SDBDRZ

reefcentral.com and reefs.org both have online monthly magazines. As far as subscriptions to magazines in print the only one I get is C by Anthony Calfo but it doesnt address the specific type things you are looking for. You can find information for the things you are looking for on this site and sites like reefcentral.com and reefs.org however you will see a lot of differing opinions in the threads.

I will spend a lot more money for items buying them from people that are interested in the future of this hobby and care about our natural resources. Fish and corals are living creatures not simply inventory on a shelf. Most people in this hobby just want the absolute cheapest prices. Sad state for the environment.

agreed

I don't think that T-5 is superior to MH or vice versa, one is a viable alternative to the other. I have kept reef tanks since the mid 80's and have used every type of light available outside of LED's. Beginning reefers should be getting advice on the overall setup, good husbandry, stable environment, etc, etc. Bottom line, too many reefers slap a rediculous amount of MH over their tanks and can not control the heat, wonder why they have algae growing like crazy, etc. The high temps accelerate the metabolism of many of the organisms in the tanks which causes disease, recession events, etc to spread more rapidly. I hate these types of threads because they always end the exact same way, one camp has one opinion and the other camp has the opposite opinion. I remember back when the majority consensus was that 400w 65K bulbs were the only way you could get good coral growth and anyone using radiums was doing it wrong. There were no 14k, 15k bulbs etc. Good husbandry techniques and being knowledgable about what you are keeping is what this site, and others, should be emphasizing to new members. Many of the people in this club saw my reef when it was lit with 400W halides and with 250w HQI's. Right now I have 4 healthy tanks with 4 different lighting schemes. One is running HO T-5's, one is running PC's one is running VHO's and I have a tank with normal output T-5's. All 4 have corals healthy and growing. The stony corals in my 180 look as good or better than they did under halides. I have seen many beautiful MH tanks and I have seen tanks with MH lighting that couldn't even grow algae. The people keeping the tanks has more to do with the success than the lighting. EDIT: I'll also add that 2 of my tanks have no filtration whatsoever outside of LR and water changes. You don't need to have top end equipment to be successful. Sure it helps and some of the top end equipment is very well made but some of the prettiest tanks I have seen use a bunch of DIY stuff.

I am curious if this claim can be substantiated? Just saying they are better is easy, I am still waiting for someone to prove it to me. I have never seen your tank but I can guarantee you 100% that lights are not the only contributing factor to growth and deep coloration.

I certainly agree and a lot of people are running halides with similar temps to you. I just like having my temp set at 78 and not fluctuate more than 1/2 degree. I ran halides and a chiller for years, my corals always did fine. Elevated temperatures (within reason) are not a bad thing but they do speed the metabolic rate of organism in the tank(this can be good or bad depending on the hobbiest ). I would prefer to see newer hobbiests focus on stability. Halides have their place in this hobby but I still think people put way too much emphasis in lighting and not enough emphasis on the rest of a setup. I dont want to get off on a tangent so I will just say what I always say, lighting is only one component to a successful reeftank.

One thing I see people overlook often is the heat issue. If you chose halides you have to have a way to keep the heat in the tank undercontrol. For some people (depending on the setup, ambient room temperature, etc) heat doesnt become an issue, for others it can be a huge issue especially in an enclosed hood. I dont want to discourage anyone from halides but tank temperature is something I see people overlook. Most people do prefer the VHO actinics over the T-5 actinics but its personal preference. I experimented with a few different actinic and blue T-5 bulbs and found a look that I like but I really did not have a VHO option since I am using Tek light fixtures.

I have a pistol shrimp/goby combo in a 22g gallon tank so I guess you could consider it a nano but the only other fish in the tank is a pajama cardinal. I set the tank up with the goby/shrimp as the focal point so I wont be adding any other fish. Having said that I probably would not put them in anything smaller than the 22g I have them in. No idea on the seahorse. They are very fun to watch.

8.0 is not unreasonable low, my tank has been at 8.0 for months with no effect on fish or corals. As far as the achilles goes, I would hold off on adding that fish.

