Bifferwine
I am a girl
Adding metal halides will increase the cost of your electric bill. Do you mean cut down on cost, like instead of buying a whole new fixture?
Question about live rock........
- Thread starter mennazeher04
- Start date
mennazeher04
Reefing newb
yea biff, thats what i mean, like instead of buying a 7 or 8 hundred dollar fixture?.......also what about using like halogen lights from home depot or something, would that give me the same effect or better than what i got already........?
daugherty
part time reefer
the halogen lights will give you lots of light but it will all be in the wrong specteim of light so in other words no good. you need very different color of bulbs to do any good besides growing alage
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Yeah, regular halogen lights don't create the type of light that corals need to survive.
mennazeher04
Reefing newb
lol.....damn that sucks, oh well it was a try.....lol
mennazeher04
Reefing newb
hey does anyone know any places to get dry rock other than marcorocks.com because i have been calling them and they wont return my call or emails on when or how long it will take for them to get more rock in so..........any help will help.....thanks
dustin_P74
Reef enthusiast
i think bulkreefsupply.com just got some in
Hornet
Reefing newb
Not sure if your still looking for dry rock but I bought some from reefcleaners.org a few weeks ago. Communication with them was real good and he shipped me larger pieces per my request. I bought 60 lbs and got some real nice rock. Best of all shipping is free for orders over 30 lbs. He uses USPS so it took longer to get my order, but I feel the wait was worth it.
mennazeher04
Reefing newb
Thanks hornet for the rock info.....but I actually got my live rock already coming today as we speak........now just a question, before i put the rock in my tank, what is the steps i need to do? Also is it better to put the rock on the glass then build the sand around its edges or put the rock right on top of the sand?
daugherty
part time reefer
put a base of rock on the glass than add the sand that way if you have any critters that dig in the sand they wont upset the rock and make it all fall over
Hornet
Reefing newb
+1 more for rock on the glass.
I did the same thing because I'm planning on having some tunneling fish.
project5k
Reef enthusiast
speaking of rock, i have a few questions as a noob..
I just got my tank, just under two weeks ago, and its all set up, and has fish in it already(not my idea, i got the tank from my buddy and it was already set up) but it definately doesn't have enought live rock in it..
also, i'm having brown algae or bacteria blumes... I'm doing my best to correct that, but i didnt know any better and used tap water to restart the tank, so i'm sure i've got bunches of silicates and other junk in the water. Now that i know better i'm changing the water out using RO water, but since the tank is basically having to cycle again, i figured i should probably add the rock now, rather than waiting.. so... I'm going to go check out the links that are farther up in the thread, but what do i do?
if i add it a little at a time, it might cause the tank to cycle again, but if i add it all at once, will i be able to keep the params good enough to keep all my fishy friends alive?
theres maybe 25-30lbs in there now, so i'm thinking about getting a chunk of dry to build a base, and then stacking the LR i have now ontop of that...
suggestions?
oh, and the wife is already on my back about $$ so i need to try and do this as cheap as i can...
I guess i should give a little info on what i have, its a 75gal all glass flat front curved corner, i have 2 65W 10k's and 2 50/50 65w 10k/actinic.. so a total of 260W right now.. its pretty much just fish, live rock, and crabs and snails, i do have one thing, that i think is an animone, its growing out of a hole in a little crab shell(surprise guest when i bought my crabs)
There are also some (what i think are) feather duster worms, a red starfish, a 14 inch snowflake eel, a clown, a yellow tang, a black and white verticle striped one that i cant remember the name of, and a little tie-die'd look'n one.
i have a canister filter on there now(came with the tank) and i put all new media in it last night, cause there basically wasn't anything in it when i got it, and a friend of mine is comming over tonight so we can set up a refugium(i picked up an overflow and a 500g/h pump yesterday.
if you have read my intro thing then you'll understand why i'm in the position i'm in.. Not ideal...
I'd appreceiate any help i can get, i dont wanna kill anything, nor do i have much more $ to put into the tank this month. (the wife is nagging)
please help
I just got my tank, just under two weeks ago, and its all set up, and has fish in it already(not my idea, i got the tank from my buddy and it was already set up) but it definately doesn't have enought live rock in it..
also, i'm having brown algae or bacteria blumes... I'm doing my best to correct that, but i didnt know any better and used tap water to restart the tank, so i'm sure i've got bunches of silicates and other junk in the water. Now that i know better i'm changing the water out using RO water, but since the tank is basically having to cycle again, i figured i should probably add the rock now, rather than waiting.. so... I'm going to go check out the links that are farther up in the thread, but what do i do?
if i add it a little at a time, it might cause the tank to cycle again, but if i add it all at once, will i be able to keep the params good enough to keep all my fishy friends alive?
theres maybe 25-30lbs in there now, so i'm thinking about getting a chunk of dry to build a base, and then stacking the LR i have now ontop of that...
suggestions?
oh, and the wife is already on my back about $$ so i need to try and do this as cheap as i can...
