livebearer_breeder Posted December 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 do you mean a white one? cuz i have one i could replace it with. Shae 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Yeah, a white one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted December 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 ok cool. Shae 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 You're going to want a lot more light than a single tube though if you're wanting to have any kind of coral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted December 15, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 nope just lots and lots of mushys Shae 250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Ah, ok, should be fine for basically a FOWLR then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petplanet Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 I would, and do use a surface skimmer on my tank. The fluval surface skimmer was crap. Atman do a cheap Ehiem copy that I find works well. I use JBL PhosEx to keep my phosphate levels down and would suggest something like that in your cannister. It works well for me. Believe me, you need a skimmer. A cheap skimmer is better than no skimmer. You need good lighting, even for mushrooms. If it is just a single tube then I would go with a PowerGlo tube and replace it every 6 months. If you add a second, a Marine Glo would be good. My tank runs on powerheads, cannister filters, T5's and a 10 year old skimmer. The lights are new and the difference is amazing. Corals that were not growing are growing and those that were are growing even faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 Shea, regarding the lights, figured it might help if I explained a little since eveyone is saying "do this" but not saying why. I dont claim to be an expert and this just my understanding so anyone please correct any thing I have wrong Firstly fluro tubes "wear out" i.e. lose there briteness, at around 6 months your only getting about half the output, althrough you cant see the difference the corals (mushies) or plants for freshwater can. Next, water absorbs light at different rates pending on the wave length, what this basically means red light doesnt get very deep into the water, blue and green do (which is why the sea looks blue) therefore corals only use blue/green light to grow cause thats all they get in the wild. If you think about it, in the wild algae tends to grown where plants/coral arent doing so well, ie closer to the surface where there is more red light therefore red light can = algae. Note this doesnt hold true for non-water plants (because there is no water filtering the light) which is why hydroponic grow tubes are some times pink. Common tubes for marine are 10000+k (kevin) which are cold white looking but are actually quite a blue color (these are also used for plants in fresh water) and actinic (which is a type not a color) blue tubes. these tubes are really blue, like nightclub blue! The "light bulb man" in chews lane in the city stocks these tubes, they are the proper aqurium tube (not that it matters) same as the LFS sell, he charges around $25 for a 3 foot, dont know how much other sizes are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted December 15, 2004 Report Share Posted December 15, 2004 One other quick note regarding skimmers, just need to know with venturi (i.e. pump driven skimmers), they are really good, BUT, they often dont come with a pump, you can get the skimmer for maybe $100 for a cheap one like a queen turbo but then find you have to fork out $300+ for a big enough pump that will last in salt water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben19185074 Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 300?? are u talking about a Eheim or iwaki pump?? Just get something like a Atman, viaaqua etc if you are going with a queen skimmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_from_nz Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 If you think about it, in the wild algae tends to grown where plants/coral arent doing so well, ie closer to the surface where there is more red light therefore red light can = algae. not completely true a plant (or algea) will photsynthesise in red or blue light, it is green light that couses algae as plants (or zooxanthelae (sp?)) will not photosynthesis under this light the reason red light will cause alges is that the watter absorbes the red end so there is only green (and some red ) left to be photsynthesised under Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 IMHO cheap pumps aren't worth spending money on, they dont last in salt water, leak water, and some leak oil, so yes Eheim or Iwaki. I made the mistake of buying a resun to drive my skimmer, it's only been running 6 months, is noisy and already needs to be replaced, plus it leaks so I have to run it in the tank which heats up the water, so a waste of $130. The Resun one replaced a Rio pump (the first one I got), another waste of $130 only used for a month. The other problem with driving skimmers is they have heaps of back pressure, which kill cheap pumps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_from_nz Posted December 16, 2004 Report Share Posted December 16, 2004 eheim arn't really that deer are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 I've gotten prices for an eheim 1262 which does 3000ish liters per hour ranging from $350nz to $650nz. So...Yeah, the pumps are just like everything else of Eheim's EXPENSIVE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted December 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 Very true. Could some1 pm me the guys email at the kapiti store? it was here before but has been removed by Cees Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.