KimP

Just a quick update on things. I have sun coral polyps popping up in nooks and crannies. At first I was worried they might be aiptasia or something, but they are very clearly sun polyps now Pretty neat! I certainly never expected that. My basket stars are getting lots of new splits on their legs, which I'm assuming means they are not only surviving, but growing. I'm very happy about that! Two days ago the biggest one moved off of it's spot on the gorgonian and I haven't seen it since That kind of sucks but hopefully it'll pop up again somewhere. My only concern is I can't spot feed it if I don't know where it is. I acquired 2 scolys this week in not-so-great shape. I'm hoping with the feeding my tank gets that they will heal right up. They seem to be good eaters so far I'm just about done stocking it with corals, so I still have some placement to do, mostly with zoas, and I can finally just sit back and watch everything grow. It's been tricky to get the zoas glued in place because they are so low in the tank. It's like playing the game Operation every time I try to work in there these days. That's why there are still frags sitting in the sand, and scattered around. Eventually it'll be all cleaned up, glass and all. And I will remember to turn the darn livingroom lamps off for the next fts Oh! and I picked up an mp10, so hopefully this weekend I can figure out where I want to place it and be able to get rid of some of the koralias I have in there.

I can share some softies too. PM me when you know you'll be in town.

Did the zoas melt right away, or how long did it take for you to realize you increased the intensity too fast?

Well things are looking great with the light even though I've been too busy to borrow a par meter again. I've been slowly increasing the % output maybe once a week. Right now I'm up to W 44% B 40% R 40% It turns out my corals were staying closed at first because it was way too dim. Everything opened right up once I got it into the 30% range. I have to remember my tank is deeper than most and I'm only running one unit, not two. I don't know exactly when I'll stop increasing. I guess I'll need a par meter by then. I'm going to bring it up 2% per week for a while. I want to supply enough light to support coral growth while running the fixture less than 100% to preserve the life of the unit, if that makes sense. I just have to find that balance. One thing I love about it is how cool it runs! Way cooler than my t5's even. When I touch it, it feels room temp I'm also really enjoying the controller doing all the work of gradually increasing the light all day until 2pm, then gradually decreasing until 9 when only the royal blues are on, then they gradually fade into the moon cycle at 2%. This way when I actually get some time to play with my tank around 9pm, I can enjoy the incredible pop of color I've been really busy lately, but I have an update on corals and my basket star, plus pics coming soon!

Wow! Very cool.

There are a lot of people on here that like to help out the newbies What kind of stuff are you looking for? Any idea when you'll be in town next? Sounds like you've done a great job being patient with your tank!

Ha! I wouldn't have even blinked an eye at .001, I think you'll be just fine

Have you seen the chart on their website? I'd say it's pretty accurate. My tank is 18x20x30 and I have one unit hanging horizontal if you're looking at the front of the tank and it is plenty. I do get some shadows but only because I have a rock tower that reaches the surface. So 2 might work and also consider hanging them perpendicular to the way they are advertised. You get more coverage that way as long as your tank isn't way wide, which yours is the same width as mine. You are welcome to come check mine out if you want. I really love it!

Welcome

PM sent for the ricordeas

Welcome! I look forward to hearing about your tanks.

That's a good idea!

Vivid didn't have anything to do with it for me, it was aqua sd's awesome sale this past sat. I just got some incredible stuff delivered today! Tons of freebies from the sale too. They never disappoint! The dendros are a steal too...

Yes, it's done. Go ahead and start a new one.

Oh, i think it's a good idea, not talking you out of it at all, I was just curios what your tank usually runs. What do you consider on par?

What does your calcium usually run without adding anything? What are you trying to get it to?

Hmmm, I see. I've read quite a few posts saying that consistency is more important than temp, to a point of course. And of course depending on what's in your tank. What about a chiller makes you not want one? Then you could keep your tank exactly where you want it all the time, and still be comfortable in the house. About the lights, how deep is that tank? Are you wanting to keep high light stuff all over, even on the sand? With a good T5 I'm sure you could grow anything up in the top half, and there are a ton of lps and softies for the rest of the somewhat lower light areas in the bottom half. Not trying to talk you out of your awesome light because it's really nice! I would've gone MH if I could've made it work. Just brainstorming with you since I mulled over all these choices for the past couple months Hopefully those with way more expertise in this area will post.

The light sure looks good though! The whole tank does.

I can't recommend anything on how long you leave your lights on, I think it's personal preference. Just wanted to say I faced the same situation with my tank and the heat. I like mine to stay at 74 and I wasn't willing to get a chiller. In the end, unless you can crank your a/c way down 24/7 you will need a chiller to have the MH it sounds like. Unless you can bring your temps down with fans. Or ditch the MH for T5s or LED's or a mix of the two. I had to go with LEDs because my tank is so deep. Good luck!

Looking good. It looks bigger than a 10! Love your avatar btw

Yay! That's great news. No one wants a pile of dead snails in their tank, esp ones they paid for

I don't have gobs and gobs but I'll pm you guys about it.

Chocolate mint? Oh boy, that is my absolute favorite! I bet it was delicious!

I've heard many stories of people doing just that when traps fail Probably not using a worm though, maybe shrimp or something