Pic of Tank Moved

[Awibrandy]

Spruced up a bit. Lots more work to do.

 

[Awibrandy]

Hi guys, couple of questions.. 1) I finally caved in, purchased a MH/VHO fixture. MH Tar ballast power 3-175Watt SE bulbs, VHO Icecap ballast power 2-6' bulbs.
(a) What bulbs would you recommend? What was in the hood needs to be replaced (Ushio 175Watt 10K) as per seller.
(b) Also, how long should the MH light run? I am also adding a second fan to the hood.
(c) And since I have glass top on the tank, does the hood still need the plexi cover?
Second question:
2) I've got this tan crappy looking stuff all over my sand bed. Is this do to the recent move? Or is it the salt? I use coralife salt on a regular basis, but because with my girlfriend's set up came a bucket of Oceanic salt I used that during the move. Someone had told me that the Oceanic salt causes this problem. Is this true? Once I go back to the coralife will this issue clear up? Also got this red slime like film in my fuge. Never had this before either. What do I do about this??
Thank you guys for your input, and help.

Be Blessed All,

 

[SlamaJama]

There are long standing debates on what the "Best" bulb is. IMHO, you need to figure out:
What will be my livestock?...ie; SPS, LPS, mixed?
Do I want a white light, or bluer lighing?
Wattage? You need to question what type of ballast u have electronic, etc.
Will you be using supplimental lighting ie; T5s, VHOs, etc.?
Is it Double Ended (D/E) or Single Ended (S/E)?
lots and lots....
....a 14k bulb will be much bluer in appearence than say a 10k bulb, but may not be suitable for a strickly sps tank. I run XM 10k's thy have servd me well, and i have alot of light...wattage is important as well...Do some reaserch here using the search tool and you will see many different ideas
im just really skimming the surface of this decsion...thrs lots to consider..
gl

 

[Awibrandy]

Thanks Mike. Nice to hear from you, and you basicaly answered one of my questions. The 14k is blue, the 10k is white. Fixture is set up to accept SE bulbs. I will check w/seller to see what type of ballast it is. The ballast itself does not say. Another question is can they be mixed? Say two 10k, and 1-14k. The fixture also carries two 6' actinic-3 bulbs. I'm planning on a mixed tank. OK, going to the search engine..

 

[SlamaJama]

sounds like a good start...if u already have actinics and plan to keep them u may not want to use anything higher than 12k it will look very blueother than that, hellolights.com is a good start for good prices on the most popular bulbs, after u chk them out then u can price out with some of our vendors who may be able to get u better deals
o and dont forget reef central, thy prob already have threads solely on the sub of bulbs

i use 10k xm's with icecap ballasts
another fan sounds good...
depending on wat u put in thr, prob run halides from 5-7hrs p/d
ur algea prob is new tank sydrome...
i would keep the plexi cover on the hood...it protects the very hot MH bulbs from shattering from contact with splashing water
i use reef crystals salt i have never chged and have had no prob

 

[DevIouS]

Mike gave good advice...

I have glass top on the tank, does the hood still need the plexi cover?

You should not be using the covers, especially since you are upgrading to stronger lighting.

 

[Awibrandy]

Mike gave good advice...



You should not be using the covers, especially since you are upgrading to stronger lighting.

Thank you Mike, you'll never believe it but my Icecap ballast for the vho just burned out.....:irked:

DevIous, I know, but I do not wish to tamper with a 100 year old plaster ceiling. Therefore suspending the light fixture from my ceiling is out of the question. Glass top has to stay, even if MH has to go, and pc goes back on..

 

[Awibrandy]

155 Pic updates 12/13/06

Thank you MR members. With out your help this tank would not be what it is today. Big thank you to slamajam, and louismustdie if it were not for you guys the tank would still be on my porch as is the 120 til today. Chris, thank you for your generosity, the corals you gave me are doing great.
Hope the pics are OK, I'm not a photographer, and my camera is not all that.:biglaugh:

 

[Awibrandy]

Today is the 1 years anniversary when we said good bey to the Best Friend I ever had! Time does not heal all wounds! I miss her terribly!
Just wanted to show the changes to our tank. I will always consider it Leola's & my tank.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

:hug:

 

[FRY]

very nice

 

[Awibrandy]

Thank you Brenden! I could use some :hug:. I think I'm crying more today then a year ago.:sad2:

Thanks Frank, I know Lee would love how it has come along.
Lee always wanted a reef.