medi

Diamond tip band saw is the best way to go. I fragged the heck out of a couple of my chalices a few months ago and never had any tissue recession. I never even saw any signs of stress. I know mikedelgado has one.

It depends on what's causing the necrosis. If you don't find the problem and fix it they will more than likely continue until their completely dead. In regards to the biocube they should be fine. Montis don't require as much light as other SPS. I successfully kept a red cap in a 12 nanocube for a long time. I believe the lighting configuration is the same between the two cubes. Just make sure your bulbs are good

Thanks Brooks

Thanks Jeremy. I do have one question though. I reduced my photo period with my MH in half due to the increase in light, but is that really necessary since the bulb wattage is the same?

Thanks for the compliments!

Due to the deep dimensions of my tank I was not getting adequate lighting to the front or back of my tank and instead had a super bright spot right in the middle. I decided to build a new fixture that would utilize Lumenarc Minis to hopefully spread the light more towards the back and the front. I definitely didn't want a canopy that sat on top so I decided to build a hanging canopy. Specs: 2x250W Reeflux 12K MH driven by Lumatek Dimmable ballasts in two Lumenarc Minis 2x39W T5 ATI blue plus 2x39W T5 UV 454 All T5s are in Tek II reflectors and are driven by an Icecap 660 Thanks to Matt, Mhart032, we were able to wire in all the lighting and get it up and running this evening. I must say this thing is awesome! In fact it may be to bright. The wife is already making comments about needing sunglasses and a hat while sitting in the living room. I'll have to figure a way to remedy this, but for now we can all deal with it just fine. The light spreads perfectly across the water surface and there is not a dark spot in the entire tank. I am going to try and lower it down over time, but I don't currently run a chiller so I might have some heat issues if I go to low. Now for the only part anyone cares about.....Pictures! The first three pictures are of the tank with the old fixture. The rest are the new fixture and it running. Also, as always the pictures don't do this any justice.

Not at this point in time. I'm going to let everyone else be the guinea pig for LEDs before I invest in such an expensive tech. I don't like the way the current fixture distributes the lighting around the tank. I have almost no light in the back, very little in the front, and a blindingly bright spot in the center. My current fixture has very small reflectors so I am building a new hanging canopy that will house 2x250 MH Lumenarc Minis and 4 x39W T5s in hopes to diffuse the light across the entire tank. I've kind of gotten lazy here recently so I haven't been working on it much though.

Well I wish I could say there was something to update. Everything is just slowly growing along. I'm going to change lighting soon so we'll be updating with pics and more details then. For now how about a few crummy iPhone pics. Sorry I couldn't do better I was running out the door when I took these.

Maintaining proper water conditions is the best way to prevent nitrates, but if you already have the problem then the best way to eleviate the situation is with frequent water changes. I would change 20%/week until you get the NO3 to a range you're comfortable with. Also, are you skimming? If not then I would suggest investing in a good protein skimmer and skim heavily. Lastly, watch how much, quantity and frequency, that you are feeding your fish. Too much food equal high NO3.

Fishy stole my answer....The only way my wife would like my tank is if it was being carried out of the front door. I've tried all of the above with no success. To quote the Mrs. "I love your tank, I just want to love it at someone else's house." Although, I do have an idea that would work. Figure out a way to make this hobby cheap, and I mean dirt cheap. Then she might like it.