Horace's Question & Answer thread...

[Horace]

For all of you guys looking for a little guidence, feel free to ask me anything you want about salt water reef aquariums. I will do my best to give you sound advice or lead you to somone who can. 99% of the reason for me being on RC is my desire to help people succeed in this hobby and I am happy to help anyone!

Fire away!

[Benny Z]

the answer man, huh? :p

which came first, the chicken or the egg?

[hounddog01]

What is the meaning of Life?

[lcashman]

Why is the sky blue?

JK, joining in with the rest of the crowd :)

[Horace]

haha, how did I know you two would chime in LOL

As for the Chicken or the egg....In my humble opinion it was the chicken.

The meaning of life is: the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally

How does that work for you guys :)

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8242688#post8242688 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lcashman
Why is the sky blue?

JK, joining in with the rest of the crowd :)

Your following the wrong crowd my man :P

But since you asked, its because the blue wave lengths of light are scattered by the gas molocules in the atmosphere, while the other longer wave lengths pass through easily. The scattering of the blue light makes the sky appear blue :) Happy?

[Horace]

And I am spent :P

[LegoZ81]

uuuh why didn't anybody ask why the ocean was blue? ;) I mean this is a reef club isn't it...
To really stump him, Why is my GSP loosing it's color?
It has started the same routine in the 125 after regaining all of it's color.
A 50 gallon water change did not seem to help.
Water parameters are currently unknown but last time this happened they were all within reason (in the 29g)

[hounddog01]

Horace, Either your a genius or you got some help from the internet. Either way good answers!!

[GreenBay1]

Wrong, the meaning of life is to have the most awesome reef aquarium you can. And enjoy the hobby to its fullest.

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8242875#post8242875 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LegoZ81
uuuh why didn't anybody ask why the ocean was blue? ;) I mean this is a reef club isn't it...
To really stump him, Why is my GSP loosing it's color?
It has started the same routine in the 125 after regaining all of it's color.
A 50 gallon water change did not seem to help.
Water parameters are currently unknown but last time this happened they were all within reason (in the 29g)

I cant be 100% sure what the problem is with your GSP. I would say your most likely problem is water quality. Something is out of whack...Just curious but what does your water test out to? Nutrient levels? Kh/Ca levels? Mag levels?

To be honest GSP is one coral that has never really flourished in my tanks....I am not 100% sure why either. It has always held a nice green color, however the polyp extension on it has never been the best. I will note that the tanks that I have seen it look the best in were tanks with higher levels of nutrients....Not to say it never looks good in low nutrient tanks either....Just not mine. I wish I knew why.

[Gluestick]

I have a question! I'm a newbie. Can I keep SPS once my tank matures without dosing alk or kalk automatically? Can I just like, dump some of the stuff in when my tank needs it?

[humbugy]

i have something similiar to gsp, it actually has 6-7 arms, its more brown and feathery, but with a stong color of green, and when i stopped feeding phtyo plancton (dt;s or kent) it slows down in growth and withdraws polyps.
otherwise it grows in matt like 5 armed gsp, maybe if i charge my camera, i can post a picture

[humbugy]

but here is a question for horace
i got an aquabee 2001/w needle wheel (fin's reef)
i was gonna make a in sump skimmer out of it
looking at h&s, i would probably make a 14-16" tall body (out of 6" pvc), and make the riser and collection cup the rest, what'ja think, shorter or taller?

[medic29]

Is there a guide for the abbrieviations? I figured out what GSP is, but there are others (SPS, etc.), that I don't know. Any ideas or suggestions? Being that I'm also a newbie, I haven't figured it out yet.

[Benny Z]

sps = small polyp stony corals. (montiporas, acroporas, etc)

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8243626#post8243626 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gluestick
I have a question! I'm a newbie. Can I keep SPS once my tank matures without dosing alk or kalk automatically? Can I just like, dump some of the stuff in when my tank needs it?

Well this is kind of a tricky question to answer, but if I had to say Yes or No, I would say Yes. HOWEVER, dosing you tank in this manner would likely create alot of instability in your tank levels, especially your KH which is SUPER IMPORTANT to keep stable. There are many ways to dose automatically for not a heck of alot of money. If money is the reason, I can give you a method that I use that is VERY cheap, and doesnt have a huge upfront cost either....It uses "Randy's DIY 2-Part additive"/Dual Dosing Pump.

