chimera

its clear where it is, question is, did you buy it or did it just appear?!

i use a sponge every once and a while. usually for no more than 2 days at a time and usually after i stir up the sand or blow crap outta the rocks just to catch detritus. not full time usage though, probably once every couple of months?

yes, would rather have balanced kH and topup with Ca

clearly everyone who is posting on this thread, otherwise why else would you bother?

oh, and as I stated earlier the "wattage of lighting" required is entirely dependant on the corals you are going to keep. that goes as far as saying what types of SPS you keep. it would be foolish to say "all SPS require intense lighting so you must have 400W". however i think providing a higher wattage (intensity) of lighting (say 250 or 400) allows you to keep a larger selection of corals AND provide them with what they require. placement of those corals will then dictate the amount of light they receive. SPS with larger lighting demand can be placed higher in the tank while less demanding corals can be placed lower. probably more common sense than anything else? additionally, the last link contradicts the first's author...

im sorry, but while some info in the first link is interesting, the majority of it is a crock of %@#$, specifically the Q&A section. the guy is ambiguous on his answers, contradicts himself and comes to some bizzare conclusions. probably something to do with the article being 8 years old - quite out of date. improvements on technologies in the last few years makes this link quite a dangerous source of information IMO. the info in the last 2 links is interesting however.

probably coz they got stunned from the sudden increase in light. my pink monti has done this. i've shortened the photoperiod on the left halide til it gets used to it incidentally, i tried a 6500K bulb this morning on the left side of the tank just outta interest (other bulbs are 14K). wow, mega-yellow! would be great for a fresh water tank but for saltwater, no way!

yes, really. i guarantee you'd get even better colour cookie if you upgraded

yeah, I see what you mean. i think you got it spot on then TM, maintaining balanced kH is more important than Ca - as you can always top up with Ca separately. your Ca dropping by 5-10 a week is hardly anything! You would only need to add a bit of calcium chloride once a month. sweet!

as kermit says, depends entirely what you're keeping. if a mixture of lps/sps and the sps are near the top of the tank, the 150W'ers that wasp is selling will work well - 3 of them would work really well over a 1 metre tank. if just sps and lots of them, 250W or better would really be required.

:lol: then you still need to adjust your reactor! with dosing my tank, my kH drops by 0.3 per day whereas my Ca stays constant at 420. i know I still need to adjust my reactor. Read this to fix it... http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-05/s ... /index.htm A CR still needs adjusting every now and then when you add corals, corals grow etc. For the most part they should maintain balanced levels of both kH and Ca

no, it depends moreso on how much lighting is over your tank. for most tanks there is sufficient lighting (freshwater tanks usually just right, marine tanks usually just too much). when doing closeup shots leave the flash OFF and change the exposure time instead (adjust depending on how much lighting you have, longer exposure for lesser lighting) always use a tripod or at the least, something to lean the camera on (or you will find that one shot you wanted will be blurry because of a not so steady hand ) definately use macro if you have it. for full tank shots, take the photo on an angle and DO use the flash. and above all and as mentioned above, set white balance to manual and adjust til the camera shows (if digital with lcd display) to approximately how you see the tank. the best photo will be the one with the right amount of light directly over the subject you're photographing, the flash usually gives too much light over the entire area (hence why using flash for full tank shots looks good and closeups looks washed out)

i believe that statement is incorrect. you will find it will put in a balanced amount of calcium and alkalinity if configured correctly

will do nick, about time i came and saw your tank again

whats up with everyone getting new cameras all the time! looking awesome, as steve says tutu with white balance

this is what i need! anyone know who supply something similar in NZ? http://www.hechinger.com/web/catalog/pr ... 04F46431ED http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/ ... index.html

im after is a device that looks like a normal hpm timer but instead of having setting to turn on/off at specific times, for it to turn on if the (air) temperature from the builtin thermostat is over a certain temperature. basically im after an all-in-one unit that looks like this: but has thermostat builtin and switches the relay on if over X degrees and off if under. does anyone make such a device? if not, will have to DIY but thought this might just be an easier solution to what i need

as i said, its the first time i've needed to turn it on in winter - and it coincides with the 3rd 400W halide going in yesterday. dont forget the room the tank is in is separate/closed off from the rest of the house. turn the chiller on fulltime like last summer i thought about that. the room is already wired for thermostat and fans in ceiling. thats the next job, just working out whats the most cost-effective solution. not sure venting the air directly into the ceiling with all that moisture is a good idea though? was going to direct it outside, however it seems like a waste of heat! funny, coz when we got home tonight i bailed into the fish room purely to warm up

how many have smoke detectors above their tanks? (or somewhere near them) i put a 3rd 400W halide on the tank and the tank temperature jumped to 28 degrees. flicked the chiller on to bring it down. wife looked at all the electrical equipment and mentioned i should have a smoke detector in the tank room (dedicated room for inwall tank as many of you know) had a cheap but spare smoke detector floating around so chucked it up. it never really occured to me that there is a potential fire hazard sitting next to my tank. peace of mind for the sake of $15 (btw, we have plenty of smoke detectors around the rest of the house, just none right above the electrical equipment that runs the tank) going to add one to the sump room too. maybe a hint to anyone who hasnt done so should consider the same?

sweet :bounce:

I use Aquamedic SP3000. These are perhaps the most common dosing pump available because of there reasonably low price (comparitive to others) Exceptionally reliable, have used mine for the last few years without any problems. I have a spare (brand new unused) you can buy off me for $150. PM me if interested

they are same brand as mine, narva's. cant comment on them specifically as i haven't used other brands to compare against. although in saying that, i cant complain on the progress thus far though! still got 2 x T5's to hook up just to kick the blue back a bit and bring a nice spread front and back.

hope ya dont mind puttputt, just tacking onto the end of your thread since i finally got the last 400W halide and reflector today. same config as yours. i mounted the ballasts on little shelves though to make lifting the lighting hood easier. other than that just the same! couple of questions... got any full pic's of your tank before and after the lights yet? also where did ya get the metal frame from? im looking for something similar when i get around to doing an upgrade, except that it'll be in 2 halves, hung on rails from the ceiling so it can be slid to the sides for easy access.

yeah i know, but thats pretty damn high and he had reasonably good lighting before that too puttputt - before and after shots of the tank itself?

wow you got those sitting high! mine are about half that height.. but then you gotta larger tank though i guess nice!