clearsky57

So........... in reading what everyone has said here, is still making me question whether they (Kessil) are the ticket.... I would like to think I don't have to be so fussy as to what I grow, and it would appear as stated earlier, there isn't enough data in yet (long term data that is) to make a qualified judgement, as to whether or not they are "growing" corals... While I like the lower electric bills, and less temperature fluctuations, not having a cooler, I would like to see some more data or for that matter practical experiences before I invest.... I have been hedging on looking into diy project, but there seems to be more success there... david

I looked at their calculator, and unless I didn't find the right spot to navigate to, their calculator was set up for the 150's.... However, everyone I have spoken to says the 350s are enough for sps's..... I was interested in any negatives from the folks that have had them for a while now..... I'm not that current on the technology for these type led's.

As I don't know most of the people personally, I hope they will catch this thread and ring in...... thanks david

I was in Daytona Beach this past weekend, and visited with several fish stores while there... One in particular I like to visit, just moved recently into a bigger newer location (Poseidon) and while he is not up completely running, there are still over a dozen salt tanks running.. They are builders and suppliers of RO/DI systems, and have some neat things on their shelves for sale... One thing I picked up was a new (to me dry food) "Sustainable Aquatics" dry Hatchery Diet. .5mm slow sinking pellets I have tried some dry foods on my fish but they didn't really take to them, although I will say they probably get a little spoiled with all the frozen foods, and live b/s.... anyhow, they told me that this is the stuff used in hatchery breeding programs so i decided to buy a bottle.. (4oz bottle/ 7.99) when I got in last night, I decided to feed the tank just a bit before lights out and boy i was pleasantly surprised.... Everyone was eating it, which made me happy... now on the lights.. He just got in the brochures, but said the lights would be in any day..... I wouldn't have bought them just on one persons opinion, especially at the price, but figured I would like to hear from others, and maybe someone that has got them. I know they are new and a newer technology, so I am excited to hear the reports... I was told the par readings are good, so let's see....

I have been reading up on Kessil LED lights, specifically the AP350W and the A150W products.. Anyone able to give me any input on these lights. I am planning on changing out my twin 175 wt m/h lights, and want to consider LED options.. thanks david

Hello:recently (within the past two months) I purchased a couple of your products.. A Phosban 150 Reactor, along with some phospate pellets, to add to my 75 gallon reef tank.My intention was to place it into my sump to help reduce my phosphate and ultimately my nitrates..I powered it with a maxijet 600 powerhead, and all seemed to be doing fine..I suppose the unit has been actually running on my tank now for 4 weeks, and recently, I noticed it was clogging up.the pump was laboring and there was no flow through the unit, along with the fact there was an odor(which i figured to be normal for this sort of thing?) I took it out to try to flush it or clean it out, but I have run into a problem> I cannot seem to open the unit! for whatever reason, it seems to have sealed so tight, that I cannot turn the top to open it...I have tried several things to try to turn and open the canister, with no luck! any ideas would be greatfully tried..... can you give me some help on this matter, as I would really appreciate it... do the pellets tend to disolve or mold together, or is it because the flow was slowed?thanks for your help...... david

This was my first Frag Fest, and It was better than advertised. from learning about common pests, to the tank drilling demonstration, to all the new frags of corals!!! thanks to all the folks that put this together, and for making it a wonderful day. cheers david

Agreed: I have 4 (bangai)right now in my 75 and two have paired off... they tend to chase the other two when they are trying to mate, and have done so now 3 times... as long as the other two stay out of the way, there isn't much problem, but I fear the male has either swallowed eggs, or dispatched them early and I will attempt to get the other two out soon...

Where would the booster pump be placed in this diagram?

golly gee batman! I think we'll need a bigger tank! LOL

Hi there: having not attended a frag fest in the past, and certainly looking forward to sunday, I was reading the brief itinerary on the upcoming function thread, and I would like for someone in the know to explain the rules and conditions of the "auction of your items" and sale of items... thanks

I actually have a space under my stairs, where the furnace and water tank are... there is room for a couple tanks, which works well for close proximity to my water filtration and hidden from view. It may be hard to plumb from that room, but I can set it up where I can attach a hose or something...

