amos

That would be more than enough PAR imho. Here is a good recent thread on bulb selection: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...c=23422&hl=

http://blogs.usatoday.com/sciencefair/2008...nterstitialskip Yet another reminder of why we should never let our tank contents get anywhere near a natural body of water. I'm sure somebody would have taken him in!

I just replaced replaced the filter and carbon blocks for my RO/DI using the following from airwaterice: 1 Sediment 10 Micron 1 Coconut Carbon Block 5 Micron 1 Coconut Carbon Block One Micron It was reading 3-4 TDS before the change, and now is reading 4-5 TDS following a run of 5 gallons. Does any have any suggestions? Is it possible I reversed my block 5/block 1 micro carbon blocks? Is there anyway to determine which is which by sight? Thanks, Jon

I can help with clean up. Jon

Me and perhaps my wife.

I had a ton in my tank. The cleaner nor the coral banded would touch them (that I observed). I recently got a melanarus wrasse and I've noticed him picking them off the rocks. Jon

Just to throw another one up there... and make sure I know how to post pics! Jon

Is there a place I can get info on the format of the frag fest? Is this a sort of a swap meet, and if so, what are the rules of engagement, etc.? Thanks, Jon

The Tek hoods have individual reflectors. A number of folks use them successfully. Mileage will vary based on how many bulbs you get, the combination of bulbs you use and the types of corals you want to keep. The ATI hoods seemed to get higher reviews, based on (supposedly) better reflectors, built in fans, etc. - commensurate with higher costs.

I've been using the Maxi-Jet Natural Wavemaker strip since April (another one of my bargain buys!). I have it connected to two modded maxi-jets. I believe the reason its not recommended is because when the modded Maxi-jet fires up, it has the potential to spin backwards. There is a little "stopper" on the inside of the mod-cap to stop a backwards spin, and then the maxi-jet self corrects. What I found on the MJ900 (and under) was that sometimes it when it fired up, the little "stopper" wouldn't stop the propeller and it would run backwards (pulling in water and distributing it out of the sides). Other times, it would go click loudly as it hit the stopper repeatedly before self-correcting. It was not an acceptable noise for us. However, on the MJ1200 (and with the bigger propeller) the powerhead was strong enough (if you study how the mechanism works, it makes sense) to prevent incidents of running backwards, or going through the loud clicking startup. Only four months of test running, so maybe the sample size isn't big enough. But that's my experience. Regards, Jon

Just for reference, this is a great summation of the grim reefer's knowledge: http://www.reefmonkey.com/phpbb2/viewtopic...f332ea7852bf56a Alot of what you'll find on RC's T5 Q&A thread is encapsulated here. Jon

ATIs, Geisemann, and UVLs have good reps for certain of their bulbs. I've used all three. From my research, folks tend to favor the ATI aquablue specials (for aquablue), either the Geisemann or ATI actinics (and have read good things about Sfiligois), and the UVLs 75/25. GE 6500k has a good rep for daylight. I've used all of these, and have been happy with them. If you are interested in PAR, there are some good sites out there with research on the bulbs' specific measurements. I have a link on my home computer I'll dig up this evening. On 4 bulb setups, you need to be careful with the more "specialty" bulbs, as they influence the look of the tank much more (PAR aside). I was recently running daylight, actinic, blue plus, aquable until I was persuaded that I didn't have enough PAR (need to measure). So I swapped an actinic for the UVL 75/25. Honestly, people seem to be happiest with 2 aquablues and 2 blue plus for the 4 bulb system. It looks good and I haven't heard any complaints on growth as expected for such a system. That was my original configuration, and despite all my tinkering, I haven't found anything that much superior to that. My only thing would be to keep a daylight bulb in the mix. For vendors, I use reefgeek most frequently- they have good info and a great selection. Marine Depot has Geiseman and UVL, but I believe they have a 4 bulb minimum purchase and may have extra shipping fees for bulbs. I have used Innovative Lighting Solutions in the past, but I think they carry only Geisemans. Jon

count me in for replacement filters also, if a group buy occurs. Jon

Absolutely. I have a 90 gallon with 4x54 T5s Teklight and one of my buddies has a 90 with a Nova. I have a favia and a hammer that are healthy and have great color. My buddy has candy cane and others. I just got an Acan that lost some of its orange, but I'm still monkeying around with placement. Of course, rics and other softies do just fine. Surprisingly (or maybe not), I have a monitpora cap that looks as good in my tank as under any MHs that I've seen, and I have a digitata that grows fine, but is just a bit brown. I'd love to hear other's thoughts with similar setups on what worked and what hasn't. Regards, Jon Edit (more data on placement): - Favia - middle (bottom has worked just fine also) - Acan - bottom (when he's settled I'm going to move him up) - Hammer - bottom - Montipora cap - middle - Florida rics - uppder 2/3rds - yuma rics - bottom 2/3rds - xenias - (they crawled up to the top)