Wippit

For letting me come over and patiently answering a lot of new guy questions.

Thanks!

Sending PMs to Jake and Bogie.

I seen a great looking tank on Craigslist for $350. There are pictures online, I was interested in the tank but he did not contact me in time. I also tried to get him to sell me the rocks but no luck he wants to sell the entire setup. Here is the write up and info:

150 gallon salt water aquarium, 7 ft long by 2 ft wide, includes about 250 lbs. of live rock, includes some fish, some crab, there is a sump tank underneath, 6 fluorescent lights and 6 (65 watt) coral lights, includes filter and all. Great buy, and call me if you are interested at 512 554 4141. My name is Jesse. MUST SELL!!!

Couldn't get him to reply to me either. Oh well.

Thanks!

What is "mighty putty"?

Here's one answer from Reef Central by the user "Dots":

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-03/sj/index.php

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/jg/index.php

They are just two different ways to make light. Read the articles, and they will give some more specifics.....

In a nutshell, DE's tend to be even more of a point source than SE's and tend to be a little more focused. This allows them to punch down into deeper tanks before the light is absorbed.

Therefor, DE's on a shallow tank could be too much and cause areas of extreme shadows.

Both are popular and have thier place. People as well have their opinions and preferences on both.

As far a power/spectrum differences, they vary bulb to bulb, on different combinations of ballasts, and wattages and K.

Most reefers will have a box of "spare" bulbs while trying to find the right "look", which provides great results to boot. Don't get caught up in that too much and make sure you like looking at the tank, despite the crazy growth from super yellow 6500K bulbs.

If your trying to decide on which way to go, it also depends on your tank size, canopy, stocking choices, and other considerations.

....read above first.

A source for estimating and comparing:

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting

What's the difference between the two? It seems that double-ended MH is all the rage, but I've been told there are pros and cons to both, though nothing specific.

Thoughts?

Is it difficult to get the residue out?

Is there any real difference in tank brands?

Are DSA and Oceanic the ones to go with?

Does anyone know anything good or bad about Aqueon (looking at a used one)?

If they both came out of hiding at the same time could that indicate some environmental issue?

I found this link on Reef Central, and it's good stuff for newbies like me (and maybe not-so-newbies too): Xtalreef's Hitchiker FAQ.

A 50 g acrylic sounds like a good sump-to-be.

Center overflow preferred. 100 - 150ish gallons.

I didn't notice that the posting was several days old; I just saw the datestamp from DrKotz reply.

Is this still available?

Also sent email and Facebook PM.

PM sent. Give me a call 413 2937.

I can even come by tonight if you want.

PM sent. Give me a call 413 2937.

For taking the time to give an intro to saltwater tank keeping to The Boss (wife) and my Urchin (kid). I wanted the wife to get a feel for what is in store for us, especially in terms of monthly maintenance costs and how the hobby tends to occupy more and more space in places you wouldn't expect.

Thanks!

I did something similar. I purchased a 120 gallon tank before I knew what the term "reef ready" meant. Now it's probably going to end up as a refugium for my "real" tank. (Which, btw, I'm kind of happy about; the refugium looks like it'll be as much fun as the display tank.)

Just noticed that my count was 99 so I thought I'd be a bit of a snert and put up a Commemorative Post.

I'm in the same boat, Jake. I've been doing FW for a long time, but before jumping into SW I've been doing a lot of homework. You've already gotten step 1 right; find groups like this and leverage their experience. reefcentral.com is another good place to post, but it's easy to get lost in all the "noise" there. Do a lot of independent homework too, and post questions about anything that you aren't clear on.

One thing that stood out in your post was using a 20 gallon tank. One thing I've learned is that there is one rule that's upside down in fresh vs. salt: in FW smaller is easier, but in SW it's the opposite.

Welcome to the group!

Great posts!

There is one question I have: how do you get water from the feeder refugium into the DT? Can you use a pump or will that chop up too much of the micro-fauna?

Deep sand beds and seaweed refugiums will feed your tanks naturally. When setting up systems, focus on the bottom of the food chain. Establish micro inverts and fauna diversity before moving on to higher level inverts ( coral and fish ) . The biodiversity in the micro fauna and fana not only provide food but the also process waste (multiple nutrient pathways), "one mans poison is another mans food". Many natural reefers wait 6 months to a year before adding the top of the food chain.

Patrick

It may be kind of strange to start a thread with a quote from another, but this is a topic that I'd like to find out more about.

I have an empty non RR 120 that I was thinking about using for a refugium. John Gilbert was over the other day and gave me a lot of good advice about initial setup and system design. One of the things he mentioned was using the refugium as a "feeder" for the DT. I hadn't realized that this was possible, but am very intrigued by the idea.

Does anyone have something like this going? If so, can you post some details on it?

Count me in as long as the (digital) creek don't rise and I get called into work.

Can also bring munchies also. Dave, why don't you post a list of stuff and people will sign up for items to bring?

ahhhh yes the elusive saxophone seahorse

You all know you can't tuna fish, but can you can tune a "saxahorse"?