New reefer !!!

[marylee]

i am really excited to get into this hobby. i have 150g tank that has been up for about 6 months. And as you can see i am in need of some color/corals ,so if you or anyone you know has a piece that you don't want in your tank or would be willing to frag to help me out please let me know!!!
i look forward to the meetings in this group and to putting together this amazing-beautiful-master-piece to enjoy in my home!

 

[crispyreef]

Do you want softies or stonies?

 

[shaneh]

I’ve got a Kenya tree you can have....what kind of lighting do you have? That will help out with what you can care for.

PS: Do you dive for abalone or just like the shells?

 

[shaneh]

double post whoops

 

[kokaneejr]

Good meeting you last week. I have some regular stuff like an orange digitata, green Toadstool and pulsing zenia. They don't like em at frag swaps but I seem to be good at growin em. They are yours if you want one or some.

 

[Reef Bass]

Welcome again to the club. Your tank looks well on its way. Thanks for sharing your pics.

Please let us know about your lighting and we can be more successful with frags.

What corals appeal to you?

 

[marylee]

wow thanks for all the replies! i have 2- 72" VHO flor. currently over my tank i have been looking into getting metal halide instead. so far the few pieces that i have added all did great. red favia piece i had to place higher in the tank but its doing great.

i would like to fill the upper half of the tank with mainly branching hard corals and softies of all types.

the middle half done with polyps, mushrooms, few vibrant SPS.

then on the floor ... have items that have a sort of -blanket(grassy)look- would like to keep the bottom floor area clear of corals for now so basically would appreciate anything that does not require high high lighting.

 

[marylee]

lol i found the shells on my property when we moved in ... thought they were cool so cleaned them up and put them in. i am surprised to see the shells still have not got algae on them at all. i am using the shells to sort of hide the huge fan lol. and adds sort of neat look. the fish like to hide under them too!

 

[northbay-reefer]

Welcome to the club.

For branching corals you will need better flows, something in the line of tunze, maximod, koralia type of power heads

Also you will need better liights, the VHO are fine but you will need to add either T5 or halide.

Do you have a good skimmer?

 

[marylee]

the tank has excellent flow it actually has too much. i had to re-arrange the rock so i could place pieces that didn't like the flow.
yes have a good skimmer
yes i want to put better lights overhead i have just hesitated because the top of the tank is solid wood and i am pretty sure metal halides will heat my water really fast . when i get the lighting i am also going to have to get a chiller.

 

[marylee]

i am not very familiar with installing t5 or halides . i do have i skinny fixture for 8- t5s that i have not mounted to my fixture . what type of watt/style/output do you recommend of bulbs to put in? the tank is 27" deep and the place i would mount the fixture is about a foot up from the water.

 

[northbay-reefer]

i am not very familiar with installing t5 or halides . i do have i skinny fixture for 8- t5s that i have not mounted to my fixture . what type of watt/style/output do you recommend of bulbs to put in? the tank is 27" deep and the place i would mount the fixture is about a foot up from the water.

You need to fire up that bad boy and use it ...lol, no need for halide if you have that many t5s

what is the length of the t5 hood? I am guessing 48" ? if yes then you are ready to cook with gas

 

[marylee]

You need to fire up that bad boy and use it ...lol, no need for halide if you have that many t5s

what is the length of the t5 hood? I am guessing 48" ? if yes then you are ready to cook with gas

its 72" or a little under its set up like this
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each bulb is like 34" or something. lol k i will put it in today

 

[northbay-reefer]

ok this is how I would line up the bulbs mirrored for both sides, this set up will be 312 watt total and will give you much greater lights than the two 72" VHO that runs an total of 320 watt.

ATI Blue +
KZ Fiji Purple
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue +

The ATI has great par so make sure to go with ATI, reefgeek and aquacave have great price on bulbs

 

[crispyreef]

I have a Cladella I got from GARF years ago that you can have. They don't require much light.

 

[marylee]

okay thanks for the advice so what watts? 39 ... 54 or 80?

 

[northbay-reefer]

The 34" ones are 39 watt each, I think you need 8-- 34" T5 bulbs to fill both side of that light hood.

 

[carne.espada]

When I get back from Hawaii the middle of Feb. you can come by and pick whatever softies you want from my tank. Craig can probably direct you to what I have in there, picture wise. I can also be of help in getting stuff together for you. I can do all that electrical, plumbing, carpentry, etc. Have helped others, too. I think they would endorse me????

 

[shaneh]

Marylee-

if you want to get bulbs check out http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/store/cart.php Steve is a member of the club with great prices on bulbs....give him a call I think you'll save some money with the amount of bulbs you need to buy.

 

[marylee]

i ordered the bulbs from reef geek last night but i will try to get them from there next time - thanks