Let this be a lesson

[Tackett]

For all those considering Powercompact lighting for its cheapness (as I have.) Let this be a lesson. I am currently getting ready to drop over a hundred dollars in bulbs this year, and will have to do the same thing in about 8 months. I wish I had bought halides.

By the way, found some neat critters:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... CatId=1969
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... CatId=1962
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... CatId=1963

The only one of these that I havent seen before was the bumblebee shrimp. I guess its yellow and black for a reason, so that kinda scares me. As for the crabs, I dont know much about them, but I dont trust crabs...regardless of the circumstances.

 

[Tackett]

I also forgot to ask:

What would you do in this situation. Next payday I was going to spend about 380 beans on a remora180. Would you go ahead and get the skimmer, buy the bulbs and wait on the halide? Or would you keep saving the 380 bucks intill you could afford a halide instead of getting the skimmer right now?

 

[Tackett]

I thought about two of these:
http://www.hellolights.com/ocli25hqiame.html

and selling all my Powercompact fixtures.

 

[Tackett]

I have the money to get one of three things that I need:

A good skimmer
a ro/di unit (tired of wal mart runs)
metal halides.

 

[Anonymous]

All three are of importance and I couldnt tell you which one to is the most..seeing as the water although inconvient you can get that would be last on my list if you have sps..that lighting IMO would be #1 followed by a good skimmer then the RO unit..if you have no sps maybe the skimmer first and Halides last...I guess?

 

[Anonymous]

If you know that you are going to switch over to MH I would be reluctant to buy new bulbs for the PCs. But an RO/DI is priceless, and you would probably find yourself making water changes more often, which might let you hold off on the new skimmer for a little while longer.

 

[Tackett]

Wonder if those halides will be able to hang from the celing of my singlewide?

 

[Anonymous]

If you can get good strong supporting hooks from HomeDepot or Lowes I dont see why not...as long as the single wide's ceiling is sturdy enough to handle it..the fixture weighs around 10lbs give or take the size of the fixture...

 

[Tackett]

Hmm...I might get the skimmer first. I think the halides would just contribute more to my algae bloom.

 

[Oceans Ferevh]

Those are the same exact fixtures I'm considering. Great price huh; Everyone told me that it was a great deal also, and that the brand was awsome. I broke down and bought a Kent 200R DI unit about a two months ago and love it! No water is waisted and you can recharge the resins over and over and over. I would go with the skimmer first personally. You can wait a month or two to get the RO unit. It only means making one or two more trips to Wally's world for water (been there. done that). PitPat's right. I'd hold off on buying new bulbs at this point also.

 

[Anonymous]

Here are a couple of good ways to hang halides from the ceiling.

1) Screw the hooks into the ceiling joists. (prefered)
2) Use a setup like the following... use a hardwood plate that is anchored into the ceiling using drywall anchors of your choice, then screw the hooks into the hardwood. Use S-Hooks and chains for infinite hight variation Like the following examples...

 

[Tackett]

Going to have to buy the bulbs eventually though, if I dont change lights in the next few months. Algae is starting to get out of control.

 

[Tackett]

I like how those are hung. That gives me a few ideas.

 

[Tackett]

Those are the same exact fixtures I'm considering. Great price huh; Everyone told me that it was a great deal also, and that the brand was awsome. I broke down and bought a Kent 200R DI unit about a two months ago and love it! No water is waisted and you can recharge the resins over and over and over. I would go with the skimmer first personally. You can wait a month or two to get the RO unit. It only means making one or two more trips to Wally's world for water (been there. done that). PitPat's right. I'd hold off on buying new bulbs at this point also.

That is a killer price on those lights, considering that th 150's are only 20 dollars cheaper.

 

[reefmongrel]

If you have hadd success w the PCs, I'd get R/O first, skimmer, and then make the light switch. Good water eliminates so many potential problems. The skimmer keeps it there.

 

[Tackett]

Well, Im using RO/DI water now, I just dont have my own unit. I wont use tap.

 

[Oceans Ferevh]

DON'T USE TAP WATER EVER!!!! That was the first step in my hair algae hell.

 

[Tackett]

I agree oceans. It is my first advice to those battling algae problems. (even if they dont listen.)

 

[danmhippo]

Skimmer --> RODI --> MH

 

[Anonymous]

Tackett order the light with ground shipping. then you can go here
http://www.airwaterice.com/
and get your ro/di and spend just a little more than your $380.00 that you already have. If you have a sump, I'll send you a diy skimmer to play with.