bcjm October 29, 2003 October 29, 2003 I have a 75G soft coral (some LPS) tank with 4x110 VHO. My hammer and cup coral are big and healthy (hammer is in the middle and the cup coral is on the bottom of the tank). Some corals (ricorida) does not seem to be very happy when kept on the bottom. I have problem with anemone also. I don't think I have enough light (anyone keeps anemone with VHO?). I am thinking to upgrade the light to HQI or MH. I don't really know the pro and con between the two. I do have a dual 175W MH hood I might be able to salvage. Wife really wants some clams if possible. Any suggestions?
chideloh October 29, 2003 October 29, 2003 Hi Bob, I have kept SPS, anemone, clams and ricordias under VHO lights. Only thing with VHOs, you have to change them every 6 months. andrejka is keeping ricordias, anemone and SPS under same lihgts as yours, so I don't think it's the lights unless it is more than 6 months old. Having said that, upgrade to 175 MH will be better. Just my 2 cents. HTH David
quazi October 29, 2003 October 29, 2003 I am a beliver in VHOs, too. I think for your tank in particular, VHOs should work well. We need more information: - What ballast are you using? - What bulbs? - How often do you change bulbs? When was the last time? - Are you planning on adding other coral to your tank, like SPS? - If so, which ones? I keep SPS in my 55 with good results (3 VHO 50/50s). Some SPS require more light than others. So, it can be done, but you will more light for some species.
bcjm October 29, 2003 Author October 29, 2003 I am using an icecap 660 with URI bulbs. I think 2 super actinic and 2 50/50. It is about a year old. Icecap claims bulbs can last more than a year with their ballast but I have no way to measure it. How often do you guys replace your VHO bulbs? 6 months seems to be very short. I probably not going to keep any SPS or those require high light. Bob
Guest andrejka October 29, 2003 October 29, 2003 Yes, I'm using 4 48" VHOs over 40G (15" high) tank (2 actinics, 2 AquaSun URI on IceCap660). Bulbs sit 4" above the water. Replace every year. BTA and Ricordias doing fine, so do various Montiporas. But Acros - just survive, very little growth (except for one colony which sits 2" below water line). Tried clams two times without success. So, my opinion: GO MHs!!!
bcjm October 29, 2003 Author October 29, 2003 Can I use 2 MH (175 or 250) withouht a chiller? My room temp is about 75-80F in the summer.
quazi October 29, 2003 October 29, 2003 I have the 430 running my 3 bulbs. I replace them every 6-9 months. If I wait for 9 months, the difference is DRAMATIC! So, do not wait a year. Every 6 months is probably right. Yep, it IS pricey :p You might want to go with all 50/50s or at least 3 50/50 and 1 actinic. I think the 50/50s look great all by themselves.
chideloh October 29, 2003 October 29, 2003 Bob, You should be able to put the MHs without worrying about the temp hike. Use couple of computer fans and it should be fine. Direct the fans at the water. Best thing to do is to have them hooked up a thermostat so you don't have to worry about it. David
AquariaUSA October 30, 2003 October 30, 2003 Lighting is not always the issue with anemones (depending on species, and collection). Some of you guys have seen our Ricordea florida and yumas under 80 watts of standard lighting (powerglo, and a marine glow), and more recently under a small Coralife 2x9watt powercompact (10 gallons) in one of the systems. Ricordea are able to adapt to various types of lighting, and a key to getting them to open up just right (2-3") is good but not overpowering flow, and supplemental feedings (1-2 times per month minimum if you want them to split). What type of anemone are you having issues with besides the mushrooms? Water quality more often than not can affect anemones, and sometimes they can be found in tanks that haven't had a water change in years! Overall though, lighting is not the sole reason for weak extension. Bubble tips (entacmea quadricolor) are the best option for captive aquarium husbandry, but selecting healthy specimens is critical to success (retraction, nematocysts, coloration, oral disc, etc.) I would avoid any other species at all costs if possible, and try for the captive bred or "clone" bubbletips. The VHO lighting you are using is more than adequate There are many coral farmers across the country that use VHO strictly for their growout tanks, and they sometimes outgrow their halide tanks Unless of course you use one of David (Chidelots) special sakis (still want to see the tank!)
