green star polyps

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sir_dudeguy

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Aug 28, 2004
Messages
517
Location
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i'm thinking of gettin a gsp, but i got a few questions, and i do realize that lots of people say they can take over a tank, but thats kinda what i'm goin for on my rocks. i'll try to put pics of my tank later, cuz the flash on the cam isnt workin.

First, do you need liverock to grow corals or no? i've just got lace rock in there now. i've seen on liveaquaria under the care for their corals, they recomend live rock. So i'd just like to know if you actually need it for gsp's

second...can you grow these under regular NO flourecent lights? or would i need to get some better lighting. Also, on lighitng, i'm confused...does it go NO as the lowest lighting, VHO next, and then PC's, and then metal halide being the best?

third and maybe last...what type of flow do i need for these guys? right now i've only got 2 aquaclear 301 (i think) powerheads. they're rated to 175 gph. This would be considered low waterflow corect? And the rock i'm thinkin of puttin the gsp on is right by a powerhead, so there would be more power to the flow right there. do i want the flow directly on it or no?

i think thats all i need now, but i'll prolly think of somethin later.
thanks
mike
 
oh duh, srry i completely forgot. its just a standard 55. it only came w/the NO flourecents and the 2 ac 301's for flow...unless you count the fluval 304 also, and i think thats like, 260 gph or somethin around that.

not sure what wattage the bulbs are. i'll check
 
Hey Dude,

I have a 55G reef.

NO I believe is Normal Output and it's something like 15W per bulb. Normally those standard canopies have one 15W bulb each so you have 30W to start with.

VHO and PowerCompact is a little confusing to me. I have PC's that run at 4x65W. VHOs I think run at about 30 - 40W per bulb? I may be wrong. I am not a VHO kind of guy. Metal Halide can go really high per bulb. A common one would be 170 some odd watts.

In terms of laced rocks, did you convert from fresh to salt or something? Lace rocks are OK. But reefers tend to go LR way in order to give a certain natural look. Plus, you get those critters/hitchhickers as bonus.

In terms of whether or not it's a high or low water flow doesn't necessarily mean how many powerheads. In a setup with a few powerheads in them, there are high flow areas and there are dead spots or low water flow areas. So when you see "moderate to low water flow", it basically means place the coral at a certain area wherein water is not directed to it.

I have a 400gph PH, a 175 gph ph, and a 270 gph powerhead. Then I have a prizm skimmer and two HOB Powerfilter 60. My "turnover" rate is about 19 times per hour. That means I turnover the "estimated" volume of my water 19 times per hour. Considering that I have rocks and sand in there, I may already be turning over about 23 - 24 times per hour.

Finally, GSP's are cool. But I think you should at least have about 3 - 4 watts per gallon. That's just an estimate. We're not even talking about light color temperature and stuff yet. That's a little too complex. but give or take 3 - 4 watts per gallon is decent and safe.

If you want to go reef, might as well spend money on lights. Look at the Orbit brand. That's what I got. Some may say Coralife brand. It's different strokes for different folks. I enjoy my Orbit 4x65W daylight/actinic with moonlights. They're only about $190 nowadays. It isn't that bad.

PS: get a good skimmer.

Good luck and welcome
 
i love my GSP. I don't think they're taking over my tank though:?

They are hardy and i love that. I only have about 3.4 watts/gallon of PC lighting...if i had MH lighting...the GSP would probably grow much faster. They're quite managable for me though with my 75g with 265w coralife PC fixture:)

I don't think your NO lighting is high enough to support GSP though. PC or higher would be adequate.
 
GSP will not take over your tank. LR is very good if you have corals because it is the best natural filtration there is. To answer your question. No it is not required but it recommended because it helps keep your water parameters in check. NO is not enough light IMO for GSP. A 55 gallon tank ideally should have 750-1100GPH of flow if you plan on keeping corals. When you get ready to try your first coral/GSP see if you can get a frag from someone on the board. It will minimise your expense if it does not make it and it will also not be taking away from the ocean. (y)
 
In terms of laced rocks, did you convert from fresh to salt or something? Lace rocks are OK. But reefers tend to go LR way in order to give a certain natural look. Plus, you get those critters/hitchhickers as bonus
Click to expand...

No i didnt convert this tank from fresh, tho i have another fresh tank. Basically, i couldnt afford to pay 5.50/lbs for 40-50 or so lbs of LR, and i was told that lace would work. I was also told that if i seeded lace w/a bit of LR that it would eventually turn live also. true or no? Plus, i got the lace for like, 80 cents/lbs or somethin like that. i only have like, 28 lbs in there i think, but they look bigger than that, i'll try puttin a picture of the setup.

As for the lights...i looked at it, and on the tube (its a single tube by the way) it says its 40 watts...i thought it would only be like, 15 or somethin. still not enough tho for gsp correct?

