmmmmmm....:)... I sure wish that I had someone truly LOCAL to help me get a new set up going.:sad2: I have the money right now to invest in a good set up just no one to really help me. I'm OK at DIYing but don't have the tools or place to build it at:sad1:.

Thanks MUCHO about the lights. Now, the (forgive me for being dumb here) deresa.. that's the blue type of clam correct? They can go with lower light settings?

AND Bill, trading frags when we both have some (which we should if we do the right things) this summer would be cool. Sumner or Flora would be kewl for me. I really like the track set up they have at Flora. How long have you had your tank set up for?

[hcs3]

tridacna derasa

http://www.harboraquatics.com/images/t_derasa/t_derasa108-400.jpg

image compliments of harbor aquatics.

the overall shades of color of the clam can vary. however, the pattern is practically the same for all of these (unlike maxima and crocea).

lower light settings is a relative term. my tank currently has 660w of VHO on it (75g). as the clam has grown it has also slowly bleached due to insufficient lighting. as clams age they start filter feeding less and rely on photosynthesis more. i'd guess this clam has less than a year left if it doesn't recieve more intense light. in less than 3 months this clam will be moved to a tank with well over 1000 watts of MH.

I have the money right now to invest in a good set up just no one to really help me.

tell us what your wanting to do. what corals you want. what fish you want. we can help you get it right the first time. that is why we are here. we all love to spend money, especially when it is not our own ;)

HTH

henry

[Kandlelight]

This is currently what I have =

55 gal tank with some live rock and base rock (pic will be attached hopefully), http://www.kandlelight.net/graphics/newtanksetup.jpg LS substrate with some crushed coral (varying between 3"-6" in depth). Have some button polyps, mushrooms, tree coral, feather duster, sea cucumber, brittle starfish, 3 legs (ask me for more details later:rolleyes:) of a burgandy linkia, hermit crabs, peppermint shrimp, snails & sponges. Fishies=1 green chromis, 1 yellow chromis, 1 royal gramma. I didn't want to buy a bunch of fish from the get go and them not be the ones that I really want. I really like my royal gramma.

What I want=
A small clam so that I can see it grow and develop, just about any type of corals, a jawfish, a couple of percula clowns with a host anemone, perhaps a mandarian goby? Puffer? Something that will really stand out ya know?:)

[hubris007]

If you're really nice, i might be ready to give you my dusky jawfish.
You can pick him up at this month's meeting.

[Kandlelight]

Could you send me a pic of him? The pics that I'm finding online of the dusky jawfish make them look not very attractive. Unlike the pearly jawfish that seem to have some pretty colors

[honeybee]

Henry,

I disagree on the absolute need for MH. I noticed that many MH people will run two to four URI superactinic VHO bulbs. I have a VHO system with 75% actinic light. I have a clam that has grown to fours inches with no loss of color.

MH lights can cause heat problems is the summer and the use more electric energy. I do not plan to add MH to my system, there is no need. There will be no end to the different opinions on MH.

Frank

[honeybee]

Kandlelight

Yes it is a Goniopora, Inland has indicated that the red ones are tank hardy. It has been in my reef a little over two months, only time will tell. Attached is an enlarged photo.

Frank

[Kandlelight]

Wow..... thank you so much for posting that pic! Very very pretty!! I can't wait until my tank starts to look better. I realized something I had been doing wrong though:( I didn't realize how little of time my lights were staying on:( I had to lengthen the timer on them. Hopefully things will start doing better now.

[hcs3]

I disagree on the absolute need for MH.

that's OK frank, your allowed to disagree. just so you don't mind being wrong ;) seriosly though, your right frank. ther eis no absolute need for MH, only intensity of light. read on.

I noticed that many MH people will run two to four URI superactinic VHO bulbs.

absolutely. for shallow water clams (crocea, maxima) and SPS the full light spectrum must be represented, not just the red, yellow, and oranges. also, the blue light emitted by the actinics brings out the greens and blues of the corals. no reason to spend so much money and make it look like doggy-do.