bcjm October 30, 2003 Author October 30, 2003 I have this rose bta for about 2 years. He/she disappeared about six month ago I thought he was gone forever. He showed up 4 weeks ago with shrank tentacles. The color is white pink. Looks like he has lost 90% of his color. He has moved to a higher spot in the tank but is still under a rock. I have been feeding him every other day with shrimp and formula 1. I think he is improving. I do 20% water change every 6 week also. No other supplements added. 2.5 in CC bed, no DSB, 75lb LR, Euro Reef 6-1 skimmer, Mag 9.5 return pump, 1 MJ1200 power head. BTW, my nitrate is non-detectable. Most corals are doing well. My Hammer is growing new heads, my cup coral grows from half a cup to 3 cups. It was 100% brown 3 years ago now it is very green. Mushrooms spread everywhere. Zoos are doing well also. But again, I have problem with ricodia, anemone and xenia (I know. I know. this thing suppose to grow like weeds). What would you suggest me to do to improve the condition?
Guest October 30, 2003 October 30, 2003 I have sps lps and softies under 2 vho's and 4 NO flourescents and have had no problems. I have great growth on everything. As previously stated ricodia can be kept under VHO's a friend of mine had loads of them under VHO's for years and they did great.
AquariaUSA October 30, 2003 October 30, 2003 The main supplement I use (other than fish waste and frequent water changes) is Selcon made by American Marine. It is a great food additive and for direct feeding filter feeders IMO. You mentioned that you do a 20% water change every six weeks. What salinities does your tank run during that time? Also, any possible way to just do a 10% every 3-4 weeks? I am guessing you are using low TDS water from an RO/DI unit? There could be something building up in the system that has a deleterious effect on the anemone, ricordea, and xenia. It is odd that the other species of mushrooms are doing well, but your ricordea are not. When you first added the ricordea to the tank, how did they fare? Also when the anemone went wandering 6 months ago, anything major happen in the tank to make it more? The species usually will stay put once acclimated, unless stressed. When you add xenia and ricordea, where do you get them from?
bcjm October 30, 2003 Author October 30, 2003 I got my ricodia and xenia from different sources. Ricodia normally stay happy for 6 months then start shrinking. My xenia did not spread like weed from the beginning and gradually died after 12 months. The rose BTA stayed in one spot for a year before starting to move around. I am leaning toward to add some supplements to see if that will help. I just read garf.org's bullet proof method. I might try the same recipe.
quazi October 30, 2003 October 30, 2003 You might add a little iodine, if you are not supplementing with that now. Are you dosing kalk? Adding calcium? What supplements are you usinig? ???
bcjm October 30, 2003 Author October 30, 2003 I am not using anything at this moment. I dosed kalk when the tank was new but I have not done it for at least 1.5 year. I think I will start adding kalk. in the make up water this week. I am going to use the method mentioned in this article. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/rhf/feature/index.htm
quazi October 30, 2003 October 30, 2003 Well, kalk is a start. What are your chemical parameters? I bet your Ca is low, as your LPS will really suck up the Ca. I use Tropic Marin Bio-calcium. It has Ca and other necessary trace elements. I also use Kent Marine Tech•I. You are pretty good on water changes, but I think supplements should help. Again, knowing your chemical parameters would really help.
AquariaUSA October 30, 2003 October 30, 2003 Adding calcium can help other things in the system, but will have no bearing whatsoever on the Rose BTA, Xenia, or Ricordea. Frequent water changes can usually make up the iodine deficit, but if you keep on the every six week program, you may want to look at the iodine supplements. Be careful not to overdose, for that too can wipe out many soft corals, especially xenia. Xenia has been known to be the "weed" in many systems, but can also be a great indicator of contaminents in the water. Are you using RO/DI, tap, or well water? Some corals are able to adapt to metals/solids/contaminents in the water much easier than others, depending on their captive history.
bcjm October 30, 2003 Author October 30, 2003 I am using RO, no DI. Do you guys really test the trace elements in the water? What do you test, how often?
quazi October 30, 2003 October 30, 2003 Yes, we really test for pH, Ca, Alk, and other things. I myslef am not a big tester, but I test when things do not look too good. I usually find something out of kilter.
bcjm October 31, 2003 Author October 31, 2003 I don't really mean pH, Ca, Alk. What else do you test periodically?
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