Lukinrats 75 gallon tank thread!!!
- Thread starter lukinrats
- Start date
Mykel Obvious
New member
Ok, Marc is back so we can turn RC back on again 
Here's my little contribution to the split
I like the side by side growth shots... nice to see the progression and color changes
Acan looks great as I knew it would... does that one have a "name"?
As to the red algae, I have that too, but it is mostly buried under the two or possibly three Dictyota sp. and other algae I have yet to eradicate... very not happy with the algae situation, but I'm hoping the NeoZeo I'm starting today will help kill all this crap off :mad2:
Oh, and I can't believe that the Petshmo in Meridian has a SW section, when none of them around here do anymore... and it is twice as hard to believe that it was a GOOD SW section... good find
Here's my little contribution to the split
I like the side by side growth shots... nice to see the progression and color changes
Acan looks great as I knew it would... does that one have a "name"?
As to the red algae, I have that too, but it is mostly buried under the two or possibly three Dictyota sp. and other algae I have yet to eradicate... very not happy with the algae situation, but I'm hoping the NeoZeo I'm starting today will help kill all this crap off :mad2:
Oh, and I can't believe that the Petshmo in Meridian has a SW section, when none of them around here do anymore... and it is twice as hard to believe that it was a GOOD SW section... good find
lukinrats
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13799554#post13799554 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Nathan, I left town for a few days. I figured RC would go down for that duration, and you wouldn't feel like your thread is being ignored.
I love all your new pictures, and think you need to keep up the good work.
Well, I really did not think much of it... I knew you had been out, since I read that in your thread... I appreciate the kind words, and I hope that you had a good trip... Sounds like some rough weather made it a bit challenging.
LOL!!! You are a riot!!!
NathanS
lukinrats
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13801681#post13801681 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mykel Obvious
Ok, Marc is back so we can turn RC back on again
Here's my little contribution to the split
I like the side by side growth shots... nice to see the progression and color changes
Acan looks great as I knew it would... does that one have a "name"?
Thanks for the help!!! :lol: Hopefully I can get some better pictures here in the next few days...I just can't seem to get the white balance just right... As far as the ACAN goes, I think it is getting a little better... I built a bridge for it to sit on, that is under an overhang... Seems to like that little bit of shade... I don't know of the name... I bought it from Aquarium Specialty, and as I remember, the name was ACAN #7:lol: I guess that will have to suffice
Not sure what you mean on the red algae, as I did not think I was inquiring about any... I was talking about that fuzzy brillo pad looking stuff, but since I am severely color blind, that could be exactly what you are talking about
Is it red??????
I really have no other algae in my tank, so that is why I am confused about it... I use vinegar in my limewater, so that pretty much works along with the Zeobac to destroy what algae I do have... My PO4 is .00 or .01 ppm measured by a hanna meter, and my NO3 is 0 when checked by Elos, API, and Hagen... Which is pretty much why I am where I am... It does not seem that this fuzzy stuff relies on nutrients that much, or it would be dying like anything els I have... Maybe my yellow tang will take a liking to it:inlove: :lol:
I was really impressed by the Petco... I stopped by there, only because I had stopped at the Chik fil a on the way back from Tuscaloosa... I saw it and thought I could get some cheap salt there, for out office tank... So I was really impressed by the saltwater section... They had about 9-12 tanks with SW fish in them, and some really nice looking rock in each one, that had Walt Smith tags on each rock... They had about 20 tanks, plenty of food (frozen and dry), skimmers, supplements, filters, all kinds of crap... I hope that it can stay good, so that I can go there, instead of driving to the Death zone LFS in Hattiesburg
Later,
NathanS
Mykel Obvious
New member
This is what made me talk about the red (fuzzy) alage... it was way back on the 14th, so maybe you forgot you posted it
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13803824#post13803824 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by lukinrats
Not sure what you mean on the red algae, as I did not think I was inquiring about any... I was talking about that fuzzy brillo pad looking stuff, but since I am severely color blind, that could be exactly what you are talking about
I really have no other algae in my tank, so that is why I am confused about it... I use vinegar in my limewater, so that pretty much works along with the Zeobac to destroy what algae I do have... My PO4 is .00 or .01 ppm measured by a hanna meter, and my NO3 is 0 when checked by Elos, API, and Hagen... Which is pretty much why I am where I am... It does not seem that this fuzzy stuff relies on nutrients that much, or it would be dying like anything els I have... Maybe my yellow tang will take a liking to it:inlove: :lol:
You must be colorblind for sure as the photo you posted on the last page sure looked red to me :lol:
I've read that some types of algae can stick around even in full blown Zeovit systems... I'm just hoping that I can kill off as much as possible and keep this crud from overrunning my corals... by the time I knew I had a problem, the tank was halfway overrun and I'm going to have to fight that much harder to get where I want to be
lukinrats
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13803970#post13803970 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mykel Obvious
This is what made me talk about the red (fuzzy) alage... it was way back on the 14th, so maybe you forgot you posted it
I've read that some types of algae can stick around even in full blown Zeovit systems... I'm just hoping that I can kill off as much as possible and keep this crud from overrunning my corals... by the time I knew I had a problem, the tank was halfway overrun and I'm going to have to fight that much harder to get where I want to be
Ya, I still don't see the red :lol:.. The photo that you quoted above, was not mine... I had posted it as a possible identifier of what I have... I went searching around for something that resembled it, and that photo was all that I could find... I am not real sure that it is the same tho!
