Newb In Florida

D

DMBIrish

Reefing newb
I was recently given a 125g that I knew nothing about. I've been running it for a few months (3 or so) with great success. Currently I have a 7" Powder Blue Grouper, 3' Brazilian Dragon Eel, Medium Yellow Tang, Large Naso Tang, Small Odonus Trigger, 20" Yellow Headed Moray, 12" Bamboo Shark, Small Red Volitan Lionfish, and a 8" Spanish Hogfish. Along with 3-4 various stars, 2 horseshoe crabs, plenty of live rock etc. Looking at the list, some would say the tank is overcrowded. But, it seems that the amount of life I have is thriving. My bamboo hasn't adjusted well, though. He eats sparringly, even with food literally under his mouth; and hides 90% of the time. I've had him for 3 weeks and he's still doing his thing, but just doesn't seem to want to come out of hiding. Also, I've noticed my lighting is a bit on the "Yellow" side... what can I do to fix that?

Josh
 
Hello and welcome!

You need to post some pics of your tank for us to check out.

Different bulbs have different colors to them, depending on their Kelvin (K) rating. The lower the K rating, the yellower they will be. What kind of lights do you have? Try switching out your current bulbs for 14K or 20K bulbs.
 
to be honest... I have no clue what bulbs. I'll work on getting pics up in a couple of days. This tank has quickly become an obsession for me and my dog!!
 
Do you know what kind of lighting? PCs? T5s? Metal halide? If you post pics we'll be able to tell you what kind of lighting system you are running.
 
Without the tank having any corals I would say its the regular strip lighting. You can go the drsfosterandsmith.com or try your LFS for a bulb that will have a more blue color..

BTW welcome to the site.
 
Thats a light that can keep corals, but not sure what kind. Can you take a pic of it fliped over so I can see the bulbs? Then we can tell you what bulb can help and a link.
 
Thanks... I gave the guy a couple of pieces of dive gear that I never used that I paid next to nothing for. So, I'm happy with it!
 
Ok those bulbs give off a great color, but if they're old they lose alot of color and help algae grow. The first thing you have to do if you want to replace them is take the bulb out and see if it's square pin or strait pin. Both will have four pins a strait pin bulb will have them in a row and a square pin will have two on top and two on bottom. Those bulbs are only 3 feet each. Do you have two fixtures? Anyway the bulbs run about 30.00 to 40.00 each off the net and local will be alot more. I have the same lights and looked local and they wated 60.00 to 75.00 each bulb. Here are a couple of links for you to check out incase you want to replace.PC Bulbs (square pin): Premium Aquatics
Compact Fluorescent Bulbs & Lamps
 
Welcome to the site.

Is the camera making the water look green?

Usually a mix of 10k and actinic helps balance the colors.Since thats what you have already,maybe replacing the bulbs would help.
 
I do have two sets of the bulbs. As far as color temp... the camera didn't show the yellow well. I'd like a nice whiteish-blue color to my light. I appreciate all of your help. I've kind of jumped into this without much education!
 
I looked around and dont remember seeing a 20k, and a 20k will give a very strong blue color exspecially with the actinic bulb. Also actincs go bad alot faster than others. Since you dont have corals you would be safe with buying new ones and replacing them every 12 months.
 
Two new actinics and two new 10k will bring it to a nice white color with a hint of blue. Your bulb are probably really old and lost there color. When I first replaced mine I couldn't belive the difference. Another choice would be to buy four 50/50, or two now and two later if you dont have the cash now. A 50/50 is one bulb that is half actinic and half 10k. I tried them and liked them very much.
 
welcome to the reefs. I agree on the bulbs being old. I have pc's on my tank with 10k and actinics. it's a crisp white with a hint of blue.
also, does you're light fixture cover the whole length of the tank?
 

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