my house reef (211 g.)
- Thread starter iwan
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travis is totally right about losing bulb life by adding more voltage or power or as ice cap does it cranking up the frequency the bulb operates at. it's like a motor on 50 hertz runs at so many rpms but if you turn up the frequency to 60 hertz it will run faster normally and probably at higher temperatures. how much will this shorten the life of the motor I can' say. bulbs I think are even more sensitive than a motor. I have been running ice cap660's and ati/giesemann bulbs and they are less than 6 months old and I can see that the blue and purple tips that were bright and deep are starting to fade. not go away just fade . nothing has stopped growing or even slowed that I can tell but there is a difference. our best local store had the same t5's on his 240 gallon lps system and changed them around 1 year and killed quit a few corals from the very noticeable light increase. the tank was almost night and day before and after changing the bulbs. he replaced them with the same exact configuration.
on the other note ice cap has everything to lose by telling you the truth. I have been a very satisfied customer for years of ice caps and had great warranty service way beyond anything I expected. I don't know why they would say the bulbs last that long they sure don't for anyone I know. how did they measure color shift anyway? of course I don't think they actually make that t5 ballast in there factory I was told so not sure how true it is that someone else makes it for them until they get there's designed and in production. so there profit margine is probably smaller on something they are just turning over. they have alot to lose in my opinion.
IWAN YOUR TANK IS STILL THE JAM and thanks again for putting your experiences out here for us all to learn from.
which nightsun products are you using again and how are you dosing it at the moment?
on the other note ice cap has everything to lose by telling you the truth. I have been a very satisfied customer for years of ice caps and had great warranty service way beyond anything I expected. I don't know why they would say the bulbs last that long they sure don't for anyone I know. how did they measure color shift anyway? of course I don't think they actually make that t5 ballast in there factory I was told so not sure how true it is that someone else makes it for them until they get there's designed and in production. so there profit margine is probably smaller on something they are just turning over. they have alot to lose in my opinion.
IWAN YOUR TANK IS STILL THE JAM and thanks again for putting your experiences out here for us all to learn from.
which nightsun products are you using again and how are you dosing it at the moment?
dominick33
New member
Iwan,
What is the configueratiion of your t-5s
What is the configueratiion of your t-5s
Fliger
New member
I currently run Aquamedic blues next to ATI/Giesemann Actinic/Blue+ and the started out the same, but the Aquamedics are a little lighter after a few months. I also gave a couple Aquamedics to a friend and one didn't fire for a long time. Then when it finally fired, it was only a portion of the bulb. After a while it became fully lit - bit the whole thing was kinda odd. I will not be purchasing Aquamedics again - they might be fine, but I've never had a problem with Giesemann/ATI. I'm also hoping to pick up some of the Icecap tubes, and I also heard Captive Oceans is going to start importing some new T5's but am having a heck of a time trying to get info on them.
melev
Well-known member
My Prodibio products arrived last night. I'm going to have to get some input on what to do and what not to do. Iwan & Simon, are you willing to give me some direction?
My system has a phosban reactor filled with Rowaphos, and another one filled with carbon. Are either of these going to be a problem, either by affecting the product or by filtering it out of the water?
I run a skimmer and a refugium. I know the skimmer needs to be turned off for Reef Booster, but would love confirmation.
Does it matter if it is dosed in the morning, the evening, or late night? I'd like to get this as precise as possible to give the product every chance to prove itself.
If there's a post in this thread that has it all typed up, just give me the link rather than retyping it. I took bunch of pre-Prodibio pictures a few days ago, and just need to run a bunch of tests the water to establish my starting point.
My system has a phosban reactor filled with Rowaphos, and another one filled with carbon. Are either of these going to be a problem, either by affecting the product or by filtering it out of the water?
I run a skimmer and a refugium. I know the skimmer needs to be turned off for Reef Booster, but would love confirmation.
Does it matter if it is dosed in the morning, the evening, or late night? I'd like to get this as precise as possible to give the product every chance to prove itself.
If there's a post in this thread that has it all typed up, just give me the link rather than retyping it. I took bunch of pre-Prodibio pictures a few days ago, and just need to run a bunch of tests the water to establish my starting point.