I guess i should give a little info on what i have, its a 75gal all glass flat front curved corner, i have 2 65W 10k's and 2 50/50 65w 10k/actinic.. so a total of 260W right now.. its pretty much just fish, live rock, and crabs and snails, i do have one thing, that i think is an animone, its growing out of a hole in a little crab shell(surprise guest when i bought my crabs)
There are also some (what i think are) feather duster worms, a red starfish, a 14 inch snowflake eel, a clown, a yellow tang, a black and white verticle striped one that i cant remember the name of, and a little tie-die'd look'n one.
i have a canister filter on there now(came with the tank) and i put all new media in it last night, cause there basically wasn't anything in it when i got it, and a friend of mine is comming over tonight so we can set up a refugium(i picked up an overflow and a 500g/h pump yesterday.
if you have read my intro thing then you'll understand why i'm in the position i'm in.. Not ideal...
I'd appreceiate any help i can get, i dont wanna kill anything, nor do i have much more $ to put into the tank this month. (the wife is nagging)
please help
yote
In Memoriam
Since you already have the fish.You'd be better off to add more rock slowly.Just make sure to either buy cured rock,or cure it in a seperate bin.
I'm still adding rock to my 125,one or 2 pieces at a time.
I'm still adding rock to my 125,one or 2 pieces at a time.
Bifferwine
I am a girl
Keeping the rock in a separate container for a week or two will definitely minimize the chances of it starting a cycle in your tank. Which you don't want to do, since you already have animals. You will need a rubbermaid tub or trash can, fill it with saltwater, toss a small heater in to get it to the correct temp, and toss a powerhead in to keep the water moving. Then leave your rock in it and check the parameters every few days. If you consistently get readings of zero, then the rock is safe to add to the tank. If ammonia or nitrite spike, you know that it's kicking off a cycle and you need to leave it in the tub a bit longer before it's safe to add to the tank.
project5k
Reef enthusiast
i bought 3 32 gallon trashcans just for this tank, i have a couple extra heaters, and i have a couple small pumps for flow, so i think i have everything i need.. would you suggest using the water i take out of the tank when i to water changes, or should i mix up some new fresh ro/di water and salt for my "cure tank"
also, what do you figure the timeing will be? i know it all depends and to watch the levels, but just as a SWAG, couple weeks maybe?
also, should i be prepaired to do any kind of water changes on the cure tank? or just let it sit and do its thing?
so lets say i get 10lbs per paycheck, cure it in the trashcan cure tank, then when i add that to the DT can i just drop more in the can to cure, or should i change that water in the cure tank before i get more?
also, what do you figure the timeing will be? i know it all depends and to watch the levels, but just as a SWAG, couple weeks maybe?
also, should i be prepaired to do any kind of water changes on the cure tank? or just let it sit and do its thing?
so lets say i get 10lbs per paycheck, cure it in the trashcan cure tank, then when i add that to the DT can i just drop more in the can to cure, or should i change that water in the cure tank before i get more?
yote
In Memoriam
You could use the water from the water changes.I dont think that would cause a problem.
The curing could take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of months.Just depends on how much die off is on the rock.Changing the water is more of a personal choice.If you do the changes and keep the ammonia and nitrites as low as possible,you'll perserve more of the hitch hikers.
And I'd change the water between the curing sessions.
The curing could take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of months.Just depends on how much die off is on the rock.Changing the water is more of a personal choice.If you do the changes and keep the ammonia and nitrites as low as possible,you'll perserve more of the hitch hikers.
And I'd change the water between the curing sessions.
project5k
Reef enthusiast
ok cool, well i guess next paycheck its off to the lfs to get a couple more chunks...
Piggy
Reef enthusiast
Seeing money is tight why don't you just buy base rock and seed it with the LR you already have?
project5k
Reef enthusiast
well ive thought about that, but my lfs dosent have "base rock" so i'd have to order it from somewhere. Problem is that in order to order it and make it worth the shipping and everything i'd have to order a good amount, and i just dont have the cash for that right now...
Where would you suggest i try and order it from, i've looked at seversl sites, but all the minimums and shipping is really expensive...
One thing that i had thought about was just making my own... I've been reading articles about getting a bag of argonite and some portland cement and just make the shapes and sizes i want..
Where would you suggest i try and order it from, i've looked at seversl sites, but all the minimums and shipping is really expensive...
One thing that i had thought about was just making my own... I've been reading articles about getting a bag of argonite and some portland cement and just make the shapes and sizes i want..
