Pies

Not sure, have read all sorts of vaired info on this. Am going to run mine for 12 months and see how it goes. Havn't got to first bulb replacement yet, so I am sure when I do replace my first bulb i'll be in a better position to know when to replace them. So far I am about 9 months in and everything looks the same to me and coral growth and colour and more than acceptable and no algae problems. Pie

Single overflow for sure, I have a single and my tank is 1400 litres. I have duel on my 5 footers and its overkill. Make it a big hole though 40mm + Chimera - I looked at a single external overflow for my tank as well. The tanks you are talking about (at least the ones i've seen) are all acrylic. Notching out the glass would cause severe issues with the strength of the overall tank design. Also the necessity of the center brace makes it a bit impracticial for glass tanks. I talked to Peter and Port Nicholson Glass about it and he refused to do it because of the issues with glass strength. Pie

Radium Blue. Pie

Radium bulbs $100ea incl GST. No. $100ea incl GST from Radium including 3pin lead. Add $15.00 retail ($9 wholesale) for the bulb holder. Mind you I havn't looked for 250watt DE ballasts for quite some time so maybee they are cheaper, happy to be wrong on this point, but suspect most people have paid considerable more than $100ea for their own. If your talking about units like Arcadia or whatever I am not sure what they cost new/wholesale. However DIY SPECIALS are obviously acceptable as they are easy to hide, your system like mine is a great example of DIY lighting looking great in the home. I personally think the lighting system on my own tank looks great, and the cost to me was $1100.00 including bulbs (thats for 5x 400watt). I think you will be hard pressed to find better prices new anywhere. the results speak for themselves. Piemania

Nah have no idea who it is. Was more of a paridy as anything else. I was thinking if a petstore buys a cleaner shrimp for $40 and sells it for $80 ($40 profit), why can't someone make $15 for something that costs nothing? I mean other than the initital cost of the item, its the overheads that are so expensive, lots of examples of this on this site. Personally I think you would be insane to purchase something like this for that much money. But then again I think you would be insane to purchase most things from an LFS. If he sells one for $15.00, is he actually making money given the costs I spoke about above? Go the glass shrimp. I wounder if he actually sells any. Pie

Probably because they are not questions, more like attacks from people with attitudes similar to those seen in this thread. Good on him I say. Much like the pet stores he has overheads. He has to get to the ocean, spend time collection the animals, get them home. Keep them at home and alive long enough to be able to sell them. Bank transaction fees, trademe fees, time to respond to emails and time wasting questions on his auction. Personally I am surprised that he can afford to sell that so cheaply. Pie

Thats the killer though, the additional bulb replacement costs and initial purchase prices. A 400watt bulb should give 37.5% more light than a 250watt (all things being equal) given the additional power consumption. Because of the configuration of the DE, the reality (as per Reefs quotes above) show they are actually provide 20% more light not the 37.5% expected from the additional power consumption. Take into account the the 18% more light, and the cost savings from the bulbs replacements and 400s are looking like a winner from where I am sitting. Example - My own tank: 5x 400watt bulb replacement assuming 12 months from a bulb = $500 a year. (Total 1475watts) 6x 250watt bulb replacement assuming 12 months from a bulb = $720. (Total 1500watts) Also 400 watt ballasts and bulb holders are MUCH cheaper than the DE HQI types (I paid $100ea new for mine). So does the $220.00 saving from bulb replacements make up for the additional 500watts of power consumed annually? Also consider that this 18% is a 'mean average' and all things are not equal. Light penetration for deep tanks is much better for 400s than 250s, light spread with like reflectiors is also wider with the SEs. This can of course be solved with smarter reflectors for the DEs, giving less spread for more penetration. Then take light spectrum into account. With the loss of intensitiy from higher kelvin lights (14-20k) its possible with a 400 14k to have the same light intensitiy as a 250 10k without the yellowed light present in these lower kelvin lights. No doubt that both a great options, I have used both 250DE and 400SE. Personally i'd use the 400s, my coral growth and colour speaks for itself. Note I did not get anywhere near the colour or growth (sustained) with my old lighting system. However thats on 2 different tanks so may not be the best from a control group point of view. If I could do my own tank again would I use 250watt DE over 400watt SE on my own tank? No way. If money was no concern i'd just use more 400s Also note than in a tank as wide as mine, getting light accross the with of the tank is more of a concern than along the length. Piezola

