firecrackerbob

I had a 70w MH and a 2x24 T5 over my 20L. the temp and chemical swings were very diffucult to deal with... personally, this is one of hte few areas where I would go LED. I would say yes, MH is overkill for zoos... T5 or LED would be fine

I generally do water changes on a quarterly basis. When I do, its about a 40% change to about a 120g system. I have a 55display, a 20 sump, and a 45 fuge plumbed together. when its time, I drain the fuge and refill it from my fresh make up tank. I have been running this way for about 2 years. now that I have kids running around, I really dont have time for water changes. keep in mind though that I only have two small fish in the display and feed lightly. I think there are MANY sucesfull ways to run in this hobby. you just have to find what fits your personality. I dont have a lot of time these days to devote to daily maintinence, so I have low bioload.

yea, thats another of his favorite activities right now- climbing. I never thought I would be saying "please climb back down off the coffee table" 100x a day. good point though about no couches near by...

Ive been really trying to not imagine the tank toppling over... Ive got a little one right now (18mo) and another on the way. hes not really at a point where hes taking direction very well... actually hes more like a wild animal thrashing about... apparently throwing yourself into doors and walls is great fun...

heh.. have been thinking of that... actually a 120 thats sitting empty in my parents basement... dont think it will fit in our living room though. maybe if we are able to afford the addition we would like and get that fish room I have been dreaming of...

I really only test Ca, Alk, Mg and PH, so Ca=420, alk=~10, Mg=1500, Ph 7.9. Im fairly confident my Alk is probably not super stable, but it shouldnt be too bad either...

I have had numerous frags of monti cap over the years and they almost always fall into the same pattern of problems in my tank. I get the frag into my tank, it starts to grow, then within three months or so it stops growing, then very slowly bleaches out. once bleached, even a small disturbance to the tank seems to deliver the final blow and kill the frag. So what am I missing on how to care for Monti caps?? lets go back to basics here. if you were going to tell an total newbie how to keep them alive and growing what would you say?? Some details about my tank- 4x54w T5, and 2x110VHO(actinic), good flow (I think!), water quality seems good(low nuisance algaes in my tank), but to be honest I have been in the hobby so long now I really dont test much. PH I do test, and is stable at around 7.9. I add Kalk to my top off. dose two part to make up the rest(and mag). I test what I add-ca, alk, mg. I dont do many water changes anymore(~4x a year I do a 50% change), so maybee Im missing some trace elements!?!?, I run carbon and polyfilter. I feed my tank ~2x a week, and have a very low bio load-a chromis and a dottyback in ~120 total gallons, and maybe the big problem, I have a mostly Softie and LPS dominated tank... I currently have a dinner plate size monti cap that is slowly wasting away in my tank right now- please help!...thanks!!!

Wow, thanks for all the responses!! Yes, I would agree that training would be ideal, but Im starting to realize that a wild toddler just does what the impulse of the moment drives them too(and im soon to have two on my hands...) I was definitely planning on child locks to the doors and enclosing anything easily accessible. The 90degree brace is a good idea too; hadnt thought of that! Im a little hesitant to put a glass top on the tank due to light loss into the tank, but I think I will put locks onto my canopy as well... It amazes me what kids come up with...

my wife and I are getting ready to move and my tank which is hidden away in the basement(away from the kids) is going to be in the family room of our new house. does anyone have any advise on kiddie proofing a tank- *specifically* whats the best way to secure a 55 to a wall or to brace it to prevent tipping over? We are eventually hoping to get a fish room built, but for now it looks like the tanks will be out in the rooms...

do you typically run LEDs at 50% intensity? (Just to be clear, Im really not trying to be a smart a$$ or anything. I really would like to be more educated about LEDs. I really just cant see the advantages that people talk about.)

@Hypertech- I ABSOLUTELY agree with your analysis!!! you are making the exact assumptions that I do when I put all the numbers into a spreadsheet. With my analysis I did recently I came up with a savings of $100 over 10yrs in favor of LEDs... that is not nearly enough for me to go through the trouble to switch. Over the last few years I have bought a 2x250 (icecap) MW retrofit for 200$ off of someone who swithced to LED and a 6x55w (3, 2xbulb sets) off of another seller for $200. FWIW- I am giving all the LED users of the world the benefit that the systems actually work. My criticisms of LED are two major points- 1)I dont like the look, and 2)(and what my post above was about) is that I really dont see the "major" cost savings that so many people tout when you put all the numbers in a spreadsheet and add it up. AND as Hpyertech mentioned, there is the BIG assumption that over a 10y analysis that the LED fixure wont fail... Im glad that im not the only one who has run the numbers and come up with this. THANKS

I will still pass on LED... I just double checked my calculations and MH or T5 is still cheaper by my assumptions. I would be very interested if anyone has a analysis that shows otherwise though.

