Pics

[carb850]

They are fast too, best to just pass IMO. You might consider Blue Green Chromis instead. They are pretty and hardy.

You might want to reed up a little on the hermits too. Back when I had a small tank setup I had a number of the blue leg hermits. It never dawned on me at the time, but after reading recently about this behavior, I think they were eating a lot of my snails. They were so small I didn't think it would be a problem but I was losing a lot of snail at the time. I thought it was just something with my setup. I'm still looking into it myself but it seems like the scarlet hermits are not as bad, even though they are larger.

 

[solareclisped]

from what i have read on the hermits killing snails it is because as they grow they like bigger shells and usually the snails are bigger. From what i understand if you have plenty of empty shells for them to change into they will leave the snails alone.

 

[carb850]

That is supposed to help. Also, if they get low on food they go after snails. However, I had a bunch that were dead and their shells were not taken over. The Turbos and Nassarius were not touched, but the Nerite and Cerith were almost wiped out completely.

 

[LtPiper]

All damsels are pretty aggressive. With the crabs and snails in there just give it a few more weeks and start looking at the other livestock you want.

 

[solareclisped]

yeah that is what I will do. I will probably get some more crabs and snails to keep building up. I am also contemplating my light still. I am really considering the aquactinics constellation 7 bulb setup.

 

[LtPiper]

Speaking of crabs and clean up crews what ever happened to the group buy that was mentioned about a month or so ago?

I'm kinda at the okay we need to do this now state.

 

[carb850]

If you do go that route, I would at least look into the ATI 6 bulb Powermodule. It will run about the same price as the 7 bulb Constellation. I'm not sure which of the two would be better as both are very nice. I'm seeing about $800 with bulbs. Keep in mind these are the BMW's of the T5 world.

So yes you can get a cheaper dual MH unit but you can also get cheaper T5's. Cost wise they would stack up as.

Budget T5 < Budget MH < Premium T5 < Premium MH.

Would performance stack up the same from lowest to highest? I'm thinking probably.

 

[carb850]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14789947#post14789947 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LtPiper
Speaking of crabs and clean up crews what ever happened to the group buy that was mentioned about a month or so ago?

I'm to the point were I would be game for a small order myself (~ $50). In a few more weeks I might be able to double that if it were to take that long.

 

[solareclisped]

I found someone on ebay that has better prices then the other place. I think the name is pieceofthereef or something like that.

I have looked at the ati and the aquactinics and the constellation is actually about $50 cheaper then the ati and has an additional bulb. I also like the idea of 3 switches of 2,2,3 the constellation has. There is a new ati coming out called the sunpower i think and is only about 500 for the 6x54 but is on waiting list at reefgeek and you have to put your name on a list. It is not even listed yet.

 

[solareclisped]

I also love the fact that I can sit this thing on my aquarium without any legs.

 

[carb850]

Aquatinics is nice because it is US made (the older I get the more patronic I'm getting toward my buying habits). The ATI is nice for bling factor. They look fantastic, European designed, and work great.

It seems both have great reflectors and active cooling, both of which are very important in quality T5 fixtures. T5 spec ballast is the other piece of the puzzle but I'm not sure which fairs better in that measurement. Without doubt the ATI comes with a T5 spec ballast in Europe, but whether they do here I don't know.


Sitting on top of the tank is nice, but I'm liking my hanging kit so far. The look is very clean and being able to raise it while still having access to the tank has been handy already. I will say the spill over light is a bigger deal than I figured it would be. My tank is in my office and the colors really wash out my monitor a lot.

(edit to add)
With an all T5 fixture you will probably keep it closer to water level so the intense spill over will probably be a lesser issue.

 

[solareclisped]

Well I added 10 red leg hermits today and these guys are always busy.