[brad23]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8243626#post8243626 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gluestick
I have a question! I'm a newbie. Can I keep SPS once my tank matures without dosing alk or kalk automatically? Can I just like, dump some of the stuff in when my tank needs it?

You could but I wouldn't expect the SPS to do very well or keep its colors

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8243918#post8243918 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by humbugy
but here is a question for horace
i got an aquabee 2001/w needle wheel (fin's reef)
i was gonna make a in sump skimmer out of it
looking at h&s, i would probably make a 14-16" tall body (out of 6" pvc), and make the riser and collection cup the rest, what'ja think, shorter or taller?

What a coincidence! I just finished building my H&S clone myself. I have the 2001 pump as well. Mine has a 16" x 6" body, a cone, and a 3" diameter riser. My skimmer is 100% acrylic though. The whole thing is about 24" so the cone/riser/cup make up about 8" or so. Now if I had to do it over again, I would probably make the riser a bit taller than I did (I dont recall exactly how tall I made it). I think this would allow more adjustablity for wet/dry skim and perhaps may even lower the turbulance inside the riser if it was high enough. But despite all that, my skimmer does work great and I am happy with it. It pulls very dark skimmate and seems to be doing the job :)

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8244961#post8244961 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by medic29
Is there a guide for the abbrieviations? I figured out what GSP is, but there are others (SPS, etc.), that I don't know. Any ideas or suggestions? Being that I'm also a newbie, I haven't figured it out yet.

Your best bet is to just ask if you dont know...No guide that I know of...There certainly are alot of acronyms.

One important one if you own SPS is AFEW...you will see that around alot...it stands for ACRO EATING FLAT WORMS....its a huge problem these days.

[Horace]

LPS = Large Polyp Stony

[fkdenton]

http://www.reefcentral.com/modules.php?s=&name=Encyclopedia&op=terms&eid=2&ltr=all

Try this for the acronyms.

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8245317#post8245317 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fkdenton
http://www.reefcentral.com/modules.php?s=&name=Encyclopedia&op=terms&eid=2&ltr=all

Try this for the acronyms.

Ahhh yes... thx! I couldnt remember if there was one of these floating around or not...I know I didnt find it back when I was a newb and needed it :P

[medic29]

Hey, thanks. This helps.

[medic29]

Hey another question....

What temperature range would be best to keep my tank at? During the summer it was somewhat of a challenge, but I seemed to do okay, but now that it has cooled off some I want to make sure I don't get the tank too cold or am keeping it too cool. I know most of the inhabitants would most likely do okay with occaisional variations short term either up or down, but I'm curious as to the best temp range.

[brad23]

anywhere from 78 - 82 is fine

[Gluestick]

Horace, I would love to hear the inexpensive method!
Also, if there is a site that would explain more about dosing, I don't know jack about it but want to learn, I really want to keep SPS in the future! Thanks for humoring a newbie!

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8245868#post8245868 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gluestick
Horace, I would love to hear the inexpensive method!
Also, if there is a site that would explain more about dosing, I don't know jack about it but want to learn, I really want to keep SPS in the future! Thanks for humoring a newbie!

Well like I said, I use DIY 2-part additive with a dual dosing pump. The pump is not super cheap at around $160 at www.innovativeaquatics.com but its a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a calcium reactor.

There are other options as well though. You can dose lime water (kalk) for your top off. Plain kalk water will work for you for a while or until you have several large SPS and it cant keep up with the demaind for alk/ca.

If you want to know more about water chemistry, I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU READ EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE ARTICLES! There is a ton of VERY good information:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=102605

[Gluestick]

Thanks!

[cioutlaw]

double posted by accident

[cioutlaw]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8243626#post8243626 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gluestick
I have a question! I'm a newbie. Can I keep SPS once my tank matures without dosing alk or kalk automatically? Can I just like, dump some of the stuff in when my tank needs it?

I do it..I have only 3 SPS corals & dose very little(1/4 teaspoon of Kent liquid calcium every week). Ive been doing this for 6 months with no problems, dont know if it helps but it hasnt hurt. SPS I have is healthy & growing fast. Plan on upgradeing to a better system soon.

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8247555#post8247555 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cioutlaw
I do it..I have only 3 SPS corals & dose very little(1/4 teaspoon of Kent liquid calcium every week). Ive been doing this for 6 months with no problems, dont know if it helps but it hasnt hurt. SPS I have is healthy & growing fast. Plan on upgradeing to a better system soon.

Yeah you can get away with that when you only have a few smaller SPS. Once your tank is dominated by SPS and they start getting bigger, the demand for Alk/Ca gets to the point where they swing the tank parameters too much, even in one day.

