KarenM

So if I'm going to replace the MH ballast, can I just buy a 250W ballast and bulb socket things and use 250W bulbs instead of 150W?

If I use SE would I still need the UV protecting acrylic? I'm not going for a show tank, just a nice pretty tank with some really colorful SPS.

Sounds like it would be a good place for him and I appreciate you giving him a good home. He's a nice guy, just a little obnoxious for my other fish. He does swim with my coral beauty and basslet, so he could use a friend or 2. He's just taken a sudden dislike to the foxface.

If I recall right, you're a student at SWTSU, right? I'm in Georgetown. How can we work this out?

I'd like a nice blue-spotted Kole Tang, under $75. Anything more expensive will have to wait until after Christmas.

I'll get gift certificates for salons for facials, etc. and probably a Christmas sweater. I love those things, but right now I'd rather get a koralia than have my pores minimized. I bought a used Koralia 4 from another site, and I'm just waiting to get it. The guy I bought it from said one should be enough in my tank, but I'm thinking I need another one. Maybe a 3 instead of a 4.

I'm thinking about taking Gabriel's recommendation and either getting a whole new canopy, or having mine "lifted" about 12", and was just wanted to get a ballpark estimate on price. My tank is 48"x24". My current canopy has a base about 6" tall and the entire top raises up on hinges. It's very solid and heavy.

I'd like the base part to be 18" tall, and possibly have 2 doors on it that open in the front.

And if I went with a completely new one, I'd like it to be lighter, so that I could take it off and on if I needed to.

Anyone have a clue as to how much either of these would cost?

i have a 30 gal fuge. its not what you were looking for. but i wouldl ove to give him a home. he would be on his own. there is quite a bit of rockwork and some cheato. i would glady put in some fake anenome stuff. (no not the plastic ones from petsmart that will shred) but what i find. no i dont have an anenome.

Where is your fuge? He's very lively and likes to watch everything. He'll eat out of your hand or out of a net, very friendly. If your fuge is in a cabinet, I don't think he'd do very well. But if your fuge is out in the open where he can see everything and get attention, it would be fine.

Very healthy and colorful, 2" long at the most, but he keeps attacking my foxface. He really needs an anemone and will definately host it. Ever since my anemone died he's been hovering over the frogspawn in the center of the tank. He doesn't bother the coral beauty or basslet, but any time the foxface enters the center area of the tank the tomato goes after him and will keep biting him until he dives into a cave. I've had the clown about 4 months and the foxface maybe 2 months.This just started a few days ago, but it's getting worse. I have a No Tolerance rule of getting along, so he has to go.

I think he would do well in a longer tank with his anemone on one end, rather than in the middle of all the traffic.

Are these any good? At least worth $40? There's a brand new one on another site that's down to $45 shipped from $50. I thought I'd offer $40 shipped if it's worth it.

Yeah, "The Others" don't understand. I also mentioned a koralia to a few people and they were like "oh, you don't want that"!

You might try River City for a 6 Line. Check out this page on liveaquaria. com - it says your checkerboard may eat them. Have you noticed him over there?

http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_displa...tid=353&N=0

Sorry for the dealy, we decided to put up our Christmas lights. I thnk the 400W will be too much for my tank. It's a very nice setup, but I really can't afford it right now.

Still no sign of the goby. And my little blue neon has been gone for about 2 weeks. I don't have anything that eats fish. The most agressive thing I have is a hermit crab (shell is about 1" long). I have to resuce tiny hermits and snails from him all the time. Would he be killing my fish? My cleaner shrimp is getting pretty big. Could it be him?

I'll give you a call as soon as my daughter gets off the phone. To sum it up, I'm looking for 250W, no more than 48" long. I have one retro setup, but I need either another single setup or a dual setup.

Ok, thanks. There are so many details when it comes to MH!

Very helpful. Thanks!

SE or DE, which is preferable? Electric or magnetic ballast? Single or Dual? What's a heatsink?

What brand 14k do you use, Andrew? I've seen the Coralvue 14k and liked them. do the ballast brand make any difference?

I can't afford to buy them at the same time. Which should I buy first - another MH retro or the T5s?

I plan on using MH and T5 actinics. I've had a couple people tell me that if I use 14k MH bulbs I won't need actinics. I've decided that I'll be going for looks AND growth, which would lead me more toward 10k bulbs.

Will I have more growth with 10k bulbs and actinics than I would with 14k bulbs? Will the tank look pretty much the same?

Thanks, Gabriel. This just gets more and more complicated......

Yep, it'll just fit with no room to spare! I've never heard of priming and I thought the bulkhead was the hole????

I've possibly got something that may work for you. In preperation for my new tank I have been honing my acrylic construction skills so I can build a custom sump. I built this to replace the crappy sump on my current 90. It is yours if you want it for the price i paid for the sheet of acrylic ~$80. This could easily be drilled for both external pumps. It is built from 1/4" sheet and has good solid seams with no leaks. Let me know if you are interested.

Dimensions are 30x12x16

I'm definitely interested! Would it be better to get it drilled or use extra plumbing to go over the side? The one I have now has holes, and it makes me nervous about leakage. And I could turn it around later if I decided to.

Just my 2 cents here...

I think that's a sweet looking sump... and way to small for your system.

30x12x16 = 25 gal. and as a sump your going to want to leave overflow room.

You'll get ~ 20 gal. of water added to your system at best with this sump.

Again, just my 2 cents.

I see your point but my setup is only 48" wide and maybe 30" tall at best, and I've got an outside skimmer. I'm pretty limited.

Nice work Jump on that Karen!

Hey, I got dibs!