Retail 400 watters can be had for $100.00, you may get cheaper on the net or buying in larger quantities. Reflectors make a big difference but the fact of the matter is 400s put out more light, its not proportional for the exta 150 watts, but it is significiently more than the 250DEs. Pie

Talking to Preds on UR who has kept 7 alive now. He takes small ones and keeps them until they start eating corals, then sells them. The need to graze all day, and he keeps nori perminatly cliped inside his tank (1600 litre). Replaces 2 sheets a day (has a yellow tang and archillies as well). Also they need sponge in their diet, and he feeds frozen sanfrancisco brand marine sponge daily. So the trick past getting them to eat seemst to be to feed heavly so they can graze, and include sponge in the diet. Good luck with them if you try em again, maybee that will help. Pie

I have watched many threads on RC and UR with moorish idols. They are difficult to get feeding, but once feeding considered by their keepers to be straight foward. People often think having tangs present to show the moorish idols how to eat nori etc helps. 2 reasons not to add one though 1. They get quite large, I think to large to keep in a tank my size, 2. They will eat corals, especially LPS and SPS Polyps. This often happens after several months when it has eaten all the sponge in the tank and is forced elsewhere for its grazing habbits. Good luck with it, great fish and i'f love to keep them one day myself. Pictures? Pie

Why would you have a heater in there?

My tank remained unchanged after the flatworm exit. No change is colour in any corals for the better or for the worse. I did noticed that my skimmer went nuts for a few days afterwards though. Pie

I think it is agreed and knows. The water is clearer, the corals are more colourful and grow faster and there is less algae present. Pies

Don't kill it, stick it in my tank, i'll take it.

A strawberry looks meaner than Mike these days...

The colour is the same as the 2004 photo. the problem is the coral is at the back of the tank. The original photos were taken about 6 inches away from the glass, which was 10mm. Now the glass is 12mm and the coral is 2.5 feet away from the camera. Its an awesome looking perfect purple coral with white polyps. Its bigger than a bread&butter plate. Pie

Some pictures: What are these things? I get dozens of them laid on the glass. They have a like a plastic bubble over maybee 10-15 'eggs'. Anyone? Pink is just a pretty colour for a coral: I think I have about 20 of these baby fungias: These very cool and pretty anemones are budding off. I was given 2 of these, I now have 7. That start of life as white buds with purple tenticles and grown into the brow with green/pink/purple tenticles. I like them. Every wounder what your corals eat when you don't feed them yourself? Well as it turns out some munch of bristle worms! I have never heard or read this before. Who knows, maybee its the only photo in the world of it happening, and you could be one of the first in the world to have ever seen it! Or not. Enjoy Pies

Small pieces of this have been fragged: June 28th 2003 January 27th 2004 Febuary 4th 2004 Febuary 14th 2004 March 10th 2004 April 6th 2004 June 22nd 2005 Pies

I was reading in a Coral magizine the other day about a guy who found a Nudibrach in his 9Gal nano after 18 months of not knowing its there. You tank is significiently larger than that.

Yah I have a few, the get larger (thumbnail sized). They also move between the corals. I have some living in a larger coral that started as a frag. Cool.

That is some serious T5 love for sure.

12? ACK! where do they all go. That will explain the blueness. Pie

My urchin lives on the bommie. He keeps the bommie really cleen compared to the other part of the tank. $25 for a tang sounds like me, Anyone comming to Welly soon? Pie

If anyone has a tang to give away, regardless of size or type, would they drop me a line. I would like an algae grazer for my sump. Ta

Yeah I think its BS too. HOWEVER there are some stunning tanks out there using it and nothing else, so it can be hard to argue with the results. I would 'consider' it still. As for growing algae, I have HEAPS of calurpa growing in my sump without the MUD, I have to prune it back every week or so. So you don't need mud to grow it. How blue is the tank as compared to the photos, looks very blue. I thin my tank looks bluer than it photographs. Pie