GBOY & NUNU 30 gal saltwater build!!!

[Sniperhank]

GL with your candy cane. Under my T5HO, with 2 10k and 2 actinic my candy cane is heavily bleached and dying. Everything else is doing quite well. BTW, shouldn't you be learning something in school besides SW?

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Ohh so candycane can get TOO much light? Man that stinks...

 

[Ibrahim]

Ohh so candycane can get TOO much light? Man that stinks...

And ya saltwater is way more interesting then ap world history haha

Not if it's acclimated properly. First move it to the bottom of the tank then turn on only your compacts. After a week or more turn on 2 t5s. After 2 weeks turn on the other t5s. Lastly move it to the bottom-mid tank and you'll be fine

 

[Sniperhank]

+1

The story of how we should adjust all corals. Did it with mine, it just isn't having it. Working hard to save it. GL with yours, they are cool looking corals. Any photo updates for us?

 

[Ibrahim]

+1

The story of how we should adjust all corals. Did it with mine, it just isn't having it. Working hard to save it. GL with yours, they are cool looking corals. Any photo updates for us?

I never had luck with candy canes.

 

[Gboy66]

I never had luck with candy canes.

Bummer! Wish we had know this earlier..

No photo updates yet..unless you want a pic of my lunch or somthing..lol

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

+1

The story of how we should adjust all corals. Did it with mine, it just isn't having it. Working hard to save it. GL with yours, they are cool looking corals. Any photo updates for us?

Lol i will post some pics when i get home! Haha the candycane looks to being ok so far!

 

[severum mama]

Candy cane is a pretty easy coral to keep IME. We kept ours under 6x39W T5 HO in a 50 breeder, so about the same height as your tank. Just give it time.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Oh okay! 2 heads are doing fine but the other two are not doing as well. Its okay though because i think it has gotten better while it has been in our tank!

 

[severum mama]

Let's stay on topic please. We have a chat room if you would like to talk about your classes in school, or any other off topic matters. Thank you.

 

[Gboy66]

Bad news..our fixture is about 7" in width.

So my question is, should we either

A. invest in the new fixture because it is much better than our current

B. Invest in replacing the current fixtures bulbs and not get the new one.

OR
C. find some way to use both. The PC would still have the older bulbs though. How would we do this?

 

[severum mama]

Just get the new fixture. I ran a smaller 20 gallon tank with the lighting you have now and I considered it kind of a minimum. If you are going to run the old one with ancient bulbs (the pics I remember showed brown marks on the plastic- they're OLD), it's likely that it will do more harm than good. Remember that post upthread where I told you that old bulbs can contribute to algae?

 

[Gboy66]

Just get the new fixture. I ran a smaller 20 gallon tank with the lighting you have now and I considered it kind of a minimum. If you are going to run the old one with ancient bulbs (the pics I remember showed brown marks on the plastic- they're OLD), it's likely that it will do more harm than good. Remember that post upthread where I told you that old bulbs can contribute to algae?

K we will get the new ones oh yea, i havent forgotten about those bulbs

 

[EriksFish315]

You will be better off with a nice new fixture.

 

[Gboy66]

You will be better off with a nice new fixture.

Yup, in the long run we will. I just wantto maje sure we can support most sps..but i guess not.

Could someone tell me what we can/cant support with a 4 buld T5HO?

 

[severum mama]

Yup, in the long run we will. I just wantto maje sure we can support most sps..but i guess not.

Could someone tell me what we can/cant support with a 4 buld T5HO?

Why? Are you particularly interested in SPS? Have you researched their needs? IMO a 4 bulb fixture is not sufficient for "most" SPS corals (yes, you can keep some of the easier ones), and to be honest, for a reef tank on a tight budget, many of them are not the most realistic options... not only are the corals themselves expensive, but they are also sensitive (much more so than what you're starting out with) and will pretty much REQUIRE a skimmer. And when I say skimmer, I don't mean a Bak Pak, Coralife, or Seaclone. I mean a good skimmer, and a good skimmer is going to run you a lot more than that T5 fixture.

 

[Gboy66]

Why? Are you particularly interested in SPS? Have you researched their needs? IMO a 4 bulb fixture is not sufficient for "most" SPS corals (yes, you can keep some of the easier ones), and to be honest, for a reef tank on a tight budget, many of them are not the most realistic options... not only are the corals themselves expensive, but they are also sensitive (much more so than what you're starting out with) and will pretty much REQUIRE a skimmer. And when I say skimmer, I don't mean a Bak Pak, Coralife, or Seaclone. I mean a good skimmer, and a good skimmer is going to run you a lot more than that T5 fixture.

Wow i screwed up. Sps as in hard coral? No, i dont want any of that.

I mean SOFT coral. So torch, frogspawn, bubble..that kind if stuff.

Excuse my stupidity lol

 

[severum mama]

SPS= small polyp stony coral

LPS= long polyp stony coral

Then there are soft corals.

There's no stupidity about it, the abbreviations can be confusing. I guarantee you are not the only person that has ever mixed up LPS and SPS. LOL.

Torch, frogspawn, hammer are all LPS corals, euphyllia spp. Bubble is also LPS. Other examples would be acanthastrea (Google that one, I'm pretty sure you'll love it), caulastrea (your candy cane), blastomussa. Brain corals are also LPS- some off the top of my head for your Googling pleasure are trachyphyllia, wellsophyllia, lobophyllia. There are plenty of other LPS too, these are just some examples.

SPS also have a hard skeleton, but unlike the LPS corals, they do not have the big fleshy polyps. Some examples off the top of my head here are acropora, montipora, seriatopora, pocillopora. There are tons of others, of course.

Seriatopora (birdsnest) might actually be a possibility for you once you get that upgrade. I had an ORA green birdsnest that did quite well under PCs in one of my nanos. I've also kept psammocora and acropora millipora under T5 HOs. Just set them high in the tank.

The softies don't have a hard skeleton at all. Think xenia, zoanthids/palythoas/protopalythoas, mushrooms, kenya tree, etc.

 

[Gboy66]

Thank you so much!! You got it right on, those are all corals that i love. And with a 4 bulb t5 i could support these? That would be sweet!

Yeah, i dont like the sps much..i like the flowing look of the lps..like alot of people.

Okay, that birdsnest is awesome, thats my goal eventually!

Thanks for all of the googling material! lol

 

[severum mama]

Here's a fascinating read for you- keep in mind when you're placing your new corals!
Corals gone Wild! Jin's guide to coral on coral interaction. - Atlanta Reef Club Forums