FarmerTy

Par for par, those plusrites were tested and produced as much, if not more than some of the popular brands of bulbs. Of course I can't find the discussion thread I read last year stating that. I mean, the coloration isn't as awesome as the old reeflux 12k I used to run but it's not that far off either. I do replace every 6 months though. I do have a lot of nice SPS but they are just small frags right now, so the jury is still out for SPS. The frags I do have look great to me though. Ignorance is bliss I guess... but I'll say they don't look that bad at all. -Ty

Derrick, see the article at the link below: http://www.ronshimek.com/salinity_temperature.html Timfish, this is the type of discussion I like. Thanks for pointing another article of interest to read. I will have to get a copy of that. With increased risk of to cell transport systems for photosynthesis at 86 degrees Fahrenheit... and according to the linked Shimek article, relatively little coral species persist at a temperature below 75 degrees Fahrenheit, we should all be leaving our tanks at 80 degrees Fahrenheit! haha. Again, Timfish is correct that we are dealing with different species and varieties. For me, keeping a majority of SPS, optimal temperature for most SPS being around 84-86 for growth and health, I keep my tank at 82-83 degrees Fahrenheit and everything is great. For others, other factors such as increased algae growth or decreased oxygen levels may play more of a factor (skimmer will help with that). I don't by any means recommend everyone run at 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Just works for my system and the species of coral I keep. That leaves me a little less margin of error when it comes to overheating but 9 years of reefing without a chiller has left me okay with that. And the 1 out of 3 times I overheated, it killed all the horrible xenia in my tank that was everywhere I didn't want it to be. So, boon for me! haha! The other 3 times though I did lose a couple of species (1 chalice frag, all of my hammers, really cool favite, and one fish... rest in peace Fido).

That would be most ideal but I have issues asking other's for favors. Haha. Plus, I already have the jigsaw with metal blade so I might as well put some usage on that thing. Thanks for the headsup Luda.

For those who chill, what are your reasons for chilling? Is it for purposes of not allowing the tank to reach a certain critical temperature? Like for insurance purposes... akin to why I keep a heater on throughout the year? Or do you chill to keep a specific temperature... say 78 degrees? Perhaps you keep the house at a pretty high temp, therefore needing a chiller? Or is your sump in your garage and you chill to keep the tank temperatures from being 110 degrees in the summer. Or your AC went out like at Wizards place. Just curious as I have never had a chiller. I actually keep my tank around 82-83 on purpose to increase metabolic rate and to keep it somewhat near the temperatures of where most of my coral are indigenous to. “The most rapid growth of most corals is generally around 27°C to 29°C (80.6°F to 84.2°F) (Barnes et al., 1995; Clausen and Roth, 1975; Weber and White 1976; Coles and Jokiel, 1977, 1978; Highsmith, 1979a, b; Highsmith, et al., 1983). Again, just curious, trying to see viewpoints on the "other side" and see if I'm missing out on something. Thanks. -Ty

Thanks Kevin for dropping some knowledge on me.

Glad you know your metal tools. It's a world I don't really ever mess with. Think I can just use my jigsaw with a metal blade? I have one sitting in my garage. Rather not cut by hand 4' of metal. Haha.

How do you guys propose would be the easiest way to cut sheet metal with a nice, clean cut. I don't want anything I can cut myself on. I have a 4-bulb T5 fixture that I want to slice down the middle to have two 2-bulb T5 fixtures. I've heard to use aircraft shears which aren't too expensive at Sears (under $30). Tools-wise, I have access to a dremel, circular saw, miter saw, and jigsaw. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks. -Ty

Talk to Shane at Fishy Business

That opercularis looked especially happy to be out of water. I'm sure it does have something to do with the radiance of the colors out of water. Either that or it's a fisherman trait that got carried over to the aquarium hobby. Something akin to holding up your 30lb bass you just caught (that example can tell you I know nothing of fishing).

Good collection of frags!

Indeed, I like your livestock selection and your rockscape. I could see a bunch of SPS towering all over those rocks. Good luck with the sale! A pico at the office with be awesome! I don't know about education around here but A&M has a great biology program and environmental sciences program and A&M Galveston has one of the top programs in the nation for Marine Biology. Not biased at all btw.