So for a while you could probably get away with just dosing 2-part by hand, or by dumping a small cup of "slurry" which is concentrated Kalk. Anthony Calfo has a thread some where about the slurry method actually. I prefer to dose my chemicals slowly throughout the day though. This keeps the tank a bit more stable IMO.

[brad23]

I did the dump method for a while and then used a pump that trickles through the day and the SPS started growing more and looking better.

[humbugy]

for the aquabee do you think a 3" riser is right on the money, or did you want to go larger or smaller?
i did notice that this pump does terribly with head presure
got my 6" rubber quick caps in the mail today, should be able to build it on sunday, probably saturday

[Horace]

I would design it similar to the way the H&S is designed...if you put alot of head, it does effect its pull quite a bit. I have an air meter that I used to test the difference and it was substantial when you start lowering it in the tank.

I think the 3" riser works well..I have not tried different sizes though so I cant really compare. Though like I said, I would make it a tad taller than I did just so the foam head could be a bit larger and possibly a bit less turbulance up higher in the neck. Right now if I raise the level up higher it skimms a bit too wet.

Feel free to drop by and check out my skimmer if you like.

[humbugy]

16x 6" body
10"x3" neck

pvc and rubber is what i got to work with
if i get time i would like to see yours

[Dave Dunbar]

I have one for you. I just in the last 4 days got a outbreak of red slime. Its only on the sand in front of the tank. I use RO/DI water with only 7 tds and do weekly 12 gal water changes. On my test kits trate is below 5.0 and phos is non detectable. I tried to get most of it out with my water change on 9/27 but was right back the next day, not as much but still there. I drip kalk and
cal is 470 and alk is 12 somewhere I read if your Mag is low you could have the Red Slime I dont have a Mag test kit Maybe I should get one. I use reef crystals salt mix and it says it has more Mag so dont know if its low or not. Dont seem to have any other problems with Corals ( many LPS and a few SPS ) and only small fish ( 2 clowns, strawberry basslet, firefish, 2 blennies)
I feed very small amounts to the fish and use DT'S twice a week. I know its hard to answer ?s without seeing whats going on but if you could give me your best guess what I should do!!
Thanks Dave

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8250483#post8250483 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dave Dunbar
I have one for you. I just in the last 4 days got a outbreak of red slime. Its only on the sand in front of the tank. I use RO/DI water with only 7 tds and do weekly 12 gal water changes. On my test kits trate is below 5.0 and phos is non detectable. I tried to get most of it out with my water change on 9/27 but was right back the next day, not as much but still there. I drip kalk and
cal is 470 and alk is 12 somewhere I read if your Mag is low you could have the Red Slime I dont have a Mag test kit Maybe I should get one. I use reef crystals salt mix and it says it has more Mag so dont know if its low or not. Dont seem to have any other problems with Corals ( many LPS and a few SPS ) and only small fish ( 2 clowns, strawberry basslet, firefish, 2 blennies)
I feed very small amounts to the fish and use DT'S twice a week. I know its hard to answer ?s without seeing whats going on but if you could give me your best guess what I should do!!
Thanks Dave

I am definitely going to sound like a broken record when people ask these types of questions, but here goes. Slime, and most kinds of algae are a direct result of having elevated levels of No3/P04. While test kits are useful, they can be misleading. The reason is, the algae can often take up the nutrients from the water very fast, so it appears its not there, but if you have algae in your tank, its there because it is allowed to be there. If it didnt have the no3/po4s available to keep it alive, it would die. So essentially you have a red slime problem because you have too many of No3/Po4.

Now the question is, how do you deal with that...First thing I would do is get a DI unit to bring your TDS to 0. While 7 seems good enough, IMO you should try to have 0 TDS 100% of the time. I suggest if you havent done so already, start growing macro algae in your sump (if you have one). Macro will chew up alot of the extra nutrients in the water and help greatly in keeping your display algae free. If you are already doing this and its still not working, then I suggest you look at the amount of flow in your main tank, and possibly the quality of your protein skimmer. You might also consider looking into Ozone...

Randy Holmes-Farley has articles written about all this stuff on the chemistry forum.

