30G Setup.

[mr_X]

no, i don't. if it gets too hot, i turn the air conditioner on in that room. i use fans to blow the heat away usually. a 12" fan blowing across the top of my 125 is usually enough.

 

[Ansphire]

I got my live rock!!!!...

This very nice guy in princeton named Phei,, he gave me 50lb of live rock, with snails, mushrooms and little lobsters(I think) in it.

I put it in my tank with two powerheads, so hopefully I won't need to go thru a cycle......

I did not measure the gravity/salinity of the water, I hope that doesn't kill the bacteria and stuff living on it until I can buy one today.

Know I will go on with the AGM Mini skimmer and the aragonite, after that I should be all set with a FOWLR tank untill I save up for the lights!.....

Please, any advise at this point is priceless!!!!

 

[mr_X]

haha! i bought his corals. that is some nice rock. that one piece is super huge! does he still have that one percula clown?
as long as your water is ok and the rock wasn't out of the water for too long, you won't get a massive spike.
you need to buy a refractometer asap (to measure salinity). it's extremely important.

as for my earlier comment- the halide on the 30 gallon tank is a hqi(double ended) which is covered and has a cooling fan built in. there is virtually no heat between the light and the water.

 

[Ansphire]

Yeah, he still had that clown when I went...

I'm thinking of splitting the big rock into two or three pieces..

The rock was out of the water for 2hrs.. When I had it in my hands it had these white tubes dried on it and nothing else,,, when I put it in the water, tentacles came out of them tubes and bushes like palm trees... a new experience for me, very cool.. It has a few mushrooms I think.

Is salinity important for the live rock??..

I have a few snails in the tank and a very little lobster like insect that came with the rock.

Another thing I'm still not clear with is:

The rock has all the bacteria in it, you know, de-nitrifying bacteria.

But with no source of ammonia, won't it die off, starve?...

You get what I'm saying?.. with freshwater, you must have a source of ammonia, fish, pure ammonia, whatever... does the live rock keep the bacteria by itself?

 

[mr_X]

salinity is important for everything that lives in the ocean.

i don't know the answer to that live rock question. maybe someone else can help with that. if i had to guess, i would say that, yes, live rock would eventually die without some source of nitrate to "feed" it. but it would take a very long time in an empty tank. also, there will be some die off from the 2 hours out of water, so keep an eye on your parameters.

IMO, i wouldn't split that piece of rock. i think someone local might want that, and trade you for smaller pieces maybe. big hunks like that are hard to come by. that is what some stores would call a "show piece" and charge more for it.

 

[shavo]

chiefy don't break that rock, i'll give you some smaller pieces for it!!
also I sent you a pm btw.

lol i have less than half of pie's corals since mr. x is a shiester,
Mr.X........ "i'll take this, this, and this and oh yeah I want this, and you can have 3 snails and a mushroom" lol then the bastard tells me I have no color in my tank!!!! hmmm, wonder why

 

[mr_X]

come over and i'll give you some colorful corals bro. no sweat. :wink:

 

[Ansphire]

chiefy don't break that rock, i'll give you some smaller pieces for it!!
also I sent you a pm btw.

lol i have less than half of pie's corals since mr. x is a shiester,
Mr.X........ "i'll take this, this, and this and oh yeah I want this, and you can have 3 snails and a mushroom" lol then the bastard tells me I have no color in my tank!!!! hmmm, wonder why

lol... laughed my @$$ off... .. Think about it slavo, you guys are in the same town and have similar tanks, he is trying to eliminate the competition....

Mr_X you are a very bad man!!!!!...........lol

Slavo.. You can come and get that big chunk.. But I learned is a show piece, so I may have to charge an enormous amount of money,...

I didn't get that pm ... ... you can always call me to 732-586-5328


My salinity is just a little 1.023.. Is that ok?... I have two fluorescents over my tank.. a 15w and a 40w and I put what I think is a mushroom on top... I'll take some pics so you can Id it.. Can't wait till I get the freakin lights!..

 

[shavo]

X i am only joking. 3 snails and a mushroom for 50 bucks is a steal!!!

Ansphire, I'll send you another PM. And your not gonna get a dime out of me newbie. BTW prices just went up on the macros.

 

[Ansphire]

lol.... newbie huh... Keep them stinking macros... they're a bunch of sea weed anyway!...lol

Hows the salinity in my tank.. is that 1.023 and a little bit more ok?

 

[mr_X]

bring it up to .025 gradually.

 

[shavo]

.023 to .025 is tiny jump i think, why couldn't he just get it there in one shot?

mines up in the 1.027 area

 

[Ansphire]

Looks like the tank is cycled, since I used cured rock...

I think Imma add a fish... thoughts?

 

[Ansphire]

What do you think guys...

Should I put ONE 150w metal halide 14k in the middle and two actinics 55w...

Or should I go with (2) 150w MH 14k and one actinic 55w?


I got A guy selling me current pendants brand new... I need to know ASAP..

Thanks.. You guys are the best, assets to this site, irreplaceable!!!!...

lol

 

[mr_X]

it's up to you. i'd use two 150 watt 20k halides. the tank will look beautiful. i just tried a 20k, and i love the color.

 

[Ansphire]

Hey thanks man.. I got a guy selling me two pendants for 175 bucks each.. They have three lunar lights...

Is that a good deal?.. they are Current Pentands HQI 150w 14k..

Two of those and one actinic that I will buy for my 55w Compact fluorescent fixture.

Also, I bought the AGM Mini skimmer and a mag5 pump for my sump..

 

[mr_X]

used? what model are they? if they are used. 60% of new is fair if they are in good condition.
how old are they? the bulbs may need changing, and depending on the brand of bulb, that may be expensive.

 

[Ansphire]

They are brand new still in the box... But I dunno cus Pei is selling me his whole hood cheap... It has two actinics and a metal halide. The balast for the MH is broken, but I can replace it.

So I might just get them from pei, and see how they work.

 

[S!mon]

I'd be careful about two 150w MH...do you have a chiller?

 

[Ansphire]

Im probably going with two actinics and one MH