I'm not gonna get the gsp for a while tho, as my tank is almost done cycling but not done yet. And i know my dad wont pay over like, 50 bucks for lighting, so it prolly wont be for a while that i get better lighting.
Unless someone here lives around mesa, az and would like to get rid of some (or ship to mesa :) )

I do, however, think that i have an extra shop light that held 2 tubes. not sure what the wattage is yet, but ill look. could i add those in addition to the one on there maybe? obviouslly put the 10k bulbs in but yeah, would that work?

thanks all
 
i am on the verge of ripping all the GSP out

its spreading quickly from rock to rock... i have very little spots where rock does not touch...

i'd just keep it away from the other rocks if you dont want it everywhere. sames goes for xenia... although some xenia can sprout out on the opposite side of your tank :p
 
mykpoz said:
sames goes for xenia... although some xenia can sprout out on the opposite side of your tank :p
Click to expand...

you tell me about it. I bought a cute frag of xenia a month ago. It then got a bit fatter at the base. Then it started splitting. Before you know it, I have 8 nickel-sized diameter trunks of xenia in my tank.

I am giving two to the LFS for credit on my next coral purchase.

In my opinion, don't even buy xenia. Just ask people from your area that are hobbyists (from this forum) if they wanna bum you a frag. It grows like crazy, I tell you.
 
lol nooo its not 550. its pretty weak, its only like 260. i'll check the label later, cuz i gotta leave for school. what about the lighting tho? and arent gsp photosynthetic or whatever the word is, so they only need light dont they? or do they also need some food?
 
NO lights will not work for GSP they require good lighting. I put some in my fowlr which has 80 watts NO and they died. I had them low and they did not open I moved them up high on the lr and they opened a little and just died over time.
In my reef they will not spread to the areas where the lighting is low. And IMO they can take over a tank if left to spread. They can sting other corals and will grow where the lighting is to their liking. Mine is on the SB mostly and has spread across the SB and it is now growing no the LR and it has stung my Alviopora to the point where the polyps would not come out.
You will need PC or VHO lighting as a min..
 
Sorry, I stand corrected...it is 260GPH, I'm not sure where I got that number...I was feeling a LOT rough yesterday!
 
lol its all good about the gph on the filter.

as for lighting again..anyone have a good light that they have gsp in, or would grow it in? i'm pretty limited to what i can spend now, so i know metal halides are out. So basically i'm lookin for the cheapest light that gsp do good in haha. I dont really plan on having other corals in the near future, so getting strong, expensive lighting for corals that i might get a long time from now doesnt seem practical right now.

thanks all
 
:soap: If lighting is a issue why not start out with a mushroom etc. Since your tank is just now cycling you need to forget about corals for a while. Get the tank cycled and get some experience keeping the water quality up, PH, Alk, Temp stable, and a first fish alive. You start putting corals in shortly after the cycle, light or not you are asking for disaster. End of rant:. :wink:
 
yeah, i'm just planning for future when it gets done cycling. And do mushrooms not require lighting or just very little?

Also, i've just had a thought.

I have an old 2 gallon tank, and some left over aragonite that i'd use as substrate. i've also got a few filters that are supposed to be for 20 gallon tanks. I would only use these for flow, and have like, 3 lbs of lr in the tank.

I know that the more water volume there is in a tank, the better, but I found this light bulb and i've got an old fixture that it would fit in.
Here is the light


http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...45918093223&itemNo=10&In=Fish&N=2030120&Ne=34

would this work for anything?

the lr would be the filtration corect? with the hob filter just being used for circulation.
I wouldnt even have fish in here, i'd just have some easy corals or something.
and that light would give plenty of light for stuff, cuz it'd be like 5 watts to the gallon w/the 10 watt bulb, and 10 per gallon w/the 20 watt.

last (i hope) would having live rock take away the cycle? i've heard that you should just wait a few days to make sure.
 
Mate, those lights would work for a nano tank (5 gallons or less) or a small hob fuge. They wouldn't light up anything in a 55. You are probably not going to be able to find lights for a 55 gallon tank for under 50 bones.

I also wouldn't try running PC or VHO lights in a ballast that was not meant to run anything other than NO lights. You could start a fire.

You should spend some time googling and checking out the forums for lighting recommendations. You could probably get some Jeabo/Odyssea PC lights for under $100.

Mushrooms typically require very little light. I have had shrooms under NO lights for a time and they did well.
 
ya thats what i put...didnt i say that it would be for a 2 gallon? i thought i did, but i might be wrong...

anyways...
i was just gonna try some corals in a 2 gallon first, and then, if all goes well, upgrade the lights in the 55 to match the ratio that is on the 2 gallon. like if i got the ten watt mini for the 2 gallon that would be about 5 watts per gallon right? if that worked for that one, then i'd get a pc that would be 5 watts per gallon on the 55, so about a 275 watter.
 
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