Heres some that may help:

Phosphorus: Algae's Best Friend
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/iss...pt2002/chem.htm

Phosphate and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/rhf/index.php

Nitrate in the Reef Aquarium
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/iss...st2003/chem.htm

Ozone

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 1: Chemistry and Biochemistry
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-03/rhf/index.php

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 2: Equipment and Safety
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-04/rhf/index.php

Ozone and the Reef Aquarium, Part 3: Changes in a Reef Aquarium upon Initiating Ozone
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-05/rhf/index.php

[Michelle L]

Okay, since we're talking algae....

I have a nasty case of *extremely* hard green algae growing on the back of my tank. It's weird because that is the only place it grows, with the exception of a tiny amount along the sand line and little spots on the sides of the tank. It looks awful, and no amount of scraping takes it off. My snails can't eat it (I only have cerith right now, I plan on ordering trochus next week) although they try...it just seems too darn hard.

The rest of the tank is algae free.

What the heck is it? I've never seen green algae that doesn't just wipe off with a brush of the hand. Might it be flourishing because in late afternoon, my tank is bathed in bright sunlight from a large foyer window? We are putting up blinds this weekend if we can find some that fit.

I have corraline starting to grow on the back, so hopefully it will take over and drown out the other algae.

[Horace]

Michelle, are you sure its not green corraline?

[Michelle L]

Are you playing a joke on me because I don't know any better? :mad:

[fkdenton]

No their is green corraline. My 20g frag tank has green and pink/purple both. The green seems to come before the purple. The purple will eventualy take over the green.

[LegoZ81]

no serious there is green coralines, I have some in my sump. pretty cool imo when it is on rock.

[Michelle L]

Well I'll be darned.

I'm almost positive that it isn't green corraline though. It's not spotty like pink corraline. It's just a nasty, ugly covering of green on the back that makes it look like I never clean my tank. :(

You guys will see it at the meeting, because I'm sure it will still be there in all it's glory. It just can't scrape the stuff off.

[LegoZ81]

use a razorblade at a 45 degree angle with light pressure and you should be able to scrape it off fairly easily.
You can only do this on glass tanks though.

[Michelle L]

I think that would work, but I can't reach it. I'm thinking of rigging something up to attach a razor blade to a stick and try that. I have a 36 inch long handled scraper with a stainless steel blade, but I may as well be rubbing it with a marshmallow. That scraper blade is worthless because it's so uneven.

Actually I tried a razor blade on part of the overflow and it still left residue behind. This algae is stupid hard.

[RV8tor]

I will tell you that if you have older bulbs or ones that are towards the end of their life will also produce green an red slime algae. I changed my old (18 month old) MH bulbs and put some new one and my slime algae went away. Granted to include everything that Horace has indicated as well applies. .02

[Horace]

I think bulbs that have shifted thier spectrum (old bulbs) do make algae more likely because the spectrum will shift in favor of the algae, however, if the nutrients are limited, it wont matter what spectrum they are getting. So old bulbs can make the algae grow faster, but so long as you limit one of the factors that it needs to grow (both No3/Po4), it has no way of growing.

[Michelle L]

Bulbs are about 4 1/2 months old, are they old enough to be nearing the end of their usefulness? Also, there isn't any other nuisance algae growing (thank goodness), just this stuff.

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8253746#post8253746 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Michelle L
Bulbs are about 4 1/2 months old, are they old enough to be nearing the end of their usefulness? Also, there isn't any other nuisance algae growing (thank goodness), just this stuff.


Your bulbs should be just fine.. Typically MH bulbs are repleaced between 8-12 months.

[Michelle L]

I didn't think so either, but I had heard 6 months as well, so I wasn't positive.

Thanks!

[smorrow5773]

Michelle, I know the stuff. For about a month during the summer, my tank gets sunlight through the window and creates this stuff. I scrape it off with a razor. I always though it was green corraline that just favors the natural sunlight. Shades/blinds over the window should help, Menard's custom cuts blinds and have the cheapest ones. Good luck.

[Benny Z]

k kurt, here's one for ya. i posted this in the reef chemistry forum, too, but figured i'd give you a shot at it also.

i want to lower the ph of ro water (not ro/di, just ro) low enough to make some old dead liverock release any po4 it may be holding. this rock was in use for some time, then left to sit dry for about 4 years. i've rinsed it in tap water and now have it all in a 100g stock tank filling with ro water, which i'd like to add the vinegar to.

i would say there is probably 75-80 gallons of ro water in the tank. should i use a full 1 gallon bottle of distilled white vinegar? how long should i let the rock soak?

also, any other tips for what i should do to the rock after the vinegar water soak? i was thinking take all rock out, refill with fresh ro water, fill another small container with ro water, then dip each rock individually in the small container and add back to the stock tank to rinse.