I have a VHO system with 75% actinic light.

you really like green, huh? ;)

I have a clam that has grown to fours inches with no loss of color.

what clam species? what size tank? my maximas were larger than that before they started to bleach.

MH lights can cause heat problems is the summer

watt for watt, they produce less heat than VHO.

and the use more electric energy.

correct. but they are much more efficient than VHO or PC in coverting the electricity to LUX or lumens. essentially, you get more for your money.

"150w MH....is only of marginal value for tridacnidae and should only be used in tanks shallower than 50cm height and the clams should not be placed in the lower third of the aqurium (knop, '96)."

"as the main light source [for clams], the only suitable means are MH. flourescent tubes are only used as dimmers before and after the main light source is switched on or off (knop, '96)."

the aggressive use of of 420 - 480nm in your aquarium will suit a derasa or gigas (deeper water clams) very well. obviously because the deeper you go, the less red, yellow, and orange light penetrates. these clams are well suited for less than intense light. it would be an extemely poor choice of color use for crocea, however, since they are never found as deep as 50 feet, and rarely as deep as 25 feet. again, this obviously dictates the need for intense, full spectrum lighting for crocea.

85% of the suns light reaches 3 feet deep. at 100 feet, less than 9% of the suns energy is found (knop, '96). what does this mean? well, if you want to keep a crocea in similiar conditions to that of their natural habitat, you need roughly 45,000 - 100,000 lux (delbeek, '94), or the equivilent to 38 - 80 flourescent tubes of 36w each (fossa, '96). move on down the scale to derasa or gigas, and only 76% of the intensity is needed - and almost entirely in the 420 - 500nm range.

now getting back to your 4" clam, frank. unless this clam of yours is a crocea, it is still considered a juvenile. as i mentioned earlier, juvenile clams get most of their energy from filter feeding. as they grow, they become more dependant on light energy. so essentially your clam (unless it is a crocea) is not very dependant on light, yet.

i could go on, but alas it is dinner time.

for anyone interested in giant clams, "giant clams" by daniel knop should be required reading.

HTH

henry

[honeybee]

Henry,

Yes dinner, tonight it is was a nice thick juicy vension steak,hummmmmmmm.

My VOH system with white actinics and superactinics is somewhat pinker that my power compact system which is 50% white and 50% blue actinic. You do realize that actinic is outside the range of human vision and does not effect the color of the system. The blue, which is visible, can cool the white. I know that some corals are fluorescent under actinics.

Frank

[w2]

My LFS told me I could keep anything I wanted under a Lowes 3' strip light and 2 GE Cool White bulbs. I keep going back to buy more anemones because my water parameters keep killing them. I just cant believe that this could be. I'm dosing 16 oz. of B-Ionic per day in my 29 gal tank. Shouldn't that be good enough to keep all 14 anemones and 12 Tangs?

Just kidding, ya'll:D ;) :p :smokin:

On a more serious note..... K-lite. I've had my 55 set-up for several years, many of them as a FO with bleached white coral accents. It was such a cool looking tank. And oh so BORING!!!! So, about 6 months ago, I deceided to slowly convert to reef. I currently have about 60 lbs of rock (40 live and 20 base). James at Pets LTD set me up with some great rock, as well as some Harbor Aquatics rock. I can't thank Frank enough for the more than generous donation of Zoanthids, calcerous algae, mini brittle stars and bristle worms. He also gave me some of his really nice red macro, but my Yellow Tang made very short work of that. In addition to the above, I have many mushrooms (some which will be shared at the next meeting), another colony of Zoanthids from IA, 2 giant feather dusters, and I'm getting real good at growing Aptasia and bubble algae. I've got this under 110 wats of 10,000k PC lights and a 50/50 NO 4' 40 watt bulb. The animals in the tank are 2 Peppermint shrimp and a Lawnmower Blenny. I just got rid of 5 turbo snails (bulldozers!). I'm switching over to Nassarius snails and a fighting conch or 2. The most recent addition is the start of a "pod pile" (thanks, Todd!!). Hopefully, this will build my critter population.