Those are mini carpets, not to be confused with maxi-mini carpets, though sometimes the industry uses the term interchangeably. They only grow to a max size of 1.5" usually whereas the maxi-mini's grow to about 3-4" typically. I like their interesting striations of red and green and they reproduce well in my 125-gallon. -Ty

Thought about a nano-tank? Had one for 5 years and loved it. Sometimes miss it over the 125-gallon I have. Also, my 2 cents but finding some time to take some pictures may garner more attention to your sale. It's rare to sell an entire system whole but to have people have to drive out to Kyle to see it puts an even more difficult barrier of sale on your tank. Again... just trying to help out. You can ignore the advice and I won't be offended. But do think about the nano. Throw some softies in there (star polyps, mushrooms) and some small fish and you get to keep a little bit of your ocean with you.

Those little maxi-mini carpets will walk 6-8 inches a day if they don't like where they are at. My advise is try to put them in the area you would like them but believe me, they'll find where they want to be if they don't like your placement. I never fed mine once and 1 became 20 in about 2 years. They have such hypnotic coloration, with the red/brown/green striations. They are the stickiest things I've ever had in the tank too. They could float by glass and just stick to it if they wanted to. Just a warning of caution though, if you're finger is wet (like soggy) and been in the tank too long, those things can give quite the potent sting. Enjoy your new friends and good find! -Ty

Sorry, I mentioned that for more purposes of a fire hazard than for a code violation. I think Tim owns the home he's in so he probably wouldn't be worried about an inspection, unless he invites a building inspector in just for the hell of it... I know if I did that, I'd be written up for a couple things here and there...

Hey August & Jake, If you don't mind me asking, how come you are selling in the first place? Time for maintenance? I figure keeping a freshwater system is just as much work, might as well keep all your fishy friends and just hang on to it. Most of the "maintenance" I do with my saltwater system is not needed, I just like to mess with it. I really just empty the skimmer cup and fill up the RO water once a week and feed my babies. Cost-wise, 6 plus-rite bulbs a year ($90), 2 VHO actinic ($60), and food/misc (less than $200/year). Electricity and obviously water too, though my electricity bill for my whole house is usually $60-80 ($100-140 summer). That's not much to sit there and enjoy all your babies swimming around in your own piece of ocean. Sorry for the ranting, just curious why you are wanting to sell if you obviously are attached to your system like all of the rest of us.

You thought about just using some of those vacuum-hose looking cord wraps. It'll clean it up real easy without all the trouble. Won't be that perfect clean look most might want but it's better than a mess of cords. My 2 cents...

I thought it was against code to run electrical cords through walls since they are not properly insulated? I think for reasons of being a fire hazard... though I guess it wouldn't be a big deal since you have a 190g tank of water right next to it. Sorry, not trying to whistle blow, just remember reading something like that when I was planning to run my LCD TV cord through the wall after I wall-mounted it. I did it anyways...

I have it and apart from the initial cycle each time I've moved into a new tank, I've never had a cyano problem. I blame mine on my biopellets though. I've stopped using them and the population has gone down a bit but not all gone yet. I'm going to blast with chemiclean in a month if it still persists. -Ty

Wheelin' and dealin'. I love it!

Yeah, this sounds right up my alley. Cheap and dependable. I don't need a dimmer option and the only probe I intend to use is the pH probe for the calcium reactor. Now I just need to figure out how many things I need plugged into that controller... and if I need to buy additional outlets.

PM'ed

Hey Pham, are they the old one's or the new generations?

Tim, Have you done the group buy before from BRS? I ask because people on previous group buys enjoy discounted prices when they log on. I have that on my profile so when I log on, most things are slightly more discounted (like 5-10% off). If so, then no worries. If not, you want to order on my profile to get everyone the discounts? We can still ship to your place, doesn't matter to me. LMK.

I was with Brown and Caldwell for 5 years and am now onboard with GSI environmental for the past year. My first job was in California with a small local company called Miller Brooks Environmental for 2 years.