Do you have any photos of this system? would love to see it... thanks

I do have the space (money???) for a couple decent sized tanks, and I suppose 100 gal for mixed water may be overkill.... My concern on the mixed tank was the correct way to mix it, and how long it would keep once mixed.. If I maintain good circulation on it, will it keep longer? I could go down in size, and might do so in retrospect, I don't need more than a 50 gal tank for the salt, but I can use all of what I produce in fresh, with all my other tanks. I looked at the pics from the thread and the fellow there has the ultimate ocd system..... Looks great but maybe a little fancier than I need. and the room I have for mine isn't quite as large as that...

I am getting ready to order a couple (100 gallon) poly tanks, one for my RO/DI water, and a second to have for mixed salt water for my water changing. My question is, does anyone have any input as to the style tank I should get? I was thinking on two 23"diameter tanks (are about 5' tall, with a 7" or 8" top port, and a typical drain on the bottom... graduated, and the white poly... I suppose my concern is what is the best way to mix the salt so that the water is properly disolved, and that it "keeps" in between changes in the tank. My thought was to add a power head or some sort of pump, to keep the water moving in the tanks. I'm sure there are ways (even better ways) to accomplish this so I figured I would get some input before I go out and buy a bunch of stuff, and find out there was a better way to "make the wheel".... by the way.... I am purchasing a 75 GPD RO/DI unit so I think a 100 gallon tank should suffice... (I have a bunch of fresh tanks, but only one salt water one right now (75 gallon) thanks david

I have resigned myself to the fact that I overfed everything, and need to cut way back.... I suppose I will cut back on feeding the anenomes and duncans too... after I do one or two more water changes, I will see where my parameters are.. thanks all for your input

Interesting that you offered this question....... I really do think I have been overfeeding, and know better as I work with a lot of fresh water tanks that are small (2 1/2 gal up to 15 gal breeder or species tanks) and I know better than to overfeed, even with live food, without very regular water changes. I have been feeding the following: live brine shrimp, frozen mysis, frozen bs, frozen cyclopeze... of course not all at the same time... i also will cut up shrimp, scallop or silversides to target feed my anenomes, duncans and such... I think I have been dancing this fine line where I want everything to be fat and healthy, but maybe overdoing it without watching my chemical parameters, and thinking the protein skimmer would do all the work.. so..... i have cut back on the feeding... (don't think my pudgy fish will mind too much ) as stated, the first major water change dropped the nitrates significantly, (almost by half) but think I need to wait about 4-6 days inbetween changes, right?? my interpretation on using mangroves is that they do not do a significant amount of nitrate diffusion, without a larger scale, so don't think that would be the way for me to go,,, however I do have some chaeto in my fuge, but.... it has not really grown since I put it in... my immediate thought is that it isn't doing what is is supposed to do, so why might it not be really growing? there is moderate flow in there as I do bypass some of the tank water into the middle chamber on my fuge (where I have bioballs) as my understanding was i needed good flow over the bio balls as well.... i have a clip on relfector with a led screw in bulb over the first chamber of the fuge (where the chaeto is) about a 3" sand bed with some live rock in there, a pretty good culture of pods, and have a yellow watchman goby and one or two sexy shrimp living in there. I did have a regular screw in bulb on there, but noticed a bit of brown/red algae on the front of it so i increased my lighting to the led and a couple more hours per day (actually comes on in the evening after the main lights go out for about 8 hours) I do have a type of vegetation, sort of vallisneria like plant that attaches to the rock and has a short stem, then long leave, (about 8") it seems to be growing and in fact has grown more since the light change, So do we think the reduction in feeding and more frequent water changes will alleviate my issues??

