What Else Should I GEt

[wilson the volleyball]

i got a stand tonight from petsmart. i am confused yet again about lighting. i know i should get mh but i dont really want sps or clams. is it really expensive per month, how much on average is yours.i think that will make it or break it because i dont pay the hydrio bill and my parents may be a little mad if it gets up really high.

 

[Anonymous]

What are ya planning on keeping again? You can probably go with high wattage PCs and get away with anything besides SPS and Clams....

 

[Anonymous]

I suggest MH only if you are 100% sure you dont want SPS or clams...You say it now and trust me from experiecne, that you dont want SPS but i changed my mind and had to shell out more dough to upgrade lighting...Its actually cheaper in the long run vs upgrading...I agree with Matt though if you dont plan on keeping anything more demanding than softies and some LPS i think you'll be ok with PCs

 

[wilson the volleyball]

well i want some shroom, rics, open brain, zoos, xenia . ui dunno wat else. is it true that mh bulbs end up being cheaper in the longrun. i tihnkg i might just go all the way, is hydro expensive for it. if i get mh can i still keep softies and other things like wat i listed.there are a few sps that i may want, but to start out i dont want a bunch of coral that i have to feed every day. for all i know in the next year i may be ful blown reefer, and have all the corals under the sun, and a bigger tank, would i be able to use that pendant on a bigger tank(wat sizer) thanks for the help.

 

[Anonymous]

I think you should start out with softies to get your feet wet. Keep your tank going for awhile (like a year), and move up to stony corals when you feel comfortable.

MH is cheaper as in watt per dollar, yes. If you think you might be moving up to the hard stuff eventually go for it.

 

[wilson the volleyball]

k thanks. will the softies be ok under that for a while. since it is a pendant it wont be right on the tank, so i could keep shrooms and stuff right. also is there any other way to hang pendants without drilling into the ceiling.

 

[Anonymous]

what kind of pendant? MH? I dont know of anyway to hang a pendant with drilling hooks into the ceiling..but softies will be fine under MH so will mushrooms just dont keep them directly under it at first..especially mushrooms, they are a low light level coral

 

[wilson the volleyball]

o well how do you hang a pendant i thought it was hung from the ceiling lol.

 

[Anonymous]

sorry i meant without drilling..you have to hang it via hooks drilled into the ceiling sorry about my typo

 

[wilson the volleyball]

o ok lol. is there anyway to build like a stand that you could make it hang over. i dont think my mom wouuld like me to have anything hanging from the ceiling.

 

[hillbilly]

Take 2 pieces of metal conduit from the hardware store, have them bend them into 2 L shaped pieces. Buy some conduit straps, and a couple of eye hooks. Take home and cut to fit with a hacksaw. Paint if you want, attach the pieces to the back of your stand with the straps, attach the eye hooks. hang your pendant with some chain, and you have a hanging light pendant that looks cool, and is very cheap with no holes in your ceiling.

 

[Anonymous]

what hillbilly said...they do make MH fixtures and canopies however you dont get much say on the height, its usually right on the tank and w/o a chiller i imagine its gonna get pretty hot? now these guys here make custom stuff for a pretty good price
www.petsupplyliquidator.com tell them what you want and dimensions and they can do it..(retrospect i wouldve went through them first)

 

[wilson the volleyball]

well i want to go with the pnedant because it is cheaer too. also that site is probably american and it would be a lot of money to get in canada. but i think i might try that conduit piping part. thanks for the help.

 

[Anonymous]

just email them and tell them what youre looking for..tell them your in canada. it cant hurt you might be surprised?

 

[wilson the volleyball]

i guess i could try. but first i want to get all of my lighting and other equipment ordered and paid for. i get vacation pay soon so im hopiong thats another 100 to go towards it or so lol.

 

[wilson the volleyball]

k i just got back from the lfs. i got a 90 gal bucket of oceanic salt becuase i heard it was good, i also got a mag float. Tomorrow i will be gettin a visi therm 75-100 w heater. Just a ? is it ok to switch salts, say i run out of oceanic and the lfs doesnt have any could i use IO or is that bad.

also has anyone ever heard of red sea test kits, my lfs has a master test kit of them ,and i was just wondering if they are as good or better than salifert, if not i will stick with the salifert.