FarmerTy

Dave, I was just going to ask you for a picture of the original purple tip colony. I might be interested in a frag and if so, you can knock $10 off the price of the bulbs I have for you. -Ty

Lenver, This is the clip-on light I used when I had a refugium. http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-Fans-Indoor-Lighting-Specialty-Lighting-Clip-Lights/h_d1/N-bvmgZ5yc1v/R-202351658/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

Ever wonder what other reefers use, such as simple household items, to maintain or tweak their tanks? Well, I do. So I'm asking... what crafty little gadgets or tricks have people used in their tanks that may be beneficial to others? For instance: 1) buying nori sheets at the asian supermarket for $5 a gigantic bag vs. $4 for 6 strips at the LFS. Make sure you get the dried, non-flavored kind. 2) Plastic drywall tape knife set - $4 for 3 different sized blades to scrape your glass in no time flat. 3) Buying random seafood at the asian market and blending it all together to make your own fish food. Then scooping it into a ziplock bag and flattening it out in sheets for nice breakable pieces to feed. 4) Buying a clip-on bulb from Home Depot ($9.99) to use as a refugium light instead of buying a $40 one from JBJ. 5) Buying plusrite metal halide bulbs from 1000bulbs.com for $13.33/bulb to light my tank and swapping out every 6 months. 6) Using spaflex tubing at home depot instead of those expensive vacuum hoses 7) Running your "dirty" water line from your RO out to your garden/lawn to water plants/grass. 8) Modding your skimmer cup by drilling a hole and hooking up a drain line from it to a milk jug so you don't have to empty your cup all the time. 9) Bayer Advanced Total Insect Killer - tried and tested. Works great as coral dip. 10) paint shield - best glass algae scraper ever for $4! Works perfect with an aqua glove. Perfectly clean glass without getting your entire arm wet. http://www.homedepot...d&storeId=10051 That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Please share your tricks of the trade for us all to benefit from! -Ty

Hi Dave, They delayed the order because some of the bulbs Tim wanted were not in stock. I got official notice they shipped Friday even though I cleared out Tim's order on Tuesday and they processed it that day. They are taking their sweet time to put a couple of bulbs in a box and send it down the highway. I would expect today or tomorrow for them to come in. I'll let you know!

Yeah, then I feel like it would work out on your tank. If you take it home and decide that it isn't the right lighting for the tank, I'd be happy to give you your money back for it. Well, not if you come back like 5 years later or anything. LMK. -Ty

Hi Bluemoon, The post is up to date. What I have left is on the first page of the post. Thanks for your interest and hit me up if you want anything. Thanks! -Ty

I guess my question would be how deep is the 40? The 150-watt was lighting the center portion of my 125-gallon for awhile, which means it was probably lighting about 40-gallons of water. It was enough to support SPS high on the rocks and zoas on the bottom. The zoas were growing slower with the 150-watt then when I changed it to the 250-watt but that is to be expected. They still had great color and were plenty healthy. -Ty

Last update. If nobody picks up this weekend, they are going to one of the LFS. Thanks for looking! -Ty

It yours buddy for helping me out. I'll bring it Sunday.

No problem Ray. It was nice meeting you guys.

That's true. The VHOs actually need to be replaced anyways so I'll test it out and if it doesn't light it up well, in the trash you go and I'll buy one actinic and one full spectrum to replace. Thanks for the advice.

Yeah, I was thinking of having an open top canopy and having the reflectors sitting on wood beams (the edges) and then mounting the VHO's underneath the wood beams. I'm just curious if the actinic will light the front of the coral adequately or if I need to swap to a full spectrum bulb.

I got 2 problems here: 1) My large reflectors are blocking my actinics from reaching all areas of the tank 2) With the metal halide setup, the corals in front of the centerline of the metal halides are darker due to no direct light hitting their front sides. My setup is 3 large reflectors, with two VHOs front and back, but above the reflectors. Questions: 1) Should I try to mount the VHOs below the reflectors? Space is going to be really tight to reach into the tank from the front if I do that. 2) Do you think this will help light the fronts of the corals with just the superactinic, or should I swap that out for a full spectrum bulb (T-5 or VHO, and if so, what color/spectrum/type... I know nothing of T-5 bulbs). I would like to be able to keep the actinics so I still have my dawn to dusk effect. Perhaps switch out the front one for a full spectrum and keep the back one actinic? Would one 5' actinic bulb in the back of the tank be enough for a 125-gallon tank? Any advice is appreciated. I just want as much color on the fronts of my corals as I see with the one's behind the centerline of the metal halides (towards the back of the tank). I know with an all T-5/VHO setup you wouldn't even have this issue. -Ty

I guess don't scrape it is. That's one less thing on my list. Thanks all!

NP, you guys are always welcome to join me as I stare at my tank for hours on end and talk your ear off.

bump, price drop

Pecman, it was good meeting you. Remember, don't let those little anemone sting you! Gumbo, PM'ed.

Haha, in the same boat. Love the clean look but way to lazy to clean it so I make justifications as well... I was really fishing for more excuses from local ARC'ers to make myself feel even better about being lazy.

Wanted to run a poll by everyone to see if people prefer natural overgrown backwalls with coralline and such or clean, clear glass/acrylic with a black/blue background. -Ty

Haha, nice!

Man, I was eye-balling that ice fire big-time when AquaSD posted. That is gorgeous. If a piece ever gets knocked off by some fish or hand in the tank, I want to call dibs! Good find Pat. -Ty

No problem Mike. I'll have to see your tank eventually as well. Don't forget to pass along another useful way that the ARC club card can be used ... on top of all the cool savings and perks you've been getting for us.

You are welcome Teresa. It was nice meeting you. Hope you found a place for the cactus coral. -Ty

bump, updated

Yeah, I got a small frag I would like to buy if this comes through, whether Don can bring back or we ship.