finally joined!! please help

[nafuzy]

Hey guys! My names Noah and I've been doing saltwater for 2 years now but just restarted less than 2 mo the ago making it a reef tank. I have very minimal knowledge of corals etc and I live alone and im broke most of the time trying to survive (I know....wrong hobby for poor people) but I love it. Im addicted! ! I've been referring to your forums for months but just registered today. Having said that...here's my stuff guys:

55gal with 90-100 lbs LR 40-50 lbs LS.
20 gal custom built (by me) sump/refugium.
2 weak powerheads....aeon something like that..??
1 drop per 10 second custom built kalk drip
My return pump is attached to a custom made spray bar for surface movement
My fear...is I was lied to and tricked....I currently have a very old (just found out about its age.....2+years) 12" metal halide....

Stock:
2 diff zoo frags
1 tree/leather frag
1 disc
2 acropora frags
My beloved sun coral (still training to eat)
Some button polyp colony with roughly 20 polyps.
Dozens of nasarius snails and hermits
1 sally lightfoot
1 serpent star
4 peppermint shrimp
1 cleaner shrimp
2 bengai cardinals
1 green mandarin (doing excellent)
1 large sea cucumber in refugium

Parameters:
salinity. 025-.026
Ph 8.4
Calcium 450
Alk...."good"...lfs tests my stuff can't afford kit yet
Nitrate 0ppm
Temp 80-81

I plan on getting a 4 bulb HO T5 aquatic life fixture...but it will take months on layaway with my budget. Any help/advice etc for now??? Will my babies be okay for now..???? I love you guys and respect all advice/opinions...like I said I've been passively checking forums for months.

Look forward to hearing from you all thank you!

 

[redsea]

Welcome to AA! Can you post pictures of your tank? I would love to see it!

 

[nafuzy]

Sure thing!! Ill try to when I get home from class around 1.

 

[nafuzy]

Any words of wisdom with my lighting predicament??????

 

[bruinsbro1997]

to AA!

-Note: I am a freshwater, so don't assume I'm 100% correct on this.

I'm not sure how long your corals can go with that light, especially if it's two years old (the bulb), since most bulbs start to lose their power after seven or eight months or so, my guess, since I've read you change them every six months for saltwater.

If you don't like your fixture, there's a website called fishneedit.com, which is where they sell equipment you need like lighting, powerheads, etc. for cheap

Your weak powerheads...are the aquaeon ones? I'm not sure about that brand of powerheads, but everyone seems to be recommending koralia powerheads.

 

[carey]

Is it possible to just buy a new halide bulb in the meantime? I got a really really cheap 150w on ebay for $10. lol

 

[nafuzy]

Bruins: noted. Thank you. Im going to check the site.

Carey: really? Do you think it'd suffice?? Its one of those fixtures with the metal guards over the bulbs....not entirely sire how to take it apart. But if its a match then he'll yes please!

 

[kurtyboh]

if you have a halide fixture can you not get a new bulb for it, prob cheaper than a new light assembly with decent bulbs, just a thought.

 

[kurtyboh]

wow a lot went on as i started... yeah, you can find em cheap, do you have the double end or a socket style?

 

[carey]

Well I figure any light is better than having an old bulb running for a few months.....Just be sure that the corals are all underneath it and you should be ok for a short time while you save up for a new fixture. You can also invest in the fish need it;lights; food;Sponge fixture like mentioned above....Do you know the wattage on the MH? And how do you have it set up for now on such a large tank? A picture would be great!

 

[Gti_Leo]

those acroporas might not last long, but the rest will do fine with that light. try moving the frags as high as possible to the light source so they can get as much light as possible, and try and read up on how to get that mandarin to eat prepared food, if you run out of pods it might stop eatign and starve

 

[nafuzy]

Oh trust me I got the mandarin down. I've been wanting it since I started saltwater FOWLED almost 2 years ago. Did my research. bit thank you.

 

[nafuzy]

Holy wow!!! 4-bulb HO with independent timer counters for less than 200 out the door? ?? Think they're worth while brand wise from that site? ?

 

[carey]

The fish need it fixture?

 

[nafuzy]

Yes carey.

 

[carey]

It would be a good fixture for now in my opinion. You can, like mentioned place the higher light demanding corals towards the top. I have a few arcoporas in my 125g and I keep them up top, even though I'm running a 12 bulb system.

If you were wanting more SPS and/or clams and nems then I would still look at upgrading the fixture in the future. It all depends on your budget.

here is an excellent light that just came on sale today, very pricey but what I would put over my 55g if i was going back to corals in the tank
48 Inch 8x54W Sunlight Supply Tek Elite Light High Output Fluorescent Lighting Fixture

It's just an example, but you could grow ANYTHING with that light. LOL

 

[Gti_Leo]

Oh trust me I got the mandarin down. I've been wanting it since I started saltwater FOWLED almost 2 years ago. Did my research. bit thank you.

no problem as long as you've done your homework on the very difficult fish. most people just buy them because they are pretty and they end up losing them

 

[Gti_Leo]

It would be a good fixture for now in my opinion. You can, like mentioned place the higher light demanding corals towards the top. I have a few arcoporas in my 125g and I keep them up top, even though I'm running a 12 bulb system.

If you were wanting more SPS and/or clams and nems then I would still look at upgrading the fixture in the future. It all depends on your budget.

here is an excellent light that just came on sale today, very pricey but what I would put over my 55g if i was going back to corals in the tank
48 Inch 8x54W Sunlight Supply Tek Elite Light High Output Fluorescent Lighting Fixture

It's just an example, but you could grow ANYTHING with that light. LOL

that 8 lamp will melt any coral other then SPS in a 55g. even a 6 lamp is pushing it on that there.

the general rule of thumb is one individually reflected T5HO lamp per every 3-5 inches of aquarium width. T5s are able to penetrate a 30inch deep tank and have a variaty of corals from top to bottom.

i have a 4x24 watt fixture over my 26g and i've only kept 2 lamps on as i haven't fully got a reef system setup, and i have a neon green polyp that started to grow out of nowhere and on 2 lamps has grown from a quarter of an inch to almost a full inch just on two 24watts at a depth of 18 inches

 

[nafuzy]

Thank you both so much. Im so glad I finally actually registered haha. Yea I almost rushed the mandarin before I learned about it but she's my baby.

 

[coffeetwitch]

4.5 bulbs to cover an 18 deep tank? 3 bulbs for a 12" tank?

will that beable to fully grow anything he wants? clams all the way down to green algae?