hello

[reeffreak]

Welcome to Living Reefs!

A 2-3 degree swing is more ideal.Perhaps you can raise the lights a bit more,say 12''-18''.I don't know if you have a glass top or not,maybe removing that and possible look into having some kind of fan blowing cross the top.

[jpjones]

those damsels are quick and with all the rock it will be hard any ideas . i do have an all glass top and i will try raising the light but was not sure how high i could go without losing light spectrum inthe tank

[yote]

If your wanting an SPS dominated tank,they slow WAY down.
The first thing you need to do is get rid of the damsels.The easiest way to do that is get yourself the smallest trout fly you can find.If it looks like a small shrimp it'll work a lot better.Go fishing in your tank and catch them.

The next thing is get those tempture swings under control.A 1 to 4 degree is ok,but the smaller the swing the better.Take the glass tops off,they magnify the heat and the light.You want the tank to breath.Plus the tops hold in heat.

Good luck and welcome to the reef.

[jpjones]

if i take off the top what about the salt creep and mist from bubbler . i did want some small fish like bangi cardnals,hawkfish,pigmy angle,gobie or blennie,about the temp are chillers a worth investment.thanks for your help

[BlueSi4]

I have a glass top too, and my temperature doesn't change that much. I keep it to about 78-79 and if it seems like it's getting a bit higher than that, i put a fan blowing across the surface and it chills down the tank to my normal temperature. I also leave part of the glass top open, so just part of the glass top (the one that sits below my light) remains unopened for the whole time. Sometimes when the light is off, i take the glass top out for a while too.
As far as damsels, i started with a 3 stripe damsel, and when i put in my clown, the damsel went after him. I tried to take her out, but i wasn't able to. I ended up taking out all the rock out, and then i was able to corner the damsel, but it was still hard, they are very quick!!

[yote]

Throw that bubbler in the garbage and get some powerheads.
Air stones will cause you more trouble than there worth in a salt water tank.

[reeffreak]

Using air stones in saltwater is not ideal.It causes to much salt creep.You should have better flow/oxygenation elsewhere such as protein skimmer,powerheads and returns from sump/filtration.

I run my tank topless but I seen many people use egg crate instead of a glass top.It lets the light in,keeps the fish from jumping out,and lets the tank breathe.I definitely would check into egg crate before a chiller,considering how expensive they can run.

[jpjones]

now i will work on getting the damsels out and get the temp more stable asfor the bio.bact.what should i put in now that i will not have to get out later thank for all your time & help

[yote]

A raw table shrimp does wanders for cycling a tank.Or you can use uncured live rock.

[MikMcgyver]

Howdy howdy howdy, welcome to the reef...