tank back together with live rock/sand - now what?

[skype]

some of you may remember that I had to take apart my tank and reglue all the joints. it is up and running for about a week in the house now.
i'm a newbie to salt water tanks, so now that it is running. What now?
here are some pics.
without flash

with flash

i need new lighting. thinking of getting T5s. The canopy is pretty high about 14" off the water. Will this be okay for T5s?

 

[Corn]

yes T5 will be ok for LPS and some SPS.
what do you have as a filter ??? that is what i would work on next

 

[skype]

I have a 30 gal sump with ASM G3 skimmer.
Will the T5s be too high off the water? Do I need to lower it closer to the water?

 

[carpus]

why dont you just use MH. i think it might be aroudn the same price as T5's

and since your lighting will be 10+ inches higher, you wont need to worry about heat issues too much. And then you will be able to keep sps's and lps for sure

 

[skype]

trying to save on the PG&E bill.
Will the T5s help me do that?

 

[Elite]

You can use T5 but make sure you mount it lower. IMO, 14" is too high for T5.

 

[trmiv]

Yea, the T5's would need to be 3-5" off the water.

 

[xinumaster]

A lot of hobbiest in europe jave been using T5 and they have good success in keeping their corals color or even better. Here is Iwan threat about his T5 setup.

 

[skype]

how many T5s do I need? The tank is 6ft long 18" wide.

 

[Elite]

I would install at least 6. If it's my tank, I will go for 8.

 

[skype]

guys.. my tank still looks like crap. i still don't have the T5s, so I am thinking of keep just fish for now. I have a one spotted hawk, urichin, one green chromis, and some snails. i currently have 4-4ft sunlight t8 lights from phillips. I still have a lot of green /brown alge. I live in south SJ, anyone want to help me out?
thanks

 

[sidog1]

How often do you change water? what kind of skimmer?

 

[orientalexpress]

first of all ,get a nice RO/DI unit and do 10% water change every 2 week untill your nitrate is zero then back to once a month water change.gl


lapsan

 

[skype]

The tank has been up for a hmm a few months now and I only changed the water about 5 times, about 25 gals each time. I am using RO/DI water from a unit I purchased on ebay. tds meter usually reads between 1-3. I tested the water with a kit and everything is in the correct range.
I am using a ASM G3 skimmer.

 

[orientalexpress]

either not enought light ,feed too much or your phosphate is thru the roof from feeding.gl

lapsan

 

[Vincerama2]

Well, also, sometimes the tank will go through an algae cycle no matter what you do. It might do a few cycles before stabilizing.

Maybe add more (and various) snails to help keep the film algae in check. IF you have a sump, you can put some chaetomorpha macro algae in there to help with the algae (it'll need a light to grow...anything that can grow a plant).

V

 

[skype]

Thanks.. i'll add more snails to see if that will help. I have a sump, so i'll try to find some chaetomorpha (whatever that is )

 

[Vincerama2]

Chaetomorpha (or however you spell it) is a macro algae that grows like a thin string. It balls up to look like a Brillo pad scrubber. It grows fast, but it's easy to control, because it doesn't attach to things.

So you put some in your sump/fuge and it sucks up nutrients while it grows, then you "harvest" it and compost it (or toss it in the garbage/lawn/whatever) and the remaining clump continues, etc, etc.

If you want some, just post a thread saying "Need some chaeto in SJ" and 50 people will offer you some for free. Inculding myself. In fact if you are willing to pop over to Sunnyvale some day after work, I'll give you some. PM me if you want some.

V