Later,
NathanS
Canarygirl
New member
Hi there Nathan, thanks for pointing me over here from that other forum 
I didn't read all your pages yet but am interested to learn what kind of ballast (or T-5 unit) you are running, since you seem to have such good light penetration in your tank.
I didn't read all your pages yet but am interested to learn what kind of ballast (or T-5 unit) you are running, since you seem to have such good light penetration in your tank.
Canarygirl
New member
So Nathan, are you still not using fans to cool the ends of your T-5's? I have an IC 660 running 4 x 24" T-5's for my frag tank, and only one fan on one end. On the end farthest away from the fan, I have lost 3 bulbs in 6 months due to them developing hot spots (black circles near the end), which will then crack and disable the unit until that bulb is replaced.
And, now that you've used this unit a while what is your theory on why/how you get such excellent PAR? (Also, I didn't see what knid of ballast it is...but maybe it's an IC 660)
And, now that you've used this unit a while what is your theory on why/how you get such excellent PAR? (Also, I didn't see what knid of ballast it is...but maybe it's an IC 660)
lukinrats
Premium Member
Well, this is the strangest thing, I guess... Everyone kept telling me that cooling these bulbs down on the end with the writing, was the way to go... So, when I got my Par meter, and started taking readings, I tried it... If I remember right, I was getting something like 230 Par on the sand, and then when I cooled the bulbs as suggested, the Par would drop to 175-190 (something like that)... When I would turn the fan off, the Par would creep back up to 230... Go figure!!!
I will be getting a new Par meter, hopefully soon, so I will be able to tell you how my bulbs are doing... My only problem is that I have changed bulbs so many times, trying to get the right mix, that it will be hard to really know
As far as how that fixture is doing what it does, I can only assume that having those 2 bulbs in each reflector, is sort of like overdriving them... Meaning that they are probably more comparable to an 80 or 90 watt, than a 54W... Maybe it is like I have 4 x 90-100 watt bulbs or something... It really is very surprising, and if I had to say whether or not the fixture is still performing as it was, I would say yes, but we will know for sure soon
The ballasts are workhorse 5
Later,
NathanS
Mykel Obvious
New member
Hey N8,
From talking with the Grim Reefer, Hahnmeister and others, if you over cool the bulbs the PAR drops as well... the "cool spot" at the labeled end should run around 113F which leaves the bulb center at about 95F... much more or less than that and PAR starts to suffer... Hahnmeister used a variable voltage power supply on a fan to get his Tek fixture to a better PAR reading
Not sure if you are over cooling when you run the fan or not, but it sounds as though you could be... Hahn (or someone) was using a no-touch IR thermometer from Harbor Freight to test the temp of the cool spot, I think... might be interesting to see what temp you are at now, and what temp when the fan is on for a while
just a thought
From talking with the Grim Reefer, Hahnmeister and others, if you over cool the bulbs the PAR drops as well... the "cool spot" at the labeled end should run around 113F which leaves the bulb center at about 95F... much more or less than that and PAR starts to suffer... Hahnmeister used a variable voltage power supply on a fan to get his Tek fixture to a better PAR reading
Not sure if you are over cooling when you run the fan or not, but it sounds as though you could be... Hahn (or someone) was using a no-touch IR thermometer from Harbor Freight to test the temp of the cool spot, I think... might be interesting to see what temp you are at now, and what temp when the fan is on for a while
just a thought
lukinrats
Premium Member
Ya, that is what we decided, and then I pretty much figured that my tank, lights, heck pretty much everything is a temporary thing... So I am just trucking right along with what I have, and not having any problems with the lighting... My Par meter will be here soon, and maybe I can borrow one of those IR thermometers to check it out... I really did not want to put fans there, as it will just increase salt spray
I really appreciate the numerical pointers though... That should help if I can find a way to measure it
Later,
NathanS
lukinrats
Premium Member
Ok... I was able to take some pictures last night... I think for one thing, my white balance is better in these... The other is that I was able to get some much better up close photos than before... BTW the picture of the green monti spumosa below looks bad, and that is because I accidentally made a swipe across the tissue with a dental Water Pik... I was cleaning some nudi eggs from it, and made a booboo!!!
Here we go:
Here we go:
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lukinrats
Premium Member
Now here is a series of pictures that I want to show, since the coral seems to be having some sort of problem... I bought this at the LFS, even though it looked pretty rough... I have had it in my tank for a few weeks now, and it seemed as though it was doing really well and recovering nicely... I did a series of dips on it when I brought it home... Interceptor, Revive, Iodine!
It still looks really good in spots, but it has some spots that just look really dried out w/ no PE and just sort of dead looking... I am wondering if it is because of:
#1.. The dips
#2.. Not enough light since it is on DSB
#3.. Not the right flow, even though it is getting enough it seems
Maybe someone can give some suggestions... First I will add the pictures of the bad spots... Then in the next post, I will add the photos of the rest of the coral... It does have a fuzzy little crab that lives on it, but I don't attribute any of this to the crab
It still looks really good in spots, but it has some spots that just look really dried out w/ no PE and just sort of dead looking... I am wondering if it is because of:
#1.. The dips
#2.. Not enough light since it is on DSB
#3.. Not the right flow, even though it is getting enough it seems
Maybe someone can give some suggestions... First I will add the pictures of the bad spots... Then in the next post, I will add the photos of the rest of the coral... It does have a fuzzy little crab that lives on it, but I don't attribute any of this to the crab
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