michael_t

Got a buck of old dead live rock collection dust in the garage? Give me a shout, I will take it off of your hands.

Any bulbs with that Centium T5 HO ballast?

I'll take that overflow box.

Are the t-5's still availible?

VWMike, I'm sorry but I don't have enough experience to say what lights are cheap and what lights are crap. I had an Odyysea light and it was a piece of crap. I went by price and not by reputation. My corals knew better.

When it came time to replace bulbs I did tons and tons of reading online and followed fellow reefers recommendations.

So what would you class as a "cheap" t5 and what would you recommend?

I replaced my CF with T5's because I couldn't find a premium brand in the CF. Looks like retailers are turning to T5's over CF’s.

I was resistant at first because everyone was bragging so hard about them, I mean really, how much better could they be!?! I couldn't believe they were that good. But once I got mine in, I became a T5 convert. I think the 39 watt T5’s out performed my cheap 250 watt MH and definitely outperformed my 96watt CFs! I've been wanting to upgrade my MH light and ballast, but I might just go with two more T5's instead.

Oh, and don't go cheap on your T5's and reflectors. Stick with the crap you have now until you can afford something good. You don’t want to spend half a fortune and still get crappy lighting and then spend a small fortune to upgrade, because you still get ugly corals. There is a remarkable difference in reflectors, ballasts, and bulbs when you go premium. Your corals will thank you and in the long run, you will save money.

Michael

Post a thread on Masst.org. David and several of the other young guys down there will be happy to show you around.

To catch peps, you need a small net 6-8" on a long pole get in between the rocks. Also use a red led light, as they can't see red and won't run away but you will be able to see their beady littles eyes. You will also need an airator in your bucket the whole time to keep them alive.

The tempature has a lot to do with what you will catch. It's 76 there now which is a good 6 degrees warmer than when I went and I got some good catches. The warmest temp is in June, 85 degrees.

Check here for temps year around http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/wgof.html

You'll have fun. I know I did.

good way to display your pieces is to bring them in the little ziplock tubs with the screw on lids.

Good tip.

One problem I have seen in the past is that the trading space was too small for as many members who showed up.

how small is small?

pm's sent

AustinAquaMan,

We used red led lights to spy the little peps. White light scares them into hiding, but the red lights reflect their eyes back to you. You also need a small net, like an 8” diameter on a long pole to stick down between the rocks. You don’t even need to get wet with this technique.

You will also need an air pump like GKarshens says to keep them alive on the way back.

The tide was up when we started and was almost all the way out by the time we left. I don’t know if it’s correlated, but the higher tide is when we did best.

Even though the water was 60 degrees, Sunday nite ended up being fantastic! The beach side of the jetties was nice and calm. The wind had died down and the temp was bearable.

I didn’t find any thing really colorful, I did find some cool stuff. I also had a great time hanging with (from Maast.org) David (SoLiD), Jason (FossilReef), and Jarob (Jarob). David really knew where to go and was happy to drive 45 minutes to hour away on a Sunday nite to show me around. He also picked up the other two guys on the way! Thanks David!!!

We started on the jetties and surprisingly there were a bunch of peppermint shrimps to be had. We explored nearly every square inch of that jettie. Jason found about two dozen mangrove seeds, we all caught a Molly Miller or two. There was also a ton of rock anemones. I grabbed one, just for fun. We’ll see what kind of mistake that is later.

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?al...p;pictureid=428

After the jetties we headed over to David’s secret spot to look for pipefish but found none. We did find some little goby’s, about an inch long.

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?al...p;pictureid=429

Minh, on Monday I drove several miles down the beach looking for large clumps of Sargagium. There wasn’t much and none of them had anything in them of interest.

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?al...p;pictureid=430

I did find a washed up bamboo pole about three inches in diameter, it had several of these filter feeding clams on it. I broke off a couple of pieces and I might add them to my tank, once I get some feed back from the other members. So if anyone knows what theses are, and if they will not overrun the tank, I’m gonna add them. They look like good filter feeders. Let me know.

Michael

What kind of corals are you looking for? Anything you want to avoid?

I think I've got plenty of zoas, not really interested in mushrooms, maybe some SPS? I've got metal halides and ice cap t-5's so I think I can keep pretty much anything.

What did you have in mind?

From my Port A trip I collected several cool items.

Looking to trade these for corals and or other interesting things.

Lots of peppermint shrimp, a dozen mangrove seeds, one molly miller, and one very small goby.

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?al...p;pictureid=429

http://www.maast.org/forums/picture.php?al...p;pictureid=427

I think I read somewhere that wild temp swings can cause pH fluctuations, but I'm not sure. Try taking a pH reading in the morning before the lights come on and then one before the lights go off and see if there is a difference.

Anyone need anything? I've never collect off the shore before so any advice will be welcomed. I understand that a marine fishing license is required.

I hope to at least bring back some peppermint shrimps so if anyone wants to trade for those or anything else, just let me know. I will try and update this when I get back so you guys and girls will know what I found.

Michael

That's where it it should be.

I've had pompoms flurish while my regular xenia died off for no reason. Any thing else looking bad?

is the second set a reef package as well 5 for $50?

When my Pompoms look like crap it's usually a sign of low pH. What's yours reading?

I just replaced my pc's with a t5 retro kit from reefgeeks. I didn't have name brand PC's to begin with and was never happy with the color or my coral growth. The retro kit had all the top brands pieces, ice cap reflector, vossloh ballast, UVL actinic bulbs... Truly amazing in the difference. It's only been running a few days now, but I've already seen a significant increase of coral growth on my birdsnest coral!

I definitely recommend the t5's!

Do ya'll think he might have too much light on that 29g?

How long are you running the MH's for?

I'll be there.

Please disregard. I am going to wait for the 4th Annual Big Bird/Port A Collection and BBQ Trip and collect a boat load of clams and macro algae to place in my tank when I change out the sand to filter out the gunk and nitrates to minimize the impact of the substrate change.

I'm looking to replace my crushed coral "sand" bed with some quality live sand.

Please let me know if you have some that you are looking to get rid of.

Michael

Cool. I penned it in my calendar.