120 starfire HOB upgrade

[jmait769]

I would just for peace of mind! Mainly because, if something did crop up, you know exactly what is in the tank as far as the water quality goes and would be ahead of the game. I have always tried to do 10 gallons a week on my tanks but do slip some now and then. Not sure on how long the impurities from tap water would take to get out of a tank but I imagine you would counteract those with the "œnew" water and the other filtration items you mentioned.

Jay

 

[mistaflicksta]

I think the answer Pedro is looking for is "Do It man, the new RO/DI that you just got is burning a hole in your patience so just do it!" LOL! Dude Like Jay said, it is better to know what is in your tank, you dont want something to creep up on you.

I have been doing 30% water changes every week for the last three weeks due to the diatom phase of the biopellets and it doesnt seem to bother the tank inhabitants.

so do like starsky and hutch and "do it!".

 

[pnavarro170]

no yeah i would start now, but i dont want to change salts and i wont get my new salt bucket till next week sometime. i will check the local stores to see if they get some in.

 

[puffin04]

As long as your parms match up to the saltwater change then it will not be an issue at all. This is why i say that i keep my tank parms to the same as Red Sea Coral Pro. Though i did lose some SPS on the move i blame changing in the new bulbs and also not hooking the refuge up after several days.

When i flush my system meaning i stir everything up on the bottom, i let the overflow do the work and then i vacuum out my refuge on the bottom. You might have to take a hose in the tank and do one section at a time to get all that stuff out.

How is my nassarius snail doing? lol I know how much you love 40lbs of sitting for weeks bucket sand!

Steffen Sparks

 

[pnavarro170]

havent seen that damn snail since day one. or 2 actually. and thats what killed my 3.5 sps frags it was your sand !!!! haha.

and to flush out the system a bit i stir up the refugium first to get that stuff out in the main tank then crank up my mp100ness to get that stuff going into the skimmer. it gets the water A MOVIN !!

i dont see all the pods and life in the refugium like i had before, lost alot in the move i guess, i might need to add some pods.

 

[pnavarro170]

got bored and thought i would try and get some fish pics, enjoy.

male asian lyretail anthia

the female anthias

good shot of gsp valley

kindof a dick to new fish but i still love em

purple tang

yellow sponges

vlangmini tang, classic beauty in my opinion, hope he doesnt outgrow too fast

female lyretail anthia, asian im told

 

[pnavarro170]

8 larger green chromis

 

[ahlebik]

Nice pictures!

 

[puffin04]

Looks great pedro!!! Any issues with them eating? How often are you feeding them? Also i remember awhile ago i purchased a VLAMINGI tang and he came in small and about a year or so he was a foot long!!!! He is actually in Seth's pool now, fat and happy. lol

Steffen Sparks

 

[pnavarro170]

i bought the vlamingi less than a year ago i think he has gained an inch. but hes the biggest pig of all the fish. i think i feed more because of him. so hes about 5-6 inches big now. fat and happy, im sure i can find a home for him if he gets too big but im guessing that wont be for another year or 2 and theres no telling where or what ill have then. all the fish are eating well, the anthias are very picky even with rods food but they love mysis. im looking out for the latest addition a cleaner wrasse. hes eating but hope its enough.

 

[psuedopimp]

very nice pictures. love all the fish.

 

[pnavarro170]

thanks, and i was feeding at least 2wice a day since they have been in there, but i have lowered it to once a day the last few. just wanted them strong and happy for the transition i guess. now im gonna cut down again.

on another note i got my Ushio 10k's in yesterday. im kinda scarred to switch them. haha. i dont have my new t5's in yet, instead of the 460nm icecaps, i got UVL 454nm. really should get more growth out of these. but the tank as of right now is still settling in so im not seeing the growth i was getting before just yet. well this week i mean.

 

[psuedopimp]

ever since i redid my aquascape, i haven't seen the growth like before. the color still sucks the same as it ever did, but at least they were all growing like weeds. i was getting great growth with the 14K phonenix. still working on my colors tho.....starting to experiment with snake oils....

 

[pnavarro170]

well i got great color with those bulbs, dont know how much color was added with the 150 single blue led's i have also, they arent for growth for sure just supplement on looks i thought while on. but maybe they are helping with color. im not sure.

 

[strayvoltage]

Looking very nice Pedro. Don't be worried about the new lights, just start off slow and build up.
:wave:

 

[jmait769]

Great pics Pedro! :thumbsup: Love the fish keep the pics coming!! The GSP valley "“ that was a neat idea and a great feature.

Jay

 

[pnavarro170]

thanks guys, i changed the halides just now, and with the supplemental lighting it looks pretty good. probably not as nice as the 14k's but i just need to get used to it. the shimmer affect is more noticable. but a nice white color not too yellow. this also makes algae on glass and dirt floating more noticable also. so ill monitor the growth. gonna move a few coral pieces around later today to better spots, and sit back and enjoy.

with salt and new t5 bulbs coming next week, and the rodi unit. maintenace should be done for a while (well purchases i mean). also might try to switch the halides to 20k's in 6 months if the growth is great to color things back up. use those for 6 months and put these back on for 6 and so forth. we shall see. i just know thats what alot of the major frag farmers do. get em big then color them up. be neat to try.

and ill post some pics later hopefully of the new halides so i can compare on here as well.

 

[deehz]

Looks good P!!

If you can, measure each piece and document in the 6 month intervals to see in which light spectrum the corals grew best. Well, and also, which corals did not fair so well with each spectrum. It would make for an interesting science experiment.

 

[pnavarro170]

would be hard, i would at least need to set them in the same place and take close up pictures of them, and then do this once a month same position and angle. i will try this a bit better. kinda wanted to do that but untill the tank is stable stable then they grow. and that isnt there yet.

 

[pnavarro170]

k here are updated pics with new halide bulbs. as you can see its a good white, not yellow, and there are no modifications to these pics. just croppin.