maintaining live rock?

[Anonymous]

i really don't think VHO is a spendy lighting system. the bulbs are only slightly more expensive than NO bulbs.

you keeping FO would decrease the time interval for changing them out as well.
now, PC bulbs are a little spendy, and MH are more so than PC.

keep shopping and getting opinions.

 

[Jason Day]

No lighting will work for Coralline. But also remember calcium and alkalinity need to be at proper levels. You might want to consider dosing with Bi onic or another additive.

But if you can use VHO go ahead and do it. Like they said you can use the ballasts later on if you get into reefing for actinic lighting.

Jason

 

[bhb1034]

well i started with a freshwater tank, but then upgraded to sw fish only, so there is a chance that i might again upgrade to a reef tank. would the vho setup give me that much flexibility in the future. i know it was said that i could just add actinics. would pc be better?

 

[bhb1034]

ok i just read somewhere that pc are not that much better than vho. well then my next question is what type of vho, brand, website, etc.? i havent found many places carrying a vho hooded system for a six foot tank.

 

[King Jason]

You can get a 2x 72" VHO kit (320 watts) from Marine Depot for 245$ plus shipping. I don't think you can beat that price. You have to do a little wiring, but it's easy. Just follow the diagram.

 

[bhb1034]

ok i found something

this is expensive but seems ideal, 72":
http://www.championlighting.com/e/env/0 ... hoabs.html

this is cheaper but not sure, somebody already recommended jbj, id have to buy 2 36"
http://www.reefpacific.com/lightsys_formosaDX.html
tell me what you guys think. what are the ends and outs of these two setups or what would be better?

 

[tpro]

bhb1034,
Are you confused yet? Listen carefully, I have a 90 gall refugia I keep lit w/ 4 - 4' plant and aquarium bulbs I bought at home depot for 5$ each.
Now in my main tank I have about 1500 watts of vho and mh lighting in which, now here is the kicker I have very little coralline growth. In my sump I have tons of coralline growth, so much I have to constantly scrape it off my protein skimmer anf pumps down there.Coralline algae does not grow well in intense lighting it likes the less intense light. If you want to grow coralline in your tank ad some calcium to your water to promote it, and when your bulbs wear out go to home depot for grow lights. All the other bulbs are great for growing corals but since you don't want a coral tank and just nice pink live rock don't waste your money. Oh and by the way the coraline you have now will not die off w/ the lights you have now,it will grow.

 

[bhb1034]

but the rock is not just encrusted with algae it has what seems to be an open brain coral, several sponges, and many other photosynthetic animals (gulf view). i would like to keep them and possibly more decorative hardy species. i dont mind spending the money now instead of paying more later, especially if it makes my take look better. ive also thought about keep the standard 4 30w 50/50 on there and maybe adding another hood w/ MH or PC. please help.

 

[Dewman]

Chek your PM...

Hellolights...72" VHO 4-bulb retrofit. some wiring. Easy. You will need a hood.

Cheap...

I hate to tell you this, but the bigger the tank you have... the more you will need to spend in proportion now. Nothing is dirt cheap in here.. check out my sig...
You have a fairly big tank... :wink:

 

[tpro]

bhb1034,
Ok if you want to maintain coral like you said you will need more light. For your tank I recommend 660 icecap ballast (on sale right now through thesea.org for $159 + free shipping) w/ 2- 6' vho actinics. For metal halide lighting 1- 250watt iwasaki in the middle, 1-175 watt iwasaki for one side,and 1-175 watt 10k true german for you lower light corals(most of you soft corals).You can buy the ballasts for mh w/ fixtures at a good price from customaquatics.com. The best price for mh bulbs is hellolights.com.If you have room in your hood(that you'll probably have to build, about 20" high by the way), try to go w/ 4-4' vho's and stagger them in the hood it gives you another 120 watts of actinic and the ballast can handle it. Lastly make sure you have a good protein skimmer for ex. euro-reef I like but there are some others.Do you home work before you spend there a lot of other things you will need ,like a chiller a sand bed in your tank and enough live rock. You can expect to spend 1000's of dollars for a proper reef tank./

 

[bhb1034]

ok i just wanted to update you guys on my tank. i still have the 90 pounds of gulfview like rock. some sponges died, a brain coral dissintegrated, and a type of coral the guy sent me looks like its about to die. but overall the live rock looks great, it has alot more color and life after a couple weeks. ammonia and nitrate/nitrites never got over an unsafe level. never. having it so easy kinda made me lazy, so my first question is what do i need to do to take care of the life on my rock? any advice will do really, additives etc.
next is im still working on my lighting. i want it to really look as best as it can, ive gone through a million options but right now im stuck with a complete hooded system with 4 72" vho icecap ballasts.
http://www.championlighting.com/e/env/0 ... hoabs.html
this is what im thinking about right now. what do you guys think? is there something better for the money, or a differnt type, ballast, upgrade, which bulbs with it?, any information will help.
oh yeah i still want a mainly fish tank, but i want some more decorative coral that will fit in with my fish. you know easy maintenence stuff that fish wont destroy. just in case it matters

 

[bhb1034]

well nobody has replied to my post about the light upgrade. but it gave me some time to think. i really like the green, pink, and purple colors and life of the live rock. im satisfied with the way it is and im thinking about just getting more rock instead of intense lighting. but let me get something straight first. 100 watts of 50/50 bulbs will keep the coralline algae and colors alive and flurishing right? as long as i keep alk and ca up? since i have no corals and only want fish right now i do not want to kill off the coralline with intense lighting. that will only cost lots of money and make my tank look boring. so other than a few chem. additves i need nothing? reply please

 

[Expos Forever]

alot of the mh systems are matched with some form of flur. could i buy a mh only system and then just use the hood i have now for the flur. blue portion?

