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Old 10-09-2009, 01:10 PM
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Myka Myka is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Saskatoon, SK.
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Hi there!

I used to keep a tank very similar to yours. I had a 33g with a 2x39w Hagen GLO light fixture (no sump though). If you are careful to pick quality bulbs you can actually get quite a bit of intensity out of that fixture since the tank is so shallow. I found the light wasn't strong enough for most SPS, although Montis did ok, they didn't grow very fast though. I could keep any LPS in that tank. I started out with the exact same bulbs you chose (the Hagen ones), and found my tank greatly improved when I used better bulbs. Take note that you can buy blue bulbs instead of actinic and you will get much greater intensity. Actinics are kind of a waste of a bulb when it comes to intensity and are better used in situations where people have many bulbs, and one lacking PAR isn't a big deal. Blue bulbs will give you a similar effect (some argue better) than actinics, but you get much more intensity. Another thing to note is that the higher the Kelvin rating the lower the intensity, but if you get too low (like under 10,000K) algae growth is encouraged. A great happy medium is around 14-16,000K. I really enjoyed the color and the intensity I got from using an AquaScience 17,500K and a Korallen-Zucht Fiji Purple. It looked very nice on that tank.

Here is a pic of what my 33 looked like (I have a 90 now) with the above mentioned lights too. If you want more information on the corals in there, just ask. Also, you can find many more pics if you click on the link in my signature that says "Myka's tanks: Clicky", then click on the 33 gallon tank.


Some suggestions I would have is to take the GSP (green star polyps) off the rock, and place them on the sand away from the rock because they will spread a lot, and will cover all your rock.. The green you see on the rock on the left of my tank is GSP. You might think that's a good thing, but they will get on other corals and irritate them. It's best to confine them to a space you choose. If you arrange your rock so that it's not touching the glass then you can get the GSP to grow up the glass. Keep an eye on the Xenia too, it will spread like a plague!! It will split and drop babies everywhere, it get all over the place, and is tough to get rid of.

Oh ya, and buy the EuroReef 80 skimmer that's for sale in the classifieds on here! Those are great skimmers. They are no comparison to the BakPak.
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Last edited by Myka; 10-09-2009 at 01:39 PM.
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