TryTheChi
Member
Hi Marc
Your tank is highly stocked and fead heavily so there are plenty of pressures - if it were me - I wait to take the rowa offline when you get zero for NO3. The other factor is phosphates bound in the LR and any sand. If you have had rowaphos from day 1 of the tank and have no PO4 readings even with rowa then I'd feel more inclined to take rowa out sooner> I took mine off about 11 weeks after prodi started and it has stayed zero. Ovbiously - when you decide to take it off line - regular testing will be important. Tankblack has had good results with dosing weekly to bring PO4 down.
Re carbon - if its low flow or passive - thats good IME - unless there is a specific issue that neads clearing up. I actually use a trickle filter for my carbon.
RE the skimmer - they do say switch it off for 15 mins after dosing but I find the fatty content of Booster suppresses skimmer bubble formation for a few hours - so I dont bother switching it off.
Dosing time - I dont think it matters - although its always nice to dose at night and wake up to stunningly translucent water. RE Booster - PE is enhanced eve n during the day so......its fun to watch day and night - but the water goes cloudy for a few hours dso I dose at night.
LOoking forward to your pics
Cheers
Simon
Anybody know where I can buy rowa phos on line?
New tank is going thru some algae phases right now...all other parameters look good however. Getting tired of stiring the DSB top layer of brown diatom bloom...
TIA,
PS8411
PS, might as well get going with these products also...anybody know a good place online to buy...Zeo CV AAHC PIF, Start2
175 G - 8 T5 624 w - 2 Streams, 2 Euroreef C8 skimmers, 24/7 carbon, Korallin CR - Prodibio Digest, Trace, Booster,
New tank is going thru some algae phases right now...all other parameters look good however. Getting tired of stiring the DSB top layer of brown diatom bloom...
TIA,
PS8411
PS, might as well get going with these products also...anybody know a good place online to buy...Zeo CV AAHC PIF, Start2
175 G - 8 T5 624 w - 2 Streams, 2 Euroreef C8 skimmers, 24/7 carbon, Korallin CR - Prodibio Digest, Trace, Booster,
Anybody know where I can buy rowa phos on line?
New tank is going thru some algae phases right now...all other parameters look good however. Getting tired of stiring the DSB top layer of brown diatom bloom...
TIA,
PS8411
PS, might as well get going with these products also...anybody know a good place online to buy...Zeo CV AAHC PIF, Start2
175 G - 8 T5 624 w - 2 Streams, 2 Euroreef C8 skimmers, 24/7 carbon, Korallin CR - Prodibio Digest, Trace, Booster,
New tank is going thru some algae phases right now...all other parameters look good however. Getting tired of stiring the DSB top layer of brown diatom bloom...
TIA,
PS8411
PS, might as well get going with these products also...anybody know a good place online to buy...Zeo CV AAHC PIF, Start2
175 G - 8 T5 624 w - 2 Streams, 2 Euroreef C8 skimmers, 24/7 carbon, Korallin CR - Prodibio Digest, Trace, Booster,
melev
Well-known member
Simon, I'll send you the URL to the current images in a PM.
I'm running carbon in a Phosban Reactor. Water flows through it slowly (using an old MaxiJet 250), but it wouldn't be passive filtration.
My tank had PO4 issues galore, with an all-time peak of 3.0 last summer. At that point, either the phosphate or the phosphate remover were going to kill my corals. So I had nothing to lose and everything to gain, I hammered away at the water with every P04 remover on the market, and finally got it down to 0 on Dec 31, 05. I'll test the water here shortly, to get all my readings. I've had low readings this year around .5, so there still is some in the LS & LR.
I plan to test the water weekly during the dosing regime.
I shut off the skimmer every night when I feed, so that might be the perfect time to dose. Actually, I turn off the return pump, so it keeps the food in the display instead of wasting food in the sump and overflows.
I'm running carbon in a Phosban Reactor. Water flows through it slowly (using an old MaxiJet 250), but it wouldn't be passive filtration.
My tank had PO4 issues galore, with an all-time peak of 3.0 last summer. At that point, either the phosphate or the phosphate remover were going to kill my corals. So I had nothing to lose and everything to gain, I hammered away at the water with every P04 remover on the market, and finally got it down to 0 on Dec 31, 05. I'll test the water here shortly, to get all my readings. I've had low readings this year around .5, so there still is some in the LS & LR.
I plan to test the water weekly during the dosing regime.
I shut off the skimmer every night when I feed, so that might be the perfect time to dose. Actually, I turn off the return pump, so it keeps the food in the display instead of wasting food in the sump and overflows.
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