My New Marine Tank Log.

[kkyyllee]

ur tank would be fine at 26.7C thats only like 80-81F right?

 

[AK77]

Joe you have absolutely NOTHING to worry about. Mine is sitting at 30c /83f right now. As the ambient temperature outside drops, so too will the temperature in my room, so will the temperature of the tank. Everything is quite happy in there. Unplugging the heater will do nothing to cool the tank, as the water temperature is above that at which the thermostat is set, therefore the heater is not running.

If you carry on like this, fishkeeping will be more of a worry than an enjoyment. You are well within the temperature limits!

 

[JoeDaPro]

Ok sorry guys, ill stop worrying about it now, i jus dont wanna kill any fish :$

 

[shibby]

its natural to be worried, i was when mine kept going mad, then i realised i live in england and the weather is stupidly mental anyway theres nothing i can do about the tank temp really

 

[JoeDaPro]

Also, i bought 4kg of live rock today, and well out of it has came these TINY little, um things .. they look like little shrimps, they're clear you can just see a green blob inside of them, what are they?

 

[AK77]

Can you get a picture of them? You'll probably see all sorts of things crawling out of the live rock. Last night I sat and watched two bristleworms at the top of a rock pile, skimming the surface for food. Cheeky buggers!!

 

[JoeDaPro]

Can you get a picture of them? You'll probably see all sorts of things crawling out of the live rock. Last night I sat and watched two bristleworms at the top of a rock pile, skimming the surface for food. Cheeky buggers!!

They've gone, i have a bad feeling there somewhere in my filter media

Ive got a question on lighting eventually i would like to grow corals, now im not sure exactly what corals, and im not to fussed, just some that will Brighten the tank up, what Watt lighting do i need to grow a small range of corals?

 

[norite]

Yup, it isn't called Live Rock for nothing! Keep watching carefully, over the coming weeks you should see all sorts of macro life appearing on the rocks - I had loads of teeny tiny tubeworms magically appear on my LR!

 

[shibby]

yeh looking out for new critters is fun well untill you get your fish

and as for lighting im aiming for 100+watts at least so im hoping that will allow me to get a few soft corals, and easier lps corals. but im not entirely sure not done my reasearch on corals just yet!

 

[AK77]

Hi Joe,

It depends on what type of corals you want in your tank. If memory serves me correct, soft corals can do well under multiple T5 lighting, whereas the hard corals are more suited to Metal Halide lights. You can pay a small fortune for MH lights. I picked up 2 MH floodlights from Ebay, wall mounted them and put in 2 14000k bulbs. The lights cost me £60 for the pair, and I think the bulbs were about £14 a throw, so call it £90 for 300w of MH lighting. The equivalent "Aquarium" MH lighting would probably set you back £200+.

Personally, I'd skip the T5's and just go with MH. That way you have the option to get hard corals in the future if you so desire. If you get wall mounted MH's or ceiling mounted, then the surface of your tank is free, allowing much better access, evapouration etc. I'm in the process of putting together a small framework with mosquito netting so that I don't get a dirty great blue bottle landing in the tank. I'm fed up fishing moths and other bugs out the water.

 

[JoeDaPro]

Hi Joe,

It depends on what type of corals you want in your tank. If memory serves me correct, soft corals can do well under multiple T5 lighting, whereas the hard corals are more suited to Metal Halide lights. You can pay a small fortune for MH lights. I picked up 2 MH floodlights from Ebay, wall mounted them and put in 2 14000k bulbs. The lights cost me £60 for the pair, and I think the bulbs were about £14 a throw, so call it £90 for 300w of MH lighting. The equivalent "Aquarium" MH lighting would probably set you back £200+.

Personally, I'd skip the T5's and just go with MH. That way you have the option to get hard corals in the future if you so desire. If you get wall mounted MH's or ceiling mounted, then the surface of your tank is free, allowing much better access, evapouration etc. I'm in the process of putting together a small framework with mosquito netting so that I don't get a dirty great blue bottle landing in the tank. I'm fed up fishing moths and other bugs out the water.

Yes i was thinking flood lights, at work today i cleaned out the staff room and i found loads of Halide 300w bulbs, the manager said i could have a few because i mentioned my tank needing them, so i got 4 300w bulbs, i dont know how useful they are, they double ended.

How many floodlights will i need to be sufficient for my 3ft tank?
im not sure wich Flood lights i need though, will i need 2 150watt lights, or 2 300 watt lights ?

 

[AK77]

Hi Joe,

I've got 2 x 150w lights positioned at about 1/3rd intervals above the tank. this provides good even lighting throughout the tank. The bulbs will most likely be of no real use. It depends on the Kelvin rating. I have 14k's. You can get 20k's and even 30k's, which are really blue. The bulbs you have are most likely pure white, which won't meet the requirements for corals.

MH Lights

 

[JoeDaPro]

Ah right thanks alot, ill grab a pair when ive got everything else sorted

 

[AK77]

BTW was it you with the annoying green algae dots on the front of your glass?

 

[JoeDaPro]

Urm you mean the spots that looked like suction pads?
if so yes.