Yes,they're usually called retro kits or something similar. One thing to keep in mind if you will be retro-fitting MH's into your hood is the ample heat produced... Most pre-assembled MH/fluo combo hoods come with fans.

 

[esmithiii]

Guys, I have to disagree with your comments about NO lighting not keeping Coralline alive.

I have to agree with DewMan... Keep your existing lights unless you want to add corals. I would wait qute a while and learn more and make an educated decision. There is no hurry. Keep your existing lights for a few months and then take your time deciding.

VHO is not a bad choice as there are many bulb options and it is fairly economical because it is so popular.

I have PC supplementation and if I were to do it again would have gone with VHO.


Ernie

 

[Anonymous]

I know I am going to get some heat about this.but you are going to be just fine with what you have. There is no need for anything but Normal Output Flourescents in your tank.....unless you want to have Corals. You could probably even have some shrooms in your tank. These are not Corals or Anemones........and will do fine under low light conditions. I would place them in the upper level of your Rock....no further than 12 inches from your lighting. What fish are you planning to place in your tank? I do not buy into the all this "Light Hype". I know of people that have been successful using no more than 1 watt/gallon with Soft Corals. However your Rock will look better with Metal Halides or Power Compacts. I have a 55 watt power compact 50/50 over my 29 gallon Reef/Invert tank.....with about 25-30 pounds of Liverock. My tank has been running on about 6 months now. Blue-purple Coralline Algae is spreading rapidly all over my rock.it is even starting to grow on my Lacerock that I used for my base. I do have green algae growing for my inverts and fish to feed on. They keep it cut down like a nicely groomed Golf Green. I also have just recently noticed some bright green flourescent patches appearing on a piece of my Liverock. I have never seen this stuff before. It looks like coralline algae. Have Fun!

 

[bhb1034]

thanks for all the advice. i guess ill just wait awhile before buying an expensive system. but from what ive read intense lighting will just kill off coralline algae, and only leave it in the shaded barely visiable areas. id hate to think ive spent $500 on rock and $1000 on lights to only have it be bright and full of what would look like base rock. from what i understand corals are difficult and the fish i want would probably eat them, since im not really sure what fish im gonna get anyway. but at the same time i want to make sure i get all my moneys worth on what is attractive live rock so far. is there any set wattage ratio i should have in my tank for live rock only (30 in depth)? i could cheaply add 2*96 watts of pc lighting to my tank and still keep my hood and lights i have now. but i would only do that if i needed to. keep the ideas coming. thanks

 

[rbelshaw]

BangBang be right.

I have bought six established tanks over the last two years. The "best" coraline covered rock came from those who did not have enough light to keep an anenome or a 'shroom alive. The coraline tends to decrease as the lighting improves.
My reef under MH grows very little coraline, but great anenomes. In my FOWLR, under 2 X 96 PCs, coraline is a bloody nuisance, as it is in my clownfish nano tank (one 26 + one 55 PC)The most coraline on rocks I ever got came from a kid with 2X 55 over a 135 G tank.
Do more research. But I do not recomend PC. Search this site and others for overdriving NO bulbs.
If you are looking for a canopy on a 6' tank, consider two 3' hoods. By no means should you consider 6' tubes as 4' are standard and cheaper.

And, question to group: why are we so enamoured with purple rock?

 

[Anonymous]

BangBang be right.

I have bought six established tanks over the last two years. The "best" coraline covered rock came from those who did not have enough light to keep an anenome or a 'shroom alive. The coraline tends to decrease as the lighting improves.
My reef under MH grows very little coraline, but great anenomes. In my FOWLR, under 2 X 96 PCs, coraline is a bloody nuisance, as it is in my clownfish nano tank (one 26 + one 55 PC)The most coraline on rocks I ever got came from a kid with 2X 55 over a 135 G tank.
Do more research. But I do not recomend PC. Search this site and others for overdriving NO bulbs.
If you are looking for a canopy on a 6' tank, consider two 3' hoods. By no means should you consider 6' tubes as 4' are standard and cheaper.

And, question to group: why are we so enamoured with purple rock?

Thanks for the support.....really........I appreciate that. I do like some purple rock but the green stuff.....in my opinion serves a better purpose. My Nitrates are always Zreo and I have not had to do a whater chanege in three months now. Everything is doing terriffic. However I just got notice that my power is going to be shut off for 4 hours today. I started a battery operated pump tonight. The temp outside is in the teens. I am worried alot!

 

[Anonymous]

Ah crap! I messed up my previous post. Sh*t!