Most of my recent livestock purchases have come from my petco. their dry good prices are still insane, but the livestock I have gotten has been healthy and fairly priced. there is a huge amout of variety of the quality of petcos that I have seen though. The annapolis one is a disaster, but the glen burnie one is very nice. I was ther last night in fact, and the tanks looked great...

Taiscici- thanks for the reply. I have indeed seen dozens of LED tanks, and in a nut shell I have no desire to swith as of right now. every time I see a tank where things look "off" and I find out what the lights are, its always LED. it looks fake to me, kind of candy coated, for lack of a better description. dont get me wrong, I think they have their application for nano-tanks, but for larger size(over 55), I would never go that route. at least not until they look normal to me... If you troll the forum for a while you will find there is a small minority of people here who are very opposed to LED. may have tried them then swithced back to T5 or MH. for me there is two great resons not to go that route- 1) They look crappy in my opionion, and 2)if you really do a cost analysis, they are way more expensive. in the end though, its a matter of taste, and I always respect others preferences, but they arent mine.

Fan- thanks! Solar tubes- if anyone else ins interested, im doing some reading on this now. found some links: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1561945 http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1980668 Im pretty stoked about this route... gonna hve to keep reading though!

Ahh-water changing- yes, that is a good idea! I have a empty 55 that I use now and do something similar manually, but adding some dedicated plumbing might be helpfull. LEDs-ehhh... how should I say this? ... Im not a fan. ive seen them many times, and really havent been impressed. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Wow, thanks for all the responses so far! Some good points I will have to consider! Please keep them coming! Im in Annapolis right now. I would love to stop by some tanks if anyone is fairly local, and I really appreciate the offers! Some thoughts: Automation- I tend to not automate my tanks, with the exception of ATO. I have seen everything fail at one point or another, and its just not for me. but maybe im missing something? Sink-definitely a must have, I used to do alot of fragging and want to start again. Fans- definitely! any systems in particular anyone would reccomend? Going bigger?!?- Im not really planning on it, but who knows. maybe Im missing something, but if I set everything up reasonably and decide to upgrade later, what is the major difficulty of doing so? Ive read that going over 120 starts to open a major can of worms when it comes to humidity control and electric expenses. is that still acurate? Light tubes- does anyone here use light tubes to funnel in natural sunlight into their tank? Ive read about it, and am considering it as a $ saver for lighting... Thanks!

Long story short, Ive been in the aquarium hobby pretty much my whole life and have a huge collection of tanks and equipment. My wife and I are getting ready to close on a house in the country where we are currently planning on adding a mudroom and possibly a fish room area. Im pretty early in the process here, but I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with setting up a room? what design features should I include? what advice do the experts have? My general goals: Im planning on setting up my 120 as my main display. the room will probably have at least two other tanks running, probably 2x55s, and a sump. I will probably be using 2x250k MH for the main, and T5s for the other tanks. im planning for the display to be an in-window design with the living room as the viewing area. I would like a sink and floor drain in the room, probably will need seperate electric run with GFCI, and an area for water make-up... what else am I missing!? Any ideas or resources appreciated! THANKS!

yea...... Ill just stick to cash..... last I heard that was still legal tender.....

Chuck- as has been briefly mentioned, upkeep is key for any motor that sits around. I run my gnerator about once a month or so just to keep it firing up. I also add some seafoam to the gas. As for cost, it can range anywhere from $300 to 20K depending on the system you want. in general though, a 4000w or so generator should be all you really need for fish stuff(you dont need to run lights in an emergency). you can pick one up as cheap as $300 bucks or so...

I live over in Anne Arundel county MD. I would say yes, generators are a must have. Its one thing if you have a basic tank with some damsels or goldfish from the feeder fish bin, but if you are heavily invested in the hobby why not spend the money for the peace of mind... I have a 3500W generator from BJs($300), should be enough to cool down the fridge, and keep the tank heaters on for the fish with some bubblers going. we are getting ready to move to the eastern shore. I plan on getting a whole house generator as soon as possible. Im done with the uncertanty of all the blackouts...

Dr mac is a great guy. always very welcoming. my last club used to go down at least once a year, he always did tours, had pizza for us etc... always fun. if you do buy frags from the sun room, be prepared that its kinda hard to see them sometimes, and you dont always get what you thought you were, but he usually does a great deal on them...

Heres what I run. I use VHO actinic bc I think it pops a little better, but JMHO. I would say I have about a 18K look... back fiji purple blue plus aqua blue VHO actinic VHO actinic blue plus front

Im north of annapolis. Silver spring is a little better, but with a toddler running around the house and my wife due with our second one soon, its kind of tough to find much spare time... How often does the club meet in MD as opposed to VA? (btw, sorry if im highjacking anyones thread here...)

I really wish you guys didnt meet on the west side of DC... I just cant swing the drive Otherwise I would joing this club in a heartbeat...