Hello from the Newbie

R

reeltherapy07

Reefing newb
Hello everyone, I have had saltwater aquariums for a good while now. I have a 90 gallon reef tank now which I just upgraded to an Octopus skimmer and a had to go to a larger wet dry for the skimmer to fit into. I currently have 4 t-5 lights but feel I am not getting what I should for the reef and the coral. Any ideas on what lights I should be using?

Thanks Tony
 
howdy and welcome to the site.. :D
on a 90 gallon depending on what you have in the budget I would either go with a 6 bulb t-5 or a nice set of L.E.D lighting..
something like this for t-5
Aquarium Lighting T5 Fluorescent Light Fixture: AquaticLife Six Lamp T5 HO Light Fixture
or this Aquarium Lighting for Reef Systems: Current Nova Extreme Pro T-5 Fixtures
LED there are a few choices but a couple would be
like these http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/LED_Lighting/AquaIllumination_Sol_LED_Light_Systems/
or these Radion | EcoTech Marine
 
Thanks Marcah, I looked at the LEDs and they do seem pricey. I have 4 bulbs now and do you think adding to more to the canopy would help me out? The ones the fish store sold me were the ones that have the reflector above each bulb. My corals seem to be doing ok now but I want them to do great. I see some of the pics on here and the tanks are pretty amazing. I dont have any stoneys bc I guess I cant keep them with my light. I mainly have soft corals, like leathers,bubbles,Zoas and mushrooms. Do you think adding extra bulbs would make a big difference? Also I was told going with ATI bulbs is a better option. I appreciate the help.
Tony
 
I would still go with ATI bulbs no matter what t-5 fixture you go with.. they are in my opinion the best t-5 bulbs out there right now. having individual reflectors push as much light down into the tank as possible, stepping up to a 6 bulb would allow you to keep anything you wanted in the tank as far as lighting requirements go..:D
what are all your parameters at plus how much watermovement do you have in the tank now?
 
Well ive been meaning to buy a good test kit because I usually go to my LFS and they tell me my water is fine. I have good water movement in my tank. With my pump having two outlets at the top and I have two Hydors I believe 1100's im getting good water flow. Im just trying to figure out what happened yesterday. I bought the new Skimmer and wet dry and put it in. When I got home last night I noticed, water on the floor so I believe the new wed dry is leaking and the water was cloudy, almost like it was snowing in there :frustrat: I turned off the skimmer and it looked better b4 I left to work. So now when I get off this morning I have to take it all apart again and take the skimmer to my LFS and I guess have it glued. Then I have to figure out what to do about the skimmer causing the water to cloud :frustrat:
 
the skimmer being new will probably just need time to settle in, which may take a few days to a few weeks.. sorry about the leak if it is new cant they just replace it for you?seems like if you just bought it it should have some kind of warranty.. for the wet dry I would take out any media that might have come with it and throw some rock rubble in its place..
 
Thanks Lionel, I can see there is a wealth of knowledge here that is going to help me out!
Marcah, I will let it run for a couple of days and see if it improves. I just bought a filter pad to filter out any of the stuff that might come out through the wetdry. My tank looks like its snowing :grumble:. I also talk to the fish store and they told me another option would be to put in instead of 2 more bulbs a 48" LED strip that he turned on at the store and was amazingly bright. Im not sure if thats the way to go so Im open to any opinions. Thanks again for the info.

Tony
 
microbubbles from the new skimmer I am sure, I went through the same with each new skimmer I put on the tank. if it doesnt settle in a a couple days then you will have to find a way to stop them ( since the bubbles are not good to have in there to long), but hopefully the skimmer should settle in nicely soon. keep us posted on it..:D
as far as those strips lights are concerned I know some are made for a broad spectrum and some point more in a direct spot, I dont know enough about them to help you out more then that but I have heard the current true lumen strips are pretty good.
 
Thanks for all the info! Marcah I installed the LED last night and when its on alone it absolutely amazing. What forum can I post the pics on? I aslo installed a better filter pad because as I looked at my tank it appeared to be silt. I just put in a Diamond Goby and noticed him picking up the silt. The water cleared the next day, but 2 days later was cloudy again. I changed the filter out yesterday and shortly was clear again. Im not sure if I could continue this thread here, so what forum shld I continue to with pics of the tank.

Thanks again, Tony
 
Hello and Welcome!

You can create a thread in the Tank Show Case section! But feel free to continue posting questions on this thread and you can post picture here too!
 

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