I have 6100's on a Tunze controller and I have 6025 that are not being controlled. I have thought about putting the 6025's on a cycle with an Aquacontroller but havent yet and with what I am using them for, probably dont need to. I am sure someone out there is doing it.

Couldnt you cycle them on and off with a wavemaker or an aquacontroller type device? I think what Tunze means by "uncontrollable os that you can not use the Tunze controller to control them.

You tell your wife I usually just take a day off work, leave in the morning and have it acclimated and in the tank before she gets home

I was there a couple months ago. I was there right after he had a large shipment come in so the selection was very good. In my opinion a trip to Dr. Mac's is always a good thing :-)

Welcome Gio. The tank looks great. Make sure you tell your Dad he did a fine job taking the pictures.

Good rule of thumb is to place any new coral received on the bottom of the tank and then work your way up. I do that with all corals I get unless I know the person I got them from and exactly where they were placed in the persons tank, even then I usually start them on the bottom and move them up after a couple days or so of acclimation. I run T-5's also.

I could not agree more :-) The reason that halides and halides vs other types of lighting are so hotly debated is because it is one of the few things in this hobby that is quantifiable by all levels of hobbiests. It is easy to say that X halide is better than Y halide or X wattage is better than Y wattage. With the general theory of most people being that more is always better how can 1000w halides not be better than 175w? Will halides work to grow and color coral? sure they will, so will T-5's or even VHO's for that matter. I would also consider the ability to mix and match bulbs in a T-5 system with greater flexibility to be a benefit, not a hinderance. Lighting is a key component to this hobby, but there is more than one key to success.

Check your salinity. I m not sure but it sounds like you are adding water directly to the sump for evaporation and then addng salt also. If that is the case the water evaporates but not the salt. Also, depending on how much water you are adding to the sump you are effecting the salinity of the tank. When you add the salt it does not dissolve instantly. The water you are adding to your sump, is it RO water? I am not sure what the problem is, im just trying to ask some questions to get a better picture of what you are doing.

T-5's here as well. I have used just about every wattage of MH bulb and I am very pleased with the results of T-5's. With T-5's you need a quality reflector (either a fixture or retro that includes individual reflectors), also read some of the bulb comparison charts as well. Lighting is only one component to a successful reef.

Knowing exactly where he goes at night is the place to start, as far as catching him in a full tank, there will have to be some luck involved. Just be patient, it will probably take you a few times to get him.

Well 2 things I have done is: Turn the lights on it the middle of the night, you catch the fish while its a little slow from being woken suddenly. In extreme cases I have caught fish with really small fish hooks on a piece of fishing line (this might be tough with 20 fish though)

As Craig said supporting a good LFS is always a good idea, having said that I have had good luck ordering from etropicals.com, liveaquaria.com (both owned by Drs Fosters and Smith) and pacificeastaquaculture.com (Dr. Mac)

I too have been to Roozens on numerous occassions and I have purchased from them. However, I am morally torn on the issue. On one hand they have selection and pricing which the consumer in me likes, however the conditions make me sad as a hobbiest. I have not been to Roozens in years, I wont say I will never go again but at this point in the hobby I am more interested in minimizing my impact on the reef by acquiring captive frags and tank raised fish when possible. My hope is that one day we advance far enough in this hobby that mass volume transhippers like Roozens will be unnecessary to sustain the hobby.

You might also want to take a look at some of the forums on reefcentral to get an idea of what some people have done with FOWLR, I think there is a FOWLR forum over there

I am not a puffer expert but to be honest you can keep things like mushrooms, cabbage coral, some polyps with just about anything. Your bigger issue with something like a dog face puffer are going to be compatibility with other fish, the eventual size that the puffer will achieve, etc. They grow up to about 16" in the wild and are predators. In addition they will eat most crustaceans.

I have seen some very attractive FOWLR tanks and you can get away with some species of fish that are unsuitable for a reef tank. Having said that I will also say that a reef tank does not need to be complex or extremely expensive. I have seen some beautiful reef tanks set up with a variety of easy to keep soft corals (mushrooms, polyps, etc) It really just comes down to what you and your wife really want. If you are unsure do some more research, ask questions and decide before you get too far into the set up.