Hello All! New to the site, and to saltwater...

[reeffreak]

I try to sum this up as simple as possible;

Cured Liverock:less stinky,more expensive,colorful,less die-off
Uncured Liverock:more stinky,less expensive,more colorful,more die-off
Base Liverock:less stinky,Even less expensive,no color,hardly any die-off

You chose...all will work.

Remember when stocking fish Liverock does replace water.
I put 50lbs and had to take out 5gals.

VHO's vs T-5's
I go with T5.VHO's seems to be waining,in 2 years it may be impossible to get replacement bulbs.

ps.
You AFT members are such losers...Thank god I don't have algae problems.Then again my tank only 2 wks old.LOLOLOL:bounce:

 

[matthew1048]

LOL that lil nanner cracks me up everytime...Thanks for the rock explanation reeffreak!!!! And super thanks on the info about the VHO's!!!!

 

[matthew1048]

Just in case anyone is on MySpace here's my link...yall are more than welcome to add me! www.myspace.com/mckee_z31

 

[yote]

If you happen to find a mantis shrimp in your rock,you can always put em in your sump. They are pretty cool,if their all your gonna keep.
First piece of LR I bought had one a mantis,he wiped out 15 hermits in one night and took a couple of weeks to get rid of.Which as a predator hunter I kinda took as a challenge.

 

[Adrastos]

AFT is a bunch of losers? Ouch.. looks like someone won't be getting a membership...

 

[Bifferwine]

You just wait, you'll be begging us to let you in the Club... And I'll be like, "What's that smell? Do I smell something burning? Hey, is that a bridge I see on fire? I think it is! I think that's a big burned bridge!". Yep, that's what I'll say when you want in the AFT Club.

 

[Adrastos]

As VP, I officially second that comment :-D

 

[bobby]

I third it. Big burned bridge:nono: And you'll really want to join when you find out every body in the club tank is clearing up, yup thats right biffs is clear, and since I joined and changed food mine is clear also. ( in nelson voice on the simpsons "HAHA"):nanananan

Anyway matthew are you going cured or uncured?

 

[yote]

Yeah Mathew
Definately go with the T-5s,I just got my nova t-5s today,,,MAN talk about bright. I like em over all the MHs ive seen.

 

[Bifferwine]

I know some people say that they like the colors under MH better, but the stuff that I've bought from my LFS that were under MH look a lot better under my T5s, I think.

 

[matthew1048]

Ya know, Bobby, the more I read and the more I hear, the more I think about the uncured rock. I mean, yeah, it'll stink more, but hey, it;s less expensive - and that's ALWAYS a huge plus. I've read a couple of articles on curing your own rock too, so I think, as of now, that that's the route I'll take.

As far as the lighting goes, I've decided to go with T5's. Thanks for all the input on the subject!!! Now I'm wondering if I'd be better off to buy a premade assembly or just make a lighting setup myself. I'm sure that making it myself would be the less expensive route. I just found a premade assembly online which is made by "Current" and is called the "Outer Orbit Pro Series", it has 2-250 watt HQI metal halides, 4-39 watt T-5's, and 9 blue & 9 white LED lunar lights. This combo has a total wattage rating of 656 watts, which would provide me with 13.12 wpg. There is a smaller combo that has a total wattage rating of 364 watts. The combos also come with cooling fans and timers built in, and a fwe other features. The only problem is that they are REALLY expensive. Which one would be the best to buy, keeping in mind that I'll eventually (one fine day) be adding corals and anemomne's etc. Here's a link to the combo I was looking at - Aquarium Lighting for Reef Aquariums: Outer Orbit Pro Series HQI/T-5/LED Lights

Thanks for the help!!!!

 

[yote]

Once you factor in building a canapy for your tank to mount the retro-fit kits into,you'll come out about the same as going with complete fixture.So it all comes down to how you want it to look.
You can spend as much as you want to lights,Its all personal preference.
Have you checked out the lights at DrsFosterSmith.com ?
Their reasonable

 

[Adrastos]

13 watts per gallon? From the fish that you initially desribed in wanting to keep.. that is way, way over kill.

If you are not going to be keeping corals right away.. don't waste the money on lights that powerfull. For under 150 dollars you can get the lights needed for a fish only tank... then save up and plan what you need for the reef.

How much would it suck for you to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a lighting system then find out you prefer to keep just fish or aren't really interested in this hobby?

 

[matthew1048]

I figured that the 13 wpg would be way over kill, but they have a smaller setup that'll provide about 7 wpg too...thanks for the input, and I have thought about the issue of spending the money and then just being stuck with it if the crap hits the fan. But thanks for reminding me Astrados! Maybe I could just go with a less expensive set up to begin and then after awhile, if I decide to go beyond FOWLR I can upgrade. I was initally worried about spend $100 dollars and then having to replace the $100 set with a much more expensive setup and just being stuck with a $100. But I suppose I could always use the first set of lights for a refugium later on down the road if I take it that far! Thanks for sparking my thought process Adrastos!!!

Thanks for the resource on the lights and the advice too yote!!! I'll be sure to check that site out!!!!

 

[reeffreak]

Hey Mathew what size tank were you going with?MH produce quite a bit of heat especially on smaller tanks.You may need to also get a chiller...keep that in mine when deciding on lights.


Hey Biff if and when Coralline algae grows...does that meet the requirements for membership?

 

[Adrastos]

As VP, you can submit membership requests to me.. from there.. I take all bribes :-D

 

[matthew1048]

OH YEAH!!! I surely appericiate you reminding me of that...I had read but forgot it till just now!!! Thanks a heap reeffreak!!!!!

 

[Bifferwine]

Even 7-8 WPG is sufficient to keep anemones and most SPS corals. 13-14 does seem like too much to me, I'd be afraid of cooking everything.

 

[matthew1048]

Well y'all looks like I'll be taking at least a week's hiatus from any heavy computer use.

I have officially blown out my left knee and I can't really keep it bent without some severe pain when I straighten it back out again. Not to mention that I can't really walk after it has been bent for any length of time...somwhow I knew when I bought this laptop that I shouldn't have...LOL!!!

Anyway, I hope to talk with all yall and to get back to some heavy research once this ole knee of mine gets better.

Hope yall have a good week!!!

Matthew

 

[Adrastos]

Hope you feel better!!