new guy/tank

[sivart33]

well just started my first salt water tank. 30g need to get better lighting for it, the hood only has a 4k light on it.
been going for a week now.
not much else to say, got a few small, i mean tiny craps floating around. 1 snail, and some stuff i have never seen. like this hard purple stuff that is coming off the rocks like coral would. and some clear fan worm looking fans ( arms or what ever).

32 lbs of live rock, and 10 lbs of sand ( LFS ran out of live sand when i was there) so going to get more in a week or so when i get my water checked other then with sticks. cost 1 buck to get it check, so why not.
but even after a week parameters are looking great, everything is low even when jump starting it with some food.

made a ton of caves, the rocks have a ton of caves in them. the camera is not doing justice to the color of the rock though.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh216/onenine0019/DSC00214-1.jpg
hitchhiker snail + the purple thing on the right of the picture
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh216/onenine0019/DSC00220.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh216/onenine0019/DSC00221.jpg

any advice would help since i am starting out. no sump so running 2 hobs at the moment, 15g and a 30g. heater and one water circulation pump. no protein skimmer yet, need to save some money before i buy a "good" one not cheaping out.

[dsoz]

Purple thing looks like it may be some zoanthid corals or a sponge. Either way it will be good once you get better lights for it.

Looks good otherwise.

where is seabeck?

dsoz

[kilmca]

welcome and it looks like you have a good start with the live rock you've got. i agree, don't go cheap on equipment. if you can afford it get equipment rated for a bigger tank because most likely you'll be upgrading to a larger one and you won't have to buy another protein skimmer.

[sivart33]

Seabeck is in Washington, the peninsula. ya if the purple thing is a sponge it is dead for sure, it has been exposed to air, if a coral it may not live much longer on 4k lighting. Has not grown any, but there is another one up on another rock. so ill have to see, the lighting is on about 12-14 hours a day though so try and have any corals on the rocks live if possible till i find adequate lighting.

[Rick]

Welcome,

Yes, The purple thing is a sponge. I have one very similar to it that has been there for several months. Seems to do well in any light so it may be just fine. The other fan like things are a type of worm commonly known as a feather duster. No problem with them as long as they don't get out of hand and start covering corals up. You may need to keep an eye out and remove them if they do.

[reef165]

Welcome to the club. It's actually more like an enabler site for the reef addiction

[Michael7979]

WELCOME!!!

[stylaster]

Welcome aboard!!

[sivart33]

so i went and got a bulb for my hood, a marine-glo t8. http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3812

but the 24" ones.

any have any idea how well they will work for corals, looked around but not finding any real info on them.

[jgf86123]

If I remember right, those are just standard aquarium bulbs, I'm not even sure you can get them in the correct kelvin range for reef tanks.

For you tank, I'd look serious at a 150w fixture, there's one, yes, it's an Ebay fixture, but, I plan on buying it myself, its 150w halide with 2 T5 actinics for 90 bucks, you can't beat that deal with a stick LOL.

[sivart33]

its is a very blue color, the box, yes they are into sell, that si for salt water tanks, corals and all. the k range is not on the box :/

[jgf86123]

You need at least a K rating of 10k, I think you might be able to get by with 6500, but, if it's a really blue color, it is in all likelihood a 50/50 bulb, I used to have one on my 20 long, it's decent, but you won't get hardly any growth and really only be able to keep zoas and mushrooms, I lost 3 acans in mine under that lighting LOL.

[sivart33]

ya i am just starting out so no hard corals yet, so might as well start out with the easier corals and less intense light till i get more money/ bigger tank maybe

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh216/onenine0019/DSC00223.jpg

and i got another 10 lbs of live sand. still a little murky, also i cleaned out the filters and what not.

[jgf86123]

That looks like an actinic bulb, not even a 50/50, honestly, if thats the case, you won't be able to keep hardly any corals.

I'm pretty sure Nick at RoseCity has some 175w lights in stock, I paid 75 for mine from him, you can't hardly beat that price.

[sivart33]

well ill return the light, cause pointless to keep if not going to have corals, i don't know much about lighting ill have to read up more about it.

not the biggest deal, only thing is i might have to buy something online since the LFS has a small amount of other stuff, other then fish and verts.

[jgf86123]

If you're going to buy online, I'd seriously suggest checking out E-Bay, yeah, they're chinese lights, they're odyssea knock-offs, but, people on here have em with no complaints, and I'm gonna be getting one myself, 90 bucks for a brand new halide, with bulbs and mounting legs is hard to pass up.

