George Monnat Jr

What I mean is instead of doing 2 independent ramp-ups like:

2. if i continue my plan to QT for a month before adding a new batch, then do a similar light acclimation on my DT, then my DT will not reach full light for many months (5 - 6 with my current plan).

you can do a single, seamless ramp. So if you end your QT at say 120 PAR, when you move them over to your DT they would still be at 120 PAR. Then you can ramp up to whatever at the same or a different rate.

You should try a mantis trap. I would think a mantis shrimp would outright kill at least once instead of multiple woundings.

If you have a PAR meter (or even a lux meter), then you could match between your QT's final level and your DT's initial level.

Here's a good site.

Regular light or a red light?

Do you have any shrimp, crabs, etc.?

Just make real sure you don't introduce copper or other heavy metals into your system.

I like the sign.

Here are some comments:

However what i didn't realize was the tubes need a burn in time of 60-100 hours @100% before you can dim them?

never knew that about the dimmable ati's, you learn something everyday in this hobby

I think dimming t5 and MH changes the light spectrum but not sure

That is correct, but it may not be a big deal.

Lamp manufacturers advise against dimming for fear of poor stability and intolerable changes of the spectrum. However, none of the lamps showed a decrease in stability, no flicker or wandering of the discharge, and the changes of the spectrum were not negligible, but certainly not dramatic. Lamps of either manufacture retain their white color, relative peak heights of spectral lines did shift, but no gaps in the spectrum occurred. Spectra taken at 50% with 30 minutes intervals coincided.

I don't have equivalent data for T5s.

Yes, if it's designed to run a T5 bulb, then all T5 bulbs should work the same (T5 is a standard). Solid state lights, like LEDs, may need different circuits depending on the material, number and layout of the devices.

I have small Synos, and they haven't bothered the 15 Ghost Shrimp I (think I) have. I've seen eggs on a few but no spawn/fry. Do they spwn at dusk or night like a lot of SW shrimp? I actually like the Ghost Shrimp, and I plan on getting some similar but colorful shrimp.

As I mentioned in my frog thread, I love to have more cool critters for visitors to "discover" as they look in the tank. I'm thinking about getting a few snails. My tank is still fairly new, so there's not a ton of micro-algae, yet. I also have 8 small Synodontis catfish which may compete for browsing food (although they're fat off of fish food right now). I have live plants (Anubias, Java Fern, etc.), so snails, or anything else, can't eat them.

I was early for a Dr.'s appointment today at lunch, so I stepped into PetSmart to kill a little time. I saw these Mystery / Apple Snails (Pomacea bridgesii). I saw this quote,

Prefers dead and rotting plants and artificial foods like fish food; doesn't eat healthy plants unless no other food is available. This makes the Pomacea bridgesii snail a good choice for planted aquaria.

That's appealing. I was thinking of getting one of each of the black, white/ivory and yellow/golden morphs there and a blue one when available.

At RCA I saw some Nerita Snails (Nerita sp.). I don't know how they are with live plants. I don't want anything that'll reproduce out of control either (the Mystery Snails are single-sex).

Anyone have snail opinions?

Yea, I've been thinking of adding Daphnia or some other live food. The Daphnia might be too small for them and not "wormy" enough, though.

My overflows have teeth, so they're not totally open. My Neon Goby and Sexy Shrimp always took sump rides.

I was thinking 3-4 of them. I don't mind them hiding and being "Easter eggs" for people looking in my tank. I think staring in the SW tank and finding things brought great joy to visitors and to me. It's only a problem when I worry about them still being alive

Is your tank full up, and if so, do you have a problem with them getting out or into overflows/pumps/etc.?

I wonder if they'll eat mysis or cyclop-eeze (I'm still feeding that stuff as SW leftovers).

One of the things I miss with SW is the diversity of critters. I miss having surprise hitchhikers, which is a surprise. I saw these Dwarf African Frogs (Hymenochirus curtipes), which seem to be happy in a full FW tank, eat the same stuff as and don't mess with fish. I need to fix my hanging light mount so I can put my DT screen back on before getting any. I'm a little concerned about the overflows, but I'd love to have more cool critters for visitors to "discover" as they look in the tank.

Does anyone have experience with these?

yeah...theres a lot of success stories out there for those who can "take" the work...the owner of my franchise started out as a driver and now is one of the biggest franchises in texas owning something like 60 stores...he bought one and it just kept snowballing

there's the stigma of the pizza guy that really bothered me at first until i realized how much i was making...laugh if you want at the guy knocking on your door...but keep in mind he's probably making the same if not a lot more than you...and he's working his tail off for it too to make sure things are right for you

Delivering pizza was my favorite job, so I always tip well. Every time it looked like I might lose my job or when I actually got laid off, I seriously considered delivering pizza. Tons of guys on base/post in the military do it for extra cash. No stigma in my mind. Congrats and good luck.

Some of those look like Bumblebee Snails (coral-safe carrion scavenging omnivores), or is it just the light?

Ouch. Did they come in as eggs or tiny snails and grow or hitchhike in on something recent?

And if it is not attached he decides to wear it, camouflage.

But that's why my wife and I loved them.

Have you noticed a difference in coral growth, color, etc.?

I'm doing a soft tank on purpose, because my wife really likes Elephant Noses (please, no jokes ). My problem is the dead coralline algae, spirorbids, etc. from when my tank was SW are keeping the GH really high while the KH has fallen off.

I've honestly never tested it. But my tap water is usually 7.2-7.8 ph.

So Austin tap water? I can test that. I think it should be fairly close to yours. If victoly is watching, he can tell us about South Austin water (KH and GH).

I haven't tried any of those. I'm not sure about ghost shrimp spawning but cherry shrimp will. Mine have spawned a few times that I know of and my clown loach looks like he's gonna pop. So I guess that's what he's eating.

Do you have hard or soft water? I'm doing a soft tank, 4-5 dKH and 6-7 pH.