jbowles
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hello all, I have had my reef tank up and running for 2 years now and i just have a few questions about it. First here is all my tank info, inhabitants and such:
Equipment:
55 gallon tank with a double bio-wheel filter
2 powerheads for circulation
760 watt metal halide lighting ( 2 x 250 watt 20k halides, and 4 x 65 watt actinic bulbs)
approx 75 - 85 lbs live rock
3.5" - 4" sand bed
i use instant ocean Reef crystals salt mix and add Kent marine Coral-Vite about once a month.
Fish:
1 x saddleback clown
2 x percula clowns
3 x assorted damsels
1 x scooter blenny
1 x purple pseudo basslet
Inverts:
approx 100 x nassarius snails
6 x banded trochus snails
1 x star snail
8 x black turbo snails
4 x turbo snails
6 x astrea snails
4 x cerith snails
approx 8 hermit crabs ( blue leg, red leg cortez)
1 x pincushion urchin
1 x short spine urchin
1 x peppermint shrimp
1 x cleaner shrimp
1 x long tentacle anemone
1 x sebae anemone
Corals:
Red viet mushrooms
frogspawn
4 different zoanthids
small star polyp frag
Now with all that out there lol, on to my questions.
1: I have tried several frags of corals that have more of the skeltal type base but they never make it, the frogspawn i have had for about 6 - 7 months, and when i first got it, it was approx 4 inchs long of the bone type bas and had 2 heads on one end. After about 2 months the base just kind of dissappeared and now i just have the heads left and had to place them on a piece of rock. Now aside from the base going away, both heads open fully each day and look healthy, what would have caused this to happen and why are none of the hard based corals making it?
2: I just recently upgraded my lighting from a 260 watt power compact light to the new 760 watt light. Is this light ok for my tank or is it overdoing it?
3: I helped a friend set up his saltwater tank about 2 months after i set mine up back in 2008. He set up a 75 gallon tank and we use all the same food, salt mix, and even both had the same light ( the 260 watt power compact) but his zoanthids and corals seem to thrive in his tank. With water quality not being the problem because i check mine alot and do the water changes, what would cause his to be any different? I think my tank is healthy as everything is doing well, coraline algae grows extremely fast and i have to scrap my glass weekly, i always see copepods and such at night, no algae problems. Now his tank does not have any coraline algae as it has never started in his tank, but he does have aiptasia that is growing in there, and working on getting it out.
Equipment:
55 gallon tank with a double bio-wheel filter
2 powerheads for circulation
760 watt metal halide lighting ( 2 x 250 watt 20k halides, and 4 x 65 watt actinic bulbs)
approx 75 - 85 lbs live rock
3.5" - 4" sand bed
i use instant ocean Reef crystals salt mix and add Kent marine Coral-Vite about once a month.
Fish:
1 x saddleback clown
2 x percula clowns
3 x assorted damsels
1 x scooter blenny
1 x purple pseudo basslet
Inverts:
approx 100 x nassarius snails
6 x banded trochus snails
1 x star snail
8 x black turbo snails
4 x turbo snails
6 x astrea snails
4 x cerith snails
approx 8 hermit crabs ( blue leg, red leg cortez)
1 x pincushion urchin
1 x short spine urchin
1 x peppermint shrimp
1 x cleaner shrimp
1 x long tentacle anemone
1 x sebae anemone
Corals:
Red viet mushrooms
frogspawn
4 different zoanthids
small star polyp frag
Now with all that out there lol, on to my questions.
1: I have tried several frags of corals that have more of the skeltal type base but they never make it, the frogspawn i have had for about 6 - 7 months, and when i first got it, it was approx 4 inchs long of the bone type bas and had 2 heads on one end. After about 2 months the base just kind of dissappeared and now i just have the heads left and had to place them on a piece of rock. Now aside from the base going away, both heads open fully each day and look healthy, what would have caused this to happen and why are none of the hard based corals making it?
2: I just recently upgraded my lighting from a 260 watt power compact light to the new 760 watt light. Is this light ok for my tank or is it overdoing it?
3: I helped a friend set up his saltwater tank about 2 months after i set mine up back in 2008. He set up a 75 gallon tank and we use all the same food, salt mix, and even both had the same light ( the 260 watt power compact) but his zoanthids and corals seem to thrive in his tank. With water quality not being the problem because i check mine alot and do the water changes, what would cause his to be any different? I think my tank is healthy as everything is doing well, coraline algae grows extremely fast and i have to scrap my glass weekly, i always see copepods and such at night, no algae problems. Now his tank does not have any coraline algae as it has never started in his tank, but he does have aiptasia that is growing in there, and working on getting it out.