OK. For me, that was, like, a years worth of typing! I think I'm done now...:hmm5:

[Kandlelight]

Well, Bill, I NEED a new hood setup:) well, that in addition to a new stand;) LOL

I'm trying to get a friend of mines husband to help me make the stand and hood. But I really need to make sure I make what I really need so I don't have to do this all over again. Matter of fact I won't, if it can't be done right the first time you need to give it up!!

I know one thing though....I don't want to have to buy a chiller though to make sure that my tank doesn't get too hot in the summer because of my lights.

I keep on hoping that someone from my local area will stumble into this site and say "HEY, I'll help you", but as of yet I haven't:(

ANYONE, any ideas on the best way of upping your calcium levels? I've really notice that now that I've gotten the corals it's hard for me to keep it up there.

[hcs3]

frank

since you teased me about the venison, i had to get ahold of my financial advisor. he is a huge hunter. i traded him a case of beer for a few steaks :) my wife did a great job preparing it. grilled, of course, with a cabernet demi-glaze and resting on a bed of cracked-pepper fettucine. matched with a cult aussie cab, and it is practically heaven. mmmmm.

You do realize that actinic is outside the range of human vision and does not effect the color of the system.

not true. this is dependant on the bulb type you are using. in each case we can see the light - at least some of it. as i'm sure you know, the human eye can see down to 380 nm and this light appears violet.

a bulb type TL 05 provides a spectrum from 300 - 500 nm with it's peak around 360 nm. obviously a good portion of this bulb, including the peak, are out of human vision capabilities. however, it still produces some visable light for our viewing pleasure.

a bulb type TL 03 has a spectrum of 390 - 490 nm with the peak at 420 nm. the spectrum of this bulb is entirely viewable for mere mortals.

The blue, which is visible, can cool the white.

in all cases, violet, blue, and even some green light is emitted by super actinic bulbs.

HTH

henry

[honeybee]

Henry,

Now imagine that with a nice button buck or doe of the year loin.

Frank

[honeybee]

Henry,

***************************************************
Your statement:
"actinics are more for your viewing pleasure than the health of the animals."
***************************************************

I understand that actinic bulbs produce energy in both the visible and nonvisible ranges of the electromagnetic spectrun, but why buy expensive actinic bulbs if all you want is the visible light?

Frank

[hcs3]

i'm not sure what your asking, frank. :confused:

the visable light is what makes our corals brilliantly colored.

[honeybee]

Why buy expensive actinic bulbs when you can get much cheaper bulbs that produce just the visible blue light spectrum? You could push NO bulbs in an icecap ballast and even with the shorter life span it would still be cost effective.

Frank

[hcs3]

why do i feel like you're playing retired college professor? ;) asking multiple questions and probably already knowing the answers to all of them...

Why buy expensive actinic bulbs when you can get much cheaper bulbs that produce just the visible blue light spectrum?

i guess it is all relative, frank. i wouldn't say that $25 bulbs are expensive in this hobby. anyhow, URI bulbs are much more than "blue light." they represent blue, violet, and green. in some cases they also have UV-A and UV-B to some degree. not forgetting they are also the only bulb on the market with an internal reflector, thus focusing 100% of produced light downwards and into the aquarium.

You could push NO bulbs in an icecap ballast and even with the shorter life span it would still be cost effective.

many people are already doing that, frank. i suppose you already know this. if not, do a search here at RC. your bound to find some interesting opinions. unfortunitely, you won't find any facts. until sanjay yoshi or dana riddle do some fact finding on NO bulbs on VHO ballasts, i'll stick to my "expensive" URI's.

HTH

henry