Austin goes Rimless - Dudester's 203g mixed reef

[GSMguy]

Originally posted by jnarowe
I think you have some great areas to grow a variety of corals. That info. is priceless. I have got to get a PAR meter. I just wonder how I would reord the numbers since my lights move?

that sounds good but every movement of the meter changes variables,

[jnarowe]

yeah I can't grow ricordia either. too bad because i love them, but well, that's the way my system is designed. I never thought I would fall in love with them or zoanthids when I built it.

[reef / aholic]

325 to 385 on the floor, raised that fixture up to 9" and take some more readings. The Blue plus, Aquablue and Aquasun are all PAR MONSTERS!!!

[jnarowe]

Originally posted by GSMguy
that sounds good but every movement of the meter changes variables,

I wouldn't be doing it to debate hahn or bean, just to get an idea if I am using too much light and where the bulk of the light is concentrating. Like is it at the ends where th edelay is, or perhaps in the middle of the pass.

[tanya72806]

FWIW I have 400w MH on my 120g and I keep ricordia and yumas

[GSMguy]

I have lots of light and still grow rics put them in a corner....

[jnarowe]

I have tried everything. they just melt.

[GMFett]

Dude-

Did you buy the meter for sunlight or for electric b/c the one you posted is for sunlight (outdoor) use?

[tanya72806]

i believe what that means is that your gonna calibrate it using sunlight or electric

[Dudester]

The PAR meter I have is calibrated against sunlight. I researched this quite a bit before purchasing a PAR meter and the ones calibrated against sunlight more accurately read the spectra that our tank lights put out. I am not able to calibrate the meter myself, and the directions suggest that I return it every 2 years for re-calibration. I like that it's a 'turn on-turn off' device but I would prefer to have the control of performing my own calibration from time to time.

[GMFett]

Word. Just curious because the website wasnt clear on the difference. Those T5's are so impressive. The growth and color is gonna be SAWEEEEEEEET!!!! See you friday!!! (Dont forget the par meter haha)

[reef / aholic]

Dudester - This is one I have Apogee Instruments Model QMSW-SS

[Dudester]

I made a trip to Marcus (GMFett) and Dallis' house yesterday and they hooked me up with some amazing frags, including a replacement for the ill-fated efflo. Thanks a ton guys, I owe you big time! I took my PAR meter to take some readings of their tank, which runs on 400W 10K and 20K bulbs under Lumenarc reflectors along with VHO and T5 supplementation. The results were very interesting. Their max numbers at the water surface were a little higher than what I'm getting with the Powermodule, but I get better light penetration to the substrate. Of course this is not an 'apples to apples' comparison since their lights hang much higher above the water than mine. What was really interesting was how drastic a reduction in PAR was seen when measuring beneath the reflector and just inches away. It was a huge drop-off. We also measured the PAR beneath the VHO's and T5's, and the VHO's are basically worthless and only serve to take up space. Hanging about 1 foot above the water the PAR of VHO's was 50 just beneath the water surface, while the T5's were ~150 if I remember correctly. Now it'll be a race of who will post pictures first, me of my new frags or Marcus and Dallis of their PAR map. Game on, guys .

RoBolton - It seems I didn't do quite enough research before getting my PAR meter. Yours enables you to calibrate the sensor, while I have to send mine back to the manufacturer every 2 years for a recal. Darn, one-upped again.

[jnarowe]

can't wait to see the number grid. The Apogee site is interesting. Can the Apogee Instruments Model QMSW-SS sensor be submerged?

[Dudester]

The sensor on that model looks identical to mine, Jonathan, so I'm fairly certain it's submersible.

[jnarowe]

Interesting. The manual also really stresses that the sensor must be kept level. How do you achieve that when submerged?

[Dudester]

The cord to the end of the sensor is fairly rigid, and the cord can be held 6" or more away from the sensor while the sensor still remains level. This is particularly important for another reason, in that one needs to ensure their arm and hand are not causing a shadow between the sensor and the light source, and the relatively rigid cord allows for this.

[jnarowe]

Thanks for the info. I am going to get a meter and just need to get feedback so I don't screw myself and get the wrong one. It's happened before you know.

[melev]

Mike, what did your meter cost? ROBolton, what did yours cost?

[bbehring]

Hey Dudester, how's that critter strainer on you CL working out? I put 2 supplies to my CL with smaller strainers on them, 1 for redundancy in case of clog up. That's a pretty big looking strainer!

[Dudester]

Jonathan - If I would have seen RoBolton's meter I would have gotten it, but I'm quite happy with mine. It's super easy to use.

Marc - Mine was $250 and RoBolton's is $320. It might be worth searching on ebay for a deal but this brand does have a very good reputation at this price level.

bbehring - The strainer is working out perfectly well, thank you. It's large for a reason. The more surface area, the less pressure applied to each individual 'hole' in the strainer. The brittlestar I foolishly tried to "rescue" from the strainer was in no peril at all, and in fact I find it atop the strainer with great frequency. My little Swales basslett occasionally camps out near the strainer during feedings, awaiting small morsels of food to be brought toward the strainer for some stress-free dining as opposed to fighting the other fish in front of the wavebox. I don't foresee my strainer ever getting clogged, but if it gets dirty I can easily remove the rock sitting upon it for maintenance. Your use of 2 drains for redundancy is smart.

[Dudester]

I got a bunch of stuff done today. I ran some tests and it seems I finally have my Ca reactor dialed in properly. No adjustments have been made to it in about a week and the alkalinity was 8.5 dKH, perfect for my ZEO tank. I also have been replacing potassium for quite some time now and it's finally at ~375 which is just about where it needs to be. Next I did a 5% water change and siphoned the sand. Lastly, I mounted all of my new frags and adjusted the return pattern on the 4-way. I hope that tomorrow all of the corals remain where I put them. In the past, most of my mass coral mountings were met with a few fallen soldiers. I will get some pics soon, promise.

[GMFett]

Originally posted by Dudester
I will get some pics soon, promise.

You better.....

[Dudester]

How's your PAR map coming, Marcus?

[GMFett]

About as well as your photos