reef

Funny enough did some testing on a few tanks with my lux meter. Reading was interesting and pretty much as what I have been saying for some time and from anecdotal evirdance from seeing a number of tanks. Tested 3 tanks using 400w lumenarc copies, 14k narva bulbs. All readings taken 20cm from light bulb. Tank one 52k under bulb. 20cm to right 30k. 20cm to front 27k.lamp was on only 5 mins. so reading could increase. Tank two 59k under bulb. 20cm to right 35k. 20cm to front 32k. i Averaged some of the readings as 3 units where reading diffrently With 250w se lumenarc copies. narva bulb Tank3 59k underbulb.20cm to right 44k. 20cm to front 40k 400w grotech lighting unit with reeflux 12k bulbs tank4 72k under bulb.20cm to right 52k.20cm to front 46k t5 tank with 8 54w t5s 20cm below bulbs 40K average. I even test a 150w 10k and found it was brighter than some 400w units. The lumenarc copies do give what appears a better spread; however they don’t increase the light. As I have been saying after seeing so many tanks people should think again about the fad of 400w being much brighter. In many cases it comes down to bulb choice and ballast as it can make a big difference. Water clarity is also a major factor. In terms of par .from what I read 400w does seem to give out more par than lower wattage bulbs. The sun today was about 90k lux under cloud. I really doubt any lighting is as bright as the sun as once it hits the water the metal halides will have significant drop off compared to the sun The lux meter was a cheap $55 , so the readings are not 100%, but gives a good indication. In testing I also found that 3 identical units gave different readings

Some people are having great success with MM. Hollywood fish farm Albany selling tank has had it for some time and the coral look great. I don’t think they even run a skimmer. Hollywood’s new show tank will also run MM . Have tried it and have some success however found I need to have a far bigger sump to handle the load of my tank as it is one of the heaviest stock tank with too many fish and corals. Currently running MM in a small container so that I can get the benefits of the iron and minerals. People who fall of there chairs seem to have average reef tanks anyway so are not really up to play with filter systems. They say the proof is in the pudding

Should be very simply.should be enough space for 4t5s.. t5 ballast are very small compared to magnetic ballast. might be a good idea to get a fan also build in to keep them cooler as they will shut down if they overheat.

no idea, just got it from the net for a laugh.

Not good with photoshop

Because i really cant see the point of going to 400w. Especialy when money could be spent else where. I might go 1000w and see if all the sheep will follow. Sheep have a strong instinct to follow the leader. When one sheep decides to go somewhere, the rest of the flock usually follows, even if it is not a good decision. For example, if the lead sheep jumps over a cliff, the others are likely to follow.

Which test kit? Whats the point of going to 400w. seems to be the current fad in NZ, many hobbyist dont even use 400w . not required save your money for a better skimmer. stop adding it as you might be over doing it, tank is too new. why add acros so soon. tank will be loaded with nutrients. sure is, nsw is loaded with nutrients.

I used to have my rock work high on the back wall. when i removed some of my rock a few zoos and mushrooms had attached to the back wall. every since they have been spreading up the wall, i really like the zoos. i might see if i can get some other zoos and place they on the wall to see if i can cover the whole back wall with zoos. actually never seen a tank full of zoos on the back wall.

how old is your tank? could be that your tank has too much nutrients? what skimmer/lights are you using.?

Only a real importer would know.

Might be expensive, however not all carbon is the same. good quality carbon cost more. many carbons have high po4.

some nice mushrooms growing up the glass .

some pics of blue eyed cardinals http://worldwidefauna.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2899

yea, he is acroman. maybe he could not grow zoos

Just noticed that my zoos are growing like mad up the tank wall. Now whos the zoo man cracker?

put some ice cubes on the base, anemoe should come off.

That’s about the size. Really underrated fish. They school really well. I am going to get a group of 30.

some reviews on the prizm. http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=727546

It is not a montipora capricornis. came in as Montipora foliosa. might even be something else. have to pull out the big vernon book to check.

measuring rate 200-50,000 lux. the blue bulbs are not are bright as whiter bulbs. so 6500k will be far brighter than 20k

looking good

nice pic of blue eyed cardinals Banggai with babies

Turns off when the kettle boils

no its not submergible. got it from trade me. submergible would be good however you can work out that you will get big drop off once you go below the water.

The Deltec is a top of the range skimmer which is hand made so the price will be more, however what you get is a far superior skimmer especially in performance and quality. Just look how it is made. it actually looks and feels like something quality. the prizm is a mass produced thin plastic. The air input is far more than the prizm which would suggest far better performance already. The prizm is ok for cheap low-medium cost skimmer and the Deltec covers the high end. So comparing them on price is not really realistic. As it is there is not much in it anyway. Deltec are renowned for making superior skimmers and red sea does affordable skimmers which cover the low-medium market. The added bonus of a surface skimmer is a bit of a throw away line as you can do the same thing with the deltec once you get the parts. And again at the end of the day you pay for what you get. The tag that the Deltec is better is also backed up by G Schiemer who is highly respected in the Hobby. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/7/review