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DuffyGeos

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    Maxspect Razor R420R LED 60w-16,000k - blue channel B out.

    in General Discussion

    Yea just look downstairs and grab one of the many many lights u have and set it up for the short term :)

     

    That is my problem! they are all way too big :laugh:  I also don't have anything I can hang the light on but the edge of the tank....which I need to watch since it is an IM16g Nano with the curved corners.

    I also have a cheap marineland led that might work for you if you need it.

    Maybe, can I just lay it across the top of the tank?   Tank is only 24" x 12" x 13"

    Maxspect Razor R420R LED 60w-16,000k - blue channel B out.

    in General Discussion

    I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem, I have seen a few online. I just submitted a ticket to Maxspect, not that it will help me in the short term. I actually love this light so that is even more reason why I am upset. They went out last week while I was out of town and I have tried on my free time to reprogram, change settings, and to tighten all the connections.  Channel A is working, so I have some light, but the color of the corals is not doing well. Bought 8/13, warranty 1year....so 8 months out of warranty. May have to break my 16g tank down and dump in the frag tank since I don't see this getting solved in a couple weeks. It is ironic  (not sure I am using that word in the right context) that I have approximately 30 different lighting options in the basement for my 300g build and nothing for the little 16g :laugh:  I just added the small 6w or 8w lights that came with the original tank....at least that is something. 

     

    Just venting.....Now how is it that LED's are so much cheaper if you have to spend $114 (from what I have seen) to replace a board or what ever goes out on them with a $286.00 original cost ever 20 months. That is for a small tank that has one light cluster.

     

     

    Anyone have any quick solutions for that light?

    Testing Parameters- Order of importance- Origami

    in New to the Hobby

    Written by: Origami, WAMAS President

    I would venture a guess that most of us, when we started out, were test kit junkies. First you're testing daily (if not several times a day), then every couple of days, then weekly, and then, as things stabilize and you begin to really understand your tank, monthly or less. And, even then, most experienced aquarists will test only a few parameters on a regular basis unless they suspect that something is amiss.

    There's really no all-in-one solution but there are new products being developed and introduced that are trying to fill that void. They're new and, likely, expensive for now. The graphs that you see are probably tying in data that they're recording in some app to a widget image in their signature.

    Testing salinity is probably one of the more frequently performed tests because, every day, it's being adjusted by evaporation and your top off actions.

    Frequency of chemical or ionic testing should be variable and driven by a variety of conditions. When the tank is just being set up, you're testing for things like ammonia, nitrite and nitrate to understand where you are in the initial nitrogen cycling of the tank. You're doing this, of course, to determine if the water is safe for other, higher forms of life such as your clean up crew or small fish. As the tank settles into its rhythm, you may continue testing nitrate as you introduce fish just to make sure that your biological filtration (bacteria) is staying caught up. After a while, you find that these tests are consistently reading zero, so you space the testing out more and more until you're probably not doing those tests anymore.

    If you start growing corals or anything that is actively putting down a calcium carbonate type of shell, you'll probably be interested in calcium, alkalinity and magnesium levels. Alkalinity is the more volatile of the three and becomes the most regularly performed test of these three. That's because alkalinity is generally consumed in proportion to calcium: 2.8 dKH (or 1 meq/l) of alkalinity for every 20 ppm of calcium. As a result of this ratio, you can often predict, with decent (and practical) results, what your calcium reading will be from alkalinity readings. Thus, in tanks where we're replenishing (dosing) ions lost to consumption, if we're using balanced additives, then we can make adjustments to both based upon the one alkalinity test. Of course, we may do a spot check from time to time because the consumption ratio can be very slightly different in different tanks. (That's mostly because of magnesium, by the way.) Speaking of magnesium, it's one of the essential ions in a reef tank, but it's also present in large amounts. Its consumption is proportionately less and so it's tested less frequently than, say, alkalinity or calcium.

    Less frequently tested parameters are phosphate, (and even less frequently) potassium, iron, strontium, silicate, copper, and iodine.

    Please keep in mind that most of us start to recognize signs that something may not be right and, as a result, when to test beyond normal spot-checking. When all seems to be going well, you probably don't need to test that much. To relate it to our own bodies: Do you go to the doctor much when you're feeling well?

    So, in order of frequency of use (for a stable, mature tank in the hands of somebody with some experience):

    Salinity (get a refractometer and calibration fluid) & temperature
    Alkalinity (I use a Hanna meter, but this is not the most cost effective; I use API as an inexpensive backup, but also have Salifert and Red Sea Pro kits on the shelf)
    Calcium (I use Red Sea Pro, Salifert and API test kits here)
    Magnesium (Red Sea Pro and Salifert again)

    Less important, unless something's wrong (lots of algae, browning or sick corals)
    Nitrate
    Phosphate

    Others (if dosing, or under the right circumstances)
    Ammonia (a better alternative might just be to put a Seachem Ammonia badge on the side of your tank or sump as a flag to problems and replace it annually)
    Potassium
    Iron
    Copper
    etc.