[Gluestick]

Benny Z, I've been meaning to tell you how much I love your firefish pic (avatar). Really an awesome shot!

[Benny Z]

hey, thanks!

he sure looks grumpy, doesn't he? :D

[brad23]

Are those Aqua ,edic units HQI?

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8256027#post8256027 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Benny Z
k kurt, here's one for ya. i posted this in the reef chemistry forum, too, but figured i'd give you a shot at it also.

i want to lower the ph of ro water (not ro/di, just ro) low enough to make some old dead liverock release any po4 it may be holding. this rock was in use for some time, then left to sit dry for about 4 years. i've rinsed it in tap water and now have it all in a 100g stock tank filling with ro water, which i'd like to add the vinegar to.

i would say there is probably 75-80 gallons of ro water in the tank. should i use a full 1 gallon bottle of distilled white vinegar? how long should i let the rock soak?

also, any other tips for what i should do to the rock after the vinegar water soak? i was thinking take all rock out, refill with fresh ro water, fill another small container with ro water, then dip each rock individually in the small container and add back to the stock tank to rinse.

If you use enough vineger, it might work for you...Im not really sure how much you woudl need though. I would definitely get an answer from Randy about this. I would agree that you certainly need to be sure you get all/most of the vinegar off the rocks afterwards or it will lower your PH quite a bit in your tank. Regardless I dont know if your method will get rid of a huge amount of phosphates or not...I find it unlikely that it will make the rocks like new to be honest. I think your going to be forced to run GFO and a ton of macro for a while until the phosphates are low again. This may delay the tiem you want to put SPS in there as well a bit.... P04s are very bad for SPS.

[Benny Z]

randy replied to my post in the chemistry forum. he suggested 1/1 ratio of vinegar to water for a quick soak, less for a longer soak. basically i just need to soak it until the rock stops bubbling. he also suggested a 1/10 ratio mix of muratic acid (yikes!).

i went and bought out kroger's vinegar stock, which wasn't a whole lot. i just added 7 gallons of vinegar and it is already bubbling. a nasty film has already begun to form on the water surface. pretty crazy if you ask me...there was no film w/ just the ro water.

he said my plan to rinse sounds good.

what's a gfo?

[Benny Z]

bling

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/77080bubbling.jpg

[brad23]

I have muractic acid if you want it, it lowers PH and DKH were vinger only lowers PH.

Nice pump where did you get that from?

[Benny Z]

sweet dude, i'll take the muratic acid, too. can i combine it with the vinegar water? i'm assuming so... ?

andy from champaign sold me two of those pumps, one to use for my main return pump and a second to drive the beckett skimmer. they are pcx-55 pumps.

[RobynT]

Hey Brad,

Who is that fish in your Avatar? Very nice.........

[brad23]

Lineatus wrasse, I have two of them from the group buy I just did.

They cost big $$$$ everywhere online sells them for $200+ but I got them for $70 each.

[Michelle L]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8256539#post8256539 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by brad23
Are those Aqua ,edic units HQI?

I'm guessing this is for me....the 250 watt bulbs are HQI, but the 400 watt bulbs are not.

[brad23]

The 250 will burn out a lot faster.

[hounddog01]

Bump: I hate to see the genius of Horace on the second page!

[pleaselaunchme]

Here is a two parter for you:

1. In the two months or so I've had my LR, the corraline has changed in places from light purple to a deep red (which I personally like), but now some of it is yellowing up. Is this indicative of anything, or does some corraline just like to yellow up (this is only occuring on one rock)?

2. T5HO's. Been researching this one for a while, and am more confused than ever. I am running a 29g with 130 watts power compact currently, but am not that thrilled with the color of the lights, so I have been looking at retrofitting with T5's for better color and choice. I have some and would like to keep some softies, zoos, ricordia, shrooms, and some LPS. How many watts is reccomended for a tank this size in order to not fry the shrooms, zoas, etc. I am thinking from the stuff I have seen that 2 24W with reflectors would be adequate light wise, but I would like to go with at least 3 lamps for more collor blending ability. I am thinking of running 3 without reflectors. Am I on the right track, and if not, any good sources of T5HO out there?

And possibly for future updates (depends on how my time with my tank goes tomorrow)

What is up with my skimmer pump (lets see what cleaning does)
How the heck do I kill this aiptasia that rode in on a snail?
(Going to remove the rock this week or this weekend [its still small], and kalk paste the heck out of it (or something))

Ben

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8301842#post8301842 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hounddog01
Bump: I hate to see the genius of Horace on the second page!