I noticed my tank having a bit of an algae problem recently, and when I did my tests, I noticed the Nitrates were higher than normal... (160 ppm on the ati test kit) used a test strip and it pretty much confirmed it.... I did about a 35% water change and retested next day and it is about 80 now... My skimmer seems to be working ok... any thing else I can do??? I plan on doing another water change in a few days, but other than the water changes is there anything else I can do to help the problem... ph, salinity, temps, everything else seems ok... any ideas would be greatfully accepted thanks

Thanks guys for all the insight...... by the way...... this was my newly obtained mccoskers wrasse........ bummer! couldn't believe he would do that to me.... after trying for about an hour with a net I gave up for a bit and at that point I sat down and gave it a think session.... rather than shutting down the pump and pulling tubes out of the backflow, which I really didn't want to do... knowing it's easier to catch fish in salt water with a clear cup than a net made me think about it.... I took a long piece of wire (about 12 gauge) little thinner than a coat hanger, and made a pretty small loop on one end (about 3" diameter) then I took a small plastic fish bag (think it is considered a 4" like one would use to bag up killies or small fish very small diameter and about 15" tall) cut the bag down to about 6" tall, and fed it through the wire noose, and lapped the bag over the wire, (folded the bag over) then I took a thin piece of wire and secured the bag so it wouldn't come off the wire noose when full of water.. I tested it in the sink first so I wouldn't have pieces of plastic floating around in my backflow. I shut the lights off on the tank and used a flashlight. I dipped my new contraption down into the backflow, and with a piece of rigid tubing, prodded the little bugger into the bag.... actually it went off without a hitch as he didn't seem as distressed with the clear bag. I took several of your advices and cut a piece of plexiglass to cover the top of the backflow, but not so tight as to effect any overflow issues... He is now back in the tank, happily digging into the sand bed and I feel like i reinvented the wheel!! when I can figure out how to post images, I will actually take some pics of my new net process incase someone else wants to give it a go... thanks everyone for their input, and a happy ending.

I've had a leopard wrasse and have had him for about 4 months now. he spent the first 4-5 weeks burried..... never tried to go up, but i do have a very high top... he's a good eater and I haven't any problems with him,

I had my first encounter with a fish who decided to go sightseein in my overflow today ........ I know this has happened to some of you suggestions??? is it safe to cover the overflow once I get him out?? thanks d

I have been looking to get a mccoskers flasher wrasse, and was up at marine scene yesterday... the little guy was absolutely screaming at me... "take me home dude!" so I had to do it..... he has fit in well and eating good already.... also picked up a small frag of the ora ponape birdsnest, like the large one they have in their tank... once I get some pics I will post them.. david

Do you think a couple computer fans will suffice? I was thinking of just getting a clamp fan and have them face the heat sinks when the LED's are on I made my own wood canopy for my 75 and I have 2 175 mh lites in it... I am adding 2 actinic t5's on a different timer for dawn/dusk lighting transition and I have a led moonlite but don't care for it, so going to find something a little better for nighttime... anyhow, getting off topic... the top (of the canopy) is open, but still felt like I needed to move air up there, so I bought two "door fans" ( got them from lowes, they are triangular fans that fit in doorways for your house and help move air from room to room.... they are pretty quiet, and are not too large, maybe 8"x8" on the 90degree sides, about 3" deep), and I attached them in either corner of the top, and presently have them blowing up/out of the top and are on the same timer as the metal haylides... someone suggested blowing one down towards the water , which he thought might cool air better blowing over the surface...??? anyhow,,,, no holes needed to be cut into the sides of the top and pretty quiet... worked for me..... david

Can anyone give me any insight as to when and where the next meeting will take place, and if available, the programs that are projected... I know it is basic to many, but if there are some workshops, on any of the following I would love it... PS>... I know there are many threads on these things, but hands on in front of you is always better.. LED systems buying manufactured ones vs. making your own pros/cons (other than obvious $$$) Auto top off systems, thanks... looking forward to next meeting... david

Ok.... I am tired of buying my RO water, and I am now looking into purchasing an RO unit.... I have been reading and surfing, trying to figure out what the best unit would work for me, but I am getting myself confused with all the different add ons and such.... What I would like to use if for is to have water for my 75 reef tank, both fresh and ability to make my own salt water.. also I have about 25 fresh water tanks (most of them are smaller breeder tanks) so I would like to produce at least 50-75 gallons a day.. can someone make my life easier and tell me which unit would be best.... I have seen all kinds of bells and whistles, (like pressure gauge, etc) on units, but not sure if it is overkill.... help please.... thanks david