    Note that I didn't say a word about pH. For me, pH is not something that I twiddle with directly, but which just gives me an additional data point (or points). I have a pH probe on my controller and I can tell (from experience) for example, if my alk is not being replenished or if somebody opens a window in the house to let in some fresh air. It's not a critical parameter in most cases and, in the hands of a new hobbyist, can lead them to unwarranted concern or dosing additives or other products to chase some phantom ideal. Testing pH is fine, but you should understand how (and why) it varies through the course of a day and over seasons, before you start letting it drive any action you want to take.

    Tom

    Rimless rule of thumb?

    in General Discussion

    I've got a dense foam under mine and it has a frame.  I've read all the posts about it and don't really see the issue.  For it to stress the bottom, it would have to depress the foam far enough that the foam hits the bottom of the tank.  Its not even close.  I think the foam helps with my DIY stands that aren't perfectly even to support he frame a little better.

     

    So, I tend to use a little foam regardless..  

     

    I would think it depends on the size of the tank, the load, and the type of "foam" If you use those colorful interlocking play tiles I would think they would sink a fair bit with the load of a larger tank, and then the load is on the bottom of the glass which would not be ideal.

    Rimless rule of thumb?

    in General Discussion

    I have a glass rimless IM 16g Nano that came with a flat bottom stand that is acrylic.....So I would think they would want even support. Not sure I would use any foam, only a solid surface IMO.

     

    Does the company sell stands? probably best to get in touch with the company.

    New Member from Alexandria

    in Welcome to WAMAS: FAQ / FYI / Hobby News

    Welcome! I kept a red eared slider for 5 years, and bred African Sidenecks for years. I was also intimidated by saltwater, but now it's the bees knees. Look forward to pictures, start a build thread up, this is a great community, lots of knowledge floating about.

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

     

    I was waiting for you to chime in!!! Jeeps, saltwater tanks, dogs, and your new hobby power tools!!!!! you have a new best friend :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

     

     

    Lynz- Welcome! great bunch of people here, (sometimes even YHSublime :tongue: )   Figure out what is in all the forums of the website and how they work, and don't be afraid to ask stupid questions. No one will bite (maybe Zygote2k.....but that is it...even though he is a master at plumbing tanks.)

     

    I have learned more info here then any place else. Enjoy.

    DuffyGeos 300g DT & 8 TANK FISH ROOM

    in Dedicated Tank (Build) Forum

    My understanding is that the transition between T5 and MH (going to or from) is not as big a problem as going from one of those to LED. In general, if you plan on running MH on the DT and you plan on growing out many of these frags to eventually place in your DT, it might be best to just go with MH over the frag and grow out tanks to begin with.  Plus, I've always had the absolute best growth under MH, which is what you want in the frag and grow out tanks anyways, right?

     

    That makes sense, I am still going to have to figure out the lighting over the frag tanks.I love the look of the ATI fixture, but I am also still short on the length of the light for the 6' total frag tanks length.

     

    I think you'll be just fine. I prefer the color from the T5 and the crispness over any other type of lighting. JMO.

     

    I love working in the room with the T5 lights on, it is such a nicer light to work under.

    Richie's 240Gallon Man Cave build :)

    in Dedicated Tank (Build) Forum

    So I drilled holes in the walls of the baffles to lower the level of the water. After a test with the pump, I will have to put some back pressure on the pump to slow the flow a bit, and I put more holes in it...

     

    I think/hope it will be good to go.

     

    See below....

     

    Richie

     

    That must have been painful drilling those holes in the new sump :blink: But it was the right think to do.

    Richie's 240Gallon Man Cave build :)

    in Dedicated Tank (Build) Forum

    So a bit of free time tonight so we unpacked 200lbs of Dry Rock from BRS. Thinking I might need more for an eight foot tank..

     

    Laid it out on a table for the time being. Wont put it in the tank till the weekend, after the PVC is done...

     

    Take a look...

     

    I don't think you will need too much more rock. That is an 8' table -right? Leave more open space for the corals and fish. Think about down the road when the corals are 1' x1' x1'. Try to give yourself at leave 6" off the glass on at least 3 sides so you can still clean the glass when things grow out.

    DuffyGeos 300g DT & 8 TANK FISH ROOM

    in Dedicated Tank (Build) Forum

    Keep that ATI.  You will regret switching to anything else.  And I would leave it where you have it.  8 bulbs are extremely powerful, and with the shallow frag tank you will bake things.

     

    Edit - it looks like you are running 5 blue+ and 3 aquablue special.  I would change that up by adding a purple plus, and True Actinic somewhere in the mix, and taking out all but maybe 1 of the aquablue specials.  Basically, dump the aquablue specials.

     

    My only worry is that I plan on running 4 250W MH on the DT and am worried that the transition from T5 to MH might be a problem. Any one do this successfully? I am debating on putting the 4' ATI all the way to the right over the QT frag tank and half the grow out tank. Then add a MH to the end of the growout tank so I can move them down and transition to MH. Anyone?

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