Dont make me walk down to your house :). I will show you a real genius LOL

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8303527#post8303527 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pleaselaunchme
Here is a two parter for you:

1. In the two months or so I've had my LR, the corraline has changed in places from light purple to a deep red (which I personally like), but now some of it is yellowing up. Is this indicative of anything, or does some corraline just like to yellow up (this is only occuring on one rock)?

2. T5HO's. Been researching this one for a while, and am more confused than ever. I am running a 29g with 130 watts power compact currently, but am not that thrilled with the color of the lights, so I have been looking at retrofitting with T5's for better color and choice. I have some and would like to keep some softies, zoos, ricordia, shrooms, and some LPS. How many watts is reccomended for a tank this size in order to not fry the shrooms, zoas, etc. I am thinking from the stuff I have seen that 2 24W with reflectors would be adequate light wise, but I would like to go with at least 3 lamps for more collor blending ability. I am thinking of running 3 without reflectors. Am I on the right track, and if not, any good sources of T5HO out there?

And possibly for future updates (depends on how my time with my tank goes tomorrow)

What is up with my skimmer pump (lets see what cleaning does)
How the heck do I kill this aiptasia that rode in on a snail?
(Going to remove the rock this week or this weekend [its still small], and kalk paste the heck out of it (or something))

Ben

1. Not too sure about your coralline..It may have something to do with your lighting. Typically coralline likes low light. Magnesium and Ca also are contributing factors...be sure that your Mag is 1250ppm or so and your Ca is atleast 380 - 420ppm.

2. for a 29g and softies, I would go with standard driven T5s (not Icecap). I would probably put 2 - 3 bulbs. I would only run T5 w/ icecap reflectors because otherwise your wasting your time...you might as well be using CF bulbs. With a three bulb setup, I would go with 2xBlue+ and 1 Aquablue. It will have a nice 14k look to it.

[medic29]

I have been thinking about my lights. Currently, I have 96watt 10k and 96watt Actenic PC over my 30 gal; I will be upgrading to a 60 gal tank soon. I'm not sure if my current light will be enough, although I only have some fish and soft corals at this point. I would like to get some hard corals in the future. I have heard a lot of talk about MH lighting, but am way confused about them. Needing different ballasts;them firing; different types of bulbs, etc. Is there anyone out there that can explain about MH lights and/or is there some info somewhere I can read. It is all confusing right now.

I had thought about building my own hood and placing the lights in there, but I need to know more about them before I would make the hood.

Thanks,
Rick

[hounddog01]

So your going to bring Gina so I can see the Genius:lmao:

[Horace]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8304212#post8304212 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by medic29
I have been thinking about my lights. Currently, I have 96watt 10k and 96watt Actenic PC over my 30 gal; I will be upgrading to a 60 gal tank soon. I'm not sure if my current light will be enough, although I only have some fish and soft corals at this point. I would like to get some hard corals in the future. I have heard a lot of talk about MH lighting, but am way confused about them. Needing different ballasts;them firing; different types of bulbs, etc. Is there anyone out there that can explain about MH lights and/or is there some info somewhere I can read. It is all confusing right now.

I had thought about building my own hood and placing the lights in there, but I need to know more about them before I would make the hood.

Thanks,
Rick

There is good reason to be confused, there is alot to MH lighting...actually just plain lighting in general.

This thread may get you started. http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=624185

If you have any questions, feel free to post them here. There are many of us here with extensive knowledge on MH lighting. Most of us have had to do alot of research to find the best solution for our needs and likely can help you a great deal in your decision.

[hounddog01]

1. In the two months or so I've had my LR, the corraline has changed in places from light purple to a deep red (which I personally like), but now some of it is yellowing up. Is this indicative of anything, or does some corraline just like to yellow up (this is only occuring on one rock)?

Corline comes in mutiple colors. Sometimes it will change from light to dark purple and there are orange, red, green. I have seen some yellowing arround the edges. Usualy it is a water quality issue. Do a water change about 25% use RO or RO-DI water and you should see that start to clear up. If you have not done a water change for a while you may need to do a a few changes a week or so apart.

[pleaselaunchme]

Horace- thanks, thats exactly the information I was looking for.

Hounddog- Good to know. The yellowing seems to have started right as the algae blooms subsided. I will do a few large water changes this week and next, and see how it goes from there.

Ben