[sivart33]

dont have a pay pal account... sucks but what ever. ill figure out a way. might just have to open one up

[jgf86123]

I'm not positive, but I think you can pay with credit/debit on ebay, but don't quote me on that LOL

[sivart33]

mind tossing me a link to what you are looking at, there area ton i mean a ton of random crap up on ebay.

[jgf86123]

Here ya go, took me a minute to find it LOL

http://cgi.ebay.com/17-24-Metal-Halide-T5-Nano-Reef-Light-Pendant-150W-/290431975683?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item439f184103

[sivart33]

ill have to look around since my tank is 30 inches long, unless they are suppose to be front to back. ty now i know what to look for

[jgf86123]

Ahhhhhh but that's the nice thing about that fixture, I've got a 40b, its 36" long, just find a way to hang it, if you check out USCG CWO's build thread on his frag tank, you'll see how he's hung his light, it looks great and it isn't that hard to do LOL.

[sivart33]

<does construction so hanging lights are child's play

[jgf86123]

Exactly, see, you're set then LOL

besides, dude, trust me, I used to have a 20 long, finding a 30" fixture for a decent price is next to impossible LOL.

[sivart33]

ill have to look around though, i like the hood i got since it blocks off the evap more then a open top. maybe 1/2 a day if that. i know there are some 50/50 bulbs for it. i don't like open tops for some reason.

but ill have to look around. see what options i got

[jgf86123]

Evap is fine in a saltwater tank, you just have to make sure you keep it topped off regularly.

A hood, while good in some ways, can be bad in others LOL.

And, it's always better to spend the money now on a new light fixture, than buy new bulbs for the one you currently have, knowing you're going to need to upgrade it down the road LOL.

Besides, if you start off with halides now, you don't have to acclimate all of your corals and what-not when you do upgrade your lighting LOL.

[sivart33]

ya ill see what my lfs sells for lighting, i like buying stuff in person rather then online since if it doesn't work i cant just go in and trade it, ill have to wait. the lfs may have bigger ones for there 75g set ups they sell as a package

ty for the input

[jgf86123]

No problem man

If you ever get a chance, swing down to portland and check out Rose City, Nick sells 175w halides for last time I checked 75 bucks.

[Rick]

The light you purchased is indeed an actinic bulb. Some corals will grow under it if they are within a few inches of the top. The wattage is too low for any kind of depth though (regardless of what the light temperature is). If they were compact flourescents instead then you could get by with more.

For that tank I think I would go with either a 150w MH or 24-36" Compact Flourescents or T5's. (T5's are better than the compact flourescent) I'm giving a range because I don't know the tank width. (If you run CF or T5 flourescents get whatever will fit the length)

Regarding the hood (bad vs. good) the main issue with them is that the lights we use generate a lot of heat. With the hood in place (especially a regular aquarium hood) it traps that heat and causes the water to heat up. During the summer heavy evaporation is a good thing as it is helping to keep the water cool. There is of course a limit since things will start dying once the temps get about 84 degrees or so. (If evap doesn't keep it cool enough then other means will need to be taken to cool it) A secondary issue is that they reduce the ability of the water to oxygenate because fresh air is blocked by them.

[jgf86123]

The light you purchased is indeed an actinic bulb. Some corals will grow under it if they are within a few inches of the top. The wattage is too low for any kind of depth though (regardless of what the light temperature is). If they were compact flourescents instead then you could get by with more.

For that tank I think I would go with either a 150w MH or 24-36" Compact Flourescents or T5's. (T5's are better than the compact flourescent) I'm giving a range because I don't know the tank width. (If you run CF or T5 flourescents get whatever will fit the length)

Regarding the hood (bad vs. good) the main issue with them is that the lights we use generate a lot of heat. With the hood in place (especially a regular aquarium hood) it traps that heat and causes the water to heat up. During the summer heavy evaporation is a good thing as it is helping to keep the water cool. There is of course a limit since things will start dying once the temps get about 84 degrees or so. (If evap doesn't keep it cool enough then other means will need to be taken to cool it) A secondary issue is that they reduce the ability of the water to oxygenate because fresh air is blocked by them.

He's more articulate than I am LOL

But, he hit the nail square on the head, with a very large hammer.

[sivart33]

well time to find a new lighting fixture. ill be looking around over the weekend, still on the cycling process. even though got the water tested and everything is perfect, well phosphate is a tiny bit up, but i mean minimal and will go away with water change.

so lighting is not a rush. should be putting in a few fish next weekend so hopefully get the lights by then so i don't have to worry bout it after fish, even though its not a big deal for fish.